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CHAPTER 1. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 The Human Body— The Countenance— The Eye— The Ear— The Heart— The Circulation 
 of the Blood— Respiration — The Hair of the Head— The Beard— Women with 
 Beards— Sneezing 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). ^ 
 
 Difference between the Sexes— Comparative Number of the Sexes at a Birth — Extraor- 
 dinary Prolification— Extraordinary Instances of Rapid Growth— Giants— I ‘warfs- 
 Kimos- Curious Account of the Abderites— Account of a Country in which the 
 Inhabitants reside in Trees 34 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 
 
 Astonishing Acquisitions made by Blind Persons— Wonderful Performances of a Fe- 
 male, blind almost from Infancy— Wonderlul Instances of Adroitness of Persons 
 born defective in their Limbs— Curious Account of Incapacity of distinguishing 
 Colors— Ventriloquism— Sword-swallowing 46 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 
 
 Instances of Extraordinary Gluttony- Instances of Extraordinary Fasting— Wonders of 
 ' Abstinence— Sleep-waiking— Sleeping Woman of Dunninald- Instances of Extraor- 
 dinary Dreams— Poetical, Grammatical, and Scientific Deaths— Anthropophagi, or 
 Men-eaters— Account of a Wild Man 64 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 
 
 Striking Instances of Integrity— Shocking Instances of Ingratitude — Extraordinary 
 Instances of Honour— Surprising Effects of Anger— Remarkable Effects of Fright, 
 or Terror— Notable Instance of the Power of Conscience Tt 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 
 
 Remarkable Instance of Memory— Surprising Instance of Skill in Numbers — Extraor- 
 dinary Arithmetical Powers ‘of a Child— Curious Instance of Mathematical Talent 
 — Stone-eater-Poison-eater— Bletonism— Longevity 80 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 
 
 Combustion of the Human Body, produce'^ by the lon^ immoderate Use of Spirituous 
 Liquors. From the “Journal de Physique,’’ Pluviose, Year S: written by Pierre 
 Aime Lair 97 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 
 
 John Elwes— Daniel Dancer— Henry Wolby— John Henley- Simon Brown, and his Cu- 
 rious Dedication to Queen Carolina— Edward Wortley Montngue — Blaise Pascal — 
 
 Old Parr— George Psalmanazar- John Case— John Lewis Cardiac— John Smeaton— 
 
 Cteorge Morland — Henry Christian ileineckcu — Thomas Topham— Zeuxis 
 
 (iii) 
 
 104 
 
IV 
 
 C0NTTEN8. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 cuniosiTiES KESPECTiKG MAN — {Continued). 
 
 Nicholas Pesce— Paul Scarron— Maria Gaetana Aerucsi— Anna Maria Schurman— Samuel 
 
 Bieset, the noted Animal Instructor— John Philip Baratier — Buonaparte IIT 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Continued). 128 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN — {Concluded). 134 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 Animal Generation— Formation of Animals— Preservation of Animals— Destruction of 
 Animals— Animal Reproductions 139 
 
 CHAPTER XHI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS — {Continued). 
 
 The Beaver, and its Habitations- The Mole— The Frog— The Toad — The Rhinoceros- 
 Crocodiles and Alligators— Fossil Crocodile— The Omithorhynchus Paradoxus — 
 
 The Marmot, or Mountain Eat, of Switzerland 156 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS — {Continued). 
 
 The Elephant— Fossil Elephant— The Chameleon— The Common Tortoise— Orang-Ou- 
 tang— The Unicorn— The Common Seal— The Ursine Seal— American Natural History 168 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS — {Concluded). 
 
 Remarkable Strength of Affection in Animals — Surprising Instances of their Sociality — 
 Unaccountable Faculties possessed by some Animals— Remarkable Instances of 
 Fasting in Animals— Extraordinary Adventures of a sheep- Sagacity of a Monkey 
 —Astonishing Instance of Sagacity in a Horse— Sagacity of Dogs— Curious Anec- 
 dotes of a Dog— Remarkable Dog 184 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING PISHES. 
 
 The Frog-fish— Bird-catching Fish— The Nautilus— The Air-bladder in Fishes— Respira- 
 tion in Fishes— Shower of Fishes 196 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES — {Concluded). 
 
 The Whale— WTiale Fishery— The Kraken 204 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 The Scorpion — The Boa Constrictor— The American Sea Serpent— Fascinating Serpents 
 —The Caterpillar— Caterpillar-eaters— The Silk-worm— The Tape-worm— The Ship- 
 worm— The Lizard imbedded in Coal 218 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 The Common Peacock— The Egyptian Vulture— The Secretary Vulture— The Stork— 
 
 The Great Pelican— The Bird of Paradise— The Ostrich— The Mocking-bird of 
 America— The Social Grosbeak— The Bengal Grosbeak— The Humming-bird— The 
 Golden Eagle 226 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 V 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS — {Continued'). 
 
 The Cuckoo— The Cormorant— The Great Bustard— The Alarm-bird— The Carrier, or 
 Courier Pigeon— The Wild Pigeon, its multiplying Power— Singular Bird inhabiting 
 a Volcano in Guadaloupe— Curious Adventure of an Owl — Curious Facts in Natural 
 History— The Chick in the Egg 240 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS — (^Concluded). 
 
 Birds’ Nests— Migration of Birds— Curious Method of Bird-catching in the Faro Isles— 
 
 Song of Birds 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXH. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 265 
 
 CHAPTER XXHI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Continued). 
 
 The Clothier Bee— The Carpenter Bee— The Mason Bee -The Upholsterer Bee— The 
 Leaf-cutter Bee— Curious Account of an Idiot Boy and Bees— Mr. Wildman’s Cu- 
 rious Exhibitions of Bees explained 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Continued). 
 
 The Wasp 285 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING —{Continued). 
 
 Ants— White Ants— Green Ants— Visiting Ants— The Ant-lion 290 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Continued), 
 
 The Spider- Ingenuity of the Spider— Spider tamed— Curious Anecdote of a Spider, etc. 314 
 
 CHAPTER XXVH. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — (Co 12 
 Luminous Insects 319 
 
 CHAPTER XXVHI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Continued). 
 
 The Flea— On the Duration of the Life of a Flea— The Louse 825 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Continued). 831 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Continued). 
 
 The Common House Fly— The Hessian Fly— The May Fly— The Vegetable Fly— The 
 Boat Fly— The Ephemeral Flies— Butterflies— Metamorphoses of Insects— The 
 Death-watch 337 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING {Continued) . 
 
 Locusts and Musquitoes, and their Uses in the Creation :— from Kirby, Spence and 
 
 Fothergill 349 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — {Concluded). 
 
 Animalcules— The Cheese Mite— The Hydra, or Polypes 366 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 Curiosities in the Vegetable Kingdom— Germination in Seeds— Dissemination of Plants 
 — Number of Plants upon the Earth — Sensibility of Plants — The Sensitive Plant . . . 368 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES — {Continued). 
 
 The Cocoanut Tree- The Bread-fruit Tree— The Bannian Tree— Fountain Trees— The 
 Tallow Tree— The Paper Tree- The Calabash Tree— Remarkable Oak— Dimensions, 
 etc., of some of the largest Trees now growing in England— Upas, or Poison Tree . . 371 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES — {Continued). 
 
 Curious Plant near the Cape of Good Hope- The Mandrake— Changeable Flower— Chi- 
 nese Method of Preparing Tea— Antiquity of Sugar— Curious Efl’ects of Cinchona, 
 or Peruvian Bark- Curious Particulars of a Pound Weight of Cotton- wool— Ani- 
 mated Stalk— 'Animal Flower 386 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES — {Conclude^. 395 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING STONES. 
 
 The Meteoric Stone —Labrador Stone— Asbestos— Mushroom Stone— The Changeable 
 Stone— A Wonderful Diamond— A Singular Curiosity 401 
 
 , CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Natural Description of Mountains— The Peak in Derbyshire— Snowden in Wales— Skid- 
 daw in Cumberland 406 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS— 
 
 The Andes— Pichinca— Monte Bolea— Pausilipo — Monte Nuovo— Spectre of the Broken 
 — Gauts, or Indian Apennines— Pico— Written Mountains— A thos— Sulphur Moun- 
 tains 415 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS— (CoTlfZTlWtftZ). 427 
 
 CHAPTER XLT. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS — {Concluded). 
 
 Description of Vesuvius— Hecla— Etna 434 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING GROTTOES, CAVES, ETC. 
 
 Grotto in South Africa — Grotto del Cani — Grotto of Antiparos — Grotto of Guacharo— 
 Snow Grotto— Cave of Fingal— Cave near Mexico— The Nitre (.aves of Missouri — 
 Okey Uolc—Borrowdale— Needle’s Eye 445 
 
 CHAPTER XLHI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 Diamond Mine in the Brazils— Mines of Peru— Volcanic Eruptions of Mud and Salt — 
 Pitch Wells -Visit to a Coal-pit 460 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VU 
 
 CHAPTER XLiy. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 General Observations respecting the Sea, or Ocean — Particnlar Curiosities of the Sea — 
 
 On the Saltness of the Sea— On the Tides— Waves stilled by Oil 471 
 
 CHAPTER XLY. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA — {Concluded). 481 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WATERFALLS, LAKES, GULFS, WHIRL- 
 POOLS, ETC. 
 
 The Falls of Niagara— Lake of Killamey— Lake Sc Ifatara— Whirlpool near Suderoc— 
 Maelstrom— Gulf Stream— New Island starting from the Sea 485 
 
 CHAPTER XLYII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BURNING SPRINGS. 
 
 Naphtha Springs— Burning Springs in Kentucky — Hot Springs of Iceland— Hot Springs 
 of Ouachitta— Other Burning Springs 492 
 
 CHAPTER XLYHI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EARTHQUAKES. 498 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WINDS, HURRICANES, ETC. 
 
 Remarkable Winds in Egypt— Whirlwinds of Egypt— Tornado— Harmattan— Hurricane 
 — ^Monsoons — Velocity of the Wind 507 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SHOWERS, STORMS, ETC. 
 
 Surprising Showers of Hail— Singular Effects of a Storm — The Mirage— Sand Floods — 
 Showers of Gossamers — Winter in Russia 518 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ICE. 
 
 On the Greenland, or Polar Ice— On the Tremendous Concussion of Fields of Ice— Ice- 
 bergs— Magnitude of Icebergs — The Glaciers— Shower of Ice— Remarkable Frosts., 525 
 
 CHAPTER LTI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINS. 
 
 Ruin at Siwa, in Egypt— Ruins of Palmyra— Ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii — 
 Ancient Ruins of Balbec— Ruins of Agrigentum, in Sicily— Ancient Grandeur of 
 Carthage 534 
 
 CHAPTER LTII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANCIENT BUILDINGS, TEMPLES, AND OTHER 
 MONUMENTS OF ANTIQUITY. 
 
 Egyptian CtmiosiTiES : — Pompey’s Pillar— Buildings and Library of Alexandria— 
 Temple of Tentyra — Palace of Memnon — Temple of Osiris 544 
 
 CHAPTER LIY. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BUILDINGS, 'ETC.— {Continued). 
 
 Temple of Diana at Ephesus— Laocoon— Babylon— Alhambra 654 
 
 CHAPTER LY. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, {Continued). 
 
 Seraglio -Museum- Colossus— and Obelisk 664 
 
viii 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPUES, ETC. — {Concluded) 
 
 Inverlochy Castle — \fagdalen’s Hermitage— Curiosities of Friburg— Curiosities of Augs- 
 burg — Escurial — Florence Statues — Great Wall of China — Floating Gardens — Curi- 
 osity at Palenno 574 
 
 CHAPTER EVIL 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARK, ETC. 
 
 Cariosities respecting the Ark of Noah— The Galley of Hiero— and the Bridge of Xerxes 582 
 
 CHAPTER LYHI. 
 
 BASALTIC AND ROCKY CURIOSITIES. 
 
 Giant’s Causeway — Stonehenge 590 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE VARIOUS CUSTOMS OF MANKIND. 
 
 Curious Demonstrations of Friendship — Singularities of different Nations in Eating- 
 Female Beauty and Ornaments— Various Modes of Salutation— Maiden — Lady of the 
 Lamb— Curious Custom respecting Catching a Hare— Extraordinary Ancient Custom 594 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND — {Continued). 
 
 Marriage Ceremonies of different Nations — Marriage Custom of the Japanese — Bacon 
 Flitch Custom at Dunmow, Essex— On the Origin of Rings in general— Matrimonial 
 Ring- Extraordinary Marriage Custom— Hand-fasting G02 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND — {Continued). 
 
 Funeral Ceremonies of the Ancient Ethiopians— Funeral Ceremonies of the Chinese — 
 Ancient Funeral Ceremonies of the Dajakkese — Ancient Modes of Mourning — 
 Feasts among the Ancients of various Nations — Feast of Lanterns 609 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND — {Continued). 
 
 Origin of the Sheriff’s counting Hobnails — Origin of the Order of the Garter— Origin 
 and History of the Claim and Allowance of the “Benefit of Clergy” in Criminal 
 Convictions— Curious Tenures— The Origin of May Poles and Garlands— Curious 
 Custom at Oakham— Curious Practice in North Holland 622 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OP MANKIND— 
 
 Shrovetide— Candlema« Day— Origin of Valentine’s Day— Origin of Plough Monday- 
 New Year's Gifts— Origin of Christmas-boxes— Chiltern Hundreds— Origin of the 
 Term “ John Bull ’’—Origin of the Old Adage, “ If it rains on St. Swithin’s Day, it 
 will rain Forty Days aftewards ’’—Curfew Bell 630 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OP MANKIND — {Concluded). 
 
 Romish Indulgences— Act of Faith— Baptism of Bells — Curious Baptism— Kalmuck 
 Fraying Machines— Curious Penance at Calcutta 636 
 
 CHAPTER LXY. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES 
 
 IN NATURE. 644 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES 
 IN NATURE — {Continued). 
 
 Extraordinary Properties and Effects of Lightning— Thunder Rod— Fire-balls- Terrible 
 Effects of Electrified Clouds — Surprising Effects of extreme Cold — Astonishing 
 Expansive Force of Freezing 651 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIT. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES 
 IN NATURE — [Continued), 
 
 Water-spout— Fata Morgana— Fairy Rings— Sheet of Phosphoric Fire— Phosphorus ... 663 
 
 CHAPTER LXVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES 
 IN NATURE — {Continued). 
 
 Spots in the Sun — Diminution of the Snn— Parhelia, or Mock Suns— Eclipses— Halo, or 
 ■ Corona, and similar Appearances — Falling or Shooting Star— Volcanoes in the Moon 671 
 
 CHAPTER LXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES 
 IN NATURE — {Concluded). 
 
 The Aurora Borealis 681 
 
 CHAPTER LXX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING GALVANISM. 689 
 
 CHAPTER LXXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAGNETISM. 693 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIl. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS, ETC. 
 
 Early Invention of several useful Arts— Automaton — Androides — Extraordinary Pieces 
 of Clock-work — Heidelberg Clock — Strasburg Clock — Clepsydra — Invention of 
 Watches 698 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS — {Continued). 
 
 Telegraph — Spectacle of a 8ea-fight at Rome— Wooden Ea le and Iron Fly— Whitehead’s 
 Ship— Scaliot’s Lock, el c.— Praxiteles’ Venus— Weaving Engine— Hydraulic Birds — 
 Herschel’s Grand Telescope — Boverick’s Curiosities— Bunzlau Curiosities— Artificial 
 Flying 708 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE {Concluded). 
 
 Burning Glasses— Ductility of Glass — Remarkable Ductility and Extensibility of Gold— 
 Pin-making— Needles— Shoes— The Great Bell of Moscow 717 
 
 CHAPTER LXXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, ETC. 727 
 
 CHAPTER LXXYI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, -ETC.— {Continued). 732 
 
 CHAPTER LXXYIT. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, ETC.— {Continued). 737 
 
 CHAPTER LXXYI H. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, ETC. — {Continued). 
 
 Peeping Tom of Coventry Long absent Husband returned— Curious Historical Fact 
 
 — The most Extraordinary Fact on Record 740 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER LXXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, 'E.TC— {Concluded). 
 
 Great Events Prom Little Causes— Dreadful Instances of the Plague in Europe— Fire of 
 London— Vicar of Bray— Curious Account of the Ceremonies at Queen Elizabeth’s 
 Dinner— A Blacksmith's Wife become a Queen — Swine’s Concert 746 
 
 CHAPTER LXXX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 Origin of the Materials of Meriting— Minute 'W^riting— Titles of Books— Literary Labour 
 and Perseverance— Curious Account of the Scarcity of Books— Celebrated Libraries 
 — Book of Blunders — Curious Account of the Means of Intellectual Improvement in 
 London 751 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE — {Continued). 
 
 Origin of the Word “ News ’’—Origin of Newspapers— Instances of New Studies in Old 
 Age— Literary Shoemakers— Imprisonment of the Learned— Singular Customs 
 annually observed by the Company of Stationers— Book of Sports — Origin of Cards 
 —Explanation of all the Letters on a Guinea 762 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXTI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE— (CoTlcZwM). 
 
 Curious Address to the late Queen Charlotte— Quaint Lines on Queen Elizabeth— Cu- 
 rious Names adopted iu the Civil Wars — Curious Extracts from the Will of an Earl 
 of Pembroke— Curious Letter from Pomare. King of Otaheite, to the Missionary 
 Society— Curious Love Letter and Answer— Creeds of the Jews — The Unbeliever’s 
 Creed — Explanation of the Terms ’• Whig ” and “ Tory ” 769 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXHI. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 Monster— Individuation— Reproduction — Peruke— Centaurs and Lapithae 777 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXIV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES— (CoTliWWec?). 
 
 Spontaneous Inflammation— Diseases peculiar to Particular Countries — Injuries from 
 Swallowing the Stones of Fruits — Extraordinary Surgical Operation — Extraor- 
 dinary Cures by Burning- Illumination by Electricity— Divisibility of Matter 786 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES — ( Continued). 
 
 The Jew’s Harp- Remarkable Aqueducts— Crich up Linn— Eddystone Rocks— Dismal 
 Swamp — Curious Wine-cellar — Mint of Segovia— Remarkable Mills — Silk Mill at 
 Derby — Portland Vase — Murdering Statue- A Curious Pulpit 795 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXYI. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES — {Continued). 
 
 Extraordinary Echoes and Whimpering Places— Natural Productions resembling Arti- 
 ficial Compositions — Remarkable Lamps — Perpetual Fire — Magical Drum — An 
 Extraordinary Cannon — Curious Account of Old Bread — Substitute for Spectacles 
 — Winter Sleep of Animals and Plants 802 
 
 CHAPTER LXXXVH. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES — {Concluded). 
 
 ‘.Lama- Nun — Mahometan Paradise— Opinions respecting Hell— London — Coins of the 
 Kings of England— Singular Calculations respecting the National Debt— Moral and 
 Physical Thermometer — Conclusion 810 
 
CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. 
 
 PAGl 
 
 A Person having an even Number of Counters in one Hand, and an odd Number in the 
 
 other, to tell in which Hand each of them is 829 
 
 A Person having fixed on a Number in his Mind, to tell him what Number it is 821 
 
 Another Method of discovering a Number thought on 821 
 
 To tell the Number a Person has fixed upon, without asking him any Questions 821 
 
 A curious Kecreation — The Blind Abbess and her Nuns 823 
 
 Any Number being named, add a Figure, which shall make it divisible by 9 823 
 
 A Person having made choice of several Nun-bers, to tell him what Number will 
 
 exactly divide the Sum of those which he has chosen 824 
 
 To find the Difference between any two Numbers, the gre.iter of which is unknown — 824 
 A Person striking a Figure out of the Sura of two given Numbers, to tell him what 
 
 that Figure was 825 
 
 By knowing the last Figure of the Product of two Numbers, to tell the other Figures. . 825 
 
 A curious Recreation with a Hundred Numbers, usually called the. Magical Century 826 
 
 A Person in Company having privately put a Ring on one of his fingers, to Name the 
 
 Person, the Hand, the Finger, and the Joint on which it is placed 827 
 
 To make a Deaf Man hear 828 
 
 When two Chests are like one another, and of equal Weight, being filled with different 
 
 Metals, to distinguish the one from the other 828 
 
 To find the Burden of a Ship at Sea or in a River 829 
 
 To Measure the Depth of the Sea 829 
 
 Method of Melting Steel, and causing it to Liquefy 830 
 
 How to dispose two little Figures, so that one shall light a Candle and the other put 
 
 it out 830 
 
 The Camera Obscura, or Dark Chamber 830 
 
 To show the Spots in the Sun’s Disc 832 
 
 To magnify small Objects by means of the Sun’s Rays 832 
 
 T o cut a Looking-glass or Crystal without the help of a Diamond , 833 
 
 By the means of two plain Looking-glasses, to make a Face appear under different 
 
 forms 833 
 
 To know which of two different Waters is the lightest, without any Scales 834 
 
 To know if a suspicious Piece of Money is good or bad 634 
 
 To hold a Glass full of Water with the Mouth downwards, so that the Water shall not 
 
 runout 835 
 
 The Mysterious Watch 835 
 
 To make a Glass of Water appear to boil. 835 
 
 How to make a Cork fly out of a Bottle, 836 
 
 To produce Gas Light on a small scale 836 
 
 Thunder Powder 836 
 
 To tell, by the Dial of a Watch, at what hour any Person intends to rise 836 
 
 Experimei^ts showing the Power of Attraction and Repulsion 837 
 
 Experiments respecting the Centre of Gravity 838 
 
 Experiment showing the Power of Steam 839 
 
 Diminution of Heat by Evaporation 839 
 
 Experiment to ascertain the Strength of Spirits of Wine 839 
 
 To ascertain the Strength of Brine 839 
 
 Experiments showing the Pressure and Elasticity of Air 839 
 
 Experiments respecting Sound 840 
 
 Electrical Experiments 841 
 
 Electricity of Silk Stockings 842 
 
Xll CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 To suspend a Eing by a Thread that has been burnt .* 844 . 
 
 Chemical Illuminations 844 
 
 A Flash of Lightning when one enters a Room with a lighted Candle 844 
 
 The Fiery Fountain 844 
 
 A Lamp that will burn Twelve Months without replenishing 844 
 
 The Magic Oracle 845 
 
 Method of constructing a Voltaic Pile 847 
 
 Magnetical Experiments. 848 
 
 Light produced by Friction, eveu uuder Water 850 
 
 Hydraulic Experiments. .. . 851 
 
 Another Hydraulic Experiment, called the Miraculous Vessel 852 
 
 A curious Hydraulic Experiment, called Tautalue’s Cup 852 
 
 A curious Chemical Experiment, called the Tree of Diana 852 
 
 A remarkable Experiment, called Prince Rupert’s Drops 858 
 
 How to make Sympathetic Inks of various Kinds 853 
 
 Other Sympathetic Inks 855 
 
 A Sympathetic Ink which appears by being wetted with water 856 
 
 Experiments with Sympathetic Ink. 856 
 
 How to Write on Glass by means of the Rays of the Sun. 85S 
 
 To produce different Colors, by pouring a colorless Liquor into a clean Glass 858 
 
 Xo produce a Color which appears and disappears by the Influence of the Air 858 
 
 To turn a colorless Liquor Black, by adding a White Powder to it 853 
 
 Freezing Mixture 859 
 
 Experiments with the Microscope 859 
 
 Experiments with the Thermometer and Barometer 863 
 
 Rules for judging of and predicting the State of the Weather by the Barometer 864 
 
 Method of Preserving Birds 865 
 
 To take the Impression of the Wings of a Butterfly in all their Colors 866 
 
 To take the Impression of a Leaf of any Tree, Plant, or Shrub, with all its Veins 866 
 
 Experiments respecting Colors, etc SG7 
 
 A Quantity of Eggs being broken, to find h <w many there were without remembering 
 
 the Number 870 
 
 To find the least Number of Weights, that will weigh from One Pound to Forty 870 
 
 A Number of Metals being mixed together in one Mass, to find the Quantity of each of 
 
 them ^ 871 
 
 To make a mutual Exchange of the Liquor in two Bottles, without using any other 
 
 Vessel 872 
 
 How to make a Peg that will exactly fit Three different Holes 872 
 
 To place Three Sticks upon a, Table in such a manner that they may appear to be 
 
 unsupported by anything but themselves 873 
 
 How to pi’cvent a heavy Body from falling, by adding another heavier Body to it on that 
 
 side toward which it inclines 873 
 
 To make a false Balance that shall appear perfectly just when empty, or when loaded 
 
 with unequal Weights ! 873 
 
 How to lift up a Bottle with a Straw, or any other slight Substance 874 
 
 To make a Pen, which holds One Hundred Sheep, hold double the Number, by only 
 
 adding two Hurdles more 874 
 
 How to make a Piece of Metal, or any other heavy Body, swim upon the Surface of 
 
 Water like a Cork 875 
 
 How to prove that Two and Two do not make Four 876 
 
 Method of Secret Writing 876 
 
 Optical Experiments 877, 878, 879 
 
 How to make a violent Tempest by means of artificial Rain and Hail 880 
 
 Magic Square 880 
 
CONTENTS OF ADDENDA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 John Henderson, The Extraordinary 
 
 Genius 883 
 
 Daniel Lambert, The Fat Man 887 
 
 Edward Nokes, The Celebrated Tinker. 88S 
 Charles Price, The Celebrated Swindler SS9 
 Stephenson, An Eccentric Scotchman. . 895 
 Rev. Mr, Hagamore, A Whimsical Char- 
 acter 8G6 
 
 A. M. Cromwell, An Extraordinary 
 
 Character 897 
 
 Indian Jugglers 897 
 
 John Metcalf, or Blind Jack of Knares- 
 
 borough 900 
 
 Mrs. Van Butchell 902 
 
 Harrison, A Penurious Character 903 
 
 The Blind Clergyman 903 
 
 Miss Clara Fisher 905 
 
 Earth-Eaters 908 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dr. Graham, The Extraordinary Empiric 909 
 Mr. James Crichton, The Admirable 
 
 Crichton ' 911 
 
 Miss Margaret McAvoy, An Extraor- 
 dinary Phenomenon 919 
 
 Hon. Wm. Hastings, An Old English 
 
 Squire 925 
 
 Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orleans 927 
 
 Pope Joan 931 
 
 Sir Richard Whittington, Thrice Lord 
 
 Mayor of London 9.35i 
 
 The Traveling Faquirs 940 
 
 Incubus, or Nightmare 941 
 
 Celebrated Spe3ch on Religion 944 
 
 Vesuvius, Addenda to 947 
 
 Anagrams 956 
 
 Modern Dictionary 950 
 
 Recipe for Establishing True Friends*hip 951 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FnONTispiECE, Rome from the Capitol. (Face title.) to pace page 
 
 Races of Man 14 
 
 Fear 76 
 
 Daniel Dancer and Old Parr 104 
 
 Orator Henley and John Elwes 106 
 
 John Gutenberg and Peter the Great 120 
 
 Napoleon I 126 
 
 Musk Ox and American Bison 142 
 
 Gazelle and Antelope 146 
 
 Brown Bear and Grizzly Bear 148 
 
 Fossils — Tguanodon . 156 
 
 Rhinoceros 162 
 
 Vampire Bat and Rougette 166 
 
 Hunting the White Elephant 16,8 
 
 The Orang-Outang 178 
 
 Seal Hunting - 180 
 
 St. Bernard Dog and the Iceland Dog 184 
 
 Esquimaux Dog and Bull Dog 186 
 
 Danish Dog and Fox Hound 188 
 
Xiv LIST OF ILLFSTKATIONS. 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 Various specimens of the MonVcy Tribe 190 
 
 Persian Greyhound and Pointer 192 
 
 Animal Sagacity 194 
 
 The Frog-Fish . 196 
 
 Silk-worms 220 
 
 Humming Birds 236 
 
 Birds in the Tropics 240 
 
 The Great Bustard and Ostriches of South Africa 243 
 
 Indian Bird’s Nest 252 
 
 The Honey Bee 266 
 
 Cedars of Lebanon 374 
 
 Norway Spruce Fir 378 
 
 Efiects of an Earthquake 499 
 
 Sand Flood in the Deserts of Arabia 499 
 
 Arctic Regions 525 
 
 Icebergs of Greenland and Spitzbergen 526 
 
 Traveling in the Arctic Regions 528 
 
 Navigating among the Icebergs 532 
 
 Palmyra 534 
 
 The Parthenon at Athens 538 
 
 Amphitheatre of Vespasian i 540 
 
 Roman War Chariot 542 
 
 Thyatira 544 
 
 Pyramids of Gozeh, Egypt 546 
 
 Temple of Minerva at Corinth 548 
 
 Temple of Tentyra in Egypt 550 
 
 Temple of the Ancient Egyptians at Thebes 554 
 
 Interior of Ancient Roman House 563 
 
 Church of Notre Dame at Paris 564 
 
 The Acropolis at Athens 566 
 
 Destruction of the Bastile 563 
 
 City of Damascus * 670 
 
 Cocoanut Trees and Pyramids of Egypt 571 
 
 The Giant’s Causeway 591 
 
 The Spectre of the Broken 591 
 
 Japanese Doctor 594 
 
 The Emperor of China . 596 
 
 A Chinese School 600 
 
 Legal method of settling domestic difficulties 602 
 
 Witnessing a battle from the clouds 604 
 
 Egyptian Shop-keeper 606 
 
 Navigating the Air 608 
 
 Roman Soldiers and Consul 618 
 
 Ancient Persian Soldiers 620 
 
 A Jewish Priest 636 
 
 The Fata Morgana as observed in the Harbor of Messina 665 
 
 Parhelia, or Mock Sun— The Ignis Fatuus 673 
 
 Falling Stars — Monsoon in India 681 
 
 Aurora Borealis, in Arctic Regions and Scotland. 6S4 
 
 Glass Blowing, Process of 716 
 
 Caesar landing in Great Britain 7-30 
 
 Caesar crossing the Rubicon 732 
 
 The Birth of Christ 746 
 
 The Finding of Moses 748 
 
 Eddystone Lighthouse 796 
 
 Cleopatra’s Barge 800 
 
 Diagrams of Wonderful Eiper Iments 8.50 
 
 Daniel Lambert and Geo. Morland 886 
 
 The Living Skeleton and Peter the Wild Boy 896 
 
 Indian Chief. Black Buffalo 898 
 
 Martin Van Butchell 903 
 
 James Graham 909 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It was well observed by Lord Bacon, that “ It would much 
 conduce to the magnanimity and honour of man, if a collection 
 were made of the extraordinaries of human nature, principally 
 out of the reports of history ; that is, what is the last and highest 
 pitch to which man’s nature, of itself, hath ever reached, in all 
 the perfection of mind and body. If the wonders of human nat- 
 ure, and virtues as well of mind as of body, were collected into a 
 volume, they might serve as a calendar of human triumphs.” 
 
 The present work not only embraces the Curiosities of human 
 nature, but of Nature and Art in general, as well as Science and 
 Literature. Sirrrounded with wonders, and lost in admiration, the 
 inquisitive mind of man is ever anxious to know the hidden 
 springs that put these wonders in motion ; he eagerly inquires 
 for some one to take him by the hand and explain to him the cu- 
 riosities of the universe. And though the works of nature are 
 great, and past finding out, and we cannot arrive at the perfection 
 of science, nor discover the secret impulses which nature obeys, 
 yet can we by reading, study, and investigation dissipate much of 
 the darkness in which w^e are enveloped, and dive far beyond the 
 surface of this multifarious scene of things. The noblest employ- 
 ment of, the human understanding is to contemplate the works of 
 the great Creator of the boundless universe, and to trace the 
 marks of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness throughout the 
 whole. 
 
 A considerable portion of the following pages is devoted to 
 Curiosities in the works of Nature. It also presents to the reader 
 a view of the great achievements of the human intellect in the 
 discoveries of science, and the wonderful operations of the skill, 
 power, and industry of man in the invention and improvement of 
 the arts, in the construction of machines, and in the buildings 
 and other ornaments the earth exhibits, as trophies to the glory of 
 the human race. 
 
 The work is divided into eighty-seven chapters. The Curiosi- 
 ties respecting Man occupy eleven chapters. The next four chap- 
 ters are devoted to Animals ; then two to Fishes ; one to Serpents 
 
xvi 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and Worms; three to Birds; eleven to Insects; six to Vegeta- 
 bles ; three to Mountains ; two to Grottoes, Caves, etc. ; one to 
 INIines ; two to the Sea ; one to Lakes, Whirlpools, etc.; one to 
 Burning Springs ; one to Earthquakes ; one to Remarkable Winds ; 
 one to Showers, Storms, etc. ; one to Ice ; one to Ruins ; four to 
 Buildings, Temples, and other Monuments of Antiquity ; and one 
 to Basaltic and Rocky Curiosities. The fifty-eighth chapter is 
 devoted to the Ark of Noah, the Galley of Hiero, and the Bridge 
 . of Xerxes. The next six chapters detail at length the various 
 Customs of Mankind in different parts of the World, and also ex- 
 plain many Old Adages and Sayings. The next five chapters ex- 
 hibit a variety of curious phenomena in nature, such as the Ignis 
 F.atuus, Thunder and Lightning, Fme Balls, Water Spouts, Fairy 
 Rings, Spots in the Sun, Volcanoes in the Moon, Eclipses, Shoot- 
 ing Stars, Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, etc., etc. The 
 seventieth chapter is on Galvanism. The seventy-first on Mag- 
 netism. The next three chapters delineate the principal Curiosi- 
 ties respecting the Arts. Then follow five chapters on some of 
 the principal Curiosities in History ; three on the Curiosities of 
 Literature ; and five on Miscellaneous Curiosities. An Appendix 
 is added, containing a number of easy, innocent, amusing Experi- 
 ments and Recreations. 
 
 The Compiler trusts the work will afford both entertainment 
 and instruction for the leisure hour of the Philosopher or the La- 
 borer, the Gentleman or the Mechanic. In short, all classes may 
 fiind in the present work something conducive to their pleasure and 
 improvement, as it will afford a constant source of subjects for in- 
 teresting and agreeable conversation. 
 
THE 
 
 BOOK OF CURIOSITIES. 
 
 CHAP. 1. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 The Human Body — the Counteyiance — the Eye — the Ear — the 
 Heart — the Circulation of the Blood — Respiration — the Hair 
 of the Head — the Beard — Women icith Beards — Sneezing, 
 
 “ Come, gentle reader, leave all meaner things 
 To low ambition, and the pride of kings. 
 
 Let us, since life can little more supply 
 Than just to look about us, and to die; 
 
 Expatiate free o’er all this scene of Man, 
 
 A mighty maze ! but not without a plan. 
 
 A wild, where weeds and flow’rs piomiscuous shoot; 
 
 Or garden, tempting with forbidden fruit. 
 
 Together let us beat this ample field. 
 
 Try what the open, what the covert yield; 
 
 The latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore, 
 
 Of all who blindly creep, or sightless soar ; 
 
 Eye nature’s walks, shoot folly as it flies. 
 
 And catch the manners living as they rise; 
 
 Laugh where we must, be candid where we can. 
 
 But vindicate the ways of God to man.” 
 
 We shall, in the first place, enter on the consideration os 
 The Curiosities of the Human Body. — The following 
 account is abridged from the works of the late Drs. Hunter 
 and Paley. 
 
 Dr. Hunter shows that all the parts of the human frame are 
 requisite to the wants and well-being of such a creature as 
 man. He observes, that, first the mind, the thinking imma- 
 terial agent, must be provided with a place of immediate resi- 
 dence, which shall have all the requisites for the union of 
 spirit and body ; accordingly, she is provided with the brain, 
 where she dwells as governor and superintendant of the whole 
 fabric. 
 
 In the next place, as she is to hold a correspondence with 
 all the material beings around her, she must be supplied with 
 organs fitted to receive the different kinds of impression which 
 
14 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 they will make. In fact, therefore, we see that she is pro- 
 vided with the organs of seme, as we call them : the eye is 
 adapted to light ; the ear to sound ; the nose to smell ; the 
 mouth to taste ; and the skin to touch. 
 
 Further, she must be furnished with organs of communication 
 between herself in the brain, and those organs of sense ; to 
 give her information of all the impressions that are made upon 
 them ; and she must have organs between herself in the brain, 
 and every other part of the body, fitted to convey her com- 
 mands and influence over the whole. For these purposes the 
 nerves are actually given. They are soft white chords which 
 rise from the brain, the immediate residence of the mind, and 
 disperse themselves in branches through all parts of the body 
 They convey all the different kinds of sensations to the mind 
 in the brain; and likewise carry out from thence all her com- 
 mands to the other parts of the body. They are intended to 
 be occasional monitors against all such impressions as might 
 endanger the well-being of the whole, or of any particular 
 part; which vindicates the Creator of all things, in having ac- 
 tually subjected us to those many disagreeable and painful 
 sensations which we are exposed to from a thousand accidents 
 in life. 
 
 Moreover, the mind, in this corporeal system, must be en- 
 dued with the power of moving from place to place; that she 
 may have intercourse with a variety of objects; that she may 
 fly from such as are disagreeable, dangerous, or hurtful; and 
 pursue such as are pleasant and useful to her. And accord- 
 ingly she is furnished with limbs, with muscles and tendons, 
 the instruments of motion, which are found in every part of 
 the fabric where motion is necessary. 
 
 But to support, to give firmness and shape to the fabric; 
 to keep the softer parts in their proper places; to give fixed 
 points for, and the proper directions to its motions, as well as 
 to protect some of the more important and tender organs from 
 external injuries, there must be some firm prop-work inter- 
 woven through the whole. And in fact, for such purposes 
 the bo)ies are given. 
 
 The prop-w^ork is not made with one rigid fabric, for thot 
 would prevent motion. Therefore there are a number of bones. 
 
 These pieces must all be firmly bound together, to prevent 
 1 their dislocation. And this end is perfectly well answered by 
 the Ucraments. 
 
 O 
 
 The extremities of these bony pieces, where they move ani 
 rub upon one another, must have smooth and slippery sur- 
 faces for easy motion. This is most happily provided for, by 
 the cartilages and mucus of the joints. 
 
 The interstices of all these parts must be filled up with 
 some soft and ductile matter, wliich shall keep them in theii 
 
RACES OF MAN. 
 

 . $ -. iv- 
 
 OF THE 
 
 
THE HUMAN BODY. 
 
 15 
 
 places, unite them, and at the same time allow them to move 
 a little upon one another ; these purposes are answered by the 
 celluldr membrane^ or edipose substance. 
 
 There must be an outward covering over the whole appa- 
 ratus, both to give it compactness, and to defend it from a 
 thousand injuries ; which, in fact, are the very purposes of 
 the skm and other integuments. 
 
 Say, what the various bones so wisely wrought ? 
 
 How was their frame to such perfection brought? 
 
 What did their figures for their uses fit. 
 
 Their numbers fix, and joints adapted knit; 
 
 And made them all in that just order stand, 
 
 Which motion, strength, and ornament, demand? 
 
 Blackmore, 
 
 Lastly, the mind being formed for society and intercourse 
 with beings of her own kind, she must be endued with powers 
 of expressing and communicating her thoughts by some 
 sible marks or signs, which shall be both easy to hersel , 
 admit of great variety. And accordingly she is provided with 
 the organs and faculty of speech, by which she can throw out 
 signs with amazing facility, and vary them without end. 
 
 Thus we have built up an animal body, which would seem 
 to be pretty complete ; but as it is the nature of matter to be 
 altered and worked upon by matter, so in a very little time 
 such a living creature must be destroyed, if there is no pro- 
 vision for repairing the injuries which she must commit upon 
 ' herself, and those which she must be exposed to from without. 
 Therefore a treasure of blood is actually provided in the heart 
 and vascular system, full of nutritious and healing particles ; 
 fluid enough to penetrate into the minutest parts of the ani- 
 mal; impelled by the heart, and conveyed by the arteries, it 
 washes every part, builds up what was broken down, and 
 sweeps away the old and useless materials. Hence we see 
 the necessity or advantage of the heart and arterial system. 
 
 What more there was of the blood than enough to repair 
 the present damages of the machine, must not be lost, but 
 should be returned again to the heart; and for this purpose 
 the venous system is provided. These requisites in the animal 
 explain the circulation of the blood, a priori.^ 
 
 All this provision, however, would not be sufficient ; for 
 the store of blood would soon be consumed, and the fabric 
 would break down, if there was not a provision made by fresh 
 ’supplies. Thesf wc observe, in fact, are profusely scattered 
 round he: in the animal and vegetable kingdoms ; and she is 
 furnished with hands, the fittest instruments that could be con- 
 tiived for gathering them, and for preparing them in their 
 varieties for the mouth. 
 
 * This subject will be more fully explained hereafter. 
 
16 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 But these supplies, which we call food, must be considera- 
 bly changed; they must be converted into blood. Therefore 
 she is provided with teeth for cutting and bruising the food, 
 and with a stomach for melting it down; in short, with all 
 the organs subservient to digestion : the finer parts cf the ali- 
 ments only can be useful in the constitution; these must be 
 taken up and conveyed into the blood, and the dregs must be 
 ♦brown off. With this view, the intestinal canal is provided, 
 it separates the nutritious parts, which we call chyle, to be 
 conveyed into the blood by the system of the absorbent ves- 
 sels; and the coarser parts pass downwards to be ejected. 
 
 We have now got our animal not only furnished with what 
 is wanting for immediate existence, but also with powers of 
 protracting that existence to an indefinite length of time. 
 But its duration, we may presume, must necessarily be li- 
 mited; for as it is nourished, grows, and is raised up to its 
 full strength and utmost perfection; so it must in time, in 
 common with all material beings, begin to decay, and then 
 hurry on into final ruin. 
 
 Thus we see, by the imperfect survey which human reason 
 is able to take of this subject, that the animal man must 
 necessarily be complex in his corporeal system., and in its 
 operations. 
 
 He must have one great and general system, the vascular, 
 branching through the whole circulation : another, the ner- 
 vous, with its appendages — the organs of sense, for every 
 kind of feeling: and a third, for the union and connection of 
 all these parts. 
 
 Besides these primary and general systems, he requires 
 others, which may be more local or confined : one, for strength, 
 support, and protection, — the bony compages : another, foi 
 the requisite motions of the parts among themselves, as well 
 as for moving from place to place, — the muscular system: an- 
 'Other to prepare nourishment for the daily recruit of the body, 
 — the digestive organs. 
 
 Dr. Paley observes, that, of all the different systems in the 
 ‘human body, the use and necessity are not more apparent, 
 tlian the wisdom and contrivance which have been exerted, in 
 putting them all into the most compact and convenient form: 
 in disposing them so, that they shall mutually receive from, and 
 give helps to one another : and that all, or many of the parts, 
 shall not only answer their principal end or purpose, but 
 operate successfully and usefully in a variety of secondary 
 ways. If we consider the whole animal machine in this light, 
 and compare it with any machine in which human art has 
 exerted its utmost, we shall be convinced, beyond the possi- 
 'bility of doubt, that there are intelligence and power far sur- 
 , passing what humanity can boast of 
 
THE HUMAN BODY. 
 
 17 
 
 One superiority in the natural machine is peculiarly striking, 
 - In machines of human contrivance or art, there is no inter- 
 nal power, no principle in the machine itself, by which it can 
 alter and accommodate itself to injury which it may suffer, or 
 make up any injury which admits of repair. But in the na- 
 tural machine, the animal body, this is most wonderfully pro- 
 vided for, by internal powers in the machine itself ; many ofj 
 which are not more certain and obvious in their effects, than 
 they are above all human comprehension as to the manner 
 and means of their operation. Thus, a wound heals up of 
 itself; a broken bone is made firm again by a callus; a dead 
 part is separated and thrown off; noxious juices are driven out 
 by some of the emunctories ; a redundancy is removed by 
 some spontaneous bleeding ; a bleeding naturally stops of 
 itself ; and the loss is in a measure compensated, by a contract- 
 ing power in the vascular system, which accommodates the ca- 
 pacity of the vessels to the quantity contained. The stomach 
 gives intimation when the supplies have been expended ; repre- 
 sents, with great exactness, the quantity and quality, of what 
 is wanted in the present state of the machine ; and in propor- 
 tion as she meets with neglect, rises in her demand, urges her 
 p^etition in a louder tone, and with more forcible arguments. 
 For its protection, an animal body resists heat and cold in a 
 very wonderful manner, and preserves an equal temperature 
 in a burning and in a freezing atmosphere. 
 
 A farther excellence or superiority in the natural machine, 
 if possible, still more astonishing, more beyond all human 
 comprehension, than what we have been speaking of, is the 
 distinction of sexes, and the effects of their united powers. 
 Besides those internal powers of self-preservation in each in- 
 dividual, when two of them, of different sexes, unite, they are 
 endued with powers of producing other animals or machines 
 like themselves, which again are possessed of the same powers 
 of producing others, and so of multiplying the species without 
 end These are powers which mock all human invention or 
 imitation. They are characteristics of the Divine Architect . — 
 Thus far Paley. 
 
 Galen takes notice, that there are in the human body above 
 600 muscles, in each of which there are, at least, 10 several 
 intentions, or due qualifications, to be observed ; so that, 
 about the muscles alone, no less than 6000 ends and aims are 
 to be attended to! The bones are reckoned to be 284; and 
 the distinct scopes or intentions of these are above 40 — in all, 
 about 12,000 I and thus it is, in some proportion, with all the 
 other parts, the skin, ligaments, vessels, and humours ; but more 
 especially with the several vessels, which do, in regard to 
 their great variety, and multitude of their several intentions 
 very ?mich exceed the homogeneous parts. 
 
18 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 How august, 
 
 How complicate, how wonderful, is man ! 
 
 How passing wonder He who made him such !•— 
 
 From different natures marvellously mixt ; — 
 
 Though sully' d and dishonour'd, still divine! Young 
 
 “ Come ! all ye nations I bless the Lord, 
 
 To him your grateful homage pay: 
 
 Your voices raise with one accord, 
 
 Jehovah’s praises to display. 
 
 From clay our complex frames he moulds. 
 
 And succours us in time of need : 
 
 Like sheep when wandering from their folds, 
 
 He calls us back, and does us feed. 
 
 Then thro’ the world let’s shout his praise. 
 
 Ten thousand million tongues should join, 
 
 To heav’n their thankful incense raise. 
 
 And sound their Maker’s love divine. 
 
 When rolling years have ceas’d their rounds, 
 
 Yet shall his goodness onward tend; 
 
 For his great mercy has no bounds. 
 
 His truth and love shall never end!” 
 
 So curious is the texture or form of the human body in 
 every part, and withal so fearfully and wonderfully made,” 
 that even atheists, after having carefully surveyed the frame 
 of it, and viewed the fitness and usefulness of its various 
 parts, and their several intentions, have been struck with 
 wonder, and their souls kindled into devotion towards the 
 all-wise Maker of such a beautiful frame. And so convinced 
 was Galen of the excellency of this piece of divine workman- 
 ship, that he is said to have allowed Epicurus a hundred years 
 to find out a more commodious shape, situation, or texture, 
 for any one part of the human body! Indeed, no understand- 
 ing can be so low and mean, no heart so stupid and insensible, 
 as not plainly to see, that nothing but Infinite Wisdom could, 
 in so wonderful a manner, have fashioned the body of man, 
 and inspired into it a being of superior faculties, whereby He 
 teacheth us more than the be^sts of the field, and maketh us 
 wiser than the fowls of the heaven. 
 
 Thrice happy men, 
 
 And sons of men, whom God hath thus advanc’d ; 
 
 Created in his image, here to dwell, 
 
 And worship him ; and, in return, to rule 
 
 O’er all his works. Milton. 
 
 We now proceed to consider The Curiosities of thb 
 Human Countenance. — On this subject we shall derive 
 considerable assistance from the same German philosopher 
 that was quoted in the last section. Indeed, we shall make a 
 liberal use of Sturm^s Reflections in our delineations of the 
 Curiosities of the human frame. 
 
THE COUNTENANCE. 
 
 19 
 
 The exterior of the human body at once declares the su- 
 periority of man over all living creatures. His Face, directed 
 towards the heavens, prepares us to expect that dignified ex- 
 pression which is so legibly inscribed upon his features and 
 from the countenance of man we may judge of his important 
 destination, and high prerogatives. When the soul rests in 
 undisturbed tranquillity, the features of the face are calm and 
 composed ; but when agitated by emotions, and tossed by 
 contending passions, the countenance becomes a living pic- 
 ture, in which every sensation is depicted with equal force 
 and delicacy. Each affection of the mind has its particular 
 impression, and every change of countenance denotes some 
 secret emotion of the heart. The Fye may, in particular, be 
 regarded as the immediate organ of the soul ; as a mirror, in 
 which the wildest passions and the softest affections are 
 reffected without disguise. Hence it may be called with 
 propriety, the true interpreter of the soul, and organ of the 
 understanding. The colour and motions of the eye contribute 
 much to mark the character of the countenance. The human 
 eyes are, in proportion, nearer to one another than those of 
 any other living creatures ; the space between the eyes of 
 most of them being so great, as to prevent their seeing an 
 object with both their eyes at the same time, unless it is 
 placed at a great distance. Next to the eyes, the eye-brows 
 tend to fix the character of the countenance. Their coiour 
 renders them particularly striking; they form the shade of 
 the picture, which thus acquires greater force of colouring. 
 The eye-lashes, when long and thick, give beauty and ad* 
 ditional charms to the eye. No animals, but men and mon- 
 keys, have both eye-lids ornamented with eye-lashes ; other 
 creatures having them only on the lower eye-lid. The eye- 
 brows are elevated, depressed, and contracted, by means of 
 the muscles upon the forehead, which forms a very consider- 
 able part of the face, and adds much to its beauty when well 
 formed: it should neither project much, nor be quite fiat; 
 neither very large, nor small ; beautiful hair adds much to its 
 appearance. The Fiose is the most prominent, and least 
 moveable part of the face ; hence it adds more to the beauty 
 than the expression of the countenance. The Mouth and Lips 
 are, on the contrary, extremely susceptible of changes ; and, 
 if the eyes express the passions of the soul, the mouth seems 
 .more peculiarly to correspond with the emotions of the 
 heart. The rosy bloom of the lips, and the ivory white of 
 the teeth, complete the charms of the human face divine. 
 
 Another Curiosity on this subject is, the w.nderful diver- 
 sity of traits in the human countenance. It is an evident 
 proof of the admirable wisdom of God, that though the bodies 
 of men are so similar to each ether in ^heir essential part^. 
 
20 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 there is yet such a diversity in their exterior, that they 
 can be readily distinguished vrithout the liability of error 
 Amongst the many millions of men existing in the universe, 
 there are no two that are perfectly similar to each other 
 Each one has some peculiarity pourtrayed in his countenance, 
 or remarkable in his speech; and this diversity of counte- 
 nance is the more singular, because the parts which compose 
 it are very few, and in each person are disposed according to 
 the same plan. If all things had been produced by blind 
 chance, the countenances of men might have resembled one 
 another as nearly as balls cast in the same mould, or drops of 
 water out of the same bucket: but as that is not the case, we 
 must admire the infinite wisdom of the Creator, which, in thus 
 diversifying the traits of the human countenance, has mani- 
 festly had in view the happiness of men ; for if they resembled 
 each other perfectly, they could not be distinguished from 
 one another, to the utter confusion and detriment of society. 
 We should never be certain of life, nor of the peaceable pos- 
 session of our property; thieves and robbers would run little 
 risk of detection, for they could neither be distinguished by 
 the traits of their countenance, nor the sound of their voice. 
 Adultery, and every crime that stains humanity, might be 
 practised with impunity, since the guilty would rarely be dis- 
 covered; and we should be continually exposed to the ma- 
 chinations of the villain, and the malignity of the coward : 
 we could not shelter ourselves from the confusion of the mis 
 take, nor from the treachery and fraud of the deceitful; all 
 the efforts of justice would be useless, and commerce wpuld 
 be the prey of error and uncertainty: in short, the uniformity 
 and perfect similarity of faces would deprive society of its 
 most endearing charms, and destroy the pleasure and sweet 
 gratification of individual friendship. 
 
 We may well exclaim with a celebrated writer,-- 
 
 “ What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in 
 faculties! in form, and moving, how express and admirable! in action, 
 how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god!” 
 
 The next subject is. The Curious Formation of the 
 Eye. — T he Ei/e infinitely surpasses all the works of man’s 
 industry. Its structure is one of the most wonderful things 
 the human understanding can become acquainted with; the 
 most skilful artist cannot devise any machine of this kind 
 which is not infinitely inferior to the eye; whatever ability, 
 industry, and attention he may devote to it, he will not be 
 able to produce a work that does not abound with the imper- 
 fections incident to the works of men. It is true, we cannot 
 pe'fectly become acquainted with all the art the Divine Wis- 
 
THE EYE, 
 
 21 
 
 dom has displayed in the structure of this beautiful organ; 
 but the little that we know suffices to convince us of the ad- 
 mirable intelligence, goodness, and power of the Creator. In 
 the first place, how fine is the disposition of the exterior parts 
 of the eye, how admirably it is defended ! Placed in durable 
 orbits of bone, at a certain depth in the skull, they cannot 
 easily suffer any injury ; the over-arching eye-brows contri- 
 bute much to the beauty and preservation of this exquisite 
 organ; and the eye-lids more immediately shelter it from the 
 glare of light, and other things which might be prejudicial; 
 inserted in these are the eye-lashes, which also much contri- 
 bute to the above effect, and also prevent small particles of 
 dust, and other substances, striking against the eye.* The 
 internal structure is still more admirable. The globe of the 
 eye is composed of tunics, humours, muscles, and vessels ; 
 the coats are the cornea, or exterior membrane, which is 
 transparent anteriorly, and opake posteriorly ; the charoid, 
 which is extremely vascular ; the uvea, with the iris, which 
 being of various colours, gives the appearance of differently 
 coloured eyes ; and being perforated, with the power of con- 
 traction and dilatation, forms the pupil; and, lastly, the re- 
 tina, being a fine expansion of the optic nerve, upon it the 
 impressions of objects are made. The humours are the 
 aqueous, lying in the forepart of the globe, immediately un- 
 der the cornea; it is thin, liquid, and transparent; the\.rys- 
 talline, which lies next to the aqueous, behind the uvea, op- 
 posite to the pupil, it is the least of the humours, of great 
 solidity, and on both sides convex ; the vitreous, resembling 
 the white of an egg, fills all the hind part of the cavity of the 
 globe, and gives the spherical figure to the eye. The muscles 
 of the eye are six, and by the excellence of their arrangement 
 it is enabled to move in all directions. Vision is performed 
 by the rays of light falling on the pellucid and convex cornea 
 of the eye, by tJie density and convexity of which they are 
 united into a focus, which passes the aqueous humours, 
 and pupil of the eye, to be more condensed by the crystal- 
 line lens. The rays of light thus concentrated, penetrate 
 tlie vitreous humour, and stimulate the retina upon which 
 the images of objects, painted in an inverse direction, are 
 represented to the mind through the medium of the optic 
 nerves. 
 
 * Besides these, amongst the internal parts are enumerated, — the la- 
 chrymal gland, which secretes the tears ; the lachrymal caruncfe, a 
 small fleshy substance at the inner angle of the eye; the puncta lachr}'- 
 malia, two small openings on the nasal extremity of each eye-lash ; the 
 lachrymal duct, formed by the union of the ducts leading from the 
 puncta lachrymalir.^ and conveying the tears into the nose ; the lachry- 
 mal sac, a dilatation of the lachrymal canal. 
 
22 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPEv^TING MAW. 
 
 The visual orbs 
 
 Remark, how aptly station’d for their task ; 
 
 Rais’d to ih’ imperial head’s high citadel, 
 
 A wide extended prospect to command. 
 
 See the arch’d outworks of impending lids, 
 
 With hairs, as palisadoes fenc’d around 
 
 To ward annoyance from without. Bally, 
 
 Again : — 
 
 Who form’d the curious organ of the eye. 
 
 And cloth’d it with its various tunicles. 
 
 Of texture exquisite ; with cr3 stal juice 
 Supply’d it, to transmit the rays of light; 
 
 Then plac’d it in its station eminent. 
 
 Well fenc'd and guarded, as a centinel 
 
 To watch abroad, and needful caution give? Needier, 
 
 The next subject is. The Curious Structure of the 
 Ear. 
 
 The channel’d ear, with many a winding maze, 
 
 How artfully perplex’d, to catch the sound. 
 
 And from her repercussive caves augment ! Bally, 
 
 Hark night, that from the eye his function takes, 
 
 The ear more quick of apprehension makes; 
 
 Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense, 
 
 • It pays the Hearing — double recompense. Shakspeare, 
 
 x*.lthough the ear, with regard to beauty, yields to the eye, 
 its conformation is not less perfect, nor less worthy of the 
 Creator. The position of the ear bespeaks much wisdom ; 
 for it is placed in the most convenient part of the body, near 
 to the brain, the common seat of all the senses. The exterior 
 form of the ear merits considerable attention; its substance 
 is between the flexible softness of flesh, and the firmness of 
 bone, which prevents the inconvenience that must arise from 
 its being either entirely muscular or wholly formed of solid 
 bone. It is therefore cartilaginous, possessing firmness, folds, 
 and smoothness, so adapted as to reflect sound; for the chief 
 use of the external part is to collect the vibrations of the air, 
 and transmit them to the orifice of the ear. The internal 
 structure of this organ is still more remarkable. Within the 
 cavity of the ear is an opening, called the meatus auditorius, 
 or auditory canal, the entrance to which is defended by small 
 hairs, which prevent insects and small particles of extraneous 
 matter penetrating into it; for which purpose there is also 
 secreted a bitter ceruminous matter, called ear-wax. The 
 auditory canal is terminated obliquely by a membrane, gene- 
 rally known by the name of drum, which instrument it in 
 some degree resembles; for within the cavity of the auditory 
 canal is a kind of bony ring, over which the membrana tym- 
 pani is stretched. In contact with this membrane, on the 
 inner side, is a small bone (malleus) against which it strikes 
 
THE EAR. 
 
 23 
 
 when agitated by the vibrations of sound. Connected with 
 these are two small muscles : one, by stretching the mem- 
 brane, adapts it to be more easily acted upon by soft and low 
 sounds ; the other, by relaxing, prepares it for those which 
 are very loud. Besides the malleus, there are some other 
 very small and remarkable bones, called incus, or the anvil, 
 as orbiculare, or orbicular bone, and the stapes, or stirrup : 
 their use is, to assist in conveying the sounds received upon 
 the membrana tympani. Behind the cavity of the drum, is 
 an opening, called the Eustachian tube, which begins at the 
 back part of the mouth with an orifice, which diminishes in 
 size as the tube passes towards the ear, where it becomes 
 bony; by this means, sounds may be conveyed to the ear 
 through the mouth, and it facilitates the vibrations of the 
 membrane by the admission of air. We may next observe the 
 cochlea, which somewhat resembles the shell of a snail, 
 whence its name ; its cavity winds in a spiral direction, and 
 is divided into two by a thin spiral lamina : and lastly is the 
 '' uditory nerve, which terminates in the brain. The faculty 
 of hearing is worthy of the utmost admiration and attention : 
 by putting in motion a very small portion of air, without even 
 being conscious of its moving, we have the power of commu- 
 nicating to each other our thoughts, desires, and conceptions. 
 But to render the action of air in the propagation of sound 
 more intelligible, we must recollect that the air is not a solid, 
 but a fluid body. Throw a stone into a smooth stream of 
 water, and there will take place undulations, which will be 
 extended more or less according to the degree of force with 
 which the stone was impelled. Conceive then, that when a 
 word is uttered in the air, a similar effect takes place in that 
 element, as is produced by the stone in the water. During 
 the action of speaking, the air is expelled from the mouth 
 with more or less force; this communicates to the external 
 air which it meets, an undulatory motion ; and these undu- 
 lations* of the air entering the cavity of the ear, the external 
 parts of which are peculiarly adapted to receive them, strike 
 upon the membrane, or drum, by which means it is shaken, 
 and receives a trembling motion : the vibration is communi- 
 ^ted to the malleus, the bone immediately in contact with 
 the membrane, and from it to the other bones ; the last of 
 which, the stapes or stirrup, adhering to the fenestra ovalis, 
 or oval orifice, causes it to vibrate; the trembling of which is 
 communicated to a portion of water contained in the cavity 
 called the vestibulum, and in the semicircular canals, causing 
 a gentle tremor in the nervous expansion contained therein, 
 which is transmitted to the brain; and the mind is thus in- 
 formed of the presence of sound, and feels a sensation pro- 
 portioned to the force or to the weakness of the impression 
 
24 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 that is made. Let us rejoice that we possess the faculty cf 
 hearing ; for without it, our state would be most wretched 
 and deplorable; in some respects, more sorrowful than the 
 loss of sight; had we been born deaf, we could not have ac- 
 quired knowledge sufficient to enable us to pursue any art 
 or science. Let us never behold those who have the misfor- 
 tune to be deaf, without endeavouring better to estimate the 
 gift of which they are deprived, and which w^e enjoy; or 
 without praising the goodness of God, wffiich has granted it 
 to us : and the best way we can testify our gratitude is, to 
 make a proper use of this important blessing. 
 
 We now proceed to a more particular description of The 
 Curiosities of the Human Heart; and the Circu- 
 lation OF THE Blood. 
 
 Though no shining sun, nor twinkling star 
 
 Bedeck’d the crimson curtains of the sky ; 
 
 Though neither vegetable, beast, noi bird, 
 
 Were extant on the surface of this ball. 
 
 Nor lurking gem beneath; though the great sea 
 Slept in profound stagnation, and the air 
 Had left no thunder to pronounce its Maker : 
 
 Yet Man at home, within himself find 
 
 The Deity immense, and in that frame 
 So fearfulhfy so wonderfully made! 
 
 See and adore his providence and power. Smart. 
 
 With what admirable skill and inimitable btnictiire is 
 formed that muscular body, situated within the cavity of the 
 chest, and called the human heart ! Its figure is somewhat 
 conical, and it is externally divided into twm parts : the base, 
 which is uppermost, and attached to vessels ; and the apex, 
 wffiich is loose and pointing to the left side, against wffiich ii 
 seems to beat. Its substance is muscular, being composed 
 cd fleshy fibres, interwoven with each other. It is divided 
 internally into cavities, called auricles and ventricles ; from 
 which vessels proceed to convey the blood to the different 
 parts of the body. The ventricles are situated in the sub- 
 stance of the heart, and are separated from each other by 9 
 thick muscular substance; they are divided into right and 
 left, and each communicates with its adjoining auricle, one 
 of wffiich is situated on each side the base of the heart. The 
 right auricle receives the blood from the head and superior 
 parts of the body, by means of a large vein; and in the same 
 manner the blood is returned to it from the inferior parts, by 
 all the veins emptying their stores into one, which terminates 
 in this cavity ; which, having received a sufficient portion ol 
 blood, contracts, and by this motion empties itself into the 
 right ventricle, which also contracting, propels the blood into 
 an artery, which immediately conveys it into the lungs, where 
 
HUMAN HEART — CIRCULATION OF THE RLOOD. 25 
 
 it undergoes certain changes, and then passes through veins 
 into the left auricle of the heart, thence into the left ventricle, 
 by the contraction of which it is forced into an artery, through 
 whose ramifications it is dispersed to all parts of the body, 
 from which it is again returned to the right auricle ; thus 
 keeping up a perpetual circulation, for, whilst life remains, 
 the action of the heart never ceases. In a state of health the 
 heart contracts about seventy times in a minute, and is sup- 
 posed, at each contraction, to propel about two ounces of 
 blood; to do which, the force it exerts is very consider- 
 able, though neither the quantity of force exerted, nor of 
 blood propelled, is accurately determined. The heart com- 
 prises within itself a world of wonders, and whilst we admire 
 its admirable structure and properties, we are naturally led to 
 consider the wisdom and power of Him who formed it, from 
 whom first proceeded the circulation of the blood, and the 
 pulsations of the heart; who commands it to be still, and 
 the functions instantly cease to act. 
 
 This important secret of the circulation of blood in the hu- 
 man body was brought to light by William Harvey, an Eng- 
 lish physician, a little before the year 1600 : and when it is 
 considered thoroughly, it will appear to be one of the most 
 stupendous works of Omnipotence. 
 
 The blood, the fountain whence the spirits flow. 
 
 The generous stream that waters every part, 
 
 And motion, vigour, and warm life ci nveys 
 To every particle that moves or lives, 
 
 through unnumber’d tube 
 
 Pour'd by the heart, and to the heart again 
 
 Refunded. Armstrong, 
 
 Who in the dark the vital flame illum’d. 
 
 And from th’ impulsive engine caused to flow 
 Th’ ejaculated streams through many a pipe 
 Arterial with meand’ring lapse, then bring 
 Refluent their purple tribute to their fount: 
 
 Who spun the sinews' branchy thread, and twin’d 
 The azure veins in spiral knots, to waft 
 Life’s tepid waves all o’er; or, who with bones 
 Compacted, and with nerves the fabric strung : 
 
 Their specious form, their fitness, which results 
 From figure and arrangement, all declare 
 Th’ Artificer Divine! 
 
 x\gaiii : — 
 
 The nerves, with equal wisdom made. 
 
 Arising from the tender brain, pervade 
 And secret pass in pairs the channel’d bone. 
 
 And thence advance through paths and roads unknowiL 
 Form’d of the finest complicated thread. 
 
 The num’rous cords are through the body spread. 
 
 These subtle channels, such is every nerve, 
 
 For vital functions, sense, and motion serve; — 
 
 They help to labour and concoct i\\Q food. 
 
 Refine the chyle, and animate the blood. 
 
 D 
 
 Blackr/Lore, 
 
26 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 We now proceed to some Curious and Interestin« 
 Facts concerning Respiration, or the Act of 
 Breathing. 
 
 Anatomists have, not unaptly, compared the lungs to a 
 sponge ; containing, like it, a great number of small cavities, 
 and being also capable of considerable compression and ex- 
 pansion. The air cells of the lungs open into the windpipe, 
 by which they communicate with the external atmosphere; 
 the whole internal structure of the lungs is lined by a trans- 
 paient membrane, estimated by Haller at only the thousandth 
 part of an inch in thickness; but whose surface, from its va- 
 rious convolutions, measures fifteen square feet, which is 
 equal to the external surface of the body. On this extensive 
 and thin membrane innumerable branches of veins and ar- 
 teries are distributed, some of them finer than hairs ; and 
 through these vessels all the blood in the system is succes- 
 sively propelled, by an extremely curious and beautiful me- 
 chanism, which will be described in some future article. 
 
 The capacity of the lungs varies considerably in different in- 
 dividuals.*' On a general average, they may be said to contain 
 about 280 cubic inches, or nearly five quarts of air. By each 
 inspiration about forty cubic inches of air are received into 
 the lungs, and at each expiration the same quantity is dis- 
 charged. If, therefore, we calculate that tw^enty respirations 
 take place in a minute, and forty cubic inches to be the amount 
 of each inspiration, it follows, that in one minute, we inhale 
 800 cubic inches ; in an hour, the quantity of air inspired will 
 be 48,000 cubic inches; and in the twenty-four hours, it will 
 amount to 1,152,000 cubic inches. This quantity of air will 
 almost fill 78 wine hogsheads, and would weigh nearly 53 
 pounds. From this admirable provision of nature, by which 
 the blood is made to pass in review, as it were, of this im- 
 mense quantity of air, and over so extensive a surface, it 
 seems obvious, that these two fluids are destined to exert 
 some very important influence on each other; and it has been 
 proved, by a very decisive experiment of Dr. Priestley^s, that 
 the extremely thin membrane, which is alone interposed, does 
 not prevent the exercise of the chemical affinity which pre- 
 vails between the air which is received in the lungs, and the 
 blood which is incessantly circulating through them. It 
 must surely, therefore, be of the first importance to health, 
 that the fluid of which we hourly inhale, at least, three hogs- 
 heads, should not be contaminated by the suspension of 
 noxious effluvia. 
 
 * An instrument, called the Pulmometer, has been invented, which 
 enables us to measure the capacity of the lungs, and which may com- 
 municate information to the physician, of some importance, in diseases 
 of this organ. 
 
RESPIRATION. 
 
 27 
 
 The purity of the atmosphere may be impaired either by 
 the operation of what some denominate natural causes, or by 
 the influence of circumstances resulting from our social con- 
 dition. Its chemical constitution is changed by respiration; 
 the vital principle is destroyed, and its place supplied by a 
 highly poisonous gas. 
 
 The emanations from the surface of our bodies contribute, 
 in a still greater degree, to vitiate the atmosphere, and to 
 render it less fit for the healthful support of life. Many of 
 the organs which compose our wonderfully complicated frame 
 are engaged in discharging the constituent parts of our bodies, 
 which, by the exercise of the various animal functions, are 
 become useless, and, if retained, would become noxious. 
 Physiologists ha*ve instituted a variety of experiments, to as- 
 certain the amount of the exhalations from the surface of the 
 body. Sanctorius, an eminent Italian physician, from a series 
 of experiments performed during a period of thirty years, 
 estimates it as greater than the aggregate of all our other dis- 
 charges. From his calculations it would appear, that if we 
 take of liquid and solid food eight pounds in the twenty-four 
 hours, that five pounds are discharged by perspiration alone, 
 within that period ; and of this, the greater part is what has 
 been denominated insensible perspiration, from its not being 
 cognizable to the senses. We may estimate the discharge- 
 from the surface of the body, by sensible and insensible per- 
 spiration, as from half an ounce to four ounces per hour. 
 
 The exhalations from the lungs and the skin are, to a cer- 
 tain extent, offensive even in the most healthy individuals ; 
 but when proceeding from those labouring under disease 
 they are in a state very little removed from putrefaction. 
 
 Animal miasmata, like all other poison, become more active 
 in proportion to the quantity which we imbibe. When, there- 
 fore, the air is stagnant, and when many individuals contri- 
 bute their respective supplies of effluvia to vitiate it, the at- 
 mosphere necessarily becomes satured with the poison; and 
 when inhaled, conveys it in a more virulent and concentrated 
 state to the extensive and delicate surface of the lungs. 
 
 The collection of animal effluvia in confined places, is the 
 source of the generation and diffusion of febrile infection: 
 but when the miasmata are respired, in a diluted state, the 
 ill effects which they produce, though slower in their opera- 
 tion, are equally certain. They, to a certain extent, pollute 
 the fountain of life, and ultimately break down the vigour of 
 the most robust frame; impairing the action of the digestive 
 organs, engendering the whole train of nervous disorders, and; 
 rendering the body more susceptible of disease. 
 
 The lungs and the skin may equally become the means of 
 introducing poisonous or infectious matter into the constitu- 
 
28 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 tion. The venom of a poisonous animal, the matter of small- 
 pox, and many other contagions, produce their influence 
 through the medium of the skin. Infectious diseases are 
 communicated by the reception of air in our lungs, impreg- 
 nated with contagious matter. The influence of the constant 
 respiration of air in any degree impure, is fully evinced in th#* 
 pallid countenances and languid frames of those who live in 
 confined and ill-ventilated places; and the health of all classes 
 of society suffers precisely in proportion to the susceptibility 
 of their constitutions, and according to the greater or less 
 impurities of the air which they habitually respire. 
 
 Of the offensive nature of animal effluvia, the senses of 
 every one who enters a crowded assembly, must immediately 
 convince him. When, therefore, we reflect on the state of 
 the air which we breathe in churches, theatres, schools, and 
 all crowded assemblies ; and when we consider the amount 
 of the exhalations emitted by each individual, and the very 
 offensive nature of those emitted by many ; and when, on the 
 other hand, we take into consideration the importance of air 
 to life, and the great quantity of this fluid which we daily 
 respire, we must be naturally led to the adoption of such 
 measures as would secure in our private dwellings, as well as 
 in our public buildings, a full and unintermitting supply of 
 fresh atmospheric air. 
 
 It is curious to observe the influence of habit, in reconcil- 
 ing us to many practices which would otherwise be considered 
 in the highest degree offensive. Thus, while, with a fastidious 
 delicacy, we avoid drinking from a cup which has been al- 
 ready pressed to the lips of our friends, we feel no hesitation 
 in receiving into our lungs an atmosphere contaminated by 
 the breath and exhalations of every promiscuous assembly. 
 
 “ Were once the energy of air deny’d, 
 
 The heart would cease to pour its purple tide 
 The purple tide forget its wonted play, 
 
 Nor back again pursue its curious way.** 
 
 The next Subject of Curiosity we shall consider, is. The 
 Hair OF THE Head. 
 
 If we consider the curious structure, and different uses of 
 the hair of our heads, we shall find them very well worth our 
 attention, and discover in them proofs of the wisdom and 
 .power of God. 
 
 In each entire hair we perceive with the naked eye, an ob- 
 long slender filament, and a bulb at the extremity thicker and 
 more transparent than the rest of the hair. The filament 
 forms the body of the hair, and the bulb the root. The large 
 hairs have their root, and even part of the filament, er closed 
 in a small membraneous vessel or capsule. The size of this 
 
THE HAIR OF THE HEAD. 
 
 29 
 
 ahealh is ptoportionate to the size of the root, being always 
 rather larger, that the root may not be too much confined, 
 and that some space may remain between it and the capsule. 
 The root or bulb has two parts, the one external, the other 
 internal. The external is a pellicle composed of small la- 
 minge ; the internal is a glutinous fluid, in which some fibres 
 are united ; it is the marrow of the root. From the external 
 part of the bulb proceed five, and sometimes, though rarely, 
 six small white threads, very delicate and transparent, and 
 often twice as long as the root. Besides these threads, small 
 knots are seen rising in different places; they are viscous, 
 and easily dissolved by heat. From the interior part of the 
 bulb proceeds the body of the hair, composed of three parts; 
 the external sheath, the interior tubes, and the marrow. 
 
 When the hair has arrived at the pore of the skin through 
 which it is to pass, it is strongly enveloped by the pellicle of 
 the root, which forms here a very small tube. The hair then 
 pushes the cuticle before it, and makes of it an external 
 sheath, which defends it at the time when it is still very soft. 
 The rest of the covering of the hair, is a peculiar substance, 
 and particularly transparent at the point. In a young hair 
 this sheath is very soft, but in time becomes so hard and 
 elastic, that it springs back with some noise when it is cut. 
 It preserves the hair a long time. Immediately beneath the 
 sheath are several small fibres, which extend themselves along 
 the hair from the root to the extremity. These are united 
 amongst themselves, and with the sheath that is common to 
 them, by several elastic threads ; and these bundles of fibres 
 form together a tube filled with two substances ; the one fluid, 
 the other solid ; and these constitute the marrow of the hair. 
 
 The wonders of creating power are seen in every thing, 
 even in the hair that adorns our surface. 
 
 All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
 
 Wh(jse body Nature is, and God the soul. 
 
 That, chang’d thro’ all, and yet in all the same ; 
 
 Great in the earth, as in th’ ethereal frame ; 
 
 Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze. 
 
 Glows ‘in the stars, and blossoms in the trees, 
 
 Lives thro’ all life, extends thro’ all extent, 
 
 Spreads undivided, operates unspent ; 
 
 Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part, 
 
 As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart ; 
 
 As full, as perfect, in vile Man that mourns, 
 
 As the rapt seraph that adores and burns : 
 
 To him no high, no low, no great, no small ; 
 
 He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all. Pope, 
 
 W e shall now introduce to our readers some Ancient and 
 Modern Opinions respecting the Hair, 
 
 The ancients held the hair a sort of excrement, fed only 
 
30 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 with excrementitious matters, and no proper part of a living 
 body. They supposed it generated of the fuliginous parts of 
 the blood, exhaled by the heat of the body to the surface, and 
 then condensed in passing through the pores. Their chief 
 reasons were, that the hair being cut, will grow again, even 
 in extreme old age, and when life, is very low; that in hectic 
 and consumptive people, where the rest of the body is con- 
 tinually emaciating, the hair thrives; nay, that it will even 
 grow again in dead carcases. They added, that hair does not 
 feed and grow like the other parts, by introsusception, i. e. by 
 a juice circulating within it, but, like the nails, by juxtapo- 
 sition. But the moderns are agreed, that every hair properly 
 and truly lives, and receives nutriment to fill it, like the other 
 parts ; which they prove hence, that the roots do not turn 
 grey in aged persons sooner than the extremities, but the 
 whole changes colour at once; which shew^s that there is a 
 direct communication, and that all the parts are affected alike. 
 In strict propriety, how^ever, it must be allowed, that the life 
 and growth of hairs is of a different kind from that of the rest 
 of the body, and is not immediately derived therefrom, or 
 reciprocated therewith. It is rather of the nature of vege 
 tation. They grow as plants do, or as some plants shoot 
 from the parts of others; from which, though they draw their 
 nourishment, yet each has, as it were, its distinct life and 
 economy. They derive their food from some juices m the 
 body, but not from the nutritious juices of the body ; whence 
 they may live, though the body be starved. Wulferus, in the 
 Philosophical Collections^ gives an account of a woman buried 
 at Nurenberg, wdiose grave being opened forty-three years 
 after her death, hair was found issuing forth plentifully through 
 the clefts of the coffin. The cover being removed, the w’hole 
 corpse appeared in its perfect shape; but, from the crown of 
 the head to the sole of the foot, covered over wdth thick-set 
 hair, long and curled. The sexton going to handle the upper 
 part of the head with his fingers, the w'hole fell at once, leav- 
 ing nothing in his hand but a handful of hair: there was 
 neither skall nor any other bone left: yet the hair was solid 
 and strong. Mr. Arnold, in the same collection, gives a re- 
 lation of a man hanged for theft, who, in a little time, while 
 he yet hung upon the gallows, had his body strangely covered 
 over with hair. 
 
 Before we dismiss this subject, we shall give the following 
 curious Instances of the Internal Growth of Hair. 
 
 ugh the external surface of the body is the natural 
 place for hairs, we have many well-attested instances of their 
 being found also on the internal surface. Amatus Lusitanus 
 mentions a person who had hair upon his tongue. Pliny and 
 Valerius Maximus say, that the heart of Aristomenes the 
 
THE BEARD. 
 
 31 
 
 Messenian, was hairy. Caellus Rhodiginus relates the same 
 of Hermogenes the rhetorician ; and Plutarch, of Leonidas 
 king of Sparta. Hairs are said to have been found in the 
 breasts of women, and to have occasioned the distemper 
 called trichiasis; but some authors are of opinion, that these 
 are small worms, and not hairs. There have been, however, 
 various and indisputable evidences of hairs found in the kid- 
 neys, and voided by natural discharge. Hippocrates says, that 
 the glandular parts are the' most subject to hair; but bundles 
 of hair have been found in the muscular parts of beef, and in 
 parts of the human body equally firm. Hair has been often 
 found in abscesses and imposthumations. Schultetus, open 
 ing the abdomen of a human body, found twelve pints of water, 
 and a large lock of hair swimming loosely in it. It has, how- 
 ever, been found on examination, that some of the internal 
 parts of the body are more subject to an unnatural growth of 
 hair than others. This has long been known to anatomists; 
 and many memorable instances have been recorded by Dr. 
 Tyson, and others. In some animals, hairs of a considerable 
 length have been discovered growing in the internal parts ; 
 and on several occasions, they have been found lying loosely 
 in the cavities of the veins. There are instances of mankind 
 being affected in the same manner. Cardan relates, that he 
 found hair in the blood of a Spaniard; Slonatius, in that of a 
 gentlewoman of Cracovia ; and Schultetus declares, from xiis 
 own observation, that those people, who are afflicted with 
 the plica polonica, have very often hair in their blood. 
 
 We shall, in the next place, call the reader’s attention tc 
 some Curious Remarks concerning the Beard. 
 
 A beard gives to the countenance a rough and fierce air 
 suited to the manners of a rough and fierce people. The 
 same face without a beard appears milder; for which reason, 
 a beard becomes unfashionable in a polished nation. De- 
 mosthenes, the orator, lived in the same period with Alex- 
 ander the Great, at which time the Greeks began to leave off 
 beards. A bust, however, of that orator, found in Hercula- 
 neum, has a beard, which must either have been done for him 
 when he was young, or from reluctance in an old man to a 
 new fashion. Barbers were brought to Rome from Sicily, the 
 454th year after the building of Rome. And it must relate 
 to a time after that period, what Aulus Gellius says, that 
 people accused of any crime were prohibited to shave their 
 beards till they were absolved. From Hadrian downward, the 
 Roman emperors wore beards. Julius Capitolinus reproaches 
 the Emperor Verus for cutting his beard at the instigation of 
 a concubine. All the Roman generals wore beards in Jus- 
 tinian’s time. The pope shaved his berrd, which was held a 
 
32 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 manifest apostasy by the Greek church, because Moses, Jesus 
 Christ, and even God the Father, were always drawn with 
 beards by the Greek and Latin painters. Upon the dawn of 
 smooth manners in France, the beaus cut the beards into 
 shapes, and curled the whiskers. That fashion produced a 
 whimsical effect : men of gravity left off beards altogether. 
 A beard, in its natural shape, was too fierce even for them ; 
 and they could not, for shame, copy after the beaus. This 
 accounts for a regulation, anno 1534, of the University of 
 Paris, forbidding the professors to wear a beard. 
 
 Now follows, A curious account o/* Women with Beards, 
 
 Of w^omen remarkably bearded we have several instances. 
 In the cabinet of curiosities at Stutgard, in Germany, there 
 is the portrait of a young woman, called Bartel Graetje,vi\\o^Q 
 chin is covered with a very large beard. She was drawn in 
 1787, at which time she was but tw'enty-five years of age. 
 There is likewise, in another cabinet, the same portrait of her 
 when she was more advanced in life, but likewise with a 
 beard. It is said, that the Duke of Saxony had the portrait 
 of a poor Swiss woman taken, remarkable for her long bushy 
 beard; and those who were at the carnival of Venice in 1726, 
 saw a female dancer astonish the spectators, not more by her 
 talents, than by her chin covered with a black bushy beard. 
 Charles XII. had in his army a female grenadier, who w^anted 
 neither courage nor a beard to be a man. Slie was taken at 
 the battle of Pultowa, and carried to Petersburg, where she 
 was presented to the czar, in 1724 ; her beard measured a 
 yard and a half. We read in the Trevoux Dictionary, that 
 there was a woman seen at Paris, who had not only a bushy 
 beard on her face, but her body likewise covered all over with 
 hair. Among a number of other examples of this nature, that 
 of the great Margaret, the governess of the Netherlands, is 
 very remarkable. She had a very long stiff beard, which she 
 prided herself on : and being persuaded that it contributed to 
 give her an air of majesty, she took care not to lose a hair of 
 it. It is said, that the Lombard women, when they were at 
 war, made themselves beards wdth the hair of their heads, 
 which they ingeniously arranged on their cheeks, that the 
 enemy, deceived by the likeness, might take them for men. 
 It is asserted, after Suidas, that in a similar case the Athe- 
 nian women did as much. These women were more men than 
 our Jemmy-Tessaniy countrymen. About a century ago, the 
 French ladies adopted a mode of dressing their hair in such a 
 manner, that curls hung down their cheeks as far as their 
 bosom. These curls went by the name of whiskers. This 
 custom, undoubtedly, was not invented after the exampl J of 
 the Lombard women, to fight men. 
 
SNEEZING. 
 
 33 
 
 We shall close this chapter with some curious observations 
 ON Sneezing. 
 
 The practice of saluting: the person who sneezed existed in 
 Africa, among nations unknown tu the Greeks and Romans. 
 Strada, in his Account of Monomotapa, informs us, ( Prol. Acad.) 
 that when the prince sneezes, all his subjects in the capital 
 are advertised of it, that they may offer up prayers for his 
 safety. The author of the conquest of Peru assures us, that 
 the cacique of Gachoia having sneezed in the presence of the 
 Spaniards, the Indians of his train fell prostrate before him, 
 stretched forth their hands, and displayed to him the accus- 
 tomed marks of respect, while they invoked the sun to en- 
 lighten him, to defend him, and to be his constant guard. 
 The ancient Romans saluted each other on these occasions: 
 and Pliny relates, that Tiberius exacted these signs of homage 
 when drawn in his chariot. Superstition, whose influence de- 
 bases every thing, had degraded this custom for several ages, 
 by attaching favourable or unfavourable omens to sneezing, 
 according to the hour of the day or night, according to the 
 signs of the zodiac, according as a work was more or less ad- 
 vanced, or according as one had sneezed to the right or to the 
 left. If a man sneezed at rising from table, or from his bed, 
 it was necessary for him to sit or lie down again. ‘ You are 
 struck with astonishment,’ said Timotheus to the Athenians, 
 who wished to return into the harbour with their fleet, be- 
 cause he had sneezed ; ‘ you are struck with astonishment, 
 because among ten thousand there is one man whose brain is 
 moist.’ It is singular enough, that so many ridiculous, con- 
 tradictory, and superstitious opinions, have not abolished those 
 customary civilities which are still preserved equally among 
 high and low. The reason is obvious : they are preserved, 
 because they are esteemed civilities, and because they cost 
 nothing, Among the Greeks, sneezing was almost always a 
 good omen. It excited marks of tenderness, of respect, and 
 attachment. The young Parthenis, hurried on by her passion, 
 resolved to write to Sarpedon an avowal of her love ; she 
 sneezes in the most tender and impassioned part of her letter: 
 this is sufficient for her ; this incident supplies the place ot 
 an answer, and persuades her that Sarpedon is her lover. 
 Penelope, harassed by the vexatious courtship of her suitors, 
 begins to curse them all, and to pour forth vows for the return 
 of Ulysses. Her son Telemachus interrupts her by a loud 
 sneeze. She instantly exults with joy, and regards this sign 
 as an assurance of the approaching return of her husband. 
 ( Horn. Odyss. lib. xvii.j. Xenophon was haranguing his 
 troops; a soldier sneezed in the moment when he wms exhort- 
 ing them to embrace a dangerous but necessary resolution. 
 The whole army, moved by this presage, determined to pur- 
 2. E 
 
CJjRIOSlTlES RESPECTING MAN* 
 
 84 
 
 sue the project of their general; and Xenophon orders sacri- 
 fices to Jupiter the preserver. This superstitious reverence 
 for sneezing, so ancient, and so universal even in the times of 
 Homer, excited the curiosity of the Greek philosophers, and 
 of the rabbins. These last have a most absurd tradition re- 
 specting it. Aristotle remounts likewise to the sources of na- 
 tural religion, because the brain is the origin of the nerves, of 
 our sentiments, sensations, &.c. Such were the opinions of 
 the most ancient and sagacious philosophers of Greece; and 
 mythoiogists affirmed, that the first sign of life Prometheus’s 
 artificial man gave, was by sternutation. 
 
 
 CHAP. n. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 Difference between the Sexes — Comparative Number of the Sexes 
 at a Birth — Extraordinary Prolif cation — Extraordinary In’- 
 stances of Rapid Growth — Giants — Dwarfs — Kimos — Curious 
 Account of the Abderites — Account of a Country in which the 
 Inhabitants reside in Trees. 
 
 Difference between ^the Sexes. 
 
 O woman, lovely woman! Nature made you 
 
 To temper man 1 
 
 Angels are painted fair to look like you. 
 
 There’s in you all that we believe of heav’n, 
 
 Amazing brightness, purity, and truth, 
 
 Eternal joy, and everlasting love! Otway. 
 
 Under his forming hands a creature grew; 
 
 adorn’d 
 
 With what all earth or heaven could bestow. 
 
 To make her amiable. 
 
 Grace was in all her steps, heav’n in her eye, 
 
 ^n every gesture dignity and love. Milton. 
 
 Lavater has drawn the following characteristic distinc- 
 dons between the male and female of the human species. 
 The primary matter of which woraen are constituted, appears 
 to be more flexible, irritable, and elastic, than that of man. 
 They are formed to maternal mildness and affection ; all their 
 organs are tender, yielding, easily wounded, sensible, and 
 feceptible. Among a thousand females, there is scarcely one 
 without the generic feminine signs, — the flexible, the circular, 
 and the irritable. They are the counterpart of man, taken 
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SEXES. 
 
 35 
 
 out of man, to be subject to man ; to comfort him like angels; 
 and to lighten his cares. This tenderness, this sensibility, 
 this light texture of their fibres and organs, this volatility of 
 feeling, render them so easy to conduct and to tempt, so ready 
 of submission to the enterprise and power of the man ; but 
 more powerful, through the aid of their charms, than man with 
 all his strength. The female thinks not profoundly ; profound 
 thought is the power of the man. Women feel more. Sen- 
 sibility is the power of woman: they often rule more effectu- 
 ally, more sovereignly, than man. They rule with tender looks, 
 tears, and sighs, but not with passion and threats ; for if, or 
 when, they so rule, they are no longer women but abortions. 
 They are capable of the sweetest sensibility, the most pro- 
 found emotion, the utmost humility, and the excess of enthu- 
 siasm. In their countenance are the signs of sanctity and 
 inviolability, which every feeling man honours, and the effects 
 of which are often miraculous. Therefore, by the irritability 
 of their nerves, their incapacity for deep inquiry and firm de- 
 cision, they may easily, from their extreme sensibility, become 
 the most irreclaimable, the most rapturous enthusiasts. Their 
 love, strong and rooted as it is, is very changeable ; their 
 hatred almost incurab^ 3. Men are most profound ; women 
 are more sublime. Man hears the bursting thunder, views 
 the destructive bolt with serene aspect, and stands erect 
 amidst the fearful majesty of the streaming clouds; woman 
 trembles at the lightning, and the voice of distant thunder ; 
 and sinks into the arms of man. Woman is in anguish when 
 man weeps, and in despair when man is in anguish ; yet has 
 she often more faith than man. Man, without religion, is a 
 diseased creature, who would persuade himself he is well, and 
 needs not a physician ; but women without religion are 
 monstrous. A woman with a beard is not so disgusting as a 
 woman who is a free-thinker ; her sex is formed to piety and 
 religion : to them Christ first appeared. The whole world is 
 forgotten in the emotion caused by the presence and proximity 
 of him they love. They sink into the most incurable melan- 
 choly, as they also rise to the most enraptured heights. Male 
 sensations is more imagination, female more heart. When 
 communicative, they are more communicative than man; 
 when secret, more secret. In general they are more patient, 
 long-suffering, credulous, benevolent, and modest. They 
 differ also in their interior form and appearance. Man is the 
 most firm ; woman is the most flexible. Man is the straight- 
 est; woman the most bending. Man is serious; woman is 
 gay. Man is the tallest and broadest; woman the smallest 
 and weakest. Man is rou 2 :h and hard ; woman smooth and 
 soft. Man is brown; woman is fair. Man is wrinkly; wo- 
 man is not The hair of man is more strong and short; of 
 
86 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 woman more long and pliant. The eye-brows of man are 
 compressed ; and of woman less frowning. Man has most 
 convex lines; woman most concave. Man has most straight 
 lines ; woman most curved. The countenance of man, taken 
 in profile, is more seldom perpendicular than that of woman. 
 Man is most angular; woman most round. 
 
 In determining the comparative merit of the two sexes, if 
 it should be found (what is indeed the fact) that women fill 
 up their appointed circle of action with greater regularity 
 than men, the claim of preference must decide in their favour. 
 In the prudential and economical parts of life, they rise far 
 above us. 
 
 The following is a very curious calculation of The Com- 
 parative Number of the Sexes at a Birth. 
 
 The celebrated M. Hufeland, of Berlin, has inserted in his 
 Journal of Practical Medicine, some interesting observations 
 in illustration of the comparative numbers of the sexes at a 
 birth. The number of males born, to that of females, observes 
 the learned Professor, seems to be 21 to 20 over the whole 
 earth ; and before they reach the age of puberty, the propor- 
 tion of the sexes is reduced to perfect equality ; more boys 
 than girls die before they are fourteen. After extending his 
 interesting comparison over animated nature in general. Pro- 
 fessor Hufeland enters into an inquiry, peculiar to himself, in 
 endeavouring to ascertain the principles and commencement 
 of the equality of the sexes. In some families, says he, 
 equality evidently does not hold. In some, the children are 
 all boys; in others, all girls. He next proceeds to take se- 
 veral families, as 20, 30, 40, or 50, in one place, in conjunc 
 tion; or small villages of 150 or 300 inhabitants. But even 
 then, the just proportion was not yet established. In some 
 years, only boys, in others only girls were born; nay, this 
 disproportion continued for a series of a year or two ; but by 
 uniting ten or fifteen years together, the regular equality ap- 
 peared. He next considered, that what took place in small 
 populations must take place every year in larger societies ; 
 and he accordingly found it confirmed by actual enumeration. 
 He went so far as, by the aid of the minister of state, Schack- 
 man, to ascertain the comparative number of boys and girls 
 born in one day over the whole Prussian dominions, and the 
 result corresponded with his anticipations. The general con- 
 clusions arrived at by M. Hufeland, are as follow: — 
 
 1st. There is an equal number of males and females born 
 in the human race.— ^d. The equality occurs every day in a 
 population of ten millions. — 3d. Every week in 100,000. — 
 4th. Every month in 50,000. — 5th. Every year in 10,000. — 
 6th. And in small societies of several families, every ten 
 
PROLIFICATION RAPID GROWTH. 87 
 
 or fifteon years. — 7th. That it does not occur in individual 
 families. 
 
 The reader will be amused by the following instances of 
 Extraordinary Prolification. 
 
 The prolific powers of some individuals among mankind are 
 very extraordinary. Instances have been found where chil- 
 dren, to the number of six, seven, eight, nine, and some- 
 times sixteen, have been brought forth at one birth. The 
 wife of Emmanuel Gago, a labourer near Valladolid, was de 
 livered, the 14th of June, 1799, of five girls. The celebrated 
 Tarsin was brought to bed in the seventh month, at Argenteuil 
 near Paris, 17th of July, 1779, of three boys, each fourteen 
 inches and a half long, and of a girl thirteen inches : they 
 were all baptized, but did not live twenty-four hours. In 
 June, 1799, one Maria Ruiz, of Lucena in Andalusia, was 
 successively delivered of sixteen boys, without any girls; 
 seven of them were alive on the 17th of August following 
 In 1535, a Muscovite peasant, named James Kyrloff, and his 
 wife, were presented to the Empress of Russia. This peasant 
 had been twice married, and was then seventy years of age. 
 His first wife was brought to bed twenty-one times ; namely, 
 four times of four children each time, seven times of three, 
 and ten times of two ; making in all fifty-seven children, who 
 were then alive. His second wife, who accompanied him, 
 had been delivered seven times, once of three children, and 
 six times of twins. Thus he had seventy-two children by his 
 two marriages. 
 
 We now proceed to narrate some Extraordinary In- 
 stances OF Rapid Growth. 
 
 A remarkable instance of rapid growth in the human species 
 was noticed in France, in 1729, by the Academy of Sciences. 
 It was a lad, then only seven years old, who measured four 
 feet eight inches and four lines high, without his shoes. His 
 mother observed his extraordinary growth and strength at 
 two years old, which continued to increase with such rapidity, 
 that he soon arrived at the usual standard. At four years old 
 he was able to lift and throw the common bundles of hay in 
 stables into the horses’ racks; and at six years old, he could 
 lift as much as a sturdy fellow of twenty. But although he 
 thus increased in bodily strength, his understanding was no 
 greater than is usual with children of his age ; and their play- 
 things were also his favourite amusements. 
 
 Another boy, a native of Bouzanquet, in the diocese ot 
 Alais, though of a strong constitution, appeared to be knit 
 and stiff in his joints, till he was about four years and a half 
 old. During this time, nothing farther was remarkable re- 
 
38 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 specting him, than an extraordinary appetite, which nothing 
 could satisfy, but an abundance of the common aliments of 
 the inhabitants of the country, consisting of rye bread, ches- 
 nuts, bacon, and water. His limbs, however, soon becoming 
 supple and pliable, and his body beginning to expand itself, 
 he grew up in such an extraordinary manner, that at the age 
 of five years he measured four feet three inches. Some 
 months after, he w^as four feet eleven inches ; and at six, five 
 feet, and bulky in proportion. His growth was so rapid, that 
 every month his clothes required to be made longer and wider; 
 yet it was not preceded by any sickness, nor accompanied 
 with any pain. At the age of five years his voice changed, 
 his beard began to appear ; and at six, he had as much as a 
 man of thirty ; in short, all the unquestionable marks of ma- 
 turity were visible in him. Though his wit was riper than is 
 commonly observable at the age of five or six, yet its progress 
 was not in proportion to that of his body. His air and man- 
 ner still retained something childish, though by his bulk and 
 stature he resembled a complete man, which at first sight 
 produced a very singular contrast. His voice was strong and 
 manly, and his great strength rendered him already fit for the 
 labours of the country. At five, he could carry to a great 
 distance, three measures of rye, weighing eighty-four pounds; 
 when turned of six, he could lift up easily to his shoulders, 
 and carry loads of one hundred and fifty pounds weight to a 
 great distance ; and these exercises were exhibited by him as 
 often as the curious engaged him thereto by some liberality. 
 Such beginnings made people think that he should soon shoot 
 up into a giant. A mountebank was already soliciting his 
 parents for him, and flattering them with hopes of putting him 
 in a way of making a great fortune. But all these hopes sud- 
 denly vanished. His legs became crooked, his body shrunk, 
 his strength diminished, his voice grew sensibly weaker, and 
 he at last sunk into a total imbecility ; — thus his rapid ma- 
 turity was followed by as swift decay. 
 
 In the Paris Memoirs, there is an account of a girl, who, 
 when four years old, was four feet six inches in height, and 
 had her limbs well proportioned, and her breasts fully ex 
 panded, like those of a girl of eighteen. These things are more 
 singular and marvellous in the northern than in the southern 
 climates, where females come sooner to maturity. In some 
 places of the East Indies, they have children at nine years 
 of age. It seems at first view astonishing, that children of 
 such early and prodigious growth do not become giants; but 
 it appears evident, that the whole is only a premature expan- 
 sion of the parts; and accordingly, such children, instead of 
 becoming giants, always decay and die apparently of old age, 
 long before the natural term of human life. 
 
GIANTS 
 
 m 
 
 As it is our intention in this work to keep as close as pos- 
 sible to facts, we shall not, knowingly, deal in fiction or fable. 
 It is from a most respectable source that we have derived the 
 following Curious Account of Giants. 
 
 M. Le Cat, in a memoir read before the Academy of Sciences 
 at Rouen, gives the following account of giants that are said 
 to have existed in different ages. Profane historians have 
 given seven feet of height to Hercules, their first hero ; and 
 in our days w^e have seen men eight feet high. The giant, 
 who was shown in Rouen, in 1735, measured eight feet some 
 inches. The emperor Maximin was of that size. Shenkins 
 and Platerus, physicians of the last century, saw several of 
 that stature; and Goropius saw a girl who was ten feet high. 
 The body of Orestes, according to the Greeks, was eleven 
 feet and a half; the giant Galbara, brought from Arabia to 
 Rome, under Claudius Caesar, was near ten feet ; and the bones 
 of Secondilla and Pusio, keepers of the gardens of Sallust, 
 were but six inches shorter. Funnam, a Scotsman, who lived 
 in the time of Eugene II. king of Scotland, measured eleven 
 feet and a half ; and Jacob Le Maire, in his voyage to the 
 Straits of Magellan, reports, that on the 17th of December, 
 1615, they found at Port Desire, several graves covered with 
 stones ; and having the curiosity to remove the stones, they 
 discovered human skeletons of ten and eleven feet long. The 
 Chevalier Scory, in his voyage to the Peak of Teneriffe, says, 
 that they found, in one of the sepulchral caverns of that 
 mountain, the head of a gaunche, which had eighty teeth, 
 and that the body was not less than fifteen feet long. The 
 giant Ferragus, slain by Orlando, nephew of Charlemagne, 
 .vas eighteen feet high. Rioland, a celebrated anatomist, 
 who wrote in 1614, says, that some years before, there was to 
 be seen, in the suburbs of St. Germain, the tomb of the great 
 giant Isoret, who was twenty feet high. In Rouen, in 1509, 
 in digging in the ditches near the Dominicans, they found a 
 stone tomb, containing a skeleton whose skull held a bushel 
 of corn, and whose shin bone reached up to the girdle of the 
 tallest man there, being about four feet long ; and, conse- 
 quently, the body must have been seventeen or eighteen feet 
 high. Upon the tomb was a plate of copper, whereon was 
 engraved, “ In this tomb lies the noble and puissant lord, the 
 Chevalier Ricon De Vallemont, and his bones.’’ Platerus, a 
 famous physician, declares, that he saw at Lucerne, the true 
 human body of a subject which must have been at least 
 nineteen feet high. Valence, in Dauphine, boasts of pos- 
 sessing the bones of the giant Bucart, tyrant of tlie Vivarias, 
 who was slain with an arrow by the Count De Cabillon, his 
 vassal. The Dominicans had a part of the shin bone, with 
 the articulation of his knee, and his figure painted in fresco, 
 
40 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 with an inscription, showing ** that this giant was twenty-two 
 feet and a half high, and that his bones were found in 1705, 
 near the banks of the Morderi, a little river at the foot of the 
 mountain of Crusal, upon which (tradition says) the giant 
 dwelt/’ M. Le Cat adds, that skeletons have been discovered 
 of giants, of a still more incredible height, viz. of Theutobo- 
 chus, king of the Teutones, found on the 1 1th of January, 
 1613, twenty-five feet and a half high; of a giant near Ma- 
 zarino, in Sicily, in 1516, thirty feet; of another, in 1548, 
 near Palermo, thirty feet ; of another, in 1550, of thirty-three 
 feet ; of two found near Athens, thirty-three and thirty-six 
 feet; and of one at Tuto, in Bohemia, in 1758, whose leg 
 bones alone measured twenty-six feet! But whether these 
 accounts are credited or not, we are certain that the stature of 
 the human body is by no means fixed. We are ourselves a 
 kind of giants, in comparison of the Laplanders; nor are these 
 the most diminutive people to be found upon the earth. 
 
 The Abbe La Chappe, in his journey into Siberia, to ob- 
 serve the last transit of Venus, passed through a village in.- 
 habited by people called Wotiacks, who were not above four 
 feet high. The accounts of the Patagonians likewise, which 
 cannot be entirely discredited, render it very probable, that 
 somewhere in South America there is a race of people very 
 considerably exceeding the common size of mankind ; and 
 consequently that we cannot altogether discredit the relations 
 of giants, handed down to us by ancient authors, though what 
 degree of credit we ought to give them, is not easy to be de- 
 termined. 
 
 No less true than remarkable is the following Curious 
 Account of Dwarfs. 
 
 Jeffery Hudson, the famous English dwarf, was born at 
 Oakham in Rutlandshire, in 1619; and about the age of seven 
 or eight, being then but eighteen inches high, was retained in 
 the service of the Duke of Buckingham, who resided at Bur- 
 leigh on the Hill. Soon after the marriage of Charles I. the 
 king and queen being entertained at Burleigh, little Jeffrey 
 was served up to table in a cold pie, and presented by the 
 duchess to the queen, who kept him as her dwarf. From 
 seven years till thirty, he never grew taller; but after thirty 
 he shot up to three feet nine inches, and there fixed. Jef- 
 fery became a considerable part of the entertainment of the 
 court. Sir William Davenant wrote a poem called Jeffreidos. 
 on a battle between him and a turkey cock; and in 1638 was 
 published a very small book, called the New Year*s Gift, pre- 
 sented at court by the Lady Parvula to the Lord Minimus, 
 (commonly called Little Jeffery ,) her majesty’s servant, written 
 by Microphilus, with a little print of Jeffery prefixed. Before 
 
DWARFS. 
 
 41 
 
 this period, Jeffery was employed on a negociation cf great 
 importance: he was sent to France to fetch a midwife for thft 
 queen ; and on his return with this gentlewoman, and her ma- 
 jesty's dancing-master, and many rich presents to the queen 
 from her mother Mary de Medicis, he was taken by the Dun- 
 kirkers. Jeffery, thus made of consequence, grew to think 
 himself really so. He had borne with little temper the teazing 
 of the courtiers and domestics, and had many squabbles with 
 the king's gigantic porter. At last, being provoked by Mr. 
 Crofts, a young gentleman of family, a challenge ensued; 
 and Mr. Crofts coming to the rendezvous armed only with 
 a squirt, the little creature was so enraged, that a real duel 
 ensued ; and the appointment being on horseback, with pistols, 
 to put them more on a level, Jeffery, at the first fire, shot his 
 antagonist dead. This happened in France, whither he had 
 attended his mistress during the troubles. He was again 
 taken prisoner by a Turkish rover, and sold into Barbary. 
 He probably did not remain long in slavery, for, at the be- 
 ginning of the civil war, he was made a captain in the royal 
 army; and in 1644, attended the queen to France, where he 
 remained till the Restoration. At last, upon suspicion of his 
 being privy to the Popish plot, he was taken up in 1682, and 
 confined in the Gate-house of Westminster, where he ended 
 his life in the sixty-third year of his age. 
 
 In the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences, a rela- 
 tion is given by the Count de Tressau, of a dwarf, called 
 Bebe, kept by Stanislaus III. king of Poland; who died in 
 1764, aged twenty-three, when he measured only thirty-three 
 inches. At his birth, he measured only between eight and 
 nine inches. Diminutive as were his dimensions, his reason- 
 ing faculties were not less scanty ; appearing indeed not to 
 have been superior to those of a well-taught pointer; but, 
 that the size and strength of the intellectual powers are not 
 affected by the diminutiveness or tenuity of the corporeal or- 
 gans, is evident from a still more striking instance of little- 
 ness, given us by the same nobleman, in the person of Mon- 
 sieur Borulawski, a Polish gentleman, whom he saw at 
 Luneville, whence he visited Paris, and who, at the age 
 of twenty-two, measured only twenty-eight inches. This 
 miniature of a man, considering him only as to his bodily 
 dimensions, appears o, giant with regard to his mental powers 
 and attainments. He is described by the count as possessing 
 j^ll the graces of wit, united with a sound judgment and an 
 excellent memory; so that we may with justice say of M. 
 Borulawski, in the words of Seneca, and nearly in the order 
 in which he has used them, “ Posse ingenium, fortissimum ac 
 heatissimum, sub quolibet corpnsculo latere'^ Epist. 66. Count 
 BorulawsH was the son of a Polish nobleman atta hed to tne 
 % F 
 
42 
 
 CnPlOSITlKS RF.SPECriNG MAN 
 
 fortunes of King Stanislaus, who lost his property in conse- 
 quence of that attachment, and who had six children ; three 
 dwarfs, and three well grown. What is singular enough, they 
 were born alternately, a big one and a little one, though both 
 parents were of the common size. The little count^s youngest 
 sister was much less than him, but died at the age of twenty- 
 three. The count continued to grow till he was about thirty, 
 when he had attained the height of three feet two inches : he 
 lived to see his fifty-first year. He never experienced any 
 sickness, but lived in a polite and affluent manner, under the 
 patronage of a lady, a friend of the family, till love, at the 
 age of forty-one, intruded into his little peaceful bosom, and 
 involved him in matrimony, care, and perplexity. The lady 
 he chose was of his own country, but of French extraction, 
 and the middle size. They had three children, all girls, and 
 none of them likely to be dwarfs. To provide for a family 
 now became an object big with difficulty, requiring all the 
 exertion of his powers (which could promise but little) and 
 his talents, o^ which music alone afforded any view of profit. 
 He played extremely well upon the guitar; and by having 
 concerts in several of the principal cities in Germany, he 
 raised temporary supplies. At Vienna he was persuaded to 
 turn his thoughts to England, where, it was believed, the pub- 
 lic curiosity might in a little time benefit him sufficiently to 
 enable him to live independent in so cheap a country as Po- 
 land. He was furnished by very respectable friends with re- 
 commendations to several of the most distinguished characters 
 in this kingdom, as the Duchess of Devonshire, Rutland, &c. 
 whose kind patronage he was not backward to acknowledge. 
 He was advised to let himself be seen as a curiosity, and the 
 price of admission was fixed at a guinea. The number of his 
 visitors, of course, was not very great. After a pretty long 
 stay in London, he went to Bath and Bristol; visited Dublin, 
 and some other parts of Ireland ; whence he returned by way 
 of Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, to London. He 
 also visited Edinburgh, and some other towns in Scotland. 
 In every place he acquired a number of friends. In reality, 
 the ease and politeness of his manners and address pleased no 
 less than the diminutive yet elegant proportions of his figure, 
 astonished those who visited him. His person was pleasing and 
 graceful, and his look manly and noble. He spoke French 
 fluently, and English tolerably. He was remarkably lively 
 and cheerful, though fitted for the most serious and rational 
 conversation. Such was this wonderful little man — an object 
 of curiosity really worthy the attention of the philosopher, 
 the man of taste, and the anatomist. His life has been pub- 
 lished, written by himself. 
 
THE KIMOS. 
 
 43 
 
 The following account of a singular nation of dwa fs, is 
 taken from the Monthly Review for 1792, being Vol. 7, of the 
 new series. The subject is a reviev/ of A Voyage to Ma- 
 dagascar; by the Abbe Rochon.'" They are called The 
 Kimos. 
 
 The Kimos are a nation of pigmies, said to inhabit the 
 mountains in the interior part of the island of Madagascar, of 
 whom tradition has long encouraged the belief : — but Flacourt, 
 in the last century, treated the stories then in circulation with 
 great contempt. The Abbe Rochon, however, has revived 
 them; and has not only given them, the sanction of his own 
 belief, but that of M. Comrnerson, and of M. de Modave, the 
 late Governor of Fort Dauphin. As ^heir opinions are of 
 weight, and as the subject is curious, we shall present our 
 readers witJj an epitome of the memoirs which these gentle- 
 men drew up concerning the Kimos, and which our author 
 has inserted entire in the body of his work. 
 
 “ Lovers of the marvellous, (says M. Commersott ,) who would 
 be sorry to have the pretended size of the Patagonian giants 
 reduced to six feet, will perhaps be made some amends by a 
 race of pigmies, who are wonderful in the contrary extreme. 
 I mean those half men, who inhabit the interior part of the 
 great island of Madagascar, and form a distinct nation, called, 
 in the language of the country, Kimos. These little men are 
 of a paler colour than the rest of the natives, who are in ge- 
 neral black. Their arms are so long, that when stretched 
 out, they reach to the knees, without stooping. The women 
 have scarcely breasts sufficient to mark their sex, except at 
 the time of lying-in ; and even then they are obliged to have 
 recourse to cow’s milk, to feed their children. 
 
 “ The intellectual faculties of this diminutive race are equal 
 to those of the other inhabitants of the island, who are by no 
 means deficient in understanding, though extremely indolent. 
 Indeed, the Kimos are said to be much more active and war- 
 like, so that their courage being in a duplicate ratio of their 
 size, they have never suffered themselves to be oppressed and 
 subdued by their neighbours, who have often attempted it. 
 It is astonishing, that all we know of this nation is from the 
 neighbouring people; and that neither the governors of the 
 Isle of France, of Bourbon, nor the commanders of our forts 
 on the coast of Madagascar, have ever endeavoured to pene- 
 trate into this country. It has indeed been lately attempted, 
 but without success. 
 
 “ I shall however attest, as an eye-witness, that in a voyage 
 which 1 made in 1770 to Fort Dauphin, M. de Modave, the 
 last governor, gratified my curiosity, by shewing me, amoag 
 his slaves, a female of the Kimos tribe, about thirty years of 
 age, and thiee feet seven inches high. She was of a much 
 
44 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 paler colour than any other natives of Madagascar that I had 
 seen, was well made, and did not appear misshapen, nor 
 stinted in her growth, as accidental dwarfs usually are. Her 
 arms were indeed too long, in proportion to her height, and 
 her hair was short and woolly : but her countenance was 
 good, and rather resembled that of an European than an 
 African. She had a natural habitual smile on her face, was 
 good-humoured, and seemed, by her behaviour, to possess a 
 good understanding. No appearance of breasts was observ- 
 able, except nipples : but this single instance is not sufficient 
 to establish an exception so contrary to the general law of 
 nature. A little before our departure from Madagascar, the 
 desire of recovering her liberty, joined to the fear of being 
 carried into France, stimulated this little slave to run away 
 into the woods. 
 
 “ On the whole, I conclude, in firmly believing the existence 
 of this diminutive race of human beings, who have a character 
 and manners peculiar to themselves. The Laplanders seem 
 to be the medium between men of the common size and these 
 dwarfs. Both inhabit the coldest countries and the highest 
 mountains upon the earth. These of Madagascar, on which 
 the Kimos reside, are sixteen or seventeen hundred toises, or 
 fathoms, above the level of the sea. The plants and vegetables 
 which grow on these heights, are naturally dwarfs.^’ 
 
 M. de Modave says, — “When I arrived at Fort Dauphin, in 
 1768, I had a memoir put into my hands, which was ill drawn 
 up, giving an account of a pigmy race of people, called Kimos, 
 who inhabit the middle region of Madagascar, in latitude 22^. 
 I tried to verify the fact, by preparing for an expedition into 
 the country which is said to be thus inhabited : but by the 
 infidelity and cowardice of the guides, my scheme failed. 
 Yet I had such indisputable information of this extraordinary 
 fact, that I have not the least doubt of the existence of such 
 a nation. The common size of the men is three feet five 
 inches. They wear long round beards. The women are some 
 inches shorter than the men, who are thick and stout. Their 
 tcolour is less black and swarthy than that of the natives; 
 their hair is short and cottony. They forge iron and steel, of 
 which they make their lances and darts ; the only weapons 
 that they us^e. The situation of their country is about sixty 
 leagues to the north-west of Fort Dauphin. I procured a 
 ifemale of this nation, but she was said to be much taller than 
 usual among the Kimos, for she was three feet seven inches 
 in height. She was very thin, and had no more appearance 
 of breasts than the leanest man.” 
 
 To these relations, the Abbe Rochon says, he might add that 
 of an officer who had procured a Kimos man, and would have 
 brought liim to Europe, but M. de Surville, who commanded 
 
ABDERITES HOUSES BUILT IN TREES. 45 
 
 the vessel in which he was to embark, refused to grant his 
 permission. 
 
 Respectable historians have presented us with the fol- 
 lowing curious account of the AbderiteS; or Inhabitants 
 OF Abdera. 
 
 It is reported, that in the reign of Cassander, king of Ma- 
 cedon, they were so pestered with frogs and rats, that they 
 were obliged to desert their city for some time: and Lucian 
 tells us, that in the reign of Lysimachus, they were for some 
 months afflicted with a fever of a most extraordinary nature, 
 whose crisis was always on the seventh day, and then it left 
 them; but it so distracted their imaginations, that they fancied 
 themselves players. After this, they were ever repeating 
 verses from some tragedy, and particularly out of the Andro- 
 meda of Euripides, as if they had been upon the stage ; so 
 that many of these pale, meagre actors, were pouring forth 
 tragic exclamations in every street. This delirium continued 
 till the winter following; which was a very cold one, and 
 therefore fitter to remove it. Lucian, who has described this 
 disease, endeavours to account for it in this way:— Archelaus, 
 an excellent player, acted the Andromeda of Euripides before 
 the AbderiteS, in the height of a very hot summer. Several 
 had a fever at their coming out of the theatre, and as their 
 imaginations were full of the tragedy, the delirium, which the 
 fever raised, perpetually represented Andromeda, Perseus, 
 Medusa, &c. and the several dramatic incidents, and called 
 up the ideas of those objects, and the pleasure of the repre- 
 sentation, so strongly, that they could not forbear imitating 
 Archelaus^ action and declamation : and from these the fever 
 spread to others by infection. 
 
 A most respectable writer (Madame De Genlis) has given 
 us the following curious account of a Country, the In 
 
 HABITANTS OF WHICH RESIDE IN TrEES. 
 
 A young Spanish adventurer, of the name of Vasco Nugnez, 
 whom a handsome figure, united to a natural wit and courage, 
 advanced to the highest eminence of glory and fortune ; pur- 
 suing his researches over the Darien, a region abounding in 
 lakes and marshes, arrived in a country where the houses 
 were of a very singular contrivance, being built in the largest 
 trees, the branches of which enveloped the sides, and formed 
 the roof. They contained chambers and closets of a tolerable 
 construction. Each family was separately lodged. Every 
 house had two ladders, one of which reached from the foot to 
 the middle of the tree, and the other from thence to the en- 
 trance of the highest chamber: they were composed of cane, 
 and so light as to be easily lifted up, which was done every 
 
46 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 ni^ht, and formed a security from the attacks of tigers and 
 other wild beasts, with which this province abounds. The 
 chief of the country was in his palace, that is to say — his tree, 
 when the Castilians came among them. On seeing the 
 strangers, he hastened to draw up his ladders, while the 
 Spaniards called to him aloud to descend without fear. He 
 replied, that being unconscious of having offended any one, 
 and having no concern with strangers, he begged he might 
 be suffered to remain undisturbed in his habitation. On this 
 they threatened to cut down or set fire to his tree, and at 
 length obliged him to descend with his two sons. To their 
 inquiries, * if he had any gold,^ he replied, that he had none 
 there, because it was of no use to him ; but, if they would 
 suffer him to go, he would fetch them some from a neighbour- 
 ing mountain. The Castilians the more readily believed the 
 promise, as he consented to leave with them his wife and 
 children. But after having waited some days for his return, 
 they discovered that this pretence was only a stratagem to 
 withdraw himself from their hands ; that their hostages like- 
 wise, during the night, had found an opportunity of escaping 
 by means of their ladders, and that the inhabitants of every 
 neighbouring tree had, in the same manner, fled. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 Astonishing Acquisitions made by Blind Persons — Wonderful 
 Performances of a Female, blind almost from Infancy — How- 
 derful Instances of Adroitness of Persons born defective in 
 their Limbs — Curious Account of Incapacity of distinguish- 
 ing Colours — Ventriloquism — Sword-swallowing. 
 
 Astonishing Acquisitions made by Blind Persons. 
 
 We find various recompenses for blindness, or substitutes 
 for the use of the eyes, in the wonderful sagacity of many 
 blind persons, recited by Zahnius, in his ‘ Oculus Artificialis,’ 
 and others. In some, the defect has been supplied by a most 
 excellent gift of remembering what they had seen; in others, 
 by a delicate nose, or the sense of smelling; in others, by an 
 exquisite touch, or a sense of feeling, which they have had in 
 such perfection, that, as it has been said of some, they learned 
 to hear with their eyes, so it may be said of these, that they 
 taught themselves to see with their hands. Some have been 
 enabled to perform all sorts of curious and subtle works in 
 
ACQUISITIONS MADE BY BLIND PERSONS. 47 
 
 :he nicest and most dexterous manner. — Aldrovanus speaks 
 of a sculptor who became blind at twenty years of age, and 
 yet, ten years after, made a perfect marble statue of Cosmo II. 
 de Medicis ; and another of clay, like Urban VIII. Bartholin 
 tells us of a blind sculptor in Denmark, who distinguished 
 perfectly well, by mere touch, not only all kinds of wood 
 but all the colours ; and F. Grimaldi gives an instance of the 
 like kind; besides the blind organist, living in Paris, who is 
 said to have done the same. The most extraordinary of all 
 is a blind guide, who, according to the report of good writers, 
 used to conduct the merchants through the sands and deserts 
 of Arabia. 
 
 James Bernouilli contrived a method of teaching blind 
 persons to write. An instance, no less extraordinary, is men- 
 tioned by Dr. Bew, in the Transactions of the Manchester 
 Society.’’ It is that of a person, whose name is John Met- 
 calf, a native of the neighbourhood of Manchester, who be- 
 came blind at so early an age as to be altogether unconscious 
 of light, and its various effects. His employment in the 
 younger period of his life was that of a waggoner, and oc- 
 casionally as a guide in intricate roads during the night, or 
 when the common tracks were covered with snow. After- 
 wards he became a projector and surveyor of highways in 
 difficult and mountainous parts ; and, in this capacity, with 
 the assistance merely of a long staff, he traverses the roads, 
 ascends precipices, explores valleys, and investigates their 
 several extents, forms, and situations, so as to answer his pur- 
 pose in the best manner. His plans are designed, and his 
 estimates formed, with such ability and accuracy, that he has 
 been employed in altering most of the roads over the Peak in 
 Derbyshire, particularly those in the vicinity of Buxton ; and 
 in constructing a new one between Wilmslow and Congleton, 
 so as to form a communication between the great London 
 road, without being obliged to pass over the mountain. 
 
 Although blind persons have occasion, in a variety of re- 
 spects, to deplore their infelicity, their misery is in a con- 
 siderable degree alleviated by advantages peculiar to them- 
 selves. They are capable of a more fixed and steady atten- 
 tion to the objects of their mental contemplation, than those 
 who are distracted by the view of a variety of external scenes. 
 Their want of sight naturally leads them to avail themselves 
 of their other organs of corporeal sensation, and with this 
 view to cultivate and improve them as much as possible. Ac- 
 cordingly, they derive relief and assistance from the quick- 
 ness of their hearing, the acuteness of their smell, and the 
 sensibility of their touch, which persons who see are apt to 
 disregard. 
 
 Many contrivances have also been devised by the ingenious, 
 
4S CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 for supplying the want of sight, and for facilitating those 
 analytical or mechanical operations, which would otherwise 
 perplex the most vigorous mind, and the most retentive me- 
 m iry. By means of these, they have become eminent pro- 
 ficients in various departments of science. Indeed, there are 
 few sciences in which, with or without mechanical helps, the 
 blind have not distinguished themselves. The case of Pro- 
 fessor Saunderson at Cambridge, is well known. His attain- 
 ments and performances in the languages, and also as a 
 learner and teacher in the abstract mathematics, in philo- 
 sophy, and in music, have been truly astonishing ; and the 
 account of them appears to be almost incredible, if it were 
 not amply attested and confirmed by many other instances of 
 a similar kind, both in ancient and modern times. 
 
 Cicero mentions it as a fact scarcely credible, with respect 
 to his master in philosophy, Diodotus, that “ he exercised 
 himself in it with greater assiduity after he became blind ; 
 and, which he thought next to impossible to be performed 
 without sight, that he professed geometry, and described his 
 diagrams so accurately to his scholars, as to enable them to 
 draw every line in its proper direction.^' 
 
 Jerome relates a more remarkable instance of Didymus in 
 Alexandria, who “ though blind from his infancy, and there- 
 fore ignorant of the letters, appeared so great a miracle to the 
 world, as not only to learn logic, but geometry also to per- 
 fection; which seems (he adds) the most of any thing to re- 
 quire the help of sight.’* 
 
 Professor Saunderson, who was deprived of his sight by 
 the small-pox when he was only twelve months old, seems to 
 have acquired most of his ideas by the sense of feeling; and 
 though he could not distinguish colours by that sense, which, 
 after repeated trials, he said was pretending to impossibilities, 
 yet he was able, with the greatest exactness, to discriminate 
 the minutest difference between rough and smooth on a sur- 
 face, or the least defect of polish. In a set of Roman medals, 
 he could distinguish the genuine from the false, though they 
 bad been counterfeited in such a manner as to deceive a 
 connoisseur, who judged of them by the eye. His sense of 
 feeling was so acute, that he could perceive the least variation 
 in the state of the air; and, it is said, that in a garden where 
 observations were made on the sun, he took notice of every 
 cloud that interrupted the observation, almost as justly as 
 those who could see it. He could tell when any thing was 
 held near his face, or when he passed by a tree at no great 
 distance, provided the air was calm, and there was little or 
 no wind ; this he did by the different pulse of air upon his 
 face. He possessed a sensibility of hearing to such a degree, 
 that he could distinguish even the fifth part of a note; and, 
 
19 
 
 ACQUISITIONS MADE BY BLIND PERSONS. 
 
 by the quickness of this sense, he not only discriminated 
 persons with whom he had once conversed so long as to fix in 
 his memory the sound of their voice, but he could judge of 
 the size of a room into which he was introduced, and of his 
 distance from the wall ; and if he had ever walked over a 
 pavement in courts, piazzas, 8cc. which reflected a sound, and 
 was afterwards conducted thither again, he could exactly tell 
 in what part of the walk he was placed, merely by the note 
 which it sounded. 
 
 Sculpture and painting are arts which, one would imagine, 
 are of Very difficult and almost impracticable attainment to 
 blind persons ; and yet instances occur, which shew, that they 
 are not excluded from the pleasing, creative, and extensive 
 regions of fancy. 
 
 De Piles mentions a blind sculptor, who thus took the 
 likeness of the Duke de Bracciano in a dark cellar, and made 
 a marble statue of King Charles I. with great justness and 
 elegance. However unaccountable it may appear to the ab- 
 stract philosopher, yet nothing is more certain in fact, than 
 that a blind man may, by the inspiration of the Muses, or 
 rather by the efforts of a cultivated genius, exhibit in poetry 
 the most natural images and animated descriptions even of 
 visible objects, without deservedly incurring the charge of 
 plagiarism. We need not recur to Homer and Milton for 
 attestations to this fact; they had probably been long ac- 
 quainted with the visible world before they had lost their 
 sight, and their descriptions might be animated with all the 
 rapture and enthusiasm which originally fired their bosoms, 
 when the grand and delightful objects delineated by them 
 were immediately beheld. We are furnished with instances 
 in which a similar energy and transport of description, at 
 least in a very considerable degree, have been exhibited by 
 those on whose minds visible objects were never impressed, 
 or have been entirely obliterated. 
 
 Dr. Blacklock affords a surprising instance of this kind ; 
 who, though he had lost his sight before he was six months 
 old, not only made himself master of various languages, 
 Greek, Latin, Italian, and French; but acquired the reputa- 
 tion of an excellent poet, whose performances abound with 
 appropriate images and animated descriptions. 
 
 Dr. Nicholas Bacon, a blind gentleman, descended from 
 the same family with the celebrated Lord Verulam, was, in 
 the city of Brussels, with high approbation created LL. D. 
 He was deprived of sight at nine years of age by an arrow 
 from a cross-bow, whilst he was attempting to shoot it. 
 When he had recovered his health, which had suffered by 
 the shock, he pursued the same plan of education in which 
 he had been engaged; and having heard that one Nicasius 
 
50 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 de Vourde, born blind, who lived towards the end of the 
 fifteenth century, after having distinguished himself by his 
 studies in the university of Louvain, took his degree as D. D. 
 in that of Cologne, he resolved to make the same attempt. 
 After continuing his studies in learning philosophy and law 
 a sufficient time, he took his degree, commenced pleading as 
 counsellor or advocate in the council of Brabant, and has had 
 the pleasure of terminating almost every suit in which he has 
 been eno-ao ed to the satisfaction of his clients. 
 
 Another instance, which deserves being recorded, is that of 
 Dr. Henry Moyes, in our own country ; who, though blind 
 from his infancy, by the ardour and assiduity of his applica- 
 tion, and by the energy of native genius, not only made in- 
 credible advances in mechanical operations, in music, and in 
 the languages ; but acquired an extensive acquaintance with 
 geometry, optics, algebra, astronomy, chemistry, and all other 
 branches of natural philosophy. 
 
 From the account of Dr. Moyes, who occasionally read 
 lectures on philosophical chemistry at Manchester, delivered 
 to the Manchester Society by Dr. Bewq it appears, that me- 
 chanical exercises were the favourite employment of his in- 
 fant years : and that at a very early age he was so well ac- 
 quainted with the use of edge-tools, as to be able to construct 
 little windmills, and even a loom. By the sound, and the 
 different voices of the persons that were present, he was di- 
 rected in his judgment of the dimensions of the room in which 
 they were assembled ; and in this respect he determined with 
 such a degree of accuracy, as seldom to be mistaken. His 
 memory was singularly retentive ; so that he was capable ol 
 recognizing a person on his first speaking, though he had not 
 been in company with him for two years. He determined 
 with surprising exactness the stature of those with whom he 
 conversed, by the direction of their voices ; and he made 
 tolerable conjectures concerning their dispositions, by the 
 manner in which they conducted their conversation. His 
 eyes, though he never recollected having seen, w^ere not 
 totally insensible to intense light : but the rays refracted 
 through a prism, when sufficiently vivid, produced distinguish- 
 able effects upon them. The red produced a disagreeable 
 sensation, w hich he compared to the touch of a saw. As the 
 colours declined in violence, the harshness lessened, until the 
 green afforded a sensation that was highly pleasing to him, 
 and w'hich he described as conveying an idea similar to that 
 which he gained by running his hand over smooth polished 
 surfaces. Such surfaces, meandering streams, and gentle de- 
 clivities, w^ere the figures by which he expressed his ideas of 
 beauty; rugged rocks, irregular points, and boisterous ele- 
 ments, furnished him with expressions for terror and disgust. 
 
51 
 
 ACQUISiTIOxVS MADE BY BLIND PERSONS. 
 
 He excelled in the charms of conversation ; was happy in his 
 allusions to visual objects, and discoursed on the nature, 
 composition, and beauty of colours, with pertinence and pre- 
 cision. 
 
 This instance, and some others which have occurred, seem 
 to furnish a presumption, fhat the feeling or touch of blind 
 persons may be so improved as to enable them to perceive 
 that texture and disposition of coloured surfaces by which 
 some rays of light are reflected, and others absorbed ; and in 
 this manner to distinguish colours 
 
 In music, there are at present living instances of how far 
 the blind may proceed. In former periods we shall find illus- 
 trious examples, how amply nature has capacitated the blind 
 to excel, both in the scientific and practical departments of 
 music. 
 
 In the sixteenth century, when the progress of improve 
 ment both in melody and harmony was rapid and conspicuous, 
 Francis Salinas was eminently distinguished. He was 
 born A. D. 1513, at Burgos in Spain; and was son to the 
 treasurer of that city. Though afflicted with incurable blind- 
 ness, he was profoundly skilled both in the theory and prac- 
 tice of music. As a performer, he is celebrated by his con- 
 temporaries with the highest encomiums. As a theorist. Sir 
 John Hawkins says, his book is equal in value to any now 
 extant in any language. Though he was deprived of sight in 
 his earliest infancy, he did not content himself to delineate 
 the various phenomena in music, but the principles from 
 whence they result, the relations of sound, the nature of 
 arithmetical, geometrical, and harmonical ratios, which were 
 t'hen esteemed essential to the theory of music, with a degree 
 of intelligence which would have deserved admiration, though 
 he had been in full possession of every sense requisite for 
 these disquisitions. He was taken to Rome in the retinue of 
 Petrus Sarmentus, archbishop of Compostella, and having 
 passed twenty years in Italy, he returned to Salamanca, where 
 he obtained the professorship of music, an office at that time 
 equally respectable and lucrative. Having discharged it with 
 reputation and success for some time, he died at the venerable 
 age of seventy-seven. 
 
 In the same period flourished Caspar Crumbhom, blind 
 from the third year of his age ; yet he composed several 
 pieces in many parts with so much success, and performed 
 both upon the flute and violin so exquisitely, that he was dis- 
 tinguished by Augustus, elector of Saxony. But preferring 
 his native country, Silesia, to every other, he returned to it, 
 and was appoir ted organist of the church of St. Peter and 
 Pau* in Lignitz where he had often the direction of the mu- 
 sical college, and died June 11, 1621. 
 
62 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 To tliese might be added Martin Pesenti of Venice., a 
 composer of vocal and instrumental music almost of all kinds, 
 though blind from his nativity ; with other examples equally 
 worthy of public attention. But if vulgar prejudice is capable 
 of blushing at its own contemptible character, or of yielding 
 to conviction, those already quoted are more than sufficient 
 to shew the musical jugglers of our time that their art is no 
 monopoly, with which those alone who see are invested, by 
 the irrevocable decree of heaven. 
 
 In the Annual Register for 1762, the following narrative of 
 the surprising acquisitions of a blind lady is inserted. ** A 
 young gentlewoman of a good family in France, now in her 
 eighteenth year, lost her sight when only two years old, her 
 mother having been advised to lay some pigeon^s blood on 
 her eyes, to preserve them in the small-pox ; whereas, so far 
 from answering the end, it eat into them. Nature, however, 
 may be said to have compensated for the unhappy mistake, 
 by beauty of person, sweetness of temper, vivacity of genius, 
 quickness of conception, and many talents which certainly 
 much alleviate her misfortune. She plays at cards vdth the 
 same readiness as others of the party. She first prepares the 
 pack allotted to her, by pricking them in several parts; yet 
 so imperceptibly, that the closest inspection can scarce dis- 
 cern her indexes : she sorts the suits, and arranges the cards 
 in their proper sequence, with the same precision, and nearly 
 the same facility, as they who have their sight. All she re- 
 quires of those who play with her, is to name every card as it 
 is played ; and these she retains so exactly, that she frequently 
 performs some notable strokes, such as shew a great combina- 
 tion and strong memory. The most wonderful circumstance 
 is, that she should have learned to read and write ; but even 
 this is readily believed on knowing her method. In writing 
 to her, no ink is used, but the letters are pricked down on 
 the paper, and.by the delicacy of her touch, feeling each letter, 
 she follows them successively, and reads every word with her 
 finger ends. She herself in writing makes use of a pencil, as 
 she could not know when her pen was dry ; her guide on the 
 paper is a small thin ruler, and of the breadth of the writing. 
 On finishing a letter, she wets it, so as to fix the traces of her 
 pencil, that they are not obscured or effaced ; then proceeds 
 to fold and seal it, and write the direction ; all by her own 
 address, and without the assistance of any other person. Her 
 writing is very straight, well cut, and the spelling no less 
 correct. To reach this singular mechanism, the indefatigable 
 cares of her affectionate mother were long employed, who ac- 
 customed her daughter to feel letters cut in cards of paste- 
 board, brought her to distinguish an A from a B, and thus 
 the whole alphabet, and afterwards to spell words; then, by 
 
PERFORMANCES OF A BLIND FEMALE. 53 
 
 the remembrance of the shape of the letters, to delineate them 
 on paper; and, lastly, to arrange them so as to form words 
 and sentences. She has learned to play on the guitar, and 
 has even contrived a way of pricking down the tunes, as an 
 assistance to her memory. So delicate are her organs, that 
 in singing a tune, though new to her, she is able to name the 
 notes. In figured dances she acquits herself extremely well, 
 and in a minuet, with inimitable ease and gracefulness. As 
 for the works of her sex, she has a masterly hand ; she 
 sews and hems perfectly well ; and in all her works she 
 threads her needles for herself, however small. By the 
 watch her touch never fails telling her exactly the hour and 
 minute. 
 
 Diderot gives a very curious account of a blind lady. It 
 is so remarkable, that we shall distinguish it by the separate 
 title of Wonderful Performances of a Female, Blind 
 ALMOST from INFANCY. 
 
 The name of this remarkable person was. Mademoiselle 
 Melanie de Salignac, a young lady, who had been blind al- 
 most from her birth. Her feeling, hearing, and smell, were 
 exquisite. She could distinguish, by the impression of the 
 air, whether it was fine or cloudy, whether she was in an 
 open place or a street, and whether the street was open at 
 the end ; — also, whether she was in a room or not, and of what 
 size it was. Having once gone over a house, she became so 
 well acquainted with the diirerent parts, as to be able to warn 
 others of any danger they were exposed to, by the existence 
 of a step, or the lowness of a door. She could thread the 
 smallest needle, with the greatest dexterity; and could ex- 
 ecute every sort of needle-work. She played very well at 
 many games at cards, which she distinguished by some little 
 mark, known to herself hy the touch, but imperceptible to 
 the sight of any other person. She had learnt, and under- 
 stood very well, music, geography, geometry, and dancing. 
 She was, indeed, extremely clever ; what made her more in- 
 teresting, she was modest, mild, cheerful, and affectionate. 
 She wrote with a pin, by pricking a sheet of paper, stretched 
 on a frame, and read what she had written, by feeling the pin- 
 marks on the other side of the paper. She could read a 
 book, printed on one side only; some were printed expressly 
 for her, in this manner. In a piece of twelve or fifteen lines, 
 if the number of letters in each word, together with the letter 
 which it began with, was given her, she could tell every word, 
 however oddly composed. “ This fact,*^ says Diderot, “ was 
 attested by every one of her family, by myself, and twenty 
 other persons, still alive. She died at the age of twenty-two. 
 She was the daughter of Madame de Blacy, a woman distin- 
 
54 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN, 
 
 guished for the eminence of her moral qualities/’ and moving 
 in a respectable spheie of life. — See Grimn's Memoirs, 
 
 We now proceed to detail the following Wonderful In- 
 stances OF Adroitness of Persons born defective in 
 their Limbs. 
 
 Several instances of such births have occurred, and the 
 wonderful acquirements of persons thus maimed by nature 
 have often been the subject of public astonishment, and 
 proved a source of gain to themselves or their relations. 
 
 Giraldus Cambriensis speaks of a young woman born with- 
 out arms, whom he saw at Chester, in the reign of Henry II. 
 He mentions her working very dexterously with her needle. 
 
 Stowe gives an account of a Dutchman born without arms, 
 ^vho in 1581, exhibited surprising feats of activity in London; 
 such as flourishing with a rapier, shooting an arrow near a 
 mark, ike. 
 
 Buiwer, in his Artificial Changeling, speaks of John 
 Simons, a native of Berkshire, born without arms or hands, 
 who could write with his mouth; thread a needle ; tie a knot; 
 shuffle, cut, and deal a pack of cards, &c. He was shewn in 
 public in 1653. 
 
 John Sear, a Spaniard, born without arms, was shewn in 
 London in King William’s reign, who could comb and shave 
 himself, fill a glass, thread a needle, embroider, write six 
 sorts of hands, and play on several instruments of music. 
 
 Matthew Buckinger, a Cerman, born without arms or leo;:s, 
 who came to England, wrote a good hand, (many specimens 
 of which are extant,) and performed several wonderful feats 
 He died in 1722, aged forty-eight. 
 
 Thomas Pinnington, a native of Liverpool, born without 
 legs or arms, performed much the same feats as Sear, in 1744, 
 and several years ensuing; since which, a Miss Hawtin, from 
 Coventry, born without arms, and others whose names have 
 not been mentioned, have exhibited themselves at Bartho- 
 lomew Fair and other places. 
 
 Thomas Inglefield, born without arms or legs, at Hook, in 
 Hampshire, (anno 1769) died a few years ago in London. He 
 was not publicly shewn, but got his bread by writing and 
 drawing. There are two portraits of him, one of which was 
 etched by himself. 
 
 There was, a short time since, a farmer living at Ditch-heat 
 in Somersetshire, born without arms, — William Kingston, of 
 whom frequent mention has been made in the public papers. 
 He surpasses, according to accounts which seem very well 
 attested, all that have been yet spoken of. 
 
 The following account was given a few years since, in the 
 papers, by a person who visited him. “ In order to give the 
 
ADROITNESS OF PERSONS BORN LAME. 55 
 
 public a satisfactory account of William Kingston/’ says the 
 writer, “ I went to Ditcheat, and the next morning got him to 
 breakfast with me at Mrs. Goodfellow’s, and had ocular proof 
 of his dexterity. He highly entertained us at breakfast, by 
 putting his half-naked feet upon the table as he sat, and car- 
 rying his tea and toast between his great and second toe to 
 his mouth, with as much facility as if his foot had been a hand, 
 and his toes fingers. I put half a sheet of paper upon the 
 floor, with a pen and ink-horn. He threw off his shoes as he 
 sat, took the ink-horn in the toes of his left foot, and held the 
 pen in those of his right. He then wrote three lines as well 
 as most ordinary writers, and as swiftly. He writes all his 
 own bills and other accounts. He then shewed me how he 
 shaves himself with the razor in his toes ; and he can comb 
 his own hair. He can dress and undress himself, except but- 
 toning his clothes. He feeds himself, and can bring both his 
 meat or his broth to his mouth, by holding the fork or spoon 
 in his toes. He cleans his own shoes, lights the fire, and 
 does almost any domestic business as well as any other man. 
 He can make hen-coops. He is a farmer by occupation. 
 He can milk his cows with his toes, and cuts his own hay, 
 binds it up in bundles, and carries it about the field for his 
 cattle. Last winter he had eight heifers constantly to fodder. 
 The last summer he made all his hay-ricks. He can do all the 
 business of the hay-field (except mowing) as fast and as well 
 with his feet as others can with rakes and forks. He goes to 
 the field, and catches his horse. He saddles and bridles him 
 with his teeth and toes. If he has a sheep among his flock 
 that ails any thing, he can separate it from the rest, and drive 
 it into a corner when nobody else can: he then examines it, 
 and applies a remedy to it. He is so strong in his teeth, that 
 he can lift ten pecks of beans with them. He can throw a 
 great sledge-hammer as far with his feet, as other men can 
 with their hands. In a word, he can nearly do as much with- 
 out as others can with their arms. 
 
 “ He began the world with a hen and chickens. With tlie 
 profit on these he procured a ewe The sale of these pro- 
 cured a ragged colt (as he termed it) and a sheep, and he 
 now occupies a small farm.” 
 
 ‘‘ Necessity is the mother of invention.” This proverb was 
 never more fully exemplified than in the cases above men- 
 tioned Habit, early acquired and long practised, may render 
 the toes almost as useful as the fingers : the lips are also en- 
 dued with acute feeling and great flexibility, and may become 
 powerful assistants where the hands are wanting. One lesson, 
 at least, may be taught by this maimed tribe : — that few 
 things are so difficult, that they cannot be acquired by per- 
 severance and application. 
 
^56 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 While some persons are noted for their extraordinary and 
 wonderful faculties, others are remarkable for defects in na- 
 tural capacities. The reader will feel interested in the follow- 
 ing Curious Account OF Incapacity of distinguishing 
 Colours. 
 
 Of this extraordinary defect in vision, we have the following 
 instances in the Philosophical Transactions for 1777. One of 
 the persons lived at Maryport in Cumberland. The account 
 was communicated by Mr. Huddart to Dr. Priestley; and is 
 as follows : — His name was Harris; by trade a shoe-maker. 
 I had often heard from others tliat he could discern the form 
 and magnitude of all objects very distinctly, but could not 
 distinguish colours. This report had excited my curiosity ; I 
 conversed with him frequently on the subject. The account 
 he gave was this : That he had reason to believe other persons 
 saw something in objects which he could not see : that their 
 language seemed to mark qualities with precision and con- 
 fidence, which he could only guess at with hesitation, and 
 frequently with error. His first suspicion of this arose when 
 he was about four years old. Having by accident found in 
 the street, a child’s stocking, he carried it to a neighbouring 
 house to inquire for the owner: he observed the peopl-e called 
 it a red stocking, though he did not understand why they 
 gave it that denomination, as he himself thought it completely 
 described by being called a stocking. This circumstance, 
 however, remained in his memory, and together with subse- 
 quent observations, led him to the knowledge of this defect. 
 He also observed, that when young, other children could dis- 
 cern cherries on a tree by some pretended difference of colour, 
 though he could only distinguish them from the leaves, by the 
 difference of their size and shape. He observed also, that by 
 means of this difference of colour they could see the cherries 
 at a greater distance than he could, though he could see other 
 objects at as great a distance as they, that is, where the sight 
 was not assisted by the colour. Large objects he could see 
 as well as other persons; and even the smaller ones, if they 
 were not enveloped in other things, as in the case of cherries 
 among the leaves. I believe he could never do more than 
 guess the name of any colour ; yet he could distinguish white 
 from black, or black from any light or bright colour. Dove 
 or straw colour he called white, and different colours he fre- 
 quently called by the same name; yet he could discern a dif- 
 ference between them when placed together. In general, 
 colours of an equal degree of brightness, however they might 
 otherwise differ, he confounded together. Yet a striped 
 ribbon he could distinguish from a plain one; but he cculd 
 not t^ll what the colours were with any tolerable exactness 
 Dark colours, in general, he often mistook for black ; but 
 
INCAPACITY OF DISTINGUISHING COLOURS. 57 
 
 never imagined white to be a dark colour, nor dark to be a 
 white colour. He was an intelligent man, and very desirous 
 of understanding the nature of light and colours, for which 
 end he had attended a course of lectures in natural philosophy. 
 He had two brothers in the same circumstances as to sight ; 
 and two others (brothers and sisters) who, as well as their 
 parents, had nothing of this defect. One of the first men- 
 tioned brothers, who is now living, I met with at Dublin, and 
 wished to try his capacity to distinguish the colours in a 
 prism; but not having one by me, I asked him, whether he 
 had ever seen a rainbow? he replied, he had often; and could 
 distinguish the different colours; meaning only, that it was 
 composed of different colours, for he could not tell what they 
 were. I then procured, and shewed him a piece of ribbon: 
 he immediately, and without any difficulty, pronounced it a 
 striped, and not a plain, ribbon. He then attempted to name 
 the different stripes ; the several stripes of white he uniformly, 
 and without hesitation, called white : the four black stripes 
 he was deceived in ; for three of them he thought brown, 
 though they were exactly of the same shade with the other, 
 which he properly called black. He spoke, however, with 
 diffidence, as to all those stripes; and it must be owned, that 
 the black was not very distinct : the light green he called 
 yellow; but he was not very positive: he said, “ I think this 
 what you call yellow.^* The middle stripe, which had a slight 
 tinge of red, he called a sort of blue. But he was most of all 
 deceived by the orange colour: of this he spoke very con- 
 fidently, saying, “ This is the colour of grass, this is green.” 
 I also shewed him a great variety of ribbons, the colour of 
 which he sometimes named rightly, and sometimes as dif- 
 ferently as possible from the true colour. I asked him, whe- 
 ther he imagined it possible for all the various colours he saw 
 to be mere difference of light and shade; and that all colours 
 could be composed of these two mixtures only ? With some 
 hesitation he replied. No, he did imagine there was some 
 other difference. It is proper to add, that the experiment of 
 the striped ribbon was made in the day-time, and in a good 
 light.” 
 
 Incredible as the above phenomena may appear, we can 
 add the following fact in confirmation of them, from personal 
 knowledge. There is a gentleman now living in Edinburgh, 
 whose optical nerves have laboured under a defect perfectly 
 similar, since his infancy ; but whose powers of vision are in 
 other respects so much superior to those of most other people, 
 that he draws the most striking likenesses, being a limner by 
 profession, and requires for this purpose only once to see the 
 person whose portrait is intended to be drawn, scarcely de- 
 siring a single sitting, much less repeated visiting. And what 
 3. H 
 
58 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN, 
 
 is still more extraordinary, he can, from such a momenta^* 
 glance, retain the idea of the features, and even the gait an 
 manner of the person, for years afterwards, so exactly as to 
 be able to finish either a miniature head, or full portrait, at 
 that distant period, as well as if the person were present. 
 His friends, incredulous of this phenomenon, have, by placing 
 his colours out of the order in which he keeps them, some- 
 times made him give a gentleman a green heardy and paint a 
 beautiful young lady with a pair of blue cheeks. 
 
 We now proceed to the consideration of a very remarkable 
 acquirement of man, called Ventriloquism. 
 
 This is an art of speaking, by means of which the human 
 voice and other sounds are rendered audible, as if they pro- 
 ceeded from several different places ; though the utterer does 
 not change his place, and in many instances does not appear 
 to speak. It has been supposed to be a natural peculiarity ; 
 because few, if any persons, have learned it by being taught, 
 and w’e have had no rules laid down for acquiring it. It 
 seems to have been in consequence of this notion, that the 
 name ‘ Ventriloquism’ has been applied to it, from a suppo- 
 sition that the voice proceeds from the thorax or chest. It 
 has seldom been practised but by persons of the lower classes 
 of society; and as it does not seem to present any advantages 
 beyond that of causing surprise and entertainment, and can- 
 not be exhibited on an extended theatre, the probability is, 
 that it will continue amongst them. 
 
 Mr. Gough, in his Manchester Memoirs, and in various 
 parts of Nicholson’s Journal, has entertained the opinion that 
 the voice of ventriloquists is made to proceed, in appearance, 
 from different parts of a room, by the management of an echo. 
 But the facts themselves do not support this hypothesis, as a 
 great and sudden variety and change of echoes would be 
 required; and his own judicious remarks, in the same work, 
 on the facility with which we are deceived as to the direction 
 of sound, are adverse to his theory. From numerous atten- 
 tive observations, it appears manifest that the art is not pecu- 
 liar to certain individuals, but may with facility be acquired 
 by any person of accurate observation. It consists merely in 
 an imitation of sounds, as they occur in nature, accompanied 
 with appropriate action, of such a description as may best 
 concur in leading the minds of the observers to favour the 
 deception. 
 
 Any one who shall try, will be a little surprised to find how 
 easy it is to imitate the noise made by a saw, or by a snuff- 
 box when opened and shut, or by a large hand-bell, or cork- 
 cutter’s knife, a watch while going, and numberless other 
 inanimate objects; or the voices of animals, in their various 
 
-VENTRILOQUISM ' 
 
 59 
 
 situations and necessities, such as a cat, a dog, or an hen 
 enraged, intimidated, confined, &c.; or to vary the charactei 
 of the human voice by shrillness or depth of tone, rapidity oi 
 draw^ling of execution, and distinctness or imperfection of 
 articulation, which may be instantly changed by holding the 
 mouth a little more opened or more closed than usual, altering 
 the position of the jaw, keeping the tongue in any determinate 
 situation, &.c. And every one of the imitations of the ven- 
 triloquist will be rendered more perfect by practising them at 
 the very time the sounds are heard, instead of depending on 
 the memory. The leading condition of performance is, that 
 the voices and sounds of the dramatic dialogue to be ex- 
 hibited, should succeed each other so rapidly that the audience 
 should lose sight of the probability that one actor gives 
 effect to the whole, and that where the business is simple, 
 the aid of scenery or local circumstance should be called in. 
 
 We have seen an eminent philosopher of our own time, 
 who had no previous practice of this art, but when speaking 
 on the subject in a mixed company, took up a hat, and folding 
 the flaps together, said, by way of example, Suppose I had 
 a small monkey in this hat;’’ and then cautiously putting his 
 hand in, as if to catch it, he imitated the chatter of the sup 
 posed struggling animal, at the same time that his own efforts 
 to secure it had a momentary impression on the spectators, 
 which left no time to question whether there was a monkey in 
 it or not: this impression was completed when, the instant 
 afterwards, he pulled out his hand as if hurt, and exclaimed, 
 “ He has bit me !” It was not till then that the impression of 
 the reality gave way to the diversion arising from the mimic 
 art ; and one of the company, even then, cried out, Is there 
 really a monkey in the hat?” 
 
 Jn this manner it was that, at the beginning of the last cen- 
 tury, the famous Tom King, who is said to have been the 
 first man who delivered public lectures on experimental phi- 
 losophy in the country, was attended by the whole fashion- 
 able world, for a succession of many nights, to hear him 
 ‘‘ kill a calf.” This performance was done in a separated 
 part of the place of exhibition, into which the exhibitor re- 
 tired alone ; and the imagination of .his polite hearers was 
 taxed to • supply the calf and three butchers, besides a dog 
 who sometimes raised his voice, and was checked for his un- 
 necessary exertions. It appears, from traditional narrative, 
 that the calf was heard to be dragged in, not without some 
 efforts and conversation on the part of the butchers, and 
 nois) resistance from the calf; that they conversed on the 
 qualities of - the animal, and the profits to be expected from 
 the veal; and that, as they proceeded, all the noises of knife 
 and steel, of suspending the creature, and of the last fatal 
 
60 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 catastrophe, were heard in rapid succession, to the never- 
 failing satisfaction of the attendants; who, upon the rise of 
 the curtain, saw that all these imaginary personages had van- 
 ished, and Tom King alone remained to claim the applause. 
 
 A similar fact may be quoted in the person of that facetious 
 gentleman, who has assumed and given celebrity to the name 
 of Peter Pindar. This great poet, laughing at the proverbial 
 poverty of his profession, is sometimes pleased to entertain 
 his friends with singular effusions of the art we speak of. 
 One of these is managed by a messenger announcing to the 
 Doctor (in the midst of company) that a person wants to 
 speak with him: he accordingly goes out, leaving the door 
 a-jar, and immediately a female voice is heard, which, from 
 the nature of the subject, appears to be that of the Poet's 
 laundress, who complains of her pressing wants, disappointed 
 claims, and of broken promises no longer to be borne with 
 patience. It is more easy to imagine than describe the 
 mixed emotions of the audience. The scene, however, goes 
 on by the Doctor's reply; who remonstrates, promises, and is 
 rather angry at the time and place of this unwelcome visit. 
 His antagonist unfortunately is neither mollified nor disposed 
 to quit her ground. Passion increases on both sides, and the 
 Doctor forgets himself so far as to threaten the irritated 
 female ; she defies him, and this last promise, very unlike the 
 former ones, is followed by payment; a severe smack on the 
 face is heard ; the poor woman falls down stairs, with horrid 
 outcries ; the company, of course, rises in alarm, and the 
 Doctor is found in a state of perfect tranquillity, apparently a 
 strangei to the whole transaction. 
 
 A very able ventriloquist, Fitz-James, performed in public, 
 in Soho-square, about four years ago. He personated various 
 characters by appropriate dresses ; and by a command of the 
 muscles of his face he could very much alter his appearance. 
 He imitated many inanimate noises, and among others, a re- 
 petition of noises of the water machine at Marli. He con- 
 versed with some statues, which replied to him; and also with 
 some persons supposed to be in the room above, and on the 
 landing-place ; gave the watchman's cry, gradually approach- 
 ing, and when he seemed opposite the window, Fitz-James 
 opened it and asked what the time was, received the answer, 
 and during his proceeding with his cry, Fitz-James shut the 
 window, immediately upon which the sound became weaker, 
 and at last insensible. In the whole of his performance, it 
 was clear that the notions of the audience were governed by 
 the auxiliary circumstances, as to direction, &c. This mimic 
 had at least, six different habitual modes of speaking, which 
 he could instantly adapt one after the other, and with so 
 much rapidity, that when in a small closet, parted off in the 
 
VENTKILOQUISM. 
 
 61 
 
 room, he gave a long, confused, and impassioned debate of 
 democrats (in French, as almost the whole of his performance 
 was ;) it seemed to proceed from a multitude of speakers : 
 and an inaccurate observer might have thought that several 
 were speaking at once. A ludicrous scene of drawing a tooth 
 was performed in the same manner. 
 
 These examples, and many more which might be added, 
 are sufficient, in proof that ventriloquism is the art of mi- 
 micry, an imitation applied to sounds of every description, 
 and attended with circumstances which produce an entertain- 
 ing deception, and lead the hearers to imagine that the voice 
 proceeds from different situations. When distant low voices 
 are to be imitated, the articulation may be given with suffi- 
 cient distinctness, without moving the lips, or altering the 
 countenance. It was by a supposed supernatural voice of 
 this kind, from a ventriloquist, that the famous musical small- 
 coal man, Thomas Britton, received a warning of his death, 
 which so greatly affected him, that he did not survive the 
 affright. 
 
 The following quotation from Richerand^s Physiology will 
 be sufficient to give the reader a further idea of the mechanism 
 of this singular art. “At first,’’ says Richerand, “ I had con 
 jectured that a great portion of the air driven out by expiration 
 did not pass out by the mouth and nostrils, but was swallow- 
 ed and carried into the stomach, reflected in some part of the 
 digestive canal, and gave rise to a real echo ; but after hav- 
 ing attentively observed this curious phenomenon, in Mr. 
 Fitz-James, who represents it in its greatest perfection, 1 
 was enabled to convince myself that the name ventriloquism 
 is by no means applicable, since the whole of its mechanism 
 consists in a slow gradual expiration, drawn in such a wny 
 that the artist either makes use of the influence exerted by 
 volition over the muscles or parietis of the thorax, or that he 
 keeps the epiglottis down by the base of the tongue, the apex 
 of which is not carried beyond the dental arches. 
 
 “He always makes a strong inspiration just before this long 
 expiration, and thus conveys a considerable mass of air into 
 the lungs, the exit of which he afterwards manages with such 
 address. Therefore, repletion of the stomach greatly incom- 
 modes the talent of Mr. Fitz-James, by preventing the dia- 
 phiagm from descending sufficiently to admit of a dilatation 
 of the thorax, in proportion to the quantity of air that the 
 lungs should receive. By accelerating or retarding the exit 
 of the air, he can imitate different voices, and induce his au- 
 ditors to a belief that the interlocutors of a dialogue, which 
 IS kept up by himself alone, are placed at different distances; 
 and this illusion is the more complete in proportion to the 
 perfection of his peculia* talent. No man possesses, to such 
 
52 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 a degree as Mr. Fitz-James, the art of deceiving persons who 
 are least liable to delusion, he can carry his execution to five 
 or six different tones, pass rapidly from one to another, as he 
 does when representing an animated dispute in the midst of a 
 popular assembly.” 
 
 Some persons are of opinion that the witch of Endor was a 
 ventriloquist, and that she practised this art before King 
 Saul, and deceived him in the resurrection of Samuel ; the 
 present writer, however, does not vouch for this opinion. 
 
 Another very extraordinary acquirement, and which the pre- 
 sent writer has been witness to, is. Sword-swallowing. 
 
 This surprising act is performed by the Indian Jugglers; 
 the following account of which, is extracted from Forbes’s 
 Oriental Memoirs. 
 
 I have elsewhere mentioned some feats of the Indian Jug- 
 glers : at Zinore I saw one which surpassed every thing of the 
 kind I had before witnessed, 1 mean the swallowing a sword 
 up to the hilt. Had I not afterwards met with the same set 
 on the island of Salsette, exhibiting before the English chief at 
 Tannah, I should have doubted the evidence of my senses. I 
 witnessed the fact more than once, and am convinced there 
 was no deception. Finding my tale generally disbelieved in 
 Europe, I suppressed it ; but having since read a clear and 
 satisfactory account of this extraordinary transaction, drawn 
 up by Mr. Johnson, surgeon in the navy, who, in the year 
 1804, was an eye-witness of this performance, and having de- 
 scribed it as a professional man, I shall transcribe the ac- 
 count from his memoir ; — 
 
 " ‘Having been visited by one of these conjurers, I resolved 
 to see clearly his mode of performing this operation ; and for 
 that purpose ordered him to seat himself on the floor of the 
 veranda. The sword he intended to use has some resem- 
 blance to a common spit in shape, except at the handle, 
 which is merely a part of the blade itself, rounded and elon- 
 gated into a little rod. It is from twenty-two to twenty-six 
 inches in length, about an inch in breadth, and about one- 
 fifth of an inch in thickness ; the edges and point are blunt, 
 being rounded, and of the same thickness as the rest of the 
 blade; it is of iron or steel, smooth, and a little bright. 
 Having satisfied himself with respect to the sword, by at- 
 tempting to bend it ; and by striking it against a stone, I 
 firmly grasped it by the handle, and ordered him to proceed. 
 He first took a small phial of oil, and with one of his fingers 
 rubbed a little of it over the surface of the instrument ; then, 
 stretching up his neck as much as possible, and bending 
 himself a little backwards, he introduced the point of it into 
 bis mouth, and pushed it gently down his throat, until my 
 
SWORD-SWA LLOWING, 
 
 hand, which was on the handle, came in contact with his 
 lips. He then made a sign to me with one of his hands, to 
 feel the point of the instrunient between his breast and navel : 
 w^hich 1 could do, by bending him a little more backwards, 
 and pressing my fingers on his stomach, he being a very thin 
 and lean fellow. On letting go the handle of the sword, he 
 instantly fixed on it a little machine that spun round, and dis- 
 engaged a small fire-work, which encircling his head with a 
 blue flame, gave him, as he then sat, a truly diabolical ap- 
 pearance. On withdrawing the instrument, several parts of its 
 surface were covered with blood, which shewed that he was 
 still obliged to use a degree of violence in the introduction. 
 
 “‘I was at first a good deal surprised at this transaction 
 altogether; but when I came to reflect a little upon it, there 
 appeared nothing at all improbable, much less impossible, in 
 the business. He told me, on giving him a trifle, that he had 
 been accustomed, from his early years, to introduce at first 
 small elastic instruments down his throat, and into his sto- 
 mach ; that by degrees he had used larger ones, until at 
 length he was able to use the present iron sword.’ ” Oriental 
 Memoirs, vol. ii. pp. 515 — 517. 
 
 Two of these jugglers have lately visited England, and per- 
 formed the above exploit, with many others, almost equally ^ 
 surprising, to the satisfaction of crowded audiences. 
 
 We may learn from various instances in this chapter the 
 value of perseverance ; this will overcome difficulties, which 
 at first appear insuperable ; and it is amazing to consider, 
 how great and numerous obstacles may be removed by a con- 
 tinual attention to any particular point. By such attention 
 and perseverance, what may not man effect! Any man, unless 
 he be an absolute idiot, may by these means raise himself to 
 excellence in some branch or other ; and what is best of all, 
 by divine assistance, and by unwearied and keen application, 
 he may resist temptation, conquer the evil principle, rise 
 superior to all the difficulties and trials of life, excel in wis- 
 dom and goodness, and thus be fitted for a better country,, 
 when death summons him away from the present world. 
 
 Man must soar. 
 
 An obstinate activity within, 
 
 An insuppressive sirring, will toss him up, 
 
 In spite of fortune’s load. Not kings alone, 
 
 Each villager has his ambition too ; 
 
 No sultan prouder than his fetter’d slave. 
 
 Slaves build their little Babylons of straw', 
 
 Echo the proud Assyrian, in their hearts, 
 
 And cry — “ Behold the wonders of my might V* 
 
 And why ? Because immortal as their lord ; 
 
 And souls immortal must for ever heave 
 At something great ; the glitter, or the gold ; 
 
 The praise of mortals, or the praise of heav'n. 
 
 Y&un^i, 
 
34 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 CHAP. IV 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 Instances of Extraordinary Glattony — Instances of ExtraordU 
 nary Fasting — Wonders of Abstinence — Sleep Walking — 
 Sleeping Womafi of Dunninald — Instances of Extraordinary 
 Dreams — Poetical^ Grammatical, and Scientific Deaths — 
 Anthropophagi, or Men-Eaters — Account of a Wild Man. 
 
 Instances of Extraordinary Gluttony. 
 
 Habitual gluttons may be reckoned among the monsters 
 of nature, and even punishable for endeavouring to bring a 
 famine into the places where they live. King James I. when 
 a man was presented to him who could eat a whole sheep at 
 one meal, asked, ‘‘What work could he do more than an- 
 other man ?” and being answered, “ He could not do > 
 much,” said, “ Hang him, then; for it is unfit a man should 
 live, that eats as much as twenty men, and cannot do so much 
 as one.” 
 
 The emperor Clodius Albinus devoured more than a bushel 
 of apples at once. He ate 500 figs to his breakfast, ^ 
 
 ^ peaches, 10 melons, 201bs. of grapes, *100 gnat-snappers, ai -i 
 400 oysters. 
 
 Hardi Canute, the last of the Danish kings in England, 
 was so great a glutton, that an historian calls him Bocca di 
 Porco, “ Swine’s-mouth.” His tables were covered four times 
 a day with the most costly viands that either the air, sea, or 
 land, could furnish ; and as he lived he died ; for, revelling 
 at a banquet at Lambeth, he fell down dead. 
 
 One Pliagon, in the reign of Aurelianus, at one meal, ate 
 a whole boar, 100 loaves of bread, a sheep, and a pig, and 
 drank above three gallons of wine. 
 
 One Mallet, a counsellor at law, in the reign of Charles I. 
 ate at one time a dinner provided in Westminster for 30 men. 
 llis practice not being sufficient to supply him with better 
 meat, he fed generally on offals, ox livers, hearts, 8cc. He 
 lived to near 60 years of age, but during the seven last years 
 •of his life ate as moderately as other men. 
 
 Among the many accounts of extraordinary eaters, there 
 are, perhaps, none that have exceeded those of Nicholas 
 Wood, of Harrison, in Kent, related in Fuller’s Worthies, 
 p. 86, whose enormous appetite appears to exceed all pro- 
 bability. 
 
 He ate at one meal a whole sheep, of sixteen shillings price, 
 raw ; at another time, thirty dozen of pigeons. At Sir Wil- 
 liam Sidley’s, in the same county, he ate as much victuals 
 
EXTRAORDINARY FASTING. 
 
 66 
 
 as would have sufficed thirty men. At Lord Wottmi’s 
 mansion-house, in Kent, he devoured, at one dinner, 84 rab- 
 bits, which, at the rate of half a rabbit a man, would have 
 served 168 men. He ate to his breakfast 18 yards of black- 
 pudding. He devoured at one meal a whole hog; and after 
 it, being accommodated with fruit, he ate three pecks of 
 damsons. 
 
 Gluttony is a most degrading vice. Be sober; be tempe- 
 rate ; be virtuous ; for 
 
 Health consists with temperance alone, 
 
 And peace, O Virtue ! peace is all thy own. Pope, 
 
 We shall, with the readers permission, now introduce some 
 Extraordinary Instances of Fasting. 
 
 A full account of a very uncommon case is given in the 
 Phil. Trans, vol. Ixvii. part I. Janet M'Leody an inhabitant 
 in the parish of Kincardine, in Ross-shire, continued healthy 
 till she was fifteen years of age, when she had a pretty severe 
 epileptic fit; after this she had an interval of health for four 
 years, and then another epileptic fit, which continued a 
 whole day and a night. A few days afterwards she was seized 
 with a fever, which continued with violence several weeks, 
 and from which she did not perfectly recover for some 
 months. At this time she lost the use of her eyelids ; so that 
 she was under the necessity of keeping them open with the 
 fingers of one hand, whenever she wanted to look about her. 
 In other respects she continued in pretty good health ; only 
 she periodically spit up blood in pretty large quantities, and 
 at the same time it flowed from the nose. This discharge 
 continued several years ; but at last it ceased; and soon after 
 she had a third epileptic fit, and after that a fever, from 
 which she recovered slowly. Six w^eeks after the crisis, she 
 stole out of the house unknown to her parents, who were 
 busied in their harvest work, and bound the sheaves of a 
 ridge before she was observed. In the evening she took to 
 her bed, complaining much of her heart (probably meaning 
 her stomach) and her head. From that time she never rose 
 for five years, but was occasionally lifted out of bed. She 
 seldom spoke a word, and took so little food, that it seemed 
 scarcely sufficient to support a sucking infant. Even this 
 small quantity was taken by compulsion ; and at last, about 
 Whitsunday, 1763, she totally refused every kind of food or 
 drink. Her jaws now became so fast locked, that it was with 
 the greatest difficulty her father was able to open her teeth a 
 little, in order to admit a small quantity of gruel or whey ; 
 but of this so much generally run out at the corners of her 
 mouth, that they could not be sensible any had been swal- 
 
 O •• 
 
66 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 lowed. About this time they got some water from a noted 
 medical spring in Brae-Mar, some of which they attempted to 
 make her swallow, but without effect. They continued their 
 trials, however, for three mornings ; rubbing her throat with 
 the \vater which ran out at the corners of her mouth. On the 
 third morning, during the operation, she cried out, Give 
 me more water ; and swallowed with ease all that remained 
 in the bottle. She spoke no more intelligibly for a year, 
 though she continued to mutter some words, for 14 days, 
 which her parents only understood. She continued to reject 
 all kinds of food and drink till July, 1765. At this time her 
 sister thought, by some signs she made, that she wanted her 
 jaws opened ; and this being done, not without violence, she 
 called intelligibly for some liquid, and drank with ease about 
 an English pint of water. Her father then asked why she 
 would not make some signs when she wanted to drink ? To 
 which she answered, — why should she, when she had no desire? 
 It was now supposed that she had regained the faculty of 
 speech ; and her jaws were kept open for about three weeks, 
 by means of a wedge. But in four or five days she became 
 totally silent, and the wedge was removed, because it made 
 her lips sore. She still, however, continued sensible; and 
 when her eyelids were opened, knew every body. This 
 could be guessed from the signs she made. By continuing 
 their attempts to force open her jaws, two of the under fore 
 teeth were driven out ; and of this opening her parents endea- 
 voured to avail themselves, by putting some thin nourishing 
 drink into her mouth, but without effect, as it always returned 
 by the corners. Sometimes they thought of thrusting a little 
 dough of oatmeal through this gap of the teeth, which she 
 would retain a few seconds, and then return with something 
 like a straining to vomit, without one particle going down. 
 Nor were the family sensible of any thing like swallowing for 
 four years, excepting the small draught of Brae-Mar water, 
 and an English pint of common water. For the last three 
 years she had no natural discharge, except that once or twice 
 a week she passed a few drops of water. 
 
 In this situation she was visited by Dr. Mackenzie, who 
 communicated the account to the Royal Society. He found 
 her not at all emaciated ; her knees were bent, and the ham- 
 strings tight, so that her heels were drawn up behind her 
 body. She slept much, and was very quiet ; but when awake, 
 kept a constant whimpering like a new-born weakly infant. 
 She never could remain a moment on her back, but always 
 fell to one side or another; and her chin was drawn close to 
 her breast, nor could it by any force be moved backwards. 
 The Doctor paid his first visit in October, 1767 ; and five 
 years afterwards, viz, in October, 1772, was induced to pay 
 
WONDERS OF ABSTINENCE. 
 
 67 
 
 her a second visit, by hearino* that she was recovering, and 
 had begun to eat and drink. The account given him was most 
 extraordinary. 
 
 Her parents one day returning from then country labours, 
 (having left their daughter fixed to her bed as usual,) were 
 greatly surprised to find her sitting upon her hams, in a part 
 of the house opposite to her bed-place, spinning with hei 
 mother’s distaff. All the food she took at that time was only 
 to crumble a little oat or barley cake in the palm of her hand, 
 as if to feed a chicken. She put little crumbs of this into the 
 gap of her teeth; rolled them about for some time in her 
 mouth ; and then sucked out of the p^lrn of her hand a little 
 water, whey, or milk ; and this only once or twice a day, 
 and even that by compulsion. She never attempted to speak; 
 her jaws were fast locked, and her eyes shut. On opening 
 her eyelids, the balls were found to be turned up under the 
 edge of the os frontis ; her countenance was ghastly, her 
 complexion pale, and her whole person emaciated. She 
 seemed sensible and tractable, except in taking food. This 
 she did with the utmost reluctance, and even cried before she 
 yielded. The great change of her looks. Dr. Mackenzie attri- 
 buted to her spinning flax on the distaff, which exhausted too 
 much of the saliva ; and therefore he recommended to her 
 parents to confine her totally to the spinning of wool. In 
 1775, she was visited again, and found to be greatly improved 
 in her looks as well as strength ; her food was also consider- 
 ably increased in quantity; though even then she did not 
 take more than would be sufficient to sustain an infant of two 
 years of age. 
 
 In the Gentleman* s Magazine, for 1789, p. 1211, is recorded 
 the death of one Caleb Elliot, a visionary enthusiast, who 
 meant to have fasted 40 days, and actually survived 16 with- 
 out food, having obstinately refused sustenance of every 
 kind. 
 
 At the same time that we should guard against supersti- 
 tious fasting, we should be cautious not to transgress the 
 bounds of temperance. Occas’onal abstinence is useful and 
 praiseworthy, and we shall now give some instances of The 
 Wonders of Abstinence. 
 
 Many wonders are related of the effects of abstinence, in 
 the cure of several disorders, and in protracting the term of 
 Jife. The noble Venetian, Cornaro, after all imaginable 
 means had proved vain, so that his life was despaired of at 
 40, recovered, and lived to near 100, by mere dint of absti- 
 nence ; as he himself gives account. It is indeed surprising 
 to what a great age the primitive Christians of the East, who 
 retired from the persecutions into the deserts of Arabia and 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Egypt, lii 2 d, healthful and cheerful, on a very little food. 
 Cassian assures us, that the common rate for 24 hours was 12 
 ounces of bread, and mere water ; with this, St. Anthony lived 
 105 years ; James the hermit, 104 ; Arsenins, tutor of the 
 Emperor Arcadius, 123; S. Epiphanius, 115; Simeon, the 
 Stylite, 112; and Romauld, 130. Indeed, we can match 
 these instances of longevity at home. Buchanan writes, that 
 one Lawrence preserved himself to 140, by force of tempe 
 ranee and labour ; and Spottiswood mentions one Kentigern, 
 afterwards called St. Mongah, or Mungo, who lived to 185, 
 by the same means. Abstinence, however, is to be recom- 
 mended only as it means a proper regimen ; for in general 
 it must have bad consequences, wRen observed without a due 
 regard to constitution, age, strength, 8cc. 
 
 According to Dr. Cheyne, most of the chronical diseases, 
 the infirmities of old age, and the short lives of Englishmen, 
 are owing to repletion ; and may be either cured, prevented, 
 or remedied, by abstinence : but then the kinds of abstinence 
 which ought to obtain, either in sickness or health, are to be 
 deduced from the laws of diet and regimen. Among the 
 brute creation, we see extraordinary instances of long absti- 
 nence. The serpent kind, in particular, bear abstinence to 
 a wonderful degree. Rattlesnakes are reported to have sub- 
 sisted many months without any food, yet still retained their 
 vigour and fierceness. Dr. Shaw speaks of a couple of ceras- 
 tes, (a sort of Egyptian serpents,) which had been kept five 
 years in a bottle close corked, without any sort of food, un- 
 less a small quantity of sand, wherein they coiled themselves 
 up in the bottom of the vessel, may be reckoned as such : 
 yet when he saw them, they had newly cast their skins, and 
 were as brisk and lively as if just taken. 
 
 But it is even natural for divers species of creatures to pass 
 four, five, or six months’ every year, without either eating or 
 drinking. Accordingly, the tortoise, bear, dormouse, ser- 
 pent, Sec. are observed regularly to retire, at those seasons, 
 to their respective cells, and hide themselves, — some in the 
 caverns of rocks or ruins; others dig holes under ground; 
 others get intc woods, and lay themselves up in clefts of 
 trees ; others bury themselves under water, &c. And yet 
 these animals are found as fat and fleshy after some months’ 
 abstinence as before. — A o'entleman {Phil. Trans. No. 194.) 
 weighed his tortoise several years successively, at its going 
 to earth in October, and coming out again in IMarch ; and 
 found that, of four pounds four ounces, it only used to lose 
 about one ounce. — Indeed, we have instances of men passing 
 several months as strictly abstinent as other creatures. In 
 particular, the records of the Tower mention a Scotchman 
 imprisoned for felony, and strictly watched in that fortress 
 
SLEEP-WALKING. 
 
 for six weeks ; in all which time he took not the least suste 
 nance; for which he had his pardon. Numberless instances 
 of extraordinary abstinence, particularly from morbid causes, 
 are to be found in the different periodical Memoirs, Transac- 
 tions, Ephemerides, &c. It is to be added, that, in most 
 instances of extraordinary human abstinence related b) natu- 
 ralists, there were said to have been apparent marks of a 
 texture of blood and humour, much like that of the animals 
 above mentioned ; though it is not an improbable opinion, 
 that the air itself may furnish something for nutrition. It is 
 certain, there are substances of all kinds, animal, vegetable, 
 &c. floating in the atmosphere, which must be continually 
 taken in by respiration. And that an animal body may be 
 nourished thereby, is evident from the instance of vipers, 
 which, if taken when first brought forth, and kept from every 
 thing but air, will yet grow very considerably in a few days 
 The eggs of lizards, also, are observed to increase in bulk 
 after they are produced, though there be nothing to furnish 
 the increment but air alone, in like manner as the eggs or 
 spawn of fish grow and are nourished by the water. And 
 hence, say some, it is, that cooks, turnspit dogs, &c. though 
 they eat but little, yet are usually fat. 
 
 We shall next offer the reader a few remarks on Sleep- 
 Walking. 
 
 Many instances are related of persons who were addicted 
 to this practice. A very remarkable one has been published 
 from a report made to the Physical Society of Lausanne, by 
 a committee of gentlemen appointed to examine a young man 
 who was accustomed to walk in his sleep. 
 
 The disposition to sleep-walking seems, in the opinion of 
 this committee, to depend on a particular affection of the 
 nerves, which both seizes and quits the patient during sleep. 
 Under the influence of this affection, the imagination repre- 
 sents to him the objects that struck him while awake, with as 
 much force as if they really affected his senses ; but it does 
 not make him perceive any of those that are actually pre- 
 sented to his senses, except in so far as they are connected 
 with the dreams w^hich engross him at the time. If, during 
 this state, the imagination has no determined purpose, he 
 receives the impression of objects as if he were awake ; only, 
 however, when the imagination is excited to bend its atten- 
 tion towards them. The perceptions obtained in this state 
 are very accurate, and, when once received, the imagination 
 renews them occasionally wdth as much force as if they were 
 again acquired by means of the senses. Lastly, these acade- 
 micians suppose, that the impressions received during this 
 state :)f the senses, disappear entirely when the person 
 
70 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 awakes, and do not return till the recurrence of the same dis- 
 position in the nervous system. 
 
 Our next article is, A Curious Account of the Sleep- 
 ing Woman of Dunninald, near Montrose. 
 
 The following narrative was communicated to the Royal 
 Society of Edinburgh, by Dr. Brewster. 
 
 Margaret Lyall, aged 21, daughter of John Lyall, labourer 
 at Dunninald, was first seized with a sleeping fit on the 27th 
 of June, 1815, which continued to the 30th of June; next 
 morning she was again found in a deep sleep : in this state 
 she remained for seven days, without motion, food, or the use 
 of any animal function. But at the end of this time, by the 
 moving of her left hand, and by plucking at the coverlet of the 
 bed and pointing to her mouth, a wish for food being under- 
 stood, it was given her. This she took ; but still remained 
 in her lethargic state till Tuesday the 8th of August, being 
 six weeks from the time she was seized with the lethargy, 
 without appearing to be awake, except on the afternoon of 
 Friday the 30th of June. During the first two weeks, her 
 pulse was generally about 50, the third week about 60, and 
 previous to her recovery, at 70 to 72. Though extremely 
 feeble for some days after her recovery, she gained strength 
 so rapidly, that before the end of August, she began to work 
 at the harvest, on the lands of Mr. Arkley, and continued 
 without inconvenience to perform her labour. 
 
 The account is drawn up by the clergyman of the parish, 
 and is accompanied with the medical report of the surgeons 
 who attended ; to whose attestations are added those of Mr. 
 Arkley, the proprietor of Dunninald, and Lyall, the father; 
 and the statement is, in every respect, entitled to the fullest 
 credit. 
 
 We shall proceed to some Instances of Extraordinary 
 Dreams. 
 
 The following account is by no means intended either to 
 restore the reign of superstition, or to induce the reader to 
 put faith in the numberless ridiculous interpretations, given 
 by some pretenders to divination, of the ordinary run of 
 dreams. The absurdity of the many traditional rules, laid 
 down by such persons ; such as, that dreaming of eggs prog- 
 nosticates anger ; of the washing of linens, forebodes Jiitting; 
 of green fields, sickness; of hanging, honour; of death, mar- 
 riage; cf fish, children; and of raw flesh, death, &c. &c. can 
 only be exceeded by the folly of those who put faith in such 
 fooleries. But instances have occurred of particular persons, 
 whose veracity cannot be doubted, having dreams of so sin- 
 gular a nature, and so literally and exactly fulfilled, that it 
 
FEAR 
 
THE IHiMHy 
 
 Pf T»€ 
 
 |||P»rB)!TV nr ft 1 
 
EXTRAORDINARY DREAMS. 
 
 71 
 
 may be well to mention one or two of them, for the entertain- 
 ment, at leasi^, of the reader, if they should not contribute, to 
 his improvement. — 
 
 Mr. Richard Boyle, manufacturer, residing in Stirling, 
 about 1781, dreamed that he saw a beautiful young woman, 
 with a winding sheet over her arm, whose image made a deep 
 impression on his mind. Upon telling his mother the dream, 
 she said, you will probably marry that woman, and if you do, 
 she will bury you. Going to Glasgow in 1783, he met with 
 a young woman in a friend’s house, exactly resembling the 
 person he had drea’med of ; and notwithstanding the dis- 
 heartening interpretation he had got, and the additional dis- 
 couraging circumstance told him, that she was already en- 
 gaged with another young man, was sure she was to be his 
 wife, and did not give up his pursuit till he made her his own. 
 The melancholy part of his dream was soon fulfilled. He 
 lived only 15 months with her; a short, but happy period. 
 His widow, during his life, dreamed with equal exactness of 
 her second husband, whom she did not see till three years 
 afterwards, when the sight of him, at church, in Montrose, 
 disturbed her devotion so much, upon recollecting her dream, 
 that she hardly knew a word the minister said afterwards. 
 Within less than two months, they were introduced to each 
 other; and within four, were married. — Another young lady 
 had dreamed so often, and so particularly, about the gentle- 
 man who afterwards married her, that at their first meeting, 
 she started back, as if she had seen a ghost. — The editors of 
 the Encyclopedia Perthensis declare they knew the parties 
 concerned in the foregoing relations. But these instances of 
 prophetic dreams, they observe, are trifling, compared to one 
 narrated in the Weekly Mirror, printed at Edinburgh, in 
 1781, and signed Verax ; and which, they say, they quote the 
 more readily, as also, from personal acquaintance with the 
 parties, they know the narrative to be true : 
 
 “ In June, 1752, Mr. Robert Aikenhead, farmer, in Den- 
 strath, of Arnhall, in the Mearns, about 5 miles north of 
 Brechin, and 7 from Montrose, went to a market called Tar- 
 '^cnty-fair, where he had a large sum of money to receive. 
 His eldest son, Robert, a boy about 8 years of age, was sent 
 to take care of the cattle, and, happening to lie down upon a 
 grassy bank before sun-set, fell fast asleep. Although the 
 boy had never been far from home, he was immediately car- 
 ried in his imagination to Tarrenty market, where, he dreamed, 
 that his father, after receiving the money, set out on his 
 return home, and was followed all the way by two ill-looking 
 fellows, who, when he had got to the western dykes o f Ing- 
 lis-Maul ly, (the seat of the then Lord Halkerton, afterwards 
 Eail of Kintore,) and little more than a mile from home. 
 
72 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 attacked and attempted to rob him. Whereupon the boy 
 thought he ran to his assistance, and, when he came within a 
 gun-shot of the place, called out some people, who were just 
 going to bed, who put the robbers to flight. He immediately 
 awoke in a fright, and, without waiting to consider whether 
 it was a vision or a reality, ran as fast as he could to the 
 place he had dreamed of, and had no sooner reached it, than 
 he saw his father in the very spot and situation he had seen 
 in his dream, defending himself with his stick against the 
 assassins. He therefore immediately realized his own part of 
 the visionary scene, by roaring out. Murder I which soon 
 brought out the people, who running up to Mr. Aikenhead’s 
 assistance, found him victor over one of the villains, whom 
 he had previously knocked down with a stone, after they had 
 pulled him off his hjorse ; but almost overpowered by the 
 other, who repeatedly attempted to stab him with a sword , 
 against which he had no other defence than his stick and his 
 hands, which were considerably mangled by grasping the 
 blade. Upon sight of the country people, the villain who 
 had the sword ran off; but thv other not being able, was 
 apprehended and lodged in gaol. Meantime there was no 
 small hue and cry after young Robert, w'hose mother missing 
 him, and finding the cattle among the corn, was in the utmost 
 anxiety, concluding that he had fallen into some water or 
 peat moss. But her joy and surprise were equally great, 
 when her husband returned with the boy, and told her how 
 miraculously both his money and life had been preserved by 
 his son’s dream ; although she was at first startled at seeing 
 her husband’s hands bloody. 
 
 To those who deny the existence of a God, (adds the 
 writer,) or the superintendence of a divine providence, the 
 above narrative will appear as fabulous as any story in Ovid. 
 To those who measure the greatness and littleness of events 
 by the arbitrary rules of human pride and vanity, it will per- 
 haps appear incredible that such a miracle should have been 
 wrought for the preservation of the life of a country farmer. 
 But all who found their opinions upon the unerring rule of 
 right and truth, which assures us that a sparrow cannot fall 
 to the ground without the permission of our heavenly Father, 
 (and who know, that in the sight of Him, with whom there 
 is no respect of persons or dignities, the life of the greatest 
 monarch on earth, and that of the lowest of his subjects, are 
 of equal value,) will laugh at such silly objections, when 
 opposed to well-attested facts. That the above is one, could 
 be attested upon oath, w^ere it necessary, by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Aikenhead, from whom I had all the particulars above nar- 
 rated about 15 months ago. — Edinburgh, March 12, 1781.”- ■ 
 Indeed, whoever can persuade himself that such facts as 
 
POETICAL DEATHS. 
 
 73 
 
 are stated above, can happen by chance, may easily adopt the 
 system of those philosophers, who tell us that the universe was 
 formed by the fortuitous concourse of atoms. 
 
 The title of our next subject is curious, — Poetical, Gram- 
 matical, AND Scientific Deaths. 
 
 The Emperor Adrian, dying, made that celebrated address 
 to his soul, which is so happily translated by Pope, in the fol- 
 lowing words : 
 
 Vital spark of heav’nly flame, 
 
 Quit, oh quit this mortal frame. 
 
 Trembling, hoping, ling’ring, flying. 
 
 Oh the pain, the bliss of dying ! 
 
 Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife. 
 
 And let me languish into life. 
 
 Hark ! they whisper ; angels say, 
 
 Sister spirit, come away. 
 
 What is this absorbs me quite? 
 
 Steals my senses, shuts my sight ? 
 
 Drowns my spirits, draws my breath ? 
 
 Tell me, my soul, can this be death ? 
 
 The world recedes ; it disappears ! 
 
 Heav’n opens on my eyes ! my ears 
 With sounds seraphic ring : 
 
 Lend, lend your wings ! I mount ! I fly ! 
 
 O Grave ! where is thy victory ? 
 
 O Death ! where is thy sting ? 
 
 Lucan, when he had his veins opened by order of Nero, ex- 
 pired reciting a passage from his Pharsalia, in which he has 
 described the wound of a dying soldier. Petronius did the 
 same thing on the same occasion. 
 
 Patris, a poet of Caen, perceiving himself expiring, com- 
 posed some verses which are justly admired. In this little 
 poem he relates a dream, in which he appeared to be placed 
 next to a beggar, when, having addressed him in the haughty 
 strain he would probably have employed on this side of the 
 grave, he received the following reprimand : 
 
 “ Here all are equal ; now thy lot is mine ! 
 
 “ I on my dunghill, as thou art on thine.” 
 
 Des Barreaux, it is said, wrote, on his death-bed, that son- 
 net which is well known, and which is translated in ti ^ 
 “ Spectator.^* 
 
 Margaret of Austria, when she was nearly perishing in a 
 storm at sea, composed for herself the following epitaph iH' 
 verse : 
 
 “ Beneath this tomb is high-born Margaret laid, 
 
 “ Who had two husbands, and yet died a maid.” 
 
 She was betrothed to Charles VIII. of France, who forsook 
 her. Being next intended for the Spanish Infant, in her voyage 
 
 Spain she wrote these lines in a storm. 
 
 3. K 
 
74 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Roscommon, at the moment he expired, with an energy of 
 voioe (says his biographer) that expressed the most fervent 
 devotion, uttered two lines of his own version of ‘‘Dies Iree!” 
 
 Waller, in his last moments, repeated some lines from Vir- 
 gil : and Chaucer took his farewell of all human vanities by a 
 moral ode, entitled, “ A ballad made by Geffrey Chauycer 
 upon his dethe-bedde lying in his grete anguysse.’^ 
 
 “ The muse that has attended my course (says the dying 
 Gleim, in a letter to Klopstock*) still hovers round my steps 
 to the very verge of the grave.” A collection of songs, com- 
 posed by old Gleim on his death-bed, it is said, were intend- 
 ed to be published. 
 
 Chatellard, a French gentleman, beheaded in Scotland, for 
 having loved the Queen, and even for having attempted hei 
 honour, Brantome says, would not have any other viaticum 
 than a poem of Ronsard. When he ascended the scaffold, he 
 took the hymns of this poet, and for his consolation read that 
 on death ; which, he says, is well adapted to conquer its fear. 
 He preferred the poems of Ronsard to either a prayer-book or 
 his confessor : such was his passion. 
 
 The Marquis of Montrose, when he was condemned by his 
 judges to have his limbs nailed to the gates of four cities, the 
 brave soldier said that, “ he w^as sorry he had not limbs 
 sufficient to be nailed to all the gates of the cities in Europe, 
 as monuments of his loyalty. As he proceeded to his execu- 
 tion, he put this thought into beautiful verse. 
 
 Philip Strozzi, when imprisoned by Cosmo the First, great 
 Duke of Tuscany, was apprehensive of the danger to wffiich 
 he might expose his friends, (who had joined in his conspiracy 
 -against the duke,) from the confessions which the rack might 
 extort from him. Having attempted every exertion for the li- 
 berty of his country, he considered it no crime therefore to die. 
 He resolved on suicide. With the point of the swor^, with 
 which he killed himself, he first engraved on the mantle-piece 
 'Of the chimney, this verse of Virg^il : 
 
 Exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultoi. 
 
 Rise, some avenger ^ from our blood ! 
 
 Such persons realize that beautiful fiction of the ancients, 
 'who represent the swans of Cayster singing at their death; and 
 have been compared to the nightingale singing with a thorn 
 on its breast. 
 
 The following anecdotes are of a different complexion : they 
 may perhaps excite a smile. We have given them the title of 
 Grammatical Deaths. 
 
 Pere Bouhours was a French grammarian, who had been 
 justly accused of paying too scrupulous an attention to the 
 * Klopstock’s Death in “ L’Allemagne vol. i. p. 252. 
 
SINGULAR DEATHS. — ANTHROPOPHAGI. 
 
 • 75 
 
 minutiae of letters. He was more solicitous of his words than 
 his thoughts. It is said, that when he was dying, he called out 
 to ]iis friends (a correct grammarian to the last,) ** Je Vas, ou 
 je Vais mourir ; run ou V autre se dit I” 
 
 When Malherbe was dying, he reprimanded his nurse for 
 making use of a solecism in her language ! And when his con- 
 fessor represented to him the felicities of a future state in low 
 expressions, the dying critic interrupted him : “ Hold your 
 tongue,’’ he said, “ your wretched style only makes me out of 
 conceit with them !” 
 
 Several persons of science have died in a scientific manner. 
 — Haller, the greatest of physicians, beheld his end approach 
 with the utmost composure. He kept feeling his pulse to the 
 last moment, and when he found that life was almost gone, 
 he turned to his brother physician, and observed, “ My friend, 
 the artery ceases to beat,” — and almost instantly expired. 
 
 De Lagny, who was intended by his friends for the study of 
 the law, having fallen on an Euclid, found it so congenial to 
 his disposition, that he devoted himself to mathematics. 
 In his last moments, when he retained no further recollection 
 of the friends who surrounded his bed, one of them, perhaps 
 to make a philosophical experiment, thought proper to ask 
 him the square of 12 ; the dying mathematician instantly, and 
 perhaps without knowing that he answered it, replied, “ 144.” 
 
 The following lines, from the pen of Mrs. Barbauld, in an 
 address to the Deity, express the desires and hopes of a real 
 Christian in the contemplation of death : 
 
 “ O when the last, the closing hour draws nigh, 
 
 And earth recedes before my swimming eye ; 
 
 When trembling on the doubtful edge of fate, 
 
 1 stand, and stretch my view to either state ; 
 
 Teach me to quit this transitory scene 
 With decent triumph and a look serene ; 
 
 Teach me to fix my ardent hopes on high. 
 
 And, having liv’d to thee, in thee to die 
 
 The following article is not of a pleasing description, but 
 nevertheless proper to be inserted in ‘‘ The Book of Curiosi- 
 ties.” It is Anthropophagi, or Men-eaters : 
 
 The Cyclops, the Lestrygons, and Scylla, are all represented 
 in Homer as Anthropophagi, or man-eaters, and the female 
 phantoms, Circe and the Syrens, first bewitched with a show 
 of pleasure, and then destroyed. This, like the other parts of 
 Homer’s poetry, had a foundation in the manners of the times 
 preceding his own. It was still in many places the age spoken 
 of by Oipheus, 
 
 ** When men devour’d each other like the beasts, 
 
 Gorging on human flesh.” 
 
76 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 History gives us divers instances of persons driven by ex- 
 cess of hunger to eat their own relations. And also out of 
 revenge and hatred, where soldiers, in the heat of battle, have 
 been known to be carried to such an excess of rage, as to tear 
 their enemies with their teeth. 
 
 The violence of love has sometimes produced the same effect 
 as the excess of hatred. 
 
 Among the Essedonian Scythians, when a man’s father died, 
 his neighbours brought him several beasts, which they killed, 
 mixed up their flesh with that of the deceased, and made a 
 feast. 
 
 Among the Massageti, when any person grew old, they 
 killed him, and ate his flesh ; but if the party died of sickness, 
 they buried him, esteeming him unhappy. 
 
 Idolatry and superstition have caused the eating more hu- 
 man flesh, than both love and hatred put together. 
 
 There are few nations but have offered human victims to 
 their deities ; and it was an established custom to eat part of 
 the sacrifices they offered. 
 
 It appears pretty certain, from Dr. Hawkesworth’s account 
 of the voyages to the South Seas, that the inhabitants of New 
 Zealand ate the bodies of their enemies. Mr. Petit has a learn- 
 ed dissertation on the nature and manners of the Anthropopha- 
 gi. Among other things, he disputes whether or no the Anthro- 
 pophagi act contrary to nature ? The philosophers, Diogenes, 
 Chrysippus, and Zeno, followed by the whole body of Stoics, 
 held it a very reasonable thing for men to eat each other. 
 
 According to Sextus Empiricus, the first laws were those 
 made to prevent men from eating each other, as had been done 
 until that time. 
 
 The Greek writers represent Anthropophagi as universal 
 before Orpheus. 
 
 Leonardos Floroventius informs us, that having fed a hog 
 with hog’s flesh, and a dog with dog’s flesh, he found a repug- 
 nance in nature to such food ; the former lost all his bristles ; 
 the latter its hair, and the whole body broke out in blotches. 
 
 If even this horrid practice of eating human flesh originates 
 from hunger, still it must be perpetuated from revenge : as 
 death must lose much of its horror among those who are ac- 
 customed to eat the dead ; and where there is little horror at 
 the sight of death, there must be less repugnance to murder. 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with An Account of a 
 W iLD Man, given by M. Le Roy. 
 
 In 1774, a wild man was discovered in the neigfhbourhood 
 of Yuary. This man, who inhabited the rocks near a forest, 
 was very tall, covered with hair like a bear, very nimble, and 
 of a gay huniaur. He neither did, nor seemed to intend, harm 
 
STRIKING INSTANCES OF TNIEGRITY. 
 
 77 
 
 to any body. He often visited the cottages, without ever at- 
 tempting to carry off any thing. He had no knowledge of bread, 
 milk, or cheese. His greatest amusement was to see the sheep 
 running, and to scatter them; and he testified his pleasure at 
 this sight by loud fits of laughter, but never attempted to hurt 
 them. When the shepherds (as was frequently the case) let 
 loose their dogs at him, he fled with the swiftness of an arrow, 
 and never allowed the dogs to come too near him. One morn- 
 ing he came to tlie cottage of some workmen, and one of them 
 endeavouring to catch him by the leg, he laughed heartily, 
 and then made his escape. He seemed to be about thirty years 
 of age. As the forest is very extensive, and had a commu 
 nication with a vast wood that belongs to the Spanish terri- 
 tories, it is natural to suppose that this solitary, but cheerful 
 creature, had been lost in his infancy, and subsisted on herbs 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 Striking Instances of Integrity — Shocking Instances of Ingrati 
 tude — Extraordinary Instances of Honour — Surprising Effects 
 of Anger — -Remarkable Effects of Fright, or Terror — Notable 
 Instance of tne Power of Conscience. 
 
 Striking Instances of Integrity. 
 
 A MAN of integrity will never listen to any reason, or give 
 way to any measure, or be misled by any inducement, against 
 conscience. The inhabitants of a great town offered Mar- 
 shal de Turenne 100,000 crowns, upon condition he would 
 take another road, and not march his troops their way. He 
 answered them, As your town is not on the road I intend 
 to march, I cannot accept the money you offer me.” — The 
 Earl of Derby, in the reign of Edward III. making a descent 
 in Guienne, carried by storm the town of Bergerac, and gave 
 it up to be plundered. — A Welsh Knight happening to light 
 upon the receiver’s office, found such a quantity of money, 
 that he thought himself obliged to acquaint his general with 
 it, imagining that so great a booty belonged to him. But 
 he was agreeably surprised, when the Earl wished him joy of 
 his good fortune, and said he did not make the keeping of 
 his word depend on the great or little value of what he had 
 promised. — In the siege of Falisci, by Camillus, General 
 of the Bomans, the schoolmaster of the town, wno had the 
 children of the senators under his care, led them abroad, un- 
 der the pretext of recreation, and carried them to the Roman 
 
78 
 
 CURIOSITIES respecting MAN. 
 
 •camp; saying to Camillus, that, by this artifice, he had de 
 livered Falisci into his hands. Camillus, abhorring his 
 treachery, said, “ That there were laws for war as well as for 
 peace ; and that the Romans were taught to make war with 
 integrity, not less than with courage.*' He ordered the 
 schoolmaster to be stripped, his hands to be bound behind 
 his back, and to be delivered to the boys, to be lashed back 
 into the town. The Falerians, hitherto obstinate in resist- 
 ance, struck with an act of justice so illustrious, delivered 
 themselves up to the Romans ; convinced that they would 
 be far better to have the Romans for their allies, than their 
 enemies. 
 
 Shocking Instances of Ingratitude. — Herodotus in- 
 forms us, that when Xerxes, king of Persia, was at Celene, a 
 city of Phrygia, Pythius, a Lydian, who resided there, and, 
 next to Xerxes, was the most opulent prince of those times, 
 entertained him and his whole army with an incredible magni- 
 ficence, and made him an offer of all his wealth towards de- 
 fraying the expenses of his expedition. Xerxes, surprised at 
 BO generous an offer, inquired to what sum his riches amounted. 
 Pythius answered, that having the design of offering them to 
 his service, he had taken an exact account of them, and that 
 the silver he had by him, amounted to 2000 talents, (about 
 £255,000 sterling), and the gold to 3,993,000 darics (about 
 £1,700,000 sterling). All this money he offered him, telling 
 him, that his revenue was sufficient for the support of his 
 household. Xerxes made him very hearty acknowledgments, 
 and entered into a particular friendship with him, and declined 
 accepting his present. Some time after this, Pythius having 
 desired a favour of him, that out of his five sons, who served 
 in his army, he would be pleased to leave him the eldest, to 
 comfort him in his old age ; Xerxes was so enraged at the 
 proposal, though so reasonable in itself, that he caused the 
 eldest son to be killed before his father’s eyes, giving the lat- 
 ter to understand, that it was a favour he spared him and the 
 rest of his children. Yet, this is the same Xerxes who is so 
 much admired for his humane reflection at the head of his 
 numerous army. — The emperor Basilius I. exercised himself 
 in hunting: a great stag running furiously against him, fasten- 
 ed one of the branches of his horns in the emperor’s girdle, 
 and, pulling him from his horse, dragged him a good distance, 
 to the imminent danger of his life ; which a gentleman of his 
 retinue perceiving, drew his sword, and cut the emperor’s gir- 
 dle asunder, which disengaged him from the beast, with little 
 or no hurt to his person. But, observe his reward ! ‘* He was 
 sentenced to lose his head for putting the sword so near the 
 body of the emperor ; and suffered death accordingly.” ( Zonor, 
 
SHOCKING INSTANCES OF INGRATlTCrE. 79 
 
 Amial. tom. 3. p. 155.) — In a little work entitled Friendly Can- 
 tions to Officers, the following atrocious instance is related. 
 An opulent city, in the west of England, had a regiment sent 
 to be quartered there : the principal inhabitants, glad to shew 
 their hospitality and attachment to their sovereign, got ac- 
 quainted with the officers, invited them to their houses, and 
 shewed them every civility in their power. A merchant, ex- 
 tremely easy in his circumstances, took so prodigious a liking 
 to one officer in particular, that he gave him an apartment in 
 his own house, and made him in a manner master of it, th 
 officer’s friends being always welcome to his table. The 
 merchant was a widower, and had two favourite daughters : 
 the officer cast his wanton eyes upon them, and too fatally 
 ruined them both. Dreadful return to the merchant’s mis- 
 placed friendship ! The consequence of this ungenerous action 
 was, that all officers ever after were shunned as pests to society ; 
 nor have the inhabitants yet conquered their aversion to a red 
 coat. — We read in Rapin’s History, that during Monmouth’s 
 rebellion, in the reign of James II. a certain person, knowing 
 the humane disposition of one Mrs. Gaunt, whose life was onci 
 continued exercise of beneficence, fled to her house, where he 
 was concealed and maintained for some time. Hearing, how- 
 ever, of the proclamation, which promised an indemnity and 
 reward to those who discovered such as harboured the rebels, 
 he betrayed his benefactress : and such was the spirit of jus- 
 tice and equity which prevailed among the ministry, that he 
 was pardoned, and recompensed for his treachery, while she 
 was burnt alive for her charity ! — The following instance is also 
 to be found in the same history. Humphrey Bannister and 
 his father were both servants to, and raised by, the Duke of 
 Buckingham ; who being driven to abscond by an unfortunate 
 accident befalling the army he had raised against the usurper 
 Richard III. he retired to Bannister’s house near Shrewsbury, 
 as to a place where he might be quite safe. Bannister, how- 
 ever, upon the king’s proclamation promising 10001. reward to 
 him that should apprehend the duke, betrayed his master to 
 John Merton, high sheriff of Shropshire, who sent him under 
 \ strong guard to Salisbury, where the king then was ; and 
 there, in the market-place, the duke was beheaded. But Di- 
 vine vengeance pursued the traitor Bannister; for, demanding 
 the 10001. that was the price of his master’s blood, Richard 
 refused to pay it him, saying, He that would be false to so 
 good a master, ought not to be encouraged.” He was after- 
 wards hanged for manslaughter; his eldest son went mad, and 
 died in a hog-sty ; his second became deformed and lame ; and 
 his third son was drowned in a small puddle of water; his 
 eldest daughter became pregnant by one of his carter^, and his 
 second was seized with a leprosy whereof she died. Hist, oj 
 
80 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Rng, i. p. 304. Let us guard against this odious vice, ingra 
 titude, being assured that sooner or later the bitter effects of 
 this, as well as of all other sins, will find us out. 
 
 Our following article consists of some Extraordinary 
 Instances of Honour. 
 
 The Spanish historians relate a memorable instance of invio- 
 lable regard to the principles of honour and truth. A Spanish 
 cavalier, in a sudden quarrel, slew a Moorish gentleman, and 
 fled. His pursuers soon lost sight of him, for he had, unper- 
 ceived, leaped over a garden wall. The owner, a Moor, hap- 
 pening to be in his garden, was addressed by the Spaniard on 
 his knees, who acquainted him with his case, and implored con- 
 cealment. “ Eat this,” said the Moor (giving him half a peach), 
 
 you now know that you may confide in my protection.” He 
 then locked him up in his garden, telling him, as soon as it 
 was night he would provide for his escape to a place of 
 greater safety. The Moor then went into his house, where he 
 had but just seated himself, when a great crowd, with loud 
 lamentations, came to his gate, bringing the corpse of his son, 
 who had just been killed by a Spaniard. When the first shock 
 of surprise was a little over, he learned, from the description 
 given, that the fatal deed was done by the very person then in 
 his power. He mentioned this to no one; but, as soon as it 
 was dark, retired to his garden, as if to grieve alone, giving 
 orders that none should follow him. Then accosting the Spa- 
 niard, he said, ** Christian, the person you have killed is my 
 son, his body is now in my house. You ought to suffer; but 
 you have eaten with me, and I have given you my faith, which 
 must not be broken.” He then led the astonished Spaniard to 
 his stables, mounted him on one of his fleetest horses, and 
 said, “ Fly far while the night can cover you; you will be safe 
 in the morning. You are indeed guilty of my son’s blood ; but 
 God is just and good ; and thank him, I am innocent of your’s, 
 and that my faith given is preserved.” This point of honour 
 is most religiously observed by the Arabs and Saracens, from 
 whom it was adopted by the Moors of Africa, and by them 
 was brought into Spain. — The following instance of Spanish 
 honour may still be in the memory of many living, and de- 
 serves to be handed down to the latest posterity. In 1746, 
 when Britain was at war with Spain, the Elizabeth of London, 
 captain William Edwards, coming through the gulf from Ja- 
 maica, richly laden, met with a most violent storm, in which 
 the ship sprung aleak, that obliged them to run into the Ha- 
 vannah, a Spanish port, to save their lives. The captain went 
 on shore, and directly waited on the governor, told the occa- 
 sion of his puttino in, and that he surrendered the ship as a 
 prize, and himself and his men as prisoners of war, only re- 
 
EXTRA0R:)1NARY instances of honour. 
 
 81 
 
 questing good quarter. “ No, Sir,” replied the Spanish go- 
 vernor, “ if we had taken you in fair war at sea, or approach- 
 ing our coast with hostile intentions, your ship would then 
 have been a prize, and your people prisoners ; but when, dis- 
 tressed by a tempest, you come into our ports for the safety 
 of yourlives,we,thoughenemies,beingmen, are bound, as such, 
 by the laws of humanity, to afford relief to distressed men 
 who ask it of us. We cannot, even against our enemies, take 
 advantage of an act of God. You have leave therefore to un- 
 load your ship, if that be necessary, and to stop the leak ; you 
 may refit her here, and traffic so far as shall be necessary to 
 pay the charges ; you may then depart, and I will give you a 
 pass to be in force till you are beyond Bermuda : if after that 
 you are taken, you will then be a lawful prize ; but now you 
 are only a stranger, and have a stranger’s right to safety and 
 protection.” The ship accordingly departed, and arrived safe 
 in London.--A remarkable instance of honour is also recorded 
 of an African negro, in captain Snelgrave’s account of his 
 voyage to Guinea. A New-England sloop, trading there in 
 1752, left her second mate, William Murray, sick on shore, and 
 sailed without him. Murray was at the house of a black, 
 named Cudjoe, with whom he had contracted an acquaintance 
 during their trade. He recovered ; and the sloop being gone, 
 he continued with his black friend till some other opportunity 
 should offer of his getting home. In the mean time a Dutch 
 ship came into the road, and some of the blacks coming ou 
 board her, were treacherously seized and carried off as slaves. 
 The relations and friends, transported with sudden rage, ran 
 to the house of Cudjoe, to take revenge by killing Murray. 
 Cudjoe stopped them at the door, and demanded what they 
 wanted. “ The white men,” said they, “ have carried away 
 our brothers and sons, and we will kill all white men. Give 
 us the white man you have in your house, for we will kill him.” 
 “ Nay,” said Cudjoe, “ the white men that carried away your 
 relations are bad men, kill them when you can take them ; but 
 this white man is a good man, and you must not kill him.” — 
 “ But he is a white man,” they cried, “ and the white men are 
 all bad men, we will kill them all.” — “ Nay,” says he, “ you 
 must not kill a man that has done no harm, only for being 
 white. This man is my friend, my house is his post, I am his 
 soldier, and must fight for him ; you must kill me before you 
 can kill him. What good man will ever come again under my 
 roof, if 1 let my floor be stained with a good man’s blood?” 
 The negroes, seeing his resolution, and being convinced b} 
 his discourse that they were wrong, went away ashamed. In 
 a few days Murray went abroad again with his friend Cudjoe, 
 when several of them took him by the hand, and told him, 
 ** they were glad they had not killed him ; for, as he was a good 
 
82 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN.- 
 
 man, their god would have been very angry, and wou d have 
 spoiled their fishing.” 
 
 As it is our intention to record whatever we meet with, that 
 is curious or wonderful, we hesitate not in inserting the fol- 
 lowing Surprising Effects of Anger. 
 
 Physicians and naturalists afford instances of very extraordi- 
 nary effects of this passion. Borrichius cured a woman of an 
 inveterate tertian ague, which had baffled the art of physic, by 
 putting the patient in a furious fit of anger. Valeriola made use 
 of the same means, with the like success, in a quartan ague. 
 The same passion has been equally salutary to paralytic, gouty, 
 and even dumb persons ; to which last it has sometimes given 
 the use of speech. Etmuller gives divers instances of very sin- 
 gular cures wrought by anger ; among others, he mentions a per- 
 son laid up in the gout, who, being provoked by his physician, 
 flewupon him, and was cured. Itis true, the remedy is somewhat 
 dangerous in the application, when a patient does not know how- 
 to use it with moderation. We meet with several instances of 
 princes, to whom it has proved mortal; e. g. Valentinian I. 
 Wenceslaus, Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, and others. 
 There are also instances wherein it has produced the epilepsy, 
 jaundice, cholera morbus, diarrhoea, &c. In fact, this passion 
 is of such a nature, that it quickly throws the whole nervous 
 system into preternatural commotions, by a violent stricture 
 of the nervous and muscular parts ; and surprisingly augments, 
 not only the systole of the heart, and its contiguous vessels, 
 but also the tone of the fibrous parts in the whole body. It 
 is also certain, that this passion, by the spasmodic stricture it 
 produces in the parts, exerts its power principally on the sto- 
 mach and intestines, which are highly nervous and membra- 
 neous parts ; whence the symptoms are more dangerous, in 
 proportion to the greater consent of the stomach and intes- 
 tines with the other nervous parts, and almost with the whole 
 body. The unhappy influence of anger likewise on the biliary 
 and hepatic ducts, is very surprising ; since, by an intense 
 constriction of these, the liver is not only rendered scirrhous, 
 but stones also are often generated in the gall-bladder and biliary 
 ducts : these accidents have scarcely any other origin than an ob- 
 struction of the free motion and efflux of the bile, by means of 
 this violent stricture. From such a stricture, likewise, proceeds 
 the jaundice, which, in process of time, lays a foundation for 
 calculous concretions in the gall-bladder. By increasing the 
 motion of the fluid, or the spasms of the fibrous parts, by means 
 of anger, a large quantity of blood is forcibly propelled to cer 
 tain parts ; whence it happens, that they are too much dis- 
 tended, and the orifices of the veins distributed there, opened. 
 It is evident, from experience, that anger has a great tendency 
 
EFFECTS OF ANGER. — FRIGHT, OR TERROR. 83 
 
 to excite enormous hemorrhages, either from the nose, the 
 aperture of the pulmonary artery, &c. The effects of this pas- 
 sion are well described Armstrong in the following lines : 
 
 “ But there’s a passiou, whose tempestuous sway 
 Tears up each virtue planted in the heart, 
 
 And shakes to ruin proud philosophy : 
 
 For pale and trembling anger rushes in 
 
 With falt’ring speech, and eyes that wildly stare, 
 
 Fierce as the tiger, madder than the seas, 
 
 Desp’rate, and arm’d with more than human strength ; 
 
 But he whom anger stings, drops, if he dies. 
 
 At once, and rushes apoplectic down ; 
 
 Or a fierce fever hurries -him to hell. ’ 
 
 Now follows an account of some Remarkable Effects 
 OF Fright, or Terror. 
 
 Out of many instances of the fatal effects of fear, the fol- 
 lowing is selected as one of the most singular: — George Gro- 
 chantzy, a Polander, who had enlisted as a soldier in the ser- 
 vice of the king of Prussia, deserted during the last war. A 
 small party was sent in pursuit of him, and, when he least 
 expected it, surprised him singing and dancing among a 
 company of peasants in an inn. This event, so sudden, and so 
 dreadful in its consequences, struck him in such a manner, 
 that, giving a great cry, he became altogether stupid and in- 
 sensible, and was seized without the least resistance. They 
 carried him away to Glocau, where he was brought before the 
 council of war, and received sentence as a deserter. He 
 suflered himself to be led and disposed of at the will of those 
 about him, without uttering a word, or giving the least sign 
 that he knew what had happened or would happen to him 
 He remained immoveable as a statue wherever he was placed, 
 and was wholly regardless of all that was done to him or about 
 him. During all the time that he was in custody, he neither 
 ate, nor drank, nor slept, nor had any evacuation. Some of 
 his comrades were sent to see him ; after that, he was visited 
 by some officers of his corps, and by some priests ; but he 
 still continued in the same state, without discovering the least 
 signs of sensibility. Promises, entreaties, and threaten- 
 ings, were equally ineffectual. It was at first suspected 
 that these appearances were feigned ; but such suspicions 
 gave way, when it was known that he took no sustenance, 
 and that the involuntary functions of nature were in a great 
 measure suspended. The physicians concluded that he 
 was in a state of hopeless idiocy ; and after some time they 
 knocked off his fetters, and left him at liberty to go where he 
 would. He received his liberty with the same insensibility 
 that he had shewn on other occasions; he remained fixed and 
 immoveable, his eyes turned wildly here and there, without 
 
84 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 taking cognizance of any object, and the muscles of his face 
 were fallen and fixed, like those of a dead body. He passed 
 twenty days in this condition, without eating, drinking, or 
 any evacuation, and died on the 20th day. He had been some- 
 times heard to fetch deep sighs ; and once he rushed with 
 gref»t violence on a soldier who had a mug of liquor in his 
 hand, forced the mug from him, and having drank the liquor 
 wdth great eagerness, let the mug drop to the ground. — Among 
 the ludicrous effects of fear, the following instance, quoted 
 from a French author, by Mr. Andrews, in his volume of Anec- 
 dotes, shews upon w^hat slight occasions this passion may be 
 sometimes excited in a very high degree, and even in persons 
 the most unlikely to entertain fear. “ Charles Gustavus (suc- 
 cessor to Christina, queen of Sweden,) was besieging Prague, 
 w^hen a boor of a most extraordinary visage desired admittance 
 to his tent ; and being allow^ed entrance, offered, by way of 
 amusing the king, to devour a whole hog of 100 weight in his 
 presence. The old general, Konigsmarc, who stood by the 
 king’s side, and who, soldier as he was, had not got rid of the 
 prejudices of his childhood, hinted to his royal master that the 
 peasant ought to be burnt as a sorcerer. ‘ Sir,’ said the fel- 
 low, irritated at the remark, " if your majesty will but make 
 that old gentleman take off his sword and his spurs, I will eat 
 him, before I begin the hog.’ Konigsmarc (who had, at the 
 head of a body of Sw^edes, performed wonders against the Aus- 
 trians, and who w^as looked upon as one of the bravest men of 
 the age,) could not stand this proposal ; especially as it was 
 accompanied by a most hideous and preternatural expansion of 
 the frightful peasant’s jaws. Without uttering a w’ord, the 
 veteran turned round, ran out of the court, nor thought him- 
 self safe until he had arrived at his quarters, where he re- 
 mained above 24 hours locked up securely, before he had got 
 rid of the panic which had so severely affected him.” Such 
 is the influence of frio'ht or terror. 
 
 The following is a notable instance of The Power op 
 Conscience. 
 
 It is a saying, that no man ever offended his owm con- 
 science, but first or last it was revenged upon him. The power 
 of conscience indeed has been remarked in all ages, and 
 the examples of it upon record are numerous and striking. — • 
 The following is related by Mr. Fordyce, in his Dialogues 
 oil Education, (vol. ii. p. 501.) as a real occurrence, which hap- 
 pened in a neighbouring state not many years ago. A jew'el- 
 ler, a man of good character and considerable w'ealth, having 
 occasion, in the way of his business, to travel to some distance 
 from the place of his abode, took along with him a servant, 
 in order to take care of his portmanteau. He had with him 
 
THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 85 
 
 some of his best jewels, and a large sum of money, to which 
 his servant was likewise privy. The master having occasion 
 to dismount on the road, the servant watching his opportu- 
 nity, took a pistol from his master’s saddle, and shot him dead 
 on the spot; then rifled him of his jewels and money, and, 
 hanging a large stone to his neck, threw him into the 
 nearest canal. With his booty he made off to a distant part 
 of the country, where he had reason to believe that neither 
 he nor his master were known. There he began to trade in a 
 very low way at first, that his obscurity might screen him from 
 observation, and in the course of a good many years seemed 
 to rise, by the natural progress of business, into wealth and 
 consideration ; so that his good fortune appeared at once the 
 effect and reward of industry and virtue. Of these he coun- 
 terfeited the appearance so well, that he grew into great cre- 
 dit, married into a good family, and by laying out his sudden 
 stores discreetly, as he saw occasion, and joining to all an 
 universal affability, he was admitted to a share of the govern- 
 ment of the town, and rose from one post to another, till at 
 length he was chosen chief magistrate. In this office he 
 maintained a fair character, and continued to fill it with no 
 small applause, both as a governor and a judge ; till one day, 
 as he sat on the bench, with some of his brethren, a criminal 
 was brought before him, who was accused of murdering his 
 master. The evidence came out full, the jury brought in 
 their verdict that the prisoner was guilty, and the whole as- 
 sembly waited the sentence of the president of the court 
 (which he happened to be that day) with great suspense. 
 Meanwhile he appeared to be in unusual disorder and agita- 
 tion of mind, and his colour changed often ; at length he rose 
 from his seat, and coming down from the bench, placed him- 
 self by the unfortunate man at the bar. ‘‘ You see before you 
 (said he, addressing himself to those who had sat on the bench 
 with him,) a striking instance of the just awards of heaven, 
 which, this day, after 30 years’ concealment, presents to you a 
 greater criminal than the man just now found guilty.” Then 
 he made an ample confession of his guilt, and of all the ag- 
 gravations : Nor can 1 feel (continued he) any relief from 
 the agonies of an awakened conscience, but by requiring that 
 justice be forthwith done against me in the most public and 
 solemn manner.” We may easily suppose the amazement of all 
 the assembly, and especially of his fellow judges. However, 
 they proceeded, upon this confession, to pass sentence upon 
 him, and he died with all the symptoms of a penitent mind. 
 Let it be our constant aim to keep a conscience void of offence 
 towards God, and towards man ; being assured that. 
 
 One self-approving hour whole years outw^eighs 
 
 Of stupid starers, and of loud huzzas. Pope» 
 
86 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 CHAP VI 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued,) 
 
 Remarkable Instance of Memory — Surprising Instance of Skill in 
 Numbers — Extraordinary Arithmetical Powers of a Child — 
 Curious Instance of Mathematical Talent — Stone Eater — 
 Poison Eater — Bletonism — Longevity. 
 
 Remarkable Instance of Memory. 
 
 Whence came the active and sagacious mind, 
 Self-conscious, and with faculties endued 
 Of understanding, will, and memory, 
 
 And reason, to distinguish true from false? 
 
 Whence, but through an infinite. 
 
 Almighty God, supremely wise and just? Newler, 
 
 Hortensius, one of the most celebrated orators of ancient 
 Rome, had so happy a memory, that after studying a dis- 
 course, though he had not written down a single word of it, 
 he could repeat it exactly in the same manner in which he had 
 composed it. His powers of mind in this respect were really 
 astonishing ; and we are told, that in consequence of a wager 
 with one Sienna, he spent a whole day at an auction, and, 
 when it was ended, recapitulated every article that had 
 been sold, together with the prices, and the names of the 
 purchasers, in their proper order, without erring in one point, 
 as was proved by the clerk, who followed him with his 
 book. 
 
 The following is a very Surprising Instance of Skill 
 IN Numbers. 
 
 Jedidiah Buxton, was a prodigy, with respect to skill in 
 numbers. His father, William Buxton, was schoolmaster of 
 the parish where he was born, in 1704 ; yet Jedediah’s educa- 
 tion was so much neglected, that he was never taught to 
 write ; and with respect to any other knowledge but that of 
 numbers, seemed always as ignorant as a boy of ten years of 
 age. How he came first to know the relative proportions of 
 numbers, and their progressive denominations, he did not 
 remember ; but to this he applied the w^hole force of his mind, 
 and upon this his attention was constantly fixed, so that he 
 frequently took no cognizance of external objects, and, when 
 he did it, it was only with respect to their numbers. If any 
 space of time was mentioned, he would soon after say it was 
 so many minutes ; and if any distance of way, he would assign 
 
SURPRISING INSTANCE OF SKILL IN NUMBERS. 87 
 
 the number of hair-breadths, without any question being 
 asked, or any calculation expected by the company. When 
 he once understood a question, he began to work with amaz- 
 ing facility, after his own method, without the use of a pen, 
 pencil, or chalk, or even understanding the common rules of 
 arithmetic, as taught in the schools. He would stride over a 
 piece of land, or a field, and tell the contents of it almost as 
 exactly as if one had measured it by the chain. In this manner 
 he measured the whole lordship of Elmton, belonging to Sir 
 John Rhodes, and brought him the contents, not only of some 
 thousands in acres, roods, and perches, but even in square 
 inches. After this, for his own amusement, he reduced them 
 into square hair-breadths, computing 48 to each side of the 
 inch. His memory was so great, that while resolving a ques- 
 tion, he could leave off, and resume the operation again, where 
 he left ofi‘, the next morning, or at a week, a month, or seve- 
 ral months, and proceed regularly till it was completed. His 
 memory would doubtless have been equally retentive with 
 respect to other objects, if he had attended to them with 
 equal diligence ; but his perpetual application to figures 
 prevented the smallest acquisition of any other knowledge. 
 He was sometimes asked, on his return from church, whether 
 he remembered the text, or any part of the sermon : but it 
 never appeared that he brought away one sentence ; his mind, 
 upon a closer examination, being found to have been busied, 
 even during divine service, in his favourite operation, either 
 dividing some time, or some space, into the smallest known 
 parts, or resolving some question that had been given him as 
 a test of his abilities. As this extraordinary person lived in 
 laborious poverty, his life was uniform and obscure. Time, 
 with respect to him, changed nothing but his age ; nor did 
 the seasons vary his employment, except that in winter he 
 used a flail, and in summer a ling-hook. In 1754, he came to 
 London, where he was introduced to the Royal Society, who, 
 m order to prove his abilities, asked him several questions in 
 arithmetic; and he gave them such satisfaction, that they dis- 
 missed him with a handsome gratuity. In this visit to the 
 metropolis, the only object of his curiosity, except figures, 
 was to see the king and royal family ; but they being at Ken- 
 sington, Jedidiah was disappointed. During his stay in Lon- 
 don, he was taken to see King Richard III. performed at 
 Drury-Lane playhouse ; and it was expected, either that the 
 novelty and the splendour of the show would have fixed him 
 in astonishment, or kept his imagination in a continual hurry, 
 or that his passions would, in some degree, haveb^en touched 
 by the power of action, though he did not perfectly understand 
 th« dialog ie. But Jedidiah’s mind was employed in the play- 
 house just as it was employed in every other place. During 
 
88 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 the dance, he fixed his attention upon the number of steps ; 
 he declared, after a fine piece of music, that the innumerable 
 sounds produced by the instruments had perplexed him beyond 
 measure ; and he attended even to Mr. Garrick, only to 
 count the words that he uttered, in which, he said, he perfectly 
 succeeded. Jedidiah returned to the place of his birth, where, 
 if his enjoyments were few, his wishes did not seem to be 
 greater. He applied to his labour with cheerfulness ; he re- 
 gretted nothing that he left behind him in London ; and it 
 continued to be his opinion, that a slice of rusty bacon afford- 
 ed the most delicious repast. 
 
 The following account of the Extraordinary Arithmetical 
 Powers of a Child, is extracted from the Annual Register of 
 1812. It is entitled. Some Particulars respecting the 
 Arithmetical Powers of Zerah Colburn, a Child 
 UNDER Eight Years of Age. 
 
 The attention of the philosophical world, (says the writer,) 
 has been lately attracted by the most singular phenomenon in 
 the history of the human mind, that perhaps ever existed. It 
 is the case of a child, under eight years of age, who, without 
 any previous knowledge of the common rules of arithmetic, or 
 even of the use and power of the Arabic numerals, and with- 
 out having given any particular attention to the subject, pos- 
 sesses, as if by intuition, the singular faculty of solving a 
 great variety of arithmetical questions by the mere operation 
 of the mind, and without the usual assistance of any visible 
 symbol or contrivance. 
 
 The name of the child is Zerah Colburn, who was born at 
 Cabut, (a town lying at the head of Onion river, in Vermont, 
 in the United States of America,) on the 1st of September, 
 1804. About two years ago (August, 1810,) although at that 
 time not six years of age, he first began to shew those won- 
 derful powers of calculation, which have since so much attract- 
 ed the attention, and excited the astonishment, of every person 
 who has witnessed his extraordinary abilities. The discovery 
 was made by accident. His father, who had not given him 
 any other instruction than such as was to be obtained at a 
 small school established in that unfrequented and remote pa»i 
 of the country, (and which did not include either writing or 
 ciphering,) was much surprised one day to hear him repeating 
 the products of several numbers. Struck with amazement at 
 the circumstance, he proposed a variety of arithmetical ques- 
 tions to him, all of which the child solved with remarkable 
 facility and correctness. The news of this infant prodigy soon 
 circulated through the neighbourhood ; and many persons 
 came from distant parts to witness so singular a circumstance. 
 The father, encouraged by the unanimous opinion of all who 
 
SURFRISING INSTANCE OF SKILL IN Nl/MBERS. 89 
 
 came to see him, was induced to undertake, with this child, 
 the tour of the United States. They were every where re- 
 ceived with the most flattering expressions ; and in the several 
 towns which they visited, various plans were suggested, to 
 educate and bring uj) the child, free from all expense to his 
 family. Yielding, however, to the pressing solicitations of 
 his friends, and urged by the most resp^^ctable, and powerful 
 recommendations, as well as by a view to his son’s more 
 complete education, the father has brought the child to this 
 country, where they arrived on the 12th of May last : and the 
 inhabitants of this metroprolis have for these last three months 
 had an opportunity of seeing and examining this wonderful 
 phenomenon, and verifying the reports that have been circu- 
 lated respecting him. Many persons of the first eminence for 
 their knowledge in mathematics, and well known for their 
 philosophical inquiries, have made a point of seeing and 
 conversing with him; and they have all been struck with 
 astonishment at his extraordinary powers. It is correctly true, 
 as stated of him, that — " He will not only determine, with the 
 greatest facility and despatch, the exact number of minutes 
 or seconds in any given period of time ; but will also solve 
 any other question of a similar kind. He will tell the exact 
 product arising from the multiplication of any number, consisting 
 of two, three, or four figures, by any other number, consisting of 
 the like number of figures ; or any number, consisting of six 
 or seven places of figures, being proposed, he will determine, 
 with equal expedition and ease, all the factors of which it is 
 composed. This singular faculty consequently extends not 
 only to the raising of powers, but also to the extraction of 
 the square and cube roots of the number proposed ; and like- 
 wise to the means of determining whether it be a prime num- 
 ber (or a number incapable of division by any other number;) 
 for which case there does not exist, at present, any general 
 rule amongst mathematicians.’ All these, and a variety of 
 other questions connected therewith, are answered by this 
 child with such promptness and accuracy (an(i in the midst 
 of his juvenile pursuits) as to astonish every person who has 
 visited him. 
 
 “ At a meeting of his friends, which was held for the purpose 
 of concerting the best methods of promoting the views of the 
 father, this child undertook, and completely succeeded in 
 raising the number 8 progressively up to the sixteenth power!! !' 
 and, in naming the last result, viz. 281,474,976,710,656, he 
 was right in every figure. He was then tried as to other num- 
 bers, consisting of one figure ; all of which he raised (by 
 actual multiplication, and not by memory) as high as the tenth 
 power, with so much facility and despatch, that the person^ 
 appointed to take down the results, was obliged to enjoin him’ 
 8. M 
 
90 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 not to be so rapid! With respect to numbers consisting of 
 two figures, he would raise some of them to the sixth, seventh, 
 and eighth power; but not always with equal facility: for the 
 larger the products became, the more difficult he .\ound it to 
 proceed. He was asked the square root of 106929 ; and before 
 the number could be written down, he immediately answered 
 327. He was then required to name the cube root of 
 268,336,125; and with equal facility and promptness he re- 
 plied, 645. Various other questions of a similar nature, 
 respecting the roots and powers of very high numbers, were 
 proposed by several of the gentlemen present ; to all of which 
 he answered in a similar manner. One of the party re- 
 quested him to name the factors which produced the number 
 247,483 : this he immediately did, by mentioning the two 
 numbers 941 and 263; which indeed are the only two num- 
 bers that will produce it, viz. 5 x 34279, 7 x 24485, 59 x 2905, 
 83 X 2065, 35 x 4897, 295 x 581, and 413 x 415. He was then 
 asked to give the factors of 36083 : but he immediately re- 
 plied that it had none ; which, in fact, was the case, as 
 36083 is a prime number. Other numbers were indiscri- 
 minately proposed to him, and he always succeeded in giving 
 the correct factors, except in the case of prime numbers, 
 which he discovered almost as soon as proposed. One of 
 the gentlemen asked him how many minutes there were in 
 forty-eight years : and before the question could be written 
 down, he replied, 25,228,800 ; and instantly added, that the 
 number of seconds in the same period was 1,513,728,000. 
 Various questions of the like kind were put to him; and to 
 all of them he answered with nearly equal facility and promp- 
 titude, so as to astonish every one present, and to excite 
 a desire that so extraordinary a faculty should (if possible) 
 be rendered more extensive and useful. 
 
 “ It was the wish of the gentlemen present, to obtain a 
 knowledge of the method by which the child was enabled to 
 answer, with so much facility and correctness, the questions 
 thus put to him; but to all their inquiries upon this subject 
 (and he was closely examined upon this point) he was unable 
 to give them any information. He positively declared (and 
 every observation that was made seemed to justify the 
 assertion) that he did not know how the answers came into 
 his mind. In the act of multiplying two numbers together, 
 and in the raising of powers, it was evident (not only from 
 the motion of his lips, but also from some singular facts 
 which will be hereafter-mentioned) that some operation was 
 going forward in his mind ; yet that operation could not, 
 from the readiness with which the answers were furnished, 
 be at all allied to the usual mode of proceeding with such 
 subjects : and, moreover, he is entirely ignorant of the com- 
 
SURPRISING INSTANCE OF SKILL IN NUMBERS. 91 
 
 mon rules of arithmetic, and cannot perform, upon paper, a 
 simple sum in multiplication or division. But in the ex 
 traction of roots, and in mentioning the factors of high num 
 hers, it does not appear that any operation can take place, 
 since he will give the answer immediately, or in a very few 
 seconds, where it would require, according to the ordinary 
 method oi solution, a very difficult and laborious calculation; 
 and moreover, the knowledge of a prime number cannot be 
 obtained by any known rule. 
 
 It has been already observed, that it was evident, from 
 some singular facts, that the child operated by certain rules 
 known only to himself. This discovery was made in one 
 or two instances, when he had been closely pressed upon 
 that point. In one case he was asked to tell the square of 
 4395 : he at first hesitated, fearful that he should not be able 
 to answer it correctly ; but when he applied himself to it, 
 he said, it was 19,316,025. On being questioned as to the 
 cause of his hesitation ; he replied, that he did not like to 
 multiply four figures by four figures ; but, said he, ‘ I found 
 out another way ; I multiplied 293 by 293, and then multi- 
 plied this product twice by the number 15, which produced 
 the same result.’ On another occasion, his highness the 
 duke of Gloucester asked him the product of 21,734, multi- 
 plied by 543: he immediately replied, 11,801,562; but, upon 
 some remark being made on the subject, the child said that 
 he had, in his own mind, multiplied 65202 by 181. Now, 
 although, in the first instance, it must be evident to every 
 mathematician, that 4395 is equal to 293 x 15, and conse- 
 (juently that (4395)' = (293)2 x (15)* ; and, further, that in the 
 second case, 543 is equal to 181x3, and consequently that 
 21734 X (181 X 3)=(21734 X 3) X 181 ; yet it is not the less 
 remarkable, that this combination should be immediately 
 perceived by the child, and we cannot the less admire his 
 ingenuity in thus seizing instantly the easiest method of solv- 
 ing the question proposed to him. 
 
 “ It must be evident, from what has here been stated, that 
 the singular faculty which this child possesses is not alto- 
 gether dependent upon his memory. In the multiplication 
 of numbers, and in the raising of powers, he is doubtless 
 considerably assisted by that remarkable quality of the mind : 
 and in this respect he might be considered as bearing some 
 resemblance (if the difference of age did not prevent the 
 justness of the comparison) to the celebrated Jedidiah Bux- 
 ton, and other persons of similar note. But, in the extrac- 
 tion of the roots of numbers, and in determining their factors, 
 (if any,) it is clear, to all those who have witnessed the 
 astonishii g quickness and accuracy of this child, that the 
 memory has little or nothing to do with the process. And 
 
92 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN, 
 
 in this particular point consists the remarkable difference 
 between the present and all former instances of an apparently 
 similar kind. 
 
 “ It has been recorded as an astonishing effort of memory, 
 that the celebrated Culer (who, in the science of analysis, 
 might vie even with Newton himself,) could remember the 
 first six powers of every number under 100. This, probably, 
 must be taken with some restrictions : but, if true to the 
 fullest extent, it is not more astonishing than the efforts of 
 this child ; with this additional circumstance in favour of the 
 latter, that he is capable of verifying, in a very few’ seconds, 
 every figure which he may have occasion for. It has been 
 further remarked, by the biographer of that eminent ma- 
 thematician, that "he perceived, almost at a single glance, 
 the factors of which his formulae were composed ; the parti- 
 cular system of factors belonging to the question under con- 
 sideration ; the various artifices by which that system may 
 be simplified and reduced ; and the relation of the several 
 factors to the conditions of the hypothesis. His expertness 
 in this particular probably resulted, in a great measure, from 
 the ease with which he performed mathematical investiga- 
 tions by head. He had always accustomed himself to that 
 exercise ; and, having practised it with assiduity, (even before 
 the loss of sight, which afterwards rendered it a matter of 
 necessity,) he is an instance to wdiat an astonishing degree 
 it may be acquired, and how much it improves the intel- 
 lectual powers. No other discipline is so efiectual in strength- 
 ening the faculty of attention : it gives a facility of appre- 
 hension, an accuracy and steadiness to the conceptions ; 
 and (what is a still more valuable acquisition) it habituates 
 the mind to arrangement in its reasonings and reflections.’ 
 
 It is not intended to draw a comparison between the 
 humble, though astonishing, efforts of this infant prodigy, 
 and the gigantic powers of that illustrious character, to whom 
 a reference has just been made : yet we may be permitted 
 to hope and expect that those wonderful talents, which are 
 so conspicuous at this early age, may, by a suitable educa- 
 tion, be considerably improved and extended ; and that 
 some new light will eventually be throwm upon those subjects, 
 for the elucidation of which his mind appears to be peculi- 
 arly formed by nature, si-nce he enters the world with all 
 those pow’ers and faculties which are not even attainable by 
 the most eminent, at a more advanced period of life. Every 
 mathematician must be aware of the important advantages 
 .which have sometimes been derived from the most simple and 
 trifling circumstance ; the full effect of which has not always 
 been evident at first sight. To mention one singular instance 
 of this kind;— The very simple improvement of expressing 
 
INSTANCE OF MATHEMATICAL TALENT. 
 
 93 
 
 the povters and roots of quantities by means of indices, 
 introduced a new and general arithm^+ic of exponents : and 
 this algorithm of powers led the way to the invention of 
 logarithms, by means of which all arithmetical computations 
 are so much facilitated and abridged. Perhaps this child 
 possesses a knowledge of some more important properties 
 connected with this subject: although he is incapable at 
 present of giving any satisfactory account of the state of his 
 mind, or of communicating to others the knowledge which 
 it is so evident he does possess ; yet there is every reason 
 to believe, that, when his mind is more cultivated, and his 
 ideas more expanded, he will be able not only to divulge 
 the mode by which he at present operates, but also point out 
 some new sources of information on this interesting subject. 
 
 “ The case is certainly one of great novelty and importance ; 
 and every literary character, and every friend to science, 
 must be anxious to see the experiment fairly tried, as to the 
 effect which a suitable education may produce on a mind 
 constituted as his appears to be. With this view, a number 
 of gentlemen have taken the child under their patronage, 
 and have formed themselves into a committee for the purpose 
 of superintending his education. Application has been made to 
 a gentleman of science, well known for his mathematical abili- 
 ties, who has consented to take the child under his immediate 
 tuition : the committee, therefore, propose to withdraw him 
 for the present from public exhibition, in order that he may 
 fully devote himself to his studies. But whether they shall 
 be able to accomplish the object they have in view, will 
 depend upon the assistance which they may receive from 
 the public. What further progress this child made under the 
 patronage and tuition of his kind and benevolent friends, 
 the editor is not, at present, able to ascertain.’’ 
 
 We proceed to a Curious Instance of Mathematical 
 Talent 
 
 A singular instance of early mathematical talent has been 
 made known by Mr. Gough, in the Philosophical Magazine. — 
 Thomas Gasking, the son of a journeyman shoemaker of Pen- 
 rith, was but nine years of age when the account was written : 
 ‘‘he was, (says the writer), however, in consequence of the 
 education given him by his father, (an acute and industrious 
 man,) become well acquainted with the leading propositions of 
 Euclid, reads and works algebra with facility, understands and 
 uses logarithms, and has entered on the study of fluxions. 
 On being examined, he demonstrated propositions from the 
 first books of Euclid ; discovered the unknown side of a trian- 
 gle, from the two sides and the angle given ; and solved cases 
 in spherical trigonometry. In algebra, he gave the solutions 
 
94 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 of a number of quadratic equations ; answered questiont 
 which contained two unknown quantities ; and applied algebra 
 to geometry. He answered problems relating to the maxima 
 of numbers and of geometrical magnitudes, with ease ; and, 
 on many other mathematical points, gave very high promises 
 of future excellence.*' 
 
 The following remarkable account of a Stone Eater, is 
 given as a fact in several respectable works. 
 
 In 1700, was brought to Avignon, a true lithophagus, or 
 stone-eater. He not only swallowed flints of an inch and a 
 half long, a full inch broad, and half an inch thick ; but such 
 stones as he could reduce to powder, such as marble, pebbles, 
 &c. he made into paste, which was to him a most agreeable 
 and wholesome food. I examined this man, says the writer, 
 with all the attention I possibly could ; I found his gullet very 
 large, his teeth exceedingly strong, his saliva very corrosive, 
 and his stomach lower than ordinary, which I imputed to the 
 vast number of flints he had swallowed, being about five-and- 
 twenty, one day with another. Upon interrogating his keeper, 
 he told me the following particulars: “This stone-eater,*’ says 
 he, “ was found three years ago, in a northern uninhabited 
 island, by some of the crew of a Dutch ship. Since I have 
 had him, I make him eat raw flesh with the stones ; I could 
 never get him to swallow bread. He will drink water, wine, 
 and brandy, which last liquor gives him infinite pleasure. He 
 sleeps at least twelve hours in a day, sitting on the ground, 
 with one knee over the other, and his chin resting: on his 
 right knee. He smokes almost all the time he is not asleep, 
 or is not eating. The flints he has swallowed, he voids some- 
 what corroded, and diminished in weight ; the rest of his ex- 
 crements resembles mortar.” 
 
 The following account of a Poison Eater is said to be an 
 undoubted fact. 
 
 A man, about 106 years of age, formerly living in Constan- 
 tinople, was known all over that city by the name of So- 
 lyman, the eater of corrosive sublimate. In the early part of 
 his life, he accustomed himself, like other Turks, to the use 
 of opium ; but not feeling the desired effect, he augmented 
 his dose to a great quantity, without feeling any inconve- 
 nience, and at length took a drachm of sixty grains daily. 
 He went into the shop of a Jew apothecary, to whom he was 
 unknown, asked for a drachm of sublimate, which he mixed 
 in a glass of water, and drank directly. 
 
 The apothecary was dreadfully alarmed, because he knew 
 the consequence of being accused of poisoning a Turk : but 
 what was his astonishment, when he saw the same man return 
 
BLETONISM. 
 
 95 
 
 the next day for a dose of the same quantity. It is said that 
 Lord Elgin, Mr. Smith, and other Englishmen, knew this man, 
 and have heard him declare, that his enjoyment after having 
 taken this active poison, is the greatest he ever felt from any 
 cause whatever. 
 
 We now proceed to give an account of a very extraordi- 
 nary faculty, entitled Bletonism. 
 
 This is a faculty of perceiving and indicating subterraneous 
 springs asid currents by sensation. The term is modern, and 
 derived from a Mr. Bleton, who excited universal attention 
 by possessing this faculty, which seems to depend upon some 
 peculiar organization. Concerning the reality of this extra- 
 ordinary faculty, there occurred great doubts among the 
 learned. But M. Thouvenel, a French philosopher, seems 
 to have put the matter beyond dispute, in two memoirs which 
 he published upon the subject. He was charged by Louis XV I . 
 with a commission to analyze the mineral and medicinal waters 
 of France ; and, by repeated trials, he had been so fully con- 
 vinced of the capacity of Bleton to assist him with efficacy in 
 this important undertaking, that he solicited the ministry to 
 join him in the commission upon advantageous terms. All 
 this shews that the operations of Bleton have a more solid 
 support than the tricks of imposture or the delusions of 
 fancy. In fact, a great number of his discoveries are ascer- 
 tained by respectable affidavits. The following is a sti ong in- 
 stance in favour of Bletonism. — “For a long time the traces of 
 several springs and their reservoirs in the lands of the Abbey 
 de Verveins had been entirely lost. It appeared, nevertheless, 
 by ancient deeds and titles, that these springs and reservoirs 
 had existed. A neighbouring abbey was supposed to have 
 turned their waters for its benefit into other channels, and a 
 lawsuit was commenced upon this supposition. M. Bleton 
 was applied to : he discovered at once the new course of the 
 waters in question ; his discovery was ascertained; and the 
 lawsuit terminated.’’ M. Thouvenel assigns principles in3on 
 which the impressions made by subterraneous waters and 
 mines may be accounted for. Having ascertained a general 
 law, by which subterraneous electricity exerts an influence on 
 the bodies of certain individuals, eminently susceptible of 
 that influence, and shewn that this law is the same whether 
 the electrical action arise from currents of warm or cold water, 
 from currents of humid air, from coal or metallic mines, from 
 sulphur, and so on, he observes, that there is a diversity in 
 the physical and organical impressions which are produced by 
 this electrical action, according as it proceeds from different 
 fossile bodies, which are more or less conductors of electrical 
 emanations. There are also artificial processes, which concur 
 
V.UK1USIT1ES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 96 
 
 in leading us to distinguish the different conductors of miners] 
 electricity ; and in these processes the use of electrometrical 
 rods deserves the attention of philosophers, who might per- 
 haps, in process of time, substitute in their place a more per- 
 fect instrument. Their physical and spontaneous mobility, 
 and its electrical causes, are demonstrated by indisputable ex- 
 periments. On the other hand, M. Thouvenel proves, by very 
 plausible arguments, the influence of subterraneous electrical 
 currents, compares them with the electrical currents of the 
 atmosphere, points out the different impressions they produce, 
 according to the number and quality of the bodies which act, 
 and the diversity of those which are acted upon. The ordinary 
 sources of cold water make impressions proportional to their 
 volume, the velocity of their currents, and other circumstances. 
 Their stagnation destroys every species of electrical influence; 
 at least, in this state they have none that is perceptible. Their 
 depth is indicated by geometrical processes, founded upon 
 the motion and divergence of the electrical rays. 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with some Extraordinary 
 Instances of Longevity. 
 
 In October, 1712, a prodigy is said to have appeared in 
 France, in the person of one Nicholas Petours, who one day 
 entered the town of Coutances. His appearance excited curio- 
 sity, as it was observed that he had travelled on foot : he 
 therefore gave the following account of himself, viz. That he 
 was one hundred and eighteen years of age, being born at 
 Granville, near the sea, in the year 1594 ; that he was by trade 
 a shoemaker ; and had walked from St. Malo’s to Coutances, 
 which is twenty-four leagues distant, in two days. He seem- 
 ed as active as a young man. He said, “ He came to attend 
 the event of a lawsuit, and that he had had four wives ; with 
 the first of whom he lived fifty years, the second only twenty 
 months, and the third twenty-eight years and two months, and 
 that to the fourth he had been married two years ; that he 
 had had children by the three former, and could boast a pos- 
 terity which consisted of one hundred and nineteen persons, 
 and extended to the seventh generation.” He further stated, 
 “that his family had been as remarkable for longevity as him- 
 self ; that his mother lived until 1691 ; and that his father, in 
 consequence of having been wounded, died at the age of one 
 hundred and twenty-three, that his uncle and godfather, Ni- 
 cholas Petours, curate of the parish of Balcine, and afterward 
 canon and treasurer of the cathedral of Coutances, died 
 there, aged above one hundred and thirty-seven years, having 
 celebrated mass five days before his decease. Jacqueline Faii- 
 vel, wife to the park-keeper of the bishop of Coutances, (he 
 baid,) died in consequence of a fright, in the village of SL 
 
COMBUSTION BY SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. 
 
 97 
 
 Nicholas, aged one hundred and twenty-one years, and that 
 she was able to spin eight days before hei decease.” Among 
 the refugees from this part of France, we have known and 
 iieard of many instances of longevity, but certainly none 
 equal to these. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 Combustion of the Human Body, produced by the long immo- 
 derate Use of Spirituous Liquors. From the Journal de 
 Physique, Pluviose, Year 8 : written by Pierre Aime Lair, 
 
 In natural as well as civil history, there are facts presented 
 to the meditation of the observer, which, though confirmed 
 Ly the most convincing testimony, seem, on the first view, 
 to be destitute of probability. Of this kind is that of people 
 consumed without coming into contact with common fire, 
 and of bodies being thus reduced to ashes. . How can we 
 conceive that fire, in certain circumstances, can exercise 
 so powerful an action on the human body as to produce this 
 effect? One might be induced to give less faith to these 
 instances of combustion, as they seem to be rare. 1 confess, 
 that at first they appeared to me worthy of very little credit; 
 but they are presented to the public as true, by men whose 
 veracity seems unquestionable. Bianchini, Mossei, Rolii, 
 Le Cat, Vicq. d’Azyr, and several men distinguished by their 
 learning, have given certain testimony of the facts. Besides, 
 is it more surprising to experience such incineration than 
 to void saccharine urine, or to see the bones softened, or 
 of the diabetes mellitus. This marbific disposition, there- 
 fore, would be one more scourge to afflict humanity ; but in 
 physicS; facts being always preferable to reasoning, I shall 
 here collect those which appear to me to bear the impression 
 of truth ; and, lest I should alter the sense, I shall quote 
 them just as they are given in the works from which I have 
 extracted them. 
 
 We read in the transactions of Copenhagen, that in 1692, 
 a woman of the lower class, who for three years had used 
 spirituous liquors to such excess that she would take no 
 other nourishment, having sat down one evening on a straw 
 chair to sleep, was consumed in the night-time, so that 
 next morning no part of her was found, but the skull, and 
 the extreme joints of the fingers; all the rest of her body, 
 says Jacobeus, was reduced to ashes. 
 
 N 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Q8 
 
 The following extract of the memoir of Bianchini, is takeu 
 from the Annual Register for 1763: — The Countess Cornelia 
 Bandi, of the town of Cesena, aged 62, enjoyed a good 
 state of health. One evening, having experienced a sort 
 of drowsiness, she retired to bed, and her maid remained 
 with her till she fell asleep. Next morning, w^hen the girl 
 entered to awaken her mistress, she found nothing but the 
 remains of her mistress, in a most horrid condition. At the 
 distance of four feet from the bed was a heap of ashes, in 
 which could be distinguished the legs and arms untouched. 
 Between the legs lay the head, the brain of which, together 
 with half the posterior part of the cranium, and the whole 
 chin, had been consumed ; three fingers were found in the 
 state of a coal ; the rest of the body was reduced to ashes, and 
 Contained no oil ; the tallow of two candles was melted on 
 a table, but the wicks still remained, and the feet of the 
 candlesticks were covered with a certain moisture. The bed 
 was not damaged; the bed-clothes and coverlid w^ere raised 
 up and thrown on one side, as is the case when a person gets 
 up. The furniture and tapestry w^ere covered with a moist 
 kind of soot, of the colour of ashes, which had penetrated 
 the drawers and dirtied the linen. . This soot having been 
 conveyed to a neighbouring kitchen, adhered to the walls 
 and the utensils. A piece of bread in the cupboard was 
 covered wdth it, and no dog would touch it. The infectious 
 odour had been communicated to other apartments. The 
 Annual Register states, that the Countess Cesena was ac- 
 custon^ed to bathe all her body in camphorated spirits of 
 wine. Bianchini caused the detail of this deplorable event 
 to be published at the time when it took place, and no one 
 contradicted it : it w^as also attested by Sapio Maffei, a 
 learned contemporary of Bianchini, who was far from being 
 credulous : and, in the last place, this surprising fact was 
 confirmed to the Royal Society of London, by Paul Rolli. 
 The Annual Register mentions also two other facts of the 
 same kind, which occurred in England ; one at Southampton, 
 and the other at Coventry. 
 
 An instance of the like kind is preserved in the samew^ork, 
 in a letter of Mr. Wilmer, surgeon : — ‘‘ Mary Clues, aged 50, 
 was much addicted to intoxication. Her propensity to this 
 vice had increased after the death of her husband, which 
 happened a year and a half before : for about a year, scarcely 
 a day had passed, in the course of which she did not drink 
 at least hull a pint of rum or aniseed-water. Her health 
 gradually declined, and about the beginning of February she 
 was attacked by the jaundice, and confined to her bed 
 Though she was incapable of much action, and not in a con- 
 dition to work, she still continued her old habit of drinking 
 
COMBUSTION BY SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS 
 
 99 
 
 every day , and smoking a pipe of tobacco. The bed in which 
 she lay, stood parallel to the chimney of the apartment, the 
 distance from it about three feet. On Saturday morning, the 
 1st of March, she fell on the floor ; and her extreme weak- 
 ness having prevented her from getting up, she remained 
 in that state till some oiie entered and put her to bed. The 
 following night she wished to be left alone : a woman quitted 
 her at half past eleven, and, according to custom, shut the 
 door and locked it. She had put on the fire two large pieces 
 of coal, and placed a light in a candlestick, on a chair, at 
 the head of the bed. At half after five in the morning, a 
 smoke was seen issuing through the window ; and the door being 
 speedily broken open, some flames which were in the room 
 were soon extinguished. Between the bed and the chimney 
 were found the remains of the unfortunate Clues ; one leg 
 and a thioh were still entire, but there remained nothin^: 
 of the skin, the muscles, or the viscera. The bones of 
 the cranium, the breast, the spine, and the upper extremi- 
 ties, were entirely calcined, and covered with a whitish 
 efflorescence. The people were much surprised that the fur- 
 niture had sustained so little injury. The side of the bed 
 which was next to the chimney, had suffered the most ; the 
 wood of it was slightly burnt, but the feather-bed, the 
 clothes, and covering, were safe. I entered the apartment 
 about two hours after it had been opened, and observed that 
 the walls and every thing in it were blackened; that it was 
 filled with a very disagreeable vapour; but that nothing 
 except the body exhibited any strong traces of fire.’^ 
 
 This instance has great similarity to that related by Vicq. 
 d’Azyr, in the Enc^clopedie Methodkpie, under the head of 
 Pathologic Anatomy of Man. A woman, about 50 years of 
 age, who indulged to excess in spirituous liquors, and got 
 drunk every day before she went to bed, was found entirely 
 burnt, and reduced to ashes. Some of the osseous parts only 
 were left, but the furniture of the apartment had suffered 
 very little damage. Vicq. d’Azyr, instead of disbelieving 
 this phenomenon, adds, that there has been many other in- 
 stances of the like nature. 
 
 We find also a circumstance of this kind, in a work entitled, 
 Acta Medica et Fhilosophica Hafnieiisia, and in the work of 
 Henry Bohanser, entitled, Le Nouveau Phosphore Eujiamme . — 
 A woman at Paris, who had been accustomed, for three years, 
 to drink spirit of wine to such a degree that she used no other 
 liquor, was one day found entirely reduced to ashes, except 
 the skull and the extremities of the fingers. 
 
 The Transactions of the Royal Society of London present 
 also an instance of human combustion, no less extraordinar\ . 
 It was mentioned at the time it happened, in all the journals 
 
100 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING M A 
 
 it was then attested by a great number of ^vp-witnesses, and 
 became the subject of many learned discu*>.sions. Thiee ac- 
 counts of this event, by different authors, all nearly coincide. 
 The fact is related as follows: — “ Grace Pitt, tne wife of a fish- 
 monger, of the parish of St. Clement, Ipswich, aged about 60, 
 had contracted a habit, which she continued for several years, 
 of coming down every night from her bed-room, half-dressed, 
 to smoke a pipe. On the night of the 9th of April, 1744 she 
 got up from her bed as usual. Her daughter, who slept with 
 her, did mot perceive she was absent till next morning when 
 she awoke, soon after which she put on her clothes, and, going 
 down into the kitchen, found her mother stretched out on the 
 right side, with her head near the grate, the body extended on 
 the hearth, with the legs on the floor, which was of deal, 
 having the appearance of a log of w^ood, consumed by a fire 
 without apparent flames. On beholding this spectacle, the 
 girl ran in great haste, and poured over her mother’s body 
 some water, contained in two large vessels, in order to extin- 
 guish the fire ; while the fetid odour and smoke which exhaled 
 from the body, almost sufibcated some of the neighbours who 
 had hastened to the girl’s assistance. The trunk was in some 
 measure incinerated, and resembled a heap of coals, covered 
 with white ashes. The head, the arms, the legs, and the thighs, 
 had also participated in the burning. This wmman, it is said, 
 had drunk a large quantity of spirituous liquor, in conse- 
 quence of being overjoyed to hear that one of her daughters 
 had returned from Gibraltar. There w^as no fire in the grate, 
 and the candle had burnt entirely out in the socket of the 
 candlestick, which was close to her. Besides, there were 
 found near the consumed body, the clothes of a child, and a 
 ])aper screen, which had sustained no injury by the fire. The 
 dress of this woman consisted of a cotton gown.” 
 
 Le Cat, in a memoir on spontaneous burning, mentions se' 
 veral other instances of combustion of the human body. - 
 “ Having (says he) spent several months at Rheims in the 
 year 1 724 and 1725, 1 lodged with Sieur Millet, whose w ife got 
 intoxicated every day. The domestic economy of the family 
 w'as managed by a pretty young girl ; which I must not omit 
 to remark, in order that the circumstances which accompanied 
 the fact I am about to relate, mav be better understood. — 
 This woman was found consumed on the 20th of February, 
 1725, at the distance of afoot and a half from the hearth in 
 her kitchen. A part of tlie head only, with a portion of the 
 lower extremities, and a few of the vertebrae, had escaped com- 
 bustion. A foot and a half of the flooring under the body had 
 been consumed, but a kneading-trough and a powdering-tub, 
 which were near the body, sustained no injury. M. Criteen, 
 a surgeon, examined the remains of the body wdth every judi- 
 
COMBUSTION BY SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS lOl 
 
 cial formality. Jean Millet, the husband, being interrogated 
 by the judges who instituted the inquiry into the affair, de- 
 clared, that about eight in the evening on the 19th February, 
 he had retired to rest with his wife, who not being able to 
 sleep, had gone into the kitchen, where he thought she was 
 warming herself ; that, hav’ng fallen asleep, ne was awakened 
 about two o’clock with a disagreeable odour, and that, having 
 run to the kitchen, he found the remains of his wife in the 
 state described in the report nf the physicians and surgeons. 
 The judges having no suspicion of the real cause of this event, 
 prosecuted the affair with the utmost diligence. It was very 
 unfortunate for Millet that he had a handsome servant-maid, 
 for neither his probity nor innocence was able to save him from 
 the suspicion of having got rid of his wife by a concerted plot, 
 and of having arranged the rest of the circumstances in such 
 a manner as to give it the appearance of an accident. He ex- 
 perienced, therefore, the whole severity of the law; and though, 
 by an appeal to a superior and very enlightened court, which 
 discovered the cause of the combustion, he came off' victori- 
 ous, he suffered so much from uneasiness of mind, that he was 
 obliged to pass the remainder of his melancholy days in a 
 hospital ” 
 
 Le Cat relates another instance, which has a most perfect 
 resemblance to the preceding : “ M. Boinnean, cure of Pler- 
 quer, near Dol, (says he,) wrote to me the following letter 
 dated February 22, 1749: — * Allow me to communicate to you 
 a fact which took place here about a fortnight ago. Madame 
 de Boiseon, 80 years of age, exceedingly meagre, who had 
 drunk nothing but spirits for several years, was sitting in her 
 elbow chair before the fire, while her waiting-maid went out 
 of the room for a few moments. On her return, seeing her 
 mistress on fire, she immediately gave an alarm ; and some 
 people having come to her assistance, one of them endeavour- 
 ed to extinguish the flames with his hand, but they adhered to 
 it as if it had been dipped in brandy or oil on fire. Water 
 was brought, and thrown on the lady in abundance, yet the fire 
 ai)peared more violent, and was not extinguished until the 
 whole flesh had been consumed. Her skeleton, exceedingly 
 black, remained entire in the chair, which was only a liftle 
 scorched ; one leg only, and the two hands, detached them- 
 selves from the rest of the bones. It is not known whethei 
 her clothes had caught fire by approaching the grate. The 
 lady was in the same place in which she sat every day; there 
 was no extraordinary fire, and she had not fallen. What makes 
 me suppose that the use of spirits might have produced this 
 effect is, my having been assured, that at the gate of Dinan 
 an accident of the like kind happened to another woman, un- 
 der similar circumstances.’ ” 
 
102 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 To tliese instances, which I have multiplied to strengthei. 
 the evidence, I shall add two other facts of the same kind, 
 published in the Journal de Medicine^ The first took place 
 at Aix, in Provence, and is thus related by Muraire, a sur- 
 geon : — “ In the month of February, 1779, Mary Jauffret 
 widow of Nicholas Gravier, shoemaker, of a small si^e 
 exceedingly corpulent, and addicted to drinking, having- 
 been burnt in her apartment, M. Rocas, my colleague, who 
 was commissioned to make a report respecting her body, 
 found only a mass of ashes, and a few bones, calcined in 
 such a manner, that on the least pressure they were reduced 
 to dust. The bones of the cranium, one hand, and a foot, 
 had in part escaped the action of the fire. Near these remains 
 stood a table untouched, and under the table a small wooden 
 stove, the grating of which, having been long burnt, afforded 
 an aperture, through which, it is probable, the fire that oc- 
 casioned the melancholy accident had been communicated ; 
 one chair, which stood too near the flames, had the seat and 
 fore feet burnt. In other respects, there was no appearance 
 of fire, either in the chimney or in the apartments; so that, 
 except the fore part of the chair, it appears to me, that no 
 other combustible matter contributed to this speedy incine- 
 ration, which was effected in the space of seven or eight 
 hours.’’ 
 
 The other instance mentioned in the Journal de Medicine, 
 took place at Caen, and is thus related by Merilie, a surgeon 
 of that city, still alive : “ Being requested, on the 3d of June, 
 1782, by the king’s officers, to draw up a report of the state 
 in which I found Mademoiselle Thuars, who was said to have 
 been burnt, I made the following observations : — The body 
 lay with the crown of the head resting against one of the 
 hand-irons, at the distance of eighteen inches from the fire, 
 the remainder of the body was placed obliquely before the 
 chimney, the whole being nothing but a mass of ashes. 
 Even the most solid bones had lost their form and consist- 
 ence; none of them could be distinguished except the coro- 
 nal, the two parietal bones, the two lumbar vertebree, a por- 
 tion of the tibia, and a part of the omoplate ; and even these 
 were so calcined, that they became dust by the least pressure. 
 The right foot was found entire, and scorched at its uppei 
 junction, the left was more burnt. The day was cold, but 
 there was nothing in the grate, except two or three bits about 
 an inch diameter, burnt in the middle. None of the fur- 
 niture in the apartment was damaged. The chair on which 
 Mademoiselle Thuars had been sitting, was found at the 
 distance of a foot from her, and absolutely untouched. I 
 must here observe, that this lady was exceedingly corpulent, 
 that she was about sixty years of age, and much addicted 
 
103 
 
 COMBUSTION BY SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. 
 
 to spirituous liquors ; tli-at the day of her death she had 
 drunk three bottles of wine, and about a bottle of brandy ; 
 and that the consumption of the body had taken place in less 
 than seven hours, though, according to appearance, nothing 
 around the body was burnt but the clothes.’’ 
 
 The town of Caen affords several other instances of the 
 same kind. I have been told by many people, and particu- 
 larly a physician of Argentan, named Bouffet, author of an 
 Essay on Intermittent Fevers, that a woman of the lower 
 class, who lived at Place Viilars, and who was known to be 
 much addicted to strong liquors, had been found in her house 
 burnt. The extremities of her body only were spared, but 
 the furniture was very little damaged. 
 
 The town of Caen records the history of another old wo- 
 man, addicted to drinking. I was assured, by those who told 
 me the fact, that the flames which proceeded from the body, 
 could not be extinguished by water : but I think it needless 
 to relate this, and the particulars of another event which 
 took place in the same town, because they were not attested 
 by a proces verbal^ and not having been communicated by 
 professional men, they do not inspire the same degree of 
 confidence. 
 
 This collection of instances is supported, therefore, by 
 all those authentic proofs, which can be required to form 
 human testimony ; for while we admit the prudent doubt of 
 Descartes, we ought to reject the universal doubt of the 
 Pyrrhonists. The multiplicity and uniformity even of these 
 facts, which occurred in different places, and were attested 
 by so many enlightened men, carry with them conviction; 
 they have such a relation to each other, that we are inclined 
 to ascribe them to the same cause. 
 
 Difficulties wot^d, no doubt, be offered from reasoning 
 against ^hese facts ; but the writer remarks, that human tes- 
 timony is not to be rejected, unless the probability that the 
 facts must be impossible, shall be greater than that arising 
 from the concurrence of evidence : and he adds, that the 
 narratives, though varying so widely as to time and place, 
 do very remarkably agree in their tenor. The circumstances 
 are, that, (1) The combustion has usually destroyed the person 
 by reducing the body to a mass of pulverulent fatty matter, 
 resembling ashes. (2) There were no sio:ns of combustion in 
 surrounding bodies, by which it could be occasioned, as these 
 were little, if at all, injured; though, (3) The combustion did 
 not seem to be so perfectly spontaneous, but that some slight 
 cause, such as the fire of a pipe, or a taper, or a candle, 
 seems to have begun it. (4) The persons were generally much 
 addicted to the use of spirituous liquors; were very fat; in 
 most instances women, and old. (5) The extremities, such 
 
104 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 as the legs, hands, or cranium, escaped the fire. (6) Water, 
 instead of extinguishing the fire, gave it more activity, as 
 happens when fat is burned. (7) The residue was oily and 
 fetid ashes, with a greasy soot, of a very penetrating and dis- 
 agreeable smell. 
 
 The theory of the author may be considered as hypothe- 
 tical, until maturer observations shall throw more light on the 
 subject. The principal fact is, that charcoal and oil, or fat, 
 are known in some instances to take fire spontaneously, and 
 he supposes the carbon of the alcohol to be deposited in the 
 fat parts of the human system, and to produce this effect. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 John Elwes — Daniel Dancer — Henry Wolby — John Henley— 
 Simon Brown, and his Curious Dedication to Ciueen Caroline 
 — Edivard Wortley Montague — Blaise Pascal — Old Parr — 
 George P Salmanazar — John ‘Case — John Lewis Cardiac — John 
 Smeaton — George Morland — Henry Christian Heinecken — 
 Thomas Topham — Zeuxis. 
 
 John Elwes.— Tfie family name of this extraordinary miser 
 was Meggot, which he altered in pursuance of the will of Sir 
 Harvey Elwes, his uncle, who left him at least £250,000, and 
 he was possessed of nearly as much of his own. At this time 
 he attended the most noted gaming houses, and after sitting 
 up a whole night at play for thousands, he would proceed to 
 Smithfield to meet his cattle, which were coming to market 
 from his seat in Essex, and there would he stand disputing 
 with a cattle-butcher for a shilling. If the cattle did not ar- 
 rive, he would walk on to meet them ; and more than once he 
 has gone the whole way to his farm without stopping, which 
 was seventeen miles from London. He would walk in the rain 
 in London sooner than pay a shilling for a coach ; sit in wet 
 clothes, to save the expense of a fire ; eat his provisions in the 
 last stage of putrefaction ; and he wore a wig fora fortnight, 
 which he picked up in a lane. In 1774 he was chosen knight 
 of the shire for Berkshire, and his conduct in parliament 
 was p^ ffectly independent. He died in 1789, aged about 77, 
 leaving a fortune of £500,000, besides entailed estates. 
 
 Another extraordinary miser was Daniel Dancer. He 
 was born in 1716, near Harrow, in Middlesex. In 1736 he 
 
DANIEL DANCEE. 
 
 OLD PARR. 
 
iidk, 
 
 B? rag 
 
DANIEL DANCER. HENRY WOLBY. 
 
 105 
 
 succeeded to his family estate, which was considerable ; but 
 his fathers before him were too great lovers of money to layout 
 any in improvements : Daniel followed their example, and the 
 farm went worse and worse. He led the life of a hermit for 
 above half a century ; his only dealing with mankind arose 
 from the sale of his hay ; and he was seldom seen, except when 
 he was out gathering logs of wood from the common, or old 
 iron, or sheep’s dung under the hedges. He was frequently 
 robbed; to prevent which, he fastened his door up, and got 
 into his house through the upper window, to ascend which he 
 made use of a ladder, which he drew up after him. His sister, 
 who lived with him many years, left him at her death a consider- 
 able increase to his wealth ; on which he bought a second-hand 
 pair of black stockings, to put himself in decent mourning. 
 This was an article of luxury, for at other times, Daniel wore 
 hay-bands on his legs. He died in 1794, and left his estates 
 to Lady Tempest, who had been very charitable to the poor 
 man and his sister. 
 
 Another extraordinary character was Hen ry WoLBY,Esq. — 
 He was a native of Lincolnshire, and inherited a clear estate 
 of more than 10001. a year. He was regularly bred at the 
 university, studied for some time in one of the inns of court, 
 and in the course of his travels had spent several years abroad. 
 On his return, this very accomplished gentleman settled on 
 his paternal estate, lived with great hospitality, matched to 
 his liking, and had a beautiful and virtuous daughter, who 
 was married, with his entire approbation, to a Sir Christopher 
 Hilliard, in Yorkshire. 
 
 He had now lived to the age of forty, respected by the rich, 
 prayed for by the poor, honoured and beloved by all ; when, 
 one day, a youngster, with whom he had some difference in 
 opinion, meeting him in the field, snapped a pistol at him, 
 which happily flashed in the pan. Thinking that this v/as 
 done only to frighten him, he coolly disarmed the ruffian, and, 
 putting the weapon carelessly in his pocket, thoughtfully re- 
 turned home ; but, after examination, the discovery of bul- 
 lets in the pistol had such an effect on his mind, that he in 
 stantly conceived an extraordinary resolution of retiring en- 
 tirely from the world, in which he persisted to the end of his 
 life. He took a very fair house in the lower end of Grub-street, 
 near Cripplegate, London, and contracting a numerous retinue 
 into a small family, having the house prepared for his purpose, 
 he selected three chambers for himself ; the one for his diet, 
 the other for his lodging, the other for his study. As they 
 were one within another, — while his diet was set on the table by 
 an old maid, he retired into his lodging room; and when his bed 
 was makings into his study ; still doing so till all was clear. 
 Out of these chambers, from the time of his entry into them, 
 
106 
 
 (Jl/RIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 he nevei issued, till he was carried thence, 44 years after, on 
 men’s shoulders ; neither, in all that time, did his son-in-law, 
 daughter, or grand-child, brother, sister, or kinsman,- young 
 or old, rich or poor, of what degree or condition soever, look 
 upon his face, save the ancient maid, whose name was Eli- 
 zabeth. She only made his fire, prepared his bed, provided 
 his diet, and dressed his chambers. She saw him but seldom, 
 never but in cases of extraordinary necessity, and died not 
 six days before him. 
 
 In all the time of his retirement, he never tasted fish oi 
 flesh; his chief food was oatmeal gruel; now and then, in 
 summer, he had a salad of some choice cool herbs ; and for 
 dainties, when he would feast himself upon a high day, he 
 would eat the yoke of a hen’s egg, but no part of the white ; 
 what bread he did eat, he cut out of the middle of the loaf, 
 but the crust he never tasted ; his constant drink was four- 
 shilling beer, and no other, for he never tasted wine or strong 
 drink. Now and then, when his stomach served, he would 
 eat some kind of sackers, and he sometimes drank red cow’s 
 milk, which was fetched hot from the cow. Nevertheless, 
 he kept a bountiful table for his servant, and sufficient enter- 
 tainment for any stranger or tenant, who had occasion of 
 business at his house. Every book that was printed was 
 bought for him, and conveyed to him ; but such as related 
 to controversy he always laid aside, and never read. 
 
 In Christmas holidays, at Easter, and other festivals, Ue 
 was provided with all dishes in season, served into his owi 
 chamber, with stores of wine, which his maid brought in 
 Then, after thanks to God for his good benefits, he would pi^ 
 a clean napkin before him, and putting on a pair of clean 
 holland sleeves, which reached to his elbows, cutting up dish 
 after dish in order, he would send one to a poor neighbour, 
 the next to another, whether it were brawn, beef, capon, 
 goose, &c. till he had left the whole table empty ; when, 
 giving thanks again, he laid by his linen, and caused the dishes 
 to be taken away : and this he would do, at dinner and supper, 
 upon these days, without tasting of any thing whatsoever. 
 When any clamoured impudently at his gate, they were not, 
 therefore, immediately relieved ; but when, from his private 
 chamber, he espied any sick, weak, or lame, he would pre- 
 sently send after them, to comfort, cherish, and strengthen 
 them, and not a trifle to serve them for the present, but so 
 much as waald relieve them many days after. He would 
 moreover inquire which of his neighbours were industrious 
 in their callings, and who had great charge of children ; and 
 withal, if their labour and industry could not sufficiently 
 supply their families : to such he would liberally send, and 
 relieve them according to their necessities. 
 

 
 

 ORATOE HENLEY. 
 
 JOHN EL WES. 
 
JOHN HENLEY. 
 
 107 
 
 He died at his house in Grub-street, after an anchoretical 
 confinement of forty-four years, October 29, 1636, aged 84. 
 At his death, his hair ana beard was so overgrown, that he 
 appeared rather like a hermit of the wilderness, than the 
 inhabitant of one of the first cities in the world. 
 
 A very singular character was John Henley, M. A. com 
 monly called Orator Henley. He was born at Melton-Mow- 
 bray, Leicestershire, in 1691. His father, the Rev. Simo 
 Henley, and his maternal grandfather, John Dowel, M. A 
 were both vicars of that parish. Having passed his exercises 
 at Cambridge, and obtained the degree of B. A. he returnee 
 to his native place, where he was desired by the trustees to 
 take the direction of the school, which he soon raised to a 
 flourishing condition. Here he began his Universal Grammar ; 
 finished ten languages, with dissertations prefixed ; and wrote 
 his poem on Esther, which was well received. He was 
 ordained a deacon by Dr. Wake, then Bishop of Lincoln ; and 
 having taken his degree of M. A. was admitted to priest’s 
 orders by Dr. Gibson. After preaching many occasional 
 sermons, he went to London, recommended by above thirty 
 letters from the most considerable men in the country, both 
 of the clergy and laity. He there published Translations 
 of Pliny’s Epistles, of several works of Abbe Vertot, of Mont- 
 faucon’s Italian Travels, in folio, and many original lucu- 
 brations. His most generous patron was the Earl of Maccles 
 field, who gave him a benefice in the country, the value ol 
 which, to a resident, w'ould have been above £80 a year; he 
 had likewise a lecture in the city; sermons about town; was 
 more numerously followed, and raised more for the poor 
 children, than any other preacher, except the celebrated 
 George Whitfield. But when he pressed his promise from 
 a great man, of being fixed in town, it was negatived. He 
 then gave up his benefice and lecture, believing the public 
 would be a more hospitable protector of learning and science, 
 than some of the higher ranks in his own order. He preached 
 on Sundays on theological matters, and on Wednesdays upon 
 all other sciences. He declaimed several years against the 
 greatest persons, and occasionally, says Warburton, did Pope 
 that honour. That great poet, however, retaliated in the fol- 
 lowing satirical lines : 
 
 “ ImbrownM with native bronze, lo, Heniey stands, 
 
 Tuninjr his voice, and balancing his hands. 
 
 How fluent nonsense trickles from his tongue ! 
 
 How sweet the periods, neither said nor sung ! 
 
 Still break the benches, Henley, with thy strain, 
 
 While Kennet, Hare, and Gibson, preach in vain, 
 
 O great restorer of the good old age. 
 
 Preacher at once, and zany, of thy age P 
 
108 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Instead of tickets, this extraordinary person struck medals, 
 which he dispersed among his subscribers ; A star rising to 
 the meridian, with this motto, “ Ad Summa;'* and below, “ Inve^ 
 niam viarriy aut faciam.” “ Each auditor paid us” He was 
 author of a weekly paper, called “ The Hyp Doctor,” for which 
 he had £100 a year In his advertisements and lectures, he 
 often introduced : atirical and humorous remarks on the 
 public transactions of the times. He once collected an audi- 
 ence of a great number of shoemakers, by announcing that he 
 could teach them a speedy mode of operation in their busi- 
 ness ; which proved only to be, the making of shoes from ready- 
 made boots. He died on the 14th of October, 1756, in his 
 65th year. 
 
 The next character we introduce is Simon Browne, with 
 his Curious Dedication to Queen Caroline. 
 
 Simon Browne was a most extraordinary dissenting minis- 
 ter, and began to preach before he was twenty, at Portsmouth, 
 but afterwards became the pastor at Old Jewry. In 1723, he 
 lost his wife and son, which so affected him, that he quitted 
 his office, and would not even attend public worship, al- 
 leging, “ that he had fallen under the displeasure of God, 
 who had caused his rational soul to perish, and left him only 
 an animal life, common with brutes; that though he might 
 appear rational to others, he knew no more what he said than 
 a parrot; that it was in vain for him to pray;” and as such, 
 he no longer accounted himself a moral agent. Yet he 
 frequently amused himself with translating the ancient Latin 
 and Greek poets. At the same time, he wrote two very able 
 works in defence of Christianity against Woolston and Tindal. 
 He dedicated one of these works to the Queen, but the Dedi- 
 cation was suppressed by his friends. Being a curiosity of 
 its kind, we shall annex it. 
 
 “ To the Queen. — Madam : Of all the extraordinary 
 things that have been tendered to your royal hands, since 
 your first happy arrival in Britain, it may be boldly said, 
 what now bespeaks your majesty’s acceptance is the chief. 
 Not in itself indeed ; it is a trifle unworthy your exalted rank, 
 md what will hardly prove an entertaining amusement to 
 one of your majesty’s deep penetration, exact judgment, and 
 fine taste; but on account of the author, who is the first 
 being of the kind, and yet without a name. 
 
 “ He was once a man, and of some little name ; but of no 
 worth, as his present unparalleled case makes but too mani- 
 fest : for, by the immediate hand of an avenging God, his 
 A^ery thinking substance has for more than seven years been 
 continually wasting away, till it is wholly perished out of 
 ihim, if it be not utterly come to nothing. None, no, not the 
 least remembrance of its very ruins, remain ; not the shadow 
 
SIMON BROWNE. 
 
 109 
 
 of an idea is left, nor any sense, so much as one single one, 
 perfect or imperfect, whole or diminished, ever did appear to 
 a mind within him, or was perceived by it. 
 
 “ Such a present, from such a thing, however worthless in 
 itself, may not be wholly unacceptable to your majesty, the 
 author being such as history cannot parallel ; and if the fact, 
 which is real, and no fiction, or wrong conceit, obtains credit, 
 it must be recorded as the most memorable, and indeed, 
 astonishing event, in the reign of George II. that a tract com- 
 posed by such a thing, was presented to the illustrious Caro- 
 line ; — his royal consort need not be added ; fame, if I am not 
 misinformed, will tell that with pleasure to all succeeding 
 times. He has been informed, that your majesty’s piety is 
 genuine and eminent, as your excellent qualities are great 
 and conspicuous. This can, indeed, be truly known to the 
 great searcher of hearts only. He alone, who can look into 
 them, can discern if they are sincere, and the main intention 
 corresponds with the appearance ; and your majesty cannot 
 take it araiss, if such an author hints, that his secret appro- 
 bation is of infinitely greater value than the commendation of 
 men, who may be easily mistaken, and are too apt to flatter 
 their superiors. But, if he has been told the truth, such a case 
 as his will certainly strike your majesty wdth astonishment ; and 
 may raise that commiseration in your royal breast, which he 
 has in vain endeavoured to excite in those of his friends ; 
 who, by the most unreasonable and ill-founded conceit in the 
 world, have imagined that a thinking being could not, for 
 seven years together, live a stranger to its own powers, exer 
 cises, operations, and state ; and to what the great God has 
 been doing \n it, and to it. If your majesty, in your most 
 retired address to the Kins; of kino;s, should think of so sin- 
 gular a case, you may perhaps make it your devout request, 
 that the reign of your beloved sovereign and consort may be 
 renowned to all posterity, by the recovery of a soul now in 
 thft utmost ruin, the restoration of one utterly lost at present 
 amongst men ; and should this case affect your royal breast, 
 you will commend it to the piety and prayers of all the truly 
 devout, w'ho have the honour to be known to your majesty: 
 many such doubtless there are ; though courts are not usually 
 the places where the devout resort, or where devotion reigns 
 And it is not improbable, that multitudes of the pious through- 
 out the land may take a case to heart, that, under your 
 majesty’s patronage, comes thus recommended. 
 
 ‘‘ Could such a favour as this restoration be obtained from 
 heaven, by the pray# rs of your majesty, with wdiat transpoiT 
 of grititude would the recovered being throw himself at your 
 majesty’s feet, and, adoring the divine power and grace, 
 profess himself. I am, &c. Simon Browne.’^ 
 
iio ICURIO^ITIES RESPECTING M A . 
 
 The next curious character we shall exhibit is Edward 
 W oRTLEY Montague. 
 
 He was son of the celebrated Lady Mary Wortley Montague. 
 He passed through such various scenes, that he is well enti- 
 tled to a place in this collection of curiosities. From West- 
 minster school, where he was placed for education, he ran 
 away thrice. He exchanged clothes with a chimney-sweeper, 
 and followed for some time that sooty occupation. He next 
 joined a fisherman, and cried flounders in Rotherhithe. He 
 then sailed as a cabin-boy for Spain ; where he had no sooner 
 arrived, than he ran away from the vessel, and hired himself 
 to a driver of mules. After thus vagabondizing it for some 
 time, he was discovered by the consul, who returned him to 
 his friends in England. They received him with joy, and a 
 private tutor was employed to recover those rudiments of 
 learning which a life of dissipation, blackguardism, and vul- 
 garity, might have obliterated. Wortley was sent to the West 
 Indies, where he remained some time ; then returned to Eng- 
 land, acted according to the dignity of his birth, was chosen 
 a member, and served in two successive parliaments. His 
 expenses exceeding his income, he became involved in diebt, 
 quitted his native country, and commenced that wandering 
 traveller he continued to the time of his death. Having visit- 
 ed most of the eastern countries, he contracted a partiality 
 for their manners He drank little wine, but a great deal of 
 coffee ; wore a long beard ; smoked much ; and even whilst at 
 Venice, was habited in the eastern style. He sat cross-legged 
 in the Turkish fashion, from choice. With the Hebrew, the 
 Arabic, the Chaldaic, and the Persian languages, he was as 
 well acquainted as with his native tongue. He published seve- 
 ral pieces : one on the Rise and Fall of theRoman F^lmpire ; an- 
 other on the Causes of Earthquakes. He had seraglios of wives; 
 but the lady whom he married in England was a washerwo- 
 man, with whom he did not cohabit. When she died without 
 leaving issue to him, being unwilling that his estate should 
 go to the Bute family, he set out for England, to marry a young 
 woman already pregnant, whom a friend had provided for him; 
 but he died on his journey. 
 
 The next character that comes before us is Blaise Pascal. 
 He was one of the sublimest geniuses the world ever produced; 
 was born at Clermont, in Auvergne, in 1623. He never had 
 any preceptor but his father. So great a turn had he for the 
 mathematics, that he learned, or rather invented, geometry, 
 when but twelve years old ; for his father was unwilling to in- 
 itiate him in that science early, for fear of its diverting him 
 from the study of the languages. At sixteen, he composed a 
 curious mathematical piece. About nineteen, he invented his 
 machine of arithmetic, which has been much admired by thft 
 
OLD PARR 
 
 111 
 
 learned. He afterwards employed himself assiduously in 
 making experiments according to the new philosophy, and 
 particularly improved upon those of Toricellius. At the age 
 of twenty-four his mind took a different turn ; for, all at once, 
 he became as great a devotee as any age has ever produced, 
 and gave himself up entirely to prayer and mortification. 
 
 The next is a character famous for longevity. — Thomas, or 
 Old Parr, a remarkable Englishman, who lived in the reign 
 of ten kings and queens. He was the son of John Parr, a 
 husbandman, of Winnington, in the parish of Alderbury, Salop. 
 Following the profession of his father, belaboured hard, and 
 lived on coarse fare. Being taken up to London by the Earl 
 of Arundel, the journey proved fatal to him. Owing to the 
 alteration of his diet, to the change of the air and his general 
 mode of life, he lived but a very short time ; though one Ro- 
 bert Samber says, in his work entitled Long Livers, that Parr 
 lived 16 years after his presentation to Charles II. He was 
 buried in Westminster Abbey. After his death his body was 
 opened, and an account was drawn up by the celebrated Dr. 
 Harvey, of which the following is an extract : “ He had a 
 large breast, not fungous, but sticking to his ribs, and dis- 
 tended with blood ; a lividness in his face, as he had a diffi- 
 culty of breathing a little before his death; and a long lasting 
 warmth in his arm-pits and breast after it; which sign, toge- 
 ther with others, were so evident in his body as they use to be 
 on those who die by suffocation. His heart was great, thick, 
 fibrous, and fat ; the blood in the heart, blackish and diluted ; 
 the cartilages of the sternum not more bony than in others, 
 but flexile and soft. His viscera were sound and strong, espe- 
 cially the stomach ; and he used to eat often, by night and day, 
 though contented with old cheese, milk, coarse bread, small 
 beer, and whey ; and, which is more remarkable, he ate at 
 midnight a little before he died. His kidneys were covered 
 with fat, and pretty sound ; only on the interior surface were 
 found some aqueous or serous abscesses, whereof one was 
 near the bigness of a hen’s egg, with a yellowish wmter in it, 
 having made a roundish cavity, impressed on that kidney ; 
 whence some thought it came, that, a little before his death, a 
 suppression of urine had befallen him ; though others were 
 of opinion, that his urine was suppressed upon the regurgita- 
 tion of all the serosity into his lungs. There was not the 
 least appearance of any stony matter, either in the kidneys or 
 bladder. His bowels were also sound, a little wRitish with- 
 out. His spleen very little, hardly equal to the bigness of 
 one kidney. In short, all his inward parts appeared so healthy, 
 that if he had not changed his diet and air, he might, per- 
 haps, have lived a good while longer. The cause of his death 
 was imputed chiefly to the change of food and air; forasmuch 
 
ll2 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 as coming out of a clear, thin, and free air, he came into the 
 thick air of London ; and, after a constant, plain, and homely 
 country diet, he was taken into a splendid family, where he fed 
 high, and drank plentifully of the best wines, whereupon the na- 
 tural functions of the parts of his body were overcharged, his 
 lungs obstructed, and the habit of the whole body quite dis- 
 ordered ; upon which there could not but ensue a dissolution. 
 His brain was sound, entire, and firm ; and though he had 
 not the use of his eyes, nor much of his memory, several years 
 before he died, yet he had his hearing and apprehension very 
 well ; and was able, even to the 130th year of his age, to do 
 any husbandman’s work, even threshing of corn.” — The fol- 
 lowing summary of his life is from Oldy’s MS. Notes on Ful- 
 ler’s Worthies : 
 
 “ Old Parr was born 1483; lived at home until 1500, aged 17, 
 when he went out to service. 1518, aged 35, returned home 
 from his master. 1522, aged 39, spent four years on the re- 
 mainder of his father’s lease. 1543, aged 60, ended the first 
 lease he renewed of Mr. Lewis Porter. 1563, aged 80, mar- 
 ried Jane, daughter of John Taylor, a maiden ; by whom he 
 had a son and a daughter, who both died very young. 1564, 
 aged 81, ended the second lease which he renewed of Mr. John 
 Porter. 1585, aged 102, ended the third lease he had renewed 
 of Mr. Hugh Porter. 1588, aged 105, did penance in Alder- 
 bury church, for having a criminal connection with Katherine 
 Milton, by which she proved with child. 1595, aged 112, he 
 buried his wife Jane, after they had lived 32 years together. 
 1605, aged 122, having lived ten years a widow^er, he married 
 Jane, widow of Anthony Adda, daughter of John Lloyd, of 
 Gilsells, in Montgomeryshire, who survived him. 1635, aged 
 152 and 9 months, he died, after they had lived together 30 
 years, and after 50 years’ possession of his last lease.” — Length 
 of years are of no use, unless they be spent in the practice of 
 virtue. 
 
 The next character is a noted impostor, under the assumed 
 name of George Psalmanazar. He was a very extraordi- 
 nary genius, born in France, and educated in a Jesuit’s college ; 
 upon leaving which, he fell into a mean, rambling way of life 
 At Liege, he entered into the Dutch service, and afterwards 
 into that of Cologne. Having stolen the habit and staff of a 
 pilgrim out of a church, he begged through several countries, 
 in elegant Latin, and, accosting only gentlemen and clergymen, 
 received liberal supplies, which he spent as freely. In Ger- 
 many, he passed for a native of Formosa, a convert to Christi- 
 anity, and a sufferer for it. At Rotterdam he lived upon raw’ 
 flesh, roots, and vegetables. At Sluys he fell in with Briga- 
 dier Lauder, a Scots colonel, who introduced him to the 
 chaplain; who, to lecommend himself to the bishop of Lon- 
 
CASE. CANDIAC. S.. EATON. 
 
 113 
 
 don, took him over to that city. The bishop patronised him 
 with credulous humanity, and a large circle of his great 
 friends considered him as a prodigy. He published a History 
 of Formosa, and, what was most extraordinary, invented a cha- 
 racter and language for that island, and translated the Church 
 Catechism in to it,which was examined by learned critics, and 
 approved. Some of the learned, however, doubted him, 
 particularly Drs. Halley, Mead, and Woodward. He was al- 
 lowed the use of the Oxford Library, and employed in com- 
 piling The Universal History. Some errors in his history 
 first led him to be suspected as an impostor. He died in 
 1753 ; and in his last will confessed the imposture. 
 
 The next subject is a celebrated Quack Doctor, named John 
 Case. He was a native of Lyme Regis, in Dorsetshire, was 
 a noted empyric and astrologer, and looked upon as the suc- 
 cessor of the famous Lilly, whose magical utensils he pos- 
 sessed. He is said to have got more by this distich over his 
 door, than Dryden, by all his poetry : 
 
 “ Within this place 
 Lives Doctor Case.” 
 
 And he was, doubtless, well paid for composing that which he 
 affixed to his pill boxes : 
 
 “ Here’s fourteen pills for thirteen pence, 
 
 Enough in any man’s own conscience.” 
 
 There is a story told of him and Dr.RadclifF : being together 
 at a tavern, Radcliff said, ‘‘ Here, brother Case ; I drink to all 
 the fools your patients.^’ — Thank ye,’’ quoth Case ; let me 
 have all the fools, aud you are welcome to the rest.” He 
 wrote a nonsensical rhapsody, called the Angelical Guide, 
 shewing men and women their lot and chance in this elemen- 
 tary life. 
 
 Our next character is famous for prematurity of genius, and 
 named John Lewis Candiac. He was born at Candiac, in 
 the diocese of Nismes, in France, in 1719. In the cradle he 
 distinguished his letters ; at thirteen months he knew them 
 perfectly ; at three years of age he read Latin, either printed 
 or in manuscript; at four, he translated from that tongue ; at 
 six, he read Greek and Hebrew, was master of the principles 
 of arithmetic, history, geography, heraldry, and the science 
 of medals ; and had read the best authors on almost every 
 branch of literature. He died of a complication of disorders, 
 at Paris, in 1726. 
 
 The next character deserves to be recorded as one that was 
 eminently useful in his day and generation. John Smea- 
 TON, born near Leeds, in 1724, was an eminent civil engineer. 
 The strength of his understanding, and the originality of his 
 genius, appeared at an early age : his playthings were not the 
 4. P 
 
114 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 playthings of children, but the tools which men employ ; and 
 he appeared to have greater entertainment in seeing the men 
 in the neighbourhood work, and in asking them questions, 
 than in any thing else. One day he was seen (to the distress 
 of his friends) on the top of his father’s barn, fixing up some- 
 thing like a windmill : another time he attended some men 
 fixing a pump, at a neighbouring village, and observing them 
 cut off a piece of bored pipe, he was so lucky as to procure 
 it, and he actually made with it a working pump that raised 
 water. This happened while he was in petticoats, and most 
 likely before he had attained his sixth year. 
 
 While we admire the ingenuity of the next character, we 
 must lament that his conduct was licentious. It is the well- 
 known George Morland, an ingenious, dissipated, and 
 unfortunate painter. As he had no other education than what 
 was connected with the pencil and pallet, he shunned the society 
 of the well-informed and well-bred; and his pictures accordingly 
 are taken, for the most part, from low life, and from the most 
 humble, if not the most shocking, situations in which man- 
 kind consort. The following anecdote will give a sufficient 
 view of Morland’s character, upon which it would give us 
 pain to dwell at greater length. “ He was found (says his 
 biographer) at one time in a lodging in Somer’s-Town, in the 
 following extraordinary circumstances : his infant child, that 
 had been aead nearly three weeks, lay in its coffin in one 
 corner of the room ; an ass and foal stood munching barley 
 straw out of the cradle ; a sow and pigs were solacing them- 
 selves in the recess of an old cupboard ; and himself whistling 
 over a beautiful picture that he was finishing at his easel, with 
 a bottle of gin hung upon the side, and a live mouse sitting (or 
 if you please, kicking) for its portrait.” His constitution, 
 exhausted by dissipation, rapidly gave way, and he died before 
 he had reached his fortieth year. 
 
 The next character was indeed a prodigy, that shone like a 
 meteor, and soon vanished away. We shall introduce him 
 under the name of Christian Henry Heinecken. 
 
 He was born at Lubeck, February 6, 1721, and died there, 
 June 27, 1725, after having displayed the most amazing 
 proofs of intellectual powers. He could talk at ten months 
 old, and had scarcely completed his first year, when he 
 already knew and recited the principal facts contained in the 
 five books of Moses, with a number of verses on the crea- 
 tion : at thirteen months, he knew the history of the Old 
 Testament; and the New, at fourteen; in his thirtieth month, 
 the history of the nations of antiquity, geography, anatomy, 
 the use of maps, and nearly 5000 Latin words. Before the 
 end of his third year, he was well acquainted with the history 
 of Denmark, and the genealogy of the crowned heads of 
 
C. H. HE NECKEN. THOMAS TOPHAM 115 
 
 Europe ; in his fourth year he had learned the doctrines of 
 divinity, with their proofs from the Bible ; ecclesiastical 
 history ; the institutes ; 200 hymns, with their tunes ; 80 
 psalms; entire chapters of the Old and New Testaments; 
 1500 verses and sentences from ancient Latin classics ; almost 
 the whole Orbis Pictus of Comenius, whence he had derived all 
 his knowledge of the Latin language ; arithmetic; the history 
 of the European empires and kingdoms ; could point out, in the 
 maps, whatever place he was asked for, or passed by in his 
 journeys ; and recited all the ancient and modern historical 
 anecdotes relating to it. His stupendous memory caught and 
 retained every word he was told : his ever active imagination 
 used, whatever he saw or heard, instantly to apply some 
 example or sentence from the Bible, geography, profane or 
 ecclesiastical history, the Orbis Pictus, or from ancient clas- 
 sics. At the court of Denmark, he delivered twelve speeches 
 without once faltering ; and underwent public examination 
 on a variety of subjects, especially the history of Denmark. 
 He spoke German, Latin, French, and low Dutch, and was 
 exceedingly good-natured, and well-behaved, but of a most 
 tender and delicate bodily constitution ; never ate any solid 
 food, but chiefly subsisted on nurse’s milk, not being weaned 
 till within a very few months of his death, at which time he 
 was not quite four years old. There is a dissertation on this, 
 published by M. Martini, at Lubeck, 1730, where the author 
 attempts to assign the natural causes for the astonishing 
 capacity of this great man in embryo, who was just shewn to 
 the world, and snatched away. 
 
 The next character is of a different description, being fa 
 mous for strength of body ; he is named Thomas Topham. 
 
 This person was remarkable for muscular strength. He 
 kept a public-house at Islington, and used to perform sur- 
 prising feats, such as breaking a broomstick of the first mag- 
 nitude, by striking it against his bare arm ; lifting two 
 hogsheads ot water ; heaving his horse over the turnpike-gate ; 
 carrying the beam of a house as a soldier would his firelock, 
 &c. He also could roll up a pewter dish of seven pounds, as 
 a man rolls up a sheet of paper; squeeze a pewter quart toge- 
 ther at arms’ length ; and lift two hundred weight with his 
 little finger, over his head. At Derby, he broke a rope fast- 
 ened to the floor, that would sustain twenty hundred weight; 
 and lifted an oak table, six feet long, with his teeth, though 
 half a hundred weight was hung at the extremity. He took 
 Mr. Chambers, vicar of All Saints, who weighed twenty-seven 
 stone, and raised him with one hand. He stabbed himself, 
 after quarrelling with, and wounding his wife, 1749. — Extraor- 
 dinary strength of body is of little value, if strength of virtue 
 be wanting 
 
116 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with a celebrated Painter 
 of Antiquity, named Zeuxis. 
 
 This celebrated painter flourished about 400 years B. C. 
 He was born at Heraclea ; but as there have been many cities 
 of that name, it cannot be certainly determined which of them 
 had the honour of his birth. Some conjecture, that it was 
 Heraclea, near Crotona, in Italy. He carried painting to a 
 much higher degree of perfection than Apollodorus had left 
 it ; discovered the art of properly disposing of lights and 
 shades, and particularly excelled in colouring. He amassed 
 immense rijhes ; and then resolved to sell no more of his 
 pictures, but gave them away ; saying, ‘‘ That he could not 
 set a price on them equal to their value.” Pliny observes, 
 that this admirable painter, disputing for the prize of painting 
 with Parrhasius, painted some grapes so naturally, that the 
 birds flew down to peck them: Parrhasius, on the other hand, 
 painted a curtain so very artfully, that Zeuxis, mistaking it for 
 a real one, that hid his rival’s wark, ordered the curtain to be 
 drawn aside, to shew what Parrhasius had done ; but having 
 found his mistake, he ingenuously confessed himself van- 
 quished, since he had only imposed upon birds, while Parr- 
 hasius had deceived even a master of the art. Another time 
 he painted a boy loaded with grapes; when the birds also 
 flew to this picture, — at which he was vexed, and confessed 
 that his work was not sufficiently finished, since, had he 
 painted the boy as perfectly as the grapes, the birds would 
 have been afraid of him. Archelaus, king of Macedon, made 
 use of Zeuxis’s pencil for the embellishment of his palace. 
 One of this painter’s finest pieces was a Hercules strangling 
 two Serpents in his Cradle, in the presence of his affrighted 
 Mother; but he himself chieffy esteemed his Athleta, or Cham- 
 pion, under which he placed a Greek verse, that afterwards 
 became very famous, and in which he says, “ That it was 
 easier to criticize than to imitate the picture.” He made a 
 present of his Alcmena to the Agrigentines. Zeuxis did not 
 value himself on speedily finishing his pictures; but knowing 
 that Agatharcus gloried in his being able to paint with ease 
 and in a little time, he said, ** That for his part, he, on the 
 contrary, gloried in his slowness ; and if he was long in paint- 
 ing it was because he painted for eternity ** 
 
ANCIENT METHOD OF STORMING A FORT. 
 
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NICHOLAS PESCE. 
 
 117 
 
 CHAP. IX. ; 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued,) 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 Nicholas Pesce — Paul Scarron — Maria Gaetana Agnesi — Anna 
 Maria Schurman — Samuel Bisset, the noted Animal Instruc- 
 tor — John Philip Baratier — Buonaparte. 
 
 Nicholas Pesce, the first extraordinary character we shall 
 introduce, was a famous diver, of whom F. Kircher gives the fol- 
 lowing account. “ In the time of Frederick king of Sicily, (says 
 Kircher,) lived Nicholas, who, from his amazing skill in swim- 
 ming, and his perseverance under water, was surnamed the 
 Fish. This man had from his infancy been used to the sea ; 
 and earned his scanty subsistence by diving for coral and oys- 
 ters, which he sold to villagers on shore. His long acquaint- 
 ance with the sea, at last brought it to be almost his natural 
 element. He was frequently known to spend five days in the 
 midst of the waves, without any other provisions than the fish 
 which he caught there, and ate raw. He often swam over from 
 Sicily to Calabria, a tempestuous and dangerous passage, car- 
 rying letters from the king. He was frequently known to swim 
 among the gulfs of the Lipari islands, no way apprehensive of 
 danger. Some mariners out at sea, one day observed some- 
 thing at some distance from them, which they regarded as a 
 sea-monster; but, upon its approach, it was known to be Ni- 
 cholas, whom they took into their ship. When they asked 
 him whither he was going in so strong and rough a sea, and at 
 such a distance from land; he shewed them a packet of letters, 
 w^hich he was carrying to one of the towns of Italy, exactly 
 done up in a leather bag, in such a manner that they could 
 not be wetted by the sea. He kept them thus company for 
 some time in their voyage, conversing and asking questions ; 
 and after eating a hearty meal with them, he took his leave, 
 and, jumping into the sea, pursued his voyage alone. 
 
 ** In order to aid his powers of enduring in the deep, na- 
 ture seemed to have assisted him in a very extraordinary man- 
 ner : for the spaces between his fingers and toes were webbed, 
 as in a goose ; and his chest became so very capacious, that he 
 could take in at one inspiration as much breath as would serve 
 him for several hours. The account of so extraordinary a per- 
 son did not fail to reach the king himself; who commanded 
 Nicholas to be brought before him. It was no easy matter to 
 find Nicholas, who generally spent his time in the solitudes of 
 the deep; but, at last, after much searching, he was was found. 
 
118 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 and brought before his majesty. The curiosity of this mo- 
 naicli had been long excited by the accounts he had heard of 
 the bottom of the gulf of Charybdis. He now, therefore, con- 
 ceived that it would be a proper opportunity to have more cer- 
 tain information. Accordingly, he commanded our poor diver 
 to examine the bottom of this dreadful whirlpool ; and as an 
 incitement to his obedience, he ordered a golden cup to be 
 flung into it. Nicholas was not insensible of the danger to 
 which he was exposed : dangers best known only to himself ; 
 and therefore he presumed to remonstrate ; but the hopes of 
 the reward, the desire of pleasing the king, and the pleasure 
 of shewing his skill, at last prevailed. He instantly jumped 
 into the gulf, and was as instantly swallowed up in its bosom. 
 He continued for three-quarters of an hour below, during which 
 time the king and his attendants remained on shore, anxious 
 for his fate ; but he at last appeared, holding the cup in 
 triumph in one hand, and making his way good among the 
 waves with the other. It may be supposed he was received 
 with applause w^hen he came on shore ; the cup was made the 
 reward of his adventure ; the king ordered him to be taken 
 proper care of; and, as he was somewhat fatigued and debili- 
 tated by his labour, after a hearty meal, he was put to bed, 
 and permitted to refresh himself by sleeping. When his spi- 
 rits were thus restored, he w^as again brought, to satisfy the 
 king’s curiosity with a narrative of the wonders he had seen, 
 and his account was to the following effect. 
 
 He w ould never, he said, have obeyed the king’s com- 
 mands, had he been apprised of half the dangers that were 
 before him. These w^ere four things, he said, which rendered 
 the gulf dreadful, not only to men, but to fishes themselves : 
 1. The great force of the w^ater bursting up from the bottom, 
 w hich required great strength to resist. 2. The abruptness of 
 the rocks, that on every side threatened destruction. 3. The 
 force of the whirlpool dashing against those rocks. And, 4. 
 The number and magnitude of the polypous fish, some of which 
 appeared as large as a man ; and which, every w'here sticking 
 against the rocks., projected their long and fibrous arms to 
 entangle him. Being asked how he was able so readily to find 
 the cup that had been thrown in, he replied, that it happened 
 to be flung by the waves into the cavity of a rock, against 
 which he himself was urged in his descent. 
 
 “ This account, however, did not satisfy the king’s curiosity. 
 Being requested to venture once more into the gulf for further 
 discoveries, he at first refused ; but the king, desirous of hav- 
 ing the most exact information possible of all things to be 
 found in the gulf, repeated his solicitations ; and, to give them 
 still greater weight, produced a larger cup than the former, 
 and added also a purse of gold. Upon these considerations. 
 
PA JL SCARRON 119 
 
 ihe unfortunate diver once again plunged into the whirlpool, 
 and was never heard of more.” 
 
 Paul Scarron. — This famous French burlesque writer, 
 was the son of a counsellor in parliament, and was born at 
 Paris, about the end of 1610, or beginning of 1611. His father 
 marrying a second wife, he was compelled to assume the ec- 
 clesiastical profession. At the age of 24, he visited Italy, 
 and freely indulged in licentious pleasures. After his return 
 to Paris, he persisted in a life of dissipation, till a long and 
 painful disease convinced him that his constitution was almost 
 worn out. At length, when engaged in a party of pleasure, at 
 the age of 27, he lost the use of those legs which had danced 
 so gracefully, and of those hands which once could paint, and 
 play on the lute, with so much elegance. 
 
 This happened in the following manner : In 1638 he was 
 attending the carnival at Mentz, of which he was canon. Hav- 
 ing dressed himself one day as a savage, his singular appear- 
 ance excited the curiosity of the children of the town. They 
 followed him in multitudes, and he was obliged to take shel- 
 ter in a marsh. This wet and cold situation produced a numb- 
 ness which totally deprived him of the use of his limbs ; yet 
 he continued gay and cheerful. He took up his residence in 
 Paris, and by his pleasant humour soon attracted to his 
 house all the men of wit about the city. The loss of his health 
 was followed by the loss of his fortune. On the death of his 
 father he entered into a process with his step-mother; and 
 pleaded his own cause in a ludicrous manner, though his 
 whole fortune depended on the decision. He was unsuccess- 
 ful, and was ruined. Mademoiselle de Hautefort, compas- 
 sionating his misfortunes, procured for him an audience of the 
 queen. The poet requested to have the title of Valetudinarian 
 to her majesty : the queen smiled, and Scarron considered the 
 smile as a commission to his new office. Cardinal Mazarine 
 gave him a pension of 500 crowns ; but that minister having 
 received disdainfully the dedication of his Typhon, the poet 
 immediately wrote a Mazarinade, and the pension was with- 
 drawn. He then attached himself to the prince of Conde, and 
 celebrated his victories. He at length formed the extraordi- 
 nary resolution of marrying, and was accordingly, in 1651, 
 married to Madame d’Aubigne, afterwards celebrated by the 
 name ofMaintenon. 
 
 At this time (says Voltaire) it was considered as a great ac- 
 quisition for her to gain for a husband, a man who was disfi- 
 gured by nature, impotent, and very little enriched by fortune. 
 She restrained by her modesty his indecent buffooneries ; and 
 the good company which had formerly resorted to his house 
 again frequented it. Scarron now became more decent in his 
 manners and conversation ; and his gaiety was thus more 
 
120 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 agreeable. But he lived with so little economy, that his 
 income was soon reduced to a small annuity, and his marquis- 
 ate of Quinet, i. e. the profits of his publications, which were 
 printed by one Quinet. He was accustomed to talk to his 
 superiors with great freedom in his jocular style, as appears 
 from the dedication of his Don Japhet Armenie to the king. 
 Though Scarron wrote comedies, he had not patience to study 
 the rules of dramatic poetry. Aristotle and Horace, Plautus 
 and Terence, would have frightened him. He saw an open 
 path before him, and he followed it. It was the fashion of 
 the times to pillage the Spanish writers. Scarron was ac- 
 quainted with that language, and he found it easier to use 
 materials already prepared, than to rack his brain by inventing 
 subjects. As he borrowed liberally from them, a dramatic 
 piece cost him little labour. The great success of his Jodelet 
 Maitre was a vast allurement to him. The comedians who 
 acted it, requested more of his productions. They were writ- 
 ten with little toil, and they procured him large sums. They 
 also served to amuse him. He dedicated his books to his 
 sister’s greyhound bitch. Fouquet gave him a pension of 
 1600 livres. Christiana, queen of Sweden, having come to 
 Paris, was anxious to see Scarron, I permit you (said she 
 to Scarron) to fall in love with me. The queen of France has 
 made you her Valetudinarian, and I create you my Roland.” 
 Scarron did not long enjoy that title ; he was seized with a 
 violent hiccough. He retained his gaiety to his last moment. 
 He died on the 14th of October, 1660, aged 61. His works 
 have been collected, and published by Bruzen de la Martiniere, 
 in 10 vols. 12mo. 1737. His Comic Romance, in prose, 
 merits attention. It is written with much humour and purity 
 of style, and contributed to the improvement of the French 
 language. It had a prodigious run ; it was the only one 
 of Ids works that Boileau could submit to read. Scarron can 
 raise a laugh on the most serious subjects ; but his sallies are 
 rather those of a buffoon, than the effusions of ingenuity and 
 taste. He is continually falling into the mean and the ob- 
 scene. Sterne seems to have imitated Scarron in his Tristram 
 Shandy. 
 
 We shall now introduce two female characters of note. The 
 first is Maria Gaetana Agnesi, a lady of extraordinary 
 genius, and most extensive acquirements, who was born at 
 Milan, on the 16th of May, 1718. Her father, Pietro Agnesi, 
 of Milan, was royal feudatory of Monteveglia, and its depen- 
 dencies ; and being a man of some rank and consequence, he 
 was disposed, from paternal affection, to provide suitably foi 
 the education of his infant daughter, who gave the most slrik 
 ing indications of talent. From her tenderest years, she dis 
 
JOHN GUTENBERG, 
 
 THE IJVVENTOK OF PRINTING: 
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 
 
TiHfe 
 
 SflKE 
 
MARIA GAETNA AGNESI. 
 
 121 
 
 discovered a wonderful aptness, and a vehement desire, for 
 acquiring languages. Under the direction of proper masters, 
 she studied at the very same time the Latin and Greek, the 
 French and German ; and while the rapidity of her progress 
 excited astonishment, such were the prodigious powers of her 
 memory, that she could easily pursue those diversified objects 
 without feeling the smallest degree of confusion. When yet 
 scarcely nine years old, this surprising child delivered a Latin 
 oration, to prove that the cultivation of letters is not incon- 
 sistent with the female character, — before an assembly of 
 learned persons, invited to her father’s house. 
 
 At the age of eleven, the young Agnesi could not only read 
 Greek, and translate it instantly into Latin, but could even 
 speak that refined language with the same apparent ease 
 and fluency as if it had been her native tongue. Nor did 
 these acquisitions absorb her whole attention ; a nobler field 
 was opened to the exercise of her mental faculties. She now 
 began to read Euclid’s Elements, and proceeded in algebra 
 as far as quadratic equations. Thus prepared, she advanced 
 with ardour to the study of natural philosophy ; but not 
 content with the sober proofs there unfolded, she soared to the 
 height of metaphysics, and engaged in the most abtruse and 
 intricate disquisitions of that contentious science. After this 
 young lady had attained the age of 14, her father, anxious to 
 forw’ard her arcfour for improvement, and willing to gratify 
 her ambition for literary distinction, invited occasionally to 
 his house a number of persons, the most respectable in Milan 
 for their rank and learning. In the midst of this grave audi- 
 tory, Donna Agnesi made her appearance ; and, without 
 resigning the native delicacy of her sex, she maintained a 
 succession of new theses on various difficult parts of philoso- 
 phy, and handled the arguments with such dexterity and 
 commanding eloquence, as singly to vanquish every opponent 
 that entered the field of controversy. These disputations 
 were all of them carried on in the Latin language, which she 
 spoke with the utmost ease, purity, and copious elegance. 
 Every thing conspired to heighten the impression produced 
 on the admiring spectators. In the full bloom of youth, her 
 person agreeable, her manner graceful, an air of gentleness 
 and modesty gave irresistible charms to her whole demeanour. 
 Such, for several years, was the great theatre of her glory. 
 But having nearly completed the circle of philosophy, and 
 exhausted the chief topics of discussion, sfie resolved at 
 length to close that career with a solemnity suitable to the 
 occasion. 
 
 In the year 1738, Agnesi made her last brilliant display, 
 before an august assembly, composed of the most learned and 
 illustrious of the Milanese nobility, the senators, and foreign 
 
 Q 
 
122 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 ministers, with the most distinguished professors in all the 
 branches of science and literature. The substance of these 
 philosophical conferences was afterwards published in a quarto 
 volume, entitled, “ Propositiones Philosophictz, quas, crehris 
 Disputatioiiibus dorni habitis, coram clarissimis vhis, explicabat 
 extempore, et ab objectis viudicabat Maria Cajetana de Agnesi 
 Medioianenshr Agnesi now bent her whole attention to the 
 culture of mathematics ; and, without guide or assistance, she 
 composed a very useful commentary on L’Hospital’s Conic 
 Sections, which is said to exist still in manuscript. In the 
 sublimer departments of that science, her studies were directed 
 by the matured experience of Rampinelli, professor of mathe- 
 matics in the university of Pisa; but she soon gave proofs 
 of her am«zing proficiency, in digesting a complete body of 
 the modern calculus. This excellent work, entitled, “ Analy- 
 tical Institutions, for the Use of the Italian Youth,” appeared 
 in 1748, in two volumes quarto, and was highly esteemed by 
 the best judges, and justly regarded as exhibiting the fullest 
 and clearest view of the state of the science at that period. 
 She was, in consequence, elected by acclamation a member 
 of the Institute of Sciences of Bologna ; and the pope farther 
 conferred on her the title of Professor of Mathematics in the 
 university of that city. 
 
 But Agnesi was already sated with literary fame. That 
 sun, which in its ascent had shone forth with such dazzling 
 radiance, was, through the rest of its course, shrouded in 
 clouds and darkness. The fever of genius had preyed on her 
 mind, and the high fit of excitement was quickly succeeded 
 by a hopeless depression of spirits. She repelled the seduc- 
 tions of human learning, and abandoned for ever her favourite 
 mathematical pursuits. Renouncing the vanities of this w’orld, 
 she withdrew from society, embraced a life of relioious seclu- 
 sion, and sunk by degrees into the languor of religious melan- 
 choly. She studied nothing but Hebrew, and the rhapsodies 
 of the Greek fathers of the church. For upwards of twenty 
 years she denied all access to strangers. The famous Lalande 
 complains, in his “ Travels through Italy,” that he was not 
 allowed the honour of visiting that prodigy; and Father Bos- 
 covick himself, whose vreligious principles must have been 
 unexceptionable, experienced, notwithstanding his repeated 
 importunities, a similar refusal. Indulging that gloomy tem- 
 per, she retired into a convent, and assumed the habit of a 
 Blue Nun. She sought to forget the world, and was herself 
 forgotten. She died about the year 1770. The Inshhiziom 
 Analptiche of' Agnesi were translated into English, many years 
 ago, by Mr. Colson, Lucasian professor of mathematics at 
 Cambridge. The translation was discovered among the papers 
 of that ingeniO!is mathematician, by the learned Baron Mase- 
 
ANNA MARIA SCHURMAN. 
 
 123 
 
 res, who put the manuscript into the hands of Mr. Hellins, as 
 editor, and generously defrayed the expenses attending the 
 publication. 
 
 Anna Maria Schurman, the other distinguished female 
 character, was born at Cologne, 1607, of parents sprung 
 from noble Protestant families. From her infancy she dis- 
 covered an uncommon dexterity of hand ; for, at six years 
 of age, she cut with her scissors all sorts of figures upon pa- 
 per, without any pattern or model. At eight, she learned dn 
 a few days to design flowers in a very agreeable manner; and 
 two years after, took no more than three hours in learning to 
 embroider. She was afterwards instructed in music, painting, 
 sculpture, and engraving ; and succeeded to admiration in all 
 these arts. Her hand-writing in all languages was inimitable; 
 and some curious persons have preserved specimens of it in 
 their cabinets. Mr. Joby, in his journey to Munster, relates, 
 that he had a view of the beauty of her writing in French, 
 Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic ; and was an eye-witness 
 of her skill in drawing in miniature, and making portraits upon 
 glass with the point of a diamond. She painted her own 
 picture ; and made artificial pearls, so nearly resembling na- 
 tural ones, that they could not be distinguished, except by 
 pricking them with a needle. 
 
 The powers of her understanding were equally capacious ; 
 for, at eleven years of age, when her brothers were examined 
 in their Latin exercises, she frequently whispered them what 
 to answer, though she had only heard them say their lessons 
 en passant, which her father observing, and perceiving she had 
 a genius for literature, determined to cultivate those talents 
 he saw she was possessed of, and accordingly assisted hei 
 in gaining that noble stock of learning, for which she wag 
 afterwards so eminent. The Latin, Greek, and Hebrew lan- 
 guages were so familiar to her, that she not only wrote, but 
 spoke them fluently, to the surprise of the most learned men. 
 She made a great progress also in the Oriental languages 
 which had an affinity with the Hebrew, as the Syriac, Chaldee, 
 Arabic, and Ethiopic ; understood the living languages per- 
 fectly well, and could converse readily in French, English, 
 and Italian. She was likewise competently versed in geogra- 
 phy, astronomy, philosophy, and the sciences ; but as her 
 mind was naturally of a religious cast, these learned amuse- 
 ments gave her but little satisfaction ; and at length she 
 applied herself to divinity, and the study of the holy scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 While she was an infant, her father had settled at Utrecht, 
 but afterwards, for the more convenient education of his chil- 
 dren, removed to Praneker, where he died 1623. Upon which 
 his widow returned to Utrecht, where Anna Maria continued 
 
124 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 her studies very intensely; which undoubtedly kept her fn m 
 marrying, as she might advantageously have done with Mr. 
 Cotts, pensionary of Holland, and a celebrated poet, who 
 wrote verses in her praise, when she was no more than four 
 teen years of age. 
 
 Her modesty, which was as remarkable as her knowledge, 
 would have kept her merit and learning in obscurity, if Rive- 
 tus, Spanheim, andVossius, had not produced her, contrary 
 to’ her own inclination, upon the stage of the world. To these 
 three divines we may add Salmasius, Beveronicius, and Huy- 
 gens, who maintained a literary correspondence with her, and, 
 by shewing her letters, spread her fame into foreign countries. 
 This procured her letters from eminent men; and her name be- 
 came so famous, that persons of the first distinction, even 
 princesses, paid her visits ; and cardinal Richelieu shewed her 
 marks of his esteem. 
 
 About the year 1650, she made a visible alteration in her re- 
 ligious system. She no longer went to public worship, but 
 performed her devotions in private ; which occasioned a report 
 that she was inclined to popery : but the truth was, she had 
 attached herself to Labadie, the famous Quietist, and embra- 
 cing his principles and practices, accompanied him wherever he 
 went. She lived some time with him at Altena, in Holstein, 
 where she attended him at his death in 1674. She afterwards 
 retired to Weimart, in Friesland, where Mr. William Penn, 
 the quaker, visited her in 1677 ; and died at this place, 1678. 
 She took for her device these words of St. Ignatius, Amor mens 
 crucijixns est, My Love is crucified. 
 
 Samuel Bisset, the noted animal instructor, next follows. — 
 A most singular character, famous for teaching quadrupeds to 
 perform very remarkable actions. He was born at Perth, in 
 W21. He first tried his skill on a horse and a dog which he 
 bought in London, and he succeeded beyond all expectation. 
 Two monkeys were the next pupils he took in hand ; one of 
 these he taught to dance and tumble on the rope, whilst the 
 other held a candle with one paw for his companion, and with 
 the other played a barrel organ. These antic animals he also 
 instructed to piny several fanciful tricks, such as drinking to 
 the company, riding and tumbling upon the horse’s back, and 
 o;oing through several regular dances with the dog. 
 
 Being a man of unwearied patience, three young cats were 
 the next objects of his tuition. He taught those domestic 
 tigers, to strike their paws in such directions on the dulcimer, 
 as to produce several tunes, having music-books before them, 
 and squalling at the same time in different keys or tones, first, 
 second, and third, by way of concert. In such a city is Lon- 
 don, these feats could not fail of exciting attention. The well- 
 known Cat’s Opera was performed at the Haymarket; the 
 
SAMUEL BISSET. JOHN PHILIP BARATIER. 125 
 
 horse, the dog, the monkeys, and the cats, went through their 
 several parts with uncommon applause, to crowded houses ; 
 and in a few days Bisset found himself in possession of nearly 
 a thousand pounds to reward his ingenuity. 
 
 This success excited a desire of extending his dominion 
 over other animals, including even the feathered kind. He 
 procured a leveret, and reared it to beat several marches on 
 the drum with its hind-legs, until it became a good stout hare. 
 This creature, which is always set down as the most timid, he 
 declared to be as mischievous and bold an animal, to the ex- 
 tent of its power, as any with which he was acquainted. He 
 taught canary-birds, linnets, and sparrows, to spell the name 
 of any person in company, to distingish the hour and minute 
 of time., and play many other surprising tricks ; he trained six 
 turkey cocks to go through a regular country dance. In the 
 course of six months^ teaching, he made a turtle fetch and carry 
 like a dog ; and having chalked the floor, and blackened his 
 claws, could direct it to trace out any given name in the 
 company. 
 
 The following is a surprising instance of premature genius, 
 in the person of John Philip Baratier. A most extraor- 
 dinary person, born 1721, in the margravate of Anspach, of 
 such extraordinary powers of memory, that, at the age of four, 
 he conversed with his mother in French, with his father in 
 Latin, and with his servants in German. The rapidity of his 
 improvement augmented with his years, so that he became 
 acquainted with Greek at six, with Hebrew at eight, and in 
 his eleventh year translated from the Hebrew into French the 
 Travels of Benjamin of Tudela, wliich he enriched with valu- 
 able annotations. His proficiency in mathematics was so 
 great, that he submitted to the London Royal Society, a scheme 
 for finding the longitude, which, though insufficient, exhibit- 
 ed the strongest marks of superior abilities. He visited Halle 
 with his father in 1735, where he was offered by the univer- 
 sity the degree of M. A. The young philosopher drew up 14 
 theses, which he printed, and the next morning disputed upon 
 them with such logical precision, that he astonished a most 
 crowded audience. At Berlin he was received with kindness 
 by the king of Prussia, and honoured with marks of distinction 
 His abilities, however, shone but like a meteor: a constitu- 
 tion, naturally delicate, was rendered still more weak by ex- 
 cessive application ; and a cough, spitting of blood, and fever 
 on the spirits, put an end to his life at Halle, 1740, in his 
 20th year. 
 
 Baratier is mentioned as a prodigy of learning and of genius ; 
 his memory was universally retentive, and his application 
 scarcely credible, when it is recollected that he spent twelve 
 hours in bed till 1 is tenth year, and ten afterwards. In one 
 
126 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 winter he read twenty great folios, with all the attention of a 
 vast comprehensive mind ; and the large work which he pre- 
 pared on Egyptian antiquities, shewed the most judicious and 
 laborious arrangement. In his domestic economy he was very 
 temperate ; he ate little flesh, lived totally on milk, tea, bread, 
 and fruit; he disliked wine; he had an aversion to dancing, 
 music, and the sports of the field ; so that he wished for no 
 recreation from study, but in walking, or in the conversation 
 of a few friends. 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with an account of the prin- 
 cipal events in the life of — 
 
 Buonaparte. — 1769, Born at Ajaccio, Corsica, Aug. 15. — 
 1779, Placed at the Military School of Brienne, March. — 
 1794, An Officer of artillery at the siege of Toulon, and ap- 
 pointed General of Brigade. — 1794, Commands the Conven- 
 tional Troops, and defeats the Parisians, Oct. 4. — 1796, Ap- 
 pointed to the command of the Army of Italy. Battle of 
 Lodi, May 10. Battle of Castiglione, Aug. 3. Battle of 
 Areola, Xov. i6. — 1797, Surrender of Mantua, Feb. 2. Trieste 
 surrenders, March 23. Preliminaries with Austria signed at 
 Leoben, April 18. Frenv’h ^.ake possession of Venice, IMay 
 16. Treaty of Campo FoimevS with Austria, 17. — 1798, Buo- 
 naparte sails for Egypt, Mcy 20. Battle of Embabe, or of the 
 Pyramids, July 21. Insuri^ctien at Cairo, Oct. 24. — 1799, 
 Siege of Acre raised. May 21. Oails from Egypt for France, 
 Aug. 23. Lands at Frejus, Oct. 7. Dissolves the Conven- 
 tional Government, Nov. 9. DeCiared First Consul, 10. — 
 
 1800, Peace with the Chouans, Feb. ^5. Buonaparte crosses 
 Mount St. Bernard, May. Battle of O^arengo, June 16. Pre- 
 liminaries with Austria signed At Pavis. Battle of Hohen- 
 linden, Dec. 3. Explosion of the Infernal Machine, 24. — 
 
 1801, Treaty of Luneville with Austvia, Feb. 9. Nelson attacks 
 the Buologne Flotilla, Aug. 16. Preliminaries with England, 
 Oct. 8. — 1802, The Cisalpine Republic placed under Buona- 
 parte, Jan. 26. Definitive Treaty with England, March 27. 
 Legion of Honour instituted. May 15. Declared Consul for 
 Life, Aug. 2. Swiss form of Government changed by the 
 interference of the French, 28. — 1803, English Declaration of 
 War, May 18. Hanover conquered, June 5. — 1804, Moreau 
 arrested, Feb. Due D’Enghien shot, March 20. Pichegru 
 dies in prison, April 8. Buonaparte made Emperor, May 18. 
 Crowned by the Pope, Nov. 19. — 1805, Writes a pacific let- 
 ter to the King of England, Feb. Treaty of Petersburgh, 
 between England, Russia, Austria, and Sweden, April 11. 
 Buonaparte declared King of Italy, May 26. Buonaparte 
 heads his army against Austria, Sept. 24. Mack’s army sur- 
 renders at LTm, Oct. 20. French enter Vienna, Nov. 13, 
 Battle of Austerlitz, Dec. 2. Treaty of Vienna with Pru.ssia, 
 
KliSi[F® ILH ®R1« 
 
0? THE 
 
BUONAPARTE. 
 
 127 
 
 15 . Treaty of Presburg with Austria, 26. — 1806, Joseph Buo- 
 naparte declared King of Naples, March 30. Louis Buona- 
 parte declared King of Holland, June 5. Convocation of the 
 Jews, July 26. Confederation of the Rhine published, 27. 
 Buonaparte marches against Prussia, Sept. 24. Battle of 
 Auerstadt, or Jena, Oct. 14. Buonaparte enters Berlin, 27. 
 Hamburgh taken, Nov. 19. Berlin Decree. — 1807, Battle 
 of Eylau, Feb. 8. Battle of Friedland, June 14. Treaty of 
 Tilsit, July 7. — 1808, Joseph Buonaparte declared King of 
 Spain, July 7. Surrender of Dupont’s army at Baylen, 20. 
 Joseph Buonaparte evacuates Madrid, 29. Battle ofVimeira, 
 August 21. Conferences at Erfurth, Sept. 20. Buonaparte 
 arrives at Vittoria, Nov. 5. Surrender of Madrid, Dec. 4. — 
 1809, Battle of Corunna, Jan. 16. Buonaparte returns to Pa- 
 ris, 22. War declared by Austria, April 6. Bonaparte heads 
 his army against Austria, 13. French enter Vienna, May 10. 
 Battle of Fsling, or Asperne, 22. Battle of Wagram, July 6. 
 Flushing taken by the English, August 14. Treaty of Vienna, 
 Oct. 14. Lucien Buonaparte arrives in England, Dec. 13. 
 Buonaparte’s marriage with Josephine dissolved, 16. Walche- 
 ren evacuated by the English, 23. — 1810, Buonaparte marries 
 Maria Louisa, daughter of Francis II. March ll. Holland 
 and the Hanse Towns annexed to France, July 9. Bernadotte 
 elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Aug. 21. Decree for re- 
 straining the liberty of the Press, Dec. — 1811, Hamburgh an- 
 nexed to the empire, Jan. 1. The Empress delivered of a son, 
 who is styled King of Rome, April 20. Buonaparte present 
 at an engagement between the Boulogne flotilla and an Eng- 
 lish cruiser. Sept. 2. — 1812, Swedish Pomerania seized by 
 Buonaparte, Jan. 22. He heads the army against Russia, May 
 2. Arrives at Konigsberg, June 11. Enters Wilna, 28. Smo- 
 lensko taken, Aug. 18. Battle of Moskwa, Sept. 7. French 
 enter Moskow, 14. Evacuate it, October 22. Buonaparte 
 atSmolensko, Nov. 9. Deserts the army, Dec. 5. Arrives at 
 Paris, 18. — 1813, Takes the command of the army on the 
 Elbe, April. Battle of Lutzen, May 1. Battle of Bautzen,. 
 20. Armistice agreed on, June 4. Battle of Vittoria, 21. 
 Hostilities re-commence, Aug. 17. Battle of Dresden, Mo- 
 reau killed, 28. English enter France, Sept. 7, Buonaparte 
 evacuates Dresden, 28. Battle of Leipsic, Oct. 18. Revo- 
 lution in Holland, Nov. 15. Declaration of the Allies at 
 Frankfort, Dec. 1. English army cross the Nive, 8. — 1814, 
 Allies cross the Rhine, Jan. 4. Battle of Montmartre, March 
 30. Allies enter Paris, 31. Buonaparte abdicates the throne, 
 April 11. Arrives at Elba, May 8. — 1815, Sails from Elba to 
 France, March 1. Arrives at Paris, and reascends the throne, 
 20 . Is declared an outlaw by the Sovereigns of Europe then 
 assembled at Vienna, 25. Calls anew House of Peers and 
 
i!28 curiosities respecting man. 
 
 Chamber of Representatives of the people. Calls a Champ 
 de Mai, April. Defeats the Prussians, June 16. Loses his 
 army in the great battle of Waterloo, 18. Abdicates the 
 throne a second time, 21. Surrenders himself to Capt. Mait- 
 land, commanding the English ship of war, the Bellerophon, 
 in Basque Roads, July 15. Arrives at Torbay, 22. Sailed 
 from England in the Northumberland, for St. Helena, Aug. 11 
 —1821, Died at St. Helena, May 5. Buried there, 9. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Continued.) 
 
 Ri CHARD Savage, one of the most extraordinary charac- 
 ters that is to be met with in all the records of biography, was 
 the son of Anne, countess of Macclesfield, by the earl of 
 Rivers, according to her own confession ; and was born in 
 1698. This confession of adultery was made, to procure a 
 separation from her husband, the earl of Macclesfield : yet, 
 having obtained this end, no sooner was a spurious off- 
 spring brought into the world, than she resolved to disown 
 him ; and, as long as he lived, she treated him with the most 
 unnatural cruelty. She delivered him over to a poor w'o- 
 man to educate as her own ; maliciously prevented the earl of 
 Rivers from leaving him a legacy of £6000, by declaring him 
 dead ; and deprived him of another legacy whijh his god- 
 mother, Mrs. Lloyd, had left him, by concealing from him 
 his birth, and thereby rendering it impossible for him to pro- 
 secute his claim. She endeavoured to send him secretly to 
 the plantations; but this plan being frustrated, she placed 
 him apprentice with a shoemaker. In this situation, however, 
 he did not long continue ; for his nurse dying, he went to 
 take care of the effects of his supposed mother, and found in 
 her boxes some letters, which discovered to young Savage his 
 ■birth, and the cause of its concealment. From the moment of 
 this discovery he became dissatisfied. He conceived that 
 he had a right to share in the affluence of his real mother; 
 and therefore he applied to her, and tried every art to attract 
 her regard. But in vain did he solicit this unnatural parent; 
 she avoided him with the utmost precaution, and took mea- 
 sures to prevent his ever entering her house. Meantime, 
 while he was endeavouring to rouse the affections of a mother, 
 in whom all natural affection was extinct, he was destitute 
 of the means of support. Having a strong inclination to 
 literary pursuits, especially poetry, he wrote poems ; and 
 
RICHARD SAVAGE. 
 
 120 
 
 afterwards two plays. Woman’s a Riddle, and. Love in a Veils 
 he was allowed no part of the profits from the first; but 
 by the second he acquired the acquaintance of Sir Richard 
 Steel and Mr. Wilkes, by whom he was pitied, caressed, and 
 relieved. But the kindness of his friends not affording him 
 a constant supply, he wrote the tragedy of Sir Thomas Over- 
 bury ; which not only procured him the esteem of many per- 
 sons of wit, but brought him £200. The celebrated Aaron 
 Hill, Esq. was of great service to him in correcting and fitting 
 this piece for the stage and the press ; and extended his pa- 
 tronage still farther. But Savage was, like many other wits, 
 a bad economist. As fast as his friends raised him out of one 
 difficulty, he sunk into another ; and when he found himself 
 greatly involved, he rambled about like a vagabond, with 
 scarcely a shirt on his back. He was in one of these situa- 
 tions all the time he wrote his tragedy above mentioned ; 
 without a lodging, and often without a dinner. Mr. Hill also 
 promoted a subscription to a volume of his Miscellanies, and 
 furnished part of the poems of which it was composed. To 
 this Miscellany Savage wrote a preface, in which he gives an 
 account of his mother’s cruelty, in a very uncommon strain 
 of humour. The profits of his tragedy and his Miscellanies 
 had now somewhat raised him, both in circumstances and 
 credit, so that the world began to behold him with a more 
 favourable eye, when both his fame and life were endangered 
 by a most unhappy event : a drunken frolic, in which he one 
 night engaged, ended in a fray, and Savage unfortunately killed 
 a man, for which he was condemned to be hanged : his friends 
 earnestly solicited the mercy of the crown, while his mother as 
 earnestly exerted herself to prevent his receiving it. The Coun- 
 tess of Hertford, at length, laid his whole case before Queen 
 Caroline, and Savage obtained a pardon. Savage now lost that 
 affection for his mother which the whole series of her cruelty 
 had not been able wholly to repress ; and considering her as an 
 implacable enemy, whom nothing but his blood could satisfy, 
 threatened to harass her with lampoons, and to publish a 
 copicus narrative of her conduct, unless she consented to 
 allow him a pension. This expedient proved successful ; and 
 Lord Tyrconnel, upon his promise of laying aside his design 
 of exposing his mother’s cruelty, took him into his family, 
 treated him as an equal, and engaged to allow him a pension 
 of £200 a year. This was the happy period of Savage’s life. 
 He was courted by all who wished to be thought men of 
 genius and taste. At this time he published the Temple of 
 Health and Mirth, on the recovery of Lady Tyrconnel from a 
 languishing illness; and the Wanderer, a moral poem, which 
 he dedicated to Lord Tyrconnel, in strains of the highest 
 panegyric : but these praises he soon w^as inclined to retract, 
 6. R 
 
iSO CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 being discarded by the man on whom they were bestowed. 
 Of this quarrel, Lord Tyrconnel and Mr. Savage gave very 
 different accounts. But our author’s conduct was ever such 
 as made all his friends, sooner or later, grow weary of him, 
 and even forced most of them to become his enemies. 
 
 Being thus once more turned adrift upon the world. Savage, 
 whose passions were very strong, and whose gratitude was 
 very small, exposed the faults of Lord Tyrconnel. He also 
 took revenge upon his mother, by publishing the Bnstard, a 
 poem, remarkable for the vivacity of its beginning (where he 
 humorously enumerates the imaginary advantages of base 
 birth ;) and for the pathetic conclusion, wherein he recounts 
 the real calamities which he suffered by the crime of his pa- 
 rents. The following lines, in the opening of the poem, are a 
 specimen of this writer’s spirit and versification : 
 
 “ Blest be the bastard’s birth ! thro’ wondrous ways 
 He shines eccentric, like a comet’s blaze. 
 
 No sickly fruit of faint compliance he ; 
 
 He ! stamp’d in nature’s mint with ecstasy ! 
 
 He lives to build, not boast, a generous race ; 
 
 No tenth transmitter of a foolish face. 
 
 He, kindling from within, requires no flame ; 
 
 He glories in a bastard’s glowing name. 
 
 Nature’s unbounded son, he stands alone. 
 
 His heart unbias’d, and his mind his own. 
 
 O mother ! yet no mother ! — ’tis to you 
 My thanks for some distinguish’d claims are due.^’ 
 
 This poem had an extraordinary sale ; and its appearance 
 happening at the time when his mother was at Bath, many 
 persons there repeated passages from it in her hearing. This 
 was perhaps the first time that ever she discovered a sense of 
 shame, and, on this occasion, the power of wit was very con- 
 spicuous. The wretch, who had without scruple proclaimed 
 herself an adulteress, and who had first endeavoured to starve 
 her son, then to transport him, and afterwards to hang him, 
 was not able to bear the representation of her own conduct, 
 but fled from reproach, though she felt no pain from guilt; 
 and left Bath in haste, to shelter herself among the crowds of 
 London. Some time after this. Savage formed the resolution 
 of applying to the Queen; who, having once given him life, 
 he hoped she might extend her goodness to him, by enabling 
 him to support it. With this view, he published a poem on 
 her birth-day, which he entitled The Volunteer Laureat ; for 
 which she was pleased to send him £50, accompanied 
 with an intimation that he might annually expect the same 
 bounty. But this annual allowance was nothing to a man of 
 his strange and singular extravagance. His usual custom 
 was, as soon as he had received his pension, to disappear with 
 it, and secrete himself from his most intimate friends, till every 
 
RICHARD SAVAGE. 
 
 131 
 
 shilling of it was spent ; which done, he again appeared penni- 
 less as before : but he would never inform any person where he 
 had been, nor in what manner his money had been dissipated. 
 From the reports, however, of some who penetrated his haunts, 
 he expended both his time and his cash in the most sordid 
 and despicable sensuality ; particularly in eating and drinking, 
 in which he would indulge in the most unsocial manner, sit- 
 ting whole days and nights by himself, in obscure houses of 
 entertainment, over his bottle and trencher, immersed in 
 filth and sloth, with scarcely decent apparel; generally wrapped 
 up in a horseman’s great coat; and, on the whole, with his 
 very homely countenance, exhibiting an object the most dis 
 gusting to the sight, if not to some other of the senses. 
 
 His wit and parts, however, still raised him new friends, 
 as fast as his misbehaviour lost him his old ones. Yet such 
 was his conduct, that occasional relief only furnished the 
 means of occasional excess ; and he defeated all attempts 
 made by his friends to fix him in a decent way. He was even 
 reduced so low as to be destitute of a lodging; insomuch that 
 he often passed his nights in those mean houses that are set 
 open for casual wanderers ; sometimes in cellars, amidst the 
 riot and filth of the most profligate of the rabble ; and not 
 seldom would he walk the streets till he was weary, and then 
 lie down, in summer, on a bulk, — or, in winter, with his asso- 
 ciates, among the ashes of a glasshouse. Yet, amidst all 
 his penury and wretchedness, this man had so much pride, 
 and so high an opinion of his own merit, that he was always 
 ready to repress, with scorn and contempt, the least appear- 
 ance of any slight towards himself, in the behaviour of his 
 acquaintance ; among whom he looked upon none as his 
 superior. He would be treated as an equal, even by persons 
 of the highest rank. He once refused to wait upon a gentle- 
 man, who was desirous of relieving him, when at the lowest 
 distress, only because the message signified the gentleman’s 
 desire to see him at nine in the morning. His life was ren- 
 dered still more unhappy, by the death of the Queen, in 1738, 
 His pension was discontinued; and the insolent manner in 
 which he demanded of Sir Robert Walpole to have it restored, 
 for ever cut off his supply, which probably might have been 
 recovered by proper application. 
 
 His distress now became so notorious, that a scheme was 
 at length concerted for procuring him a permanent relief. It 
 was proposed that he should retire into Wales, with an al- 
 lowance of £50 a year, on which he was to live privately, in 
 a cheap place, for ever quitting his town haunts, and resign- 
 ing all farther pretensions to fame. This offer he seemed 
 gladly to accept; but his intentions were only to deceive his 
 friends, by retiring for awhile to write another tragedy, and 
 
132 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 then to return with it to London. In 1739, he set out for 
 Swansey, in the Bristol stage-coach, and was furnished with 
 15 guineas, to bear the expense of his journey. But, on the 
 14th day of his departure, his friends and benefactors, the 
 principal of whom was Mr. Pope, who expected to hear of his 
 arrival in Wales, were surprised with a letter from Savage, 
 informing them that he was yet upon the road, and could not 
 proceed for want of money. There was no other remedy than a 
 remittance, which was sent him, and by the help of which he 
 \j’as enabled to reach Bristol, whence he was to proceed to 
 Swansey by water. At Bristol, however, he found an embargo 
 laid upon the shipping ; so that he could not immediately 
 obtain a passage. Here, therefore, being obliged to stay for 
 some time, he so ingratiated himself with the principal inha- 
 bitants, that he was often invited to their houses, distinguish- 
 ed at their public entertainments, and treated with a regard 
 that highly gratified his vanity. At length, with great reluc- 
 tance, he proceeded to Swansey ; where he lived about a year, 
 very much dissatisfied with the diminution of his salary, for 
 he had, in his letters, treated his contributors so insolently, 
 that most of them w'ithdrew their subscriptions. Here he 
 finished his tragedy, and resolved to return with it to London ; 
 which was strenuously opposed by his constant friend Mr. 
 Pope ; w'ho proposed that Savage should put this play into 
 the hands of Mr. Thomson and Mr. Mallet, that they might 
 fit it for the stage; that his friends should receive the profits 
 it might bring in; and that the author should receive the pro- 
 duce by way of annuity. This kind and prudent scheme was 
 rejected by Savage w ith contempt. He declared he w^ould not 
 submit his w^orks to any one’s correction; and that he would 
 no longer be kept in leading-strings. Accordingly, he soon 
 returned to Bristol, in his way to London; but at Bristol, 
 meeting with a repetition of the same kind treatment he had 
 before found there, he was tempted to make a second stay in 
 that opulent city for some time. Here he was not only caress- 
 ed and treated, but the sum of £30 was raised for him ; with 
 which it w^ould have been happy if he had immediately de- 
 parted for London. But he never considered that a frequent 
 repetition of such kindness was not to be expected. In short, 
 he remained here till his company w'as no longer welcome. 
 His visits in every family were too often repeated, his wit had 
 lost its novelty, and his irregular behaviour grew troublesonie. 
 Necessity came upon him before he was aware ; his money was 
 spent, his clothes were w^orn out, his appearance was shabby, 
 and his presence was disgustful at every table. He now began 
 to find every man from home at whose house he called, and 
 he found it difficult to obtain a dinner. 
 
 Thus reduced, it would have been prudent in him to have 
 
RICHARD SA\AGE. 
 
 133 
 
 ivithdrawn from the place ; but prudence and Savage were 
 never acquainted. He staid, in the midst of poverty, hunger, 
 and contempt, till the mistress of a coffee-house, to whom he 
 owed about 81. arrested him for the debt. He remained for 
 some time at the house of the sheriff’s officer, in hopes of pro- 
 curing bail; which expense he was enabled to defray by a present 
 of five guineas from Mr. Nash at Bath. No bail, however, was 
 to be found ; so that poor Savage was at last lodged in New- 
 gate, a prison in Bristol. But it was the fortune of this extra- 
 ordinary mortal always to find more friends than he deserved. 
 The keeper of the prison took compassion on him, and greatly 
 softened the rigours of his confinement by every kind of indul- 
 gence ; he supported him at his own table, gave him a com- 
 modious room to himself, allowed him to stand at the door of 
 the gaol, and often took him into the fields for the benefit of 
 the air and exercise ; so that, in reality. Savage endured fewer 
 hardships here than he had usually suffered during the great- 
 est part of his life. 
 
 While he remained in this agreeable prison, his ingratitude 
 again broke out, in a bitter satire on the city of Bristol; to 
 which he certainly owed great obligations, notwithstanding 
 his arrest, which was but the lawful act of an individual. This 
 satire is entitled, London and Bristol delineated ; and in it he 
 abused the inhabitants of the latter with such a spirit of re 
 sentment, that the reader would imagine he had never receiv 
 ed any other than the worst of treatment in that* city. When 
 Savage had remained about six months in this hospitable pri- 
 son, he received a letter from Mr. Pope, (who still allowed 
 him £20 a year,) containing a charge of very atrocious ingrati- 
 tude; and though the particulars have not transpired, yet, from 
 the notorious character of the man, there is reason to fear that 
 Savage was but too justly accused: He, however, solemnly 
 protested his innocence ; but he w^as very unusually affected 
 on this occasion ; — in a few' days after, he was seized with a 
 disorder, which, at first, was not suspected to be dangerous ; 
 but growing daily more languid and dejected, at last a fever 
 seized him, and he died on the 1st of August, 1743, in the 
 46th year of his age. 
 
 Thus lived, and thus died, Richard Savage, Esq. leaving 
 behind him a character strangely chequered with vices and 
 good qualities. Of the former we have mentioned a variety 
 of instances ;.of the latter, his peculiar situation in the world 
 gave him but few opportunities of making any considerable 
 display. He w'as, however, undoubtedly a man of excellent 
 parts ; and had he received the full benefits of a liberal edu- 
 cation, and had his natural talents been cultivated to the best 
 advantage, he might have made a respectable figure in life, 
 lie was happy in a quick discernment, a retentive memory. 
 
134 
 
 CURIOS TIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 and a lively flow of wit, which made his company much covet- 
 ed ; nor was his judgment of men and writings inferior to his 
 wit: but he was too much a slave to his passions, and his pas- 
 sions were too easily excited. He was warm in his friendships, 
 but implacable in his enmity ; and his greatest fault was ingra- 
 titude. He seemed to think every thing due to his merit, and 
 that he was little obliged to any one for those favours which 
 he thought it their duty to confer upon him. He therefore 
 never rightly estimated the kindness of his many friends and 
 benefactors, or preserved a grateful sense of their generosity 
 towards him. The works of this original writer, after having 
 long lain dispersed in magazines and fugitive publications, 
 were collected and published in an elegant edition, in 2 vols. 
 8vo. to which are prefixed the admirable Memoirs of Savage, 
 written by Dr. Samuel Johnson. 
 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. — (Concluded,) 
 
 William Huntingdon, a very eccentric personage, who 
 was originally a coal-heaver, and afterwards became a popular 
 preacher of the Calvinistic persuasion. The following account, 
 formed principally from the preacher’s own words, was first 
 presented to the public in the first volume of “ The Pulpit,” 
 1809. Excepting the circumstance of enlarging his name 
 from Hunt to Huntingdon, which is stated as one of the ine- 
 vitable consequences of “ the follies of his youth,” Mr. Hunt- 
 ingdon has already written, with tolerable truth, the greater 
 portion of the history of himself. 
 
 He was born, he says, in the Weald of Kent; and ‘‘suffered 
 much from his parents’ poverty, when young. He long felt 
 other disadvantages attending his birth. Being born in “ none 
 of the most polite parts of the world,” he “ retained a good 
 deal of his provincial dialect;” so that many of his expres- 
 sions sounded very harsh and uncouth.” Of this he com- 
 plains, with some cause, as it afterwards occasioned numbers 
 of “ unsanctified critic? to laugh and cavil at” him. He was 
 first an errand boy, then a daily labourer, then a cobbler; 
 and, though he “ worked by day,” and “ cobbled by night,” 
 he, at one time, “ lived upon barley.” His first ministerial 
 preparation is thus told : 
 
 “ I had now (says Mr. H.) five times a week to preach 
 constantly : on which account I was forced to lay the Bible 
 in a chair by me, and now and then read a little, in order to 
 furnish myself with matter for the pulpit. It & imetimes hap- 
 
WILLIAM HUNTINGDON. 
 
 135 
 
 p^ened that I was under sore temptations and desertions : the 
 bible, too, appeared a sealed book, insomuch that I could 
 not furnish myself with a text ; nor durst I leave my work in 
 order to study or read the Bible ; if I did, my little ones would 
 soon want bread ; my business would also run very cross at 
 those times.’’ His earnings did not then amount to more than 
 eight shillings per week. Even when his state grew better, 
 when he got his first “ parsonic livery” on his back, he could 
 not study at his ease. “ My little cot (he says) was placed 
 in a very vulgar neighbourhood, and the window's were so 
 very low, that 1 could not study at any of them, without being 
 exposed to the view of my enemies; who often threw stones 
 through the glass, or saluted me with a volley of oaths or 
 imprecations.” This must have been painful enough to one 
 whose “ memory w'as naturally bad.” Providence had long 
 furnished him with very superior accommodations. After 
 many years of itinerant and irregular preaching, William 
 Huntingdon,” weary of living at Thames Ditton, secretly 
 longed to leave it, fully persuaded that he “ should end his 
 ‘‘ mkiistry in London.” 
 
 “ Having unsuccessfully laboured in the vineyard of the 
 country,” and as he “ did not see that God had any thing more 
 for him to do there,” he,. like one Durant of late, “saw the 
 Lord himself open the door” for his removal. He had resolved 
 to be off; and he contrived to get off. He was now, as he him- 
 self says, “ to perch upon the thick boughs.” Ditton was to 
 be left for London. Yet had poor Ditton not been so unkind 
 to him. “ Some few years before I was married,” says Mr. 
 H. “ all my personal effects used to be carried in my hand, 
 or on my shoulders, in one or tw'O large handkerchiefs ; but 
 after marriage, for some few years, I used to carry all the 
 goods that we had gotten, on my shoulders, in a large sack : 
 but when we removed from Thames Ditton to London, we 
 loaded two large carts with furniture and other necessaries; 
 besides a post-chaise, well filled with children and cats.” 
 
 Being viewed as ludicrous while in the country, he was 
 fearful of being considered as ridiculous elsewhere. I here 
 transcribe his words: “ At this (says Mr. H. — having been ad- 
 vertised in Margaret-street Chapel,) I was sorely offended, 
 being very much averse to preaching in London, for several 
 reasons. First, because I had been told it abounded so much 
 with all sorts of errors, that I was afraid of falling into them, 
 there were so many that lay in wait to deceive. Secondly, 
 because I had no learning, and therefore feared I should not 
 be able to deliver myself with any degree of propriety; and as 
 I knew nothing of Greek or Hebrew, nor even of the English 
 Grammar, that I should be exposed to the scourging tongup 
 of every critic in London.” 
 
136 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 “ During many weeks, (he adds,) I laboured under much 
 distress of mind respecting my want of abilities to preach in 
 this great metropolis.’’ I think this one of the few rational 
 passages to be found in the ‘‘ Bank of Faith.” Mr. Hunting- 
 don here candidly confesses his own conviction of his then 
 ministerial incompetency, and expresses his apprehension as 
 to the probable nullity of his divine mission. His call seems 
 to fail him now. He feels just as most men would feel in the 
 same state, — fears just as they would fear, — and takes the same 
 chance as to the great end he had in view. “ During the 
 space of three years, (says Mr. Huntingdon,) I secretly 
 wished in my soul, that God would favour me with a chapel 
 of my own, being sick of the errors that were perpetually 
 broached by some one or other in Margaret-street Chapel, 
 where I then preached. But though I so much desired this, 
 yet I could not ask God for such a favour, thinking it was 
 not to be brought about by one so very mean, low, and poor 
 as myself. However, God sent a person, unknown to me, to 
 look at a certain spot, who afterwards took me to look at it ; 
 but I trembled at the very thought of such an immense under- 
 taking. Then God stirred up a wise man to offer to build a 
 chapel, and to manage the whole work without fee or reward. 
 God drew the pattern on his imagination, while he was hearing 
 me preach a sermon. I then took the ground; this person 
 executed the plan; and the chapel sprung up like a mushroom 
 As soon as it was finished, this precious scripture came sweet 
 to my soul, ‘ He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him :* 
 Psa. cxlv. 19. 
 
 •'* I will now inform my reader of the kind providence of my 
 God at the time of building the chapel, which I named Pro- 
 vidence Chapel (1788); and also mention a few free-will-offer- 
 ings which the people brought. They first offered about eleven 
 pounds, and laid it on the foundation at the beginning of the 
 building. A good gentleman, with whom I had but little 
 acquaintance, and of whom I bought a load of timber, sent 
 it in with a bill and receipt-in-full, as a present to the Chapel 
 of Providence. Another good man came with tears in his 
 eyes, and blessed me, and desired to paint my pulpit, desk, See. 
 as a present to the chapel. Another person gave half a dozen 
 chairs for the vestry ; and my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lyon, fur- 
 nished me with a tea-chest, well stored, and a set of china. 
 My good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, furnished me with a 
 very handsome bed, bedstead, and all its furniture and neces- 
 saries, that I might not be under the necessity of walking 
 home in the cold winter nights. A daughter of mine in the 
 faith, gave me a looking-glass for my chapel study. Another 
 friend gave me my pulpit-cushion, and a book-case for my 
 study. Another gave me a book-case for the vestry. And 
 
WILLIAM HUNTINGDON 
 
 137 
 
 my good friend, Mr. E. seemed to level all his displeasure 
 at the devil ; for he was in hopes I should be enabled, 
 through the gracious arm of the Lord, to cut Rahab in 
 pieces; therefore he furnished me with a sword of the Spirit — - 
 a new Bible, with Morocco binding and silver clasps. I had 
 got one old cart-horse, (says W. H.) that I had bought with 
 the rest of the stock on the farm, and I wanted two more, but 
 money ran short ; and I determined also to have a large tilted 
 cart, to take my family to chapel, and the man should drive it 
 on the Sunday and on lecture nights, and I would ride my lit- 
 tle horse. This was the most eligible plan that I could adopt; 
 and on this I determined, as soon as God should send money 
 to procure them. I came to this conclusion on a Friday ; and 
 on the next day, toward evening, came two or three friends 
 from town to see me. I wondered not a little at their comino; as 
 they knew that on a Saturday I never like to see any body, and 
 therefore I conceived that they must be come with some heavy 
 tidings ; some friend was dead, or something bad had happened. 
 But they came to inform me that some friends had agreed 
 among themselves, and bought me a coach and a pair of horses, 
 which they intended to make me a present of. I informed 
 them that the assessed taxes ran so hi^h, that I should not be 
 able to keep it. But they stopped my mouth by informing 
 me, that the money for paying the taxes for the coach and 
 horses was subscribed also ; so that nothing lay upon me, but 
 the keep of the horses. Thus, instead of being at the expense 
 of a tilted cart, God sent me a coach without cost, and two 
 horses without my purchasing them; and which, with my other 
 old horse, would do the work of the farm, as well as the work 
 of the coach ; and my bailiff informed me that he could drive 
 it, having formerly drove one. Thus was I set up. But at 
 this time the pocket was bare, and many things were wanting, 
 both in the house and on the farm, and a place to fit up for 
 my bailiff and dairy-woman to live in. And it was but a few 
 days afterward before a gentleman out of the country called 
 upon me ; and, being up in my study with me, he said, ' My 
 friend, I often told you, you would keep your coach before 
 you died ; and I always promised, that whenever you had a 
 coach, I would give you a pair of horses ; and I will not be 
 worse than my word. I have inquired of Father Green, and 
 he tells me that the horses cost forty-five pounds, and there 
 is the money.’ In a day or two after, the coach, horses, and 
 harness, came ; and, having now a little money, I wrote to a 
 friend in the country to send me twelve ewes, and a male with 
 them ; and he sent me twelve excellent ones, and the male with 
 them, but would not be paid for them ; they were a present to 
 the farm. ‘Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they 
 shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.’ Ps.cvii.43/ 
 
138 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Much did Mr. Huntingdon owe to the singularity of his waysc 
 Singular in his outset and career, singular in his opinions, sin- 
 gular in his own appearance, singular in his chapel, singular 
 in his style of preaching, he seemed to know, as well as most 
 men, the value of singularity. He not only excelled in extem- 
 pore eloquence, but his peculiarities distinguished him from 
 most other preachers. Having formally announced his text, 
 he laid his Bible at once aside, and never referred to it again. 
 Having laid on one side the volume of inspiration, and dis- 
 daining the trammels of transcription, he proceeded directly 
 to his object ; and, excepting incidental digressions, as, “ Take 
 care of your pockets !” “Wake that snoring sinner !” “ Silence 
 that noisy numscull !’^ “Turn out that drunken dog!” ex- 
 cepting such occasional digressions, which, like the episodes 
 of poetry, must, when skilfully introduced, be understood to 
 heighten the effect of the whole, our orator never deviated 
 from the course in which he commenced his eccentric career 
 of ministerial labour. 
 
 Fie had other advantages over many of his pulpit compeers. 
 Being of the metaphorical and allegorical school, as well as 
 possessing his citations by rote, there is seldom to be found 
 the passage, from the book of Genesis to the Revelation of St. 
 John, that may not have, remotely or allusively, some con- 
 nection with the subject immediately under his investigation. 
 Hence the variety, as well as the fertility, of his eloquence. 
 Hence the novelty of his commentaries ; his truly astonishing 
 talent of reconciling texts, else undoubtedly incongruous ; 
 and of discovering dissimilarities, and asserting difficulties, 
 where none were believed to exist. Nothing could exceed the 
 dictatorial dogmatism of this famous preacher. Believe him, 
 none but him, — and that is enough. If he aimed thus to pin 
 the faith of those .who hear him, he would say over and over, 
 “ As sure as I am born, Tis,” &.c. or, “ I believe this,” or, “ I 
 know this,” “ I am sure of it,” or, “ I believe the plain Eng- 
 lish of it (some difficult text) to be,” Sic. When he adds, as 
 he was wont, by way of fixing his point, “ Now, you can’t 
 help it,” or, “ So it is,” or, “ It must be so in spite of you,” 
 he did this with a most significant shake of his head, with a 
 sort of beldam hauteur, with all the dignity of defiance. Ac- 
 tion he seemed to have none, except that of shifting his hand- 
 kerchief from hand to hand, and hugging his cushion as though 
 it were his bolster. He therefore owed his distinction to the 
 absence of those qualities by which most men rise. Self has 
 done great things for him : self-taught, self-raised, all of self. 
 “ God (says Mr. H.) enabled me to put out several little books, 
 which were almost universally exclaimed against, both by 
 preachers and professors, and by thefe means God sent them 
 into all winds ; so that I soon rubbed off one hundred, and 
 
ANIMAL GENERATION. 1J9 
 
 soon after another, so that, in a short time, I had reduced my 
 thousand pounds (debt) down to seven hundred.” 
 
 Of his works, he adds, that “ they are calculated (as he 
 thinks,) to suit the earnest inquirer; the soul in bondage, in 
 the furnace, in the path of tribulation, or in the strong hold 
 ol Satan ; and (says he) 1 have heard of them from Wales, 
 from Scotland, from Ireland, from various parts of America, 
 from Cadiz in Spain, from Alexandria in Egypt, and, 1 be- 
 lieve, from both the East and West Indies.” 
 
 His Bank of Faith” has proved a bank of gold ! When 
 he wrote so much of what came to him as gifts, was it not to 
 rouse more to give ? The man who says he lives by gifts, will, 
 as he gets his friends, find gifts by which he may live. He 
 died at London, in 1813 ; and such was the avidity of Ids ad- 
 herents to obtain a relic of him, that his furniture sold at ten 
 times the original value. An old chair went off at forty 
 pounds. 
 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 Animai Generation — Formation of Animals — Preservation o 
 
 Animals — Destruction of Animals — Animal Reproductions, 
 
 See, thro’ this air, this ocean, and this earth, 
 
 All matter quick, and bursting into birth. 
 
 Above, how high progressive life may go ! 
 
 Around, how wide! how deep extend below ! 
 
 Vast chain of Being 1 which from God began. 
 
 Nature s ethereal, human, angel, man, 
 
 Beast, bird, fish, insect, what no eye can see, 
 
 No glass can reach ; from Infinite to thee, 
 
 From thee to nothing. Pope, 
 
 In entering upon the subject of Curiosities respecting Ani- 
 mals, we shall first introduce to the reader some interesting 
 observations respecting the generation, formation, preserva- 
 tion, destruction, and reproduction, of animals in general ; and, 
 first, of animal generation. 
 
 Animal generation holds the first place among all that raise 
 our admiration when we consider the Works of the Creator, 
 and chiefly that appointment by which he has regulated the 
 propagation, which is wisely adapted to the disposition and 
 mode Df life of every different species of animals, that people 
 earth, air, or sea. 
 
 Increase and multiply,” said the benevolent Author of na- 
 
140 CURIOSITIES KESPECTI^lG ANIMALS. 
 
 ture, when he pronounced his blessing on the new made world. 
 By virtue of this powerful mandate, all the various tribes of 
 sentient beings have not only been preserved, but increased 
 in an astonishing degree. 
 
 It is not in our province to describe the laws of gestation; 
 we wdll content ourselves with a few brief hints upon this 
 subject; and w’e shall find, that in different animals, nature 
 operates in different ways, in order to produce the same 
 general end. 
 
 The human female, and the female of quadrupeds, are pos- 
 sessed of a temperate cherishing warmth ; this fits them for easy 
 gestation, and enables them to afford proper nourishment to 
 their young, till the time of birth. 
 
 Birds are intended to soar in the air, or to flit from place 
 fo place in search of food. Gestation, therefore, would be 
 burdensome to them. For this reason, they lay eggs, covered 
 with a hard shell : these, by natural instinct, they sit upon, 
 and cherish till the young be excluded. The ostrich and the 
 cassowary are said to be exempt from this law; as they com- 
 mit their eggs to the sand, where the intense heat of the sun 
 hatches them. 
 
 Fishes inhabit the waters, and most of them have cold 
 hlood, unfit for nourishing their young. The all-w’ise Crea- 
 tor, therefore, has ordained that most of them should lay their 
 eggs near the shore ; where, by means of the solar rays, 
 the w'ater is w'armer, and also fitter for that purpose ; and 
 also because water insects abound more there, which afford 
 nourishment to the young fry. 
 
 Salmon, when they are about to deposit their eggs, are led 
 by instinct to ascend the stream, wdiere purity and freshness 
 are to be found in the waters : and to procure such a situa- 
 tion for its young, this fish wdll endure incredible toil and 
 hazard. 
 
 The butterfly-fish is an exception to this general law% for 
 that brings forth its young alive. The species of fish whose 
 residence is in the middle of the ocean, are also exempt. Pro- 
 vidence has given to these, eggs that swum; so that they are 
 hatched among the sea-weeds, which also swim on the sur- 
 face. 
 
 The various kinds of whales have warm blood, and there- 
 fore bring forth their young alive, and suckle them with 
 
 ^ ~ .O’ 
 
 tneir teats. 
 
 Some amphibious animals also bring forth their young alive, 
 as the vipei-, &.c. But such species as lay eggs, deposit them 
 in places where the heat of the sun supplies the want of warmth 
 in the parent. Thus the frog, and the lizard, drop their’s in 
 shallow' waters, which soon receive a genial heat by the rays 
 of the sun ; the common snake, in dunghills, or other warm 
 
ANIMAL GENERATION. 
 
 141 
 
 places. The crocodile and sea-tortoise go ashore to lay their 
 eggs in the sand ; in these cases. Nature, as a provident nurse, 
 takes care of all. 
 
 The multiplication of animals is not restrained to the same 
 rule in all ; for some have a remarkable power of increase, 
 while others are, in this respect, confined within very nar- 
 row limits. Yet, in general, we find, that nature observes 
 this order, that the least animals, and those which are most 
 useful for food to others, usually increase with the greatest 
 rapidity. The mite, and many other insects, will multiply to 
 a thousand within the compass of a few days ; while the ele- 
 phant hardly produces a young one in two years. 
 
 Birds of the hawk-kind seldom lay more than two eggs ; 
 while poultry will produce from fifteen to thirty. The diver, 
 or loon, which is eaten by few animals, lays also only two 
 eggs ; but the duck-kind, moor game, partridges, &c. and 
 small birds in general, lay a great many. Most of the insect 
 tribes neither bear young nor hatch eggs; yet they are the 
 most numerous of all living creatures ; and were their bulk 
 proportionable to their numbers, there would not be room on 
 the earth for any other animals. The Creator has wisely or- 
 dained the preservation of these minute creatures. The 
 females lay not their eggs indiscriminately, but are endued 
 with instinct to choose such places as may supply their infant 
 offspring with proper nourishment: in their case, this is 
 absolutely necessary, for the mother dies as soon as she has 
 deposited her eggs, the male parent having died before this 
 event takes place ; so that no parental care ever falls to the 
 lot of this orphan race. And indeed, were the parents to live, 
 it does not appear that they would possess any power to assist 
 their young. Butterflies, weevils, tree-bugs, gall-insects, 
 and many others, lay their eggs on the leaves of plants ; and 
 every different tribe chooses its own species of plants. Nay, 
 there is scarce any plant which does not afford nourishment 
 to some insect ; and still more, there is hardly any pa»'t of a 
 plant which is not preferred by some of them. Thus one feeds 
 upon the flower; another upon the leaves; another upon the 
 trunk ; and still another upon the root. But it is particularly 
 curious to observe how the leaves of some trees of plants are 
 formed into dwellings for the convenience of these creatures. 
 Thus the gall-insect fixes her eggs in the leaves of an oak; 
 the wounded leaf swells, and a knob arises like an apple, 
 which includes, protects, and nourishes the embryo. In the 
 same manner are the oalls produced, which are brought from 
 Asiatic Turkey, and which are used both as a medicine, 
 and as a dye in several of our manufactories. 
 
 When the tree-bug has deposited its eggs in the boughs 
 >f tlu.^ fir-tree, excrescences arise, shaped like pearls. When 
 
:42 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 another insect of the same species has deposited its eggs in 
 the mouse-ear, chick-weed, or speedwell plants, the leaves 
 contract in a wonderful manner into the shape of a head. 
 The water spider excludes ego;s either on the extremities of 
 juniper, which from thence forms a lodging that resembles 
 the arrow-headed grass ; or on the leaves of the poplar, from 
 whence a red globe is produced. The tree-louse lays its 
 eggs on the leaves of the black poplar, which turn into a kind 
 of inflated bag; and so in many other instances. 
 
 Nor is it only upon plants that insects live and lay their eggs. 
 The gnat commits her’s to stagnant waters ; the flesh-fly, in 
 putrihed flesh ; another kind of insect deposits her’s in the 
 cracks of cheese. 
 
 Some insects exclude their eggs on certain animals ; the 
 mill-beetle, between the scales of fishes ; a species of the gad- 
 fly, on the back of bullocks ; another of the same species, on 
 the back of the rein-deer ; another, in the noses of sheep ; 
 another still, in the intestinal tube, or the throat of horses. 
 Nay, even insects themselves are generally surrounded with 
 the eggs of other insects; so that there is, perhaps, no ani- 
 mal to be found, but what affords both lodging, and nourish- 
 ment, and food, to other animals : even man himself, the 
 haughty lord of this lower world, is not exempt from this 
 general law. 
 
 We shall next call the reader’s attention to some particulars 
 respecting the Formation of Animals. 
 
 Whatever matter may be in itself as to its essence, it is certain 
 that it appears to our senses as various and heterogeneous : 
 however, tlie modus of the formation of animals is still un- 
 known. The inspired writers express themselves here, at 
 least, according to the capacity of the learned, as well as the 
 vulgar, when they acknowledge the ignorance of mankind, — 
 how the bones do at first grow in their embryo state, — and 
 that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, wdien w'e are 
 fashioned secretly in the lower parts of the earth. However, 
 it seems not probable, that one part of matter acting upon 
 another, should produce animal existence, though w^e grant 
 it may have a strange and unaccountable power in the altera- 
 tion of matter purely insensible or inanimate. Fermentation 
 may dilate, and extremely alter the parts of animated matter, 
 when they are delineated and marked out by the finger of the 
 Almighty ; but still, matter being a principle purely passive 
 and irrational, we cannot conceive how it should become an 
 animal, any more than a world, it being much more easy for 
 stones to leap out of a quarry, and make an Escurial, wdthout 
 asking the architect’s leave, or callii>g for the mason, with 
 his mortar and trowel, to assist them. 
 
AMERICAN BISON. 
 

 
FORMATION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 143 
 
 Nor seems it necessary, or rational, that the first seed of 
 every creature should formally include all those seeds that 
 should be afterwards produced from it ; since it is, we think, 
 sufficient that it should potentially include them, just as Abra- 
 ham did Levi ; or as one kernel does all those indeterminate 
 kernels that may be thence afterwards raised ; the first seeds 
 being doubtless of the same nature with those that now exist, 
 after so many thousand years, the order of time making only 
 an accidental difference ; which if we do not grant, we must 
 run into this absurdity, that every thing does not produce its 
 like, —a bird a bird, or a horse a horse, — which would be to 
 fill all the w'orld with monsters, which nature does so much 
 abhor. 
 
 But every vegetable seed, or kernel, for example, does now 
 actually and formally contain all the seeds or kernels which 
 may be at any time afterwards produced from them. A kernel 
 has indeed, as we have found by microscopes, a pretty fair 
 and distinct delineation of the tree and branches into wdiich 
 it may be afterw ards formed by the fermentation of its parts, 
 and addition of suitable matter; as in the tree are potentially 
 contained all the thousands and millions of kernels, and so of 
 trees, that shall or may be thence raised afterwards : and 
 some are apt to believe it must be similar in the first animals; 
 whereas the finest glasses, which are brought to an almost 
 incre'dible perfection, cannot discover actual seeds in seeds, 
 or kernels in kernels ; though, if there were any such thing as 
 an actual least atom, they might, one would think, be disco- 
 vered by them, since they have shewn us not only seeds, but 
 even new animals, in many parts of matter where w^e never 
 suspected them, and even in some of the smallest animals 
 themselves, whereof our naked sio;ht can take no cogni- 
 zance. As for the parts of matter, be they how they will, 
 finite or infinite, it makes no great alteration ; for, if these 
 parts are not all seminal, we are no nearer. Nay, at best, an 
 absurdity seems to be the consequence of this hypothesis ; 
 because, if those parts are infinite, and include all successive ge- 
 nerations of animals, it would follow that the number of animals 
 too should be infinite ; and, instead of one, we should have a 
 thousand infinites ; and it w'ould be strange too if they should 
 not, some of them, be greater or less than one another. 
 
 For that pleasant fancy, that all the seeds of animals were 
 dislinctly created at the beginning of time and things, that 
 they are mingled with all the elements, that we take them in 
 with our food, and the he and she atoms either fly off or stay, 
 as they like their lodgings ; we hope there is no need of being 
 serious to confute it. And we may ask of this, as w ell as the 
 former hypothesis, — what need of them, when the vv< rk may 
 be done without them The kernel, as before, contains the 
 
144 
 
 ^^JRIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIxMALS. 
 
 tree, the tree a thousand other fruits, and ten thousand ker- 
 nels ; the first animal several others ; and as many of them 
 as Nature can dispose of, and provide fit nourishment for, are 
 produced into what we may call actual being, in comparison 
 to what they before enjoyed. If it be asked, whether these 
 imperfect creatures have all distinct souls while lurking yet 
 in their parent? we answer, that there is no need of it; they 
 are not yet so much as well-defined bodies, but rather parts 
 of the parent : there is required yet a great deal more, of the 
 ciieniistry and mechanism of nature, and that in both sexes, 
 to make one or more of these embryo beings, the offspring of 
 man, capable of receiving a rational soul; but when that ca- 
 pacity comes, and wherein it consists, perhaps he only 
 knows, who is the Father of spirits, as well as the former of 
 the universe. 
 
 On the Preservation of Animals. — With respect to 
 the preservation of animals, it may be observed, that in tender 
 age, while the young are unable to provide for themselves, 
 the parent possesses the most anxious care for them. The 
 lioness, the tigress, and every other savage of the wilderness, 
 are gentle and tender towards their offspring; they spare no 
 pains, no labour, for their helpless progeny ; they scour the 
 forest with indescribable rage ; (destruction marks their path ; 
 they bear their victim to the covert, and teach their whelps to 
 quaff the blood of the slain. There is one great law, which 
 the all-wise Creator has implanted in animals towards their 
 offspring, which is, that, according to their nature, they should 
 provide for their nourishment, defence, and comfort. 
 
 All quadrupeds give suck to their young, and support them 
 by a liquor of a most delicate taste, and perfectly easy of di- 
 gestion, till they are capable of receiving nourishment from 
 more solid food. 
 
 Birds build their nests in the most artificial manner, and line 
 them as soft as possible, that the eggs or young may not be 
 injured. Nor do they build promiscuously, but chuse such 
 places as are most concealed, and likely to be free from the 
 attacks of their enemies : thus the hanging-bird of the tropi- 
 cal countries, makes its nest of the fibres of withered plants 
 lined with down, and fixes it at the extremity of some bough 
 hanging over the water, that it may be out of reach ; and the 
 diver places its swimming nest upon the water itself, among 
 the rushes. 
 
 The male rooks and crows, during the time of incubation, 
 bring food to the females. Pigeons, and most of the small 
 birds which pair, sit by turns ; but where polygamy prevails, 
 the males scarcely take any care of the young. 
 
 Birds of the duck kind pluck the feathers off their breast, 
 
PRESERVATION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 M5 
 
 and cover their eggs with them, lest they should be injured by 
 cold when they quit their nest for food ; and when the young 
 are hatched, they shew the utmost solicitude in providing for 
 them, till they are able to fly, and shift for themselves 
 
 Young pigeons are fed with hard seeds, which the parents 
 first have prepared in their own crops, that so the infant bird 
 may digest them easily. And the eagle makes its nest on the 
 highest precipices of mountains, and in the warmest spot, 
 facinu; the sun ; here the prey which it brings is corrupted by 
 the heat, and made digestible to the young. 
 
 There is, indeed, an exception to this fostering care of ani- 
 mals in the cuckoo, which lays its eggs in the^nest of s in; 
 small bird, generally the wagtail, yellow-hammer, or wJutc- 
 throat, and leaves both the incubation and preservation of the 
 young to them. But naturalists inform us that this apparent 
 want of instinct in the cuckoo proceeds from the structure and 
 situation of its stomach, which disqualifies it for incubation; 
 still its care is conspicuous in providing a pro’per, though a 
 foreign situation, for its eggs. 
 
 Amphibious animals, fishes, and insects, which cannot come 
 under the care of their parents, yet owe this to them, that 
 they are deposited in places where they easily find proper 
 nourishment. 
 
 When animals come to that maturity as no longer to want 
 parental care, they exercise the utmost labour and industry 
 ibr the preservation of their own lives. But the different spe- 
 cies are many, and the individuals of each species are very 
 numerous. In order, therefore, that all may be supported, 
 the Creator has assigned to each class its proper food, and set 
 bounds and limits to their appetites. Some live on particular 
 species of plants, which are produced only in particular ani- 
 malcula ; others on carcases, and some even on mud and dung. 
 For this reason. Providence has ordained that some should 
 swim in certain regions of the watery element ; that others 
 should fly ; and that some should inhabit the torrid, the frigid, 
 or the temperate zones. Different animals also are confined 
 to certain spots in the same zone : some frequent the deserts, 
 others the meadows, or the cultivated grounds; thus the moun- 
 tains, the woods, the pools, the gardens, have their proper inha- 
 bitants. By this means there is no terrestrial tract, no sea, no 
 river, no country, but what teems with life. Hence one spe- 
 cies of animals does not injuriously invade the aliment of an- 
 other ; and hence the world at all times affords support to so 
 many, and such various inhabitants, and nothing which it pro- 
 duces is in vain. 
 
 W'e ought to remark, also, the wisdom and goodness of 
 Providence in forming the structure of the bodies of animals 
 for their peculiar manner of life, and in giving them clothing 
 
<46 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 which is suitable both to the country and element in which 
 they live. 
 
 fh us the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the various kinds of 
 monkeys, are destined to live in the torrid regions, where the 
 sun darts its fiercest rays ; their skins are therefore naked, 
 for were they covered with hair, they would perish with heat. 
 They are also of such conformation of body as to suit their 
 different manner of life. The rein-deer has his habitation in 
 the coldest parts of Lapland ; his food is the liverwort, wliich 
 grows nowhere else so abundantly ; and as the cold is in that 
 country intense, this useful animal is covered with hair of 
 the densest kind ; by this means he easily defies the keenness 
 of the arctic regions. The rough-legged partridge passes its 
 life in the Lapland Alps, where it feeds on the seeds of the 
 dwarf birch : while, to withstand the cold, and to enable it to 
 run freely among the snow, even its feet are thickly beset with 
 feathers. 
 
 The camel is a native of the arid sandy deserts, which, with 
 their dreadful sterility, are yet capable of yielding him sup- 
 port. How wisely has the Creator formed him ! his foot is 
 made to traverse the burning sands ; and as the place of his 
 habitation affords but little water, he is made capable of en- 
 during long journeys, and going many days without quench- 
 ing his thirst; for he is furnished with a natural reservoir, in 
 which, when he drinks, he stores up a quantity of water, and 
 has the power of using it in a frugal and sparing manner, 
 wdien, for his food, he crops the dry thistle of the desert. The 
 bullock delights in low rich grounds, because there he finds 
 the food which is most palatable to him. The wild horse 
 chiefly resorts to woods, and feeds upon leafy plants. Sheep 
 prefer hills of moderate elevation, where they find a short sweet 
 grass, of which they are very fond. Goats climb up the pre- 
 cipices of mountains, that they may brouse on the tender 
 shrubs ; and, in order to fit them for their situation, their feet 
 are made for jumping. 
 
 Swine chiefly get provision by turning up the earth ; foi 
 which purpose their snouts are peculiarly formed. In this em- 
 ployment they find succulent roots, insects, and reptiles.. 
 
 So various is the appetite of animals, that there is scarcely 
 any plant which is not chosen by some, and left untouched by 
 others. Thus the horse refuses the water hemlock, which the 
 goat will eat : the goat will not feed on monkshood, but the 
 horse eats it with avidity. The long-leafed water hemlock is 
 avoided by the bullock ; yet the sheep is fond of it. The 
 spurge is poisonous to man ; but the caterpillar finds it a 
 wholesome nourishment. Some animals live on the leaves of 
 certain plants, others on the stalks, and others still on the 
 rind, or even the roots of the same vegetable 
 
ANTBLOPB. 
 
USiMfl; 
 
 6F T!?E ■ 
 
 OWWFiailf Of ILUII5IS 
 
PRKSKRVATION OY ANIMALS. 
 
 147 
 
 It should seem from hence, that no plant is absolutely poi- 
 sonous, but only relatively so : that is, there i§ no plant but 
 what is wholesome food to some animal or other. Thus di- 
 vine wisdom has assigned an use for all its productions. 
 
 The care of Providence is further evident in giving to each 
 animal an instinctive knowledge of its proper aliment ; but 
 that delicacy of taste and smell, by which they accurately 
 distinguish the wholesome from the pernicious, is not so evi- 
 dent in domestic animals as in those which are in a state of 
 nature. 
 
 All birds of the goose kind pass great part of their lives in 
 water, feeding on water-insects, fishes, and their eggs. It is 
 evident that they are calculated for this mode of existence ; 
 their beaks, their necks, their feet, and their feathers, are 
 formed for it. All other birds are as aptly fitted for their man- 
 ner of life as these. 
 
 The sea-swallow is said to get his food in a very singular 
 way. Fish are his support, but he is not capable of diving in 
 order to catch them like other aquatic birds; the sea-gull, 
 therefore, is his caterer : when this last has gorged himself, 
 he is pursued by the former, who buffets him till he casts up 
 a part of his prey, which the other catches before it reaches 
 the water; but in those seasons when the fishes hide them- 
 selves in deep water, the merganser supplies even the guh 
 himself with food, being capable of plunging deeper into the 
 sea. 
 
 Small birds are generally supposed to live principally upo’ 
 the berries of ivy and hawthorn; but modern naturalists con- 
 tradict this, and affirm that their winter food is the knot-grass, 
 which bears heavy seeds, like those of the black bind-weed. 
 This is a very common plant, not easily destroyed; it grows 
 in great abundance by the sides of roads, and trampling on it 
 will not kill it; it is extremely plentiful in corn-fields after 
 harvest, and gives a reddish hue to them by the multitude of 
 its seeds. Wherever the husbandman ploughs, this plai‘<- 
 will grow, nor can all his art prevent it : thus a part of his 
 labours are necessarily destined for the propagation of a plant 
 which our heavenly Father has designed immediately for the 
 support of the “ fowls of the air for though “ they sow not, 
 neither gather into barns,” yet are they fed by him. 
 
 Some birds who live on insects, migrate every year to foreign 
 regions, in order to seek food in a milder climate; while all 
 the northern countries, where they live well in summer, are 
 covered with snow. Some naturalists reckon the different 
 species of the Hirundo, or swallow, among the birds of pas- 
 siijxe ; while others affirm that they do not migrate, but, at the 
 ripuvonch of winter, seek an asylum from the cold in the clefts 
 of rucks, with which our island is surrounded, or take refuge 
 
148 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 in the bottom of pools and lakes, among the reeds and rushes; 
 others still, who have made their observations with more 
 attention and patience than either of the former, allow' that 
 the old sw'allow's w ith their early brood do migrate ; but that 
 the latter hatches, which are incapable of distant flight, lay 
 themselves up, and become torpid during the w inter ; and at 
 the approach of spring-, by the wonderful appointment of 
 !Xature, they come forth again with renewed life and activity. 
 In these, and all other animals which become torpid in the 
 winter, the peristaltic motion of the bowels ceases while they 
 are dormant, so that they do not suffer by hunoer. Dr. Lis- 
 ter remarks, concerning this class of animals, that their blood, 
 when poured into a vessel, does not coagulate, like that of 
 all other animals ; and therefore is no less fit for circulation 
 when they revive, than before. 
 
 The birds called moor-fowl, during great snows, work out 
 paths for themselves under its surface, where they live in 
 safety, and get their food. They moult in summer, so that 
 about the latter end of August they cannot fly, and are there- 
 fore obliged to run in the woods; but then the blackberries 
 and bilberries are ripe, from whence they are abundantly sup- 
 plied with food : but the young do not moult the first year, 
 and therefore, though they cannot run so well, are enabled to 
 escape danger by flight. 
 
 The migration of birds is not only a fact, but, as it relates 
 to many kinds of them, is an useful fact to mankind. This 
 remark applies to such of them as feed on insects, the number 
 of w hich is so great, that if these birds did not destroy them, 
 it would be almost impossible for us to live. 
 
 Of the various kinds of water-fowl that are known in Eu- 
 rope, there is hardly any but what, in the spring, are found 
 to repair to Lapland. This is a country of lakes, rivers, 
 swamps, and mountains, covered with thick and gloomy fo- 
 rests, that afford shelter during summer to these birds. 
 
 In these arctic regions, by reason of the thickness of the 
 woods, the ground remains moist and penetrable, and the 
 waters contain the larvae of the gnat in innumerable quantities. 
 The davs there are long, and the beautiful and splendid me- 
 teors of the night indulge them wdth every opportunity of col- 
 lecting so minute a food; at the same time, men are very 
 sparingly scattered over that vast northern waste. Yet, 
 Linnaeus, that great explorer of nature, in his excursion to 
 Lapland, was astonished at the myriads of water-fowl that 
 migrated with him out of that country, which exceeded in 
 multitude the army of Xerxes, covering, for eight whole days 
 and nights, the surface of the river Calix ! The surprise of 
 Linnaeus was occasioned by his supposing their support to be 
 furnished chiefly by the vegetable kingdom, almost denied 
 
OF THE 
 
BROWN BEAR. 
 
 GRIZZLY BEAR. 
 
PRESERVATION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 149 
 
 * 
 
 to the Lapland waters ; not knowing that the all-bountiful 
 Creator had plenteously provided insect food for them in that 
 dreary wilderness. 
 
 Certain beasts, also, as well as birds, become torpid, or at 
 least inactive, when they are, by the rigour of the season, 
 excluded from the necessaries of life. Thus the bear, at the 
 end of autumn, collects a quantity of moss, into which he 
 creeps, and there lies all the winter, subsisting upon no other 
 nourishment than his fat, collected during the summer in 
 the cellulous membrane, and which, without doubt, during his 
 fast, circulates through his vessels, and supplies the place of 
 food. 
 
 The hedge-hog, badger, and some kinds of mice, fill their 
 winter quarters with vegetables, which they eat during mild 
 weather in the winter, and sleep during the frosts. The bat 
 seems cold and quite dead, but revives in the spring : while 
 most of the amphibious animals get into dens, or the bottom 
 of lakes and pools. • 
 
 Among other instances of the preservation of animals, we 
 ought to mention that of the pole-cat of America, commonly 
 called the squash or skink. This is a small animal of the 
 weasel kind, which some of the planters of that country keep 
 about their premises to perform the office of a cat. This crea- 
 ture has always a very strong and disagreeable smell, but 
 when affrighted or enraged, it emits so horrible a stench, as 
 to prevent any other creature from approaching it: even dogs 
 in pursuit of it, when they find this extraordinary mode of 
 defence made use of, will instantly turn, and leave him undis- 
 puted master of the field ; nor can any attempts ever bring 
 them to rally again. Kalm, as quoted by Buffon, says, “ One 
 of these animals came near the farm where I lived in the year 
 1749. It was in the winter season, during the night ; and 
 the dogs that were upon the watch, pursued it for some time, 
 until it discharged against them. Although 1 was in bed a 
 good way off, I thought I should have been suffocated ; and 
 the cows and oxen themselves, by their lowings, shewed how 
 much they were affected by the stench.” 
 
 Nor is even the serpent, in its various kinds, destitute of 
 the care of the common Father of nature. This reptile, which 
 has neither wings to fly, nor the power to run with much 
 speed, would not have the means to take its prey, were it not 
 endowed with superior cunning to most other creatures. In 
 favour of the serpent, also, there is a terror attending its ap- 
 pearance, which operates with such power upon birds and 
 other small animals, as often to cause them to fall an easy 
 prey to it. Hence, probably, has arisen the fiction of the 
 power of fascination, which has been confidently ascribed to 
 the rattlesnake and some other serpents. 
 
l50 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 On the Destruction of Animals. 
 
 In considering the destruction of animals, we may observe 
 that Nature is continually operating : she produces, preserves 
 for a time, and then destroys all her productions. Man him- 
 self is subject to this general order ; for he also, like other 
 creatures, returns to the dust from whence he was taken. 
 
 This process of nature is marked even in the vicissitudes 
 of the seasons. Spring, like the jovial, playful infancy of all 
 living creatures, represents childhood and youth ; for then 
 plants spread forth their flowers, fishes play in the waters, 
 birds sing, and universal nature rejoices. Summer, like mid- 
 dle age, exhibits plants and trees full clothed in green; fruits 
 ripen ; and every thing is full of life. But autumn is compa- 
 ratively gloomy ; for then the leaves fall from the trees, and 
 plants begin to wither, insects grow torpid, and many animals 
 retire to their winter quarters. 
 
 The day proceeds with steps similar to the year. In the 
 morning every thing is fresh and playful ; at noon all is 
 energy and action ; evening follows, and every thing is inert 
 and sluggish. 
 
 Thus the age of man begins from the cradle ; pleasing child- 
 hood succeeds ; then sprightly youth ; afterwards manhood, 
 firm, severe, and intent on self-preservation ; lastly, old age 
 creeps on, debilitates, and, at length, totally destroys our 
 tottering bodies. 
 
 But we must consider the destruction of animals more at 
 at large. We have before observed, that all animals do not 
 live on vegetables, but there are some which feed on animal- 
 cula ; others on insects. Nay, some there are which subsist 
 only by rapine, and daily destroy some or other of the peace- 
 able kind. 
 
 The destruction of animals by each other, is generally in 
 progression, — the strong prevailing against the weak. Thus, 
 the tree-louse lives on plants ; the fly called musca amphidi- 
 vora, lives on the tree-louse ; the hornet and wasp-fly, on the 
 musca amphidivora ; the dragon-fly, on the hornet and wasp-fly ; 
 the larger spider, on the dragon-fly; small birds feed on the 
 spider ; and lastly, the hawk kind on the small birds. 
 
 In like manner, the monoculus delights in putrid waters ; 
 the gnat eats the monoculus ; the frog eats the gnat ; the pike 
 eats the frog ; and the sea-calf eats the pike. 
 
 The bat and the goat-sucker make their excursions only at 
 night, that they may catch the moths, which at that time fly 
 about in great quantities. 
 
 The woodpecker pulls out the insects which lie hid in the 
 trunks of trees. The swallow pursues those which fly about 
 in the open air. The mole feeds on worms and grubs in the 
 earth. The large fishes devour the small ones. And perhaps 
 
DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 151 
 
 there is not an animal in existence, which has not an enemy 
 to contend with. 
 
 Among quadrupeds, wild beasts are most remarkably perni- 
 cious and dangerous to others. But that they may not, by 
 their cruelty, destroy a whole species, these are circumscribed 
 within certain bounds : as to the fiercest of them, they are 
 few in number, when compared with other animals ; some- 
 times they fall upon and destroy each other; and it is remark- 
 ed also, that they seldom live to a great age, for they are 
 subject, from the nature of their diet, to various diseases, 
 which bring them sooner to an end than those animals which 
 live on vegetables. It has been asked, why has the Supreme 
 Being constituted such an order in nature, that, it should 
 seem, some animals are created only to be destroyed hy others? 
 To this it has been answered, that Providence not only aimed 
 at sustaining, but also keeping a just proportion amongst all 
 the species, and so preventing any one of them from increas- 
 ing too much, to the detriment of men and other animals. For 
 if it be true, as it assuredly is, that the surface of the earth 
 can support only a certain number of creatures, they must all 
 perish, if the same number were doubled or trebled. 
 
 There are many kinds of flies, which bring forth so abun- 
 dantly, that they would soon fill the air, and, like clouds, in- 
 tercept the light of the sun, unless they were devoured by 
 birds, spiders, and other animals. 
 
 Storks and cranes free Egypt from frogs, which, after the 
 inundation of the Nile, cover the whole country. Falcons 
 clear Palestine from mice. Bellonius, on this subject, says. 
 
 The storks come to Egypt in such abundance, that the fields 
 and meadows are quite white with them. Yet the Egyptians 
 are not displeased with them, as frogs are generated in such 
 numbers, that, did not the storks devour them, they would 
 over-run every thing. Besides, they also catch and eat ser- 
 pents. Between Belba and Gaza, the fields of Palestine are 
 often injured by mice and rats ; and were these vermin not 
 destroyed by the falcons, that come here by instinct, the inha- 
 bitants could have no harvest.” 
 
 The white fox is of equal advantage in the Lapland Alps ; 
 as he destroys the Norway rat, which, by its prodigious in- 
 crease, would otherwise entirely destroy veo;etation in that 
 country. 
 
 It is sufficient for us to believe that Providence is wise in 
 all its works, and that nothing is made in vain. When rapa- 
 cious animals do us mischief, let us not think that the Creator 
 planned the order of nature according to our private principles 
 of economy; for the Laplander has one way of living, the 
 European husbandman another, and the Hottentot differs from 
 , them both ; whereas the stupendous Deity is one throughout 
 
162 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 the globe ; and if Providence do not always calculate ac- 
 cording to our method of reckoning, we ought to consider 
 this affair in the same light as when different seamen wait for 
 a fair v/ind. every one with respect to the port to which he is 
 bound ; these we plainly see cannot all be satisfied. 
 
 We shall conclude this branch, by turning once more to 
 Man, and tracing him through his progressive stages of decay, 
 until death puts a final period to his earthly existence. 
 
 The human form has no sooner arrived at its state of perfec- 
 tion, than it begins to decline. The alteration is at first insen- 
 sible, and often several years are elapsed before we find our- 
 selves grown old. The news of this unwelcome change too 
 generally comes from without ; and we learn from others that 
 we grow old, before we are willing to believe the report. 
 
 When the body is come to its full height, and is extended 
 into its just dimensions, it then also begins to receive an addi- 
 tional bulk, which rather loads than assists it. This is form- 
 ed of fat, which, generally, at about the age of forty, covers 
 all the muscles, and interrupts their activity. Every exertion 
 is then performed with greater labour, and the increase of size 
 only serves as the forerunner of decay. 
 
 The bones also become every day more solid. In the em- 
 bryo they are almost as soft as the muscles and the flesh, but 
 by degrees they harden, and acquire their proper vigour ; but 
 still, for the purpose of circulation, they are furnished through 
 ail their substance with their proper canals. Nevertheless, 
 these canals are of very different capacities during the diffe- 
 rent stages of life. In infancy they are capacious, and the 
 blood flows almost as freely through the bones as through any 
 other part of the body ; in manhood their size is greatly di- 
 minished, the vessels are almost imperceptible, and the circu- 
 lation is proportionably slow. But in the decline of life, the 
 blood which flows through the bones, no longer contributing 
 to their growth, must necessarily serve to increase their 
 hardness. The channels which run through the human frame 
 may be compared to those pipes that we see crusted on the 
 inside, by the water, for a long continuance, running through 
 them. Both every day grow less and less, by the small rigid 
 particles which are deposited within them. Thus, as the ves- 
 sels are by degrees diminished, the juices also, which circu- 
 late through them, are diminished in proportion ; till at length, 
 in old age, these props of the human frame are not only more 
 solid, but more brittle. 
 
 The cartilages, likewise, grow more rigid ; the juices circu- 
 lating through them, every day contribute to make them 
 harder, so that those parts which in youth are elastic and pli- 
 ant, in age become hard and bony, consequently the motion 
 of the joints must become more difficult. Thus, in old age, 
 
DESTRUCTION OF ANIMALS. 
 
 153 
 
 every action of the body is performed with labour, and the 
 cartilages, formerly so supp-le, will now sooner break than 
 bend. 
 
 As the cartilages acquire hardness, and unfit the joints for 
 motion, so also that mucous liquor, which is always secreted 
 between the joints, and which serves, like oil to a hinge, to 
 give them an easy and ready play, is now grown more scanty 
 it becomes thicker and more clammy, more unfit for answer- 
 ing the purposes of motion, and from thence, in old age every 
 joint is stiff and awkward. At every motion this clammy liquor 
 is heard to crack ; and it is not without a great effort of the 
 muscles, that its resistance is overcome. Old persons have 
 been known, that seldom moved a single joint without thus 
 giving notice of the violence that was done to it. 
 
 The membranes that cover the bones, joints, and the rest 
 of the body, become, as we grow old, more dense and more 
 dry. Those which surround the bones soon cease to be ductile. 
 The fibres, of which the muscles or flesh is composed, become 
 every day more rigid; and while, to the touch, the body seems, 
 as we advance in years, to grow softer, it is in reality in- 
 creasing in hardness. It is the skin, and not the flesh, that 
 we feel on such occasions. The fat, and the flabbiness of it, 
 seem to give an appearance of softness, which the flesh itself 
 IS very far from having. None can doubt this after trying the 
 difference between the flesh of young and old animals. The 
 first is soft and tender, the last is hard and dry. 
 
 The skin is the only part of the body that age does not har- 
 den ; that stretches to every degree of tension ; and we have 
 often frightful instances of its pliancy, in many disorders 
 which are incident to humanity. In youth, while the body is 
 vigorous and increasing, it continues to give way to its growth. 
 But although it thus adapts itself to our increase, its does not 
 in the same manner conform to our decay. The skin, in youth 
 anfl health, is plump, glossy, veined, and clear; but when 
 the body begins to decline, it has not elasticity enough to 
 shrink entirely with its diminution; it becomes dark or yellow, 
 and hangs in wTinkles, which no cosmetic can remove. The 
 wrinkles of the body in general proceed from this cause ; but 
 those of the faie seem to proceed from another, namely, from 
 that variety of positions into w^hich it is put by the speech, 
 the food, or the passions. Every grimace, every passion, and 
 every gratification of appetite, puts the visage into different 
 forms. These are visible enough in young persons; but what 
 at first was accidental or transitory, becomes, by habit, unal- 
 terably fixed in the visage as it grows older. 
 
 Hence, as we advance in age, the bones, the cartilages, the 
 membranes, the flesh, and every fibre of the body, becomes 
 more solid, more dry, and more brittle. Every part shrinks, 
 
154 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 motion becomes more slow, the circulation of the fluids is 
 performed with less freedom ; perspiration diminishes ; the 
 secretions alter , the digestion becomes laborious ; and the 
 juices no longer serve to convey their accustomed nourish- 
 ment. Thus the body dies by little and little, and all its func- 
 tions are diminished by degrees ; life is driven from one part 
 of the frame to another; universal rigidity prevails; and 
 death, at last, seizes upon the remnant that is left. 
 
 As the bones, the cartilages, the muscles, and all other 
 parts of the body, are softer in women than in men, these 
 parts must, of consequence, require a longer time to arrive 
 at that state of hardness which occasions death. Women, 
 therefore, ought to be longer in growing old than men, and 
 this is, generally speaking, the case. If we consult the tables 
 which have been drawn up respecting human life, we shall find 
 that, after a certain age, they are more long-lived than men, 
 all other circumstances the same. Thus a woman of sixty has 
 a greater probability, than a man of the same age, of living 
 till eighty. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an account of Animal 
 Keproductions. 
 
 Here we discover a new field of wonders, that seems entirely 
 to contradict the principles that we had adopted concerning 
 the formation of organized bodies. It was long thought that 
 animalscould only be multiplied by eggs, or by young ones. But 
 it is now found that there are some exceptions to this general 
 rule, since certain animal bodies have been discovered, that 
 may be divided into as many complete bodies as you please ; 
 for each part thus separated from the parent body, soon re- 
 pairs what is deficient, and becomes a complete animal. It 
 is now no longer doubtful that the polypus belongs to the 
 class of animals, though it much resembles plants, both 
 in form, and in its mode of propagating. The bodies of these 
 creatures may be either cut across or longitudinally, and the 
 pieces will become so many complete polypi. Even from the 
 skin, or least part, cut off from the body, one or more polypi 
 will be produced ; and if several pieces cut off be joined to- 
 gether by the extremities, they will perfectly unite, nourish each 
 other, and become one body. This discovery has given rise 
 to other experiments, and it has been found that polypi are not 
 the only animals which live and grow after being cut in pieces. 
 The earth-worm will multiply after being cut in two ; to the 
 tail there grows a head, and the two pieces then become two 
 worms. After having been divided, they cannot be joined 
 together again; they remain for some time in the same state, 
 or grow rather smaller ; we then see at the extremity which 
 was rut, a little white button begin to appear, which increases 
 
ANIMAL REPRODUCTION. 
 
 15b 
 
 and gradually lengthens. Soon after, we may observe rings 
 at first very close together, but insensibly extending on all 
 sides; a new stomach, and other organs, are then formed. 
 We may at any time make the following experiment with 
 snails : cut off their heads close by the horns, and in a cer- 
 tain space of time the head will be reproduced. A similar 
 circumstance takes place in crabs ; if one of their claws is 
 torn off, it will again be entirely reproduced. 
 
 A very remarkable experiment was made by Duhamel, on 
 the thigh of a chicken. After the thigh-bone which had been 
 broken was perfectly restored, and a callus completely form- 
 ed, he stripped off the flesh down to the bone ; — the parts 
 were gradually reproduced, and the bone, and the circulation 
 of the blood, again renewed. We know then that some ani- 
 mals may be multiplied by dividing them into pieces ; and we 
 no longer doub-t that the young of certain insects may be 
 produced in the same manner as a branch is from a tree ; that, 
 being cut in pieces, they will live again in the smallest 
 piece ; that they may be turned inside out like a glove, divided 
 into pieces, then turned again, and yet live, eat, grow, and 
 multiply. Here a question offers itself, which perhaps no 
 naturalist can resolve in a satisfactory manner: How does it 
 happen that the parts thus cut off, can be again reproduced ? 
 We must suppose that germs are distributed to every part of 
 the body; whilst in other animals they are only contained 
 in certain parts. These germs unfold thenaselves when they 
 receive propern ourishment. Thus, when an animal is cut in 
 pieces, the germ is supplied with the necessary juices, which 
 would have been conveyed to other parts, if they had not been 
 diverted into a different channel. The superfluous juices deve- 
 lop those parts which without them would have continued 
 attached to each other. Every part of the polypus and worm, 
 contains in itself, as the bud does the rudiments of a tree, all 
 the viscera necessary to the animal. The parts essential to 
 life are distributed throughout the body, and the circulation 
 is carried on even in the smallest particles. As we do not 
 understand all the means that the Author of nature makes use 
 of to distribute life and feeling to such a number of animals, 
 we have no reason to maintain, that the creatures of which 
 we have been speaking, are the only ones that are exceptions 
 to the general rule in their mode of propagating. The fecun- 
 dity of nature, and the infinite wisdom of the Creator, always 
 surpass our feeble conceptions. The same hand that has 
 formed the polypus and the worm, has shewn us that it is able 
 to simplify the structure of animals 
 
156 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. — (Continued,) 
 
 The Beaver, and its Habitations — The Mole — The Frog — The 
 Toad — The Rhinoceros — Crocodiles and AUigators — Fossi, 
 Crocodile — The Ornithorh^nchus Paradoxus — J%e Marmot, or 
 Mountain Rat, of Switzerland. 
 
 Nature’s unnumber’d family combine 
 In one beneficent, one vast design ; 
 
 E’en from inanimates to breathing man, — 
 
 A heaven-conceiv’d, heaven-executed plan ; 
 
 Onward, from those who soar or lowly creep, 
 
 The wholesome equipoise through all to keep, 
 
 As faithful agents in earth, sea, and air. 
 
 The lower world to watch with constant care ; 
 
 Her due proportion wisely to conserve : — 
 
 A wondrous trust, from which they never swerve. Pratt 
 
 It would not be consistent with the plan of this work to 
 embrace the tvhole natural history of the animal and vegetable 
 kingdom. This is a Book of Curiosities ; and it is our inten- 
 tion to present the reader with a sketch of the most remark- 
 able things in the universe : our present subject, therefore, 
 being curiosities respecting animals, we shall commence 
 with — 
 
 The Beaver. — This animal was known to the ancients for 
 its possession of that sebaceous matter called castor, secreted 
 by two large glands near its genitals and anus, and of which 
 each animal has about two ounces ; but they appear to have 
 been unacquainted with its habits and economy, with that 
 mental contrivance and practical dexterity, which in its natu- 
 ral state so strikingly distinguish it. Beavers are found in 
 the most northern latitudes of Europe and Asia, but are most 
 abundant in North America. 
 
 In the months of June and July, they assemble in large 
 companies to the number of two hundred, on the banks of 
 some water, and proceed to the formation of their establish- 
 ment. If the water be subject to risings and fallings, they 
 erect a dam, to preserve it at a constant level; where this 
 level is naturally preserved, this labour is superseded. The 
 length of this dam is occasionally eight feet. In the prepara- 
 tion of it, they begin with felling some very high, but not 
 extremely thick tree, on the border of a river, which can be 
 made to fall into the water; and, in a short time, this is ef 
 fected by the united operation of many, with their fore-teeth, 
 the branches being afterwards cleared by the same process 
 A. multitude of smaller trees are found necessary to complete 
 
8F 
 
 f5j: 
 
THE BEAVER. 
 
 15 / 
 
 the fabric, and many of these are dragged from some distance 
 by land, and formed into stakes ; the fixing of which is a 
 work of extreme difficulty and perseverance, some of the bea- 
 vers with their teeth raising their large ends against the cross- 
 beam, while others at the bottom dig with their fore-feet the 
 holes in which the points are to be sunk. A series of these 
 stakes, in several rows, is established from one bank of the 
 river to the other, in connection with the cross-tree, and the 
 intervals between them are filled up by vast quantities of 
 earth, brought from a distance, and plashed with materials 
 adapted to give it tenacity, and prevent its being carried off. 
 The bark is formed at the bottom, of about the width of twelve 
 feet, diminishing as it approaches the surface of the water, to 
 two or three; being thus judiciously constructed to resist its 
 weight and efforts by the inclined plane instead of perpendi- 
 cular opposition. 
 
 These preparations., of such immense magnitude and toil, 
 being completed, they proceed to the construction of their 
 mansions, which are raised on piles near the margin of the 
 stream or lake, and have one opening from the land, and an- 
 other by which they have instant access to the water. These 
 buildings are usually of an orbicular form, in general about 
 the diameter of ten feet, and comprehending frequently seve- 
 ral stories. The foundation walls are nearly two feet in thick- 
 ness, resting upon planks or stakes, which constitute also 
 their floors. In the houses of one story only, the walls, which 
 in all cases are plastered with extreme neatness both exter- 
 nally and within, after rising about two feet perpendicularly, 
 approach each other, so as at length to constitute, in closing, 
 a species of dome. In the application of the mortar to their 
 habitations, the tails as well as feet of the beavers are of es- 
 sential service. Stone, wood, and a sandy kind of earth, are 
 employed in their structures, which, by their compactness and 
 strength, completely preclude injury from winds and rain. 
 The alder, poplar, and willow, are the principal trees which 
 they employ ; and they always begin their operations on the 
 trunk, at nearly two feet above the ground ; nor do they ever 
 desist from the process till its fall is completed. They sit 
 instead of stand, at this labour, and while reducing the tree 
 to the ground, derive a pleasure at once from the success of 
 their toils, and from the gratification of their palate and 
 appetite by the bark, which is a favourite species of food to 
 them, as well as the young and tender parts of the wood 
 itself. 
 
 For their support in winter, ample stores are laid up near 
 each separate cabin ; and occasionally, to give variety and 
 luxury to their repasts during a long season, in which their 
 stores must have become dry and nearly tasteless, they will 
 
/58 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 make excursions into the neighbouring woods for fresh sup- 
 plies. Depredations by the tenants of one cabin on the ma- 
 gazines of another are unknown, and the strictest notions of 
 property and honesty are universal. Some of their habitations 
 will contain six only, others twelve, and some even twenty or 
 thirty inhabitants ; and the whole village or township contains 
 in general about twelve or fourteen habitations. Strangers are 
 not permitted to intrude on the vicinity ; but, amidst the differ- 
 ent members of the society itself, there appears to prevail that 
 attachment and that friendship which are the natural result of 
 mutual co-operation, and of active and successful struggles 
 against difliculty. The approach of danger is announced by 
 the violent striking of their tails against the surface of the 
 water, which extends the alarm to a great distance ; and, while 
 some throw themselves for security into the water, others re- 
 tire within the precincts of their cabins, where they are safe 
 from every enemy but man. 
 
 The neatness as well as the security of their dwellings is re- 
 markable, the floors being strewed over with box and fir, and 
 displaying the most admirable cleanness and order. Their 
 general position is that of sittino, the upper part of the body, 
 with the head, being considerably raised, while the lower 
 touches, and is somewhat indeed immersed in, the water. 
 This element is not only indispensable to them in the same 
 way as to other quadrupeds, but they carefully preserve access 
 to it even when the ice is of very considerable depth, for the 
 purpose of regaling themselves by excursions to a grea.t extent 
 under the frozen surface. The most general method of taking 
 them is bv attackincr their cabins during; these rambles, and 
 watching their approach to a hole dug in the ice at a small 
 distance, to which they are obliged, after a certain time, to 
 resort for respiration. 
 
 If a man, who had never been informed of the industry of 
 beavers and their manner of building, were shewn the edifices 
 that they construct, he would suppose them to be the work of 
 most eminent architects. Every thing is wonderful in the 
 labours of these amphibious animals ; the regular plan, the 
 size, the solidity, and the admirable art of these buildings, 
 must fill every attentive observer with astonishment. 
 
 The works of beavers have a great resemblance to those of 
 men ; and upon their first appearance we may imagine them to 
 be produced by rational and thinking beings ; but when we 
 examine them nearer, we shall find that in all their proceed- 
 ings, these animals do not act upon the principles of reason, 
 but by an instinct which is implanted in them by nature. If 
 reason guided their labours, we should naturally conclude that 
 the buildings which they now construct would be very differ- 
 ent from those they formerly made, and that they would gra- 
 
THE BEAVER. — THE MOLE 
 
 159 
 
 dually advance towards perfection. But we find that they 
 never vary in the least from the rules of their forefathers, ne- 
 ver deviate from the circle prescribed to them by nature, and 
 the beavers of to-day build exactly after the same plan as 
 those which lived before the deluge. But they are not the 
 less worthy of our admiration. In these sagacious creatures 
 we have an example of the great diversity there is in the in- 
 stinct of animals — how superior is the instinct of the beaver 
 to that of the sheep ! 
 
 The flesh of the anterior part of the bodies of beavers re- 
 sembles that of land animals in substance and flavour; while 
 that of the lower possesses the taste, and smell, and lightness 
 of fish. 
 
 The sexual union among these animals is connected with 
 considerable individual choice, sentiment, and constancy, — 
 Every couple pass together the autumn and winter, with the 
 most perfect comfort and affection. About the close of winter, 
 the females, after a gestation of four months, produce, in ge- 
 neral, each two or three young, and soon after this period 
 they are quitted by the males, who ramble into the country to 
 enjoy the return of spring; occasionally returning to their 
 cabins, but no longer dwelling in them. When the females 
 have reared their young, which happens in the course of a few 
 weeks, to a state in which they can follow their dams, these 
 also quit their winter residence, and resort to the woods, to 
 enjoy the opening bloom and renovated supplies of nature. If 
 their habitations on the water should be impaired by floods, 
 or winds, or enemies, the beavers assemble with great rapi- 
 dity to repair the damage. If no alarm of this nature occurs, 
 the summer is principally spent by them in the woods, and on 
 the advance of autumn they assemble in the scene of their 
 former labours and friendships, and prepare with assiduity 
 for the confinement and rigours of approaching winter. 
 
 When taken young, the beaver may be tamed without diffi- 
 culty ; but it exhibits few or no indications of superior intelli- 
 gence. Some beavers are averse to that association which so 
 strikingly characterizes these animals in general, and satisfy 
 themselves with digging holes in the banks of rivers, instead 
 of erecting elaborate habitations. The fur of these is compa- 
 ratively of little value. 
 
 Another subject of animal curiosity is. The Mole. — This 
 animal is about six inches in length, without the tail 
 Its body is large and cylindrical, and its snout strong and car- 
 tilaginous. Its skin is of extraordinary thickness, and co- 
 vered with a fur, short, but yielding to that of no other animal 
 in fineness. It hears with particular acuteness, and, notwith- 
 standing the popular opinion to the contrary, possesses eyes, 
 
160 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 which it is stated to be able to withdraw or project at pleasure 
 It lives partly on the roots of vegetables, but principally on 
 animal food, such as worms and insects, and is extremely 
 voracious and fierce. Shaw relates, from Sir Thomas Brown, 
 that a mole, a toad, and a serpent, have been repeatedly in- 
 closed in a large glass vase, and that the mole has not only 
 killed the others, but has devoured a very considerable par^ 
 of them. It abounds in soft ground, in which it can dig with 
 ease, and which furnishes it with a great supply of food. I 
 forms its subterraneous apartments with great facility by its 
 snout and feet, and with a very judicious reference to escape 
 and comfort. It produces four or five young in the spring, in 
 a nest a little beneath the surface, composed of moss and 
 herbage. It is an animal injurious to the grounds of the 
 farmer, by throwing up innumerable hills of mould, in the 
 construction of its habitation, or the pursuit of its food, and 
 many persons obtain their subsistence from the premiums, 
 which are, on this account, given for their destruction. Moles 
 can swim with considerable dexterity, and are thus furnished 
 with the means of escape in sudden inundations, to which they 
 are frequently exposed. In Ireland, the mole is unknown. 
 
 The Common Frog. — This is an animal so well known, that 
 it needs no description : but some of its properties are very 
 singular. Its spring, or power of taking large leaps, is re- 
 markably great, and it is the best swimmer of all four-footed 
 animals. Its parts are finely adapted for those ends, the fore 
 members of the body being very lightly made, the hind legs 
 and thighs very long, and furnished with very strong muscles. 
 While in a tadpole state, it is entirely a water animal, for in 
 this element the spawn is cast. As soon as frogs are released 
 from their tadpole state, they immediately take to land; and 
 if the w'eather has been hot, and there fall any refreshing 
 showers, the ground for a considerable space is perfectly 
 blackened by myriads of these animalcules, seeking for some 
 secure lurking places. Some persons not taking time to ex- 
 amine into this phenomenon, imagined them to have been 
 generated in the clouds, and showered on the earth : but had 
 they, like Mr. Derham, traced them to the next pool, they 
 would have found a better solution of the difficulty. As frogs 
 adhere closely to the backs of their own species, so we know 
 they will do the same by fish. That they will injure, if not 
 entirely kill carp, is a fact indisputable, from the following 
 relation. 
 
 Not many years ago, on fishing a pond belonging to Mr. 
 Pitt, of Encomb, Dorsetshire, great numbers of the carp 
 were found, each with a frog mounted on it, the hind legs 
 clinging to the back, and the fore legs fixed to the corner of 
 
TIIK JPhOG. THE TOAD. 
 
 161 
 
 each eye of the fish, which were thin and greatly wasted, 
 teased by carrying so disagreeable a load. The croaking of 
 frogs is well known; and from that, in fenny countries, they 
 are distinguished by ludicrous titles, — thus they are styled 
 Dutch nightingales, and Boston waites. Yet there is a time of 
 the year when they become mute, neither croaking nor open- 
 ing their mouths for a whole month ; this happens in the hot 
 season, and that is in many places known to the country peo- 
 ple by the name of the paddock-moon. It is said, that during 
 that period their mouths are so closed, that no force (without 
 killing tlie animal) will be capable of opening them. These, 
 as well as other reptiles, feed but a small space of the year. 
 Their food is flies, insects, and snails. During winter, frogs 
 and toads remain in a torpid state ; the last of which will dig 
 into the earth, and cover themselves with almost ^he same 
 ao'ilitv as the mol<^. 
 
 O 
 
 Not less remarkable is The Common Toad. — This is the 
 most deformed and hideous of all animals. The body is broad, 
 the back flat, and covered with a pimply dusky hide ; the 
 belly large, swagging, and swelling out ; the legs short, and 
 its pace laboured and crawling ; its retreat gloomy and filthy : 
 in short, its general appearance is such as to strike one with 
 disgust and horror. Yet it is said that its eyes are fine. .®lian 
 and other ancient writers tell many ridiculous fables of the 
 poison of the toad. 
 
 This animal was believed by some old writers to have a 
 stone in its head fraught with great virtues, medical and ma- 
 gical : it was distinguished by the term of, the reptile, and 
 called the toad-stone, bufonites, krottenstern, and other names, 
 but all its fancied powers vanished on the discovery of its being 
 nothing but the fossil tooth of the sea-wolf, or of some other 
 flat-toothed tish, not unfrequent in our island, as well as seve- 
 ral other countries. But these fables have been long exploded. 
 And as to the notion of its being a poisonous animal, it is 
 probable that its excessive deformity, joined to the faculty it 
 has of emitting a juice from its pimples, and a dusky liquid 
 from its hind parts, is the foundation of the report. That it 
 has any noxious qualities, there seem to be no proofs in the 
 smallest degree satisfactory, though we have heard many 
 strange relations on that point. On the contrary, many have 
 taken them in their naked hands, and held them long without 
 receiving the least injury. It is also well known that quacks 
 have eaten them, and have squeezed their juices into a glass, 
 and drank them with impunity They are also a common food 
 to many aniiiials ; to buzzards, owls, Norfolk plovers, ducks, 
 and snakes, which would not touch them, were they in any de- 
 gree noxious. 
 
 X 
 
i62 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 The fullest information concerning the nature and qualities 
 of this animal is contained in letters from Mr. Arscott and 
 Mr. Pitfield to Dr. Milles, communicated to Mr. Pennant ; 
 concerning a toad that lived above thirty-six years with 
 them, was completely tame, and became so great a favourite 
 that most of the ladies in the neighbourhood got the better of 
 their prejudices so far as to be anxious to see it fed. Its food 
 was insects, such as millepedes, spiders, ants, flies, &c. but 
 it was particularly fond of flesh worms, which were bred on pur- 
 pose for it. It never appeared in winter, but regularly made 
 its appearance in the spring, when the warm weather com- 
 menced, climbing up a few steps, and waiting to be taken up, 
 carried into the house, and fed upon a table. Before it at- 
 tacked the insects, it fixed its eyes on them, and remained 
 motionless for a quarter of a minute, when it attacked them 
 by an instantaneous motion of its tongue, darted on the insect 
 with such rapidity that the eye could not follow it, whereby 
 the insect stuck to the tip of its tongue, and was instantly 
 conveyed to its mouth. This favourite toad at last lost its life, 
 in consequence of being attacked by a tame raven, which 
 picked out one of its eyes ; and although the toad was rescued, 
 and lived a year longer, it never recovered its health or spirit. 
 It never showed any signs of rage, being never provoked. 
 
 Our next subject is an animal of great bulk. The Rhi- 
 noceros. — This quadruped is exceeded in size only by the 
 elephant. Its usual length, not including the tail, is twelve 
 feet, and the circumference of its body nearly the same. Its 
 nose is armed with a horny substance, projecting, in the full- 
 grown animal, nearly three feet, and is a weapon of defence, 
 which almost secures it from every attack. Even the tiger, 
 with all his ferocity, is but very rarely daring enough to assail 
 the rhinoceros. Its upper lip is of considerable length and 
 pliability, acting like a species of snout, grasping the shoots 
 of trees and various substances, and conveying them to the 
 mouth ; and it is capable of extension and contraction at the 
 animal’s convenience. The skin is, in some parts, so thick 
 and hard as scarcely to be penetrable by the sharpest sabre, or 
 even by a musket-ball. These animals are found in Bengal, 
 Siam, China, and in several countries of Africa; but are far 
 less numerous than the elephant, and of sequestered solitary 
 habits. The female produces only one at a birth ; and at the 
 age of two years the horn is only an inch long, and at six 
 only of the length of nine inches. The rhinoceros is not fero- 
 cious, unless provoked, when he exhibits paroxysms of rage 
 "and madness, and is highly dangerous to those who encounter 
 him. He runs with great swiftness, and rushes through brakes 
 and woods with an energy to which every thing yields. He is 
 
RHINOCEROS. 
 
 Many varieties of this formidable animal are found in Asia and Africa. 
 The above figure represents the Asiatic variety, which has but one horn. 
 
 RHINOCEROS. 
 
 Of the African rhinoceros, Mr. Cumming, the famous hunter, describes 
 several kinds. The above figure represents the two-horned kind, which is 
 found nowhere but in Africa. Mr. Cumming killed many of this kind. 
 
( 
 
 I 
 
 , ♦. 
 
 iwt 
 
 9? T!!£ 
 
 Of BilUCIS 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 (>Hr v 
 
 , . ■ ■ 
 
THE RHINOCEROS. THE CROCODILE. 163 
 
 generally, however, quiet and inoffensive. Its food consists 
 entirely of vegetables, the tender branches of trees, and suc- 
 culent herbage, of which it will devour immense quantities. 
 It delights in retired and cool situations, neai lakes and 
 streams, and appears to derive one of the highest satisfactions 
 from the practice of rolling and wallowing in mud, — in this 
 respect bearing a striking resemblance to the hog. 
 
 This animal was exhiftted, by Augustus, to the Romans, 
 and is supposed to be the unicorn of fhe scripture, as it pos- 
 sesses the properties ascribed to that animal, of magnitude, 
 strength, and swiftness, in addition to that peculiarity of a 
 single horn, which may be considered as establishing their 
 identity. This animal can distinguish, by its sight, only what 
 is directly before it, and always, when pursued, takes the 
 course immediately before it, almost without the slightest 
 deviation from a right line, removing every impediment. Its 
 sense of smelling is very acute, and also of hearing, and, on 
 both these accounts, the hunters approach him against the 
 wind. In general, they watch his lying down to sleep, when, 
 advancing with the greatest circumspection, they discharge 
 their muskets into his belly. The flesh is eaten both in Africa 
 and India. 
 
 We now proceed to The Crocodile. — This animal is a na- 
 tive both of Africa and Asia, but is most frequently found in 
 the former, inhabiting its vast rivers, and particularly the 
 Niger and the Nile. It has occasionally been seen of the length 
 of even thirty feet, and instances of its attaining that of 
 twenty are by no means uncommon. It principally subsists 
 on fish, but such is its voracity, that it seizes almost every 
 thing that comes within its reach. The upper part of its body 
 is covered with a species of armour, so thick and firm, as to be 
 scarcely penetrable with a musket-ball ; and the whole body 
 has the appearance of an elaborate covering of carved work. 
 It is an oviparous animal, and its eggs scarcely exceed in size 
 those of a goose. These eggs are regarded as luxuries by the 
 natives of some countries of Africa, who will also with great 
 relish partake of the flesh of the crocodile itself. When young, 
 the small size and weak state of the crocodile prevent its be- 
 ing injurious to any animal of considerable bulk or strength; 
 and those which have been brought living to England have by 
 no means indicated that ferocious and devouring character 
 which they have been generally described to possess ; a cir- 
 cumstance probably owing to the change of climate, and the 
 reducing effect of confinement. 
 
 In its native climate its power and propensity to destruction 
 are unouestionably great, and excite in the inhabitants of the 
 territoH'^s near its haunts a high degree of terror. It lies in 
 
164 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 wait near the banks of rivers, and, with a sudden spring, seizes 
 any animal that approaches within its reach, sv/allov/ing it 
 with an instantaneous elfort, and then rushing back into its 
 watery recesses, till renewed appetite stimulates the repetition 
 of its insidious exertions. These animals were occasionady 
 exhibited by the Romans among their collections of the natU'- 
 ral wonders of the provinces ; and Scaurus and Augustus are 
 both recorded to have entertained the people with a sight of 
 these new and formidable objects. 
 
 It is reported by some travellers, that crocodiles are capa- 
 ble of being tamed, and are actually kept in a condition of 
 harmless domestication at the grounds and artificial lakes of 
 some African princes, chiefly as appendages of royal splen- 
 dour and magnificence. A single negro will often attack a 
 crocodile, and by spearing it between the scales of the belly, 
 where it is easily penetrable, secure its destruction. In some 
 regions these animals are hunted by dogs, which, however, 
 are carefully disciplined to the exercise, and are armed with 
 collars of iron spikes. 
 
 Aristotle appears to have been the first who asserted that 
 the under jaw of the crocodile was immoveable, and from him 
 it was transmitted and believed for a long succession of ages. 
 But the motion of the jaw in this animal is similar to that of all 
 other quadrupeds. The ancients also thought it destitute of 
 a tongue; an idea equally false. The tongue, however, is 
 more fixed in this than in other animals, to the sides of its 
 mouth, and less capable, therefore, of being protruded. — 
 The eggs of the crocodile are deposited in the mud or sand of 
 the banks of rivers, and immediately on being hatched, the 
 young move towards the water; in their passage to which, how- 
 ever, vast numbers are intercepted by ichneumons and birds, 
 which watch their progress. 
 
 The Alligator, or American Crocodile, has a vast 
 mouth, furnished with sharp teeth ; from the back to the end 
 of the tail, it is serrated ; its skin is tough and brown, and 
 covered on the sides with tubercles. This dreadful species, 
 which grows to the length of 17 or 18 feet, is found in the 
 w’armer parts of North America, and is most numerous, fierce, 
 and ravenous, towards the south. Yet, in Carolina, it never 
 devours the human species, but on the contrary, shuns man- 
 kind ; it, however, kills dogs as they swim the rivers, and 
 hogs which feed in the swamps. It is often seen floating like 
 a loo; of wood on the surface of the water, and is mistaken for 
 such by dogs and other animals, which it seizes, draws under 
 water, and devours. Like the wolf, w'hen pressed by long 
 hunger, it w’ill swallow mud, and even stones, and pieces of 
 wood. They often get into the wears in pursuit of fish, and 
 
THE ALLIGATOR 
 
 165 
 
 do much mischief by teaiing them to pieces. They are tor- 
 pid during winter, in Carolina, and retire into their dens, 
 which they form by burrowing far under ground. They make 
 th'^ entrance under water, and work upwards. In spring they 
 quit their retreats, and resort to the rivers, and chiefly seek 
 their prey near the mouth, where the water is brackish., They 
 roar and make a dreadful noise at first leaving their dens, and 
 against bad weather. The female lays a vast number of eggs 
 in the sand, near the banks of lakes and rivers, and leaves 
 them to be hatched by the sun : multitudes are destroyed as 
 soon as hatched, either by their own species, or by fish of 
 prey. In South America, the carrion vulture is the instru- 
 ment of Providence to destroy multitudes ; and it thus prevents 
 the country from being rendered uninhabitable. 
 
 The following account of Eastern Alligators is extract- 
 ed from Forbes’s Oriental Memoirs. 
 
 The eastern districts of Travancore, intersected by lakes and 
 rivers, abound with amphibious animals, especially alligators 
 and seals. There seems to be no essential difference between 
 the alligator of India, and the Egyptian crocodile ; lacerta 
 alli*gator, and lacertus crocodilus. Naturalists seem to con- 
 fine the alligator to South America, the crocodile to Asia 
 and Africa; but in India the lacerta crocodilus, generally 
 called the alligator, is from five to twenty feet long, shaped 
 like the genus to which he belongs ; the back is covered with 
 impenetrable scales ; the legs short, with five spreading toes 
 on the fore feet, and four in a straight line on the hinder, 
 armed with claws : the alligator moves slowly, its whole for- 
 mation being calculated for strength, the back bone firmly 
 jointed, and the tail a most formidable weapon: in the river, 
 he eagerly springs on the wretch unfortunately bathing within 
 his reach, and either knocks him down with his tail, or c pens 
 his wide mouth for his destruction, armed with numerous sharp 
 teeth of various lengths ; by which, like the shark, he some- 
 times severs the human body at a single bite : the annals of 
 the Nile and Ganges, although w'onderful, are not fabulous. 
 The upper jaw only of the alligator was thought to be move- 
 able ; but that is now completely disproved : the eyes are of 
 a dull green, with a brilliant pupil, covered by a transparent 
 pellicle, moveable as in birds : from the heads of those of 
 large size, musk is frequently extracted. 
 
 It may not be improper in this place to introduce to the 
 reader’s notice, one of the greatest curiosities of its kind, 
 which late ages have produced; that is, a Fossil Crocodile. 
 
 This is the skeleton of a large crocodile, almost entire, 
 found at a great depth under ground, bedded in stone. This 
 
1G6 
 
 CURlObrilES RESPECTING ANIMA1.S* 
 
 was in ihe possession of Linkius, who wrote many pieces in 
 natural history, and particularly an accurate description of 
 this curious fossil. It was found in the side of a large moun- 
 tain in the midland part of Germany, and in a stratum of 
 black fossil stone, somewhat like our common slate, but of a 
 coarser texture, the same with that in which the fossil fishes 
 in many parts of the world are found. This skeleton had the 
 back and ribs very plain, and was of a much deeper black 
 than the rest of the stone ; as is also the case with the fossi. 
 fishes, which are preserved in this manner. The part of the 
 Slone where the head lay was not found ; this being broken 
 oft’ just at the shoulders, but that irregularly; so that in one 
 place a part of the back of the head was visible in its natural 
 form. The two shoulder-bones were very fair, and three of 
 the feet were well preserved : the legs were of their natural 
 shape and size ; and the feet preserved even to the extremities 
 of the five toes of each. 
 
 Our next subject is named The Ornithorhyn chus Pa 
 RADOxus, and is a very singular quadruped, remarkable for 
 its structure. The head is similar to that of a duck, which 
 would lead to the supposition that it belonged to an aquatic 
 bird. Both jaws are as broad and low as those in a duck, 
 and the calvaria has no traces of a suture, as is generally the 
 case in full-grown birds. In the cavity of the skull there is 
 a considerably bony falx, which is situated along the middle 
 of the os frontis, and the ossa bregmatis. The mandible of 
 this animal consists of a beak, the under part of which has 
 its margin indented as in ducks, and of the proper instrument 
 for chewdng that is situated behind within the cheeks. Dr. 
 fehaw says it has no teeth, though Mr. Home found, in a spe- 
 cimen examined by him, two small and flat molar teeth on 
 each side of the jaws. The fore part of this mandible, or 
 beak, is covered and bordered with a coriaceous skin, in 
 which three parts are to be distinguished, within the proper in- 
 tegument of the beak. Into these three parts of that membrane 
 numerous nerves are distributed, intended, probably, as the 
 organs of feeling, a sense which, besides men, few mammalia 
 enjoy ; that is, few' animals possess the faculty of distinguish- 
 ing the form of external objects and their qualities, by organs 
 destined for that purpose, — a property very different from the 
 common feeling, by which every animal is able to perceive 
 the temperature and presence of sensible objects, but with- 
 out being informed, by the touch, of their peculiar qua- 
 lities. Thus the skin in the wings of the bat, and its ear, are 
 supposed the organs of common feeling, by means of w hich 
 they arc. enabled to flutter, after being blinded, without flying 
 against any thing. The whiskers of many animals appeal 
 
ROUGETTE. 
 
ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS. MARMOl 
 
 167 
 
 likewise to serve the same purpose of informing them of the 
 presence of sensible bodies, and hence they have been com- 
 pared to the antennae of insects. 
 
 But to return to the ornithorhynchus : It is an animal which 
 from the similarity of its abode, and the manner of searching 
 for food, agrees much with the duck, on which account it has 
 been provided with an organ for touching, viz. with the inte- 
 gument of the beak, richly endow'ed with nerves. This instance 
 of analogy in the structure of a singular organ of sense in two 
 species of animals, from classes quite different, is a most cu- 
 rious circumstance in comparative physiology, and hence the 
 ornithorhynchus is looked upon as one of the most remarkable 
 phenomena in zoology. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an account of The Mar 
 MOT, or Mountain-Rat of Switzerland. — This rat is al- 
 most the size of a leveret, and resembles a common rat very 
 much in appearance. These little creatures live together in 
 societies, and have different dwellings for winter and summer; 
 their fore paws are remarkably strong, which qualifies them 
 for scooping out their burrows. The same form is always pre- 
 served in the construction of their dwellings, which consist o. 
 a long passage, just big enough to let the marmot enter, lead- 
 ing to two apartments ; the largest of these serves the whole 
 family for a chamber, where they lie close together, in a torpid 
 state, rolled up like hedge-hogs, during the cold season, as 
 dormice do in England. When they betake themselves to 
 their winter quarters, after having lined their chamber with 
 soft hay, they carefully stop up the entrance with a sort of 
 cement, which they make of earth, mixed with stones and dry 
 grass. Before they collect the grass, either for food, or for 
 their winter habitations, they form themselves into a circle, 
 sitting on their hind legs, looking with a cautious eye on 
 every side. If the least thing stirs that alarms them, the first 
 which perceives it makes a particular kind of cry, which its 
 next neighbour repeats, and so on till it goes round, when they 
 hastily make their escape. They are often seen upon the slopes 
 of the Alps, where grass is in plenty ; but they love a warm 
 sheltered situation, and change their residence according to 
 the season. 
 
cuRiosn I f.ft in* si'F.t'ri N<i animals. 
 
 IGH 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. — (Continued.) 
 
 Vhe Elephant — Foml Elepho)it — The Chameleon — The Commm 
 Tortoise — Orang-Outang — The Unicorn — The Common Seal— 
 The Ursine Seal — American Natural History. 
 
 Let no presuming impious railer tax 
 
 Creative wisdon\, as if auo:ht was form'd 
 
 In vain oj not for admirable ends. Thomson. 
 
 The Elephant. — This is a very wonderful animal; and has, 
 both in ancient and modern times, been duly estimated in the 
 Eastern world. His virtues are thus enumerated by Buffbn: — To 
 forma just estimation of the elephant, he must be allowed to 
 possess the sagacity of the beaver, the address of the ape, the 
 sentiment of the dog, together with the peculiar advantages 
 of strength, largeness, and long duration of life. Neither 
 should we overlook his arms or tusks, which enable him to 
 transfix and conquer the lion ! We should also consider that 
 the earth shakes under his feet; that with his trunk, as with a 
 fiand, he tears up trees; that by a push of his body he makes a 
 breach in a wall ; that, though tremendous in strength, he is 
 rendered still more invincible by his enormous mass, and by 
 the thickness of his skin ; that he can carry on his back an 
 armed tower, filled with many warriors ; that he works ma- 
 chines, and carries burdens, which six horses are unable to 
 move , that to this prodigious strength he adds courage, pru- 
 dence, coolness, and punctual obedience ; that he preserves 
 moderation even in his most violent passions ; that he is con- 
 stant and impetuous in love ; that when in anger, he mistakes 
 not his friends; that he never attacks any but those who of- 
 fend him ; that he remembers favours as long as injuries ; 
 that having no appetite for flesh, he feeds on vegetables 
 alone, and is born an enemy to no living creature ; and, in 
 fine, that he is universally beloved, because all animals respect, 
 and none have any reason to fear him ! 
 
 The following account is extracted from Forbes’s Oriental 
 Memoirs, a highly interesting work. 
 
 “ The largest Elephants are from ten to eleven feet in height, 
 some are said to exceed it; th: average is eight or nine feet 
 They are fifty or sixty years bciore they arrive at their full 
 growth ; the female goes with young eighteen months, and 
 seldom produces more than one at a birth, which she suckles 
 until it is five years old : its natural life is about one hundred 
 
HUNTING THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 
 
I 
 
 / 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 iMi ^ ^ 
 
 D? iHfe ; 
 
 - A ^ 
 
 
 i 
 
 
THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 169 
 
 and twenty years. The Indians are remarkably fond of these 
 animals, especially when they have been long in their service. 
 I have seen an elephant valued at twenty thousand rupees : the 
 common price of a docile well-trained elephant is five or six 
 thousand ; and in the countries where they are indigenous, the 
 Company contract for them at five hundred rupees each, when 
 they must be seven feet high at the shoulders. The mode of 
 catching and training the wild elephants is now well known ; 
 their price increases with their merit during the course of edu- 
 cation. Some, for their extraordinary qualities, become in a 
 manner invaluable ; when these are purchased, no compensa- 
 tion induces a wealthy owner to part with them. 
 
 “ The skin of the elephant is generally of a dark grey, some- 
 times almost black ; the face frequently painted with a variety 
 of colours ; and the abundance and splendour of his trappings 
 add much to his consequence. The Mogul princes allowed 
 five men and a boy to each elephant : the chief of them, called 
 the mahawut, rode upon his neck, to guide him; another sat 
 upon his rump, and assisted in battle ; the rest supplied him 
 with food and water, and performed the necessary services. 
 Elephants bred to war, and well disciplined, will stand firm 
 against a volley of musketry, and never give way unless se- 
 verely wounded. I have seen one of those animals, with up- 
 wards of thirty bullets in the fleshy parts of his body, per- 
 fectly recovered from his wounds. All are not equally docile; 
 and when an enraged elephant retreats from battle, nothing 
 can withstand his fury ; the driver having no longer a com- 
 mand, friends and foes are involved in undistino’uished 
 
 o 
 
 ruin.” 
 
 The elephants in the army of Antiochus were provoked to 
 fight by shewing them the blood of grapes and mulberries. 
 The history of the Maccabees informs us, that “ to every ele- 
 phant they appointed a thousand men, armed with coats of 
 mail, and five hundred horsemen of the best: these were 
 ready at every occasion ; wherever the beast was, and whi- 
 thersoever he went, they went also ; and upon the elephant 
 were strong towers of wood, filled with armed men, besides 
 the Indian that ruled them.” 
 
 “ Elephants in peace and war know their duty, and are more 
 obedient to the word of command than many rational beings. 
 It is said they can travel, on an emergency, two hundred miles 
 in forty-eight hours ; but will hold out for a month at the rate 
 of forty or fifty miles a day, with cheerfulness and alacrity. 
 I performed many long journeys upon an elephant given by 
 Ragobah to Colonel Keating. Nothing could exceed the saga- 
 city, docility, and affection, of this noble quadruped : if 1 
 stopped to enjoy a prospect, he remained immoveable until 
 my sketch was finished ; if I wished for ripe mangoes growing 
 
i70 
 
 CURlOSlTltS RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 out of the common reach, he selected the most fruitful branch, 
 and breaking it off with his trunk, offered it to the driver for 
 the company in the houdah, accepting of any part given to 
 himself with a respectful salem, by raising his trunk three 
 times above his head, in the manner of the Oriental obeisance, 
 and as often did he express his thanks by a murmuring noise. 
 When a bough obstructed the houdah, he twisted his trunk 
 around it, and, though of considerable magnitude, broke it 
 off with ease, and often gathered a leafy branch, either to 
 keep off the flies, or as a fan to agitate the air around him, by 
 waving it with his trunk ; he generally paid a visit at the tent 
 door during breakfast, to procure sugar-candy or fruit, and be 
 cheered by the encomiums and caresses he deservedly met 
 with ; no spaniel could be more innocent, playful, or fonder 
 of those who noticed him, than this docile animal, that on 
 particular occasions appeared conscious of his exaltation 
 above the brute creation.” 
 
 The following account of the docility of the elephant, from 
 ancient writers, will interest the reader. 
 
 They have been taught to adore the king, says Aristotle, 
 to dance, to throw stones at a mark, to cast up stones at a mark, 
 to catch them again in their fall, and to walk upon ropes : Galba 
 was the first, says Suetonius, that exhibited this at Rome. 
 And these things they learned with such care, that they have 
 often been found practising in the night what had been taught 
 them in the day. They write too, says Pliny, speaking of one 
 which wrote in the Greek tongue. Ipse ego hcec scripsi et spolia 
 leiiica dicavi. I myself saw, says ^'Elian, one of them writing 
 Roman letters on a tablet with his trunk; and the letters he 
 made were not ragged, but straight and even ; and his eyes 
 were fixed upon the tablet, as one that was serious. And in 
 the plays that Germanicus Ceesar shewed at Rome, there were 
 twelve elephants, six males and six females ; these were clothed 
 as men and women. At the command of their keeper, they 
 danced, and performed all the gestures of a mimic. At last 
 they w'ere brought where they were to feast ; a table was co- 
 vered with all kinds of dainties, and beds were covered with 
 purple carpets, after the manner of the Roman eating, for 
 them to lie upon. Upon these they lay down, and, at 
 the signal given, they reached out their trunks to the table, 
 and with great modesty fell to eating, and ate and drank as 
 civi" men would do.” 
 
 This seems to be the most proper place for introducing an 
 account of The Mammoth. 
 
 The Mammoth is a fossil Elephant ; a most remarkable one 
 of which was found in the ice, at the mouth of the river Lena, 
 in Siberia. 
 
THE MAMMOTH. 17) 
 
 The following account is extracted from an abridgment of a 
 paper by Dr. Tilesius, from the Journal of Science. 
 
 ‘‘ In the year 1805, when the Russian expedition under Kru- 
 senstern returned for the third time to Kamschatka, Patagof, 
 master of a Russian ship, bringing victualling stores from 
 Okotsk, related that he had lately seen a mammoth elephant, 
 dug up on the shores of the Frozen Ocean, clothed with a 
 hairy skin ; and shewed, in confirmation of the fact, some 
 hair three or four inches long, of a reddish black colour, a 
 little thicker than horse hair, which he had taken from the 
 skin of the animal : this he gave to me, says Dr. Tilesius, and 
 I sent it to professor Blumembach. No further knowledge 
 has been obtained on this subject, and unfortunately Patagof 
 was not employed by any of our Societies to return to Siberia. 
 Thus was this curious fact consigned to oblivion ; nor should 
 we now possess any information respecting the carcase of 
 the mammoth, if the rumour of its discovery had not reached 
 Mr. Adams, a man of great ardour in pursuit of science, who 
 undertook the labour of a journey to these frozen regions, 
 and of preparing these gigantic remains, and transporting 
 them to a great distance. 
 
 “ The preservation of the flesh of the mammoth through a 
 long series of ages, is not to be wondered at, when we recol- 
 lect the constant cold and frost of the climate in which it was 
 found. It is a common practice to preserve meat and berries 
 throughout the winter, by freezing them, and to send fish, and 
 all other provisions, annually at that period, from the most 
 remote of the northern provinces, to St. Petersburg, and other 
 parts of the empire. 
 
 I was told, at Jakutsk, says Mr. Adams, by the merchant 
 PapofF, chief of the body of merchants in that town, that 
 there had been discovered on the shores of the Frozen Ocean, 
 near the mouth of the river Lena, an animal of extraordinary 
 magnitude. The flesh, the skin, and the hair, were in a state 
 of preservation, and it was supposed that the fossil production 
 known under the name of mammoth’s horns, must have be- 
 longed to an animal of this species. The news of this inte- 
 resting discovery determined me to hasten the journey which 
 I had in contemplation, for the purpose of visiting the shores 
 of the Lena, as far as the Frozen Ocean; wishing to preserve 
 these precious remains, which might otherwise be lost. 
 
 “ The third day of our journey we pitched our tents, at some 
 hundred paces distant from the mammoth, on a hill, called 
 Kembisaga-Shaeta. Schumachof, a Tungusian chief, related 
 to me, nearly in these terms, the history of the discovery of 
 the mamnr oth. 
 
 “ The Tungusians, who are a wandering people, remain but 
 a little time in the same place. Those who live in the forests. 
 
17? 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 often take ten years or more, to travel over the vast regions 
 between the mountains : during this time, they do not once 
 return to their habitations. Each family lives isolated, and 
 knows no other society. If, during the course of several 
 years, two friends meet by chance, they then communicate to 
 each other their adventures, their different successes in hunt- 
 ing, and the number of skins they have obtained. After 
 having passed some days together, and consumed the few 
 provisions they had, they separate cheerfully, carrying each 
 other’s compliments to their acquaintance, and trusting to 
 Providence for another meeting. The Tungusians inhabiting 
 the coast differ from the former, in having more regular and 
 fixed habitations, and in collecting together at certain sea- 
 sons for fishing and hunting. During winter, they inhabit 
 cottages, built side by side, so that they form villages. It is 
 to one of these annual trips that we owe the discovery of the 
 mammoth. 
 
 “ Towards the end of the month of August, when the fishing 
 season in the Lena is over, Schumachof generally goes with 
 his brothers to the peninsula ofTamut, where they employ 
 themselves in hunting, and where the fresh fish of the sea 
 offer them a wholesome and agreeable food. In 1799, he had 
 constructed for his wife some cabins on the banks of the lake 
 Oncoul, and had embarked, to seek along the coasts for 
 mammoth horns. One day, he perceived along the blocks of 
 ice a shapeless mass, not at all resembling the large pieces 
 of floating wood which are commonly found there. To ob- 
 serve it nearer, he landed, climbed up a rock, and examined 
 this new object on all sides, but without being able to discover 
 what it was. 
 
 “The following year, 1800, he found the carcase of a Wal- 
 rus, (Tricliecus Rosmarus.) He perceived, at the same time, 
 that the mass he had before seen was more disengaged from 
 the blocks of ice, and had two projecting parts, but was still 
 unable to make out its nature. Towards the end of the fol- 
 lowing summer, 1801, the entire side of the animal, and one 
 of his tusks, were quite free from the ice. On his return to 
 the borders of the lake Oncoul, he communicated this extraor- 
 dinary discovery to his wife and some of his friends ; but the 
 way in which they considered the matter filled him with grief. 
 The old men related, on this occasion, their having heard their 
 fathers say, that a similar monster had been formerly seen in 
 the same peninsula, and that all the family of the discoverer 
 had died soon afterwards. The mammoth was therefore 
 considered as an augury of future calamity, and the Tun- 
 ^usian chief was so alarmed, that he fell seriously ill ; but 
 becoming convalescent, his first idea was the profit which 
 he might obtain by selling the tusks of the animal, which 
 
THE MAMMOTH. 
 
 173 
 
 were of extraordinary size and beauty. He ordered that the 
 place where the mammoth was found should be carefully 
 concealed, and that strangers should, under different pretexts, 
 be diverted from it, at the same time charging trust-worthy 
 people to watch that the treasure was not carried off. 
 
 “ But the summer of 1802, which was less warm and more 
 windy than common, caused the mammoth to remain buried 
 in the ice. which had scarcely melted at all. At length, to- 
 wards the end of the fifth year, 1803, the ardent wishes of 
 Schumachof were happily accomplished ; for tlie part of the 
 ice between the earth and the mammoth having melted more 
 rapidly than the rest, the plane of its support became inclined, 
 and this enormous mass fell, by its own weight, on a bank of 
 sand. Of this, two Tungusians, who accompanied me, were 
 witnesses. 
 
 ' ‘‘ In the month of March, 1804, Schumachof came to his 
 mammoth, and having cut off his horns (or tusks) he ex- 
 changed them with the merchant Bultunof, for goods of the 
 value of fifty rubles. 
 
 “ Two years afterwards, or the seventh after the discovery of 
 the mammoth, I fortunately traversed these distant and desert 
 regions, and I congratulate myself in being able to prove a 
 fact which appears so improbable. I found the mammoth 
 still in the same place, but altogether mutilated. The preju- 
 dices 'being dissipated, because the Tungusian chief had reco- 
 vered his health, there was no obstacle to prevent approach 
 to the carcase of the mammoth ; the proprietor was content 
 with his profit from the tusks, and the Jakutski of the neigh- 
 bourhood seized upon the flesh, with which they fed their 
 dogs during the scarcity. Wild beasts, such as white bears, 
 wolves, wolverenes, and foxes, also fed upon it, and the 
 traces of their footsteps w’ere seen around. The skeleton, 
 almost entirely cleared of its flesh, remained whole, with the 
 exception of one fore leg. The head was covered with a dry 
 skin; one of the ears, well preserved, was furnished with a 
 tuft of hairs. All these parts have necessarily been injured 
 m transporting them a distance of 11,000 worsts (7,330 miles :) 
 yet the eyes have been preserved, and the pupil of the left 
 eye can still be distinguished. The point of the lower lip 
 had been gnawed ; and the upper one having been destroyed, 
 the teeth could be perceived. The brain was still in the cra- 
 nium, but appeared dried up. 
 
 “ The parts least injured are one fore foot and one hind foot; 
 they are covered with skin, and have still the sole attached. 
 According to th.e assertion of the Tungusian chief, the animal 
 was so fat and well fed, that its belly hung down below the 
 joints of the knees. 
 
 ** This mammoth was a male, with a long mane on the neck, 
 
174 
 
 :URIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 but without tail or proboscis.* The skin, of which I possess 
 three-fourths, is of a dark grey colour, covered with a reddish 
 wool, and black hairs. The dampness of the spot where the 
 animal had lain so long, had in some degree destroyed the 
 hair. The entire carcase, of which I collected the bones on 
 the spot, is four archines (9 ft. 4 in.) high, and seven archines 
 (16 ft. 4 in.) long, from the point of the nose to the end of the 
 tail, without including the tusks, which are a toise and a 
 half t in length ; the two together weighed 360 lbs. avoirdu- 
 pois ; the head alone, without the tusks, weighs 11 poods and 
 a half, 414 lbs. avoirdupois. 
 
 ‘‘ The principal object of my care was to separate the bones, 
 to arrange them, and put them up safely, which was done 
 with particular attention. I had the satisfaction to find the 
 other scapula, which had remained not far off. I next detached 
 the preserved parts. The skin was of such extraordinary 
 weight, that ten persons found great difficulty in transporting 
 it to the shore. After this, I dug^ the ground in different 
 places, to ascertain whether any of its bones were buried, but 
 principally to collect all the hairs,J which the white bears 
 had trod into the ground, while devouring the flesh. Although 
 this was difficult, for the want of proper instruments, I suc- 
 ceeded in collecting more than a pood (36 pounds) of hair 
 in a few days the work was completed, and I found myself in 
 possession of a treasure which amply recompensed me for the 
 fatigues and dangers of the journey, and the considerable 
 expenses of the enterprise. 
 
 The place where 1 found the mammoth is about sixty paces 
 distant from the shore, and nearly 100 paces from the escarp 
 ment of the ice from whicji it had fallen. This escarpment 
 occupies exactly the middle between the two points of the pen 
 insula, and is three wersts long (two miles), and in the place 
 where the mammoth was found, this rock has a perpendicular 
 elevation of 30 or 40 toises. Its substance is a clear pure ice; 
 it inclines towards the sea ; its top is covered with a layer of 
 moss and friable earth, half an archinc (14 inches) in thick 
 ness. During the heat of the month of July a part of this crust 
 IS melted, but the rest remains frozen. Curiosity induced me 
 to ascend two other hills at some distance from the sea; they 
 were of the same substance, and less covered with moss. In 
 various places were seen enormous pieces of wood, of all the 
 
 * The places of the insertion of the muscles of the proboscis are visi- 
 ble on the skull ; it was probably devoured, as well as the end of the 
 tail. 
 
 t 9 ft. 6 in. measuring along the curve. The distance from the base 
 of the root of the tusk to the point, is .3 ft. 7 in. 
 
 t On the arrival of the skin at Petersburg, it was totally devoid of 
 hair. 
 
ThE MAMMOTH. THE CHAMELEON 
 
 ‘i75 
 
 kinds produced in Siberia ; and also mammoths’ horns, in great 
 numbers, appeared between the hollows of the rocks ; they all 
 were of astonishing freshness. 
 
 “ How all these things could become collected there, is a 
 question as curious as it is difficult to resolve. The inhabit- 
 ants of the coast call this kind of wood Adamschina, and dis- 
 tino’uish it from the floating pieces of wood which are brought 
 down by the large rivers to the ocean, and collect in masses 
 on the shores of the Frozen Sea. The latter are called Noa- 
 china. I have seen, when the ice melts, large lumps of earth 
 detached from the hills, mix with the water, and form thick 
 muddy torrents, which roll slowly towards the sea. This 
 earth forms wedges, which fill up the spaces between the blocks 
 of ice. 
 
 “ The escarpment of ice was 35 to 40 toises high; and, ac- 
 cording to the report of the Tungusians, the animal was, when 
 they first saw it, seven toises below the surface of the 
 ice, &c. 
 
 “ On arriving with the mammoth at Bonchaya, our first care 
 was to separate the remaining flesh and ligaments from the 
 bones, which were then packed up. When I arrived at Jakutsk , 
 I had the good fortune to re-purchase the tusks, and from 
 thence expedited the whole to St. Petersburg. 
 
 “ The skeleton is now put up in the museum of the Academy, 
 and the skin still remains attached to the head and feet. The 
 mammoth is described by M. Cuvier as a different species from 
 either of the two elephants living at the present day, the 
 African or the Indian. It is distinguished from them by the 
 teeth, and by the size of the tusks, which are from ten to fif- 
 teen feet long, much curved, and have a spiral turn outwards. 
 The alveali of the tusks are also larger, and are protruded far- 
 ther. The neck is shorter, the spinal processes larger, all the 
 bones of the skeleton are stronger, and the scabrous surfaces 
 for the insertion of the muscles more prominent, than in the 
 other species. The skin being covered with thick hair, induces 
 M. Cuvier to consider that it was the inhabitant of a cold 
 region. The form of the head is also different from that of 
 the living species, as well as the arrangement of the lines of 
 the enamel of the teeth.” 
 
 The mammoth more nearly resembles the Indian than the 
 African species of elephant. 
 
 A part of the skin, and some of the hair of this animal, was 
 sent by Mr. Adams to the late Sir Joseph Banks, who pre- 
 sented them to the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. 
 
 From For j. s’s work we extract the following particulars re- 
 spectingTHE Chameleon. 
 
 The greatest curiosity in the East, says Forbes, is the Cha- 
 
17 () CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 melean. found in every thicket. I kept one for several weeks, 
 of which, as it differed in many respects from those described 
 in Arabia, and other places, 1 shall mention a few particulars. 
 The chameleon of the Concan, including the tail, is about nine 
 inches long ; the body only half that length, varying in cir- 
 cumference, as it is more or less inflated ; the head, like that 
 of a fish, is immoveably fixed to the shoulders; but every in- 
 convenience is removed by the structure of its eyes, which, 
 like spheres rolling on an invisible axis, are placed in deep 
 cavities, projecting from the head ; through a small perfora- 
 tion in the exterior convexity, appears a bright pupil, sur- 
 rounded with a yellow iris, which, by the singular formation 
 and motion of the eye, enables the animal to see what passes 
 before, behind, or on either side ; and it can give one eye all 
 these motions, while the other remains perfectly still ; a hard 
 rising protects these delicate organs, another extends from 
 the forehead to the nostrils : the mouth is large, and furnished 
 with teeth, with a tongue half the length of the body, and 
 hollow' like an elephant’s trunk ; it darts nimbly at flies and 
 other insects, w'hich it seems to prefer to the aerial food gene- 
 rally supposed to be its sustenance. The legs are longer than 
 usual in the licerta genus ; on the fore feet are three toes near- 
 est the body, and two without ; the hinder exactly the reverse ; 
 with these claws it clings fast to the branches, to w'hich it 
 sometimes entwdnes itself by the tail, and remains suspended ; 
 the skin is granulated like shagreen, except a range of hard 
 excrescences, or denticulations, on the ridge of the back, 
 which are always of the same colour as the body ; whereas a 
 row of similar projections beneath continue perfectly white, 
 notwithstanding any metamorphosis of the animal. 
 
 The general colour of the chameleon so long in my posses- 
 sion, was a pleasant green, spotted with pale blue ; from this 
 it changed to a bright yellow, dark olive, and a dull green ; 
 but never appeared to such advantage as when irritated, or a 
 dog approached it; the body was then considerably inflated, 
 and the skin clouded like tortoise-shell, its shades of yellow, 
 orange, green, and black. A black object always caused 
 an almost instantaneous transformation : the room appropri- 
 ated for its accommodation was skirted by a board painted 
 black ; this the chameleon carefully avoided ; but if he acci- 
 dentally drew near it, or we placed a black hat in his way, 
 he was reduced to a hideous skeleton, and, from the most 
 lively tints, became black as jet: on removing the cause, the 
 effect as suddenly ceased ; the sable hue w’as succeeded by a 
 brilliant colouring, and the body was again inflated 
 
 Our next subject is The Common Tortoise. — The weight 
 of this animal is three pounds, and the length of its shell 
 
THE COMMON TORTOISE. 
 
 177 
 
 about seven inches. It abounds in the countries surrounding 
 the Mediterranean, and particularly in Greece, where the inha- 
 bitants not only eat its flesh and eggs, but frequently swallow 
 its warm blood. In September or October it conceals itself, 
 remaining torpid till February, when it re-appears. In June 
 it lays its eggs, in holes exposed to the full beams of the sun, 
 by which they are matured. The males frequently engage ir 
 severe conflicts, and strike their heads against each other with 
 great violence, and very loud sounds. Tortoises attain most 
 extraordinary longevity, and one was ascertained to have lived 
 in the gardens of Lambeth to the age of nearly 120 years. Its 
 shell is preserved in the archiepiscopal palace. So reluctant 
 is the vital principle to quit these animals, that Shaw informs 
 us, from Redi, that one of them lived for six months after all its 
 brain was taken out, moving its limbs, and walking, as before. 
 Another lived twenty-three days after its head wns cut off, 
 and^^the head itself opened and closed its jaws for u quarter of 
 an hour after its separation from the body. It may not only 
 be tamed, but has in several instances exhibited proofs, in that 
 state, of considerable sagacity in distinguishing its benefac- 
 tors, and of grateful attachment in return for their kindness, 
 notwithstanding its general sluggishness and torpor. It wall 
 answer the purpose of a barometer, and uniformly indicates 
 the fall of rain before night, when it takes its food with great 
 rapidity, and w'alks with a sort of mincing and elate step. It 
 appears to dislike rain with extreme aversion, and is discom- 
 fited and driven back by only a few and scarcely perceivable 
 drops. 
 
 The following particulars respecting the Instinct of the 
 Tortoise, are copied from Vaillant’s Travels in Africa. — “ It 
 is very remarkable, that when the w'aters are dried up by ex- 
 cessive heat, the tortoises, which ahvays seek for moisture, 
 bury themselves under the earth, in proportion as the surface 
 of it becomes dry. To find them, it is then sufficient to dig 
 to a considerable depth, in the spot where they have concealed 
 themselves. They remain as if asleep, and never awake, or 
 make their appearance, until the rainy season has filled the 
 ponds and small lakes, on the borders of which they deposit 
 their eggs, where they continue exposed to the air; they are 
 as large as those of a pigeon ; they leave to the heat and the 
 sun the care of hatching them. These eggs have an excellent 
 taste ; the w'hite, which never grows hard by the force of fire, 
 preserves the transparency of a bluish jelly. I do not know 
 whether this instinct be common to every species of water 
 tortoises, and whether they all employ the same means ; but 
 this I can assert, that every time, during the great droughts, 
 when I washed to procure any of them, by digging in those 
 places where there had been water, I alwavs found as many 
 
 8 . Z 
 
178 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 as I had occasion for. Thi& method of fishing, or whatevei 
 else it may be called, was not new to me ; for at Surinam a 
 stratagem of the same kind is employed to catch two species 
 of fish, which bury themselves also; and which are called, 
 one the varappe, and the other the goiret or the keviktvi.'' 
 
 The next curious animal which we shall consider, is, The 
 Orang-Outang. — This animal is sometimes called the satyr, 
 great ape, or man of the woods. It is a native of the warmer 
 parts of Africa and India, as well as of some of the Indian 
 islands, where it resides principally in woods, and is supposed 
 to feed, like most others of this genus, on fruits. The orang- 
 outang appears to admit of considerable variety in point of 
 colour, size, and proportions ; and there is reason to believe, 
 that, in reality, there may be two or three kinds, which, 
 though nearly approximated as to general similitude, are yet 
 specifically distinct. The specimens imported into Europe 
 have rarely exceeded the height of two or three feet, and were 
 supposed to be young animals ; but it is said the full-grown 
 ones are, at least, six feet in height. The general colour 
 seems to be dusky or brown, in some ferruginous or reddish 
 brown ; and in others coal-black, wdth the skin itself white. 
 The face is bare ; the ears, hands, and feet, nearly similar to 
 the human, and the whole appearance such as to exhibit the 
 most striking approximation to the human figure. The like- 
 ness, however, is only a general one, and the structure of the 
 hands and feet, when examined with anatomical exactness, 
 seems to prove, in the opinion of those most capc.brle of judg- 
 ing with accuracy on the subject, that the animal was princi- 
 pally designed by nature for the quadrupedal manner of walk- 
 ing, and not for an upright posture, which is only occasion- 
 ally assumed, and which, in those exhibited to the public, is, 
 perhaps, rather owing to instruction, than truly natural. 
 
 The Count de Buffon, indeed, makes it one of the distinc- 
 tive characters of the real or proper apes, (among which the 
 orang-outang is the chief,) to walk erect on two legs only; 
 and it must be granted, that these animals support an upright 
 position much more easily and readily than most other qua- 
 drupeds, and may probably be very often seen in this attitude 
 even in a state of nature. 
 
 The manners of the orang-outang, when in captivity, are 
 gentle, and perfectly void of that disgusting ferocity so con- 
 spicuous in some of the larger baboons and monkeys. The 
 orang-outang is mild and docile, and may be taught to per- 
 form, with dexterity, a variety of actions in domestic life. 
 Thus, it has been taught to sit at table, and, in its manner of 
 feeding and general behaviour, to imitate the company in 
 which it was placed ; to pour out tea, and drink it, without 
 
THE ORANG-OUTANG, 
 Ape, or Man of the Woods. 
 
h 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
THE ORANG-OUTANG. THE UNICORN. 
 
 179 
 
 awkwardness or constraint; to prepare its bed with exact- 
 ness, and compose itself to sleep in a proper manner. Such 
 are the actions of one which was exhibited in London, in the 
 year 1738; and th6 Count de Buffbn relates nearly similar 
 particulars of that which he saw at Paris. 
 
 Dr. Tyson, who, about the close of the last century, gave a 
 very exact description of a young orang-outang, then exhi- 
 bited in the metropolis, assures us, that in many of its actions 
 it seemed to display a very high degree of sagacity, and was 
 of a disposition uncommonly gentle ; “ the most gentle and 
 loving creature that could be. Those that he knew on ship- 
 board, he would come and embrace with the greatest tender- 
 ness, opening their bosoms, and clasping his hands about 
 them ; and, as I was informed, though there were monkeys 
 on board, vet it was observed, he would never associate with 
 them, and, as if nothing akin to them, would always avoid 
 their company.” 
 
 But, however docile and gentle when taken young, and in- 
 structed in its behaviour, it is said to be possessed of great 
 ferocity in its native state, and is considered as a dangerous 
 animal, capable of readily overpowering the strongest man. 
 Its swiftness is equal to its strength, and for this reason it is 
 but rarely to be obtained in its full-grown state, the young 
 alone being taken. 
 
 The next i-s. The Unicorn. — The following account is ex- 
 tracted from the St. James’s Chronicle of Dec. 19 to 21, 
 1820. 
 
 “ We have no doubt that a little time will bring to light 
 many objects of natural history, peculiar to the elevated re- 
 gions of central Asia, and hitherto unknowm in the animal, 
 vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, particularly in the two 
 former. This is an opinion w'hich we have long entertained ; 
 but we are led to the expression of it on the present occasion, 
 by having been favoured with the perusal of a most interesting- 
 communication from Major Latter, commanding in the Rajah 
 of Sikkim’s territories, in the hilly country east of Nepaul, 
 addressed to Adjutant-General Nicol, and transmitted by him 
 to the Marquis of Hastings. This important paper explicitly 
 states, that the Unicorn, so long considered a fabulous ani- 
 mal, actually exists at this moment in the interior of Thibet, 
 w’here it is well known to the inhabitants. 
 
 “ This (we copy from the Major’s letter) is a very curious 
 fact, and it may be necessary to mention how the circumstance 
 became known to me. In a Thibetian manuscript, containing 
 the names of different animals, procured the other day from 
 the hills, the Unicorn is^ classed under the head of those 
 whose hoofs are divided ; it is called the One-horned Tso’-po, 
 
180 
 
 CURIOS .TIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 Upon inquiring what kind of animal it was, to our astonish- 
 ment, the person who brought me the manuscript, described 
 exactly the Unicorn of the ancients : saying, that it was a 
 native of the interior of Thibet, about the size of a tattoo (a 
 horse from 12 to 13 hands high,) fierce, and extremely wild ; 
 seldom, if ever, caught alive, but frequently shot; and that 
 the flesh was used for food. 
 
 “ The person (Major Latter adds) who gave me this infor- 
 mation, has repeatedly seen these animals, and eaten the flesh 
 of them. They go together in herds, like our wild buffaloes, 
 and are very frequently to be met with on the borders of the 
 great desert, about a month’s journey from Lassa, in that part of 
 the country inhabited by the wandering Tartars. This com- 
 munication is accompanied by a drawing, made by the mes- 
 senger from recollection : it bears some resemblance to a 
 horse, but has cloven hoofs, a long curved horn growing out 
 of the forehead, and a boar-shaped tail, like that of the ‘ fera 
 monoceros,’ described by Pliny.* From their herding together, 
 as the Unicorns of the scripture are said to do, as well as from 
 the rest of the description, it is evident that this singular 
 animal cannot be the rhinoceros, w'hich is a solitary creature ; 
 besides that, in the Thibetian manuscript, the rhinoceros is 
 described under the name of Servo, and classed with the ele- 
 phant. Neither can it be the wild horse, well known in 
 Thibet, for that also has a different name, and is classed in 
 the MS. with the animals which have the hoofs undivided. — I 
 have written (he subjoins) to the Sachia Lama, requesting 
 him to procure me a perfect skin of the animal, with the head, 
 horn, and hoofs ; but it will be a long time before I can get 
 it down, for they are not to be met with nearer than a month’s 
 journey from Lassa.” 
 
 We now make a few remarks on Seals. — F irst, the Com- 
 mon Seal. 
 
 These animals are found on the coasts of the polar regions, 
 'both to the north and south, often in extreme abundance, and 
 are generally about five feet in length, closely covered with 
 short hair. They swim with great vigour and rapidity, and 
 subsist on various kinds of fish, which they are often observed 
 to pursue within a short distance of the shore. They pos- 
 sess no inconsiderable sagacity, and may, without much 
 
 * In speaking of the wild beasts of India, Pliny says, with regard to 
 the animal in question, — 
 
 “ Asperrimam autem feram monocerotem, reliquo corpore equo simi- 
 lem, capite cervo, pedibus eliphante, cauda apro, mugitu gravi, uno 
 cornu nigro media fronte, cubitorum duum eminente. Hanc feram vivam 
 negant capi/’ Plin. Hist. Mund. Lib. 3, cap. 21* 
 
 The resemblance is certainly 7ery striking. 
 
THE SEAL. 
 
 181 
 
 difficulty, if taken youjg, be familiarized to their keepers 
 and instructed in various gesticulations. They are supposed 
 to attain great longevity. The female is particularly attentive 
 to her young, and scarcely ever produces more than two at a 
 birth, which, after being suckled a fortnight on the shore, 
 where they are always born, are conducted to the water, and 
 taught by their dam the means of defence and subsistence ; 
 and when they are fatigued by their excursions, are relieved 
 by being taken on her back. They distinguish her voice, and 
 attend at her call. The flesh of seals is sometimes eaten, but 
 they are almost always destroyed for their oil and skins. The 
 latter are manufactured into very valuable leather, and the 
 former is serviceable in a vast variety of* manufactures. A 
 young seal will supply about eight gallons of oil. The smell 
 of these animals, in any great number upon the shore, is 
 highly disagreeable. In the month of October, they are 
 generally considered as most valuable; and as they abound in 
 extended caverns on the coast, which are washed by the tide, 
 the hunters proceed to these retreats about midnight, advan- 
 cing with their boat as far into the recess as they are able, 
 armed with spears and bludgeons, and furnished with torches, 
 to enable them to explore the cavern. They begin their 
 operations by making the most violent noises, which soon 
 rouse the seals from their slumbers, and awaken them to a 
 sense of extreme danger, which they express by the most 
 hideous yellings of terror. In their eagerness to escape, they 
 come down from all parts of the cavern, running in a promis- 
 cuous and turbulent mass along the avenue to the w'ater. 
 The men engaged in this perilous adventure oppose no impe- 
 diment to this rushing crowd, but, as this begins to diminish, 
 apply their weapons with great activity and success, destroy- 
 ing vast numbers, and principally the young ones. The blow 
 of the hunter is always levelled at the nose of the seal, where 
 a slight stroke is almost instantly fatal. 
 
 This leads us to the consideration of The Ursine Seal. — 
 This animal grows to the length of eight feet, and to the w'eight 
 of an hundred pounds. These are found in vast abundance 
 in the islands between America and Kamschatka, from June 
 till September, when they return to the Asiatic or American 
 shores. They are extremely strong, surviving wounds and 
 lacerations which almost instantly destroy life in other ani- 
 mals, for days, and even weeks. They may be observed, not 
 mearly by hundreds, but by thousands, on the shore, each 
 male surrounded by his females, from eight to fifty, and his 
 offspring, amounting frequently to more than that number. 
 Each family is preserved separate from every other. The 
 ursine seals are extremely fat and indolent, and remain, with 
 
182 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 little exercise, or even motion, for months together, upon the 
 shore. But if jealousy, to which they are ever alive, once 
 strongly operates, they are roused to animation by all the 
 fierceness of resentment and vengeance ; and conflicts arising 
 from this cause between individuals, soon spread through 
 families, till at length the whole shore becomes a scene of the 
 most horrid hostility and havoc. When the conflict is 
 finished, the survivors plunge into the water, to wash off the 
 blood, and recover from their exhaustion. 
 
 Those which are old, and have lost the solace of connubial 
 life, are reported to be extremely captious, fierce, and malig- 
 nant, and to live apart from all others, and so tenaciously to 
 be attached to the ’ statk)n which pre-occupancy may be sup- 
 posed to give each a right to call his own, that any attempt 
 at usurpation is resented as the foulest indignity, and the 
 most furious contests frequently occur in consequence of the 
 several claims for a favourite position. It is stated, that in 
 these combats two never fall upon one. These seals are 
 said, in grief, to shed tears very copiously. The male defends 
 his young with the most intrepid courage and fondness, and 
 will often beat the dam, notwithstanding her most supplicat- 
 ing tones and gestures, under the idea that she has been the 
 cause of the destruction or injury which may have occurred 
 to any of them. The flesh of the old male seal is intolerably 
 strong ; that of the female and the young is considered as 
 delicate and nourishing, and compared, in tenderness and fla- 
 vour, to the flesh of young pigs. 
 
 The bottle-nosed seal is found on the Falkland Islands ; is 
 twenty feet long ; and will produce a butt of oil, and dis- 
 charge, when struck to the heart, two hogsheads of blood. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an extract from the Public 
 Journals of 1821, on American Natural History 
 
 On the unfrequented, solitary, remote banks of the Mis- 
 souri, grows one of the most ornamental trees that adorn 
 creation — the Ten-petalled Bartonia. Its height is four feet; 
 flowers, beautifully white, expand as the sun sets, and close 
 at the approach of morning. — Shall we say that all things 
 were made for the gratification of man only, when he is daily 
 taught that some of the loveliest objects the world contains, 
 he is destined never to behold? — Shall we believe that the 
 sylvan natives are not formed with taste, and enjoy the 
 scenery with which the great Artist has decorated their 
 abode? 
 
 A Leopard was killed on the 6th day of June, 1820, by John 
 Six, living on the waters of Green river, ten miles south-east 
 of Hartford, in the Ohio county : length from the end of the 
 nose to the buttock, five feet, and a tail two feet long; under 
 
AMERICAN NATURAL HISTOllY. 
 
 183 
 
 the jaw the colour was black, with white spots equally pro- 
 portioned; the sides and back are yellow, with black spots, 
 curiously arranged ; a row of black spots on its back, much 
 larger than those on its sides, extending half way of the tail ; 
 small round ears, black outside, white inside ; around its nose 
 and mouth were long stiff bristles ; some appeared to grow 
 out black half the length, then white six inches long. The 
 hair on the end of the tail is longer than elsewhere ; tail slim ; 
 its legs short, and its feet like a cat’s, only much larger, with 
 large claws ; large teeth ; supposed to weigh about one hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds. 
 
 Tioo-headed Snake . — An extraordinary snake was recently 
 killed in Mason, Massachusetts. It was first discovered bask- 
 ing in the sun, and, after much exertion, although its asto- 
 nishing agility baffled for a considerable time its pursuers’ 
 efforts, it was taken. It measured two feet in length, had two 
 heads, and two legs. The legs were nearly three inches long, 
 were placed about four inches from the heads, and appeared 
 well calculated to assist the animal in running. 
 
 A large Black Snake was lately killed near Halifax, Nova 
 Scotia, which measured eleven feet nine inches. It was first 
 noticed by a slight crack which it made with its tail, not unlike 
 the cracking of a horse-whip, and appeared to be in great 
 agony ; jumping up from the ground, twisting, coiling, 8cc. 
 After it was killed, this was accounted for satisfactorily. Out 
 of its mouth the tail of another snake was observed to be 
 sticking; on pulling it out, it actually measured five feet three 
 inches. This was the cause of the uneasiness in the living 
 snake ; having no doubt been partly strangled by its large 
 mouthful. This great snake was long the terror of the cow- 
 hunters in the neighbourhood of the place where it was killed, 
 and no doubt would have continued so for a long time, had 
 it not been for its voraciousness, which prevented it from run- 
 ning. It was fleeter than any horse, and bade defiance to the 
 puny efforts of man to overtake it. 
 
184 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 CEIAP. XV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. — (Concluded.^ 
 
 Remarkable Strength of Affection in Animals — Surprising In- 
 stances of their Socialitif — Unaccountable Faculties possessed 
 btf some Animals — Remarkable Instances of Fasting in Ani- 
 mals — Extraordinary Advoitures of a Sheep — Sagacitu of a 
 Alonkep — Astonishing Instance of Sagacity in a Horse — Sa- 
 acity of Dogs — Curious Anecdotes of a Dog — Remarkable 
 
 
 Far as creation’s ample rano:e extends, 
 
 The scale of sensual, mental powers, ascends : 
 
 Mark, how it mounts to man’s imperial race, 
 
 From the p^reen myriads in the peopled ^rass ! 
 
 What modes of si^ht, betwixt each wide extreme, 
 
 The mole’s dim curtain, and the lynx’s beam : 
 
 Of smell, the headlong lioness between. 
 
 And hound sagacious, on the tainted green : 
 
 Of hearing, from the life that fills the flood, 
 
 To that which warbles thro’ the vernal wood : 
 
 The spider’s touch, how exquisitely fine ! 
 
 Feels at each thread, and lives along the line: 
 
 In the nice bee, what sense so subtly true. 
 
 From pois’nous herbs extracts the healing dew: 
 
 How instinct varies in the grovelling swine. 
 
 Compar’d, half-reasoning elephant, with thine ! 
 
 T'wixt that and reason, what a nice barrier, 
 
 For ever separate, yet for ever near ! Pope. 
 
 Remarkable Strength of Affection in Animals. — 
 Mr. While, in his Natural History, Sic. of Selborne, speaking 
 of the natural affection of brutes, says, “ The more I reflect 
 on it, the more I am astonished at its effects. Nor is the vio- 
 lence of this affection more wonderful, than the shortness of 
 its duration. Thus, every hen is in her turn the virago of the 
 yard, in proportion to the helplessness of her brood ; and will 
 fly in the face of a dog or sow in defence of those chickens, 
 which, in a few weeks, she will drive before her with relentless 
 cruelty. This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the 
 invention, and sharpens the sagacity, of the brute creation. 
 Thus, a hen, just become a mother, is no longer that placid 
 bird she used to be, but, with feathers standing on end, 
 wings hovering, and clucking note, she runs about like one 
 possessed. Dams will throw themselves in the way of the 
 greatest danger, in order to avert it from their progeny. Thus 
 a partridge will tumble along before a sportsman, in order to 
 draw away the dogs from her helpless covey. In the time of 
 nidification, the nost feeble birds will assault the most rapa- 
 
ST. BERNARD DOG. 
 
 THE ICELAND DOG. 
 
i 
 
 I, ■■ 
 
 - ■ i ■ 
 
 \ 
 
 iHt 
 
 ■ Of 1M£. 
 
 aR'Ejirir cfiOisefs 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 % 
 
 
 ■ . ■ . Cl 
 
 ‘"■t 
 
 I 
 
SOCIALITY IN ANIMALS. 
 
 m 
 
 cious. All the hirundines of a village are up in arms at the sight 
 of a hawk, whom they will persecute till he leaves that dib 
 trict. A very exact observer has often remarked, that a pair 
 of ravens, nestling in the rock of Gibraltar, would suffer no 
 vulture or eagle to rest near their station, but would drive 
 them from the hill with amazing fury ; even the blue thrush, 
 at the season of breeding, would dart out from the clefts of 
 the rocks, to chase away the kestrel or the sparrow-hawk. If 
 you stand near the nest of a bird that has young, she will not 
 be induced to betray them by an inadvertent fondness, but 
 will wait about at a distance with meat in her mouth for an 
 hour together. The fly-catcher builds every year in the vines 
 that grow on the walls of my house. A pair of these little 
 birds had one year inadvertently placed their nest on a naked 
 bough, perhaps in a shady time, not being aware of the incon- 
 venience that followed ; but a hot sunny season coming on 
 before the brood was half fledged, the reflection of the wall 
 became insupportable, and must inevitably have destroyed the 
 tender young, had not affection suggested an expedient, and 
 prompted the parent birds to hover over the nest all the hotter 
 hours, while, with wings expanded and mouths gaping for 
 breath, they screened off the heat from their sufl'ering off- 
 spring. A farther instance I once saw of notable sagacity in 
 a willow-wren, which had built in a bank in my fields. This 
 bird, a friend and myself had observed as she sat in her nest ; 
 but we were particularly careful not to disturb her, though we 
 saw she eyed us with some degree of jealousy. Some days after, 
 as we passed that way, we were desirous of remarking how this 
 brood went on ; but no nest could be found, till I happened to 
 take up a large bundle of long green moss as it were carelessly 
 thrown over the nest, in order to deceive the eye of any imper- 
 tinent intruder.” 
 
 Next in order is the account of Surprising Instances 
 OF Sociality in Animals. — A wonderful spirit of sociality 
 in the brute creation, independent of sexual attachment, has 
 been frequently remarked. Many horses, though quiet with 
 company, will not stay one minute in a field by themselves ; 
 the strongest fences cannot restrain them. A horse has been 
 known to leap out of a stable window, through which dung 
 was thrown, after company ; and yet in other respects was 
 remarkably quiet. Oxen and cows will not fatten by them- 
 selves, but will neglect the finest pasture that is not recom- 
 mended by society. It would be needless to instance in sheep, 
 which constantly flock together. But this propensity seems 
 not to be confined to animals of the same species. Mr. White 
 mentions a doe that was brought up from a little fawn with a 
 dairy of cows. “With them it goes to the field, and with them it 
 
 2 A 
 
186 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 returns to the yard. The dogs of the house take no no ice of 
 this doe, being used to her ; but if strange dogs come by, a 
 chase ensues: while the master smiles to see his favourite se- 
 curely leading her pursuers over hedge, or gate, or style, till 
 she returns to the cows, who with fierce lowings and mena- 
 cingdiorns drive the assailants quite out of the pasture.” — Even 
 great disparity of kind and size does not always prevent social 
 advances and mutual fellowship. Of this the following re- 
 markable instance is given by the same author. 
 
 A very intelligent and observant person has assured me, 
 that in the former part of his life, keeping but one horse, he 
 happened also on a time to have but one solitary hen. These 
 two incongruous animals spent much of their time together in 
 a lonely orchard, where they saw no creature but each other. 
 By degrees an apparent regard began to take place between 
 these two sequestered individuals. The fowl would approach 
 the quadruped with notes of complacency, rubbing herself 
 gently against his legs ; while the horse would look down with 
 satisfaction, and move with the greatest caution and circum- 
 spection, lest he should trample on his diminutive companion. 
 Thus by mutual good offices each seemed to console the va- 
 cant hours of the other.” 
 
 In the Gentleman’s Magazine for March, 1788, we have the 
 following anecdotes of a raven, communicated by a corre- 
 spondent who does not sign his name, but says it is at the ser- 
 vice of the doubtful. The raven alluded to lived at the Red 
 Lion at Hungerford ; his name was Ralph. “You must 
 know then, (says the writer,) that coming into that inn, my 
 «haise ran over or bruised the leg of my Newfoundland dog, 
 and while we were examining the injury done to the dog’s foot, 
 Ralph was evidently a concerned spectator ; for, the minute the 
 dog was tied up under the manger with my horse, Ralph not 
 only visited him, but fetched him bones, and attended upon 
 him with particular and repeated proofs of kindness. The 
 bird’s notice of the dog was so marked, that I observed it to 
 the hostler ; for I had not heard a word before of the history 
 of this benevolent creature. John then told me, that he had 
 been bred from his pin-feather in intimacy with a dog; that 
 the affiection between them was mutual ; and that all the neigh- 
 bourhood had often been witnesses of the innumerable acts 
 of kindness they had conferred upon each other. Ralph’s poor 
 dog, after a wliile, unfortunately broke his leg; and during 
 the long time he was confined, Ralph waited upon him con- 
 stantly, carried him pjovisions daily, and scarcely ever left 
 liim alone ! One night by accident the hostler had shut the 
 stable-door, and Ralph was deprived of his friend the whole 
 night ; but the hostler found in the morning the bottom of the 
 door so pecked away, that had it not been opened, Ralph would 
 
bull dog 
 
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 OF 1H£ . 
 
 lIttWFiaif iLr'"!3 
 
 4 
 
AFFECTION IN AN11V1A».S. 
 
 187 
 
 m another hour have made his own entrs :ce-port. 1 then in- 
 quired of my landlady, (a sensible woman,) and heard what I 
 have related confirmed by her, with several other singular 
 traits of the kindnesses this bird shews to all dogs in general, 
 but particularly to maimed or wounded ones. I hope and be- 
 lieve, however, Ralph is still living ; and the traveller will find 
 I have not over-rated this wonderful bird’s merit.” 
 
 To these instances of attachment between incongruous ani- 
 mals from a spirit of socia;lity, or the feelings of sympathy, 
 may be added the following instance of fondness from a diffe- 
 rent motive, recounted by Mr. White, in the work already so 
 often quoted. 
 
 My friend had a little helpless leveret brought to him, 
 which the servants fed with milk in a spoon ; and about the 
 same time his cat kittened, and the young were dispatched 
 and buried. The hare was soon lost, and supposed to be gone 
 the way of most foundlings, or to be killed by some dog or 
 cat. However, in about a fortnight, as the master was sitting 
 m his garden in the dusk of the evening, he observed his cat, 
 with tail erect, trotting towards him, and calling with little 
 short inward notes of complacency, such as they use tow^ards 
 their kittens, and something gambolling after, which proved to 
 be the leveret, which the cat had supported with her milk, and 
 continued to support with great affection. Thus was a gra- 
 minivorous animal nurtured by a carnivorous and predacious 
 one ! Why so cruel and sanguinary a beast as a cat, of the 
 ferocious genus of Fetis, the muriari leo, (the lion of the mice,) 
 as Linngeus calls it, should be affected with any tenderness 
 tow^ards an animal which is its natural prey, is not so easy to 
 determine. The strange affection probably was occasioned by 
 that sympathy, and those tender maternal feelings, which the 
 loss of her kittens had awakened in her breast; and by the 
 complacency and ease she derived to herself from the procur- 
 ing her teats to be drawn, which were too much distended with 
 milk ; till from habit she became as much delighted with 
 this foundling, as if it had been her real offspring. This in- 
 cident is no bad solution of that strange circumstance which 
 grave historians, as well as poets, assert, of exposed chil- 
 dren being sometimes nurtured by female wild beasts, that 
 probably had lost their young ; for it is not one whit mare 
 marvellous that Romulus and Remus, in their infant state,, 
 should be nursed by a she-wolf, than that a poor little suck 
 ling leveret should be fostered and cherisKed by a bloody 
 grimalkin. ’ 
 
 We shall now give the history of the Unaccountable 
 Faculties possessed by some Animals. — Besides reflec- 
 tion and sagacity, often in an astonishing degree, and besides 
 
188 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS 
 
 the sentiments and actions prompted by social or natural 
 attachments, brutes seem on many occasions inspired with a 
 superior faculty, a kind of presentiment or second sight, as it 
 were, with reo;ard to events and desio;ns altoo'ether unforeseen 
 by the rational beings whom they concern. The following- 
 account is of unquestionable authenticity. 
 
 At the seat of the late Earl of Litchfield, three miles from 
 Blenheim, there is a portrait in the dining-room of Sir Henry 
 lee, by Jchnston, with that of a mastiff dog which saved 
 his life. A servant had formed the design of assassinating 
 his master, and robbing the house ; but the night he had fixed 
 on, the dog, which had never been much noticed by Sir Henry, 
 for the first time followed him up stairs, got under his bed, 
 and could not be got from thence by either master or man : 
 in the dead of night, the same servant entered the room to 
 execute his horrid design, but was instantly seized by the 
 dog, and, being secured, confessed his intentions. Upon 
 what hypothesis can we account for a degree of foresight and 
 penetration such as this ? Will it be suggested, as a solution 
 of the difficulty, that a dog may possibly become capable in 
 a great measure of understanding human discourse, and of 
 reasoning and acting accordingly ; and that, in the present 
 instance, the villain had either uttered his design in soliloquy, 
 or imparted it to an accomplice, in the hearing of the 
 animal ? 
 
 It has been disputed whether the brutes have any language 
 whereby they can express their minds to each other ; or whe- 
 ther all the noise they make co.nsists only of cries, inarticulate 
 and unintelligible even to themselves. Father Bougeant gives 
 the following instance, among others, to prove that brutes are 
 capable of forming designs, and of communicating those de- 
 signs to others. — A sparrow, finding a nest that a martin had 
 just built, standing very conveniently for him, possessed him- 
 self of it. The martin, seeing the usurper in her house, call- 
 ed for help to expel him. A thousand martins came full speed, 
 and attacked the sparrow; but the latter being covered on 
 every side, and presenting only his large beak at the entrance 
 of the nest, was invulnerable, and made the boldest of them 
 who durst approach him repent of their temerity. After a 
 quarter of an hour’s combat, all the martins disappeared : the 
 sparrow thought he had got the better, and the spectators 
 judged that the martins had abandoned the undertaking. Not 
 in the least ; immediately they returned to the charge, and 
 each of them having procured a little of that tempered earth 
 with which they make their nests, they all at once fell upon the 
 sparrow, and enclosed him in the nest, to perish there, though 
 they could not drive him thence. — Can it be imagined that 
 the martins c uld have been able to hatch and concert this 
 
FOX HOUND 
 

 m 
 
 GF T!?E • 
 
 V 
 
 1 
 
INSTANCES OF FASTING. 
 
 189 
 
 design all of them together, without speaking to each other, 
 or without some medium of communication equivalent to 
 language ? 
 
 Remarkable Instances of Fasting in Animals. — The fol- 
 lowing remarkable instances of brutes being able to live long 
 without food, are related by Sir William Hamilton, in his 
 account of the earthquakes in Italy, (Phil. Trans, vol. 73.) 
 “ At Soriano, two fattened hogs, that had remained buried 
 under a heap of ruins, were taken out alive the 42d day ; they 
 were lean and weak, but soon recovered. — At Messina, two 
 mules belonging to the Duke de Belviso, remained under a 
 heap of ruins, one of them 22 days, and the other 23 : they 
 would not eat for some days, but drank water plentifully, 
 and are now recovered. — There are numberless instances of 
 dogs remaining many days in the same situation ; and a hen 
 belonging to the British vice-consul at Messina, that had been 
 closely shut up under the ruins of his house, was taken out 
 the 22d day, and is now recovered : it did not eat for some 
 days, but drank freely ; it was emaciated, and shewed little 
 signs of life at first. From these instances, and several others 
 of the same kind that have been related to me, but which, 
 being less remarkable, I omit, one may conclude, that long 
 fasting is always attended with great thirst and total loss of 
 appetite.’^ 
 
 An instance not less remarkable than any of these, we find 
 in the Gent. Mag. for Jan. 1785. “ During the heavy snow 
 
 which fell in the night of the 7th of January, 1776, a parcel 
 of sheep belonging to Mr. John Wolley, of Matlock, in Der- 
 byshire, which were pastured on that part of the East Moor 
 that lies within the manor of Matlock, w^ere covered with the 
 drifted snow. In the course of a day or two all the sheep 
 that were covered with the snow were found again, except 
 two, which were consequently given up as lost, but on the 
 14th of Feb. following (some time after the break of the snow 
 in the valleys, and 38 days after the fall) as a servant was 
 walking over a large parcel of drifted snow, which remained 
 on the declivity of a hill, a dog he had with him discovered 
 one of the two sheep that had been lost, by winding (or scent- 
 ing) it, through a small aperture which the breath of the 
 sheep had made in the snow. The servant thereupon dug 
 away the snow, and released the captive from its prison ; it 
 immediately ran to a neighbouring spring, at which it drank 
 for a considerable time, and afterwards rejoined its old com- 
 panions, as though no such accident had befallen it. On in- 
 specting the place where it was found, it appeared to have 
 stood between two stones which lay parallel with each other, 
 at about two feet and a half distance, and probably were th*e 
 
190 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 means of protecting it from the great weight of the snow, 
 which in that place lay several yards thick : from the number 
 of stones around it, it did not appear that the sheep had been 
 able to pick up any food during its confinement. Soon after- 
 wards its owner removed it to some low lands ; but as it had 
 nearly lost its appetite, it was fed with bread and milk for 
 some time : in about a fortnight after its enlargement, it losi 
 its sight and wool ; but in a few weeks afterwards they both 
 .eturned again, and in the course of the following summer it 
 was quite recovered. The remaining sheep was found dead, 
 about a week after the discovery of the other.’’ 
 
 The following authentic history of the Extraordinary 
 Adventures of a Sheep, which was transmitted to a re- 
 spectable periodical journal, from Salisbury, where the animal 
 died, will, we doubt not, prove interesting to our readers, as 
 it affords an instance of animal sagacity, in that species on 
 which Nature has bestowed it with a sparing hand. 
 
 She was born in the North Highlands of Scotland ; em- 
 barked, in 1804, in the Arab, and visited Iceland, Greenland, 
 and Norway: here she was sent on shore to graze; the next 
 day, seeing the boat row past the place where she was feed- 
 ing, she leaped into the water, and sw'am to the boat : this 
 circumstance protected her ever after from the butcher, and 
 her life was one scene of gratitude. She was in fourteen dif- 
 ferent actions with the enemy’s ffotilla and batteries off Bou- 
 logne, in the last of which she lost part of one of her horns. 
 After that she traversed the whole of the western extent of 
 Africa, across the equator to the Brazils, and along the Guiana 
 coast of South America to the West Indies; from thence to 
 Ireland, and then home. She was so tame as to feed from the 
 hand, and, like the dog, followed her protector ; would dance 
 for a cabbage leaf ; preferred the house and fire-side to the 
 stable ; for several months was never known to touch hay or 
 grass, living with the sailors on pudding and grog, and nibbling 
 the ends of rope or canvass. The paring of an apple or a 
 potato w'as her highest luxury. The docility of the animal 
 was highly amusing : putting her head under your arm, she 
 would eat off your plate at dinner ; would drink wdne or spi- 
 rits, and tea, if well sweetened ; run up and dowm the stairs; 
 and, if she got into the kitchen, would take the cover from 
 the pot, and peep into it. Her wool was of a soft and silky 
 nature. 
 
 After having weathered so many storms and hardships, she 
 was brought as a present by Lieut. Bagnold, of the royal navy, to 
 a lady in Salisbury ; where, alas ! their fleecy friend died of a 
 bovrel complaint the second day after her arrival, most sin- 
 cerely ]\mented, the 22d of January, 1808. 
 
MAUDRILL. 
 
 MACAQUE. 
 
 PINCH. 
 
 WANDEROO. 
 
 MONA. 
 
 
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SAGACITY OF ANIMALS. 
 
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 Lines written on the preceding- most remarkable Sheep. 
 
 Scarce thirty suns had brighten’d o’er her head, 
 
 When to Arab’s deck young Jack* was led ; 
 
 Here from her master’s side she ne’er would stray. 
 
 Ate of his meat, and on his hammock lay. 
 
 Grateful for this, when left on Norway’s beach, 
 
 She brav’d the sea, the distant ship to reach. 
 
 This act heroic stays the murd’rous knife. 
 
 And all the crew demand to save her life. 
 
 Thus spar’d, she visits each far distant main : 
 
 In fourteen battles, amid heroes slain, 
 
 She ’scapes unhurt; save that the whizzing lead 
 Bears off one horn, then gently graz’d her head. 
 
 All perils past, she reach d her native shore. 
 
 To tempt the rage of war and seas no more. — 
 
 “ Go, my dear Jack,” her grateful master said, 
 
 (As on her snow-white head his hand he laid ;) 
 
 “ Go seek the shady grove, the verdant mead ; 
 
 There rest securely, and securely feed. 
 
 A thousand joys shall thy long life attend, 
 
 Blest with that greatest good, a faithful friend. — 
 
 Vain were these hopes ! at Sarum safe arriv’d. 
 
 Sudden she sicken’d, and as sudden died. — 
 
 Well, then, dear Jack, since fate has seal’d thy doom, 
 
 Be thine the honours of the sculptur’d tomb. 
 
 There too shall this just eulogy appear, 
 
 “ A sheep, a much-lov’d sheep, reposes here.” 
 
 in thee some future bard shall trace. 
 
 Such as ne’er yet adorn’d the fleecy race. 
 
 A patient temper, to all ills resign’d. 
 
 Sense almost human, to good nature join’d. 
 
 No charms for her had flow’ry lawn or grove, 
 
 ’Twas man she sought — to man gave all her love. 
 
 Had she but liv’d in fiction’s classic days. 
 
 The muse had sung her fame in deathless lays ; 
 
 Had fondly told, that her not mortal frame 
 Return’d from earth to heav’n, from whence it came ; 
 Advanc’d to share with Aries on high. 
 
 The space assign’d him in her native sky. 
 
 • It was a female sheep, but by the sailors was constantly called Jack. 
 
 The following is a notable instance of the Sagacity op a 
 Monkey. — Some strolling showmen, being at Stonin, a town 
 of Lithuania, belonging to Count Ogienski, grand general 
 of that province, diverted the inhabitants by exhibiting the 
 tricks and gambols of half a dozen monkeys they had along 
 with them ; this new spectacle roused the curiosity of people 
 of all degrees, insomuch that the overseers of the improve- 
 ments which were carrying on in that neighbourhood saw 
 themselves deserted by all their workmen. Desirous to recall 
 them to their duty, yet unwilling to drive the strollers away 
 by main force, they offered the chief a round sum of money, 
 on condition of his leaving the town immediately : the man 
 agreed to this ; and, with his two assistants, and company of 
 four-footed comedians, set off from Stonin. 
 
192 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 They had hardly proceeded out of town, when they were 
 beset by some banditti, who robbed and murdered not only 
 them, but all their harmless followers, except one, who escap- 
 ed the general slaughter, and, unperceived, climbed up a tree, 
 whence he could spy all the proceedings of the villains, who 
 had no sooner made sure of their spoils, than they proceeded 
 to inter the bodies, both of the men and beasts, covering 
 the place with earth and boughs, and then made off. 
 
 Some time after, a coach-and-four approached; which the 
 surviving monkey no sooner descried, than he set up a most 
 dismal yell. The gentleman, who, as it afterwards proved, 
 was going on a visit to the grand-general, amazed at so un- 
 usual a noise, ordered the coachman to stop, when, alighting, 
 he was still more surprised to see the animal coming down 
 the tree, and making towards him ; the monkey, taught per- 
 haps to reverence people of rank, began to lick his feet, and, 
 by several gestures, seemed to intimate that he had some- 
 thing extraordinary to discover; the animal led the way, and 
 the gentleman followed with his servant. As soon as they 
 came to the place, the monkey rent the air with the most 
 piteous accents; then taking up some of the branches, he 
 began to scratch the earth, and throw it up with all his might : 
 the gentleman seeing this, ordered his man to fall to work, 
 and in a few minutes the whole scene of horror opened to his 
 view. 
 
 Fearing a similar fate, the Lithuanian, forgetting the saga- 
 cious animal, got into his carriage, and posted to the grand- 
 general as fast as his horses could carry him. Poor pug, ra- 
 ther than be left behind, fastened about the coach as well as 
 he could, and arrived likewise at the count’s, who, having 
 heard the gentleman’s report, sent a proper force after the 
 banditti : they were overtaken, and committed to prison. The 
 grand-general ordered the monkey to be taken into his palace, 
 and kep^ with the greatest care. This surprising mark of 
 instinct and gratitude is deemed the more wonderful, as that 
 animal generally turns his natural sagacity to mischief and 
 treachery. 
 
 We shall in the next place give an astonishing instance of 
 Sagacity in a Horse. 
 
 At Chepstow, in Monmouthshire, there is a bridge, the 
 construction of which is extremely curious, as the planks that 
 form the floor rise wdth the tide, which, at certain times, is 
 said to attain to the height of seventy feet. 
 
 This floor of the bridge it was necessary at one time to re- 
 move ; which was accordingly done, and only one or two of 
 the planks remained for the convenience of the foot passen- 
 gers. This way was well lighted, and a man placed at the 
 
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INSTANCES OF SAGACITY. 
 
 193 
 
 end to warn those that approached of their danger. But it 
 so happened, that one dreadful stormy night the lamps blew 
 out, and the monitor, supposing that no one would in such 
 a hurricane attempt to pass, wisely retired to shelter. 
 
 After midnight, a traveller knocked at the door of an inn at 
 Chepstow. 
 
 ** Who is there ?” said the landlord, who had long retired 
 to rest, and was now called out of bed. 
 
 The traveller mentioned his name, which was well known. 
 
 “ How did you come V* said the landlord. 
 
 “ How did I come ? Why, over the bridge to be sure V* 
 
 “ What ! on horseback ?” 
 
 “Yes.’’ 
 
 “ No !” said the landlord, “ that is impossible I however, as 
 you are here. I’ll let you in.” 
 
 The host, when the traveller repeated his assertion, was 
 staggered. He was certain that he must have come over the 
 bridge, because there was no other way ; but also knowing 
 the state in which the passage was, he could only attribute 
 the escape of the traveller and his horse to witchcraft. He, 
 however, said nothing to him that night ; but the next morn- 
 ing took him to the bridge, and showed him the plank that 
 his horse must have passed over, at the same time that he 
 pointed to the raging torrent beneath. 
 
 Struck with this circumstance, the traveller, it is said, was 
 seized with an illness from which he did not speedily recover. 
 
 It is from a respectable source that we insert the following 
 narrative of the Sagacity of Dogs. 
 
 M. La Valee, in his Journey through the Departments of 
 France, published in 1792, gives the following curious account 
 of the manner in which the country people, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Peronne and Doulens, had trained their dogs to elude 
 the vigilance of the officers of the revenue. — At night, these 
 animals were laden, each with a parcel of goods proportioned 
 to its size ; except one alone, who was their leader, and went 
 without any burden. A crack of a whip was a signal for them 
 to set out. The leader travelled a little distance before the 
 rest ; and, if he perceived the traces of any stranger, he re- 
 turned to the other dogs : these either took a different way, 
 or, if the danger was pressing, concealed themselves behind 
 the hedges, and lay close till the patrole had passed. When 
 they arrived at the habitation of their master’s associate, 
 they hid themselves in the neighbouring fields and hedges, 
 while their leader went to the house, and scratched at the 
 door, or barked, till he was admitted, when he lay quietly 
 down, as at home : by this the smuggler knew that the cara- 
 van was come ; and, if the coast was clear, he went out, when 
 
 2 B 
 
194 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANIMALS. 
 
 he .gave a loud whistle, and the dogs came running to him 
 from their several hiding-places ! 
 
 Peltier, in his Annals of Paris, No. 1 64, for December, 1798, 
 records the followino^ anecdote : — At the beo^iimino; of the 
 Revolution, a dog went daily to the parade before the palace 
 of the Thuilleries, thrust himself between the legs of the mu- 
 sicians, marched with them, halted wdth them, and after the 
 parade, disappeared until the next morning, when he resumed 
 his occupation. The constant appearance of this dog, and the 
 pleasure which he seemed to take in the music, made him a 
 favourite with the band, who nicknamed him. Parade. One 
 gave him food to-day, another to-morrow; and he understood, 
 by a slight signal, and a word or two, whom he was to follow 
 for his dinner; after which, faithful to his independence, the 
 dog always withdrew, in spite of any caresses or threats. 
 Sometimes he went to the opera, sometimes to the Comedie 
 Italienne, and sometimes to the Theatre Feydeau ; in each of 
 which houses he found his way to the orchestra, and wmuld 
 lie down silently in one corner of it, until the performance was 
 over. “ I know not, (says Peltier) whether this dog be now 
 alive : but I know many musicians, to whom his name, his 
 figure, and the singularity of his habits, are perfectly fa- 
 miliar.” 
 
 In Petit’s Campaign of Italy, under the chief consul Buo- 
 naparte, published in 1800, we have the following anecdote, 
 which places this animal in the most engaging light: “ In 
 traversing the Alps over the mountain Great St. Bernard, 
 many people perish among the almost inaccessible rocks, 
 whose summits are covered whth eternal snow. At the time 
 we crossed them, the chapel of the monastery of St- Bernard 
 was filled with dead bodies, which their dogs had discovered 
 suffocated and benumbed under the snow. With what emo- 
 tions of pleasure did I caress these dogs, so useful to travel- 
 lers ! how can one speak of them without being moved by 
 their charitable instinct ! Notwithstanding the paucity of our 
 eatables, there was not a French soldier who did not manifest 
 an eagerness to give them some biscuit, some bread, and even 
 a share of their meat. Morning and evening, these dogs go 
 out on discovery ; and if in the midst of their wandering 
 courses the echo of some unfortunate creature ready to perish 
 reaches their attentive ears, they run towards those who call 
 out, express their joy, and seem to bid the sufferer take 
 courage, till they have been to procure assistance ; in fact, 
 they hasten back to the convent, and, with an air of inquietude 
 and sadness, announce in a very discernible manner what 
 they have seen. In that case, a small basket is fastened 
 round the dog’s neck, filled with food proper for re-animating 
 life almost sxhausted ; and, by following the benevolent mes- 
 
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ANECDOTES OF DOGS. 
 
 195 
 
 • senger, an unhappy creature is thus frequently snatched from 
 impending destruction.” 
 
 A Florentine nobleman possessed a dog, v hich would attend 
 his table, change his plates, and carry his wine to him, with 
 the utmost steadiness, and the most accurate attention to his 
 master^s notices. 
 
 It is related by the illustrious Leibnitz, that a Saxon pea- 
 sant was in possession of a dog of the middling size, then 
 about three years of age. The peasant’s son, perceiving acci- 
 dentally, as he imagined, some resemblance in its sounds to 
 those of the human voice, attempted to teach it to speak. By 
 the perseverance of the lad, the dog acquired the power, we 
 are told, of pronouncing about thirty words. It would, how- 
 ever, exercise this extraordinary faculty only with reluctance, 
 the words being always first spoken by the preceptor, and then 
 echoed by the pupil. This circumstance is attested by Leibnitz, 
 who himself heard it speak; and it was communicated by him 
 in a memoir to the Royal Academy of France. 
 
 In the theatre of Marcellus, a case occurred, which many will 
 consider more probable, but which is almost as extraordinary, 
 as mentioned by Plutarch. — ** A dog was here exhibited which 
 excelled in various dances of great complication and difficulty, 
 and represented also the effects of disease and pain upon the 
 frame, in all the contortions of countenance and writhings of 
 the body, from the first access, to that paroxysm which often 
 immediately precedes dissolution. Having thus apparently 
 expired in agony, he would suffer himself to be carried about 
 motionless, as in a state of death ; and after a sufficient con- 
 tinuance of the jest, he would burst upon the spectators with 
 an animation and sportiveness, which formed a very interest- 
 ing conclusion of this curious interlude, by which the animal 
 seemed to enjoy the success of his scenic efforts, and to be 
 delighted with the admiration which was liberally and univer- 
 sally bestowed upon him.” 
 
 “ A tinker (says Pezelius) brought a wonderful dog to 
 Constantinople ; and a number of people being assembled 
 to behold him, many of them laid their rings in a heap con- 
 fusedly before him. At the command of his master, he would 
 restore to every man his own, without any mistake. Also, when 
 his master asked him which of the company was a captain, 
 which a poor man, which a wife, which a widow, and the like, 
 he would discover all this without error, by taki ig the garment 
 of the party inquired after in his mouth.” 
 
196 
 
 CUKIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 The Frogjish — Bird-catching Fish — The Nautilus — The Air* 
 
 bladder in Fishes — Respiration in Fishes — Shower oj' Fishes. 
 
 The scaly brood 
 
 In countless myriads cleave the crystal flood.” 
 
 “ Who can old Ocean’s pathless bed explore, 
 
 And count her tribes that people ev’ry shore.” 
 
 The Frog-Fish. — There is a very singular animal of Suri- 
 nam, bearing this name, of which a figure is given by Mr. 
 Edwards, in his History of Birds, vol. I. but of which no spe- 
 cimen is to be found either in the British Museum, or in any 
 private collection,- except that of Dr. Fothergill. It was 
 brought from Surinam, in South America. 
 
 Frogs, both in Asia and Africa, according to Merian, change 
 gradually from fishes to frogs, as those in Europe ; but after 
 many years, revert again into fishes, though the manner of 
 their change has never been investigated. In Surinam these 
 fishes are called Jakjes: they are cartilaginous, of a substance 
 like our mustela, and exquisite food ; they are formed with 
 regular .vertebrae, and small bones all over the body, divided 
 into equal parts ; are first darkish, and then gray ; and their 
 scales make a beautiful appearance. Whether this animal is, 
 in its perfect state, a species of frog with a tail, or a kind of 
 water-lizard, Mr. Edwards does not pretend to determine ; but 
 he observes, that when its size is considered, if it should be 
 deemed a tadpole, at first produced from spawn, and in its 
 progress towards a frog, such an animal, when full-grown ; if it 
 bears the same proportion to its tadpole state that those in 
 Europe do to theirs, it must be of enormous size ; for our full- 
 grown frogs exceed the tadpoles at least fifty times. 
 
 Another curiosity is. The Bird-catchingFish. — This fish 
 is called by the natives of Canada, Chaousaron ; its body is 
 nearly the shape of a jack or pike, but is covered with scales 
 that are proof against the stab of a dagger ; its colour is a sil- 
 ver gray, and there grows under its mouth a fin that is flat, 
 jagged at the edges, and pierced at the end, which gives rea- 
 son to conjecture that it breathes by that part. This fish is 
 about five feet in length, and as thick as a man’s thigh ; but 
 some of them, it is said, are eight or ten feet long. In order to 
 catch birds, it hides itself among the reeds in such a manner, 
 that no part of it can be seen but the fin just mentioned ; this 
 
THE FROG FISH 
 
Of mt 
 
THE NAUTILUS. 
 
 197 
 
 it erects upright out of the water, and birds that want to rest 
 themselves, take this fin for a reed, or a dry piece of wood ; 
 
 ut no sooner have they alighted on it, than the fish opens 
 his mouth, and makes such a quick motion to seize its prev, 
 that it seldom escapes. 
 
 Another curious object is, The Nautilus. 
 
 Learn of the little Nautilus to sail, 
 
 Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale. Pope. 
 
 The shell of this animal consists of one spiral valve, divided 
 into several apartments. There are seventeen species, chiefly 
 distinguished by peculiarities in their shells. 
 
 The most remarkable division of the Nautilus is into the 
 thin and thick-shelled kinds. The first is called Nautilus 
 Papyraceus : and its shell is indeed no thicker than a piece of 
 paper, when out of the water. This species is not at ali fast- 
 ened to its shell; but there is an opinion, as old as the days 
 of Pliny, that this creature creeps out of its shell, and 
 goes on shore to feed. When this sperif^s is to sail, it ex- 
 pands two of its arms on high, and between these supports a 
 membrane, which it throws out on this occasion : this serves 
 for its sail, and the two other arms it hangs out of its shell, 
 to serve occasionally either as oars or as a steerage ; but this 
 last office is generally served by the tail. When the sea is 
 calm, numbers of these creatures may frequently be seen 
 diverting themselves in this manner, in the Mediterranean ; 
 but as soon as a storm rises, or any thing gives them distur- 
 bance, they draw in their legs, and take in as much water as 
 makes them specifically heavier than that' in which they float; 
 and then they sink to the bottom. When they rise again, 
 they void this water by a number of holes, of which their legs 
 are full. 
 
 The other nautilus, whose shell is thick, never quits its 
 habitation. This shell is divided into forty or more partitions, 
 which grow smaller and smaller as they approach the extre- 
 mity or centre of the shell : between each of these cells there 
 is a communication by means of a hole in the centre of the 
 partitions. Through this hole there runs a pipe, of the 
 whole length of the shell. It is supposed by many, that by 
 means of this pipe the fish occasionally passes from one cell 
 to another ; but this seems by no means probable, as the fish 
 must undoubtedly be crushed to death by attempting to pass 
 through it. It is much more likely that the fish always occupies 
 the largest chamber in its shell ; that is, that it lives in the cavity 
 between the mouth and the first partition, and that it never 
 removes out of this ; but that all the apparatus of cells, and 
 a pipe of communication, which we so much admire, serve 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 19b 
 
 only to admit occasionally air or water into the shell, in such 
 proportion as may serve the creature in its intentions of swim- 
 ming. 
 
 Some authors call this shell the concha margaritifera : but 
 this can be only on account of the fine colour on its inside, 
 which is more beautiful than any other mother-of-pearl ; for 
 it has not been observed than this species of fish ever pro- 
 duced pearls. 
 
 It must be observed, that the polypus is by no means to be 
 confounded with the paper-shelled nautilus, notwithstanding 
 the great resemblance in the arms and body of the inclosed 
 fish ; nor is the cornu ammonis, so frequently found fossil, 
 to be confounded with the thick-shelled nautilus, though the 
 concamerations and general structure of the shell are alike in 
 both: for there are great and essential ditierences between all 
 these genera. There is a pretty copious and minute account 
 of this curious animal in the Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. xxii. 
 p. 6, 7, 8, and 301, and vol. xxv. p. 128. 
 
 We now proceed to describe that destructive inhabitant of 
 the mighty deep. The Shark. — Sharks, though voracious 
 creatures, are seldom destructive in the temperate regions ; it 
 is in the torrid zone that their ravages are most frequent. In 
 the West Indies, accidents happen from them daily. During 
 the American war in 1780, while the Pallas frigate was lying 
 in Kingston harbour, a young North American jumped over- 
 board one evening, to make his escape, and perished by a 
 shark in a shocking manner. He had been captured in a 
 small vessel, lost all his property, and was detained by com- 
 pulsion in the Engdish navy, to serve in a predatory war 
 against his country. But he, animated with that spirit which 
 pervaded every bosom in America, resolved, as soon as he 
 arrived at some port, to release himself from the mortifying 
 state of employing his life against his country, which, as he 
 said when dying, he was happy to lay down, as he could not 
 employ it against her enemies. He plunged into the w'ater : 
 the Pallas was a quarter of a mile from the shore. A shark 
 perceived him, and followed him very quietly, till he came 
 near the shore ; where, as he was hanging by a rope that 
 moored a vessel to a wharf, scarcely out of his depth, the 
 shark seized his right leg, stripped the flesh entirely from the 
 bon<^3, and took the foot off at the ancle. He still kept his 
 hold, and called to the people in the vessel near him, wh > 
 were standing on the deck, and saw the affair. The shark 
 then seized his other leg, which the man by his struggling 
 disengaged from his teeth, but with the flesh cut through 
 down to the bone, into a multitude of narrow slips. The 
 people in the vessel threw billets of wood into the water, and 
 
THE SHARK. 
 
 199 
 
 frightened the shark away. The young man was brought on 
 shore. Dr. Mosely was called to him ; but he had lost so 
 much blood before any assistance could be given him, that he 
 expired before the mangled limbs could be taken off. A few 
 weeks before this, a shark of twelve feet in length was caught 
 in the harbour ; and on being opened, the entire head of a 
 man was found in his stomach. The scalp and flesh of the 
 face were macerated to a soft pulpy substance ; which, on 
 being touched, separated entirely from the bones. The bones 
 were somewhat softened, and the sutures loosened. — (Moseley 
 on Tropical Diseases.) 
 
 A very extraordinary instance of intrepidity and friendship 
 is given by M. Hughes, in his Natural History of Barbadoes. 
 It happened about the end of Queen Anne’s wars, at Barba- 
 does. — The sailors of the York Merchant, having ventured 
 into the sea to wash themselves, a large shark made towards 
 them ; upon which they swam back, and all reached the boat 
 except one, whom the monster overtook, and, griping him by 
 the small of his back, soon cut him asunder, and swallowed 
 the lower part of his body; the remaining part was taken up 
 and carried on board, where was a comrade of the deceased, 
 between whom friendship had been long reciprocal. When 
 he saw the severed trunk of his friend, with a horror and 
 emotion too great for words to paint, he vowed that he would 
 make the devourer disgorge, or be swallowed himself in the 
 same grave, and plunged into the deep, armed with a sharp- 
 pointed knife. The shark no sooner saw him, than he made 
 furiously toward him : both were equally eager, the one of his 
 prey, the other of revenge. The moment the shark opened 
 his rapacious jaws, his adversary dexterously diving, and 
 grasping him with his left hand somewhat below the upper 
 fins, successfully employed his knife in his right hand, giving 
 him repeated stabs in the belly. The enraged shark, after 
 many unavailing efforts, finding himself overmatched in his 
 own element, endeavoured to disengage himself, sometimes 
 plunging to the bottom, then, mad with pain, rearing his un- 
 couth form, now stained with his own streaming blood, above 
 the foaming waves. The crews of the surrounding vessels 
 saw the doubtful combat, uncertain from which of the com- 
 batants the streams of blood issued ; till at length the shark, 
 much weakened by the loss of blood, made towards the shore, 
 and with him his conqueror; who, now assured of victory, 
 pushed his foe with redoubled ardour, and, by the help of an 
 ebbing tide, dragged him on shore, ripped up his bowels, and 
 united and buried the severed carcase of his friend. 
 
 It is evident, (says Dr. Moseley,) that digestion in these 
 animals is not performed by trituration, nor by the muscular 
 action of the stomach ; though nature has furnished them 
 
200 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 with a stomach of wonderful force and thickness, and far 
 exceeding that of any other creature. Whatever their force 
 of digestion is, it has no effect upon their young ones, which 
 always retreat into their stomachs in time of danger. That 
 digestion is not performed by heat in fish, is equally evident. 
 The coolness of the stomach of these fishes is far greater than 
 the temperature of the water out of which they are taken ; or 
 of any other part of the fish, or of any other substance of ani- 
 mated nature I ever felt. On wrapping one of them round 
 my hand, immediately on being taken out of the fish, it 
 caused so much aching and numbness that I could not endure 
 it long. Of these voracious sea monsters, there are thirty 
 three species.*’ 
 
 The Torpedo. — The torpedo inhabits the Mediterranean 
 and the North Seas, and grows to the weight of twenty pounds 
 This fish possesses a strong electrical power, and is capable 
 of giving a very considerable shock through a number of per- 
 sons forming a communication with it. This power was 
 known to the ancients, but exaggerated by them with all the 
 fables natural to ignorance ; and it is only recently that the 
 power has been ascertained to be truly electric. It is con- 
 ducted by the same substances as electricity, and intercepted 
 by the same. In a minute and a half, no fewer than fifty 
 shocks have been received from this animal, when insulated. 
 The shocks delivered by it in air, are nearly four times as 
 strong as those received from it in water. This power appears 
 to be always voluntarily exercised by the torpedo, which oc 
 casionally may be touched and handled without its causing 
 the. slightest agitation. When the fish is irritated, however, 
 this quality is exercised with proportional effect to the degree 
 of irritation; and its exercise is stated, in every instance, to be 
 accompanied by a depression of the eyes. When that animal 
 exerts the benumbing power, from which it derives its name, 
 and when it operates by separate and repeated efforts, this is 
 always the case. Both in the continued, and in the instan- 
 taneous process, the eyes, which are at other times prominent, 
 are withdrawn into their sockets ; a circumstance very natu- 
 rally attaching both to the condensation and discharge of the 
 subtle fluid. Specimens have been known of this fish weigh 
 ing fifty, and even eighty pounds. It commonly lies in forty 
 fathoms of water, and is supposed to stupify its prey by this 
 extraordinary faculty. It is sometimes nearly imbedded in 
 the sands of shallows; and it is stated, in these cases, to give 
 to any who happens to tread upon it, an astonishing and over- 
 whelming shock. On dissection, it was found to exhibit no 
 material difference from the general structure of the ray, 
 excepting with respect to the electric or galvanic organs, 
 
AIR-BLADDER. 
 
 201 
 
 which have been minutely examined and detailed by the cele- 
 brated anatomist, John Hunter : he states them to be 
 placed on each side of the cranium and gills, reaching thence 
 to each great fin, and extending longitudinally from the ante- 
 rior extremity of the animal, to the transverse cartilage which 
 divides the thorax from the abdomen.^’ 
 
 From the whole description, it appears that these organs, 
 as Mr. Shaw observes, constitute a pair of galvanic batteries, 
 disposed in the form of perpendicular hexagonal columns ; 
 while, in the gymnotus electricus, the galvanic battery is 
 disposed lengthwise on the lower part of the animal. It is 
 stated, that the torpedo, in its dying state, communicates 
 shocks in more than usually rapid succession, but in propor- 
 tional weakness ; and in seven minutes, in these circumstances, 
 three hundred and sixty small shocks were distinctly felt. 
 On the same authority (that of Spallanzani) it is reported, 
 that the young torpedo can exercise this power at the mo- 
 ment after its birth, and even possesses it while a foetus, 
 several of these having been taken from the parent fish, and 
 being found to communicate perceivable shocks, which, how- 
 ever, were most distinctly felt when these animals were insu- 
 lated on a plate of glass. 
 
 A very curious object is. The Air-Bladder in Fishes. — 
 There is no doubt that fishes extract air from water by means 
 of their gills, since it is through them that they renew the air 
 of their air-bladder. This bladder is an oblong bag, consisting 
 of two or three membranes easily separated ; sometimes it has 
 only a single lobe or cavity, as in the case of pikes, whitings, 
 trouts. Sic. ; at other times it has two lobes, as in the case of bar- 
 bel and carp ; three, as in that of the sea tench ; or four, as in the 
 Chinese gold fish. It is by expanding or compressing this blad- 
 der, that the fish occupies more or less space in the water, be- 
 comes more orless heavy, andascendsordescends as it chooses. 
 The division of the bladder into difierent lobes has proceeded 
 from a very sufficient reason. When the bladder has only one 
 cavity, as in the case of fishes of prey, the motion of ascent or 
 descent takes place slowly, and without a break ; because, as 
 they compress the whole bladder at once, the whole body is 
 moved horizontally, upwards or dow nwards, as the case may be ; 
 a circumstance which has the effect of lessening, in conse- 
 quence of the resistance of the water, the swiftness of those 
 tyrants of the deep. When the bladder has two lobes, as in 
 the case of the carp, which lives on insects, that fish, by ex- 
 panding the anterior and compressing the posterior lobe, 
 rises rapidly with the head foremost to the surface of the 
 water, or sinks to the bottom with equal expedition, by com- 
 pressing its two lobes in different ways. The consequence is, 
 9 . 2 C 
 
202 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 an increased promptitude of movement, and additional means 
 of escaping from its enemies. When the bladder has four 
 lobes, as in the case of the gold fish, that fish is thus en- 
 abled to vary greatly its contractions and expansions. It rises, 
 sinks, bends, erects, or turns itself in a thousand ways, and 
 plays in the water, like a bird in the air. It displays all the 
 richness of the colours of gold, silver, or purple, with which 
 Nature has adorned it. Its attitudes are so graceful, and its 
 movements so varied, that the Chinese, from whom we origi- 
 nally received it, are said to pass whole days in looking at it, 
 in the basins of the fountains in their gardens, or in crystal 
 vessels. It is evidently indebted for the ease and grace of its 
 motions, to the modulations consequent on the four divisions 
 of its air-bladder. 
 
 Another subject of curiosity is. The Respiration in 
 Fishes. — Fish derive air from the water which they are inac- 
 cessantly swallowing through the mouth, and throwing out 
 by the gills. The gills are formed wdth infinite skill, and may 
 be called a delicate kind of sieve, adapted for separating air 
 from water. Their operation proves the radical difference 
 between these two elements, and leads to the conclusion, that 
 they are not joined even when mixed. The gills are placed in 
 the back part of the sides of the head, and are contained in 
 a cavity adapted for them. They are a kind of red and flexi- 
 ble leaflets, consisting of a row of thin plates, like the blade of 
 a knife, pressed against each other, and forming a succession of 
 barbs or fring-ed substances, similar to those on the side of a 
 goose-quill. These gills are covered with a small lid, and 
 with a membrane, supported by cartilaginous threads. Both 
 are capable of being raised and lowered ; and, by being thus 
 opened, they afford a passage to the water swallowed by the 
 animal. A prodigious number of muscles give motion to 
 these minute particles. It may appear almost incredible, that 
 the number of particles connected with the respiration of the 
 carp is not fewer than 4386. Of these, sixty-nine are mus- 
 cles ; while the arteries of the gills, in addition to eight prin- 
 cipal branches, throw forth 4320 smaller ramifications, while 
 each of the latter gives birth to a number of cross arteries. 
 Add to this, that the quantity of nerves is not smaller than 
 that of the arteries ; and that the veins are divided and 
 subdivided, like the arteries, inasmuch as they do not give 
 rise to any transverse capillary vessels. In this manner the 
 blood flowing from the heart of the fish is spread over all the 
 plates or blades of which the gills are composed ; so that a 
 very small quantity of blood is exposed to the action of the 
 water, for the purpose, no doubt, that each part may be easily 
 penetrated by the particles of air detached from the water. 
 
SHOWER OF FISHES. 
 
 205 
 
 It is not easy to explain in what manlier these particles are 
 detached from the water by the operation of the gills ; but 
 there seems no doubt of the fact, nor of the redness of the 
 gills being a consequence of the operation of the air. That 
 redness is exactly similar to the vermilion of the blood in the 
 veins of animals with lungs, a vermilion considerably brighter 
 than that of the arteries. 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with an account of a 
 Shower of Fishes. — in the Philosophical Transactions for 
 1698, Mr. Robert Conny gives the following account , of a 
 phenomenon of this kind. 
 
 On Wednesday before Easter, anno 1666, a pasture field at 
 Cranstead, near Wrotham, in Kent, about two acres, which 
 is far from any part of the sea, or branch of it, and a place 
 where there are no fish-ponds, but a scarcity of water, was all 
 overspread with little fishes, conceived to be rained down, 
 there having been at that time a great tempest of thunder and 
 rain : the fishes were about the length of a man’s little finger, 
 and judged by all who saw them to be young whitings. 
 Many of them were taken up, and shewed to several persons. 
 The field belonged to one VVare, a yeoman, who was at that 
 Easter sessions one of the grand inquest, and wdio carried some 
 of the fish to the sessions of Maidstone, in Kent, and shew ed 
 them, among others, to Mr. Lake, a bencher of the Middle 
 Temple, who procured one of them, and brought it to London 
 The truth of it was averred by many that saw the fishes lie 
 scattered all over the field. There were none in the other 
 fields adjoining : the quantity of them was estimated to be 
 about a bushel. 
 
 It is probable that these fishes were absorbed from the sur- 
 face of the water by the electric power of a water-spout; ol 
 brushed off by the violence of a hurricane. The phenomenon, 
 though surprising, has occurred in various countries, and 
 occasionally in situations far more remote from the coast than 
 that before us. 
 
204 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. ( Coticludea,) 
 
 The Whale — -Whale Fishery — The Kraken, 
 
 “ The whales 
 
 Toss in foam their lashing tails. 
 
 Wallowing unwieldly, enormous in their gait, 
 
 They seem a moving land, and at their gills 
 Draw in, and at their trunk spout out, a sea.’^ 
 
 The following accountof the great Northern, or Green land 
 Whale, was first published by Mr. W. Scoresby, jun. M.W. S 
 in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, vol. I. 
 
 “ The whale, when fullgrown, is from 50 to 65 feet in length, 
 and from 30 to 40 in circumference, immediately before 
 the fins. It is thickest a little behind the fins, and from 
 thence gradually tapers towards the tail, and slightly towards 
 the neck. It is cylindrical from the neck until near the June 
 tion of the tail and body, where it becomes rigid. 
 
 “ The head has a triangular shape. The bones of the head 
 are very porous, and full of a fine kind of oil. When the oil 
 is drained out, the bone is so light as to swim in water. The 
 jaw-bones, the most striking portions of the head, are from 
 20 to 25 feet in length, are curved, and the space between 
 them is 9 or 10 feet, by 18 or 20. They give shape to the 
 under part of the head, which is almost perfectly flat, and is 
 about 20 feet in length by 12 in breadth. The tongue is of 
 great size, and yields a ton or more of oil. The lips, which 
 are at right angles to the flat part of the base of the head, are 
 firm and hard, and yield about two tons of oil. 
 
 To the upper jaw is attached the substance called whalebone, 
 which is straight in some individuiils, and in others convex. 
 The laminse, or blades, are not all of equal length: neither are 
 the largest exactly in the middle of the series, but somewhat 
 nearer the throat ; from this point they become gradually 
 shorter each way. In each side of the mouth are about 200 
 laminae of w^halebone. They are not perfectly flat ; for besides 
 the longitudinal curvature already mentioned, they are curved 
 transversely. The largest laminee are from ten to fourteen feet, 
 very rarely fifteen feet, in length. The breadth of the largest, 
 at the thick ends, or where they are attached to the jaw, is 
 about ■ a foot. The Greenland fishers estimate the size of the 
 whale by the length of the whalebone : where the whalebone is 
 six feet long, then the whale is said to be a size-fish. In 
 suckers, or young whales still under the protection of mo 
 
THE WHALE. 
 
 205 
 
 ther, the whalebone is only a few inches long. The whale- 
 bone is immediately covered by the two under lips, the edges 
 of which, when the mouth is shut, overlap the upper part 
 in a squamous manner. 
 
 “On the upper part of the head there is a double opening 
 called the spout-holes, or blow-holes. Their external orifices 
 are like two slits, which do not lie parallel, but form an acute 
 angle with each other. Through these openings the animal 
 breathes. 
 
 “ The eyes are very small, not larger than those of an ox ; 
 yet the whale appears to be quick of sight. They are situated 
 about a foot above where the upper and under lip join. 
 
 “ In the whale, the sense of hearing seems to be rather obtuse. 
 
 “ The throat is so narrow as scarcely to admit a hen’s egg. 
 
 “ The fins are from four to five feet broad, and eight to ten 
 feet long, and seem only to be used in bearing off their young, 
 in turning, and giving a direction to the velocity produced by 
 the tail. 
 
 “ The tail is horizontal, from 20 to 30 feet in breadth, in- 
 dented in the middle, and the two lobes pointed and turned 
 outwards. In it lies the whole strength of the animal. By 
 means of the tail, the whale advances itself in the water 
 with greater or less rapidity ; if the motion is slow, the tail 
 cuts the water obliquely, like forcing a boat forward by the 
 operation of sculling ; but if the motion is very rapid, it is 
 effected by an undulating motion of the rump. 
 
 “The skin in some whales is smooth and shining ; in others, 
 it is furrowed, like the water-lines in laid paper, but coarser. 
 
 “The colour is black, gray, and white, and a tinge of yellow 
 about the lower parts of the head. The back, upper part of the 
 head, most of the belly, the fins, tail, and part of the under 
 jaw, are deep black. The fore part of the under jaw, and a 
 little of the belly, are white, and the junction of the tail with 
 the body gray. Such are the common colours of the adult 
 whale. I have seen piebald whales. Such whales as are below 
 size are almost entirely of a bluish black colour. The skin 
 of suckers is of a pale bluish colour. The cuticle, or scarf- 
 skin, is no thicker than parchment ; the true skin is from 
 three-fourths to an inch in thickness all over the body. 
 
 “ Immediately beneath the skin lies the blubber, or fat, from 
 10 to 20 inches in thickness, varying in different parts of the 
 body, as well as in different individuals. The colour, also, is 
 not always the same, being white, red, and yellow ; and it 
 also varies in denseness. It is principally for the blubber that 
 the Greenland fishery is carried on. It is cut from the body 
 in large lumps, and carried on board the ship, and then cut 
 into smaller pieces. The fleshy parts, and skin connected with 
 (lie blubbei, are next separated from it, and it is again cut 
 
206 
 
 CURIOSITIES respe/:ting fishes. 
 
 into such pieces as will admit of its being passed into casks 
 by the bung-hole, which is only three or four inches in dia- 
 meter. In these casks it is conveyed home, where it is boiled 
 in vessels capable of containing from three to six tons, for the 
 purpose of extracting the oil from the fritters, which are ten- 
 dinous fibres, running in various directions, and containing 
 the oil or rather connecting together the cellular substance 
 which contains it. These fibres are finest next the skin, thin- 
 nest in the middle, and coarsest near the flesh. 
 
 “ The whales, according to their size, produce from two to 
 twenty tons of oil. The flesh of the young whale is of a fine 
 red colour ; that of the old approaches to black, and is coarse, 
 like that of a bull, and is said to be dry and lean when boiled, 
 because there is little fat intermixed with the flesh. 
 
 “ The food of the whale is generally supposed to consist of 
 different kinds of sepiee, medusae, or the clio limacina of 
 Linnaeus ; but I have great reason to believe, that it is chiefly, 
 if not altogether, of the squill or shrimp tribe ; for, on exa- 
 mining the stomach of one of large size, nothing else was 
 found in it; they were about half an inch long, semi-trans- 
 parent, and of a pale red colour. I also found a great quan- 
 tity in the mouth of another, having been apparently vomited 
 l)v it. When the whale feeds, it swims with considerable velo- 
 city under water, with its mouth wide open ; the water enters 
 l)y the forepart, but is poured out again at the sides, and the 
 i'ood is entangled and sifted as it were by the whalebone, 
 which does not suffer any thing to escape. 
 
 “ It seldom remains longer below the surface than twenty to 
 tliirty minutes; when it comes up again to blow, it will per- 
 haps remain ten, twenty, or thirty minutes at the surface of 
 the water, when nothing disturbs it. In calm weather, it 
 sometimes sleeps in this situation. It sometimes ascends with 
 so much force, as to leap entirely out of the water ; w'hen swim- 
 ming at its greatest velocity, it moves at the rate of seven 
 to nine miles an hour. 
 
 “ Its maternal affection deserves notice. The young one 
 is frequently struck for the sake of its mother, which will 
 soon come up cl(5>se by it, encourage it to swim off, assist it 
 by taking it under its fin, and seldom deserts it while life re- 
 mains. It is then very dangerous to approach, as she loses 
 all regard for her own safety in anxiety for the preservation of 
 her cub, dashing about most violently, and not dreading to 
 rise even amidst the boats. Except, however, when the whale 
 has young to protect, the male is in general more active and 
 dangerous than the female, especially males of about nine 
 feet bone.” 
 
 To the above account of Mr. Scoresby’s, we shall add the 
 following particulars : 
 
THE WHALE. 
 
 207 
 
 Th^ fidelity of whales to each other exceeds whatever we 
 are told even of the constancy of birds. Some fishers, as 
 Anderson informs us, having struck one of two whales, a male 
 and a female, that were in company together, the wounded 
 fish made a long and terrible resistance ; it struck down a boat 
 with three men in it, with a single blow of its tail, by which 
 all went to the bottom. The other still attended its companion, 
 and lent it every assistance ; till, at last, the fish that was 
 struck sunk under the number of its wounds ; while its faith- 
 ful associate, disdaining to survive the loss, with great bel 
 lowing stretched itself upon the dead fish, and shared its 
 fate. 
 
 Inoffensive as the whale is, it is not without enemies. There 
 is a small animal, of the shell-fish kind, called the whale- 
 louse, that sticks to its body as we see shells sticking to the 
 foul bottom of a ship. This insinuates itself chiefly under 
 the fins ; and whatever efforts the great animal makes, it still 
 keeps its hold, and lives upon the fat, which it is provided 
 with instruments to arrive at. 
 
 The sword-fish is, however, the whale’s most terrible enemy 
 At the sight of this little animal, the whale seems agitated in 
 ail extraordinary manner, leaping from the water as if with 
 affright, whenever it appears ; the whale perceives it at a dis- 
 tance, and flies from it in the opposite direction. The whale 
 has no instrument of defence except the tail ; with that it 
 Adeavours to strike the enemy, and a single blow taking 
 place would effectually destroy its adversary; but the sword- 
 fish is as active as the other is strong, and easily avoids the 
 stroke ; then bounding into the air, it falls upon its enemy, 
 and endeavours not to pierce with its pointed beak, but to cut 
 with its toothed edges. The sea all about is soon dyed with 
 blood, proceeding from the wounds of the whale ; while the 
 enormous animal vainly endeavours to reach its invader, and 
 strikes with its tail against the surface of the water with 
 impotent fury, making a report at each blow louder than the 
 noise of a cannon. 
 
 There is still another powerful enemy of this fish, which is 
 called the oria, or killer. A number of these are said to sur- 
 round the whale in the same manner as dogs get round a bull. 
 Some attack it with their teeth behind ; others attempt it be- 
 fore ; until, at last, the great animal is torn down, and its 
 tongue is said to be the only part they devour, when they 
 have made it their prey. 
 
 But of all the enemies of these enormous fishes, man is the 
 greatest and most formidable ; he alone destroys more in 
 a year than the rest in an age, and actually has thinned theii 
 numbers in that part of 3ie world where they are chiefly 
 •ought 
 
208 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 The reader will be interested in the following acco\^it of 
 The Whale Fishery. 
 
 As when enclosing harpooners assail, 
 
 In hyperborean seas, the slumbering whale ; 
 
 Soon as their javelins pierce the scaly side, 
 
 He groans, he darts impetuous down the tide ; 
 
 And rack’d all o’er with lacerating pain. 
 
 He flies remote beneath the flood in vain. Falconer, 
 
 Whales are chiefly caught in the North Sea : the largest sort 
 are found about Greenland, or Spitzbergen. At the first 
 discovery of this country, whales not being used to be dis- 
 turbed, frequently came into the very bays, and were accord- 
 ingly killed almost close to the shore, so that the blubber being 
 cutofl', was immediately boiled into oil on the spot. The ships, 
 in those times, took in nothing but the pure oil and the fins, 
 and all the business was executed in the country ; by which 
 means, a ship could bring home the product of many more 
 whales, than she can according to the present method of con- 
 ducting this trade. The fishery also was then so plentiful, 
 that they were obliged sometimes to send other ships to fetch 
 off the oil they had made, the quantity being more than the 
 fishing ships could bring away. But time and change of cir- 
 cumstances have shifted the situation of this trade. The ships 
 coming in great numbers from Holland, Denmark, Hamburgh, 
 and other northern countries, all intruders upon the English, 
 who were the first discoverers of Greenland, disturbed the 
 whales, which gradually, as other fish often do, forsaking the 
 place, were not to be killed so near the shore as before ; but 
 they are now found, and have been so ever since, in the open- 
 ings and spaces among the ice, where they have deep water, 
 and where they go sometimes a great many leagues from the 
 shore. 
 
 The whale fishery begins in May, and continues all June 
 and July; but whether the ships have good or bad success, 
 they must come away, and get clear of the ice by the end of 
 August, so that in the month of September, at farthest, they 
 may be expected home ; but a ship that meets with a fortu- 
 nate and early fishery in May, may return in June or July. 
 
 The manner of taking whales at present is as follows : As 
 soon as the fishermen hear the whale blow, they cry out. Fall! 
 fall! and every ship gets out its long-boat, in each of which 
 there are six or seven men, who row till they become pretty 
 near the whale ; then the harpooner strikes it with the har- 
 poon : this requires great dexterity, for through the bone of 
 his head there is no striking, but near his spout there is a 
 soft piece of flesh, into which the iron sinks with ease. As 
 soon as he is struck, they take care to give him rope enough, 
 otherwise, when he goes down, as he frequently does, he would 
 
THE WHALE FISHERY. 
 
 209 
 
 inevitably sink the boat : this rope he draws with such vio- 
 lence, that, if it were not well watered, it would, by its friction 
 against the sides of the boat, be soon set on fire. The line 
 fastened to the harpoon is six or seven fathoms long, and is 
 called the fore-runner ; it is made of the finest and softest 
 hemp, that it may slip the easier : to this they join a heap of 
 lines of 90 or 100 fathoms each, and when there are not 
 enough in one long-boat, they borrow from another. The man 
 at the helm observes which way the rope goes, and steers the 
 boat accordingly, that it may run exactly out before ; for the 
 whale runs away with the line with so much rapidity, that he 
 would overset the boat if it were not kept straight. When 
 the whale is struck, the other long-boats rojv before, and ob- 
 serve which way the line stands, and sometimes pull it : if 
 they feel it stiff’, it is a sign the whale still pulls in strength ; 
 but if it hangs loose, and the boat lies equally high before and 
 behind upon the water, they pull it in gently, but take care to 
 coil it, that the whale may have it again easily, if he recovers 
 strength : they take care, however, not to give him too much 
 line, because he sometimes entangles it about a rock, and 
 pulls out the harpoon. The fat whales do not sink as soon as 
 dead, but the lean ones do, and come up some days after- 
 wards. As long as they see whales, they lose no time in cut- 
 ting up what they have taken, yet keep fishing for others: 
 when they see no more, or have taken enough, they begin 
 with taking off’ the fat and whiskers in the following manner. 
 The whale being lashed alongside, they lay it on one side, 
 and put two ropes, one at the head and the other in the place 
 of the tail, (which, together with the fins, is struck off as 
 soon as he is taken,) to keep those extremities above water. 
 On the off-side of the whale are two boats, to receive the 
 pieces of fat, utensils, and men, that might otherwise fall into 
 the water on that side. These precautions being taken, three 
 or four men, with irons at their feet to prevent slipping, get 
 on the whale, and begin to cut out pieces of about three feet 
 thick and eight long, which are hauled up at the capstan or 
 windlass. When the fat is all cut off, they cut off the whis- 
 kers of the upper jaw with an axe, previously lashing them 
 together to keep them firm, which also facilitates the cut- 
 ting, and prevents them from falling into the sea ; when on 
 board, five or six of them are bundled together, and properly 
 stowed : and after all is got off, the carcase is turned adrift, 
 and devoured by the bears, who are very fond of it. In pro- 
 portion as the large pieces of fat are cut off, the rest of the 
 crew are employed in slicing them smaller, and picking out 
 all the lean. When this is prepared, they stow it under the 
 deck, where it lies till the fat of all the whales is on boar 
 then cutting it still smaller, they put it up in tubs in the ' 
 
 2 b 
 
210 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 cram/ning them very full and close. Nothing now remains 
 but to sail homewards, where the fat is to be boiled, anckmelted 
 down into train oil. 
 
 During the summer of 1821, an attempt was made to kill 
 whales with Sir William Congreve’s rockets. The trial was 
 conducted by William Scoresby, Esq. who took out with him, 
 on board of the Fame, in which he sailed, several rockets, by 
 way of experiment. Success attended his expectation; and 
 little doubt can remain, if they continue to be skilfully applied, 
 that the danger attending the harpoon will be nearly done 
 away ; and, consequently, this valuable branch of commerce 
 will be essentially benefited by the discovery. 
 
 We shall conclu'de this short sketch of some of the curiosi- 
 ties respecting fishes, with an account of The Kraken. — This 
 is a most amazingly large sea animal, said to be seemingly of a 
 crab-like form; the credit of whose existence rests upon the 
 evidence produced by Bishop Pontoppidan, in his Natural 
 History of Norway. 
 
 “ Our fishermen (says the author) unanimously and invari- 
 ably affirm, that, wffien they are several miles from the land, 
 particularly in the hot summer days, and, by their distance, 
 and the bearings af some points of land, expect from eighty 
 to a hundred fathoms depth, and do not find but from twenty 
 to thirty, — and especially if they find a more than usual 
 plenty of cod and ling, — they judije the kraken to be at the 
 bottom : but if they find by their lines that the water in the 
 same place still shallows on them, they know he is rising to 
 the surface, and row off with the greatest expedition till they 
 come into the usual soundings of the place ; when, lying on 
 their oars, in a few minutes the monster emerges, and shews 
 himself sufficiently, though the whole body does not appear. 
 Its back or upper part, which seems an English mile and a 
 half in circumference, (some have affirmed, considerably more 
 than this,) looks at first like a number of small islands, surround- 
 ed with something that floats like sea-weeds ; at last several 
 bright points of horns appear, which grow thicker the higher 
 they emerge, and sometimes stand up as high and large as 
 the masts of middle-sized vessels. In a short time it slowly 
 sinks, which is thought as dangerous as its rising ; as it 
 causes such a swell and whirlpool as draws every thing down 
 with it, like that of Maelstrom.” 
 
 The Bishop justly regrets the omission of probably the only 
 opportunity that ever has or may be presented of surveying it 
 alive, or seeing it entire when dead. This, he informs us, 
 once did occur, on the credit of the Rev. Mr. Friis, minister 
 at Nordland, and vicar of the college for promoting Christian 
 knowledge; who informed him, that in 1680, a kraken (perhapsa 
 
THE KRAKEN. 
 
 211 
 
 young and careless one, as they generally keep several leagues 
 from land) came into the waters that run between the rocks 
 and cliffs near Alstahong ; where, in turning about, some of 
 its long horns caught hold of some adjoining trees, which it 
 might easily have torn up, but that it was also entangled in 
 some clefts of the rocks, whence it could not extricate itself, 
 but putrefied on the spot. 
 
 Our author has heard of no person destroyed by this mon- 
 ster; but he relates a report of the danger of two fishermen, 
 who came upon a part of the water full of the creature’s thick 
 slimy excrements, (which he voids for some months, as he feeds 
 for some other;) they immediately strove to row off, but were 
 not quick enough in turning to save the boat from one of the 
 kraken’s horns, which so crushed the head of it, that it was 
 with difficulty they saved their lives on the wreck, though the 
 weather w^as perfectly calm, the monster never appearing at 
 other times. His excrement is said to be attractive of other 
 fish on which he feeds ; which expedient was probably neces- 
 sary, on account of his slow unwieldy motion, to his subsist- 
 ence ; as this slow motion again may be necessary to the secu- 
 rity of ships of the greatest force and burden, which must be 
 overwhelmed on encountering such an immense animal, if his 
 velocity were equal to his weight; the Norwegians supposing, 
 that if his arms, on which he moves, and with which he takes 
 his food, were to lay hold of the largest man of w^ar, they 
 would pull it down to the bottom. 
 
 In confirmation of the reality of this animal, our learned 
 author cites Debes’s Description of Faroe, for the existence 
 of certain islands, which suddenly appear and as suddenly 
 vanish. Many seafaring people, he adds, give accounts of 
 such, particularly in the North Sea; which their superstition 
 has either attributed to the delusion of the Devil, or consi- 
 dered as inhabited by evil spirits. But our honest historian, 
 who is not for wronging even the Devil himself, supposes such 
 mistaken islands to be nothing but the kraken, called by some 
 the soe irolden, or sea-mischief ; in which opinion he was 
 greatly confirmed by the following quotation of Dr. Hierne, a 
 learned Swede, from Baron Grippenheilm ; and which is cer- 
 tainly a very remarkable passage, viz. “ Among the rocks 
 about Stockholm, there i« sometimes seen a tract of land, which 
 at other times disappears, and is seen again in another place. 
 Buraeus has placed it as an island, in his map. The peasants, 
 who call it Gummars~ore, say, that it is not always seen, and 
 that it lies out in the open sea ; but I could never find it. One 
 , Sunday, when I was out amongst the rocks, sounding the coast, 
 it happened, that in one place I saw something like three 
 points of land in the sea, which surprised me a little, and I 
 thought I had inadvertently passed them over before. Upon 
 
212 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING FISHES. 
 
 this, I called to a peasant, to inquire for Gummars-ore ; but 
 when he came, we could see nothing of it ; upon which, the 
 peasant said, all was well, and that this prognosticated a storm, 
 or a great quantity of fish.” To which our author subjoins, 
 
 ‘‘ Who cannot discover that this Gummars-ore, with its points 
 and prognostications of fish, was the kraken, mistaken by 
 Buraeus for an island, which may keep itself about that spot 
 where he rises ?” He takes the kraken, doubtless, from his 
 numerous tentaculi, which serve him as feet, to be of the 
 polypus kind; and the cantemplation of its enormous bulk led 
 him to adapt a passage from Ecclesiasticus,’ xliii. 31, 32. to it. 
 Whether by it may be intended the “ dragon that is in the sea,” 
 mentioned Isaiah xxvii. 1. we refer to the conjecture of the 
 reader. 
 
 After paying but a just respect to the moral character, the 
 reverend function, and diligent investigations, of our author, 
 we must admit the possibility of its existence, as it implies no 
 contradiction ; though it seems to encounter a general prepos- 
 session of the whale’s being the largest animal on or in our 
 globe, and the eradication of any long prepossession is at- 
 tended with something irksome to us. But were we to sup- 
 pose a salmon or a sturgeon the largest fish any number of 
 persons had seen or heard of, and the whale had discovered 
 himself as seldom, and but in part, as the kraken, it is easy 
 to conceive that the existence of the whale had been as indi- 
 gestible to such persons then, as that of the kraken may be to 
 others now. 
 
 Some may incline to think such an extensive monster would 
 encroach on the symmetry of nature, and would be over pro- 
 portionate to the size of the globe itself; as a little calculation 
 will inform us, that the breadth of what is seen of him, sup- 
 posing him nearly round, must be full 2600 feet, fif more 
 oval, or crab-like, full 2000 feet,) and his thickness, which 
 may rather be called altitude, at least 300 feet ; our au- 
 thor declaring he has chosen the least circumference men- 
 tioned of this animal, for the greater certainty, 'fhese vast 
 dimensions, nevertheless, we apprehend will not argue con- 
 clusively against the existence of the animal, though consi- 
 derably against a numerous increase or propagation of it. 
 In fact, the great scarcity of the kraken, his confinement to 
 the North Sea, and perhaps to equal latitudes in the south; 
 the small number propagated by the whale, which is vivipa- 
 rous ; and by the largest land animals, of which the elephant 
 is said to go nearly two years with young; all induce us to con- 
 clude, from analogy, that this creature is not numerous ; which 
 coincides with a passage in a manuscript ascribed to Svere, * 
 king of Norway, and it is cited by 01. Wormius, in his Mu- 
 seum, p. 280, in Latin, which we shall exactly translate : — 
 
THE SCORPION. 
 
 213 
 
 '* There remains Dne kind, which they call hasgufe, whose 
 magnitude is unknown, as it is seldom seen. Those who affiim 
 they have seen its body, declare, it is more like an island than 
 a beast, and that its carcase was never found ; whence some 
 imagine that there are but two of the kind in nature/" 
 
 Whether the vanishing island Leinair, of which captain 
 Rodney went in search, was a kraken, we submit to the fancy 
 of our readers. In fine, if the existence of the creature is 
 admitted, it will seem a fair inference, that he is the scarcest 
 as well as the largest in our world ; and that if there are larger 
 in the universe, they probably inhabit some sphere or planet 
 more extended than our own, and such we have no pretence to 
 limit ; but that fiction can devise a much gi eater than this, is 
 evident from the cock of Mahomet, and the whale in the Bava 
 Bathra of the Talmud, which were intended to be credited ; 
 and to either of which, our kraken is a very shrimp in di- 
 mensions. 
 
 We conclude this account in the words of Goldsmkh : “To 
 believe all that has been said of these animals, would be too 
 credulous ; and to reject the possibility of their existence, 
 V ould be a presumption unbecoming mankind.” 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 The Scorpion — The Boa Constrictor — The American Sea Ser- 
 pent — Fascinating Serpents — 'The Caterpillar — Caterpillar' 
 Eaters — 'The Silk-Worm — 'The 'Tape-Worm — 'The Ship-Worm 
 — The Lizard imbedded in Coal. 
 
 THE SCORPION. 
 
 Their flaming crests above the waves they shew, 
 
 Their bellies seem to burn the seas below ; 
 
 Their speckled tails advance to steer their course. 
 
 And on the sounding shore the flying billows force. 
 
 And now the strand and now the plain they held ; 
 
 Their ardent eyes with bloody streaks are fill’d ; 
 
 Their nimble tongues they brandish’d as they came, 
 
 And lick’d their hissing jaws that sputter’d flame. Dry den. 
 
 Of all the classes of noxious insects, the scorpion is the 
 lost terrible. Its shape is hideous ; its size among the insects 
 enormous ; and its sting is generally fatal. Happily for 
 ' ritain, the scorpion is entirely unknown among us. In se- 
 veral parts of the continent of Europe, it is too well known, 
 though it seldom grows above four inches long but in the 
 
214 CURIOSITIES SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 warm tropical climates, it is seen a foot in length, and in 
 every respect as large as a lobster, which it somewhat resem- 
 bles in shape. There have been enumerated nine different 
 kinds of this dangerous insect, including species and varie- 
 ties, chiefly distinguished by their colour ; there being scor- 
 pions yellow, brown, and ash-coloured; others that are the 
 colour of rusty iron, green, pale yellow, black, claret colour, 
 white, and gray. There are four principal parts distinguish- 
 able in this creature ; the head, the breast, the belly, and the 
 tail. The scorpion’s head seems, as it were, jointed to the 
 breast, in the middle of which are seen two eyes ; and a little 
 more forward, two eyes more, placed in the fore part of the 
 head ; these eyes are so small, that they are scarcely per- 
 ceivable, and it is probable the creature has but little occa- 
 sion for them. The mouth is furnished with tw'o jaws ; the 
 undermost is divided into two, and the parts notched into each 
 other, which serve the creature as teeth, and with which it 
 breaks its food, and thrusts it into its mouth ; these the scor- 
 pion can at pleasure pull back into its mouth, so that no part 
 of them can be seen. On each side of the head are two arms, 
 each composed of four joints; the last of which is large, with 
 strong muscles, and made in the manner of the claw of a 
 lobster. Below the breast are eight articulated legs, each 
 divided into six joints ; the two hindmost of which are each 
 provided with two crooked claws, here and there covered with 
 hair. The belly is divided into seven little rings ; from the 
 lowest of which is continued a tail, composed of six joints, 
 which are bristly, and formed like little globes, the last being 
 armed with a crooked sting. This is that fatal instrument 
 which renders this insect so formidable ; it is long, pointed, 
 hard, and hollow ; it is pierced near the base with two small 
 holes, through which, when the creature stings, it ejects a 
 drop of poison, which is white, caustic, and fatal. The 
 reservoir in which this poison is kept, is a small bladder near 
 the tail, into which the venom is distilled by a peculiar appa- 
 ratus. If this bladder be greatly pressed, the venom will be 
 seen issuing out through the two holes above mentioned ; it 
 therefore appears, that when the creature stings, the bladder is 
 pressed, and the venom issues through the two apertures into 
 the wound. 
 
 There are few animals more formidable, or more truly mis- 
 chievous, than the scorpion. As it takes refuge in a small 
 ■place, and is generally found sheltering in houses, it must 
 frequently sting those among whom it resides. In some of 
 the towns of Italy, and in France, in the ci-devant province 
 of Languedoc, it is one of the greatest pests that torment man- 
 kind ; but its malignity in Europe is trifling, when compared to 
 what the natives of Africa and the East are known to experience 
 
THE SCORPION. 
 
 216 
 
 In Batavia, where they grow twelve inches long, there is no 
 removing any piece of furniture without the utmost danger of 
 being stung by them. Bosman assures us, that along the 
 Gold Coast they are often found larger than a lobster, and 
 that their sting is inevitably fatal. 
 
 In Europe, however, they are by no means so large, so ve- 
 nomous, or so niimerous. The general size of this animal 
 does not exceed two or three inches, and its sting is very 
 seldom fatal. No animal in the creation seems endued with 
 such an irascible nature ; they have often been seen, when 
 taken and put into a place of security, to exert all their rage 
 against the sides of the glass vessel that contained them. 
 They will attempt to sting a stick when put near them, and 
 attack a mouse or a frog, while these animals are far from of- 
 fering any injury. Maupertuis put three scorpions and a 
 mouse into the same vessel together, and they soon stung the 
 little animal in different places. The mouse, thus assaulted, 
 stood for some time upon the defensive, and at last killed 
 them all, one after another. He tried these experiments, in 
 order to see whether the mouse, after it had killed, would eat 
 the scorpions ; but the little quadruped seemed satisfied with 
 the victory, and even survived the severity of the wounds it 
 had received. 
 
 Wolkemar tried the courage of the scorpion against the 
 large spider, and inclosed several of both kinds in glass ves- 
 sels for that purpose. The success of this combat was very 
 remarkable. The spider at first used all his efforts to entangle 
 the scorpion in his web, which it immediately began spinning ; 
 but the scorpion rescued itself from the danger, by stinging 
 its adversary to death ; and soon after cut off, with its claws, 
 all the legs of the spider, and then sucked all the internal 
 parts at its leisure. If the scorpion^s skin had not been so 
 hard, Wolkemar is of opinion that the spider would have 
 obtained the victory ; for he had often seen one of these spi- 
 ders destroy a toad. 
 
 The fierce spirit of this animal is equally dangerous to its own 
 species, for scorpions are the cruellest enemies to each other. 
 Maupertuis put about a hundred of them together in the 
 same glass ; and they scarcely came in contact before they 
 began to exert all their rage in mutual destruction : there was 
 nothing to be seen but one universal carnage, without any 
 distinction of age or sex ; so that in a few days there remained 
 only fourteen, which had killed and devoured all the rest. 
 But their unnatural malignity is still more apparent, in their 
 cruelty to their offspring. He inclosed a female scorpion, 
 big with young, in a glass vessel, and she was seen to devour 
 them as fast as they w'ere excluded ; there was but one of 
 the. number that escaped the general destruction, by taking 
 
216 CURIOSITIES — SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 refuge on the back of its parent ; and this soon after revenged 
 the cause of its brethren, by killing the old one in its turn. 
 Such is the terrible and unrelenting nature of this insect, that 
 it is asserted, when driven to an extremity, that the scorpion 
 will even destroy itself. The following experiment was inef- 
 fectually tried by Maupertuis : “ But (says Mr. Goldsmith) I 
 am so well assured of it by many eye-witnesses, who have seen 
 it both in Italy and America, that I have no doubt remaining 
 of its veracity. A scorpion newly caught is placed in the 
 midst of a circle of burning charcoal, and thus an egress pre- 
 vented on every side ; the scorpion, as I am assured, runs about 
 a minute round the circle, in hopes of escaping, but finding 
 that impossible, it stings itself on the back of the head, and 
 in this manner the undaunted suicide instantly expires.” 
 
 It is happy for mankind that these animals are so destructive 
 to each other ; since otherwise they would multiply in so great 
 a degree as to render some countries uninhabitable. The male 
 and female of this inject are very easily distinguishable ; the 
 male being smaller, and less hairy. The female brings forth 
 her young alive, and perfect in their kind. Redi having bought 
 a quantity of scorpions, selected their females, and, putting 
 them in separate glass vessels, kept them for some days with- 
 out food. In about five days one of them brought forth thirty- 
 eight young ones, well shaped, and of a milk-white colour, 
 which changed every day more and more into a dark rusty hue. 
 Another female, in a different vessel, brought forth twenty- 
 seven of the same colour ; and the day following, the young 
 ones seemed all fixed to the back and belly of the female. For 
 near a fortnig-ht all these continued alive and well, but after- 
 wards some of them died daily ; until, in about a month, they 
 all died, except two. Were it worth the trouble, these animals 
 might be kept living as long as curiosity should think proper. 
 Their chief food is worms and insects; and upon a proper suy)- 
 ply of these, their lives might be lengthened to their natural 
 extent : how long that may be we are not told ; but, if we 
 may argue from analogy, it cannot be less than seven or eight 
 years, and perhaps, in the larger kind, double that duration. 
 As they have somewhat the form of a lobster, so they resem- 
 ble that animal in casting their shell ; or, more properly, their 
 skin, since it is softer by far than the covering of the lobster, 
 and set with hairs, which grow from it in great abundance, 
 particularly at the joinings. The young, prior to their birth, 
 lie each covered up in its own membrane to the number of forty 
 or fifty, and united to each other by an oblong thread, so as to 
 exhibit altogether the form of a chaplet. 
 
 Such is the manner in which the common scorpion produces 
 its young ; but there is a scorpion of America, produced from 
 the egg, in the manner of the spider. The eggs are no larger 
 
THE BOA CONSTRICTOR. 
 
 217 
 
 than pin’s points ; and they are deposited in a web, which 
 they spin from their bodies, and carry about with them till 
 they are hatched. As soon as the young ones are excluded 
 from the shell, they get upon the back of the parent, who turns 
 her tail over them, and defends them with her sting. It seems 
 probable, therefore, that captivity produces that unnatural 
 disposition in the scorpion, which induces it to destroy its 
 young ; since, at liberty, it is found to protect them with such 
 unceasing assiduity. 
 
 Another subject of curiosity belonging to this class, is. The 
 Boa Constrictor. — A serpent very remarkable for its vast 
 size ; some of the principal species of which are met with in In- 
 dia, Africa, and South America, and have been seen between 
 thirty and forty feet long, possessed of so much strength as to be 
 able to kill cattle by twisting around them, and crushing them 
 to death by pressure, after which they devour them, eating till 
 they are almost unable to move ; and in that state they may 
 be easily shot. Dr. Shaw observes, that these gigantic serpents 
 are become less common, in proportion to the increased popu- 
 lation of the parts where they are found ; they are, however, 
 still to be seen, and they will approach the abodes of man in 
 the vicinity of their residence. This species is beautifully varie- 
 gated with rhombic spots ; the belly is whitish ; it is of vast 
 strength, and from thirty to thirty-six feet long. With respect 
 to age, sex, and climate, it is subject to great variations. 
 
 It is supposed that an individual of this species once diffused 
 terror and dismay through a whole Roman army; a fact 
 alluded to by Livy in one of the books that have not come to 
 us, but which is quoted by Valerius Maximus, in words to 
 the following effect : “ Since we are on the subject of uncom- 
 mon phenomena, we may here mention the serpent so elo- 
 quently recorded by Livy, who says, that near the river Ba- 
 grada, in Africa, a snake w'as seen of such enormous magni- 
 tude, as to prevent the army of Attilius Regulus from the use 
 of the river ; and after snatching up several soldiers with its 
 enormous mouth, and devouring them, and killing several 
 more by striking and squeezing them w'ith the spires of its tail, 
 it was at length destroyed by assailing it with all the force of 
 military engines and showers of stones, after it had withstood 
 the attack of their spears and darts ; that it was regarded by 
 the whole army as a more formidable enemy than even Car- 
 thage itself ; and that the whole adjacent region being tainted 
 with the pestilential effluvia proceeding from its remains, and 
 the waters with its blood, the Roman army was obliged to 
 remove its station. The skin of the monster was 120 feet long, 
 and was sent to Rome as a trophy.” 
 
 Another account says, that “ it caused so much trouble to 
 
 2 E 
 
218 
 
 CURIOSITIES SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 Regulus, that he found it necessary to contest the possession 
 of the river with it, by employing the whole force of the army, 
 during which a considerable number of soldiers were lost, 
 while the serpent could neither be vanquished nor wounded; 
 the strong armour of its scales easily repelling the force of all 
 the weapons that were directed against it: upon which re- 
 course was had to battering engines, with which the animal 
 was attacked in the manner of a fortified tower, and was thus 
 at length overpowered. Several discharges were made against 
 it without success, till its back being broken by an immense 
 stone, the monster began to lose its powers, and was with 
 difficulty destroyed, after having diffused such a horror among 
 the army, that they confessed they would rather attack Car- 
 thage itself, than such another monster.” 
 
 The flesh of the serpent is eaten by the Indians and Negroes 
 of Africa, and they make its skin into garments. 
 
 The following account of The American Sea Serpent, 
 is given in the words of an eye-witness : — “ I, the undersigned 
 Joseph Woodward, captain of the Adamant schooner, of Hing- 
 ham, being on my rout from Penobscot to Hingham, steering 
 W. N. W., and being about ten leagues from the coast, per- 
 ceived, last Sunday, at two p. m. something on the surface of 
 the water, which seemed to me to be of the size of a large 
 boat. Supposing that it might be part of the wreck of a ship, 
 I approached ; but when I was within a few fathoms of it, it 
 appeared, to my great surprise, and that of my whole crew, 
 that it was a monstrous serpent. When I approached nearer, 
 it coiled itself up, instantly uncoiling itself again, and with- 
 drew with extreme rapidity. On my approaching again, it 
 coiled itself up a second time, and placed itself at the distance 
 of sixty feet at most, from the bow of the ship. 
 
 ** I had one of my guns loaded with a cannon ball and mus- 
 ket bullets. I fired it at the head of the monster; my crew 
 and myself distinctly heard the ball and bullets strike against 
 the body, from which they rebounded, as if they had struck 
 against a rock. The serpent shook his head and tail in an 
 extraordinary manner, and advanced toward the ship with 
 open jaws. I had caused the cannon to be reloaded, and 
 pointed it at his throat ; but he had come so near, that all the 
 crew were seized with terror, and we thought only of getting 
 out of his way. He almost touched the vessel, and had not I 
 tacked as I did, he would certainly have come on board. He 
 dived ; but in a moment we saw him a])pear again, with his 
 head on one side of the vessel, and his tail on the other, as 
 if he was going to lift us up and upset us. However, we did 
 not feel any shock. He remained five hours near us, only 
 going backward and forward. 
 
FASCINATION OF SERPENTS. THE CATERPILLAR. 219 
 
 ** The fears with which he at first inspired us having sub- 
 sided, we were able to examine him attentively. I estimate, 
 that his length is at least twice that of my schooner, that is 
 to say, 130 feet ; his head is full twelve or fourteen ; the dia- 
 meter of the body below the neck, is not less than six feet; 
 the size of the head is in proportion to that of the body. He 
 is of a blackish colour, his ear-holes, (ornes,) are about twelve 
 feet from the extremity of his head. In short, the whole has 
 a terrible look. When he coils himself up, he places his tail 
 in such a manner, that it aids him in darting forward with 
 great force : he moves in all directions with the greatest faci- 
 lity and astonishing rapidity. 
 
 (Signed,) Joseph Woodward. 
 
 Hingham^ May 12, 1818.'' 
 
 This declaration is attested by Peter Holmes and John 
 Mayo, who made affidavit of the truth of it before a justice 
 of peace. 
 
 On the Fascinating Power of Serpents. — Major 
 Alexander Garden, of South Carolina, has, in a paper read 
 to the New York Historical Society, attributed the supposed 
 power of fascination possessed by serpents, to a vapour which 
 they can spread around them, and to objects at a little dis- 
 tance, at pleasure. He first reduces the exaggerated idea 
 which has been entertained of this power, and then adduces 
 instances of the effect of a sickening and stupifying vapour, 
 perceived to issue from the animal. A negro is mentioned, 
 who, from a very peculiar acuteness in smell, could discover 
 the rattlesnake at a distance of two hundred feet, when in the 
 exercise of this power ; and on following this indication, always 
 found some animal suffering from its influence. 
 
 We shall now give some curiosities respecting Worms ; and 
 first, of The Caterpillar. — The larvse of butterflies are uni- 
 versally known by the name of caterpillars, and are extremely 
 various in their forms and colours, some being smooth, others 
 beset with either simple or ramified spines, and some are ob- 
 served to protrude from their front, when disturbed, a pair of 
 short tentacula, or feelers, somewhat analogous to those of a 
 snail. A caterpillar, when grown to its full size, retires to 
 some convenient spot, and, securing itself properly by a small 
 quantity of silken filaments, either suspends itself by the tail, 
 hanging with its head downwards, or else in an upright posi- 
 tion, with the body fastened round the middle by a numbei 
 of filaments. It then casts off the caterpillar-skin, and com- 
 mences chrysalis, in which slate it continues till the butterfly 
 is ready for birth, which, liberating itself from the skin of the 
 chrysalis, remains till its wings, which are at first short, weak, 
 
220 CURIOSIT ES SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 and covered with moisture, are fully extended ; this happens 
 in about a quarter of an hour, when the animal suddenly quits 
 the state of inactivity to which it had been so long confined, 
 and becomes at pleasure an inhabitant of the air. 
 
 It will now be proper to give some account of The Cater- 
 pillar-Eaters. — Caterpillar-eaters are a species of worms 
 bred in the body of the caterpillar, and which eat its flesh. 
 These are produced by a certain kind of fly, that lodges her 
 eggs in the body of this insect ; and they, after their proper 
 changes, become flies like their parents. Mr. Reaumur has 
 given us, in his History of Insects, some very curious parti- 
 culars respecting these little worms. Each of them spins 
 itself a very beautiful case, of a cylindric figure, of a very 
 strong sort of silk, in which this animal spends its state of 
 chrysalis ; and they have a mark by which they may be known 
 from all other animal productions of this kind, which is, that 
 they have alwc^ys a broad stripe or band surrounding their 
 middle, which is black when the rest of the case is white, 
 and white when that is black. Mr. Reaumur has had the pa- 
 tience to find out the reason of this singularity. The whole 
 shell is spun of a silk produced out of the creature’s body; 
 this at first runs all white, and towards the end of the spin- 
 ning turns black. The outside of the case must necessarily 
 be formed first, as the creature works from within ; conse- 
 quently this is truly white all over, but it is transparent, and 
 shews the last spun, or black silk, through it. It might be 
 supposed that the whole inside of the shell should be black; 
 but this is not the case ; the whole is fashioned before this black 
 silk com.es ; and this is employed by the creature, not to line 
 the whole, but to fortify certain parts only ; and therefore is 
 all applied either to the middle,— or to the two ends, omitting 
 the middle, — or a blackness at both ends, leaving the white in 
 the middle to appear. It is not uncommon to find a sort of 
 small casei^ in garden walks, which appear to move of them- 
 selves ; when these are opened, they are found to contain a small 
 living worm. This is one of the species of these caterpillar- 
 eaters ; which, as soon as it comes out of the body of that 
 animal, spins itself a case for its transformation, and lives in 
 it without food till that change comes on, when it becomes a 
 fly, like that to which it owed its birth. 
 
 In the next place we shall introduce a subject of great curio- 
 sity, well known by the name of The Silk-worm. — The 
 silk-worm is a species of caterpillar, and, like it, is formed of 
 several moveable rings, and is well furnished with feet and 
 claws, to rest and fix itself where it pleases. It has two rows 
 of teeth, which do not move upwards and downwards, but 
 
SILK-WORMS. 
 
OF THE 
 
 •V' 
 
THE SILK-WORM. 
 
 221 
 
 from right to left, which enables it to press, cut, and tear the 
 leaves in every direction. Along the whole length of its back 
 we perceive through its skin a vessel which performs the func- 
 tions of a heart. On each side of this insect are nine orifices, 
 which answer to as many lungs, and assist the circulation of 
 the chyle, or nutritive juice. Under the mouth it has a kind of 
 reel with two holes, through which pass two drops of the 
 gum with which its bag is filled ; they act like two distaffs, 
 continually furnishing it with the materials of which it makes 
 its silk. The gum which distils through the two holes takes 
 their form, lengthens into a double thread, which suddenly 
 loses the fluidity of the liquid gum, and acquires the consist- 
 ence necessary to support or to envelope the worm. When 
 that time arrives, it joins the two threads together, by gluing 
 them one over the other with its fore feet. This double thread 
 is not only very fine, but also very strong, and of great length. 
 Each bag has a thread which is nearly five hundred ells long ; 
 and as this thread is double,* and joined together throughout 
 its length, each bag will be found to contain a thousand ells 
 of silk, though the whole weight does not exceed two grains 
 and a half. 
 
 The life of this insect in its vermiform state is very short, 
 and it passes through different states till it gradually arrives 
 at its greatest degree of perfection. When it first emerges 
 from the egg, it is extremely small, perfectly black, and its 
 head of a still brighter black than the rest of its body : in a 
 few days it begins to grow white, or of an ash colour ; its 
 coat becomes dirty and ruffled ; it casts it off, and appears in 
 anew dress; it becomes larger and much whiter, though a 
 little tinged w'ifh green, from feeding upon green leaves. 
 After a few more days (the length of time varying according 
 to the degree of heat and quality of its nourishment) it ceases 
 to eat, and sleeps for about two days ; it then agitates and 
 frets itself extremely, becoming red with the efforts it makes; 
 its skin wrinkles and shrivels up, and it throws it off a second 
 time, together with its feet. Within the space of three weeks 
 or a month, we see it fresh dressed three times. It now begins 
 to eat again, and might be taken for a different creature, so 
 much is the appearance of its head, colour, and figure, altered. 
 After continuing to eat for some days, it falls again into a 
 ethargic state ; on recovering from which, it once more 
 ’'hanges its coat, which makes the third since it issued from 
 "s shell. It continues to eat for some time, then, entirely 
 ceasing to take any nutriment, prepares for itself a retreat, 
 and draws out a silken thread, which it wraps round its body 
 in the same manner as we might wind thread round an oval 
 piece of wood. It remains quietly in the bag it haa formed, 
 and at the end of fifteen days would pierce it, to issue forth. 
 
222 CURIOSITIES — SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 if it was not killed by being exposed to the heat of the sun, 
 or shut up in an oven. The silk-bags are thrown into hot 
 Wa^er, and stirred about with birch twigs to draw out the 
 heads or beginning of the threads, and the silk is afterwards 
 wound upon reels made for the purpose. Thus we are in- 
 debted to this little insect for our greatest luxury in clothing : 
 a reflection which ought to humble our pride ; for how can 
 we be vain of the silk which covers us, w'hen we reflect to 
 what we are indebted for it, and how^ little we are instru- 
 mental in the formation of those beauties in our clothing, of 
 which we are vain? Thus we find the most insignificant and 
 despicable objects are the instruments of ornament and ad- 
 vantage to man ; an insect that we scarcely condescended to 
 look at, becomes a blessing to thousands of human beings, 
 forms an important article of trade, and is the source of great 
 riches. 
 
 Our next subject is. The Tape-worm. — This genus of 
 worms is destined to feed on the juices of various animals, 
 and they inhabit the internal parts of almost every species of 
 living beings. The structure and physiology of the teenia are 
 curious, and it may be amusing as well as instructive to con- 
 sider it with attention. The tsenia appears destined to feed 
 upon such juices of animals as are already animalized ; and 
 it is therefore most commonly found in the alimentary canal, 
 and in the upper part, where there is the greatest abundance of 
 chyle, for chyle seems to be the natural food of the taenia. 
 As it is thus supported by food which is already digested, it 
 is destitute of the complicated organs of digestion. As the 
 taenia solium is most frequent in this country, it may be proper 
 to describe it more particularly. 
 
 It is from three to thirty feet long ; some say sixty feet. It 
 is composed of a head, in which are a mouth adapted to drink 
 up fluids, and an apparatus for giving the head a fixed situa- 
 tion. The body is composed of a great number of distinct 
 pieces articulated together, each joint having an organ by 
 which it attaches itself to the neighbouring part of the inner 
 court of the intestine. The joints nearest the head are always 
 small, and they become gradually enlarged as they are farther 
 removed from it; but towards the tail a few of the last joints 
 again become diminished in size. The extremity of the body 
 is terminated by a small semicircular joint, which has no 
 opening in it. 
 
 The head of this animal is composed of the same kind of 
 materials as the other parts of its body ; it has a rounded 
 opening at its extremity, which is considered to be its mouth. 
 This opening is continued by a short duct into two canals ; 
 ♦kese canals pass round every joint of the animaTs body, and 
 
THE TAPE-WORM. 
 
 223 
 
 convey the aliment. Surrounding the opening of the mouth, 
 are placed a number of projecting radii, which are of a fibrous 
 texture, and whose direction is longitudinal. These radii appear 
 to serve the purpose of tentacula, for fixing the orifice of the 
 mouth, from their being inserted along the brim of that open- 
 ing. After the rounded extremity or head has been narrowed 
 into the neck, the lower part becomes flatted, and has two 
 small tubercles placed on each flatted side ; the tubercles are 
 concave in the middle, and appear destined to serve the purpose 
 of suckers, for attaching the head more effectually. The 
 internal structure of the joints composing the body of this 
 animal is partly vascular and partly cellular; the substance 
 itself is white, and somewhat resembles in its texture the 
 coagulated lymph of the human blood. The alimentary canal 
 passes along each side of the animal, sending a cross canal 
 over the bottom of each joint, which connects the two lateral 
 canals together. 
 
 Mr. Carlisle injected, with a coloured size, at a single 
 push with a small syringe, three feet in length of these canals, 
 in the direction from the mouth downwards. He tried the 
 injection the contrary way, but it seemed to be stopped with 
 valves. The alimentary canal is impervious at the extreme 
 joint, where it terminates without any opening analogous to 
 an anus. Each joint has a vascular joint occupying the mid- 
 dle part, which is composed of a longitudinal canal, from 
 which a great number of lateral canals branch off at right 
 angles. These canals contain a fluid like milk. 
 
 The tcenia seems to be one of the simplest vascular animals 
 in nature. The way in which it is nourished is singular; the 
 food being taken in by the mouth, passes into the alimentary 
 canal, and is thus made to visit in a general way the different 
 parts of the animal. As it has no excretory ducts, it would 
 appear that the whole of its alimentary fluid is fit for nourish- 
 ment; the decayed parts probably dissolve into a fluid, which 
 transudes through the skin, which is extremely porous. 
 
 This animal has nothing resembling a brain or nerves, and 
 seems to have no organs of sense, but those of touch. It is 
 most probably propagated by ova, which may easily pass 
 along the circulating vessels of other animals. We cannot 
 otherwise explain the phenomena of worms being found in the 
 eggs of fowls, and in the intestines of a foetus before birth, 
 except by supposing their ova to have passed through the cir- 
 culating vessels of the mother, and by this means to have been 
 conveyed to the foetus. 
 
 The chance of an ovum being placed in a situation where it 
 will be katched, and the young find convenient subsistence, 
 must be very small ; hence the necessity for their being very 
 prolific. If they had the same powers of fecundity which 
 
224 CURIOSITIES— SERPENTS AND WORMS. 
 
 they now possess, and their ova were afterwards very readily 
 hatched, then the multiplication of these animals would be 
 immense, and become a nuisance to the other parts of the 
 creation. 
 
 Another mode of increase allowed to tsenia, (if we may call 
 it increase,) is by an addition to the number of their joints. 
 If we consider the individual joints as distinct beings, it is 
 so ; and when we reflect upon the power of individuality given 
 to each joint, it makes this conjecture the more probable. 
 We can hardly suppose that an ovum of a tsenia, which at its 
 full growth is thirty feet long, and composed of four hundred 
 joints, contained a young tsenia composed of this number of 
 pieces ; but we have seen young tsenia not half a foot long, 
 and not possessed of fifty joints, which still were entire worms. 
 We have also many reasons to believe, that when a part of 
 this animal is broken off from the rest, it is capable of forming 
 a head for itself, and of becoming an independent being. The 
 simple construction of the head makes its regeneration a much 
 more easy operation than that of the tails and feet of lizards, 
 which are composed of bones and complicated vessels ; but 
 this last operation has been proved by the experiments of 
 Spallanzani, and many other naturalists. 
 
 An article of great curiosity is, The Ship-worm. — This 
 worm has a very slender, smooth, cylindrical shell ; it inhabits 
 the Indian seas, whence it was imported into Europe. It 
 penetrates easily into the stoutest oak planks, and produces 
 dreadful destruction to the ships, by the holes it makes in 
 their sides : and it is to avoid the effects of this insect that 
 vessels require sheathing. 
 
 The head of this creature is coated with a strong armour, 
 and furnished with a mouth like that of the leech. A little 
 above this it has two horns, which seem a kind of continua- 
 tion of the shell ; the neck is furnished w’ith several strong 
 muscles ; the rest of the body is only covered by a very thin 
 transparent skin, through which the motion of the intestines is 
 plainly seen by the naked eye. This creature is wonderfully 
 minute when newly excluded from the egg, but it grows to 
 the length of four or six inches, and sometimes more. When 
 the bottom of a vessel, or any piece of wood which is con- 
 stantly under water, is inhabited by these worms, it is full of 
 small holes; but no damage appears till the outer parts are 
 cut away. Then their shelly habitations come into view, in 
 which there is a large space for inclosing the animal, and 
 surrounding it with water. There is an evident care in these 
 creatures never to injure each other’s habitations ; by which 
 means each case or shell is preserved entire. These worms 
 will appear, on a very little consideration, to be most impor- 
 
THE SILK-WORM. 
 
 225 
 
 tant beings in the great chain of creation, and pleasing demon- 
 strations of the infinitely wise and gracious Power, which 
 formed, and still preserves the whole, in such wonderful order 
 and beauty ; for if it were not for the rapacity of these and such 
 animals, tropical rivers, and indeed the ocean itself, would 
 be choked with the bodies of trees which are annually carried 
 down by the rapid torrents, as many of them would last for 
 ages, and probably be productive of evils, of which, happily, 
 we cannot in the present state of things form any idea ; whereas, 
 being consumed by these animals, they are more easily 
 broken in pieces by the waves ; and the fragments which are 
 not devoured become specifically lighter, and are conse- 
 quently more readily and more effectually thrown on shore, 
 where the sun, wind, insects, and various other instruments, 
 speedily promote their entire dissolution. 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with an account of a singu- 
 lar curiosity that was found in a colliery. It is A living 
 Lizard, imbedded in Coal. — This animal, preserved in 
 spirits, is now' in the possession of Mr. James Scholes, engi- 
 neer to Mr. Fenton^s colliery, near Wakefield. It is about 
 five inches long ; its back of a dark brown colour, and it 
 appears rough and scaly; its sides are of a lighter colour, and 
 spotted with yellow ; the belly yellow, streaked with bands 
 of the same colour as the back. Mr. S. related to me the 
 following circumstances of its being found. In August last, 
 they were sinking a new pit or shaft, and after passing through 
 measures of stone, gray-bind, and blue stone, and some thin 
 beds of coal, to the depth of one hundred and fifty yards, they 
 came upon that intended to be worked, which is about four 
 feet thick. When they had excavated about three inches of 
 it, one of the miners (as he supposed) struck his pick, or 
 mattock, into a crevice, and shattered the coal around into 
 small pieces ; he then discovered the animal in question, and 
 immediately carried it to Mr. S. : it continued very brisk and 
 lively fur about ten minutes, then drooped and died. About 
 four inches above the coal in which the animal was found, 
 numbers of muscle-shells, in a fossil state, lay scattered in a 
 loose gray earth. 
 
226 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 CHAP. XIX 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 The Common Peacock — The Egyptian Vulture — The Secretary 
 Vulture — The Stork — The Great Pelican — T'he Bird oj Para-- 
 disc — The Ostrich — The Mocking-Bird of America — The 
 Social Grosbeak — The Bengal Grosbeak — The Humming-Bird 
 — The Golden Eagle. 
 
 THE PEACOCK. 
 
 How rich the peacock ! what bright glories run 
 From plume to plume, and vary in the sun ! 
 
 He proudly spreads them to the golden ray, 
 
 And gives his colours to adorn the day ; 
 
 With conscious state the spacious round displays, 
 
 And slowly moves amid the waving blaze. Young. 
 
 This very beautiful and interesting bird has a compressed 
 crest and solitary spurs. It is about the size of a turkey ; 
 the length from the top of the bill to the end of the tail being 
 three feet eight inches. The bill is nearly two inches long, 
 and is of a brown colour. The irides are yellow. On the 
 crown there is a sort of crest, composed of twenty-four fea- 
 thers, not webbed, except at the ends, which are gilded green. 
 The shafts are of a whitish colour ; and the head, neck, and 
 breast, are of a green gold colour. Over the eye there is a 
 streak of white, and beneath there is the same. The back and 
 rump are of a green gold colour, glossed over with copper ; 
 the feathers are distinct, and lie over each other like shells 
 Above the tail springs an inimitable set of long beautiful fea- 
 thers, adorned with a variegated eye at the end of each ; these 
 reach considerably beyond the tail, and the longest of them 
 in many birds are four feet and a half long. This beau- 
 tiful train, or tail, as it is improperly called, may be expanded 
 in the manner of a fan, at the will of the bird. The true 
 tail is hid beneath this group of feathers, and consists of 
 eighteen gray-brown feathers, one foot and a half long, marked 
 on the sides with rufous gray ; the scapulars, and lesser wing 
 coverts, are reddish cream colour, variegated with black ; the 
 middle coverts deep blue, glossed with green gold ; the great- 
 est and bastard wing, rufous ; the quills are also rufous, some 
 of them variegated with rufous, blackish, and green ; the belly 
 and vent are greenish black, the thighs yellowish, the legs 
 stout, those of the male furnished with a strong spur, three- 
 quarters of an inch in length, the colour of which is gray- 
 brown. 
 
1 HE PEACOCK. 
 
 29:. 
 
 These birds, now so common in Europe, are of Eastern 
 origin. They are found wild in the islands of Ceylon and 
 Java, in the East Indies ; and at St. Helena, Barbuda, and 
 other West India islands. They are not natural to China ; but 
 they are found in many places in Asia and Africa. They are, 
 however, no where so large or so fine as in India, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Ganges, whence they have spread into all 
 parts, increasing in a wild state in the warmer climates, but 
 requiring care in the colder regions. In ours, this species 
 does not come to its full plumage till the third year. The fe- 
 male lays five or six grayish white eggs ; in hot climates twenty, 
 the size of those of a turkey. These, if let alone, she lays 
 in some secret place, at distance from the usual resort, to 
 prevent their being broken by the male, which he is apt to do 
 if he find them. The time of sitting is from twenty-seven to 
 thirty days. The young may be fed with curds, chopped leeks, 
 barley-meal, &c. moistened ; and they are fond of grasshop- 
 pers, and some other insects. In five or six months they will 
 feed as the old ones, on wheat and barley, with what else they 
 can pick up in the circuit of their confinement. They seem 
 to prefer the most elevated places to roost on during tlie night; 
 such as high trees, tops of houses, and the like. Their cry 
 is loud and inharmonious, — a perfect contrast to their external 
 beauty. They are caught ini India, by carrying lights to the 
 trees where they roost, and having painted rejiresentations of 
 the bird presented to them at the same time ; when they ]iut 
 out the neck to look at the figure, the spo.rtsman slips a noose 
 over the head, and secures his game. In most ages they have 
 been esteemed a salutary food. Hortensius gave the example 
 at Rome, where it was counted the highest luxury, and sold 
 dear , and a young peacock is thought a dainty, even in the 
 present times. The life of these birds is reckoned by some 
 at about twenty-five years ; by others a hundred. 
 
 So beautiful a species of birds as the peacock could not 
 long remain unknown : so early as the days of Solomon, we 
 find, among the articles imported in his Tarshish navies, apes 
 and peacocks. iElian relates, that they were brought into 
 Greece from some barbarous country ; and that they were held 
 in such high esteem, that a male and female were valued at 
 Athens at 1000 drachm®, or £32. 5s. lOd. At Samos they were 
 preserved about the temple of Juno, being sacred to that god- 
 dess ; and Gellius, in his Nodes Attica, c. xvi. commends the 
 excellency of the Samian peacocks. When Alexander was in 
 India, he found vast numbers of wild ones on the banks of the 
 Hyarotis; and was so struck with their beauty, as to appoint a 
 severe punishment on any person that killed them. Peacocks* 
 crests, in ancient times, were among the ornaments of the kings 
 of England. Ernald de Aclent was fined to king John in one 
 
228 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SIRDS. 
 
 hundred and forty palfreys, with sackbuts, lorams, gilt spun, 
 and peacocks’ crests, such as would be for his credit. 
 
 We shall nov/ introduce The Egyptian Vulture. — Thp 
 appearance of this bird is as horrid as can well be imagined. 
 The face is naked and wrinkled ; the eyes are large and black ; 
 the beak black and hooked ; the talons large, and extended, 
 ready for prey ; and the whole body polluted with filth : these 
 are qualities enough to make the beholder shudder with hor- 
 ror. Notwithstanding this, the inhabitants of Egypt cannot 
 be thankful enough to Providence for this bird. All the places 
 round Cairo are filled with the dead bodies of asses and camels, 
 and thousands of these birds fly about and devour the car- 
 cases before they putrefy, and fill the air with noxious exhala- 
 tions. The inhabitants of Egypt say, (and after them Maillet, 
 in his description of Egypt,) that they yearly follow the 
 caravan to Mecca, and devour the filth of the slaughtered 
 beasts, and the carcases of the camels which die on the jour- 
 ney. They do not fly high, nor are they afraid of men. If 
 one of them is killed, all the rest surround it in the same 
 manner as do the Royston crows ; they do not quit the places 
 they frequent, though frightened by the explosion of a gun, 
 but immediately return. 
 
 The Secretary Vulture. — This is a most singular spe- 
 cies, being particularly remarkable from the great length of 
 its legs, which at first sight would induce us to think it 
 belonged to waders : but the characters of the vulture are so 
 strongly marked throughout, .<s to leave no doubt to which 
 class it belongs. This bird, when standing erect, is full three 
 feet from the top of the head to the ground. The bill is black, 
 sharp, and crooked, like that of an eagle ; the head, neck, 
 breast, and upper parts of the body, are of a bluish ash-colour ; 
 the legs are very long, stouter than those of a heron, and of 
 a brown colour ; claws shortish, but crooked, not very sharp, 
 and of a black colour. From behind the head spring a number 
 of long feathers, which hang loose behind, like a pendent 
 crest ; these feathers rise by pairs, and are longer as they 
 are lower down on the neck ; this crest, the bird can erect or 
 depress at pleasure ; it is of a dark colour, almost black ; the 
 webs are equal on both sides, and rather curled, and the fea- 
 thers, when erected, somewhat incline towards the neck ; the 
 two middle feathers of the tail are twice as long as any of the 
 rest. This singular species inhabits the internal parts ol 
 Africa, and is frequently seen at the Cape of Good Hope. It 
 is also met with in the Philippine islands. As to the manners 
 of this bird, it is on all hands allowed that it principally feeds 
 on rats, lizards, snakes, and the like ; and that it will becomt 
 
THE STORK. — THE PELICAN; 
 
 229 
 
 familiar; whence Sonnerat is of opinion, that it might be 
 made useful in some of our colonies, if encouraged, towards 
 the destruction of those pests. They call it at the Cape of 
 Good ]lo\)e,Jiang-eater, i. e. snake-eater. A great peculiarity 
 belongs to it, perhaps observed in no other, which is, the fa- 
 culty of striking forwards with its legs, never backwards. Dr. 
 Solander saw one of these birds take up a snake, small tor- 
 toise, or such like, in its claws ; when, dashing it against the 
 ground with great violence, if the victim were not killed at 
 first, it repeated the operation till that end was answered ; 
 after which it ate it up quietly. Dr. J. R. Forster mentioned 
 a further circumstance, which he says was supposed to be pe- 
 culiar to this bird, — that should it by any accident break the 
 leg, the bone would never unite again. 
 
 The curious reader will be interested by the following sin- 
 gular particulars respecting The Stork. — The veneration 
 shewn by the Germans for storks, is a very remarkable super- 
 stition. The houses which these birds light upon, are consi- 
 dered as under the special favour of Heaven. It is usual to 
 contrive a small flat square spot on the top of the roof, for 
 them to rest upon, and build their nests. Catholic curates, 
 as well as Protestant ministers, endeavour to allure them to 
 their churches. “ I observed (says a French traveller) four 
 or five steeples dignified by such visitors. There are people 
 so lucky as to attract some of them into their poultry-yard, 
 where they stalk about wdth the hens, but without yielding up 
 any particle of their freedom. Were any one to kill a stork, 
 he would be pursued like an Egyptian of old for killing an 
 ibis, or for fricaseeing a cat.^' 
 
 In a fire, by which the town of Delft in Holland was burnt 
 to ashes, a stork, which had built her nest upon a chimney, 
 strove all she could to save her little ones : she was seen 
 spreading her wings around them, to keep off the sparks and 
 burning embers. Already the flame began to seize upon her, 
 but, unmindful of herself, she cared only for her offspring, 
 bemoaning their loss, and at length fell a prey to the fire, 
 under the eyes of a sympathizing crowd; prefering death with 
 the pledges of her love, to life without them. This interest- 
 ing anecdote was celebrated by a Flemish poet, who lived in 
 1503, in an effusion bearing the title of the “ Stork of Delft; 
 or, the Model of Maternal Love.’’ 
 
 The Great Pelican. — This bird is sometimes of the 
 weight of twenty-five pounds, and of the width, between the 
 extreme points of the wings, of fifteen feet ; the skin, between 
 the sides of the upper mandible, is extremely dilatable, reach- 
 ing more than half a foot down the neck, and capable of con- 
 
230 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 taining many quarts of water. The skin is often used by sailors 
 for tobacco-pouches, and has been occasionally converted into 
 ladies’ elegant work bags. About the Caspian and Black 
 seas, these birds are very numerous ; and they are chiefly to 
 be found in the warmer regions, inhabiting almost every 
 country of Africa. They build in the small isles of lakes, far 
 from the habitations of man. The nest is a foot and a half in 
 diameter; and the female, if molested, will remove her eggs 
 into the water till the cause of annoyance is removed, and then 
 return them to her nest of reeds and grass. These birds, 
 though living principally upon fish, often build in the midst 
 of deserts, where that element is rarely to be found. They 
 are extremely dexterous in diving for their ]n’ey, and, after 
 having filled their pouch, will retire to some rock, and swal- 
 low what they have taken at their leisure. They are said to 
 unite with other birds in the pursuit of fish. The pelicans 
 dive, and drive the fish into the shallows ; the cormorants 
 assist by flapping their wings on the surface, and, forming a 
 crescent, perpetually contracting, they at length accomplish 
 their object, and compel vast numbers into creeks and shal- 
 lows, where they gratify their voracity with perfect ease, and 
 to the most astonishing excess. 
 
 Another curiosity is, The Bird of Paradise. — In natural 
 history, a genus of birds of the order Picee. Generic charac- 
 ter: bill covered at the base with downy feathers; nostrils 
 covered by the feathers ; tail of ten feathers, two of them, in 
 some species, very long ; legs and feet very large and strong. 
 These birds chiefly inhabit North Guinea, whence they emigrate 
 in the dry season to the neighbouring islands. Their feathers 
 are used in these countries as ornaments for the head-dress; 
 and the Japanese, Chinese, and Persians, import them for 
 the same purpose. The rich and great among the latter attach 
 these brilliant collections of plumage, not only to their own 
 turbans, but to the housings and harnesses of their horses. 
 They are found only within a few degrees of the equator. 
 Gmelin enumerates twelve species, and Latham eight. P. apo- 
 da, or the greater Paradise bird, is about as large as a thrush. 
 They pass in companies of thirty or forty together, headed 
 by one whose flight is higher than that of the rest. They are 
 often distressed by means of their long feathers, in sudden 
 shiftings of the wind, and unable to proceed in their flight; 
 are easily taken by the natives, who catch them with bird- 
 lime, and shoot them with blunted arrows. They are sold at 
 Aroo for an iron nail each, and at Banda for half a rix-dollar. 
 Their food is not ascertained, and they cannot be kept alive 
 in confinement. The smaller bird of Paradise is supposed, by 
 Latham, to be a mere variety of the above. It is found only 
 
THE OSTRICH. 
 
 ‘231 
 
 in the Papuan islands, where it is caught bj the natives often 
 by the hand, and exenterated and seared with a hot iron in 
 the inside, and then put into the hollow of a bamboo, to 
 secure its plumage from injury. 
 
 The following account of the curiosities of The Os- 
 trich, is taken from Lichtenstein’s Travels in South Africa, 
 vol. II. — “ The habits of the ostrich are so remarkable, and 
 have been so imperfectly described by travellers in general, 
 that I cannot forbear bringing together here all the knowledge 
 t acquired upon the subject, both in this and subsequent jour- 
 neys. I have noticed, on a former occasion, a large flock of 
 ostriches, which we met in the neighbourhood of Komberg. 
 In that country, the drought and heat sometimes compel 
 these gigantic birds to leave the plains, and then they pursue 
 their course together in large flocks to the heights, where they 
 find themselves more commodiously lodged. At the time of 
 sitting, there are seldom more than four or five seen together, 
 of which only one is a cock, the rest are hens. These hens 
 lay their eggs all together in the same nest, which is nothing 
 more than a round cavity made in the clay, of such a size 
 as to be covered by one of the birds, when sitting upon 
 it. A sort of wall is scraped up round with their feet, against 
 which the eggs in the outermost circle rest. Every egg stands 
 upon its point in the nest, that the greatest possible number 
 may be stowed within the space. When ten or twelve eggs 
 are laid, they begin to sit, the hens taking their turns, and 
 relieving each other during the day ; at night the cock alone 
 sits, to guard the eggs against the jackals and wild cats, who 
 will run almost any risk to procure tJiem. Great numbers of 
 these smaller beasts of prey have often been found crushed to 
 death about the nests ; a proof that the ostrich does not fight 
 with them, but knows very well how to conquer them at once 
 by her own resistless power; for it is certain, that a stroke of 
 her large foot trampling upon them, is enough to crush any 
 such animal. 
 
 “ The hens continue to lay during the time they are sitting, 
 and that, not only till the nest is full, which happens when 
 about thirty eggs are laid, but for some time after. The eggs 
 laid after the nest is filled are deposited round about it, and 
 seem designed by nature to satisfy the cravings of the above- 
 mentioned enemies, since they very much prefer the new-laid 
 eggs to those which have been brooded. But they seem also 
 to have a more important designation, that is, to assist in the 
 nourishment of the young birds. These, when first hatched, 
 are as large as a common pullet, and since their tender sto- 
 machs cannot digest the hard food eaten by the old ones, the 
 spare eggs serve as their first nourishment. The increase of 
 
232 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 the ostrich race would be incalculable, had they not so many 
 enemies, by which great numbers of the young are destroyed 
 after they quit the nest. 
 
 ** The ostrich is a very prudent, wary creature, which is not 
 easily ensnared in the open field, since it sees to a very great 
 distance, and takes to flight upon the least idea of danger. 
 For this reason the quaggas generally attach themselves, as it 
 were instinctively, to a troop of ostriches, and fly with them, 
 without the least idea that they are followed. Xenophon 
 relates, that the army of Cyrus met ostriches and wild asses 
 together, in the plains of Syria. 
 
 “ The ostriches are particularly careful to conceal, if possible, 
 the places where their nests are made. They never go directly 
 to them, but run round in a circle at a considerable distance 
 before they attempt to approach the spot. On the contrary, they 
 always run directly up to the springs where they drink, and the 
 impressions they make on the ground, in the desolate places 
 they inhabit, are often mistaken for the footsteps of men. The 
 females, in sitting, when they are to relieve each other, either 
 both remove awhile to a distance from the nest, or change 
 hastily, that any one who might by chance be spying about, 
 could never see both at once. In the day-time, they occa- 
 sionally quit the nest entirely, and leave the care of warming 
 the eggs to the sun alone. If at any time they find that the , 
 place of their nest is discovered, that either a man or a beast 
 of prey has been at it, and has disturbed the arrano ement of 
 the eggs, or taken any away, they immediately destroy the 
 nest themselves, break all the eggs to pieces, and seek out 
 some other spot to make a new one. When the colonist there- 
 fore finds a nest, he contents himself with taking one or two 
 of the spare eggs that are lying near, observing carefully to 
 smooth over any footsteps which may have been made, so that 
 they may not be perceived by the birds. Thus visits to the 
 nest may be often repeated, and it may be converted into a 
 storehouse of very pleasant food, where, every two or three 
 days, as many eggs may be procured as are wanted to regale 
 the whole household. 
 
 “An ostrich’s egg weighs commonly near three pounds, and 
 is considered as equal in its square contents to twenty-four 
 hen’s eggs. The yolk has a very pleasant flavour, yet, it must 
 be owned, not the delicacy of a hen’s egg. It is so nourish- 
 ing and so soon satisfies, that no one can eat a great deal at 
 once. Four very hungry n^^rsona would be requisite to eat a 
 whole ostrich’s egg ; and eight Africans, who are used to so 
 much harder living, might make a meal of it. These eggs 
 will keep for a very long time : they are often brought to the 
 Cape Town, whers they are sold at the price of half a dollar 
 each. 
 
THE OSTRICH. THE MOCKING-BIRD. 
 
 233 
 
 “ In the summer months of July, August, and September, the 
 greatest number of ostriclies’ nests are to be found ; but the 
 leathers, which are always scattered about the nest at the 
 time of sitting, are of very little value. I have, however, at 
 all times of the year, found nests with eggs that have been 
 brooded : the contrasts of the seasons being much less forci- 
 ble in this part of the world than in Europe, the habits of 
 animals are consequently much less fixed and regular. The 
 ostrich sits from thirty-six to forty days before the young are 
 hatched. 
 
 “ It is well known that the male alone furnishes the beautiful 
 white feathers which have for so long a time been a favourite 
 ornament in the head-dress of our European ladies. They are 
 purchased from the people who collect them, for as high as three 
 or four shillings each ; they are, however, given at a lower 
 price, in exchange for European wares and clothing. Almost 
 all the colonists upon the borders have a little magazine of 
 these feathers laid by, and when they would make a friendly 
 present to a guest, it is generally an ostrich's feather. Few 
 of them are, however, prepared in such a manner as to be 
 wholly fit for the use of the European dealers. The female 
 ostriches are entirely black, or rather, in their youth, of a very 
 dark gray, but have no white feathers in the tail. In every 
 other respect, the colour excepted, their feathers are as good 
 as those of the males. It is very true, as Mr. Barrow says, 
 that small stones are sometimes found in the ostrich’s eggs ; 
 st is not, however, very common ; and, among all that I ever 
 saw opened, I never met with one.” 
 
 We must not omit to give some account of The Mocking- 
 Bird OF America. — Those who have not heard the mocking- 
 bird, can have no conception of his great superiority of song; 
 he seems the merryandrew among birds, and the most serious 
 and laboured efforts of the best performers appear to him only 
 sport : he performs an antic dance to the sound of his own 
 music; like jack-pudding, too, he seems to make game of his 
 audience, for often, when he has secured the attention by the 
 most delightful warblings, he will stop suddenly, and surprise 
 them by the quack of a duck, the hiss of a goose, the mon- 
 strous note of the whip-poor-will, or any other unexpected 
 sound : he possesses also the power of a ventriloquist, in 
 being able to deceive his hearers as to the direction of the 
 sound. When he is not seen, and while his listeners are looking 
 for the enchanter on the roof of their own houses, he is per- 
 haps playing his antic tricks on the chimney-top of some 
 house at a considerable distance. When, however, there are 
 no spectators during the stillness of night, he lays aside his 
 frolic, and pours his “ love-laboured songs and surely, if 
 
 2 G 
 
234 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS, 
 
 there is fascination in sweet sounds, it must be in the scng of 
 this delightful bird, perched on the chimney-top, or on some 
 tree near to the dwelling of man. He seems never to tire. 
 
 The next subject of curiosity is The Social Grosbeak. — 
 This bird inhabits the interior country of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, where it was discovered by Mr. Paterson. These birds 
 live together in large societies, and their mode of nidification 
 is extremely uncommon. They build in a species of mimosa, 
 which grows to an uncommon size, and which they seem to 
 select for that purpose, as well on account of its ample head, 
 and the great strength of its branches, calculated to admit 
 and to support the extensive buildings which they have to 
 erect, as for the tallness and smoothness of its trunk, which 
 their great enemies, the serpent tribe, are unable to climb. 
 
 The method in which the nests themselves are fabricated, 
 is highly curious. In the one described by Mr. Paterson, 
 there could be no less a number (he says) than from eight 
 hundred to a thousand, residing under the same roof. He 
 calls it a roof, because it perfectly resembles that of a thatched 
 house; and the ridge forms an angle so acute and so smooth, 
 projecting over the entrance of the nest below, that it is im- 
 possible for any reptile to approach them. The industry of 
 these birds is almost equal, in his opinion, to that of the bee; 
 throughc ut the day they appear to be busily employed in 
 carrying a fine species of grass, which is the principal material 
 they employ for the purpose of erecting this extraordinary 
 work, as well as for additions and repairs. — “ Though my 
 short stay in the country was not sufficient to satisfy me, by 
 ocular proof, that they added to their nest as they annually 
 increased in numbers, still, from the many trees which I have 
 seen borne down with the weight, and others which I have 
 observed with their boughs completely covered over, it would 
 appear, that this is really the case ; when the tree, which is 
 the support of this aerial city, is obliged to give way to the 
 increase of weight, it is obvious they are no longer protected, 
 and are under the necessity of building in other trees. 
 
 “ One of these deserted nests I had the curiosity to break 
 down, so as to inform myself of the internal structure of it, 
 and found it equally ingenious with that of the external. 
 There many entrances, each of which forms a regular street, 
 with nests on both sides, at about two inches distant from 
 each other. The grass with which they build, is called, the 
 Boshman’s grass; and I believe the seed of it to be their prin- 
 cipal food; though, on examining their nests, I found the 
 wings and legs of different insects. From every appearance, 
 the nest which I dissected had been inhabited for many years ; 
 and some parts of it were much more complete than others : 
 
THE BENGAL GROSBEAK. 
 
 235 
 
 this therefore I conceive nearly to amount to a proof, that the 
 animals added to it at different times, as they found necessary 
 from the increase of the family, or rather of the nation or 
 community. 
 
 The Bengal Grosbeak. — This is an Indian bird, and 
 is thus described by Mr. Latham. ‘‘ This little bird (called 
 haycLy in Hindu; herberUy in Sanscrit; babtliy in the dialect of 
 Bengal; cibil, in Persian; and teriauwity in Arabic, from its 
 remarkably pendent nest) is rather larger than a sparrow, with 
 yellow brown plumage, a yellowish head and feet, a light 
 coloured breast, and a conic beak, very thick in proportion 
 to his body. This bird is exceedingly common in Hindostan; 
 he is astonishingly sensible, faithful, and docile, never volun- 
 tarily deserting the place where his young were hatched, but 
 not averse, like most other birds, to the society of mankind, 
 and easily taught to perch on the hand of his master. In a 
 state of nature, he generally builds his nest on the highest 
 tree that he can find, especially on the palmyra, or on the 
 Indian fig-tree, and he prefers that which happens to over- 
 hang a well or rivulet : he makes it of grass, which he weaves 
 like cloth, and shapes like a large bottle, suspending it firmly 
 on the branches, but so as to rock with the wind, and placing it 
 with its entrance downwards, to secure it from birds of prey. 
 His nest usually consists of two or three chambers ; and it is 
 the popular belief that he lights them with fire-flies, which 
 he catches alive at night, and confines with moist clay or 
 cow-dung. That such flies are often found in his nest, where 
 pieces of cow-dung are also stuck, is indubitable : but as 
 their light could be of little use to him, it seems probable 
 that he only feeds on them. He may be taught with ease to 
 fetch any small thing that his master points out to him : it is 
 an attested fact, that if a ring be dropped into a deep well, 
 and a signal be given to him, he will fly down with amazing 
 celerity, catch the ring before it touches the water, and bring 
 it up with apparent exultation; and it is asserted, that if a 
 house or any other place be shewn to him once or twice, he 
 will carry a note thither immediately on a proper signal. 
 
 “ One instance of his docility, I can myself mention with 
 confidence, having often been an eye-witness of it. The 
 young Hindoo women at Benares, and in other places, wear 
 very thin plates of gold, called ticas, slightly fixed by way of 
 ornament between their eye-brows; and when they pass 
 through the streets, it is not uncommon for the youthful liber- 
 tines, who amuse themselves with training bayas, to give them 
 a signal, which they understand, and send them to phick the 
 pieces of gold from the foreheads of their mistresses, which 
 they bring in triumph to the lovers. The baya feeds naturally 
 
236 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 on grasshoppers and other insects, but will subsist, when 
 tame, on pulse macerated in water ; his flesh is warm and 
 drying, and easy of digestion. The female lays many beau- 
 tiful eggs, resembling large pearls ; the white of them, 
 when boiled, is transparent, and the flavour is exquisitely 
 delicate. When many bayas are assembled on a high tree, 
 they make a lively din, but it is rather chirping than singing; 
 their want of musical talents is, however, amply supplied by 
 their wonderful sagacity, in which they are not excelled by 
 any feathered inhabitant of the forest.’' 
 
 Another subject of acknowledged curiosity is. The Hum- 
 ming Bird. — There are sixty species enumerated by Latham, 
 and Gmelin has sixty-five. The birds of this genus are the 
 smallest of all birds. These diminutive creatures subsist on 
 the juices of flowers, which they extract, like bees, while on 
 the wing, fluttering over their delicate repast, and making a 
 considerable humming sound, from which they derive their 
 designation. They are gregarious, and build their nests with 
 great neatness and elegance, lining them with the softest ma- 
 terials they can possibly procure. 
 
 The red-throated humming-bird is rather more than three 
 inches long, and is frequent in various parts of North America. 
 Its plumage is highly splendid and varying; it extracts the 
 nectar of flowers, particularly those of a long tube, like the 
 convolvulus or tulip. They will suffer themselves to be ap- 
 proached very near, but on observing an effort to seize them, 
 dart off with the rapidity of an arrow. A flower is frequently 
 the subject of bitter conflict between two of these birds ; they 
 will often enter an open window, and, after a short contest, 
 retire. They sometimes soar perpendicularly to a considerable 
 height, with a violent scream. If a flower which they enter 
 furnishes them with no supply, they pluck it, as it were in 
 punishment and revenge, from its stalk. They have been kept 
 alive in cages for several weeks, but soon perish for want of 
 the usual food, for which no adequate substitute has yet been 
 found. Latham, however, mentions a curious circumstance 
 of their being preserved alive by Captain Davies for four 
 months, by the expedient of imitating tubular flowers with 
 paper appropriately painted, and filling the bottom of the 
 tubes with sugar and water as often as they were emptied. 
 They then took their nourishment in the same manner as when 
 unconfined, and soon appeared familiarized and happy. They 
 build on the middle of the branch of a tree, and lay two eggs 
 in an extremely small and admirably constructed nest. 
 
 The smallest of all the species is said, when just killed, to 
 weigh no more than twenty grains. Its total length is an inch 
 and a quarter. It is found in the West Indies and South Ame- 
 
HUMMING BIRDS 
 
y 
 
 
 OF Wi 
 
 tl^afEUCuiif Cjf iUJSSlS 
 
THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 237 
 
 rica, nnd is exceeded both in weight and magnitude by several 
 species of bees. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an account of The Golden 
 Eagle. — This bird weighs above twelve pounds, and is about 
 three feet long, the wings, when extended, measuring seven 
 feet four inches. The sight and sense of smelling are very 
 acute ; the head and neck are clothed with narrow, sharp- 
 pointed feathers, of a deep brown colour, bordered with tawny ; 
 the hind part of the head is of bright rust colour. These birds 
 are very destructive to fawns, lambs, kids, and all kinds of 
 game, particularly in the breeding season, when they bring 
 a vast quantity of prey to their young. Smith, in his History 
 of Kerry, relates, that a poor man in that country got a com- 
 fortable subsistence for his family, during a summer of famine, 
 out of an eaglets nest, by robbing the eaglets of the food the 
 old ones brought, whose attendance he protracted beyond the 
 natural time, by clipping the wings and retarding the flight 
 of the former. It is very unsafe to leave infants in places 
 where eagles frequent ; ' there having been instances in Scot 
 land of two being carried off by them ; but, fortunately, the 
 thefts were discovered in time, and the children were restored 
 unhurt out of the eagles^ nests. In order to extirpate these 
 pernicious birds, there is a law in the Orkney isles, which en- 
 titles every person that kills an eagle to a hen. out of every 
 house in the parish where it was killed. Eagles seem to give 
 the preference to the carcases of dogs and cats. People who 
 make it their business to kill those birds, lay one of these car- 
 cases by way of bait ; and then conceal themselves within 
 gun-shot. They fire the instant the eagle alights; for she 
 that moment looks about before she begins to prey. Yet, 
 quick as her sight may be, her sense of hearing seems still 
 more exquisite. If hooded crows or ravens happen- to be 
 nearer the carrion, and resort to it first, and give a single croak, 
 the eagle instantly repairs to the spot. These eagles are re- 
 markable for their longevity, and for sustaining a long absti- 
 nence from food. Mr. Keysler relates, that an eagle died at 
 Vienna after a confinement of 104 years. This pre-eminent 
 length of days is alluded to by the Psalmist, “Thy youth is 
 renewed like the eagle’s.^* 
 
 One of this species, which was nine years in the possession 
 of Owen Holland, Esq. of Conway, lived thirty-two years 
 with the gentleman who made him a present of it; but what 
 its age was, when the latter received it from Ireland, is un- 
 known. The same bird also furnishes us with a proof of the 
 truth of the other remark ; having once, through the neglect 
 of servants, endured hunger for twenty-one days without any 
 sustenance whatever. 
 
238 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS 
 
 Here it is proper to take notice of a very singular var ety 
 of the Golden Eagle, described by Mr. Bruce, in his Travels 
 in Abyssinia ; for, whether it properly belongs to this species 
 or not, we do not find that it has been, as yet, either arranged 
 under any other, or ranked as a different genus, (which indeed 
 it appears to be,) by Mr. Kerr, or any other ornithologist. 
 Mr. Bruce says, it is not only the largest of the eagle kind, 
 but the largest bird that flies. By the natives it is vulgarly 
 called abort duchem, or, father long-beard. It is not an object 
 of any chase, nor stands in need of any stratagem to bring it 
 within reach. Upon the highest top of mount Lamalmon, 
 while Mr. Bruce’s servants were refreshing themselves aftei 
 their toilsome ascent, and enjoying the pleasure of a most de- 
 lightful climate, eating their dinner in the open air, with seve- 
 ral largo dishes of boiled goat’s flesh before them, thfs eagle 
 suddenly made its appearance ; he did not stoop rapidly from a 
 height, but came flying slowly along the ground, and sat down 
 close to the meat, within the ring the men had made around it. 
 A great shout, or rather cry of distress, which they raised, 
 made the bird stand for a minute as if to recollect himself; but 
 while the servants ran for their lances and shields, his atten- 
 tion was fully fixed upon the flesh. He put his foot into the 
 pan, where was a large piece in water nearly boiling ; but feel- 
 ing the smart, he withdrew it, and forsook the piece which he 
 held. There were two large pieces, a leg and a shoulder, lying- 
 on a wooden platter : into these he struck his claws, and carried 
 them off, skimming slowly along the ground, as he had come, 
 till he disappeared behind a cliff. But being observed, at his 
 departure, to look wistfully at the large piece which remained 
 in the w'arm water, it was concluded that he would soon return ; 
 in expectation of which, Mr. Bruce loaded a rifle gun with 
 ball, and sat down close to the platter by the meat. It was 
 not many minutes before he came ; and a prodigious shout was 
 raised by the attendants, "‘He is coming, he is coming!” 
 enough to have discouraged a less courageous animal. Whe- 
 ther he was not quite so hungry as at his first visit, or sus- 
 pecting something from Mr. Bruce’s appearance, he made a 
 small turn, and sat down about ten yards from him, the pan 
 with the meat being between them. In this situation Mr. Bruce 
 fired, and shot him with the ball through the middle of his body, 
 about two inches below the w’ing, so that he lay down upon 
 the grass without a single flutter. Upon laying hold of his 
 monstrous carcase, our author was not a little surprised at 
 seeing his hands covered and tinged with yellow dust. Upon' 
 turning him upon his belly, and examining the feathers of his 
 back, they produced a brown dust, the colour of the feathers 
 there. The dust was not in small quantities, for, upon striking 
 his breast, the yellow powder flew in a greater quantity than 
 
THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 
 239 
 
 from a hair-dresser’s powder-pufF. The feathers of the belly 
 and breast, which were of a gold colour, did not appear to have 
 any thing extraordinary in their formation, but the large fea- 
 thers in the shoulders and wings seemed apparently to be fine 
 tubes, which, upon pressure, scattered the brown dust upon 
 the finer part of the feathers. Upon the side of the wing, the 
 ribs, or hard part of the feather, seemed to be bare, as if worn, 
 or, in our author’s opinion, were rather renewing themselves, 
 having before failed in their function. What the reason is of this 
 extraordinary provision of nature, Mr. Bruce does not attempt 
 to determine. But as it is an unusual one, it is probably meant, 
 he thinks, for a defence against the climate in favour of those 
 birds, which live in those almost inaccessible heights of a 
 country, doomed even in its lower parts to several months’ of 
 excessive rain. 
 
 This bird, from wing to wing, was eight feet four inches ; 
 and from the tip of his tail to the point of his beak, four 
 feet seven inches. He was remarkably short in the legs, being 
 only four inches from the foot to the junction of the leg with 
 the thigh ; and from that to the body six inches. The thickness 
 of his thigh was little less than four inches; it was extremely 
 muscular, and covered with flesh. His middle claw was about 
 two inches and a half long, not very sharp at the point, but ex- 
 tremely strong. From the root of the bill to the point was 
 three inches and a quarter, and one inch and three-quarters in 
 breadth at the root. A forked brush of strong hair, divided 
 at the point into two, proceeded from the cavity of his lower 
 jaw at the beginning of his throat. His eye was remarkably 
 small in proportion to his bulk, the aperture being scarcely 
 half an inch. The crown of his head, and the front, w'here the 
 bill and skull joined, were bald. 
 
240 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTUNG BIRDS, 
 
 CHAP. XX 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. — (Continued,) 
 
 The Cuckoo — The Cormorant — The Great Bustard — The Alarm* 
 Bird — The Carrier^ or Courier^ Pigeon — The Wild Pigeon^ 
 its multiplying Power — Singular Bird, inhabiting a Volcano 
 in Guadaloupe — .Curious Adventure of an Owl — Curious Facts 
 in Natural History — The Chick in the Egg, 
 
 - The Cuckoo. — We shall introduce this curious bird, with 
 the following well-known beautiful piece of poetry t — 
 
 »*■ 
 
 Hail, beauteous stranger of the wood, 
 
 Attendant on the spring ! 
 
 Now heav n repairs thy rural seat, 
 
 And woods thy welcome sing. 
 
 Soon as the daisy decks the green. 
 
 Thy certain voice we hear : 
 
 Hast thou a star to guide thy path. 
 
 Or mark the rolling year? 
 
 Delightful visitant! with thee 
 , I hail the time of flow'rs, 
 
 When heaven is fill’d with music sweet 
 Of birds among the bow’rs. 
 
 The school-boy, wand’ring in the wood, 
 
 To pull the flow’rs so gay, 
 
 Starts, thy curious voice to hear. 
 
 And imitates thy lay. 
 
 Soon as the. pea puts on the bloom. 
 
 Thou fly’st thy vocal vale. 
 
 An annual guest, in other lands. 
 
 Another spring to hail. 
 
 Sweet bird ! thy bow’r is ever green, 
 
 Thy sky is ever clear ; 
 
 Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, 
 
 No winter in thy year ! 
 
 O could I fly. I’d fly with thee ; 
 
 We’d make, with social wing 
 
 Our annual visit o’er the globe. 
 
 Companions of the spring 
 
 This bird is described, in natural history, as a genus of the 
 order of Picse. Generic character : bill smooth, somewhat 
 bending and weak ; nostrils surrounded by a small rim ; tongue 
 short and arrowed ; toes, two forward and two backward ; tail 
 wedge-formed, of ten soft feathers. Gmelin enumerates fifty- 
 
BIRDS IN THE TROPICS. 
 
BF m 
 
THE CUCKOO. 
 
 241 
 
 five species, and Latham forty-six. The following are the 
 most general characteristics of the Cuckoo : — 
 
 This bird is about fourteen inches long. It is found in 
 Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its food consists of insects and 
 the larvae of moths, but when domesticated, which it may be 
 without much difficulty, it will eat bread, fruits, eggs, and 
 even flesh. When fattened, it is said to be excellent for the 
 table. It is in this country a bird of passage, appearing first 
 about the middle of April, and cheering the vicinity of its 
 habitation with that well-known note, with which so many 
 exquisite ideas and feelings are associated. This note is used 
 only by the male bird, and this is the intimation of love. 
 It has been heard, (though very rarely,) like the song of 
 the nightingale, in the middle of the night. About the close of 
 June this note ceases, but the cuckoo remains in England till 
 towards the end of September. It is imagined sometimes to 
 continue in the country for the whole of the year, as it has 
 occasionally been seen here so early as February. Cuckoos 
 are supposed to winter in Africa, as they are seen twice a year 
 in the island of Malta. 
 
 With the history of these birds have been blended much fable 
 and superstition; their manners, however, are unquestionably 
 very curious ; and fabte in this, as in many other cases, is in 
 a great degree connected with fact. It is almost universally 
 agreed by naturalists, that the cuckoo does not hatch its own 
 eggs, but deposits them in the nest of some other bird. Buf- 
 fon mentions the names of twenty birds, or more, on which 
 the cuckoo passes this fraud. Those most frequently duped 
 by it, however, in this manner, are the yellow-hammer, the 
 water-w'agtail, and the hedge-sparrow; and of these three, by 
 far more than the other two, the hedge-sparrow. The most 
 minute and attentive examiner into this extraordinary peculi- 
 arity, is Mr. Edward Jenner; from whose observations on this 
 interesting subject we shall select a few of the most impor- 
 tant. 
 
 He states, that the hedge-sparrow is generally four or five 
 days in completing her number of eggs, during which time the 
 cuckoo finds an opportunity of introducing one of its own into 
 the nest, leaving the future management of it to the hedge- 
 sparrow ; and that, though it frequently occurs that the latter 
 is much discomposed by this intrusion, and several of the 
 eggs are injured by her, and obliged to be removed from the 
 nest, yet the egg of the cuckoo is never of this number. 
 When the usual time of incubation is completed, and the 
 young sparrows and cuckoo are disengaged from the eggs, 
 the former are ejected from the nest, and the stranger obtains 
 exclusive possession. A nest, built in a situation extremely 
 convenient for minute observation, fell under the particular 
 
 2H 
 
242 crRiosiTiEs respecting birds. 
 
 examination of this gentleman, and was found on the first day 
 to contain a cuckoo^ and three hedge-sparrows* eggs. On the 
 day following, he observed a young cuckoo and a hedge-spar- 
 row, and as he could distinctly perceive every thing passing, 
 he was resolved to watch the events which might take place. 
 He soon, with extreme surprise, saw the young cuckoo, hatched 
 only the day before, exerting itself with its rump and wings 
 to take the young sparrow on its back, which it actually 
 accomplished, and then climbed backwards wdth its burden 
 to the verge of the nest, from which, with a sudden jerk, it 
 clearly threw off its load; after which it dropped back into 
 the nest, having first, however, felt about with the extremi- 
 ties of its wings, as if to ascertain whether the clearance were 
 completely effected. Several eggs were afterwards put in to 
 the young usurper, which were all similarly disposed of. — He 
 observes, that in another instance, two cuckoos and a hedge- 
 sparrow were hatched in the same nest, and one hedge-spar- 
 row's egg remained unhatched. Within a few hours, a conflict 
 began between the two cuckoos for the possession of the 
 nest, which was conducted with extreme spirit and vigour, 
 and in which each appeared occasionally to have the advan- 
 tage, lifting its adversary to the very brink of the nest, and 
 then, from exhaustion of strength, sinking with it again to 
 the bottom. These vicissitudes of success were repeated 'and 
 reiterated ; but towards the close of the following day, the 
 contest was decided by one of them, which was rather 
 the larger of the two, completely expelling his rival ; after 
 which, the egg and the young hedge-sparrow were dislodged 
 with extreme facility. The infant conqueror was brought up 
 by the step-mother with the most assiduous affection. The 
 sagacity of the female cuckoo appears not inconsiderable, in her 
 introducing her egg into the nests of birds whose young are 
 inferior in size and strength to the young cuckoo, and which 
 the latter is consequently able to exclude without difficult! 
 from its usurped dominions. 
 
 We shall now call the reader's attention to The Cormo- 
 rant. — This bird, which is nearly as large as a goose, is found 
 in many places both of the old and the new world ; it is to 
 be met with in (he northern parts of this island, and one of 
 ffiem, not very long since, was shot while perched on the 
 castle of Carlisle. These birds are shy and crafty, but fre- 
 quently eat to so great an excess, as to induce a species of 
 lethargy, in which they are caught by nets thrown over them 
 without their making an effort to escape. They are trained 
 by the Chinese to fish for them. By a ring placed round their 
 necks, they are prevented from swallowing what they take, 
 and, when their pouches are filled, they unload them, and 
 
tHt 
 
 OF m 
 
 ifitwfdW si 
 
THE GREAT BUSTARD. — THE ALARM-BIRD. 243 
 
 at the command of their owners, renew their divings. Two 
 will sometimes be seen combining their efforts to secure a 
 fish too large for the management of one only. When their 
 work is finished to the employer’s satisfaction, the birds have 
 a full allotment of the spoil, for their reward and encourage- 
 ment. In Macao, also, these birds are thus domesticated, 
 taking extreme delight in the exercise, and constituting a 
 source of very considerable profit to their owners. They were 
 formerly trained, and used in the same manner in England ; 
 and Charles I. had an officer of his household, called maste. 
 of the cormorants. 
 
 The next curiosity among birds which we shall introduce, 
 is. The Great Bustard. — This bird is found in the plains 
 of Europe, Asia, and Africa, but it has never been observed 
 in the New Continent. In England, it is occasionally met 
 with on Salisbury Plain, and on the wolds of Yorkshire, and 
 formerly it was not uncommonly seen in flocks of forty or 
 fifty. It is the largest of British land birds, weighing often 
 twenty-five or thirty pounds. It runs with great rapidity, so 
 as to escape the pursuit of common dogs, but falls speedily a 
 victim to the greyhound, which often overtakes it before it 
 has power to commence its flight, the preparation for which, 
 in this bird, is slow' and laborious. The female lays her eggs 
 on the bare ground, never more than two in number, in a hole 
 scratched by her for the purp and if these are touched or 
 soiled during her occasional absence, she immediately aban- 
 dons them. The male is distinguished by a large pouch, begin- 
 ning under the tongue, and reaching to the breast, capable of 
 hoWing, according to Linneeus, seven quarts of w'ater. This is 
 sometimes useful to the female during incubation, and to the 
 young before they quit their nest; and it has been observed 
 to be eminently advantageous to the male bird himself, who, 
 on being attacked by birds of prey, has often discomfited his 
 enemies by the, sudden and violent discharge of water upon 
 them. These birds are solitary and shy, and feed principally 
 upon grasses, worms, and grain. They were formerly much 
 hunted with dogs, and considered as supplying no uninterest- 
 ing diversion. They swallow stones, pieces of metal, and 
 other hard substances. Buffon states, that one was opened 
 by the academicians of France, which contained in its sto- 
 mach ninety doubloons, and various stones, all highly smoothed 
 by the attrition of the stomach. 
 
 The following deserves to be ranked among the curiosities 
 of the feathered tribe; The Alarm-Bird. — Near the Copper- 
 mine River, which falls into Hudson’s Bay, live a tribe of 
 Indians, who traverse the immense and dreary solitudes that 
 
244 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING JIROS. 
 
 surround them,* in pursuit of deer or other game, from which 
 they derive their only subsistence. The animals, however, 
 taught by experience to shun the haunts of men, and instinct- 
 ively led to conceal themselves in the most sequestered spots, 
 would with difficulty be discovered, were it not for one of the 
 winged tribe of the owl genus, called the alarm-bird. 
 
 No sooner does this bird descry man or beast, than it directs 
 its flight towards them, and, hovering over them, forms gyra- 
 tions round their head. Should two objects at once arrest its 
 attention, it flies from one to the other alternately, with a 
 loud screaming, resembling the crying of a child ; and in this 
 manner it will follow travellers, or attend a herd of deer, for 
 the space of a day. 
 
 By means of this guide, whose qualities so well correspond 
 with its name, the Copper Indians are apprised of the approach 
 of strangers, or directed to the herds of deer and musk-oxen, 
 which otherwise they would frequently miss. Is it to be 
 wondered at, then, that they hold the alarm-bird in the highest 
 veneration? It seems, indeed, to have been intended by 
 Providence for the solace and friend of the miserable inhabit- 
 ants of those wild and sterile regions ; and will furnish 
 a new evidence of that superintending care which watches 
 over all. 
 
 The Cuculus Indicator, so celebrated in the warmer climates 
 for detecting the treasures of the bees, in the deep recesses 
 of the woods, within the hollow trunks of trees, has, or may 
 be thought to have, a view and an object in its services. It 
 feels the want of human assistance, to enable it to enjoy the 
 fruits of its discoveries, and therefore instinctively calls for 
 it, in hopes of being recompensed with a share of the honey, 
 which, we are told, the natives readily allow it ; but the 
 alarm-bird appears perfectly disinterested in its labours, it 
 answers no purpose of its own, and therefore may be consi- 
 dered as one of the bounties of Heaven, to a people and a 
 country almost shut out from the participation of the common 
 blessings of life. It confers benefits without the prospect 
 of a reward; and, for this reason, is entitled to the greater 
 regard. 
 
 To contemplate the various animals that are dispersed over 
 the globe, and the various blessings and advantages of dif- 
 ferent climates, will naturally lead us to the Source and 
 Dispenser of all ; and though some parts of the works of 
 Creation are more conspicuously beneficial, and cannot escape 
 the most common observer, yet we may, from analogy and 
 reason, conceive that nothing was made in vain. 
 
 A subject of great curiosity, and pleasing admiration, is. 
 The Carrier, or. Courier Pigeon. — These birds, though 
 
THE COURIER PIGEON. THE WILD PIGEON. 246 
 
 carried, hoodwinked, twenty, thirty, or even a hundred miles, 
 will find their way in a very little time to the place where 
 they were bred. They are trained to this service in Turkey 
 and Persia ; and are carried first, while young, short flights 
 of half a mile, afterwards more, till at length they will return 
 from the farthest part of the kingdom. Every bashaw has a 
 basket of these pigeons bred in the seraglio, which from a 
 distance, upon any emergent occasion, (as an insurrection, or 
 the like,) he dispatches, with letters braced under their wings, 
 to the seraglio ; which proves a more speedy method, as well 
 as a more safe one, than any other : he sends out more than 
 one pigeon, however, for fear of accidents. Lithgow assures 
 us, that one of these birds will carry a letter from Babylon to 
 Aleppo, which is thirty days* journey, in forty-eight hours. 
 This practice is very ancient : Hirtius and Brutus, at the siege 
 of Modena, held a correspondence by pigeons; and Ovid 
 tells us, that Taurosthenes, by a pigeon stained with purple, 
 gave notice to his father of his victory at the Olympic games, 
 sending it to him at iEgina. In modern times, the most 
 noted were the pigeons of Aleppo, which served as couriers 
 at Alexandretta and Bagdad. But this use of them has been 
 laid aside for the last thirty or forty years, because the Curd 
 robbers killed the pigeons. The manner of sending advice by 
 them, was this : they took pairs which had young ones, 
 and carried them on horseback to the place whence they 
 wished them to return, taking; care to let them have a full 
 view. When the news arrived, the correspondent tied a billet 
 to the pigeon’s foot, and let her loose. The bird, impatient 
 to see its young, flew off like lightning, and arrived at Aleppo 
 in ten hours from Alexandretta, and in two days from Bagdad. 
 It was easy for them to find their way back, as Aleppo may 
 be discovered at an immense distance. This pigeon has no- 
 thing peculiar in its form, except its nostrils, which, instead 
 of being smooth and even, are swelled and rough. 
 
 It is presumed it will not be out of place to insert the fol- 
 lowing curious particulars respecting the Multiplying 
 Power of the Wild Pigeon. — The following account is 
 extracted from Janson’s Stranger in America. Mr. Richard 
 Hazen, a land-surveyor, who, in 1741, drew the line which 
 divides Massachusetts from Vermont, gives an interesting 
 account of the multiplying power of nature in the wild pigeon : 
 
 For three miles together, (says he,) the pigeons’ nests were 
 so thick, that five hundred might be reckoned on beech-trees 
 at one time, and, could they have been counted on the hem- 
 locks ao well, he did not doubt that five thousand might be 
 seen at one turn round. Twenty-five nests were frequently 
 found in one beech-tree, in New England. The earth was 
 
246 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 covered with these trees and with hemlocks, thus loaded with 
 the nests of pigeons. For one hundred acres together, the 
 ground was covered with their dung, to the depth of two 
 inches. Their noise in the evening was extremely troublesome, 
 and so great, that the traveller could not get any sleep where 
 their nests abounded. About an hour before sun-rise they 
 rose in such quantities as to darken the air. When the young 
 pigeons were grown to a proper size, it was common for the 
 first settlers to cut down the trees, and gather a horse-load in 
 a few minutes. The markets at this season, even at Philadel- 
 phia, are often overstocked with them ; a score of them have 
 lately been purchased for sixpence. But as the land becomes 
 settled, they retire into the back forests, where they are at 
 this day in equal numbers! In North Carolina, wild pigeons 
 or doves pass over the country in such numbers as to darken 
 the air, devouring all kinds of grain in their progress. A large 
 musket, loaded with small shot, fired among them, has killed 
 scores ; and boys knock them down with sticks and stones. 
 I did not see this destructive phenomenon; but was credibly 
 informed at Edenton, that it occurs once in seven, and some- 
 times in ten years. During my residence in that state, I cut 
 holes in the top of my barn, and, by placing food on the roof, 
 soon enticed about half a dozen from the adjacent woods. In 
 a short time they became domesticated, and fed with the fowl, 
 affording a constant and an agreeable food. When I left my 
 residence, they had, notwithstanding the use I made of the 
 young ones, increased to many scores. They grew so familiar, 
 that they would watch my appearance in the morning, and 
 perch upon me, in hopes of obtaining food, with which it was 
 my practice to supply them. They distinguished me from my 
 domestics, whom they would not suffer to approach them. 
 They would permit me to go into their dovecot, without re- 
 treating ; but the dam would often oppose my taking her 
 young ones.’’ 
 
 The following account of A singular Bird inhabiting 
 A Volcano in Guadaloupe, is taken from a respectable 
 source. 
 
 Father Dutertre, in his Description of Guadaloupe, the best 
 and most beautiful, in his opinion, of all the Leeward islands, 
 speaks of an extraordinary bird which inhabits its volcanic 
 mountain, called La Souffriere. This creature, called the 
 Devil by the inhabitants, on account of its deformity, is both 
 a night and sea bird. During the day, its vision appears to be 
 indistinct, and it takes refuge near the top of the mountain, 
 where it has its nest in the ground, and where it hatches its 
 eggs. During the night, it flies about, and goes to prey on 
 fish. Its flesh is so delicate, (adds Father Dutertre,) that no 
 
ADVIiNTURE OF AN OWL. 
 
 247 
 
 huntsman returns from the Souffriere without ardently desiring 
 to have a dozen of these birds suspended at his neck. Labat, 
 the colleague of Dutertre, confirms and adds to the account 
 of the latter. “ The bird called the Devil, of ta Souffriere, 
 has (he says) membranes at his feet like a duck, and claws 
 Like a bird of prey, a sharp and curved beak, large eyes, which 
 cannot bear the light of day, or discern almost any object, so 
 that when surprised in the day-time, at a distance from his 
 nest, he runs against every thing in his way, and falls to the 
 ground ; but during the night he is active in extracting his 
 prey from the sea.’’ He adds, that ** he is a bird of passage, 
 and is considered a kind of petrel. I have taken pleasure in 
 occasionally observing fishermen catch fish during the night 
 by the light of a straw torch ; but here we have a sea-bird of 
 much greater ingenuity, which fishes by the of a volcano, 
 and hatches his eggs by the warmth of us sulphureous 
 discharge.” 
 
 The following story is recorded in history as a fact, under 
 the title of A curious Adventure of an Owl. 
 
 In a council held at Rome by Pope John XXIII. at the first 
 session, happened the Adventure of the Owl. — After the mass 
 of the Holy Ghost, all being seated, and John sitting on his 
 throne, suddenly a frightful owl came screaming out of his 
 hole, and placed himself just before the pope, staring earn- 
 estly upon him. The arrival of this nocturnal bird in the 
 day-time, caused many speculations : some took it for an ill 
 omen, and were terrified ; others smiled, and whispered to 
 each other. As to the Pope, he blushed, was in a sweat, arose, 
 and brake up the assembly. But at the next session, the owl 
 took his place again, fixing his eyes upon John ; who was more 
 dismayed than before, and ordered the bird to be driven away. 
 A pleasant sight it was, to behold the prelates occupied in 
 hunting him, for he would not decamp ! At last they killed 
 him, as an incorrigible heretic, by throwing their canes at 
 him.” — Jortin's Ecclesiastical History , vol. v. p. 485, 486. 
 
 We shall next record some Curious Facts in Natural 
 History. — We often meet in our aviaries wdth what are called 
 mule canary birds, that is, the offspring of the gray linnet and 
 the canary. ** In the country, where the domestic fowls are 
 accustomed to wander to a considerable distance from the farm- 
 yard, I believe it is no uncommon occurrence for a chicken 
 to make its appearance, that is evidently the offspring of the 
 partridge and common hen. Indeed, I am inclined to think 
 that the breed between fowls of the same genus are oftener 
 crossed than we are aware of.” 
 
 It is a common practice in the country, to set a hen, as it is 
 
248 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 called, with ducks’ eggs ; and the agony which she suffers, 
 when she sees her young charge first take to their natural 
 element, the water, has often been observed with sympathy. 
 The following anecdote may be relied upon, as the circum 
 stance was observed by a gentleman of science : — 
 
 ; A hen, which was employed to hatch some ducks’ eggs in 
 the neighbourhood of a dyer’s mill, where there was a small 
 pond, was observed to exhibit the usual symptoms of terror 
 and alarm when the ducklings first took to the water; but 
 by degrees she became quite reconciled to their habits, and 
 was accustomed to enjoy herself, in great quietness, on the 
 banks, while they gamboled in the pool. For two or three 
 years she uniformly brought out ducklings, and at last, as 
 regularly led them to the water as their natural dam would 
 have done. 
 
 In the course of time, however, she brought out a brood of 
 chickens. These she immediately led to the side of the [)Ool 
 also ; but, on finding they did not enter the water, she became 
 quite uneasy, invited them close to it, made every motion 
 for them to enter it, flew over the pond, and then called them 
 to follow, but all to no purpose. When she found that nothing 
 would entice them to enter the water, she actually seized 
 upon one or two of them, and threw them into it; and, if she 
 had not been prevented, it is believed she would have drowned 
 her whole progeny. This shews how much the native 
 habits, even of fowls, may be changed by circumstances; and 
 proves, in some degree, the existence of memory without 
 judgment in the feathered tribes. 
 
 ' Some years ago, a farmer in the lower district of Annandale, 
 took it into his head to rob a wild duck of her eggs, and to 
 place them under one of his tame ducks, that was sitting at 
 that time. The young brood (twelve in number) came 
 into the world at the usual period, but one only continued 
 with her stepdame. This extraordinary bird, however, never 
 perfectly acquired the habits or dispositions of her new sister- 
 hood ; she never would associate with the tame drakes, but 
 every spring left the farm-yard, and proceeded to the wilds in 
 quest of mates; and, what was remarkably singular, she seemed 
 to have a malicious pleasure in leading them into a snare, 
 and was at great pains to draw them into such situations as 
 admitted of their being easily shot, or otherwise destroyed. 
 She always hatched her young in a peat moss, at some dis- 
 tance from the house, but never failed to bring them to the 
 farm-yard, as soon as they were able to follow her. When 
 this duck was about four years old, the owner w’as visited by 
 a kinsman from Fife, who was so much taken up with her, 
 that he begged for, and obtained her, as a present. She was 
 put into a cage, and by him conveyed to his house near Kin* 
 
THE CHICK IN THE EGG. 
 
 249 
 
 foss. She was kept in confinement for a night and a day; 
 when, seeming perfectly contented, she was let out into the 
 yard, where she set about adjusting herself for some time; 
 she then suddenly took wing, and in the course of a few hours 
 was among her old companions in Annandale. She was a 
 second time conveyed to Fife, and her wings clipped. 
 
 She continued perfectly happy, to appearance, till her fea- 
 thers grew, when she again bade her new friends farewell. 
 She was shot in the neighbourhood of Biggar, by a gentleman, 
 who communicated the circumstance to the owner, whose 
 name he learned from the collar that was found .about her 
 neck, containing his name and place of abode. 
 
 Formation of the Chick in the Egg. — Scarcely has 
 the hen sat upon the eggs twelve hours, before some lineaments 
 of the head and body of the chick are discernible in the em- 
 bryo ; at the end of the second day, the heart begins to beat, 
 but no blood is to be seen. In forty-eight hours we may 
 distinguish two vesicles with blood, the pulsation of which 
 is evident ; one of them is the left ventricle, the other, the 
 root of the great artery; soon after, one of the auricles of the 
 heart is perceptible, in which pulsation may be remarked as 
 well as in the ventricle. So early as the seventh hour, the 
 wings may be distinguished, and on the head two globules 
 for the brain, one for the beak, and two others for the front 
 and hind part of the head. Towards the end of the fourth 
 day, the two auricles, now distinctly visible, approach nearer 
 the heart than they did before. About the fifth day the liver 
 may be perceived ; at the end of one hundred and thirty-eight 
 hours, the lungs and stomach become visible ; and in a few 
 hours more, the intestines, veins, and upper jaw. On the 
 seventh day, the brain begins to assume a more consistent 
 form. One hundred and ninety hours after incubation, the 
 beak opens, and flesh appears on the breast. In two hundred 
 and ten, the ribs are formed, and the gall-bladder is visible. 
 The bile, in a few hours more, is seen of a green colour; and 
 if the chick be separated from its coverings, it will be seen 
 to move. The feathers begin to shoot towards the two hun- 
 dred and fortieth hour, and at the same time the skull becomes 
 cartilaginous ; in twenty-four hours more, the eyes appear ; 
 at the two hundred and eighty-eighth, the ribs are perfected ; 
 and at the three hundred and thirty-first, the lungs, the sto- 
 mach, and the breast, assume their natural appearance. On 
 the eighteenth day of incubation, the first faint piping of the 
 chick is heard. It then continually increases in size and in 
 strength till it emerges from its prison. 
 
 By so many different gradations does the adorable wisdom 
 of God conduct these creatures into life; all their progressive 
 
 2 I 
 
25(y CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 evolutions are arranged 'with order, and there are none 'with- 
 out sufficient cause. If the liver is always formed on the fifth 
 day, it is from the preceding state of the chick. No part of 
 its body could appear sooner or later, without some injury to 
 the embryo, and each of its members appears at the most 
 convenient moment. The wise and invariable order in the 
 production of this little body, is evidently the work of super* 
 nal power ; and we shall be more convinced of it, if we consi- 
 der the manner in which the chick is formed from the parts 
 which compose the egg. 
 
 How admirable is that principle of life, the source of a new 
 being, contained in the egg; all the parts of the animal being 
 invisible till they become developed by warmth ! What a 
 wonderful order and regularity is observed in this amazing 
 process, — the same evolutions taking place at once in twenty 
 eggs ! Neither does changing the position of the egg at all 
 injure the embryo, or retard the formation of the chick; 
 which, at the time when it breaks the shell, is found to be 
 heavier than the whole egg was at first. These, however ad- 
 mirable, are far from being all the wonders displayed in the 
 progress of incubation. The microscope, and the penetrating 
 investigations of the curious, have only discovered what comes 
 more immediately under the observation of our senses; whilst 
 the discovery of many things remains for those who are to 
 follow us, or perhaps they may never be known in this state 
 of our existence. Much might be asked concerning the mys- 
 tery connected with the formation of animal bodies, which at 
 present is impenetrable to our researches ; but let not this 
 discourage us; let us only endeavour to improve, and make 
 a good use of, the little knowledge we are permitted to acquire, 
 and we shall have a sufficiency to discover at every step the 
 wisdom and power of God, and enough to employ for the 
 benefit of our fellow-creatures. 
 
birds’ N£STS. 
 
 251 
 
 CHAP. XXI 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. — (Concluded,) 
 
 Birds* Nests — Migration of Birds — Curious Method oj Bird^ 
 Catching in the Faro Isles — Song of Birds. 
 
 birds’ n ests. 
 
 It wins my admiration, 
 
 To view the structure of that little work, 
 
 A bird’s nest: mark it well within, without; 
 
 No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut, 
 
 No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert. 
 
 No glue to join ! his little beak was all ; 
 
 And yet how neatly finish’d ! Hurdis. 
 
 The structure of Bird’s Nests discovers to us many curioui 
 objects, which cannot be uninteresting to the reflecting mind. 
 And who does not admire those little regular edifices com- 
 posed of so many different materials, collected and arranged 
 with so much pains and skill, and constructed with so much 
 industry, elegance, and neatness, with no other tools than 
 a bill and two feet ? That men can erect great buildings 
 according to certain rules of art, is not surprising, when we 
 consider that they enjoy the reasoning faculty, and that they 
 possess tools and instruments of various kinds, to facilitate 
 their work ; but that a delicate little bird, in want of almost 
 every thing necessary for such an undertaking, with only its 
 bill and claws, should know how to combine so much skill, 
 regularity of form, and solidity of composition, in constructing 
 its nest, is truly wonderful, and never enough to be admired. 
 We shall therefore consider it more minutely. 
 
 Nothing is more curious than the nest of a goldfinch or a 
 chaffinch. The inside of it is lined with cotton, wool, and 
 fine silky threads, while the outside is interwoven with 
 thick moss ; and that the nest may be less remarkable, and 
 less exposed to the eye of observers, the colour of the moss 
 resembles that of the bark of the tree, or of the hedge, where 
 the nest is built. In some nests, the hair, the down, and the 
 straws, are curiously laid across each other, and interwoven 
 together. There are others, all the parts of which are neatly 
 joined and fastened together by a thread which the bird makes 
 of flax, horse or cow hair, and often of spiders’ webs. Other 
 birds, as the blackbird and the lapwing, after having con- 
 structed their nest, plaster the outside with a thin coating of 
 mortar, which cements and binds together all the lower parts, 
 and which, with the help of some cow-hair or moss, stuck to 
 
262 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 it whilst the plaster is wet, keeps it compact and warm. The 
 nests of swallows are differently constructed from the rest. 
 They use neither sticks, straws, nor strings ; but they com- 
 pose a sort of cement, with which they make themselves nests, 
 perfectly neat, secure, and convenient. To moisten the dust 
 of which they form their nests, they frequently skim over the 
 surface of some lake or river, and, dipping their breasts into 
 the water, shake their wet feathers upon the dust till it is 
 sufficiently moist, and then knead it up into a kind of clay 
 with their bills. 
 
 But the nests most worthy of our admiration are those of 
 certain Indian birds, which suspend them with great art from 
 the branches of trees, that they may be secure from the pur- 
 suit of several animals and insects. In general, each species 
 of bird has a peculiar mode of fixing its nest ; some build them 
 on houses, others in trees, some in the grass, others on the 
 ground, and always in that way which is most adapted for 
 the rearing of their young, and the preservation of their 
 species. Such, therefore, is the. wonderful instinct of 
 birds, even in the structure and disposition of their nests 
 alone, that we may safely conclude they cannot be mere ma- 
 chines. But is it not also apparent, that in all their works 
 they propose to themselves certain ends? They construct 
 their nests hollow, forming the half of a sphere, that the heat 
 may be more concentric. The nest is covered without by 
 substances more or less coarse, not only to serve as a foun- 
 dation, but to prevent the wind and insects from entering. 
 Within, it is lined with the most delicate materials, such as 
 wool and feathers, that the nestlings may be soft and warm. 
 Is it not something nearly approaching to reason, which 
 teaches the bird to place its nest in such a manner as to be 
 sheltered from rain, and out of the reach of destructive ani- 
 mals ? Where have they learned that they are to produce 
 eggs, which will require a nest to prevent them from being 
 broken, and to keep them in the necessary temperature ? 
 that the heat would not be sufficiently concentrated if the 
 nest were larger ^ and that, if it were smaller, all the young 
 ones could not be contained in it? Who has taught them 
 not to mistake the time, but to calculate so exactly, that the 
 eggs are not laid before the nest is finished ? These ques 
 tions have never been satisfactorily answered, neither can this 
 mystery in nature be clearly explained ; all we can do is, to 
 refer it to an instinct, which some animals seem to possess in 
 a manner almost equal to reason : and instinct to them is 
 much more happy and beneficial than reason would be ; for 
 they seem to enjoy all the sweets of life without their moments 
 being imbittered by the consideration of their inferior rank 
 in the creation, and without the pain of anticipating evil. 
 
INDIAN bird’s nest. 
 
 Ill 
 
V 
 
 
 
 I [ 
 
 /f 
 
 M 
 
 
 .:.] 
 
MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 
 
 253 
 
 The following account is principally abridged from that 
 very interesting work. The Contemplative Philosopher. The 
 present compiler acknowledges his obligations to that work 
 on many occasions, and gives it his warmest recommenda- 
 tions to the public. 
 
 Migration of Birds. — The migration of birds has been 
 justly considered as one of the most wonderful exhibitions of 
 nature. This migration, which is common to the quail, the stork, 
 the crane, the fieldfare, the woodcock, the cuckoo, the martin, 
 the swallow, and various others, is, indeed, a very curious 
 article in natural history, and furnishes a very striking in- 
 stance of a powerful instinct impressed by the Creator. Dr. 
 Derham observes two circumstances remarkable in this migra- 
 tion : the first, that these untaught, unthinking creatures, 
 should know the proper times for their passage, when to come 
 and when to go ; as also, that some should come when others 
 retire. No doubt, the temperature of the air as to heat and 
 cpld, and their natural propensity to breed their young, are 
 the great incentives to these creatures to change their 
 habitations. But why should they at all change their habi- 
 tations? And why is some certain place to be found, in all 
 the terraqueous globe, that, all the year round, can afford 
 them convenient food and habitation ? — The second remark- 
 able circumstance is, that they should know which way to 
 steer their course, and whither to go. What instinct is it 
 that can induce a poor foolish bird to venture over vast tracts 
 of land and sea. If it be said, that by their high ascents into 
 the air, they can see across the seas ; yet what shall instruct 
 or persuade them, that another land is more proper for their 
 purpose than this? that Great Britain, for instance, should 
 afford them better accommodation than Egypt, the Canaries, 
 Spain, or any of the other intermediate countries? — Fhysico- 
 Theology, book vii. chap. 3. 
 
 Birds of passage, moreover, are all peculiarly accommo- 
 dated, by the structure of their parts, for long flights; and it 
 is remarked, that in their migrations, they observe a wonder- 
 ful order and polity : they fly in troops, and steer their course, 
 without the aid of a compass, to vast unknown regions. The 
 flight of the wild geese, in a w edge-like figure, has been often 
 observed ; to which it is added, by the natural historian of 
 Norway, that the three foremost, who are the soonest tired, 
 retreat behind, and are relieved by others, who are again 
 succeeded by the rest in order. But this circumstance has 
 been observed, many ages before, by Pliny, who describes 
 certain birds of passage flying in the form of a wedge, and 
 spreading wider and wider; those behind resting upon those 
 before, till the leaders being tired, are, in their turn, received 
 into the rear. 
 
254 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 ‘‘Wild ducks and cranes (says Abbe de la Pluche) fly, at 
 the approach of winter, in quest of more favourable climates. 
 They all assemble at a certain day, like swallows and quails. 
 They decamp at the same time, and it is very agreeable to 
 observe their flight. They generally range themselves in a 
 long column like an I, or in two lines united in a point like a 
 > reversed.” And thus, as Milton says 
 
 “ Rang’d in figure, wedge the way.’^ 
 
 ‘‘ The duck or quail that forms the point (adds the Abbe) 
 cuts the air, and facilitates a passage to those that follow ; but 
 he is charged with this commission only for a certain time, at 
 the conclusion of which he wheels into the rear, and another 
 takes his post.” And thus again, as Milton says, 
 
 “ With mutual wing 
 
 Easing their flight.’’ 
 
 It has been observed of the storks, that for about the space 
 of a fortnight before they pass from one country to another, 
 they constantly resort together, from all the circumjacent 
 parts, to a certain plain, and there forming themselves once 
 every day into a dou-wanne, (according to the phrase of the 
 people,) are said to determine the exact time of their depar- 
 ture, and the places of their future abode. 
 
 Mr. Biberg, an ingenious naturalist of Sweden, has observed, 
 that “ the starling, finding, after the middle of summer, that 
 worms are less plentiful in that country, goes annually into 
 Scania, Germany, and Denmark. The female chaffinches, 
 every winter, about Michaelmas, go in flocks to Holland ; but 
 as the males stay in Sweden, the females come back next 
 spring. In the same manner, the female Carolina yellow- 
 hammer, in the month of September, while the rice on which 
 she feeds is laid up in granaries, goes towards the south, and 
 returns in the spring to seek her mate. Our aquatic birds 
 (continues he) are forced by necessity to fly toward the south 
 every autumn, before the water is frozen. Thus we know, 
 that the lakes of Poland and Lithuania are filled with swans 
 and geese every autumn, at which time they go in great flocks, 
 along many rivers, as far as the Euxine Sea. But in the be- 
 ginning of spring, as soon as the heat of the sun molests 
 them^ they return back, and go again to the northern ponds 
 and lakes, in order to lay their eggs. For there, and espe- 
 cially in Lapland, there is a vast abundance of gnats, which 
 afford them excellent nourishment, as all of this kind live in 
 the water before they get their wings.” — Mr. Biberg proceeds 
 to enumerate many other birds that migrate to different regions ; 
 and he then adds : “ By these migrations, birds become useful 
 to many iifferent countries, and are distributed almost over 
 
MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 
 
 265 
 
 all the globe ; and 1 cannot here forbear expressing my admi- 
 ration, that all of them exactly observe the times of coming 
 and going, and that they never mistake their way .” — Biherg on 
 the Economy of Nature, in StiUingfeeCs Misc. Tracis. 
 
 The principal food of the birds of passage, while in Great 
 Britain, is the fruit of the whitethorn, or haws, which hang 
 on our hedges in winter in prodigious plenty ; but where they 
 breed, and seem to be most at ease, as in Sweden, &.c. there 
 are no haws ; nor indeed in many of the countries through 
 which they journey on their way : so that it is evident they 
 change their food in their passage. 
 
 The manner in which the birds of passage journey to their 
 southern abodes is supposed to vary, according to the different 
 structure of their bodies, and their power of supporting them- 
 selves in the air. The birds with short wings, such as the red- 
 start, black-cap, &c. though they are incapable of such long 
 flights as the swallow, or of flying with such celerity, yet may 
 pass to less distant places, and by slower movements. Swal- 
 lows and cuckoos may perform their passage in a very short 
 time; but there is for them no necessity for speed, since every 
 day’s passage affords them an increase of warmth, and a conti- 
 nuance of food. 
 
 Swallows are often observed, in innumerable flocks, on 
 churches, rocks, and trees, previous to their departure hence ; 
 and Mr. Collinson proves their return here, perhaps in equal 
 numbers, by two curious relations of undoubted credit ; the 
 one communicated to him by Mr. Wright, the master of a 
 ship, and the other by Admiral Sir Charles Wager. — “ Re- 
 turning home, (says Sir Charles,) in the spring of the year, 
 as I came into soundings in our channel, a great flock of swal- 
 lows came and settled on my rigging ; every rope was covered; 
 they hung on one another, like a swarm of bees ; the decks 
 and awning were filled with them. They seemed almost fa- 
 mished and spent, and were only feathers and bones ; but, 
 being recruited with a night’s rest, they took their flight in 
 the morning.” This apparent fatigue proves that they must 
 have had a long journey, considering the amazing swiftness of 
 these birds ; so that, in all probability, they had crossed the 
 Atlantic Ocean, and were returning from the shores of Sene- 
 gal, or other parts of Africa. 
 
 Naturalists are much divided in their opinion concerning 
 the periodical appearance and disappearance of swallows. — 
 Some assert, that they remove from climate to climate, at those 
 particular seasons when winged insects, their natural food, 
 fail in one country and are plentiful in another, where they 
 likewise fin 1 a temperature of air better suited to their con- 
 stitution. In support of this opinion, we have the testimony 
 of Sir Charles Wager, and of Mr. Adamson, who, in the ac- 
 
256 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 count of his voyage, informs us, tha-t, about fifty leagues from 
 fhe coast of Senegal, four swallows settled upon the ship, on 
 the 6th day of October ; that these birds were taken ; and that 
 he knew them to be the true swallow of Europe, which he con- 
 jectures were then returning to the coast of Africa. 
 
 But Mr. Daines Barrington, in a curious essay on this sub- 
 ject, has adduced many arguments and facts, to prove that no 
 birds, however strong and swift in their flight, can possibly 
 fly over such large tracts of ocean as has been commonly sup- 
 posed. He is of opinion, therefore, that the swallows men- 
 tioned by Mr. Adamson, instead of being on their passage 
 from Europe, were only fluttering from the Cape de Verde 
 islands to the continent of Africa ; a much nearer flight, but 
 to which they seemed to be unequal, as they were obliged, 
 from fatigue, to alight upon the ship, and fall into the hands 
 of the sailors. And Mr. Kalm, another advocate for the tor- 
 pidity of swallows during the winter, having remarked, how- 
 ever, that he himself had met with them nine hundred and 
 twenty miles from any land ; Mr. Barrington endeavours to 
 explain these, and similar facts, by supposing that birds dis- 
 covered in such situations, instead of attempting to cross 
 large branches of the ocean, have been forcibly driven from 
 some coast by storms, and that they would naturally perch 
 upon the first vessel they could see. 
 
 In a word, Mr. Barrington is further of opinion, with some 
 other naturalists, that the swallows do not leave this island at 
 the end of autumn, but that they lie in a torpid state, till the 
 beginning 'of summer, in the banks of rivers, in the hollows 
 of decayed trees, the recesses of old buildings, the holes of 
 sand-banks, and in similar situations. Among other facts, 
 Mr. Barrington communicated one to Mr. Pennant, that 
 “ numbers of swallows have been found in old dry walls, and 
 in sand-hills, near the seat of the late Lord Belhaven, in East 
 Lothian ; not once only, but from year to year ; and that, when 
 they were exposed to the warmth of a fire, they revived.’* 
 
 These, and other facts of the same kind, are allowed to be 
 incontrovertible; and Mr. Pennant, in particular, infeis from 
 them, that “ we must divide our belief relative to these two so 
 different opinions, and conclude, that one part ©f the swallow 
 tribe migrate, and that others have their winter quarters near 
 home.” 
 
 But there are still more wonderful facts related. Mr. Kalm 
 remarks, that “ swallows appear in the Jerseys about the begin- 
 ning of April ; that, on their first arrival, they are wet, because 
 they have just emerged from the sea or lakes, at the bottom 
 of which they had remained, in a torpid state, during the whole 
 winter.” Other naturalists have asserted, that swallows pass 
 the winter immersed under the ice, at the bottom of lakes, or 
 
MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 
 
 257 
 
 beneath the waters of the sea. Olaus Magnus, archbishop of 
 Upsal, seems to have been the first who adopted this opinion. 
 He informs us, that ** swallows are found in great clusters at 
 the bottoms of the northern lakes, with mouth to mouth, wing 
 to wing, foot to foot, and that in autumn they creep down the 
 reeds to their subaqueous retreats/’ In other instances, Mr. 
 Pennant remarks, the good archbishop did not want credulity. 
 But the submersion of the swallows under water does not rest 
 upon his testimony alone. Klein asserts the same ; and gives 
 the following account of the manner of their retiring, which 
 he had from some countrymen : 
 
 “ They asserted, that the swallows sometimes assembled in 
 numbers on a reed, till it broke, and sunk them to the bottom ; 
 that their immersion was preceded by a kind of dirge, which 
 lasted more than a quarter of an hour ; that others united, laid 
 hold of a straw with their bills, and plunged down in society ; 
 that others, by clinging together with their feet, formed a large 
 mass, and in this manner committed themselves to the deep.” 
 Bishop Pontoppidan asserts, that clusters of swallows, in their 
 torpid winter state, have sometimes been found by fishermen, 
 among reeds and bushes in lakes ; and he charges Mr. Edwards 
 with having, in his Natural History of Birds, groundlessly 
 contradicted this incontestable truth. And Mr. Heerkens, a 
 celebrated Dutch naturalist, in a poem on the birds of Fries- 
 land, speaks in positive terms of the torpid state, and submer- 
 sion, of the swallows : 
 
 “ Ere winter his somnif Vous power exerts, 
 
 Six dreary months the swallow-tribes are seen 
 In various haunts conceal’d ; in rocks, and caves, 
 
 And structures rude, by cold benumb’d, asleep ; 
 
 Bill within bill inserted, clust’ring thick : 
 
 Or solitary some, of mate bereft. 
 
 But, wonderful to tell ! some lie immers’d, 
 
 Inanimate, beneath the frigid waves, 
 
 As if a species of the finny kinds.” 
 
 Mr. Heerkens, after reciting many instances, and producing 
 in his notes many authorities, of swallows having been found 
 in a torpid state, proceeds, in his poem, to describe, very mi- 
 nutely, their ascent out of the water. The drowsy birds appear 
 on the shore, as if unconscious still of life. Some inhale 
 the soft breeze, like one of the finny tribe exiled from its 
 stream. Some begin to adjust their dishevelled wings. — 
 Others, almost revived, essay, with busy bill, to assist their 
 aged companions. All, at length, restored to the unre- 
 strained use of their wings, range, in numerous flights, the 
 aerial way. 
 
 Two reasons have been adduced to prove this supposed sub- 
 mersion of swallow's impossible. “ In the first place, (says 
 
 2 K 
 
258 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 Mr. Smellie,) no land animal can exist so long without some 
 degree of respiration. The otter, the seal, and water fowls 
 of all kinds, when confined under the ice, or entangled in 
 nets, soon perish ; yet it is well known, that animals of this 
 kind can remain much longer under water than those who are 
 destitute of that peculiar structure of the heart, which is ne- 
 cessary for any considerable residence beneath that penetrating 
 element.” 
 
 Mr. John Hunter, in a letter tu Mr. Pennant, informs us, 
 “ that he had dissected many sw^allows, but found nothing in 
 them different from other birds, as to the organs of respira 
 tion ; that all those animals which he had dissected, of the 
 class that sleep during the winter, such as lizards, frogs, &c. 
 had a very different conformation as to those organs ; that 
 all those animals, he believes, do breathe in their torpid 
 state, and, as far as his experience reaches, he knows they 
 do ; and that, therefore, he esteems it a very wild opinion, 
 that terrestrial animals can remain any long time under water 
 without drowning.” Another argument against their submer- 
 sion arises from the specific gravity of the animals themselves. 
 Of all birds, the swallow tribes are perhaps the lightest. 
 Their plumage, and the comparative smallness of their W'eight, 
 indicates that Nature destined them to be almost perpetually 
 on the wing, in quest of food. From this specific lightness, 
 the submersion of swallows, and their continuing for months 
 under water, amount to a physical impossibility. Even water 
 fowls, when they wish to dive, are obliged to rise and plunge 
 with considerable exertion, in order to overcome the resist- 
 ance of the water. Klein’s idea of swallows employing reeds 
 and straws as means of submersion, is rather ludicrous ; for 
 these light substances, instead of being proper instruments 
 for assisting them to reach the bottom, would infallibly con- 
 tribute to support them on the surface, and prevent the very 
 object of their intention. Besides, admitting the possibility 
 of their reaching the bottom of lakes and seas, and supposing 
 they could exist for several months without respiration, what 
 would be the consequence? The whole would soon be devoured 
 by otters, seals, and fishes, of various kinds. Nature is al- 
 ways anxious for the preservation of its species. But if the 
 swallow tribes were destined to remain torpid during the 
 winter months, at the bottom of lakes and seas, she would act 
 in opposition to her own intentions ; for, in a season or two, 
 the whole genus would be annihilated. 
 
 This reasoning is very ingenious, but, on the other hand, 
 the facts related above are very stubborn ; and the celebrated 
 Buffon does not hesitate to yield to the force of such strong 
 and concurrent evidence. He had procured some chimney- 
 swallows, and kept them some time in an icehouse, in order 
 
MIGRATION OF BIRDS 
 
 259 
 
 to ascertain whether they were of the torpid kind, and he thus 
 relates the result of his experiments. “ None of them fell 
 into the torpid state ; the greater part died, and not one of 
 them levived by being moved into the warmth of the sun. 
 Those that had not long suffered the cold of the icehouse, had 
 all their movements, and went out briskly. From these expe- 
 riments 1 thought I might conclude, that this species of the 
 swallow was not liable to that state of torpor ai ’ insensibility, 
 which supposes, notwithstanding, and very necessarily, the 
 fact of their remaining at the bottom of the water during the 
 winter. Having had recourse, moreover, to the most credit- 
 able travellers, I found them agreed as to the passage of 
 swallows over the Mediterranean. And Mr. Adamson has 
 positively assured me, that during the long stay he made 
 in Senegal, he observed the long-tailed swallow, the same 
 with the chimney-swallow we are now speaking of, arrive 
 constantly in Senegal about the time it leaves France, 
 and as constantly leave Senegal in the spring. It cannot, 
 therefore, be doubted, that this species of the swallow passes 
 from Europe into Africa in the autumn, and from Africa to 
 Europe in the spring ; of consequence, it neither sleeps nor 
 hides itself in holes, nor plunges into the water on the ap- 
 proach of winter. There is, besides, another well authenti- 
 cated fact, which comes in proof here, and shews that this 
 swallow is not reduced to a torpid state by cold, which it can 
 bear to a certain degree, (and if that degree is exceeded, it 
 dies,) for if we observe these birds towards the end of the w arm 
 season, we shall see them, a little before their departure, 
 flying together in families, the father, the mother, and the 
 young brood. Afterw^ards several families unite, and form 
 themselves into flocks, more or less numerous in proportion 
 as the time of their departure draws near. At last they go all 
 together, three or four days before the end of September, or 
 about the beginning of October. Still, however, some remain, 
 and do not set off till a week, a fortnight, or three weeks 
 after the rest: and some too there are which do not go at all, 
 but stay and perish under the first rigours of the cold. These 
 swallows that delay their flight, or never undertake it, are 
 such as find their young too weak to follow them ; such as 
 have had the misfortune to have their nests destroyed after 
 laying, and have been obliged to rebuild them a second or 
 a third time. They stay for the love of their little ones, 
 and choose rather to endure the rigour of the season, than to 
 abandon their offspring. Thus they remain some time after 
 the rest for the purpose of taking their young with them ; and 
 if they are unable to carry them off in the end, they perish 
 with them. 
 
 ‘ These facts then plainly demonstrate (concludes Mr. Buf- 
 
260 
 
 <?I3RIOSlTIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 forj) that the chimney-swallows pass successively and alter- 
 nately from our climate to another that is warmer ; that they 
 spend their summer here, and their winter there ; and of 
 consequence never fall into a state of insensibility. But, on 
 the other hand, what have we to oppose to the precise testi- 
 mony of those, who, on the approach of winter, have seen 
 these swallows in troops throw themselves into the water; 
 nay, not only this, but have seen them taken out in nests 
 from beneath the ice? What answer shall we make to those 
 who have beheld them in the torpid state, and seen them 
 gradually recover motion and life, when they were brought 
 into the warmth, and moved cautiously towards a fire ? I know 
 but of one means of reconciling these facts : we must sup- 
 pose that the sleeping and travelling swallow are of different 
 species, though the difference, for want of attention, has not 
 been observed.’’ 
 
 Thus this great philosopher concurs with Mr. Pennant, in 
 his solution, already mentioned, of the difficulty, by supposing 
 two species — the migrating, and the sleeping swallow. With 
 respect to the principal objects of this wonderful instinct, ^that 
 teaches such various kinds of the feathered race to migrate to 
 different countries, it is obvious, from what has already been 
 said, that they are governed by their food, temperature of air, 
 and convenient situations for breeding. 
 
 We shall now give an account of the Curious Method 
 OF Bird-Catching in the Faro Isles. — The manner of 
 bird-catching in the Faro Islands, is exceedingly strange and 
 hazardous. Necessity compels man to wonderful attempts. 
 The cliffs which contain the objects of their search, are often 
 two hundred fathoms in height, and are attempted both from 
 above and below. In the first case, the fowlers provide them- 
 selves with a rope eighty or a hundred fathoms in length. 
 The fowler fastening one end about his waist, and between 
 his legs, recommends himself to the protection of the Almighty, 
 and is lowered down by six others, who place a piece of 
 timber on the margin of the rock, to preserve the rope from 
 wearing against the sharp edge. They have, besides, a small 
 line fastened to the body of the adventurer, by which he gives 
 signals, that they may lower or raise him, or shift him from 
 place to place. The last operation is attended with great 
 danger, by the loosening of the stones, which often fall on 
 his head, and would infallibly -destroy him, were he not pro- 
 tected by a strong thick cap ; but even this is found unequal 
 to save him against the weight of the larger fragments of rock. 
 The dexterity of the fowlers is amazing; they will place their 
 feet against the front of the precipice, and dart themselves 
 some fathoms from it ; with a cool eye survey the places where 
 
BIRD-CATCHING. SONG OF BIRDS. 
 
 261 
 
 the birds nestle, and 'again shoot into their haunts. In some 
 places the birds lodge in deep recesses. The fowler will alight 
 there, disengage himself from the rope, fiTx it to a stone, and 
 at his leisure collect the booty, fasten it to his girdle, and 
 resume his pendulous seat. At times he will again spring 
 from the rock, and in that attitude, with a fowling-net placed 
 on a staff, catch the old birds that are flying to and from their 
 retreats. When he has finished his dreadful employ, he 
 gives a signal to his friends above, who pull him up, and 
 share his hard-earned profit. The feathers are preserved for 
 exportation : the flesh is partly eaten fresh, but the greater 
 part is dried for winter’s provision. 
 
 The fowling from below has also its share of danger. The 
 party goes on the expedition in a boat ; and when it has at- 
 tained the base of the precipice, one of the most daring, having 
 fastened a rope about his waist, and furnished himself with a 
 long pole, with an iron hook at one end, either climbs or is 
 thrust up by his companions, who place a pole under his 
 breech, to the next footing spot he can reach. He, by means 
 of the rope, brings up one of the boat’s crew" ; the rest are 
 drawn up in the same manner, and each is furnished with his 
 rope and fow"ling-staff. They then continue their progress 
 upwards in the same manner, till they arrive at the regions of 
 the birds, and wander about the face of the cliff in search of 
 them. They then act in pairs ; one fastens himself to the end 
 of his associate’s rope, and, in places where the birds have 
 nestled beneath his footing, he permits himself to be lowered 
 down, depending for his security on the strength of his com- 
 panion, who has to haul him up again ; but it sometimes 
 happens that the person above is overpowered by the weight, 
 and both inevitably perish. They fling the fowl into the 
 boat, which attends their motions, and receives the booty. 
 They often pass seven or eight days in this tremendous em- 
 ploy, and lodge in the crannies which they find in the face 
 of the precipice. 
 
 We shall close this division of our work with A curious 
 Account of the Song of Birds. — We introduce the sub- 
 ject by the following poetical quotations ; which, we have no 
 doubt, will interest every admirer of nature, and nature’s 
 God. 
 
 Every copse 
 
 Deep-tangled, tree irregular, and bush 
 Bending with dewy moisture, o’er the heads 
 Of the coy choristers that lodge within, 
 
 Are prodigal of harmony. Thomson. 
 
 — Each bird, 
 
 Or high in air, or secret in the shade. 
 
 Rejoicing, warbles wild his grateful hymn. 
 
 Mallet 
 
262 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS 
 
 From branch to branch the smaller birds with song 
 Solace the woods, and spread their painted wings 
 Till even ; nor then the solemn nightingale 
 Ceases to warble : in shadiest covert hid, 
 
 She all the night tunes her soft lays. Milton, 
 
 Again : — 
 
 The sweet poet of the vernal groves 
 
 Melts all the night in strains of am’rous woe. ArrMtrong. 
 
 Again ; — 
 
 When the spring renews the flow’ry field, 
 
 And warns the pregnant nightingale to build. 
 
 She seeks the safest shelter of the wood, 
 
 Where she may trust her little tuneful brood. 
 
 Fond of the chosen place, she views it o’er. 
 
 Sits there, and wanders through the grove no more : 
 
 Warbling, she charms it each returning night ; — Rowu 
 
 And gives the pensive mind a calm delight. 
 
 The lark, that shuns on lofty boughs to build 
 Her humble nest, sits silent in the field; 
 
 But if the promise of a cloudless day, 
 
 (Aurora smiling,) bids her rise and play. 
 
 Then straight she shews ’twas not for want of voice. 
 
 Or pow’r to climb, she made so low a choice ; 
 
 Singing she mounts, her airy wings are stretch’d 
 
 Tow’rds heaven, as if from heav’n her note she fetch’d. Wallt^, 
 
 Birds of sweetest song 
 
 Attune from native boughs their various lay. 
 
 And cheer the forest; those of brighter plume 
 With busy pinion skim the glitt’ring wave. 
 
 Or tempt the sun, ambitious to display 
 ' Their several merit. Shenstone. 
 
 The Song of Birds is defined, by the Hon. Daines Barring- 
 ton, to be a succession of three or more difi’erent notes, which 
 are continued without interruption, during the same interval, 
 with a musical bar of four crotchets, in an adagio movement, or 
 whilst a pendulum swings four seconds. It is affirmed, that 
 the notes of birds are no more innate than language in man, 
 and that they depend upon imitation, as far as their organs 
 will enable them to imitate the sounds which they have fre- 
 quent opportunities of hearing : and their adhering so steadily, 
 even in a wild state, to the same song, is owing to the nestling 
 attending on)) to the instruction of the parent bird, whilst 
 they disregard the notes of all others that may be singing, 
 around them. Birds in a wild state do not usually sing above ten 
 weeks in the year; whereas birds that have plenty of food in 
 a cage, sing the greatest part of the year ; the fem-ale of no 
 species of birds ever sings. This is a wise provision, because 
 her song would discover her nest. In the same manner, we 
 may account for her inferiority of plumage. The faculty of 
 singing is confined to the cock birds ; and accordingly Mr. 
 Hunter, in dissecting birds of several species, found the mus- 
 
THE SONG OF BIRDS. 
 
 263 
 
 cles of the larynx to be stronger in the nightingale than in any 
 other bird of the same size ; and in all those instances where 
 he dissected both cock and hen, the same muscles were 
 stronger in the cock. 
 
 It is an observation as ancient as the time of Pliny, that a 
 capon does not crow. Some ascribe the singing of the cock 
 in the spring solely to the motive of pleasing his mate during 
 incubation ; others, who allow that it is partly for this end, 
 believe it is partly owing to another cause, viz. the great abun- 
 dance of plants and insects in spring, which are the proper 
 food of singing birds at that time of the year, as well as seeds. 
 Mr. Barrington remarks, that there is no instance of any sing- 
 ing bird which exceeds our blackbird in size ; and this, he 
 supposes, may arise from the difficulty of concealing itself, 
 should it call the attention of its enemies, not only by its bulk, 
 but by the proportionate loudness of its notes. He further 
 observes, that some passages of the song in a few kinds of 
 birds correspond with the intervals of our musical scale, of 
 which the cuckoo is a striking and known instance ; but the 
 greater part of their song cannot be reduced to a musical scale • 
 partly because the rapidity is often so great, and it is also so 
 uncertain when they may stop, that we cannot reduce the pas- 
 sages to form a musical bar in any time whatsoever; partly 
 also, because the pitch of most birds is considerably higher 
 than the most shrill notes of those instruments which have the 
 greatest compass ; and principally, because the intervals used 
 by birds are commonly so minute, that we cannot judge of 
 them from the more gross intervals into which we divide our 
 musical octave. This writer apprehends, that all birds sing 
 in the same key ; and he found by a nightingale, as well as a 
 robin which was educated under him, that the notes reducible 
 to our intervals of the octave were always precisely the same. 
 Most people, who have not attended to the notes of birds, 
 suppose, that every species sing exactly the same notes and 
 passages ; but this is not true ; though there is a general re- 
 semblance. Thus the London bird-catchers prefer the song of 
 the Kentish goldfinches, and Essex chaffinches; and some of 
 the nightingale fanciers prefer a Surrey bird to those of Mid- 
 dlesex. 
 
 Of all singing birds, the song of the nightingale has been 
 most universally admired ; and its superiority consists in the 
 following particulars : its tone is much more mellow than that 
 of any other bird, though, at the same time, by a proper ex- 
 ertion of its musical powers, it can be very brilliant. An- 
 other superiority is, its continuance of song w'ithout a pause, 
 which is sometimes twenty seconds ; and when respiration be- 
 comes necessary, it takes it with as much judgment as an 
 opera singer. The skylark, in this particular, as well as in 
 
264 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BIRDS. 
 
 compass and variety, is only second to the nightingale. The 
 nightingale also sings with judgment and taste. Mr. Bar- 
 rington says, that his nightingale began softly, like the ancient 
 orators, reserving its breath to swell certain notes, which thus 
 had a most astonishing effect. He adds, that the notes of 
 birds which are annually imported from Asia, Africa, and 
 America, both singly and in concert, are not to be compared 
 to those of European birds. He has also formed a table, to 
 exhibit the comparative merits of the British singing birds ; 
 wherein twenty being the point of perfection, he states the 
 nightingale at nineteen ; the woodlark and skylark at eighteen; 
 the blackcap at fourteen ; the titlark, linnet, goldfinch, and 
 robin, at twelve ; wdth some variations respecting mellowness, 
 sprightliness, execution, &c. for which, with the proportional 
 differences of other birds, w^e refer to his work. 
 
 We cannot resist the temptation to insert the following well- 
 known 
 
 V 
 
 INVITATION TO THE FEATHERED RACE. 
 
 Written at Claverton, near Bath 
 
 Again the balmy zephyr blows. 
 
 Fresh \'erdure decks the grove ; 
 
 Each bird with vernal rapture glows, 
 
 And tunes his notes to love. 
 
 Ye gentle warblers, hither fly, 
 
 And shun the noontide heat ; 
 
 My shrubs a cooling shade supply, 
 
 My groves a safe retreat. 
 
 Here freely hop from spray to spray, 
 
 Or weave the mossy nest, 
 
 Here rove and sing the live-long day, 
 
 At night here sweetly rest. 
 
 Amidst this cool translucent rill. 
 
 That trickles down the glade. 
 
 Here bathe your plumes, here drink your fiQ 
 And revel in the shade. 
 
 No gchoolboy rude, to mischief prono 
 E’er shows his ruddy face, 
 
 Or twangs his how, or hurls a stone, 
 
 In this sequester’d place. 
 
 Hither the vocal thrush repairs, 
 
 Secure the linnet sings : 
 
 The goldfinch dreads no slimy snares, 
 
 To clog her painted wings. 
 
 Sad Philomel ! ah, quit thy haunt. 
 
 Yon distant woods among, 
 
 And round my friendly grotto chaunt 
 Thy sweetly plaintive sou^. 
 
THE HON EY BEE 
 
 265 
 
 Let not the harmless redbreast fear. 
 
 Domestic bird, to come 
 
 And seek a sure asylum here. 
 
 With one that loves his home. 
 
 My trees for you, ye artless tribe. 
 
 Shall store of fruit preserve ; ^ 
 
 O let me thus your friendship bribe! 
 
 Come, feed without reserve. 
 
 For you these cherries I protect. 
 
 To you these plums belong ; 
 
 Sweet is the fruit that you have pick’d. 
 
 But sweeter far > our song. 
 
 Let then this league betwixt us made. 
 
 Our mutual int’rest guard ; 
 
 Mine be the gift of fruit and shade 
 Your songs be my reward. Grtftn, 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 THE HONEY BEE. 
 
 To their delicious task the fervent bees. 
 
 In swarming millions, tend ; around, athwart. 
 
 Through the soft air the busy nations fly, 
 
 Cling to the bud, and with inserted tube 
 Suck its pure essence, its ethereal soul ; 
 
 And oft, with bolder wing, they, soaring, dare 
 The purple heath, or where the wild thyme grow. 
 
 And yellow load them with the luscious spoil. ThomtOfiu 
 
 What various wonders may observers see 
 In a small insect — the sagacious bee ! 
 
 Mark how the little untaught builders squar 
 Their rooms, and in the dark their lodgings rear; 
 
 Nature’s mechanics, they unwearied strive 
 And fill, with curious labyrinths, the hive. 
 
 See what bold strokes of architecture shine 
 
 Through the whole frame, what beauty, what design! Blackmore. 
 
 This important insect has been long and justly celebrated 
 for its wonderful polity, the neatness and precision with which 
 it constructs its cells, and the diligence with which it provides, 
 during the warmth of summer, a supply of food for the sup- 
 port of the hive during the rigours of the succeeding wdnter. 
 The general history of this interesting insect has been amply 
 detailed by various authors, as Swammerdam, Reaumur, &c. 
 &,c. Among the most elaborate accounts of later times, may 
 be mentioned that of Mr. .Tohn Hunter, which made its ap- 
 pearance in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1792; 
 
 2L 
 
266 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 and that of M. Huber, contained in his Nouvelles Observa- 
 tions sur les Abeilles, addressed to M. Bonnet, the celebrated 
 author of the “ Contemplaiions de la Nature,^* The following 
 account drawn principally from Hunter and Huber. 
 
 There are three periods, observes Hunter, at which the 
 history of the bee may commence : first, in the spring, when 
 the queen begins to lay her eggs ; in the summer, at the com- 
 mencement of a new colony ; or in the autumn, when they go 
 into winter-quarters. We shall begin the particular history 
 of the bee with the new colony, when nothing is formed. 
 When a hive sends off a colony, it is commonly in the month 
 of June ; but that will vary according to the season, for, in a 
 mild spring, bees sometimes swarm in the middle of May, and 
 very often at the latter end of it. Before they come off, they 
 commonly hang about the mouth of the hole or door of the 
 hive for some days, as if they had not sufficient room within 
 for such hot weather, which we believe is very much the case; 
 for if cold or wet weather come on, they stow themselves very 
 well, and wait for fine weather. But swarming appears to be 
 rather an operation arising from necessity ; for they do not 
 seem to remove voluntarily, because if they have an empty 
 space to fill, they do not swarm ; therefore, by increasing the 
 size of the hive, the swarming is prevented. This period is much 
 longer in some than in others. For some evenings before they 
 come offi, is often heard a singular noise, a kind of ring, or 
 sound of a small trumpet; by comparing it with the notes of 
 a piano-forte, it seemed to be the same sound with the lower 
 A of the treble. The swarm commonly consists of three 
 classes ; a female or females, males, and those commonly 
 cailled mules, which are supposed to be of no sex, and are the 
 labourers ; the whole, about two quarts in bulk, making about 
 six or seven thousand. It is a question that cannot easily be 
 determined, whether this old stock sends off only young of 
 the same season, and whether the whole of their young ones, 
 or only a part. 
 
 As the males are entirely bred in the same season, part go 
 off ; but part must stay, and most probably it is so with the 
 others. They commonly come off in the heat of the day, 
 often immediately after a shower. When one goes off, they 
 all immediately follow, and fly about, seemingly in great con- 
 fusion, although there is one principle actuating the whole. 
 They soon appear to be directed to some fixed place ; such as 
 the branch of a tree or bush, the cavities of old trees, or holes 
 of houses leading into some hollow place ; and whenever the 
 stand is made, they immediately repair to it till they are all 
 collected But it would seem, in some cases, that they had 
 not fixed upon any resting-place before they come off, or, if 
 they had, that they were either disturbed, if it was near, or 
 
i* 
 
 THE HONEY BEE. 
 
jt!fc LiBiiASi 
 BF THE 
 Li iiillSBiS} 
 
 
 "i 
 
 X 
 
 / 
 
THE HONEY BEE. 
 
 267 
 
 that it was at a great distance ; for, after hovering some time, 
 as if undetermined, they fly away, mount up into the air, and 
 go off with great velocity. When they have fixed upon then 
 future habitation, they immediately begin to make their combs, 
 for they have the materials within themselves. “ I have 
 reason,” says Mr. Hunter, ‘‘ to believe that they fill theii 
 crops with honey when they come away, probably from the 
 stock in the hive. I killed several of those that came away, 
 and found their crops full, while those that remained in the 
 hive had their crops not near so full : some of them came away 
 with farina on their legs, which I conceive to be rather acci- 
 dental. I may just observe here, that a hive commonly sends 
 off two, sometimes three swarms in a summer, but that the 
 second is commonly less than the first, and the third less than 
 the second ; and this last has seldom time to provide for the 
 winter. 
 
 “ The materials of their dwelling or comb, which is the wax, 
 is the next consideration, with the mode of forming, preparing, 
 or disposing of it. In giving a totally new account of the 
 wax, I shall first shew it can hardly be what it has been sup- 
 posed to be. First, I shall observe that the materials, as they 
 are found composing the comb, are not to be found in the 
 same state (as a composition) in any vegetable, where they 
 have been supposed to be got. The substance brought in on 
 the legs, which is the farina of the flowers of plants, is, in 
 common, I believe, imagined to be the materials of which the 
 wax is made, for it is called by most, the wax: but it is the 
 farina, for it is always of the same colour as the farina of the 
 flower where they are gathering ; and, indeed, we see them 
 gathering it, and we also see them covered almost all over 
 with it like a dust : nevertheless, it has been supposed to be 
 the wax, or that the wax was extracted from it. Reaumur is 
 of this opinion. 
 
 “ I made several experiments, to see if there was such a 
 quantity of oil in it, as would account for the quantity of wax 
 to be formed, and to learn if it was composed of oil. I held 
 it near the candle ; it burnt, but did not smell like wax, and 
 had the same smell when burning, as farina when it was burnt. 
 I observed, that this substance was of different colours on 
 different bees, but always of the same colour on both legs of 
 the same bee ; whereas a new-made comb was all of one co 
 lour. I observed, that it was gathered with more avidity for 
 old hives, where the comb is complete, than for those hives 
 where it was only begun, which we could hardly conceive, 
 admitting it to be the materials of wax. Also we may observe, 
 that at the very beginning of a hive, the bees seldom bring in 
 any substance on their legs for two or three days, and after 
 that, the farina gatherers begin to increase; for now some 
 
268 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 cells are formed to hold it as a store, and some eggs are laid, 
 which, when hatched, will require this substance as food, and 
 which will be ready when the weather is wet. 
 
 “ The w'ax is formed by the bees themselves ; it may be called 
 an external secretion of oil, and I have found that it is formed 
 between each scale of the under side of the belly. When I 
 first observed this substance, in ray examination of the work- 
 ing bee, 1 was at a loss to say what it was : I asked myself if 
 it were scales forming, and whether they cast the old, as the 
 lobster, &c. does? but it was to be found only between the 
 scales on the lower side of the belly. On examining the bees 
 through glass hives, while they were climbing up the glass, I 
 could see that most of them had this substance, for it looked 
 as if the lower or posterior edge of the scale was double, or 
 that there were double scales; but I perceived it was loose, 
 not attached. Finding that the substance brought in on their 
 legs was farina, intended, as appeared from every circum- 
 stance, to be the food of the bee, and not to make wax ; and 
 not having yet perceived any thing that could give me the 
 least idea of wax ; I conceived these scales might be it, at 
 least I thought it necessary to investigate them. I therefore 
 took several on the point of a needle, and held them to a 
 candle, w'here they melted, and immediately formed themselves 
 into round globules ; upon which I no longer doubted that 
 this was the wax, which opinion was confirmed to me by not 
 findinor those scales but in the buildino’ season. 
 
 “The cells, or rather the congeries of cells, which compose 
 the comb, may be said to form perpendicular plates, or parti- 
 tions, which extend from top to bottom of the cavity in which 
 they build, and work dowTiwards ; but if the upper part of 
 this vault to which their combs are fixed, is removed, and a 
 dome is put over, they begin at the upper edge of the old comb, 
 and work up into the new cavity at the top. They generally may 
 be guided, as to the directions of their new plates, by forming 
 ridges at top, to which they begin to attach their combs. In a 
 long hive, if these ridges are longitudinal, their plates of comb 
 will be longitudinal ; if placed transversely, so will be the plates ; 
 and if obliquely, the plates of comb will be oblique also. Each 
 plate consists of a double set of cells, whose bottoms form 
 the partition between each set. The plates themselves are not 
 very regularly arranged, not forming a regular plane where 
 they might have done so, but are often adapted to the situa- 
 tion or shape of the cavity in which they are built 
 
 “ The bees do not endeavour to shape their cavity to their 
 work, as the wasps do, nor are the cells of equal depths, also 
 fitting them to their situation ; but as the breeding cells must 
 all be of a given depth, they reserve a sufficient number for 
 breeding in, and they put the honey into the others, as also 
 
THE HONEY BEE. 
 
 26il 
 
 into the shallow ones. The attachment of the comb round 
 the cavity is not continued, but interrupted, so as to form 
 passages in the middle of the plates, especially if there be 
 a cross-stick to support the comb; these allow of bees 
 to go across from plate to plate. The substance which 
 they use for attaching their combs to surrounding parts, is 
 not the same as the common wax ; it is softer and tougher, 
 a good deal like the substance with which they cover in 
 their chrysalis, or the bumblebee surrounds her eggs. It 
 is probably a mixture of wax with farina. The cells are 
 placed nearly horizontal, but not exactly so ; the mouth 
 raised a little, which probably may be to retain the honey 
 the better: however, this rule is not strictly observed, for 
 often they are horizontal, and towards the lower edge of 
 a plane of comb they are often declining. The first combs 
 that a hive forms are the smallest, and much neater than 
 the last or lowermost. Their sides or partitions, between cell 
 and cell, are much thinner, and the hexagon is much more 
 perfect. The wax is purer, being probably little else but wax, 
 and it is more brittle. The lower combs are considerably 
 larger, and contain much more wax, or perhaps, more pro- 
 perly, more materials ; and the cells are at such distances as 
 to allow them to be of a round figure ; the wax is softer, and 
 there is something mixed with it. I have observed that the 
 cells are not all of equal size, some being a degree larger than 
 others; and that the small are the first formed, and of 
 course at the upper part, where the bees begin ; and the larger 
 are nearer the lower part of the comb, or last made : however, 
 in hives of a particular construction, where the bees may 
 begin to work at one end, and can work both down and towards 
 the other end, we often find the larger cells both on the lower 
 part of the combs, and also at the opposite end ; these are 
 formed for the males to be bred in : in the hornet and 
 wasp combs there are larger cells for the queens to be bred in ; 
 these are also formed in the lower tier, and are the last 
 formed. 
 
 “ The first comb made in a hive is all of one colour, viz. 
 almost white ; but is not so white towards the end of the sea- 
 son, having then more of a yellow cast.” 
 
 What follows is principally abridged from Huber, who in 
 many instances is more correct than Hunter. — A hive contains 
 three kind of bees. 1. A single queen bee, distinguishable 
 by the great length of her body, and the proportional short- 
 ness of her wings. 2. Working-bees, female non-breeders, 
 or, as they were formerly called, neuters, to the amount of 
 many thousands; these are the smallest bees in the hive, and 
 are armed with a sting. 3. Drones, or males, to the number 
 perhaps of fifteen hundred or two thousand ; these are larger 
 
270 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 than the workers, and of a dark colour ; they make a great 
 noise in flying, and have no sting. The whole labour of the 
 community is performed by the workers : they elaborate the 
 wax, and construct the cells ; they collect the honey, and feed 
 the brood. The drones, numerous as they are, serve no other 
 purpose than to ensure the increase of the hive, and are regu- 
 larly massacred by the workers at the beginning of autumn. 
 
 It is the office of the queen-bee to lay the eggs. These re- 
 main about three days in the cells before they are hatched. 
 A small white worm then makes its appearance, (called indif- 
 ferently, worm, larva, maggot, or grub ;) this larva is fed with 
 honey for some days, and then changes into a nymph or pupa. 
 After passing a certain period in this state, it comes forth a 
 perfect winged insect. 
 
 M. Huber, after noticing the propagation of this industrious 
 race, next states the accidental discovery of the very singular 
 and unexpected consequences which follow from retarding 
 the impregnation of the queen-bee beyond the twentieth or 
 twenty-first day of her life. In the natural order of things, or 
 when impregnation is not retarded, the queen begins to lay 
 the eggs of workers forty-six hours after, and she continues 
 for the subsequent eleven months to lay none but these ; “ and 
 it is only after this period, that a considerable and uninter- 
 rupted laying of the eggs of drones commences. When, on 
 the contrary, impregnation is retarded after the twenty-eighth 
 day, the queen begins, from the forty-sixth hour, to lay the 
 eggs of drones ; and she lays no other kind during her whole 
 life.” It would be tedious to detail the experiments ; they 
 were numerous, and the results uniform. I occupied myself 
 (says M. Huber) the remainder of 1787, and the two subse- 
 quent years, with experiments on retarded fecundation, and 
 had constantly the same results.” It is undoubted, therefore, 
 that when the course of natural instinct is retarded beyond 
 the twentieth day, only an imperfect generation is produced ; 
 as the queen, instead of laying the eggs c f workers and of 
 males equally, will lay those of males only 
 
 This discovery is entirely M. Huber’s own : and so difficult 
 is it to offer any plausible explanation of the fact, that he him- 
 self has scarcely attempted it. 
 
 The working-bees had been for ages considered as entirely 
 destitute of sex ; and hence, in the writings of many authors, 
 they are denominated neuters, but from the experiments of 
 Schirach and Huber, it seems now to be clearly ascertained, 
 that the workers are really of the female sex. 
 
 M Huber confirms the curious discovery of M. Schirach, 
 that when bees are by any accident deprived of their queen, 
 they have the power of selecting one or two grubs of workers, 
 and of converting them into queens ; and that they accom- 
 
THE HONEY BEE. 
 
 271 
 
 plish this by greatly enlarging the cells of those selected lar- 
 vae, by supplying them more copiously with food, and with 
 that of a more pungent sort than is given to the common 
 larvae. 
 
 M. Huber gives the following curious account of the man- 
 ner in which bees proceed in forming capacious cells for the 
 workers’ grubs destined to royalty. — Bees soon become sen- 
 sible of having lost their queen, and in a few hours commence 
 the labour necessary to repair their loss. First they select the 
 young common worms, which the requisite treatment is to 
 convert into queens, and immediately begin with enlarging 
 the cells where they are deposited. Their mode of proceed- 
 ing is curious ; and the better to illustrate it, I shall describe 
 the labour bestowed on a single cell, which will apply to all 
 the rest containing worms destined for queens. Having cho- 
 sen a worm, they sacrifice three of the contiguous cells ; next 
 they supply it with food, and raise a cylindrical enclosure 
 around, by which the cell becomes a perfect tube, with a rhom- 
 boidal bottom ; for the parts forming the bottom are left un- 
 touched. If the bees damaged it, they would lay open three 
 corresponding cells on the opposite surface of the comb, and 
 consequently destroy their worms, which would be an unne- 
 cessary sacrifice, and nature has opposed it. Therefore, leaving 
 the bottom rhomboidal, they are satisfied with raising a cylindri- 
 cal tube around the worm, which, like the other cells in the comb, 
 are horizontal. But this habitation remains suitable to the 
 worm called to the royal state, only during the first three days 
 of its existence : another situation is requisite for the other 
 two days it is a worm. During that time, though so small a 
 portion of its life, it must inhabit a cell nearly of a pyramidi- 
 cal figure, and hanging perpendicularly. The workers, there- 
 fore gnaw away the cells surrounding the cylindrical tube, 
 mercilessly sacrifice their worms, and use the wax in construct- 
 ing a new pyramidical tube, which they solder at right angles 
 to the first, and work it downwards. The diameter of this 
 pyramid decreases insensibly from the base, which is very 
 wide, to the point. In proportion as the worm grows, the bees 
 labour in extending the cell, and bring food, which they place 
 before its mouth, and near its body, forming a kind of cord 
 around it. The worm, which can move only in a spiral di- 
 rection, turns incessantly to take the food before its head : it 
 insensibly descends, and at length arrives at the orifice of the 
 cell. Now is the time of transformation to a nymph. As any 
 further care is unnecessary, the bees close the ceil with a pecu- 
 liar substance appropriated for it, and there the worm under- 
 goes both its metamorphoses.” 
 
 M. Huber relates some experiments which confirm the sin- 
 gular discovery of M. Riems, concerning common working 
 
2*^2 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 bees that are capable of laying eggs, — which, we may remark, 
 is certainly a most convincing proof of their being of the fe- 
 male sex. Eggs were observed to increase in number daily, 
 in a hive in which there were no queens of the usual appear- 
 ance ; but small queens considerably resemble workers, and 
 to discriminate them, required minute inspection. “ My 
 assistant,’^ (says M. Huber,) then offered to perform an opera- 
 tion that required both courage and patience, and which I 
 could not resolve to suggest, though the same expedient had 
 occurred to myself. He proposed to examine each bee in the 
 hive separately, to discover whether some small queen had 
 not insinuated herself among them, and escaped our first re- 
 searches. It was necessary, therefore, to seize every one of 
 the bees, notwithstanding their irritation, and to examine 
 their specific character with the utmost care. This my assist- 
 ant undertook, and executed with great address. Eleven days 
 were employed in it; and, during all that time, he scarcely 
 allowed himself any relaxation but what the relief of his eyes 
 required. He took every bee in his hand ; he attentively ex- 
 amined the trunk, the hind limbs, and the sting ; and he found 
 that there was not one without the characteristics of the com- 
 mon bee, that is, the little basket on the hind legs, the long 
 trunk, and the straight sting.” 
 
 When a supernumerary queen is produced in a hive, or is 
 introduced into it in the course of experiment, either she or 
 the rightful owner soon perishes. The German naturalists, 
 Schirach and Riems, imagined that the working bees assailed 
 the stranger, and stung her to death. Reaumur considered it 
 as more probable, that the sceptre was made to depend on the 
 issue of a single combat between the claimants ; and this 
 conjecture is verified by the observations of Huber. The same 
 hostility towards rivals, and destructive vengeance against 
 royal cells, animates all queens, whether they be virgins, or 
 in a state of impregnation, or mothers of numerous broods. 
 The working bees, it may here be remarked, remain quiet 
 spectators of the destruction, by the first-hatched queen, of 
 the remaining royal cells; they approach only to share in the 
 plunder presented by their havock-making mistress, greedily 
 devouring any food found at the bottom of the cells, and even 
 sucking the fluid from the abdomen of the nymphs before 
 they toss out the carcase. 
 
 The following fact, connected with this subject, is one of 
 the most curious perhaps in the whole history of this wonder- 
 ful insect. Vv henever the workers perceive that there are two 
 rival queens in the hive, numbers of them crowd around each; 
 they seem to be perfectly aware of the approaching deadly 
 conflict, and willing to prompt their Amazonian chieftains to 
 the battle ; for as often as the queens she\\ a disinclination 
 
THE HONEY BEE. 
 
 273 
 
 to fight, or seem inclined to recede from each other, or to fly 
 off, the bees immediately surround and detain them ; but 
 when either combatant shews a disposition to approach her 
 antagonist, all the bees forming the clusters instantly give 
 way, to allow her full liberty for the attack. It seems strange 
 that those bees, who in general shew so much anxiety about 
 the safety of their queen, should, in particular circumstances, 
 oppose her preparations to avoid impending danger, — should 
 seem to promote the battle, and to excite the fury of the com- 
 batants. 
 
 When a queen is removed from a hive, the bees do not 
 immediately perceive it; they continue their labours, “ watch 
 over their young, and perform all their ordinary occupations. 
 But, in a few hours, agitation ensues ; all appears a scene 
 of tumult in the hive. A singular humming is heard; the 
 bees desert their young, and rush over the surface of the 
 combs with a delirious impetuosity.” They have now evi- 
 dently discovered that their sovereign is gone ; and the rapi- 
 dity with which the bad news spreads through the hive, to 
 the opposite side of the combs, is very remarkable. On 
 replacing the queen in the hive, tranquillity is almost instantly 
 restored. The bees, it is worthy of notice, recognize the 
 individual person of their own queen. If another be palmed 
 upon them, they seize and surround her, so that she is either 
 suffocated, or perishes by hunger ; for it is very remarkable, 
 that the workers are never known to attack a queen bee with 
 their stings. If, however, more than eighteen hours have 
 elapsed before the stranger queen be introduced, she has some 
 chance to escape : the bees at first seize and confine her, but 
 less rigidly ; and they soon begin to disperse, and at length 
 leave her to reign over a hive, in which she w'as at first treated 
 as a prisoner. If twenty-four hours have elapsed, the stranger 
 will be w^ell received from the first, and at once admitted to 
 the sovereignty of the hive. In short, it appears that the bees, 
 when depiived of their queen, are thrown into great agitation ; 
 that they wait about twenty hours, apparently in hopes of 
 her return ; but that, after this interregnum, the agitation 
 ceases, and they set about supplying their loss by beginning 
 to construct royal cells. It is when they are in this temper, 
 and not sooner, that a stranger queen will be graciously re- 
 ceived ; and upon her being presented to them, the royal 
 cells, in whatever state of forwardness they may happen to be, 
 are instantly abandoned, and the larvse destroyed. Reaumur 
 must therefore have mistaken the result of his own experi 
 ments, when he asserts, that a stranger queen is instantly 
 w'ell received, though presented at the moment when the other 
 is withdrawn. He had seen the bees crowding around her at 
 the entrance of the hive, and laying: their antennm over her 
 12. 2 M 
 
274 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS 
 
 and this he seems to have taken for caressing. The structure 
 of the hives' he employed prevented him from seeing further : 
 had he used the leaf-hive, or one of similar construction, he 
 would have perceived that the apparent caresses of the guards 
 were only the prelude to actual imprisonment 
 
 It is well known, that after the season of swarming, a ge- 
 neral massacre of the drones is commenced. Several authors 
 assert, in their writings, that the workers do not sting the 
 drones to death, but merely harass them till they are banished 
 from the hive and perish. M. Huber contrived a glass table, 
 on which he placed several hives, and he was thus able to see 
 distinctly what passed at the bottom of the hive, which is 
 generally dark and concealed : he witnessed a real and furious 
 massacre of the males, the workers thrusting their stings so 
 deep into the bodies of the defenceless drones, that they w'ere 
 obliged to turn on themselves as on a ])ivot, before they could 
 extricate them. The work of death commenced in all the 
 hives much about the same time. It is not, however, by a 
 blind or indiscriminating instinct, that the workers are impelled 
 thus to sacrifice the males ; for if a hive be deprived of its 
 queen, no massacre of the males takes place in it, while the 
 hottest ])ersecution rages in all the surrounding hives. In this 
 case, the males are allowed to survive the winter. Mr. Bon- 
 ner had observed this fact ; he supposed, however, that the 
 workers thus tolerated the drones for the sake of the addi- 
 tional heat they generated in the hive ; but we now' see the 
 true reason to be, that without them the new queen would 
 not be fruitful. The drones are also suffered to exist in hives 
 that possess fertile workers, but no proper queen ; and, w'hat 
 is remarkable, they are likewise spared in hives governed by 
 a queen whose fecundity has been retarded. Here, then, we 
 perceive a counter-instinct opposed to that which would have 
 impelled them to the usual massacre. 
 
 Upon the subject of sw^arming, M. Huber commences with 
 an interesting account of the hatching of the queen bee. 
 When the pupa is about to change into the perfect insect, the 
 bees render the cover of the cell thinner, by gnawing aw’ay 
 part of the wax ; and with so much nicety do they perform 
 this operation, that the cover at last becomes pellucid, owdng 
 to its extreme thinness. This must not only facilitate the 
 exit of the fly, but, M. Huber remarks, it may possibly be 
 useful in permitting the evaporation of the superabundant 
 fluids of the nymph. After the transformation is complete, 
 the young queens w^ould, in common course, immediately 
 emerge from their cells, as w'orkers and drones do ; but the 
 bees always keep them prisoners for some days in their cells, 
 supplying them in the mean time w ith honey for food ; a small 
 hole being made in the door of each cell, through which the 
 
THE HONEY BEE. 
 
 275 
 
 confined bee extends its proboscis to receive it. The royal 
 prisoners continually utter a kind of song, the modulations of 
 which are said to vary. The final cause of this temporary 
 imprisonment, it is suggested, may possibly be, that they may 
 be able to take flight at the instant they are liberated. When 
 a young queen at last gets out, she meets with rather an awk- 
 ward reception ; she is pulled, bitten, and chased, as often as 
 she happens to approach the other royal cells in the hive. 
 The purpose of nature here seems to be, that she should be im- 
 pelled to go off with a swarm as soon as possible. A curious 
 fact was observed on these occasions: when the queen found 
 herself much harassed, she had only to utter a peculiar noise, 
 (the commanding voice, we may presume, of sovereignty,) and 
 all the bees were instantaneously constrained to submission 
 and obedience. This is, indeed, one of the most maiked 
 instances in which the queen exerts her sovereign power. 
 
 The conclusions at which M. Huber arrives on the subject 
 of swarms are the following: — 
 
 First, “ A swarm is always led off by a single queen, either 
 the sovereign of the parent hive, or one recently brought into 
 existence. If, at the return of spring, we examine a hive well 
 peopled, and governed by a fertile queen, we shall see her 
 lay a prodigious number of male eggs in the course of May, 
 and the workers will choose that moment for constructing 
 several royal cells.” This laying of male eggs in May, 
 M. Huber calls the great laying ; and he remarks, that no 
 queen ever has a great laying till she be eleven months old. 
 It is only after finishing this laying, that she is able to under- 
 take the journey implied in leading a swarm ; for, previously 
 to this, “ latum trahit ahum^^ w'hich unfits her for flying. 
 There appears to be a secret relation between the production 
 of the male eggs, and the construction of royal cells. The 
 great laying commonly lasts thirty days ; and regularly, on the 
 twentieth or twenty-first, several royal cells are founded. 
 
 Secondly, “ When the larvse hatched from the eggs laid by 
 the queen in the royal cells are ready to transform to nymphs, 
 this queen leaves the hive, conducting a swarm along with 
 her ; and the first swarm that proceeds from the hive is uni- 
 formly conducted by the old queen.” M. Huber remarks, 
 that itw^as necessary that instinct should impel the old queen 
 to lead forth the first swarm ; for, that she being the strongest, 
 would never have failed to have overthrown the younger com- 
 petitors for the throne. An old queen, as has already been 
 said, never quits a hive at the head of a swarm, till she has 
 finished her laying of male eggs ; but this is of importance, 
 not merely that she may be lighter and fitter for flight, but 
 that she may be ready to begin with the laying of workers’ 
 eggs in her new habitation, workers being the bees first needed, 
 
276 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 in order to secure the continuance and prosperity of the newly- 
 founded commonwealth. 
 
 Thirdly/* After the old queen has conducted the first swarm 
 from the hive, the remaining bees take particular care of the 
 royal cells, and prevent the young queens, successively 
 hatched, from leaving them, unless at an interval of several 
 days between each.’’ Under this head he introduces a number 
 of general remarks, some of which may prove useful. ** A 
 swarm (he observes) is never seen unless in a fine day, or, to 
 speak more correctly, at a time of the day when the sun shines, 
 and the air is calm. Sometimes we have observed all the pre- 
 cursors of swarming, disorder and agitation : but a cloud 
 passed before the sun, and tranquillity was restored ; the bees 
 thought no more of swarming. An hour afterwards, the sun 
 having again appeared, the tumult was renewed ; it rapidly 
 augmented, and the swarm departed.” A certain degree of 
 tumult commences as soon as the young queens are hatched, 
 and begin to traverse the hive : the agitation soon pervades 
 the whole bees ; and such a ferment soon rages, that M. Hu- 
 ber has often observed the thermometer in the hive to rise sud- 
 denly from about 92® to above 104® : this suffocating heat he 
 considers as one of the means employed by nature for urging 
 the bees to go off in swarms. In warm weather, one strong 
 hive has been known to send off' four swarms in eighteen days. 
 
 The cause of the bees, which has been so eloquently and 
 pathetically pleaded by the Poet of the Seasons, is supported 
 by M. Huber, on a principle more intelligible, perhaps, and 
 more persuasive, to most country bee-masters, viz. interest. 
 He deprecates the destruction of bees, and recommends to 
 the cultivator to be content with a reasonable share of the 
 wealth of the hive ; arguing very justly, we believe, that a little 
 taken from each of a number of hives, is ultimately much 
 more profitable than a greater quantity obtained by a total 
 destruction of a few. 
 
 We conclude our observations on this curious insect by two 
 poetical quotations. 
 
 “ Of all the race of animals, alone 
 The bees have common cities of their own. 
 
 Mindful of coming cold, they share the pain, 
 
 And hoard for winter’s use the summer’s gain. 
 
 Some o’er the public magazines preside, 
 
 And some are sent new forage to provide ; 
 
 These drudge in fields abroad, and those at home 
 Lay deep foundations for the labour’d comb ; 
 
 To pitch the waxen flooring some contrive ; 
 
 Some nurse the future nation of the hive. 
 
 Their toil is common, common is their sleep ; 
 
 They shake their wings when morn begins to peep: 
 
 Rush through thercity gates without delay, 
 
 Nor ends their work but with declining day.” 
 
THE HONEY LEE. 
 
 277 
 
 Churchill, after the following beautiful and picturesque de- 
 scription, introduces a sovereign, drawing from it, in a soli- 
 loquy, the most natural reflections on the momentous duties 
 jf his station. 
 
 4 < « « « * * 
 
 Strength in her limbs, and on her wings dispatch, 
 
 The bee goes forth ; from herb to hexb she flies, 
 
 From flow r to tlow’r, and loads her btb’ring thighs 
 With treasur’d sweets, robbing those flow’rs, which lef^ 
 
 Find not themselves made poorer by the theft, 
 
 Their scents as lively, and their looks as fair, 
 
 As if the pillager had not been there. 
 
 Ne’er doth she flit on pleasure’s silken wing. 
 
 Ne’er doth she loit’ring let the bloom of spring 
 Unrifled pass, and on the downy breast 
 Of some fair flow’r indulge untimely rest. 
 
 Ne’er doth she, drinking deep of those rich dews 
 Which chemist Night prepar’d, that faith abuse 
 Due to the hive, and, selfish in her toils. 
 
 To her own private use convert the spoils. 
 
 Love of the stock first call’d her forth to roam. 
 
 And to the stock she brings her honey home.’^ 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued.) 
 
 WILD BEES. 
 
 The Clothier Bee. — The Carpenter Bee. — The Mason Bee. — The 
 Upholsterer Bee . — The Leaf-cutter Bee . — Curious Account oj 
 an Idiot Boy and Bees. — Mr. Wildinan's Curious Exhibitions 
 of Bees explained. 
 
 THE CLOTHIER BEE. 
 
 Learn each small people’s genius, policies, 
 
 The ants’ republic, and the realm of bees ; 
 
 How those in common all their wealth bestow 
 And anarchy without confusion know ; 
 
 And these for ever, though a monarch reign. 
 
 Their separate cells and properties maintain. 
 
 Mark what unvary’d laws preserve each state. 
 
 Laws, wise as Nature, and as fixt as Fate. Pope. 
 
 The following curious account of wild bees is principally 
 abridged from Kirby and Spence’s very interesting work on 
 entomology. 
 
 The clothier bee is a lively and gay insect. It does not 
 excavate holes for their reception, but places them in the 
 cavities of old trees, or of any other object that suits its pur- 
 pose. Sir Thomas Cullum discovered the nest of one in the 
 inside of the lock of a garden gate, in which Mr. Kirby also 
 
278 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 since twice found them. It should seem, however, that such 
 situations would be too cold for the grubs without a coating 
 of some non-conducting substance. The parent bee, therefore, 
 after having constructed the cells, laid an egg in each, and 
 filled them with a store of suitable food, plasters them with a 
 covering of vermiform masses, apparently composed of honey 
 and pollen ; and having done this, aware (long before Count 
 Rumford^s experiments) what materials conduct heat most 
 slowly, she attacks the woolly leaves of Stachy’s lanata, Agro- 
 stemma coronaria, and similar plants, and with her mandi- 
 bles industriously scrapes off the wool, which with her fore legs 
 she rolls into a little ball, and carries to her nest. This wool 
 she sticks upon the plaster that covers her cells, and thus 
 closely envelopes them with a warm coating of down, imper- 
 vious to every change of temperature. 
 
 The Carpenter Bee. — A numerous family of wdld bees 
 may properly be compared to carpenters, boring with incredi- 
 ble labour, out of the solid wood, long cylindrical tubes, and 
 dividing them into various cells. Amongst these, one of the 
 most remarkable is the Apis violacea, L. (Xylacopa, Latr.) a 
 large species, a native of southern Europe, distinguished by 
 beautiful wings of a deep violet colour, and found commonly 
 in gardens, in the upright putrescent espaliers, or vine props, 
 of which, and occasionally in the garden seats, doors, and 
 window-shutters, she makes her nest. In the beginning of 
 spring, after repeated and careful surveys, she fixes upon a 
 piece of wood suitable for her purpose, and with her strong 
 mandibles begins the process of boring. First proceeding 
 obliquely downwards, she soon points her course in a direc- 
 tion parallel with the sides of the wood, and at length with 
 unwearied exertion forms a cylindrical hole or tunnel not less 
 than twelve or fifteen inches long, and half an inch broad. 
 Sometimes, where the diameter will admit of it, three or four 
 of these pipes, nearly parallel with each other, are bored in 
 the same piece. Herculean as this task (which is the labour 
 of several days) appears, it is but a small part of what our 
 industrious bee cheerfully undertakes. As yet she has com- 
 pleted, but the shell of the destined habitation of her offspring ; 
 each of which, to the number of ten or twelve, will require 
 a separate and distinct apartment. In excavating her tunnel, 
 she has detached a large quantity of fibres, which lie on the 
 ground like a heap of saw-dust. This material supplies all 
 her wants. Having deposited an egg at the bottom of the 
 cylinder, along with the requisite store of pollen and honey, 
 she next, at the height of about three-quarters of an inch, 
 (which is the depth of each cell,) constructs of particles 
 of the saw-dust glued together, and also to the sides of 
 
THE CARPENTER BEE. 
 
 279 
 
 the tunnel, what may be called an annular stage or scaffolding. 
 When this is sufficiently hardened, its interior eoge affords 
 support for a second ring of the same materials, and thus the 
 ceiling is gradually formed of these concentric circles, till 
 there remains only a small orifice in its centre, which is also 
 closed with a circular mass of agglutinated particles of saw- 
 dust. When this partition, which serves as the ceiling of the 
 first cell, and the flooring of the second, is finished, it is about 
 the thickness of a crown piece, and exhibits the appearance of 
 as many concentric circles as the animal has made pauses m 
 her labour. One cell being finished, she proceeds to another, 
 which she furnishes and completes in the same manner, and so 
 on, until she has divided her whole tunnel into ten or twelve 
 apartments. 
 
 Such a laborious undertaking as the constructing and fur- 
 nishing these cells, cannot be the work of one, or even of two 
 days. Considering that every cell requires a store of honey 
 and pollen, not to be collected but with long toil, and that a 
 considerable interval must be spent in agglutinating the floors 
 of each, it will be very obvious that the last egg in the last 
 cell must be laid many days after the first. We are certain, 
 therefore, that the first egg will become a grub, and conse- 
 quently a perfect bee, many days before the last. What then 
 becomes of it ? It is impossible that it should make its escape 
 though eleven superincumbent cells, without destroying the 
 immature tenants ; and it seems equally impossible that it 
 should remain patiently in confinement below them until they 
 are all disclosed. This dilemma our heaven-taught architect 
 has provided against. With forethought, never enough to be 
 admired, she has not constructed her tunnel with one opening 
 only, but at the farther end has pierced another orifice, a kind 
 of back door, through which the insects produced by the first- 
 laid eggs successively emerge into day. In fact, all the young 
 bees, even the uppermost, go out by this road ; for, by an ex- 
 quisite instinct, each grub, when about to become a pupa, 
 places itself in its cell, with its head downwards, and thus is 
 necessitated, when arrived at its last state, to pierce its cell in 
 this direction. 
 
 We shall now describe The Mason-Bee. — There is a 
 family of wild bees which carry on the trade of masons, build- 
 ing their solid houses solely of artificial stone. The first step 
 of the mother bee. Apis mururia, Oliv. ( Anthophara, F. Mc- 
 gachile, Latr.) is to fix upon a proper situation for the future 
 mansion of her offspring. For this she usually selects an angle, 
 sheltered by any projection, on the south side of a stone wall. 
 Her next care is to provide materials for the structure. The 
 chief of these is sand, which she carefully selects, grain by 
 
2S0 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BEES. 
 
 grain, from such as contain some mixture of earth ; these 
 grains she glues together with her viscid saliva into masses 
 the size of small shot,* and transports by means of her jaws 
 to the site of her castle. With a number. of these masses, 
 which are the artificial stone of which her building is to be 
 composed, united by a cement preferable to ours, she first 
 forms the basis or foundation of the whole. Next she raises 
 the- walls of a cell, which is an inch long and half an inch 
 broad, and, before its orifice is closed, in form resembles a 
 thimble. This, after depositing an egg, and a supply of honey 
 and pollen, she covers in, and then proceeds to the erection 
 of a second, w'hich she finishes in the same manner, until the 
 whole number, which varies from four to eight, is completed. 
 The vacuities between the cells, which are not placed in any 
 regular order, some being parallel to the wall, others being 
 perpendicular to it, and others inclined to it at different angles, 
 this laborious architect fills up with the same material of w'hich 
 the cells are composed, and then bestows upon the whole 
 group a common covering of coarser grains of sand. The 
 form of the whole nest, which, when finished, is a solid mass 
 of stone, so hard as not to be easily penetrated with the blade 
 of a knife, is an irregular oblong, of the same colour as the 
 sand, and, to a casual observer, more resembling a splash of 
 mud than an artificial structure. These bees sometimes are 
 more economical of their labour, and repair old nests, for the 
 possession of which they have very desperate combats. One 
 would have supposed that the inhabitants of a castle so forti- 
 fied might defy the attack of an insect marauder. Yet an 
 ichneumon, and a beetle ( Clerius apiarius, F,) both contrive 
 to introduce their eggs into the cells, and the larvae proceed- 
 ing from them devour their inhabitants. — Reaum. vi. 57, 58 
 Mon. Ap. Angl. i. 179. 
 
 Other bees of the same family use different materials in the 
 construction of their nests. Some employ fine earth made into 
 a kind of mortar made with gluten. Another, ( A. carulescens, 
 L.) as we learn from De Geer, forms its nest of argillaceous 
 earth, mixed with chalk, upon stone walls, and sometimes pro- 
 bably builds in chalk-pits. Apis bicornis, L. selects the 
 hollows of large stones for the site of its dwelling; whilst 
 others prefer the holes in w'ood. 
 
 We now proceed to The Upholsterer-Bee. — Such may 
 those be denominated which line the holes excavated in the 
 earth for the reception of their young, with an elegant coating 
 
 * Reaumur plausibly supposes, that it has been from observing this 
 bee thus loaded, that the talc mentioned by Aristotle and Pliny, of the 
 hive-bee’s ballasting itself with a bit of stone, previous to flying home in 
 a high wind, has arisen. 
 
THE LEAF-CUTTER BEE. 
 
 281 
 
 of flowers or of leaves. Amongst the most interesting of these 
 is Apis Papaveris, (Megachile, Lair., Anthophora, F.) o. spe- 
 cies whose manners have been admirably described by Reau- 
 mur. This little bee, as though fascinated with the colour 
 most attractive to our eyes, invariably chooses for the hang- 
 ings of her apartme-nts the most brilliant scarlet, selecting 
 for its material the petals of the wild poppy, which she dex- 
 terously cuts into the proper form. Her first process is to ex- 
 cavate in some pathway a burrow, cylindrical at the entrance, 
 but swelled out below, to the depth of about three inches. 
 Having polished the walls of this little apartment, she next 
 flies to a neighbouring field, cuts out oval portions of the 
 flowers of poppies, seizes them between her legs, and returns 
 with them to her cell ; and though separated from the wrin- 
 kled petal of a half-expanded flower, she knows how to straighten 
 their folds, and, if too large, to fit them for her purpose b^ 
 cutting off the superfluous parts. Beginning at the bottom, 
 she overlays the walls of her mansion with this brilliant tapestry, 
 extending it also on the surface of the ground round the mar- 
 gin of the orifice. The bottom is rendered warm by three oi 
 four coats, and the sides have never less than two. The little 
 upholsterer, having completed the hangings of her apartment, 
 next fills it with pollen and honey to the height of about hall 
 an inch; then, after committing an egg to it, she wraps ovei 
 the poppy lining, so that even the roof may leave this mate- 
 rial; and lastly, closes its mouth with a small hillock of earth. 
 — Ixeaum. 6. 139 to 148. The great depth of the cell, compared 
 with the space which the single egg and the accompanying 
 food deposited in it occupy, deserves particular notice. This 
 is not more than half an inch at the bottom, the remaining two 
 inches and a half being subsequently filled with earth. 
 
 The Leaf-cutter Bee. — There is a species of wild bee, 
 that cover the walls of their cells with coatings of sober- 
 coloured materials, generally selecting for their hangings the 
 leaves of trees, especially of the rose, whence they have been 
 known by the name of the leaf-cutter bees. They differ also 
 from A. Papaveris in excavating longer burrows, and filling 
 them with several thimble-shaped cells, composed of portions 
 of leaves so curiously convoluted, that, if we were ignorant 
 in what school they have been taught to construct them, we 
 , should never credit their being the work of an insect. Their 
 entertaining history, so long ago as 1670, attracted the atten- 
 tion of our countrymen, Ray, Lister, Willoughby, and Sir Edw. 
 King ; but we are indebted for the most complete accoun.. of 
 the procedure, to Reaumur 
 
 The mother bee first excavates a cylindrical hole eight 
 or ten inches long, in a horizontal direction, either in the 
 
 2 N 
 
282 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 ground or ii the trunk of a rotten willow-tree, or occasionally 
 in other decaying wood. This cavity she fills with six or seven 
 cells, wholly composed of portions of leaf in the shape of a 
 thimble, the convex end of one closely fitting into the open 
 end of another. Her first process is to form the exterior 
 coating, which is composed of three or four pieces, of larger 
 dimensions than the rest, and of an oval form. The second 
 coating is formed of portions of equal size, narrow at one end, 
 but gradually widening towards the other, where the width 
 equals half the length. One side of these pieces is the serrate 
 margin of the leaf from which it was taken, which, as the 
 pieces are made to lap one over the other, is kept on the out- 
 side, and that which has been cut within. The little animal 
 now forms a third coating of similar materials, the middle of 
 which, as the most skilful workman would do in similar cir- 
 cumstances, she places over the margins of those that form the 
 first tube, thus covering and strengthening the junctures. 
 Repeating the same process, she gives a fourth and some- 
 times a fifth coating to her nest, taking care, at the closed end 
 or narrow extremity of the cell, to bend the leaves so as to 
 form a convex termination. Having thus finished a cell, her 
 next business is to fill it, to within half a line of the orifice, 
 with a rose-coloured conserve, composed of honey and pollen, 
 usually collected from the flowers of thistles ; and then having 
 deposited her egg, she closes the orifice with three pieces of 
 leaf so exactly circular, that a pair of compasses could not 
 define their margin with more truth, and coinciding so pre- 
 cisely with the walls of the cell, as to be retained in their 
 situation merely by the nicety of their adaptation. After this 
 covering is fitted in, there remains still a concavity, which 
 receives the convex end of the succeeding cell ; and in this 
 manner the indefatigable little animal proceeds until she has 
 completed the six or seven cells con^ nig her cylinder. 
 
 The process which one of these bees employs in cutting the 
 pieces of leaf that compose her nest, is worthy of attention. 
 Nothing can be more expeditious ; she is not longer about it 
 than we should be with a pair of scissors. After hovering for 
 some moments over a rose bush, as if to reconnoitre the 
 ground, the bee alights upon the kaf which she has selected, 
 usually taking her station upon its edge, so that the margin 
 passes between her legs. With her strong mandibles she cuts 
 without intermission in a curve line, so as to detach a tri- 
 angular portion. When this hangs by the last fibre, lest its 
 weight should carry her to the ground, she balances her little 
 wings for flight, and the very moment it parts from the leaf, 
 flies off with it in triumph; the detached portion remaining 
 bent between her legs in a direction perpendicular to her body. 
 Thus without rule or compasses do these diminutive creatures 
 
IDIOT BOY, AND BEES. 
 
 283 
 
 mete out the materials of their work into portions of an ellipse,' 
 into ovals or circles, accurately accommodating the dimensions 
 of the several pieces of each figure to each other. What other 
 architect could carry impressed upon the tablet of his memory 
 the entire idea of the edifice which he has to erect, and, des- 
 titute of square or plumb-line, cut out his materials in their 
 exact dimensions without making a single mistake? Yet this 
 is what our little bee invariably does. So far are human art 
 and reason excelled by the teaching of the Almighty . — Reaum 
 vi. 971 — 94. Mor. Ap. Angl. i. 157. Apis c. 2. 
 
 A CURIOUS Account of an Idiot Boy, and Bees. — Mr 
 White has given the following curious account of an idiot 
 boy. From a child he shewed a strong propensity to bees. 
 They were his food, his amusement, his sole object. In the 
 winter he dozed away his time in his father’s house, by the 
 fire-side, in a torpid state, seldom leaving the chimney-corner: 
 but in summer he was all alert, and in quest of his game 
 Hive-bees, humble-bees, and wasps, were his prey, wherever 
 he found them. He had no apprehension from their stings, 
 but would seize them with naked hands, and at once disarm 
 them of their weapons, and suck their bodies for the sake of 
 their honey-bags. Sometimes he would fill his bosom between 
 his shirt and skin with these insects ; and sometimes he en- 
 deavoured to confine them in bottles. He was very injurious 
 to men that kept bees, for he would glide into their bee-gar- 
 dens, and, sitting down before the stools, would rap with' 
 his fingers, and so take the bees as they came out. He has 
 even been known to overturn the hives for the sake of the 
 honey, of which he was passionately fond. Where metheglin 
 was makino:, he would lino;er round the tubs and vessels, 
 begging a draught of what he called bee-wine. As he ran 
 about, he used to make a humming noise with his lips, resem- 
 bling the buzzing of bees. This lad was lean and sallow; and 
 of a cadaverous complexion ; and, except in his favourite 
 pursuit, in which he was wonderfully adroit, discovered no 
 manner of understanding. Had his capacity been better, and 
 directed to the same object, he had perhaps abated much of 
 our wonder at the feats of a more modern exhibiter of bees ; 
 and Vie may justly say of him now, 
 
 . , — Tho’’ 
 
 Had thy presiding star propitious 
 
 Shouldst Wildrnan be. White's Natural History, 
 
 We conclude this chapter with an explanation of the pre 
 ceding lines. 
 
 Mr. Wildman’s curious Exhibitions of Bees. — Mr. 
 Wildrnan, by his dexterity in the management of bees, some 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 yeais ago, surprised the whole kingdom He caused 
 to light where he pleased, almost instantaneously ; he ordered 
 them to settle on his head, then removed them to his hand, 
 and commanded them to settle on a window, table, &c. at 
 pleasure. We subjoin the method of performing these feats, 
 in his own words : Long experience has taught me, that as 
 soon as 1 turn up a hive, and give it some taps on the sides 
 and bottom, the queen immediately appears, to know the cause 
 of this alarm ; but soon retires again among her people. Being 
 accustomed to see her so often, I readily perceive her at first 
 glance ; and long practice has enabled me to seize her instantly, 
 with a tenderness that does not in the least endanger her per- 
 son. This is of the utmost importance ; for the least injury 
 done to her brings immediate destruction to the hive, if you 
 have not a spare queen to put in her place, as I have too often 
 experienced in my first attempts. When possessed of her, I 
 can, without injury to her, or exciting that degree of resent- 
 ment that may tempt her to sting me, slip her into my other 
 hand, and, returning the hive to its place, hold her there, till 
 the bees missing her, are all on wing, and in the utmost con- 
 fusion. When the bees are thus distressed, I place the queen 
 wherever I would have the bees to settle. The moment a few 
 of them discover her, they give notice to those near them, and 
 those to the rest; the knowledge of which becomes so ge- 
 neral, that in a few minutes they all collect themselves round 
 her, and are so happy in having recovered this sole support 
 of their state, that they will long remain quiet in their situa- 
 tion : nay, the scent of her body is so attractive of them, that 
 the slightest touch of her along any place or substance, will 
 attach the bees tc \t, and induce them to any path she takes.” 
 — This was the only witchcraft used by Mr. Wildman, and is 
 that alone which is practised by othe^^^ who have since made 
 similar exhibitions. 
 
THE WASP 
 
 386 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued.) 
 
 The Wasp, 
 
 The laws of life, why need I call to mind, 
 
 ObeyM by insects, too, of ev’ry kind ! 
 
 Of these, none uncontroll'd and lawless rove, 
 
 But to some destin’d end spontaneous move : 
 
 Led by that instinct Heav’n itself inspires. 
 
 Or so much reason as their state requires. 
 
 See all with skill acquire their daily food. 
 
 All use those arms which nature has bestow’d; 
 
 Produce their tender progeny, and feed 
 With care parental, while that care they need. 
 
 In these lov’d offices completely blest, 
 
 No hopes beyond them, nor vain fears molest. Jenyns, 
 
 For the following account of the Wasp, we are indebted to 
 Kirby and Spence ; and we take this opportunity of making 
 a general acknowledgment of our obligations to those gentle- 
 men, for the assistance we have derived from their highly inte- 
 resting treatise, in drawing up this account of the curiosities 
 respecting insects. 
 
 Compared with hive-bees, wasps may be considered as a 
 horde of thieves and brigands : while the bees are peaceful, 
 honest, and industrious subjects; the wasps attack their per- 
 sons, and plunder their property. Yet, with all this love of 
 pillage and other bad propensities, they are not altogether 
 disagreeable or unamiable ; they are brisk and lively ; they 
 do not usually attack unprovoked ; and their object in plun- 
 dering us is not purely selfish, but is principally to provide 
 for the support of the young brood of their colonies. 
 
 The societies of wasps, like those of ants, and other social 
 Hymeiioptera, consist of females, males, and w'orkers. The 
 females may be considered as of two sorts : first, the female;^, 
 by way of eminence, are much larger than any other indivi- 
 duals of the community ; they equal six of the workers (from 
 which in other respects they do not materially differ) in weight, 
 and lay both male and female eggs : then the small females, 
 not larger than the workers, w'hich lay only male eggs. This 
 last description of females, which are found also both amongst 
 the humble-bees and hive-bees, were first observed among 
 wasps, by M. Perrot, a friend of Huber’s. The large females are 
 produced later than the workers, and make their appearance in 
 the next spring ; and whoever then destroys one of them, destroys 
 an entire colony, of which she would be the founder. 
 
 Different from the queen-bee, the female wasp is at first an 
 insulated being, that has had the fortune to survive the rigours 
 
286 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECT* 
 
 of winter. When in the spring she lays the foundation of he* 
 future empire, she has not a single worker at her disposal; 
 with her own hands and teeth she often hollows out a cave 
 wherein she may lay the first foundations of her paper metro- 
 polis : she must herself build the first houses, and produce 
 from her own body their first inhabitants; whi^h in their 
 infant state she must feed and educate, before they can assist 
 her in her great design. At length she receives the reward of 
 her perseverance and labour ; and from being a solitary uncon- 
 nected individual, in the autumn is enabled to rival the queen 
 of the hive in the number of her children and subjects, and 
 in the edifices which they inhabit — the number of cells in a 
 vespiary sometimes amounting to more than sixteen thousand, 
 almost all of which contain either an egg, a grub, or a pupa, 
 and each cell serving for three generations in a year ; which, 
 after making every allowance for failures and other casualties, 
 will give a population of at least thirty thousand. Even at 
 this time, when she has so numerous an army of coadju- 
 tors, the industry of this creature does not cease, but she con- 
 tinues to set an example of diligence to the rest of the com- 
 munity. If by any accident, before the other females are 
 hatched, the queen-mother perishes, the neuters cease their 
 labours, lose their instincts, and die. 
 
 The number of females in a populous vespiary is considerable, 
 amounting to several hundreds ; they emerge from the pupa 
 about the latter end of August, at the same time with the 
 males, and fly in September and October, when they pair. 
 Of this large number of females, very few survive the winter. 
 Those that are so fortunate, remain torpid till the vernal sun 
 recalls them to life and action. They then fly forth, collect 
 provision for their young broody and are engaged in the other 
 labours necessary for laying the foundation of their empire ; 
 but in the summer months they are never seen out of the 
 nest. 
 
 The male wasps are much smaller than the female, but they 
 weigh as much as two workers. Their antennm are longer than 
 those of either, not, like theirs, thicker at the end, but per- 
 fectly filiform ; and their abdomen is distinguished by an addi- 
 tional segment. Their numbers about equal those of the fe 
 males, and they are produced at the same time. They are 
 not so wholly given to pleasure and idleness as the drones of 
 the hive. They do not, indeed, assist in building the nest, 
 and in the care of the young brood ; but they are the scaven- 
 gers of the community, for they sweep the passages and streets, 
 and carry off all the filth. They also remove the bodies of the 
 dead, which are sometimes heavy burdens for them ; in which 
 case two unite their strength, to accomplish the work ; or, if 
 a paitier be not at hand, the wasp thus employed cuts oft' the 
 
THE WASP 
 
 287 
 
 nead of the defunct, and so effects its purpose. As they make 
 themselves so useful, they are not, like the male bees, devoted 
 by the workers to an universal massacre when the great end 
 of their creation is answered ; but they share the general 
 lot of the community, and are suffered to survive till the cold 
 cuts off them and the workers together. 
 
 The workers are the most numerous, and to us the only 
 troublesome part of the community ; upon whom devolves the 
 main business of the nest. In the summer and autumnal months 
 they go forth by myriads into the neighbouring country to 
 collect provisions ; and on their return to the common den, 
 after reserving a sufficiency for the nutriment of the young 
 brood, they divide the spoil with great impartiality ; part being 
 given to the females, part to the males, and part to those 
 workers that have been engaged in extending and fortifying 
 the vespiary. This division is voluntarily made, without the 
 slightest symptom of compulsion. Several wasps assemble 
 round each of the returning workers, and receive their re- 
 spective portions. It is curious and interesting to observe 
 their motions on this occasion. As soon as a wasp that has 
 been filling itself with the juice of fruits arrives at the nest, 
 it perches upon the top, and, disgorging a drop of its saccha- 
 rine fluid, is attended sometimes by two at once, who share 
 the treasure ; this being thus distributed, a second, and some- 
 times a third drop, is produced, which falls to the lot of 
 others. 
 
 Wasps, though ferocious and cruel towards their fellow- 
 insects, are civilized and polished in their intercourse with 
 each other, and form a community whose architectural labours 
 will not suffer on comparison even with those of the peaceful 
 inhabitants of a bee-hive. Like these, the great object of their 
 industry is the erection of a structure for their beloved pro- 
 geny, towards which they discover the greatest affection and 
 tenderness, and, like bees, construct combs consisting of hexa- 
 gonal cells for their reception ; but the substance which they 
 make use of is very dissimilar to the wax employed by bees, and 
 the general plan of their city differs in many respects from that 
 of a bee-hive. The common wasp’s nest, usually situated in 
 a cavity under ground, is of an oval figure, about sixteen or 
 eighteen inches long, by twelve or thirteen broad. Externally, 
 It is surrounded by a thick coating of numerous leaves of a 
 sort of grayish paper, which do not touch each other, but have 
 a small interval between each, so that if the rain should chance 
 to penetrate one or two of them, its progress is speedily ar- 
 rested. On removing this external covering, we perceive that 
 the interior consists of from twelve to sixteen circular combs 
 of different sizes, not ranged vertically, as in a bee-hive, but 
 horizontally, so as to form so many distinct and parallel 
 
^88 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS 
 
 stories. Each comb is composed of a numerous assembiage 
 of hexagonal cells, formed of the same paper-like substance as 
 the exterior covering of the nest, and, according to a disco- 
 very of Dr. Barclay, each, as in those of bees, a distinct cell, 
 the partition walls being double . — Memoirs of the Wernerian 
 Society, ii. 260 . These cells, which, as wasps do not store 
 up any food, serve merely as the habitations of their young, 
 are not, like those af the honey-bee, arranged in two opposite 
 layers, but in one only, their entrance being always down- 
 wards : consequently the upper part of the comb, composed 
 of the bases of the cells, which are not pyramidal, but slightly 
 convex, forms a nearly level floor, on which the inhabitants 
 can conveniently pass and repass, spaces of about half an inch 
 high being left between each comb. Although the combs are 
 fixed to the sides of the nest, they would not be sufficiently 
 strong without further support. The ingenious builders, there- 
 fore, connect each comb to that below it by a number of 
 strong cylindrical columns or pillars, having, according to the 
 rules of architecture, their base and capital wider than the 
 shaft, and composed of the same paper-like material used in 
 other parts of the nest, but of a more compact substance. The 
 middle combs are connected by a rustic colonnade of from 
 forty to fifty of these pillars ; the upper and lower combs by a 
 smaller number. 
 
 The cells are of different sizes, corresponding to that of the 
 three orders of individuals which compose the community ; the 
 largest for the grubs of females, the smallest for those of 
 workers. The last always occupy an entire comb, while the 
 cells of the males and females are often intermixed. Besides 
 openings which are left between the walls of the combs to 
 admit of access from one to the other, there are at the bottom 
 of each nest two holes, by one of which the wasps uniformly 
 enter, and through the other issue from the nest, and thus 
 avoid all confusion or interruption of their common labours. 
 As the nest is often a foot and a half under ground, it is requi- 
 site that a covered way should lead to its entrance. This is 
 excavated by the wasps, who are excellent miners, and is often 
 very long and tortuous forming a beaten road to the subter- 
 ranean city, well known to the inhabitants, though its entrance 
 is concealed from curious eyes. The cavity itself, which con- 
 tains the nest, is either the abandoned habitation of moles or 
 field-mice, or a cavern purposely dug out by the wasps, which 
 exert themselves with such industry as to accomplish the ar- 
 duous undertaking in a few days. 
 
 When the cavity and entrance to it are completed, the next 
 part of the process is to lay the foundations of the city to be 
 included in it, which, contrary to the usual customs of builders, 
 wasps begin at the top, continuing downwards. It has already 
 
THE WASP. 
 
 289 
 
 been observed, that the coatings which compose the dome, 
 are a sort of rough but thin paper, and that the rest of the 
 nest is composed of the same substance variously applied. 
 “ Whence do the wasps derive it?” They are manufacturers 
 of the article, and prepare it from a material even more sin- 
 gular than any of those which have of late been proposed for 
 this purpose; namely, the fibres of wood. These they detach 
 by means of their jaws from window-frames, posts, and rails, 
 &c. and, when they have amassed a heap of the filaments, 
 moisten the whole with a few drops of a viscid glue from their 
 mouth, and, kneading it with their jaws into a sort of paste, or 
 papiej' machty fly off with it to their nest. This ductile mass 
 they attach to that part of the building upon which they are 
 at work, walking backwards, and spreading it into laminae of 
 the requisite thinness by means of their jaws, tongue, and legs. 
 This operation is repeated several times, until at length, by 
 aid of fresh supplies of the material, and the combined exer- 
 tions of so many workmen, the proper number of layers of 
 paper, that are to compose the roof, is finished. This paper is 
 as thin as the leaf you are reading; and you may form an idea 
 of the labour which even the exterior of a wasp’s nest requires, 
 on being told that no fewer than fifteen or sixteen sheets of it 
 are usually placed above each other, with slight intervening 
 spaces, making the whole upwards of an inch and a half in 
 thickness. When the dome is completed, the uppermost comb 
 is next begun, in vhich, as well as all the other parts of the 
 building, precisely the same material and the same process, 
 with little variation, are employed. In the structure of the 
 connecting pillars, there seems a greater quantity of glue 
 made use of than in the rest of the work, doubtless with the 
 view of giving them superior solidity. When the first comb 
 is finished, the continuation of the roof or walls of the build- 
 ing is brought down lower; a new comb is erected ; and thus 
 the work successively proceeds until the whole is finished. 
 As a comparatively small proportion of the society is engaged 
 in constructing the nest, its entire completion is the work of 
 several months : yet, though the fruit of such severe labour, 
 it has scarcely been finished a few weeks before winter comes 
 on, when it merely serves for the abode of a few benumbed 
 females, and is entirely abandoned at the approach of spring, 
 as wasps are never known to use the same nest for more than 
 one season. 
 
 There is good reason for thinking, and the opinion had the 
 sanction of the late Sir Joseph Banks, that wasps have senti- 
 nels placed at the entrances of their nests, w'hich, if you can 
 once seize and destroy, the remainder will not attack you. 
 This is confirmed by an observatiqn of Mr. Knight, in the 
 Philosophical Transactions, (vol. 1. 2d Ed. p. h05;) that if a 
 
 2 O 
 
290 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 nest of wasps be approached without alarming the inhabit- 
 ants, and all communication be suddenly cut oif between 
 those out of the nest and those within it, no provocation will 
 induce the former to defend it and themselves. But if one 
 escapes from within, it comes with a very different temper, 
 and appears commissioned to avenge public wrongs, and pre- 
 pared to sacrifice its life in the execution of its orders. He 
 discovered this when quite a boy. 
 
 In October, wasps seem to become less savage and sangui- 
 nary ; for even flies, of which, earlier in the summer, they are 
 the pitiless destroyers, may be seen to enter their nests with 
 impunity. It is then, probably, that they begin to be first 
 affected by the approach of the cold season, when nature 
 teaches them it is useless longer to attend to their young. 
 They themselves all ])erish, except a few of the females, upon 
 the first attack of frost. 
 
 Reaumur, from whom most of these observations are taken, 
 put the nests of wasps under glass hives, and succeeded so 
 effectually in reconciling these little restless creatures to them, 
 that they carried on their various works under his eye. 
 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued.) 
 
 A.nts — White Ants^Green Ants — Visiting Ants — The Ant-Lion. 
 
 These emmets, how little they are in our eyes ! 
 
 We tread them to dust, and a troop of them dies 
 Without our regard or concern : 
 
 Yet, as wise as we are, if vve went to their school, 
 
 There’s many a sluggard, and many a fool, 
 
 A lesson of wisdom might learn. Watts 
 
 The societies of Ants, as also of other Hymenoptera, differ 
 from those of the Termites, in having inactive larvae and pupae, 
 the neuter, or workers, combining in themselves both the mili- 
 tary and civil functions. Besides the helpless larvae and 
 pupae, which have no locomotive powers, these societies con- 
 sist of females and workers. The office of the females, at 
 their first exclusion distinguished by a pair of ample wings, 
 (which however, they soon cast,) is the foundation of new 
 colonies, and the furnishing of a constant supply of eggs, for 
 the maintenance of the population in the old nests, as well as 
 in the new. Those are usually the least numerous part of the 
 community. 
 
ANTS. 
 
 291 
 
 Gould indeed says, that the males and females are nearly 
 equal in number, p. 62; but from Huber’s observations it 
 seems to follow that the former are the most numerous, p. 96. 
 
 Upon the workers devolves, except in nascent colonies, all 
 the work, at well as the defence of the community, of which 
 they are the most numerous portion. 
 
 In the warm days that occur from the end of July to the 
 beginning of September, and sometimes later, the habitations 
 of the various species of ants may be seen to swarm with 
 winged insects, whicli are the males and females, preparing 
 to quit for ever the scene of their nativity and education. 
 Every thing is in motion : and the silver wings, contrasted 
 with the jet bodies which compose the animated mass, add a 
 degree of splendour to the interesting scene. The bustle in. 
 creases, till at length the males rise, as it were by a gene- 
 ral impulse, into the air, and the females accompany them. 
 The whole swarm alternately rises and falls with a slow move- 
 ment to the height of about ten feet, the males flying obliquely 
 with a rapid zigzag motion; and the females, though they fol 
 low the general movement of the column, appearing suspended 
 in the air, like balloons, seemingly with no individual motion, 
 and having their heads turned towards the wind. 
 
 Sometimes the swarms of a whole district unite their infi- 
 nite myriads, and, seen at a distance, produce an effect resem- 
 bling the flashing of an aurora borealis. Rising with incre- 
 dible velocity in distinct columns, they soar above the clouds. 
 Each column looks like a kind of slender net-work, and has a 
 tremulous undulating motion, which has been observed to be 
 produced by the regular alternate rising and falling just alluded 
 to. The noise emitted by myriads and myriads of these crea- 
 tures, does not exceed the hum of a single wasp. The slight- 
 est zephyr disperses them ; and if in their progress they 
 chance to be over your head, if you walk slowly on, they will 
 accompany you, and regulate their motions by yours. 
 
 Captain Haverfield, R. N. gives an account of an extraor 
 dinary appearance of ants observed by him in the Medway, in 
 the autumn of 1814, when he was first-lieutenant of the Clo- 
 rinde ; which is confirmed by the following letter, addressed 
 by the surgeon of that ship, now Dr. Bromley, to Mr. Mac 
 Leay. 
 
 ** In September, 1814, being on the deck of the bulk to the 
 Clorinde, my attention was drawn to the water by the first- 
 lieutenant (Haverfield) observing there was something black 
 floating down with the tide. On looking with a glass, I dis 
 covered they were insects. The boat was sent, and brought a 
 bucket full of them on board ; they proved to be a large spe- 
 cies of ant, and extended from the upper part of Salt-pan 
 Reach out towards the Great Nore, a distance of five or six 
 
292 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 miles. The column appeared to be in breadth eight or ten feet, 
 and in height about six inches, which I suppose must have 
 been from their resting one upon another.*’ Purchas seems 
 to have witnessed a similar phenomenon on shore. “ Othei 
 sorts (of ants),” says he, “ there are many, of which some be- 
 come winged, and fill the air with swarms, which sometimes 
 happens in England. On Bartholomew-day, 1613, I was in 
 the island of Foulness, on our Essex shore, where were such 
 clouds of these flying pismires, that we could no where flee 
 fiom them, but they filled our clothes ; yea, the floors of some 
 houses where they fell were in a manner covered with a black 
 carpet of creeping ants ; which, they say, drown themselves 
 about that time of the year in the sea.” — Pilgrimage, 1090. 
 These ants were winged ; but whence this immense column 
 came, was not ascertained. From the numbers here accumu- 
 lated, one would think that all the ant-hills of the counties of 
 Kent and Surrey could scarcely have furnished a sufficient 
 number of males and females to form it. 
 
 When Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, of the Horse Artillery, 
 was surveying, on the 6th of October, 1813, the scene of the 
 battle of the Pyrenees, from the summit of the mountain call- 
 ed Pena de Aya, or Les Quatre Couronnes, he and his friends 
 were enveloped with a swarm of ants, so numerous as entirely 
 to intercept their view, so that they were glad to remove to 
 another station, in order to get rid of these troublesome little 
 creatures. 
 
 The females that escape from the injury of the elements 
 and their various enemies, become the founders of new colo- 
 nies, doing all the work that is usually done by the neuters. 
 M. P. Huber has found incipient colonies,* in which were only 
 a few workers engaged with their mother in the care of a small 
 number of larvae; and M. Perrot, his friend, once discovered 
 a small nesk occupied by a solitary female, who was attend- 
 ing upon four pupa only. Such is the foundation and first 
 establishment of those populous nations of ants - n which 
 we every where meet. 
 
 But though the majority of females produced in a nest pro- 
 bably thus desert it, all are not allowed this liberty. The pru- 
 dent workers are taught by their instinct, that the existence of 
 their community depends upon the presence of a sufficient 
 number of females. Some, therefore, that are fecundated in 
 or near the spot, they forcibly detain, pulling off their wings, 
 and keeping them prisoners till they are ready to lay their eggs, 
 or are reconciled to their fate. De Geer, in a nest of F. riifa, 
 
 * M. Huber observes, that fecundated females, after they have lost 
 their Avings, make themselves a subterranean cell, some singly, others in 
 common. From which it appears that some colonies have more than one 
 female from their first establishment. 
 
ANTS. 
 
 293 
 
 observed that the workers compelled some females that were 
 come out of the nest to re-enter it ; (vol. ii. 1071,) — and from 
 M. P. Huber we learn, that, being seized at the moment of 
 fecundation, they are conducted into the interior of the for- 
 micary, when they become entirely dependent upon the neu- 
 ters, who, hanging pertinaciously to each leg, prevent their 
 going out, but at the same time attend upon them with the 
 greatest care, feeding them regularly, and conducting them 
 where the temperature is suitable to them, but never quitting 
 them a single moment. By degrees these females become re- 
 conciled to their condition, and lose all desire of making their 
 escape ; their abdomen enlarges, and they are no longer de- 
 tained as prisoners, yet each is still attended by a body-guard, 
 a single ant, which always accompanies her, and prevents her 
 wants. Its station is remarkable, being mounted upon her 
 abdomen, with its posterior legs upon the ground. These 
 sentinels are constantly relieved ; and to watch the moment 
 when the female begins the important work of oviposition, 
 and carry off the eggs, of which she lays four or five thousand 
 or more in the course of the year, seems to be their principal 
 office. 
 
 When the female is acknowledged as a mother, the workers 
 begin to pay her a homage very similar to that which the bees 
 render to their queen. All press round her, offer her food, 
 conduct her by her mandibles through the difficult or steep 
 passages of the formicary ; nay, they sometimes even carry 
 her about their city ; she is then suspended upon their jaws, 
 the ends of which are crossed ; and, being coiled up like the 
 tongue of a butterffy, she is packed so close as to incommode 
 the carrier but little. When these set her down, others sur- 
 round and caress her, one after another tapping her on the 
 head with their antennse. 
 
 “ In whatever apartment (says Gould) a queen condescends 
 to be present, she commands obedience and respect. A uni- 
 versal gladness spreads itself through the whole cell, which 
 is expressed by particular acts of joy and exultation. They 
 have a particular way of skipping, leaping, and standingupon 
 their hind-legs, and prancing with the others. These frolics 
 they make use of, both to congratulate each other when they 
 meet, and to shew their regard for the queen : some of them 
 walk gently over her, others dance round her ; she is generally 
 encircled with a cluster of attendants, who. if you separate 
 them from her, soon collect themselves into a body, and 
 inclose her in the midst.’^ Nay, even if she dies, as if they 
 were unwilling to believe it, they continue sometimes for 
 months the same attentions to her, and treat her with the same 
 courtly formality as if she were alive, and they will brush hef 
 and lick her incessantly. 
 
294 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 That the ants, though they are mute animals, have the 
 means of communicating to each other information of various 
 iOccurrences, and use a kind of language which is mutually 
 understood, will appear evident from the following facts. 
 
 If those at the surface of a nest are alarmed, it is wonder- 
 ful in how short a time the alarm spreads through the whole 
 nest. It runs from quarter to quarter ; the greatest inquietude 
 seems to possess the community ; and they carry with all pos 
 sible dispatch their treasures, the larvae and pupae, down to 
 the lowest apartments. Amongst those species of ants that 
 do not go much from home, sentinels seem to be stationed at 
 the avenues of their city. “Disturbing once the little heaps oi 
 earth thrown up at the entrances into the nest of F.Jiava, which 
 IS of this description, (says Huber,) I was struck by observing 
 ^ single ant immediately come out, as if to see what was the 
 matter, and this three separate times.” 
 
 • The F. herculanea, L. inhabits the trunks of hollow trees on 
 the Continent, for it has not yet been found in England, upon 
 which they are often passing to and fro. M. Huber observed, 
 jthat when he disturbed those that were at the greatest distance 
 from the rest, they ran towards them, and, striking their head 
 against them, communicated their cause of fear or anger * 
 that these, in their turn, conveyed in the same way the intelli- 
 gence to others, till the whole colony was in a ferment, those 
 neuters which were within the tree running out in crowds to 
 join their companions in the defence of their habitation. The 
 same signals that excited the courage of the neuters, produced 
 fear in the males and females, which, as soon as the news of 
 the danger was thus communicated to them, retreated into the 
 tree as to an asylum. 
 
 . The legs of one of this gentleman’s artificial formicaries 
 were plunged into pans of water, to prevent the escape of the 
 ants; this proved a source of great enjoyment to these little 
 beings, for they are a very thirsty race, and lap water like 
 ^ogs. — {Gould, 92. De Geer, ii. 1087. Huber, 5, 132.) One 
 day, when he observed many of them tippling very merrily, 
 te was so cruel as to disturb them, which sent most of tlie 
 ants in a fright to the nest; but some, more thirsty than the 
 rest, continued their potations : upon this, one of those that 
 had retreated, returns to inform his thoughtless companions ot 
 their danger ; one he pushes with his jaws ; another he striker 
 first upon the belly, and then upon the breast ; and so obliger 
 three of them to leave off their carousing, and march home- 
 wards ; but the fourth, more resolute to drink it out, is not 
 to be discomfited, and pays not the least regard to the kind 
 blows with which his compeer, solicitous for his safety, re 
 peatedly belabours him ; at length, determined to have his 
 way, he seizes him by one of his hind-legs, and gives him a 
 
ANTS. 
 
 295 
 
 violent pull : upon this, leaving his liquor, the loiterer turnsi 
 round, and opening his threatening jaws with every appear- 
 ance of anger, goes very coolly to drinking again ; but his 
 monitor, without further ceremony, rushing before him, seizes 
 him by his jaws, and at last drags him off' in triumph to the 
 formicary . — HuheVy 133. 
 
 The language of ants, however, is not confined merely to 
 giving intelligence of the approach or presence of danger; it 
 is also co-extensive with all their other occasions for commu- 
 nicating their ideas to each other, or holding any intercourse. 
 Some engage in military expeditions, and often previously 
 send out spies, to collect information. These, as soon as they 
 return from exploring the vicinity, enter the nest; upon which, 
 as if they had communicated their intelligence, the army 
 immediately assembles in the suburbs of their city, and begins 
 its march toWards that quarter whence the spies had arrived; 
 Upon the march, communications are perpetually making 
 between the van and the rear; and when arrived at the camp 
 of the enemy, and the battle begins, if necessary, couriers are 
 dispatched to the formicary for reinforcements. — Huber, 167, 
 217, 237. 
 
 If you scatter the ruins of an ant’s nest in your apartment, 
 you will be furnished with another proof of their language. 
 The ants will take a thousand different paths, each going by 
 itself, to increase the chance of discovery ; they will meet and 
 cross each other in all directions, and perhaps will wander 
 long before they can find a spot convenient tor their re-union. 
 No sooner does any one discover a little chink in the fioor, 
 through which it can pass below, than it returns to its com- 
 panions, and, by means of certain motions of its antennae, 
 makes some of them comprehend what route they are to pursue 
 to find it, sometimes even accompanying them to the spot; 
 these, in their turn, become the guides of others, till all know 
 which way to direct their steps. — Huber, 137. 
 
 It is well known also, that ants give each other information 
 when they have discovered any store of provision. Bradley 
 relates a striking instance of this. A nest of ants in a noble- 
 man’s garden discovered a closet, many yards within the 
 house, in which conserves were kept, which they constantly 
 attended till the nest was destroyed. Some in their rambles 
 must have first discovered this depot of sweets, and informed 
 the rest of it. It is remarkable that they always went to it 
 by the same track, scarcely varying an inch from it, though 
 they had to pass through two apartments ; nor could the 
 sweeping and cleaning of the rooms discomfit them, or cause 
 them to pursue a different route. — Bradley, 134. 
 
 Here may be related a very amusing experiment of Gould’s. 
 Having deposited several colonies of ants ( U.yhscfir ) inflowet- 
 
296 CURIOSITIES RESPEOTiNG INSECTS. 
 
 pots, he placed them in some earthen pans of water, which 
 prevented them from making excursions from their nest. 
 When they had been accustomed some days to this imprison- 
 ment, he fastened small threads to the upper part of the pots, 
 and extending them over the water-pans, fixed them in the 
 ground. The sagacious ants soon found out that by these 
 bridges they could escape from their moated castle. The dis- 
 covery was communicated to the whole society, and in a 
 short time the threads were filled with trains of busyworkers 
 passing to and fro. — Gould, 85. 
 
 Legion’s account of the ants in Barbadoes, affords another 
 most convincing proof of this : as he has told his tale in a 
 very lively and interesting manner, it shall be given nearly in 
 his own words. 
 
 “The next of these moving little animals are ants, or pis- 
 mires: these are but of a small size, but great in industry; and 
 that which gives them means to attain to this end is, they 
 have all one soul. If I should say they are here or there, I 
 should do them wrong, for they are every where : — underground, 
 where any hollow or loose earth is ; amongst the roots of 
 trees ; upon the bodies, branches, leaves, and fruit of all trees ; 
 in all places without the houses and within ; upon the sides, 
 walls, windows, and roofs, without; and on the floors, side- 
 walls, ceilings, and windows, within ; tables, cupboards, beds, 
 stools, all are covered with them, so that they are a kind of 
 ubiquitaries. We sometimes kill a cockroach, and throw 
 him Oil! the ground ; and mark what they will do with him : 
 his body is bigger than a hundred of them, and yet they will 
 find the means to take hold of him, and lift him up ; and 
 having him above ground, away they carry him, and some go 
 by as ready assistants, if any be weary ; and some are the 
 officers that lead and shew the way to the hole into which he 
 must pass ; and if the vancouriers perceive that the body of 
 the cockroach lies across, and will not pass through the hole 
 or arch through which they mean to carry him, order is given, 
 and the body turned endwise, and this is done a foot before 
 they come to the hole, and that without any stop or stay ; and 
 it is observable, that they never pull contrary ways. A table 
 being cleared with great care, (by way of experiment,) of 
 all the ants that are upon it, and sugar being put upon it, 
 some, after a circuitous route, will be observed to arrive at it; 
 and again departing, without tasting the treasure, will hasten 
 away to inform their friends of the discovery, who, upon 
 this, will come by myriads : you may then, while they are 
 thickest upon the table, clap a large book, o.r any thing 
 fit for that purpose, upon them, so hard as to kill all that are 
 under it; and when you have done so, take away the book, 
 and leave them to themselves but a quarter of an hour, and 
 
ANTS. 
 
 297 
 
 when you come again, you shall find all these bodies carried 
 away. — Other trials we make of their ingenuity, as thus : Take 
 a pewter dish, and fill it half full of water, into which put a 
 little gallipot filled with sugar, and the ants will presently 
 find it, and come upon the table, but when they perceive it 
 environed with water, they try about the brims of the dish 
 where the gallipot is nearest; and there the most venturous 
 amongst them commits himself to the water, though he be 
 conscious how bad a swimmer he is, and is drowned in the 
 adventure; the next is not warned by his example, but ven 
 tures too, and is alike drowned ; and many more, so that 
 there is a small foundation of their bodies to venture ; and 
 then they come faster than ever, and so make a bridge of their 
 own bodies."^ — Hist, of Barbadoes, p. 63. 
 
 The fact being certain, that ants impart their ideas to each 
 other, we are next led to inquire by what means this is ac- 
 complished. It does not appear that, like the bees, they emit 
 any significant sounds ; their language, therefore, must 
 consist of signs or gestures, some of which I shall now detail. 
 In communicating their fear, or expressing their anger, they 
 /;un from one to another in a semicircle, and strike with 
 their head or jaws the trunk or abdomen of the ant to which 
 they mean to give information on any subject of alarm. But 
 those remarkable organs, their antennae, are the principal 
 instruments of their speech, if I may so call it, supplying the 
 place both of voice and words. When the military ants before 
 alluded to go upon their expeditions, and are out of the for- 
 micary, previously to setting off, they touch each other on 
 the trunk with their antennae and forehead ; this is the signal 
 for marching, for, as soon as any one has received it, he is 
 immediately in motion. When they have any discovery to 
 communicate, they strike with them those that they meet in 
 a particularly impressive manner. If a hungry ant wants to 
 oe fed, it touches with its two antennae, moving them very 
 rapidly, those of the individual from which it expects its 
 meal : — and not only ants understand this language, but even 
 aphides and cocci, which are the milch kine of our little 
 pismires, do the same, and will yield them their saccharine 
 fluid at the touch of these imperative organs. The helpless 
 larvae also of the ants are informed, by the same means, when 
 they may open their mouths to receive their food. 
 
 Next to their language, and scarcely different from it, are 
 the modes by which they express their affections and aver- 
 sions. Whether ants, with man and some of the larger ani- 
 mals, experience any thing like attachment to individuals, is 
 not easily ascertained ; but that they feel the full force of the 
 se itirnent which we term patriotism, or the love of the com- 
 munity to which they belong, is evident from the whole series 
 Id. 2P 
 
298 CURIOSITIES RESPECTIN I INSECTS. 
 
 of their proceedings, which all tend to promote the general 
 good. Distress or difficulty falling upon any member of their 
 society, generally excites their sympathy, and they do their 
 utmost to relieve it. M. Latreille once cut off the antennae of 
 an ant; and its companions, evidently pitying its sufferings, 
 anointed the wounded part with a drop of transparent fluid 
 from their mouth : and whoever attends to what is going for- 
 ward in the neighbourhood of one of their nests, will be 
 pleased to observe the readiness with which they seem dis- 
 posed to assist each other in difficulties. When a burden is 
 too heavy for one, another will soon come to ease it of part of 
 the weight; and if one is threatened with an attack, all hasten 
 to the spot, to join in repelling it. 
 
 The satisfaction they express at meeting after- absence is 
 very striking, and gives some degree of individuality to their 
 attachment. M. Huber witnessed the gesticulations of some 
 ants, originally belonging to the same nest, that' having been 
 entirely separated from each other four months, were after- 
 wards iDrought together. Though this was equal to one-fourth 
 of their existence as perfect insects, they immediately recog- 
 nized each other, saluted mutually with their antennse, and 
 united once more to form one family. 
 
 They are also ever -intent to promote each other’s welfare, 
 and ready to share w'ith their absent companions any good 
 thing that they may meet wdth. Those that go abroad feed 
 those which remain in the nest, and if they discover any stock 
 of favourite food, they inform the whole community, as we 
 have seen above, and teach them the way to it. M. Huber, 
 for a particular reason, having produced heat, by means of a 
 flambeau, in a certain part of an artificial formicary, the ants 
 that happened to be in that quarter, after enjoying it for a 
 time, hastened to convey the welcome intelligence to their 
 compatriots, whom they even carried suspended upon their 
 jaws (their usual mode of transporting each other) to the spot, 
 till hundreds might be seen thus laden with their friends. 
 
 If ants feel the force of love, they are equally susceptible 
 of the emotions of anger ; and when they are menaced or 
 attacked, no insects shew a greater degree of it. Providence, 
 moreover, has furnished them with weapons and faculties 
 which render them extremely formidable to their insect enemies, 
 and sometimes, as I have related on a former occasion, a great 
 annoyance to man himself, (vol. i. 2d ed. p. 123.) Two 
 strong mandibles arm their mouth, with which they sometimes 
 fix themselves so obstinately to the object of their attack, 
 that they will sooner be torn limb from limb than let go their 
 hold; and, after their battles, the head of a conquered enemy 
 may of en be seen suspended to the antennae or legs of the 
 victor, a trophy of his valour, which, however troublesome. 
 
ANTS. 
 
 299 
 
 he will be compelled to carry about with him to the day c/f 
 his death Their abdomen is also furnished with a poison- 
 bag, in which is secreted a powerful and venomous 
 
 fluid, long celebrated in chemical researches, and once called 
 formic acid, though now considered a modification of the 
 acetic and malic;* which, when their enemy is beyond the 
 reach of their mandibles, (it is spoken here particularly of the 
 hill ant, or F. riifa,) standing erect on their hind legs, they 
 discharge from their anus with considerable force, so that 
 from the surface of the nest ascends a shower of poison, ex- 
 haling a strong sulphurous odour, sufficient to overpower or 
 repel any insect or small animal. Such is the fury of some 
 species, that with the acid, according to Gould, p. 34. they 
 sometimes partly eject the poison-bag itself. If a stick be 
 stuck into one of the nests of the hill ant, rt is so saturated 
 with the acid as to retain the scent for many hours. A more 
 formidable weapon arms the species of the genus Myrrnica 
 latr.; for, besides the poison-bag, they are furnished with a 
 sting ; and their aspect is also often rendered peculiarly revolt- 
 ing, by the extraordinary length of their jaws, and by the 
 s])ines which defend their head and trunk. 
 
 But weapons without valour are of but little use; and this 
 is one distinguishing feature of this pigmy race. Their cou- 
 rage and pertinacity are unconquerable, and are often sublimed 
 into the most inconceivable rage and fury. It makes no dif- 
 ference to them whether they attack a mite or an elephant; 
 and man himself instils no terror into their warlike breasts. 
 Point your finger towards any individual of F. rufa ; instead 
 of running away, it instantly faces about, and, that it may 
 make the most of itself, stiffening its le^s into a nearly straight 
 line, it gives its body the utmost elevation it is capable of; 
 and thus — 
 
 Collecting all its might, dilated stands,” 
 
 prepared to repel your attack. Put your finger a little nearer, 
 it immediately opens its jaws to bite you, and rearing upon 
 its hind legs, bends its abdomen between them, to eject its 
 venom into the wound-t 
 
 This angry people so well armed and so courageous, we 
 may readily imagine, are not always at peace with their neigh- 
 bours ; causes of dissension may arise, to light the flame of 
 war between the inhabitants of nests not far distant from each 
 other. To these little bustling creatures, a square foot of earth 
 is a territory worth contending for; their droves of aphides 
 being equally valuable with the flocks and herds that cover 
 
 * See Fourcroy, Annates du Mushim, No. 6, p. 338, 342. Some, how 
 ever, still regard it as a distinct acid. 
 
 I See Fourcroy, Annates du Mushim, No. 6. p. 343. 
 
300 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 our plains ; and the body of a fly or a beetle, or a cargo of 
 straws and bits of stick, an acquisition as important as the 
 treasures of a Lima fleet to our seamen. Their wars are usually 
 between nests of different species ; sometimes, however, those 
 of the same, when so near as to interfere with and incommode 
 each other, have their battles ; and with respect to ants of 
 one species, Myrmica Tubra^ combats occasionally take place, 
 contrary to the general habits of the tribe of ants, between 
 those of the same nest. 
 
 The wars of the red ant { M. rubra) are usually between a 
 small number of the citizens; and the object, according to 
 Gould, is to get rid of a useless member of the community, 
 (it does not argue much in favour of their humanity, that it is 
 all one if it be by sickness that this member is disabled,) ra- 
 ther than any real civil contest. The red colonies, (says this 
 author,) are the only ones I could ever observe to feed upon 
 their own species. You may frequently discern a party of 
 from five or six to twenty, surrounding one of their own kind, 
 or even fraternity, and pulling it to pieces. The ant they 
 attack is generally feeble, and of a languid complexion, oc- 
 casioned perhaps by some accident or other. — Gould, 104. 
 
 “ I once saw one of these ants dragged out of the nest by 
 another, without its head ; it was still alive, and could crawl 
 about. A lively imagination might have fancied that this 
 poor ant was a criminal, condemned by a court of justice to 
 suffer the extreme sentence of the law. It was more probably, 
 however, a champion that had been decapitated in an unequal 
 combat, unless we admit Gould’s idea, and suppose it to have 
 suffered because it was an unprofitable member of the com- 
 munity.'^ At another time I found three individuals that were 
 fighting with great fury, chained together by their mandibles ; 
 one of these had lost two of the legs of one side, yet it ap- 
 peared to walk well, and was as eager to attack and seize its 
 opponents, as if it was unhurt. This did not look like languor 
 or sickness.” 
 
 The wars of ants that are not of the same species take place 
 usually between those that differ in size; and the great endea- 
 vouring to oppress the small, are nevertheless often outnum- 
 bered by them, and defeated. Their battles have long been 
 celebrated; and the dates of them, as if they were events <')f the 
 first importance, have been formally recorded. Aineas Syl- 
 vius, after giving a very circumstantial account of one con- 
 
 * One would think the writer of the account of ants, in MoufTct, had 
 been witness to something similar. “ If they see any one idle,” (says he,) 
 “they not only drive him as spurious, without food, from the nest; but 
 likewise, a circle of all ranks being assembled, cut olf his head before 
 the gates, that he may be a warning to their children, not to give them- 
 selves up for he future to idleness and effeminacy.” — Theatr. Ins, p. 241. 
 
WHITE ANTS, OR TERMITES. 301 
 
 tested with much obstinacy by a great and small species, on 
 the trunk of a pear-tree, gravely states, “ This action was 
 fought in the pontificate of Eugeni us the Fourth, in the pre- 
 sence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an eminent lawyer, who re- 
 lated the whole history of the battle with the greatest fide- 
 lity V* A similar engagement between great and small ants is 
 recorded by Olaus Magnus, in which the small ones being 
 victorious, are said to have buried the bodies of their own sol- 
 diers, but left those of their giant enemies a prey to the birds. 
 This event happened previous to the expulsion of the tyrant 
 Christian the Second from Sweden. — MoujTet, Theatr. Lis, 
 242. 
 
 M. P. Huber is the only modern author that appears to have 
 been witness to these combats. He tells us, that when the 
 great attack the small, they seek to take them by surprise, 
 (probably to avoid their fastening themselves to their legs,) 
 and, seizing them by the upper part of the body, they strangle 
 them with their mandibles; but when the small have time to 
 foresee the attack, they give notice to their companions, who 
 rush in crowds to their succour. Sometimes, however, after 
 suffering a signal defeat, the smaller species are obliged to 
 shift their quarters, and to seek an establishment more out of 
 the way of danger. In order to cover their march, many small 
 bodies are then posted at a little distance from the nest. As 
 soon as the large ants approach the camp, the foremost senti- 
 nels instantly fly at them with the greatest rage ; a violent 
 struggle ensues, multitudes of their friends come to their 
 assistance, and, though no match for their enemies singly, by 
 dint of numbers they prevail, and the giant is either slain or 
 led captive to the hostile camp. The species whose proceed- 
 ings M. Huber observed, were F. herculaiiea, L. and F. san~ 
 guinea, Latr. ; neither of which have yet been discovered in 
 Britain. — Huber, 160. 
 
 The White Ants, or Termites. — The majority of these 
 animals are natives of tropical countries, though two species 
 are indigenous to Europe ; one of which, thought to have 
 been imported, is come so near to us as Bourdeaux. Their 
 society consists of five different descriptions of individuals : 
 workers or larvae, nymphs or pupae, neuters or soldiers males, 
 and females. 
 
 1. The workers or larvae, answering to the hymenopterous 
 neuters, are the most numerous, and, at the same time, most 
 active part of the community ; upon whom devolves the office 
 of erecting and repairing the buildings, collecting provision, 
 attending upon the female, conveying the eggs, when laid, to 
 the nurseries, and feeding the young larvae till they are old 
 enough to take care of themselves. They are distinguished 
 
302 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 from the soldiers by their diminutive size, by their round heads, 
 and shorter mandibles. 
 
 2. The nymphs, or pupae, differ in iiothing from the larvae, 
 and probably are equally active, except that they have rudi- 
 ments of wings, or rather wings folded up in cases. 
 
 3. The neuters are much less numerous than the workers, 
 bearing the proportion of one to one hundred, and exceeding 
 them greatly in bulk. They are also distinguishable by their 
 long and large heads, armed with very long tubulate mandibles. 
 Their office is that of sentinels ; and when the nestis attacked, 
 to them is committed the task of defending it. These neuters 
 seem to be a kind of abortive females, and there is nothino^ 
 analogous to them in any other department of entomology. 
 
 4 and 5. INIales and females, or the insects arrived at a state 
 of perfection, and capable of continuing the species. There 
 is only one of each in every separate society ; they are exempted 
 from all participation in the labours and employments occupy- 
 ing the rest of the community, that they may be wholly devoted 
 to the furnishing of a constant accession to the population 
 of the colony. Though at their first disclosure from the pupae 
 they have four wings, like the female ants, they soon cast 
 them ; but they may then be distinguished from the blind 
 larvae, pupae, and neuters, by their large and prominent 
 eyes. 
 
 The different species of Termites, which are numerous, build 
 nests of very various forms. Some construct upon the ground 
 a cylindrical turret of clav, about three-quarters of a yard 
 high, surrounded by a projecting conical roof, so as in shape 
 considerably to resemble a mushroom, and composed interiorly 
 of innumerable cells, of various figures and dimensions. Others 
 prefer a more elevated site, and build their nests, which are 
 of different sizes, from that of a hat to that of a sugar-cask, 
 and composed of pieces of wood glued together, amongst the 
 branches of trees, often seventy or eighty feet high. But by 
 far the most curious habitations, are those formed by the 
 Ternies hellicosus, a species very common in Guinea, and other 
 parts of the coasts of Africa, of whose proceedings we have 
 a very particular and interesting account in the 71st volume of 
 the Philosophical Transactions. 
 
 These nests are formed entirely of clay, and are generally 
 twelve feet high, and broad in proportion; so that when a cluster 
 of them, as is often the case in South America, are placed toge- 
 ther, they may be taken for an Indian village, and are in fact 
 sometimes larger than the huts which the natives inhabit. The 
 first process in the erection of these singular structures, is the 
 elevation of two or three turrets of clay, about a foot high, 
 and in shape like a sugar-loaf. These, which seem to be the 
 scaffolds of the future building, rapidly increase in numbei 
 
WHITE ANTS, OR TERMITES. 
 
 303 
 
 and height, until at length being widened at the base, joined 
 at the top into one dome, and consolidated all around into a 
 thick wall of clay, they form a building of the size above- 
 mentioned, and of the shape of a haycock, which, when 
 clothed, as it generally soon becomes, with a coating of grass, 
 it at a distance very much resembles. When the building has 
 assumed this its final form, the inner turrets, all but the tops, 
 which project like pinnacles from different parts of it, are re- 
 moved, and the clay employed over again in other services. 
 It is the lower part alone of the building that is occupied by 
 the inhabitants ; the upper portion, or dome, which is very 
 strong and solid, is left empty, serving principally as a de- 
 fence from the vicissitudes of the weather and the attacks of 
 natural or accidental enemies, and to keep up in the lower part 
 a genial warmth and moisture, necessary to the hatching of 
 the eggs and cherishing of the young ones. The inhabited 
 portion is occupied by the royal chamber, or habitation of the 
 king and queen ; the nurseries for the young ; the storehouses 
 for food ; and innumerable galleries, passages, and empty 
 rooms, arranged according to the following plan : — 
 
 In the centre of the building, just under the apex, and 
 nearly on a level with the surface of the ground, is placed the 
 royal chamber, an arched vault of a semi-oval shape., or not 
 unlike a long oven ; at first not above an inch long, but en- 
 larged, as the queen increases in bulk, to the length of eight 
 inches or more. In this apartment the king and queen con- 
 stantly reside, and, from the smallness of the entrances, which 
 are barely large enough to admit their more diminutive 
 subjects, can never possibly come out ; thus, like many human 
 potentates, purchasing their sovereignty at the dear rate of 
 the sacrifice of liberty. Immediately adjoining the royal cham- 
 ber, and surrounding it on all sides to the extent of a foot or 
 more, are placed the royal apartments, an inextricable laby- 
 rinth of innumerable arched rooms, of different shapes and 
 sizes, either opening into each other, or communicating by 
 common passages, and intended for the accommodation of the 
 soldiers and attendants, of whom many thousands are always 
 in waiting on their royal master and mistress. 
 
 Next to the royal apartments come the nurseries and the 
 magazines. The former are invariably occupied by the eggs 
 and young ones, and, in the infant state of the nest, are placed 
 close to the royal chamber ; but when the queen’s augmented 
 size requires a larger apartment, as well as additional rooms 
 for the increased number of attendants w'anted to remove her 
 eggs, the small nurseries are taken to pieces, rebuilt at a 
 greater distance, a size larger, and their number increased at 
 the same time. In substance they differ from all the other 
 apartments, being formed of particles of wood, apparently 
 
304 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 joined together with gums. A collection of these compact, 
 irregular, and small wooden chambers, not one of which is 
 naif an inch in width, is inclosed in a common chamber of 
 clay, sometimes as big as a child’s head. Intermixed with 
 the nurseries, lie the magazines, which are chambers- of clay, 
 always well stored with provisions, consisting of particles of 
 wood, gums, and the inspissated juices of plants. 
 
 These magazines and nurseries, separated by small empty 
 chambers and galleries, which run round them, or communi- 
 cate from one to the other, are continued on all sides to the 
 outer wall of the building, and reach up within it two-thirds 
 or three-fourths of its height. They do not, however, fill up 
 the whole of the lower part of the hill, but are confined to the 
 sides, leaving an open area in the middle, under the dome, 
 very much resembling the nave of an old cathedral, having 
 its roof supported by two very large Gothic arches, of which 
 those in the middle of the area are sometimes two and three 
 feet high, but as they recede on each side, rapidly diminish, 
 like the arches of aisles in perspective. A flattish roof, im- 
 perforated, in order to keep out the wet, if the dome should 
 chance to be injured, covers the top of the assemblage ol 
 chambers, nurseries, &c. ; and the area, which is a short 
 height above the royal chamber, has a flattish floor, also water- 
 proof, and so ccwitrived as to let any rain, that may chance to 
 get in, run off into the subterraneous passages. 
 
 These passages or galleries, which are of an astonishing 
 size, some being above a foot in diameter, perfectly cylindri- 
 cal, and lined with the same kind of clay of which the hill is 
 composed, served originally, like the catacombs of Paris, as 
 the quarries whence the materials of the building were derived, 
 and afterwards as the grand outlets by which the termites 
 carry on their depredations at a distance from their habita- 
 tions. They run in a sloping direction, under the bottom of 
 the hill, to the depth of three or four feet, and then branching 
 out horizontally on every side, are carried under ground, near 
 to the surface, to a vast distance. At their entrance into the 
 interior, they communicate with other small galleries, which 
 ascend the outside of the outer shell in a spiral manner, and, 
 winding round the whole body to the top, intersect each other 
 at different heights, opening either immediately in the dome 
 in various places, and into the lower half of the building, or 
 communicating with every part of it by other smaller circular 
 or oval galleries of different diameters. The necessity for the 
 vast size of the main underground galleries, evidently arises 
 from the circumstance of their being the great thoroughfares 
 for the inhabitants, by which they fetch their clay, wood, 
 water, or provision ; and their spiral and gradual ascent is 
 requisite for the easy access of the termites, which cannot. 
 
THE WHITE ANTS, OR TERMITES. 
 
 306 
 
 but with great difficulty, ascend a perpendicular. To avoid this 
 inconvenience, in the interior vertical parts of the building, a 
 flat pathway, half an inch wide, is often made to wind gra- 
 dually, like a road cut out of the side of a mountain ; by which 
 they travel with great facility up ascents otherwise impracti- 
 cable. The same ingenious propensity to shorten their labour, 
 seems to have given birth to a contrivance still more extraor- 
 dinary : this is a kind of bridge, or vast arch, sprung from 
 the floor of the area to the upper apartments at the side of the 
 building, which answers the purpose of a flight of stairs, and 
 must shorten the distance exceedingly in transporting eggs 
 from the royal chambers to the upper nurseries, which in 
 some hills would be four or five feet in the straightest line, 
 and much more if carried through all the winding passages 
 which lead through the inner chambers and apartments. Mr. 
 Smeathman measured one of these bridges, which was half an 
 inch broad, a quarter of an inch thick, and ten inches long, 
 making the size of an elliptic arch of proportionable dimen- 
 sions, so that it is wonderful it did not fall over, or break by its 
 own weight, before they got it joined to the side of the column 
 above. It was strengthened by a small arch at the bottom, 
 and had a hollow or groove all the length of the upper sur- 
 face, either made purposely for the greater safety of the 
 passengers, or else worn by frequent treading. It is not the 
 least surprising circumstance attending this bridge, the Gothic 
 arches before spoken of, and in general all the arches of the 
 various galleries and apartments, that, as Mr. Smeathman saw 
 every reason for believing, the termites project them, and do 
 not, as one would have supposed, excavate them. 
 
 Consider what incredible labour and diligence, accompanied 
 by the most unremitting activity, and the most unwearied 
 celerity of movement, must be necessary to enable these crea- 
 tures to accomplish (their size considered) these truly gigantic 
 works. That such diminutive insects, for they are scarcely 
 the fourth of an inch in length, however numerous, should, in 
 the space of three or four years, be able to erect a building 
 twelve feet high, and of proportionable bulk, covered by a 
 vast dome, adorned without by numerous pinnacles and tur- 
 rets, and sheltering under its ample arch myriads of vaulted 
 apartments, of various dimensions, and constructed of differ- 
 ent materials, — that they should moreover excavate, in different 
 directions and at different depths, innumerable subterranean 
 roads or tunnels, some twelve or thirteen inches in diameter, 
 or throw an arch of stone over other roads leading from the 
 metropolis into the adjoining country, to the distance of seven 
 hundred feet, — that they should project and finish the vast 
 interior staircases or bridges, lately described, — and finally, 
 that the millions necessary to execute such Herculean labours, 
 
 2 Q 
 
306 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 perpetually passing to and fro, should never interrupt and 
 interfere with each other, is a miracle of nature, far exceeding 
 the most boasted works and structures of man ; for, did these 
 creatures equal him in size, retaining their usual instincts and 
 activity, their buildings would soar to the astonishing height 
 of half a mile, and their tunnels would expand to a magnifi- 
 cent cylinder of more than three hundred feet in diameter; 
 before which, the pyramids of Egypt, and the aqueducts of 
 Rome, would lose their celebrity, and dwindle into nothing. 
 
 The most elevated of the pyramids of Egypt is not more 
 than six hundred feet high, which, setting the average height 
 of man at only five feet, is not more than a hundred and 
 twenty times the height of the workmen employed. Whereas, 
 the nests of the termites being at least twelve feet high, and 
 the insects themselves not exceeding a quarter of an inch in 
 stature, their edifices are upwards of five hundred times the 
 height of the builders ; which, supposing them of human di- 
 mensions, would be more than half a mile. The shaft of the 
 Roman aqueducts was lofty enough to permit a man on horse- 
 back to travel in them. 
 
 The first establishment of a colony of termites takes place 
 in the following manner. In the evening, soon after the first 
 tornado, which at the latter end of the dry season proclaims 
 the approach of the ensuing rains, these animals, having 
 attained to their< perfect state, in which they are furnished 
 and adorned with two pair of wings, emerge from their clay- 
 built citadels by myriads and myriads, to seek their fortune. 
 Borne on these ample wings, and carried by the wind, they fill 
 the air, entering the houses, extinguishing the lights, and 
 are sometimes driven on board the ships that are not far from 
 the shore. The next morning, they are discovered covering 
 the earth and waters, deprived of the wings which enabled 
 them to avoid their numerous enemies, and which were only 
 calculated to carry them a few hours. They now look like 
 large maggots ; and, from the most active, industrious, and 
 rapacious creatures, they are become the most helpless and 
 cowardly beings in nature, the prey of innumerable enemies, 
 to the smallest of which they make not the least resistance. 
 Insects, especially ants, which are always on the hunt for 
 them, leave no jilace unexplored : birds, reptiles, beasts, and 
 even man himself, look upon this event as their harvest, and, 
 as the reader has been told before, make them their food, so 
 that scarcely a pair in many millions get into a place of 
 safety. 
 
 The workers, who are continually prowling about in then 
 covered w'ays, occasionally meet with one of these pairs, and 
 being impelled by their instinct, pay them homage, and they 
 are elected as it were to be king and queen, or rather founders, 
 
WHITE ANTS, OR TERMITES. 
 
 307 
 
 of a new colony : all that are not so fortunate, inevitably perish ; 
 and, considering the infinite host of their enemies, probably 
 in the course of the following day. The workers, as soon as 
 this election takes place, begin to inclose their new rulers in 
 a small chamber of clay, before described, suited to their 
 size, the entrances to which are only large enough to admit 
 themselves and the neuters, but much too small for the royal 
 pair to pass through;— so that their state of royalty is a state 
 of confinement, and so continues during the remainder of 
 their existence. The female, after this confinement, soon begins 
 to furnish the infant colony with new inhabitants. The care 
 of feeding her and her companion, devolves upon the indus- 
 trious larvae, which supply them both with every thing that 
 they want. As she increases in dimensions, they continue to 
 enlarge the cell in which she is detained. When the business 
 of oviposition commences, they take the eggs from her, and 
 deposit them in their nurseries. Her abdomen now begins 
 gradually to extend, till in process of time it is enlarged to 
 fifteen hundred or two thousand times the^size of the rest of 
 her body, and her bulk equals that of twenty or thirty thou- 
 sand workers. This part, often more than three inches in 
 length, is now' a vast matrix of eggs, which make long cir- 
 cumvolutions through numberless slender serpentine vessels : 
 it is also remarkable for its peristaltic motion, (in this resem- 
 bling the female ant; see Gould's Account of English Ants, 
 p. 22.) which, like the undulations of water, produces a per- 
 petual and successive rise and fall over the whole surface of 
 the abdomen, and occasions a constant extrusion of the eggs, 
 amounting sometimes in old females to sixty in a minute, or 
 eighty thousand and upwards in twenty-four hours. As these 
 females live two years in their perfect state, how astonishing 
 must be the number produced in that time ! 
 
 This incessant extrusion of eggs must call for the attention 
 of a large number of the w^orkers in the royal chamber, (and 
 indeed it is always full of them,) to take them as they come 
 forth, and carry them to the nurseries, in w'hich, when hatched, 
 they are provided with food, and receive every necessary 
 attention, till they are able to shift for themselves. One re- 
 markable circumstance attends these nurseries ; they are 
 always covered with a kind of mould, amongst which arise 
 numerous globules, about the size of a pin’s head. This is 
 probably a species of mucor ; and by Mr. Koenig, who found 
 them also in nests of an East Indian species of termes, is 
 conjectured to bo the food of the larvae. 
 
 The royal cell has also some soldiers in it, a kind of body- 
 guard to the royal pair that inhabit it; and the surrounding 
 apartments contain always many, both labourers and soldiers, 
 in wait ng, that they may successively attend upon and defend 
 
308 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 the common father and mother, on whose safety depend the 
 happiness and even existence of the whole community ; and 
 whom these faithful subjects never abandon even in the last 
 distress. 
 
 Th ese little busy creatures are taught by Providence always 
 to work under cover. If they have to travel over a rock, or 
 up a tree, they vault, with a coping of earth, the route they 
 mean to pursue, and they form subterranean paths and tun- 
 nels, some of a diameter wider than the bore of a large cannon, 
 on all sides from their habitation, to their various objects of 
 attack, or which sloping down, (for they cannot well mount 
 a surface quite perpendicular,) penetrate to the depth of three 
 or four feet under their nests into the earth, till they arrive 
 at a soil proper to be used in the erection of their buildings. 
 Were they, indeed, to expose themselves, the race would 
 soon be annihilated by their innumerable enemies. If any 
 accident happen to their various structures, or if they are dis- 
 lodged from any of their covered ways, they are active and 
 expeditious in repairing it ; and in a single night they will 
 restore a gallery of three or four yards in length. If, attack- 
 ing the nest, you divide it into halves, leaving the royal cham- 
 ber, and thus lay open thousands of apartments, all will be 
 shut up with their sheets of clay by the next morning; nay, 
 even if the whole be demolished, provided the king and the 
 queen be left, every interstice between the ruins, at which 
 either cold or wet can possibly enter, will be covered, and, in 
 a year, the building will be raised nearly to its pristine size 
 and grandeur. 
 
 Besides building and repairing, a great deal of their time is 
 occupied in making necessary alterations in their mansion and 
 its approaches. The royal presence chamber, as the female 
 iincreases in size, must be gradually enlarged ; the nurseries 
 ■must be removed to a greater distance ; the chambers and in- 
 terior of the nest receive daily accessions, to provide for a daily 
 •increasing population; and the direction of their covered 
 ways must often be varied, when the old stock of provision is 
 exhausted, and new sources are discovered. 
 
 The collection of provisions for the use of the colony is 
 another employment, which necessarily calls for incessant 
 attention: these, to the naked eye, appear like raspings of 
 wood ; but when examined by the microscope, they are found 
 to consist chiefly of gums and the inspissated juices of plants, 
 •which, formed into little masses, are stored up in magazines 
 made of clay. 
 
 When any one is bold enough to attack their nest, and make 
 a breach in its walls, the labourers, who are incapable of fight- 
 ing, retire within, and give way to another description of its 
 inhabitants, whose office it is to defend the fortress when 
 
^MilTE ANTS, OR TERMITES. 309 ’ 
 
 •ssailed oy enemies ; these, as observed before, are tht neu- 
 ters or soldiers. If the breach be made in a slight part of the 
 building, one of these comes out to reconnoitre ; he then retires 
 and gives the alarm. Two or three others next appear, scram- 
 bling as fast as they can one after the other ; to these succeed 
 a large body, who rush forth with as much speed as the breach 
 will permit, their numbers continually increasing during the 
 attack. It is not easy to describe the rage and fury by which 
 these diminutive heroes seem actuated. In their haste they 
 frequently miss their hold, and tumble down the sides of their 
 hill : they soon, however, recover themselves, and, being 
 blind, bite every thing they run against. If the attack pro- 
 ceeds, the bustle and agitation increase to a tenfold degree, 
 and their fury is raised to its highest pitch. Wo to him whose 
 hands or legs they can come at! for they will make their 
 fanged jaws meet at the very first stroke, dmwing as much 
 blood as will counterpoise their whole body, and never quitting 
 their hold, even though they are pulled limb from limb. The 
 naked legs of the negroes expose them frequently to this in- 
 jury ; and the stockings of the Europeans are not thick enough 
 to defend them. 
 
 On the other hand, if, after the first attack, you get a little 
 out of the w'ay, giving them no further interruption, supposing 
 the assailant of their citadel is gone beyond their reach, in less 
 than half an hour they will retire into the nest ; and before 
 they have all entered, you will see the labourers in motion, 
 hastening in various directions towards the breach, every one 
 cairying in his mouth a mass of mortar, half as big as his 
 body, ready tempered ; this mortar is made of the finest parts 
 of the gravel, which they probably select in the subterranean 
 pits or passages before described, which,, worked up to a pro- 
 per consistence, hardens to the solid substance resembling 
 stone, of which their nests are constructed : they never appear 
 to embarrass or interrupt one another. By the united labours 
 of such an infinite host of creatures, the wall soon rises, and 
 the breach is repaired. 
 
 While the labourers are thus employed, almost all the sol- 
 diers have retired quite out of sight, except here and there 
 one, who saunters about amongst the labourers, but never 
 assists in the work. One in particular places himself close to 
 the wall which they are building ; and turning himself leisurely 
 on all sides, as if to survey the proceedings, appears to act 
 the part of an overseer of the works. Every now and then, 
 at the interval of a minute or two, by lifting up his head and 
 striking his forceps upon the wall of the nest, he makes a 
 particular noise, which is answered by a loud hiss from all the 
 labourers, and appears to be a signal for dispatch ; for, every 
 time it is heard, they may be seen to redouble their pace, and 
 
310 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 apply to their work with increased diligence. Renew the attack, 
 and this amusing scene will be repeated : in rush the labourers, 
 all disappearing in a few seconds, and out march the military, 
 as numerous and vindictive as before. When all is once more 
 quiet, the busy labourers re-appear, and resume their work, 
 and the soldiers vanish. Repeat the experiment a hundred 
 times, and the same will always be the result; you will never 
 find, be the peril or emergency ever so great, that one order 
 attempts to fight, or the other to work. 
 
 We have seen how solicitous the termites are to move and 
 work under cover, and concealed from observation: this, how- 
 ever, is not always the case ; there is a species larger than T. 
 bellicosus, whose proceedings we have been principally describ- 
 ing, which Mr. Smeathman calls the marching Termes (Ter- 
 mes viarum). He was once passing through a thick forest, 
 when on a sudden, a loud hiss, like that of serpents, struck 
 him with alarm. The next step produced a repetition of the 
 sound, which he then recognized to be that of white ants ; yet 
 he was surprised at seeing none of their hills or covering ways. 
 Following the noise, to his great astonishment and delight, he 
 saw an army of these creatures emerging from a hole in the 
 ground ; their number was prodigious, and they marched with 
 the utmost celerity. When they had proceeded about a yard, 
 they divided into two columns, chiefly composed of labourers, 
 about fifteen abreast, and following each other in close order, 
 and going straight forward. Here and there was seen a soldier, 
 carrying his vast head with apparent difficulty, and looking 
 like an ox in a flock of sheep, who marched on in the same 
 manner. At the distance of a foot or two from the columns, 
 many other soldiers were to be seen, standing still or pacing 
 about as if upon the look-out, lest some enemy should sud- 
 denly surprise their un warlike comrades; other soldiers, (which 
 was the most extraordinary and amusing part of the scene,) 
 having mounted some plants, and placed themselves on the 
 points of their leaves, elevated from ten to fifteen inches from 
 the ground, hung over the army marching below, and by 
 striking their forceps upon the leaf, produced at intervals 
 the noise above-mentioned. To this signal the whole army 
 returned a hiss, and obeyed it by increasing their pace. The 
 soldiers at these signal-stations sat quite still during the inter- 
 val of silence, except now and then making a slight turn of 
 the head, and seemed as solicitous to keep their posts as regu- 
 lar sentinels. The two columns of this army united, after 
 continuing separate from twelve to fifteen paces, having in no 
 part been above three yards asunder, and then descended into 
 the earth by two or three holes. Mr. Smeathman continued 
 watching them for above an hour, during which time their 
 numbers appeared neither to increase nor diminish: the sol 
 
GREEN ANTS. 
 
 311 
 
 diers, livjwever, who quitted the line of march and acted as 
 sentinels, became much more numerous before he quitted the 
 spot. The larvcB and neuters of this species are furnished with 
 eyes. 
 
 The societies of Termes ludfergus, discovered by Latreille, 
 at Bourdeaux, are very numerous; but instead of erecting 
 artificial nests, they make their lodgment in the trunks of 
 pines and oaks, where th^ branches diverge from the tree. 
 They eat the wood nearest the bark, or the alburnum, without 
 attacking the interior, and bore a vast number of holes and 
 irregular galleries. That part of the wood appears moist, and 
 is covered with little gelatinous particles, not unlike gum- 
 arabic. These insects seem to be furnished with an acid of a 
 very penetrating odour, which, perhaps, is useful to them for 
 penetrating the wood. The soldiers in these societies are as 
 about one to twenty-five of the labourers. 
 
 The anonymous author of the observations on the termites 
 of Ceylon, seems to have discovered a sentry-box in his nests. 
 ** I found,” says he, “ in a very small cell in the middle of the 
 solid mass, (a cell about half an inch in height, and very 
 narrow,) a larva with an enormous head. Two of these indi- 
 viduals were in the same cell; one of the two seemed 
 placed as sentinel at the entrance of the cell. I amused myself 
 by forcing the door two or three times ; the sentinel imme- 
 diately appeared, and oaly retreated when the door was on 
 the point of being stopped up, which was done by the la- 
 bourers.” 
 
 The Green Ants. — Captain Cook gives the following 
 account of a very peculiar kind of ants, which he met with at 
 Botany Bay. — “ They are as green as a leaf. They live upon 
 trees, where they build their nests. The nests are of a very 
 curious structure : they are formed by bending down several 
 of the leaves, each of which is as broad as a man’s hand ; they 
 glue the points of them together, so as to form a purse. The 
 viscus used for this purpose is an animal juice, which nature 
 has enabled them to elaborate. Their method of first bending 
 down the leaves, our naturalists had not an opportunity of 
 observing ; but they saw thousands uniting all their strength 
 to hold them in this position, while other busy multitudes 
 were employed within, in applying the gluten that was to pre- 
 vent their returning back. To satisfy themselves that the 
 leaves were bent and held down by the efforts of these dimi- 
 nutive artificers, our people disturbed them in their work, 
 and, as soon as they were driven from their station, the 
 leaves on which they were employed sprang up with a force 
 much greater than they could have thought them able to con- 
 quer, by any combination of their strength.” 
 
312 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 The Visiting Ants.— At Paramaribo, a Dutch colony in 
 the province of Surinam, there i-s a species of ants, which the 
 Portuguese call .visiting ants : they march in troops, and as 
 soon as they appear, all the coffers and chests of drawers are 
 laid open, w'hich they clear of rats, mice, and a peculiar sort 
 of insect in that country, called cackerlacks, and of other nox- 
 ious animals. If any one chance to molest them, they fall 
 upon him, and tear in pieces his stockings and shoes. Their 
 visits are rare ; and sometimes they do not appear for three 
 years. — Tem'pleman*s Obs, vol. i. p. 36. 
 
 We conclude this chapter with an account of The Ant- 
 Lion. — There is no insect more remarkable for its dexterity 
 than the ant-lion, though its figure announces nothing extra- 
 ordinary. It nearly resembles the woodlouse ; its body being 
 provided with six feet, composed of several membranous 
 rings, and terminated in a point. Its head, flat and square, 
 is armed with two moveable crooked horns, whose singular 
 structure shews how admirable Nature is, even in the least of 
 her works. 
 
 This insect is the most subtle and dangerous enemy the ant 
 ; the plans which he forms to ensnare his prey, are very 
 uii^ nious. He mines a portion of land in the form of a fun- 
 nel. at the bottom of which he waits to seize the ants, which 
 jtnnjug by chance to the edge of the precipice, are thence 
 ujrried down to their merciless foe. In order to dig it, he 
 hfMt traces in the sand a circular furrow, whose circumference 
 I ^rms precisely the mouth of the funnel, the diameter of which 
 is always equal to the depth he gives to his ditch. When he 
 has determined the space of this opening, and traced the first 
 furrow, he immediately digs a second, concentric to the other, 
 in order to throw out all the sand contained in the first circle. 
 He makes all these operations with his head, w^hich serves 
 him instead of a shovel, and its flat and square form admira- 
 bly adapts it to this purpose. He also takes some sand with 
 one of his fore feet, to throw it beyond the first furrow ; and 
 this work is repeated till the insect has reached a certain 
 depth of sand. Sometimes, in digging, he meets w ith grains 
 of sand larger than usual, or with little bits of dry earth, which 
 he will not suffer to remain in his tunnel; of these he dis- 
 encumbers himself by a sudden and well-timed manoeuvre of 
 his head. Should he find particles yet larger, he endeavours 
 to push them away with his back, and he is so assiduous in 
 this labour, that he repeats it six or seven times. 
 
 At length the ant-lion comes to collect the fruits of his toil, 
 ftis nets being once well laid, he has nothing to do but to 
 nut himself on the watch ; accordingly, immoveable and con- 
 eealed at the bottom of the ditch which he has dug, h® 
 
THE ANT-LION. 
 
 3i3 
 
 patiently waits foi the prey which he cannot puisne. If some 
 unhappy ant is inadvertently drawn to the borders of this fatal 
 precipice, she is almost sure to roll down to the bottom, be- 
 cause the brink is made sloping, and thus the sand giving 
 way beneath her feet, she is forced to follow the dangerous 
 declivity till she falls into the power of her destroyer, who, 
 by means of his horns, draws her under the sand, and feasts 
 upon her blood. When he has sucked all the juices from her 
 body, he contrives to eject from his habitation the dry and 
 hollow carcase, repairs any damage his trench may have sus- 
 tained, and puts himself again in ambush. He does not always 
 succeed in seizing his prey at the moment of its fall ; it fre- 
 quently escapes him, and endeavours to remount the funnel ; 
 but then the ant-lion works with his head, and causes a shower 
 of sand to descend upon his captive, and precipitate it once 
 more to the bottom. 
 
 All the actions of this little animal display an art so extra- 
 ordinary, that we might often examine them without being 
 wearied. The ant-lion employs itself in preparing trenches 
 even before having seen the animal which they are to ensnare, 
 and which is to serve it for nourishment; and yet its actions 
 are regulated in a manner the best adapted to accomplish these 
 purposes. 
 
 How would an animal, so destitute of agility, have been 
 able to entrap its prey more easily than by digging in a move- 
 able sand, and giving a sloping declivity to this funnel ? What 
 better stratagem could it have devised for recovering the ants 
 which were on the point of escaping even from this skilfully 
 constructed snare, than in overwhelming them with showers 
 of sand, and thus cutting off all hopes of a retreat? All its 
 actions have fixed principles by which they are directed. The 
 trench must be dug in the sand, or it could not answer the 
 desired purpose ; and it must, according to the structure of 
 its body, work backwards, using its horns like a pair of pincers, 
 in order to throw the sand over the brink of the funnel. The 
 instinct which governs this insect, discovers to us a First 
 Cause, w'hose intelligence has foreseen and ordained every 
 thing that was necessary for the preservation and well-being 
 of such an animal 
 
314 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued,) 
 
 The Spider — Ingenuity of the Spider — Spider tamed — Curioui 
 Anecdote of a Spider, S^c, 
 
 THE SPIDER. 
 
 Che spider’s touch, how exquisitely fine! 
 
 Feels at each thread, and lives along the lino. Pope, 
 
 One of the largest of the European spiders is the Aranea 
 diadema of Linnaeus, which is extremely common in our own 
 country, and is chiefly seen during the atumnal season, 
 in gardens. See. The body of this species, when full grown, 
 is not much inferior in size to a small hazel-nut: the abdomen 
 is beautifully marked by a longitudinal series of round or 
 drop-shaped milk-white spots, crossed by others of similar 
 appearance, so as to represent, in some degree, the pattern of 
 a small diadem. This spider, in the months of September 
 and October, forms, in some convenient spot or shelter, a 
 large round close or thick web of yellow silk, in which it 
 deposits its eggs, guarding the round web with a secondary 
 one of a looser texture. The young are hatched in the ensu- 
 ing May, the parent insects dying towards the close of autumn. 
 The aranea diadema being one of the largest of the common 
 spiders, serves to exemplify some of the principal characters 
 of the genus in a clearer manner than most others. At the 
 tip of the abdomen are placed five papillae, or teats, through 
 which the insect draws its thread ; and as each of these pa- 
 pillae is furnished with a vast number of foramina or outlets, 
 disposed over its whole surface, it follows, that what we 
 commonly term a spider’s thread, is in reality formed of a col- 
 lection of a great many distinct ones ; the animal possessing 
 the powder of drawing out more or fewer at pleasure ; and if it 
 should draw from all the foramina at once, the thread might 
 consist of many hundred distinct filaments. The eyes, which 
 are situated on the upper part or front of the thorax, are eight 
 m number, placed at a small distance from each other, and 
 have the appearance of the stemmata in the generality of 
 insects. The fangs, or piercers, with'which the animal wounds 
 its prey, are strong, curved, sharp-pointed, and each furnished 
 on the inside, near the tip, with a small oblong hole or slit, 
 -through which is injected a poisonous fluid into the wound 
 -made by the point itself, these organs operating in miniature 
 on the same orincinle with the fangs in /poisonous sernents 
 
THE SPIDER. 
 
 316 
 
 The feet are highly curious, the two claws, with which each is 
 terminated, being furnished on its under side with several 
 parallel processes, resembling the teeth of a comb, and en- 
 abling the animal to dispose and manage, with the utmost faci- 
 lity, the disposition of the threads in its web, &.c. 
 
 The Aranea tarantula, or Tarantula spider, of which so many 
 idle recitals have been detailed in the works of the learned, 
 and which, even to this day, continues in some countries to 
 exercise the faith and ignorance of the vulgar, is a native of 
 the warmer parts of Italy, and other warm European regions, 
 and is generally found in dry and sunny plains. It is the largest 
 of all the European spiders ; but the extraordinary symptoms 
 supposed to ensue from the bite of this insect, as well as their 
 supposed cure by the power of music alone, are entirely fabu- 
 lous, and are now sufficiently exploded among all rational phi- 
 losophers. The gigantic Arauea avkularia, or Bird-catching 
 spider, is not uncommon in many parts of the East Indies and 
 South America, where it resides among trees, frequently 
 seizing on small birds, which it destroys by wounding with its 
 fangs, and sucking their blood. 
 
 During the early part of the last century, a project w'as en- 
 tertained by a French gentleman. Monsieur Bon, of Montpel- 
 lier, of institut’/ig d manufacture of spiders’ silk ; and the 
 Royal Academy, to which the scheme was proposed, appointed 
 the ingenious Reaumur to repeat the experiments of M. Bon, 
 in order to ascertain how far the proposed plan might be car- 
 ried : but, after making the proper trials, M. Reaumur found 
 it to be impracticable, on account of the natural disposition 
 of these animals, which is such as will by no means admit of 
 their living peaceably together in large numbers. M. Reau- 
 mur also computed that 6fe,522 spiders would scarcely furnish 
 a single pound of silk. Monsieur Bon, however, the first 
 projector, carried his experiments so far as to obtain two or 
 three pairs of stockings and gloves of this silk, which were of 
 an elegant gray colour, and were presented, assamj)les, to the 
 Royal Academy. It must be observed, that in this manufacture 
 it is the silk of the egg-bags alone that can be used, being 
 far stronger than that of the webs. Monsieur Bon collected 
 tw'elve or thirteen ounces of these, and having caused them 
 to be w'ell cleared of dust, by properly beating with sticks, 
 he w'ashed them perfectly clean in warm water. Alter this, 
 they w ere laid to steep, in a large vessel, with soap, saltpetre, 
 and gum-arabic. The whole was left to boil over a gentle fire 
 for three hours, and was afterwards again washed to get out 
 the soap; then laid to dry for some days, after which it w'as 
 carded, but w ith much smaller cards than ordinary. The silk 
 is ^easily spun into a fine and strong thread ; the difficulty 
 being only to collect the silk-bags in sufficient quantity. 
 
316 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 There remains one more particularity in the history of spi 
 ders, viz. the power of flight. It is principally in the autumnal 
 season that these diminutive adventurers ascend the air, and 
 contribute to fill it with that infinity of floating cobwebs, 
 wdiich are so peculiarly conspicuous at that period of the year. 
 When inclined to make these aerial excursions, the spider 
 ascends some slight eminence, as the top of a w'all, or the 
 branch of a tree ; and turning itself with its head towards the 
 wind, protrudes several threads, and, rising from its station, 
 commits itself to the gale, and is thus carried far beyond the 
 height of the loftiest towers, and enjoys the pleasure of a 
 clearer atmosphere. During their flight, it is probable that 
 spiders employ thernselves in catching such minute winged 
 insects as may happen to occur in their progress ; and when 
 satisfied with their journey and their prey, they suffer them- 
 selves to fall, by contracting their limbs, and gradually dis* 
 engaging themselves from the thread. 
 
 These insects are but ill calculated to live in society 
 Whenever thus stationed, they never fail to wage war with 
 each other. The females, in particular, are of a disposition 
 peculiarly capricious and malignant; and it is observed, that 
 they sometimes spring upon the males, and destroy them. On 
 this occasion, says Linnaeus, if ever, may be justly applied 
 the Ovidian line : — 
 
 Res est solliciti plena timoris amor! 
 
 The following is a notable irxstance of the Ingenuity of 
 THE Spider. T. A. Knight, Esq. of Herefordshire, has, in a 
 Treatise on the Culture of the Apple and Pear, introduced the 
 following concerning this curious insect. — 
 
 “I have frequently placed a spider on a small upright stick, 
 whose base was surrounded by water, to observe its most sin- 
 gular mode of escape. Atter having discovered that the ordi- 
 nary means of escape are cut ofl‘, it ascends the point of the 
 stick, and, standing nearly on its head, ejects its web, which 
 the wind readily carries to some contiguous object. Along 
 this, the sagacious insect efl'ects its escape, not however till 
 it has previously ascertained, by several exertions of its w hole 
 strength, that its web is properly attached to the opposite 
 end. 1 do not know that this instance of sagacity has been 
 mentioned by any entomological writer, and I insert it here 
 in consequence of the erroneous accounts of some periodical 
 publications, of the spider’s threads, which are observed to 
 pass from one tree or bush to another in dewy mornings.” 
 
 The reader will be pleased with the following account of 
 A Spider tamed, given by the Abbd d’Olivet, author of the 
 Life of Pelisson, in the following passage ; — 
 
A SPIDER TAMED. 
 
 317 
 
 '• Confined at that time in a solitary place, and where the 
 light of day only penetrated through a mere slit, having no 
 other servant than a stupid and dull clown, a Basque, who 
 was continually playing on the bagpipes, Pelisson studied 
 by what means to secure himself against an enemy, which a 
 good conscience alone cannot always repel ; I mean, the attacks 
 of unemployed imagination, which, when it once exceeds 
 proper limits, becomes the most cruel torture of a recluse 
 individual. He adopted the following stratagem : — Perceiving 
 a spider spinning her web at the spiracle, he undertook to 
 tame her; and to effect this, he placed some flies on the edge 
 of the opening, while the Basque was playing on his favourite 
 bagpipe. The spider by degrees accustomed herself to dis- 
 tinguish the sound of that instrument, and to run from her 
 hole to seize her prey ; thus, by means of always calling her 
 out by the same tune, and placing the flies nearer and nearer 
 his own seat, after several months’ exercise, he succeeded in 
 training the spider so well, that she would start at the first 
 signal, to seize a fly at the farthest end of the room, and even 
 on the knees of the prisoner.” 
 
 It has been stated, that a prisoner confined in the Bastile, 
 retained his senses, contrary to expectation, by playing daily 
 so many games at push-pin ; he having, unknown to his keepers, 
 secreted a battalion or two of these hostile implements. The 
 device of Pelisson is more interesting to us, as we learn from 
 it, that the spider, though amongst the most quarrelsome of 
 insects, yet is capable of being rendered familiar by the reason 
 and perseverance of man. 
 
 In the introduction to a modern Entomology there is a descrip- 
 tion of the process by which the spider weaves its web. After 
 describing the four spinners, as they are termed, from which 
 the visible threads proceed, the writer makes the following 
 curious observations : — “ These are machinery, through which, 
 by a process more singular than that of rope-spinning, the 
 thread is drawn. Each spinner is pierced, like the plate of a 
 wire-drawer, with a multitude of holes, so numerous, and ex- 
 quisitely fine, that a space often not larger than a pin’s point 
 includes a thousand. Through each of these holes proceeds 
 a thread of inconceivable tenuity, which, immediately after 
 issuing from the orifice, unites with all the other threads from 
 the spinner, into one. Hence, from each spinner proceeds a 
 compound thread; and these four threads, at the distance of 
 about one-tenth of an inch from the apex of the spinner, again 
 unite, and form the thread we are accustomed to see, which 
 the spider uses in forming its web. Thus, a spider’s web, 
 even spun by the smallest species, and when so fine that it is 
 almost imperceptible to our senses, is not, as we suppose, a 
 straight Ine, but a rope, composed of at least 400 yarns.” 
 
318 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with a curious An ecdote op 
 A Spider, connected with observations on the utility of ants 
 in destroying venomous creatures ; by Captain Bagnold. 
 
 ** Desirous of ascertaining the natural food of the scorpion, 
 I inclosed one (which measured three-quarters of an inch from 
 the head to the insertion of the tail) in a wide-mouthed phial, 
 together with one of those large spiders so common in the 
 West Indies, and closed it with a cork, perforated by a quill 
 for the admission of air. The insects seemed carefully to avoid 
 each other, retiring to opposite ends of the bottle, which was 
 placed horizontally. By giving it a gradual inclination, the 
 scorpion was forced into contact with the spider, when a sharp 
 encounter took place, the latter receiving repeated stings 
 from his venomous adversary, apparently without the least 
 injury; while, with his web, he soon lashed the scorpion’s tail 
 to his back, and afterwards secured his legs and claws with the 
 same materials. In this state I left them some time, in order 
 to observe what effect would be produced on the spider, by 
 the wounds he had received. On my return, however, I was 
 disappointed, the ants having entered, and destroyed them 
 both. 
 
 “ In the W^est Indies I have daily witnessed crowds of these 
 little insects destroying the spider or cockroach, which, as soon 
 as he is dispatched, they carry to their nest. I have fre- 
 quently seen them drag their prey perpendicularly up the wall, 
 and, although the weight would overcome their united efforts 
 and fall to the ground, perhaps twenty times in succession, 
 yet, by unremitting perseverance, and the aid of reinforce- 
 ments, they always succeeded. 
 
 ** A struggle of this description once amused the officers of 
 his majesty’s ship Retribution, for nearly half an hour : a 
 large centipede entered the gun-room, surrounded by an 
 immense concourse of ants ; the deck, for four or five feet 
 round, was covered with them ; his body and limbs were en- 
 crusted with his lilliputian enemies ; and although thousands 
 were destroyed by his exertions to escape, they ultimately 
 carried him in triumph to their dwelling. 
 
 “ In the woods near Sierra Leone, I have several times 
 seen the entire skeletons of the snake beautifully dissected by 
 these minute anatomists.” 
 
 From these circumstances it would appear, that ants are a 
 considerable check to the increase of those venomous reptiles, so 
 troublesome in the torrid zone ; and their industry, perseverance, 
 courage, and numerical force, seem to strengthen the conjec- 
 ture : in which case they amply remunerate us for their own 
 depredati ms. 
 
THE GLOWWORM. 
 
 319 
 
 CHAP. XXVII 
 
 cukios:ties respecting insects. — (Continued.) 
 
 LiUminoiis Insects. 
 
 Many insects are possessed of a luminous preparation or 
 secretion, which has all the advantages of our lamps and can- 
 dles, without their inconveniences ; which gives light sufficient 
 to direct our motion; which is incapable of burning; and 
 whose lustre is maintained without needing fresh supplies of 
 oil, or the application of snuffers. 
 
 Of the insects thus singularly provided, the common Glow-- 
 worm (Lampyris noctiluca) is the most familiar instance. — 
 This insect in shape somewhat resembles a caterpillar, only 
 it is much more depressed ; and the light proceeds from a 
 pale-coloured patch that terminates, the underside of the ab- 
 domen. 
 
 It has been supposed by many, that the males of the different 
 species of lampyris do not possess the property of giving out 
 any light; but it is now ascertained that this supposition is 
 inaccurate, though their light is much less vivid than that of 
 the female. Ray first pointed out this fact with respect to 
 ( L. nocliluca.) Geoffrey also observed, that the male of this 
 species has four small luminous points, two on each of the 
 two last segments of the belly : and his observation has been 
 recently confirmed by Miller. This last entomologist, indeed, 
 saw only two shining spots; but from the insects having the 
 power of withdrawing them out of sight, so that not the 
 smallest trace of light remains, he thinks it is not improbable 
 that at times two other points, still smaller, may be exhibited, 
 as Geoffrey has described. In the males of L. splendidnla, 
 and of L, hemiptera, the light is very distinct, and may be 
 seen in the former while flying. The females have the same 
 faculty of extinguishing or concealing their light; a very 
 necessary provision to guard them from the attacks of noc- 
 turnal birds. Mr. White even thinks that they regularly put 
 it out between eleven and twelve every night, and they have 
 also the power of rendering it for a while more vivid than 
 ordinary. 
 
 Though many of the females of the different species of lam- 
 pyris are without wings, and even elytra, fin Co/eoptera,) this 
 is not the case with all. The female of L. Italica, a species 
 common in Italy, and which, if we may trust to the accuracy 
 of the account given by Mr. Waller, in the Philosophical 
 Transactions for 1684, would seem to have been taken by him 
 
320 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS, 
 
 in Hertfordsiiire, is winged ; and when a number of these 
 moving stars are seen to dart through the air in a dark night, 
 nothing can have a more beautiful effect. Dr. Smith says, that 
 the beaus of Italy are accustomed in an evening to adorn the 
 heads of the ladies with these artificial diamonds, by sticking 
 them into their hair ; and a similar custom prevails amongst 
 the ladies of India. 
 
 Besides the golden species of the genus Lampi/ris, all of which 
 are probably more or less luminous, another insect of the beetle 
 tribe, Elaiernoctilucus, is endowed with the same property, and 
 that in a much higher degree. This insect, which is an inch 
 long, and about one-third of an inch broad, gives out its princi- 
 pal light from two transparent eye-like tubercles placed upon 
 the thorax ; but there are also two luminous patches concealed 
 under the elytra, which are not visible except when the insect 
 is flying, at which time it appears adorned with four brilliant 
 gems of the most beautiful golden-blue lustre : in fact, the whole 
 body is full of light, which shines out between the abdominal 
 segments when stretched. The light emitted by the two tho- 
 racic tubercles alone is so considerable, that the smallest print 
 may be read by moving one of these insects along the lines ; 
 and in the West India islands, particularly in St. Domingo, 
 where they are very common, the natives were formerly accus- 
 tomed to employ those living lamps, which they called cucuij, 
 instead of candles, in performing their evening household occu 
 pations. In travelling at night, they used to tie one to each 
 great toe ; and in fishing and hunting, required no other flam- 
 beau. — Pietro Martire's Decades of the Neio Worid, quoted in 
 Madoc, p. 543. Southey has happily introduced this insect ir. 
 his Madoc,’* as furnishing the lamp by which Coatel rescued 
 the British hero from the hands of the Mexican priests. 
 
 “ She beckon’d and descended, and drew out. 
 
 From underneath her vest, a cage, or net 
 It rather might be called, so fine the twigs 
 Which knit it, where, confined, two fire-flies gave 
 Their lustre. By that light did Madoc first 
 Behold the features of his lovely guide.” 
 
 Pietro Martire tells us, that cucuij serve the natives of the 
 Spanish West India islands not only instead of candles, but 
 as extirpators of the gnats, which are a dreadful pest to the 
 inhabitants of the low grounds. They introduce a few fire- 
 flies, to which the gnats are a grateful food, into their houses, 
 and by means of these “ commodious hunters,” are soon rid of 
 .the intruders. How they aic a it-medy (says this author) for 
 so great a mischiefe, it is a pleasant thing to hear. Hee who 
 understandeth that he has those troublesome guestes (the 
 gnattes) at home, diligently hunteth after the cucuij. Whoso 
 wanteth cucuij, goeth out of the house in the first twilight of 
 
THE FIRE-FLY. 
 
 321 
 
 the night, carrying a burning fire-brande in his hande, and 
 ascendeth the next hillock, that the cucuij may see it, and hee 
 swingeth the fire-brande about, calling Cucuie aloud, and beat- 
 ing the ayre with often calling out, Cucuie, Cucuie/’ He 
 goes on to observe, that the simple people believe the insect 
 is attracted by their invitations ; but that, for his part, he is 
 rather inclined to think that the fire is the magnet. Having 
 obtained a sufficient number of cucuij, the beetle-hunter re- 
 turns home, and lets them fly loose in the house, where they 
 diligently seek the gnats about the beds and the faces of those 
 asleep, and devour them. — Martire ubi supr. Colonies ^ i. 11^,8. 
 These insects are also applied to purposes of decoration. On 
 certain festival-days, in the month of June, they are collected 
 in great numbers, and tied all over the garments of young 
 people, who gallop through the streets on horses similarly orna- 
 mented, producing on a dark evening the effect of a large 
 moving body of light. On such occasions, the lover displays 
 his gallantry by decking his mistress with these living gems. — 
 Walton^ s Present State of the Spanish Colonies. And according to 
 P. Martire, “ many wanton wilde fellowes” rub their faces with 
 "‘the flesh of a killed cucuij,’’ as boys with us use phosphorus, 
 “ with purpose to meet their neighbours with a flaming coun- 
 tenance,” and derive amusement from their fright. 
 
 Besides Plater noctilucus, E. ignitus, and several others of 
 the same genus, are luminous ; not fewer than twelve species 
 of this family are described by Illiger in the Berlin Naturalist 
 Society’s Magazine. 
 
 The brilliant nocturnal spectacle presented by these insects 
 to the inhabitants of the countries where they abound, cannot 
 be better described than in the language of the poet above 
 referred to, who has thus related its first effect upon British 
 visitors of the new world : 
 
 “ sorrowing we beheld 
 
 The night come on : but soon did night display 
 More wonders than it veil’d ; innumerable tribes 
 From the wood-cover swarm’d, and darkness made 
 Their beauties visible ; one while they stream’d 
 A bright blue radiance upon flowers that clos’d 
 Their gorgeous colours from the eye of day; 
 
 Now motionless and dark, eluding search, 
 
 Self-shrouded ; and anon starring the sky. 
 
 Rose like a shower of fire.” 
 
 If we are to believe Mouffet, (and the story is not incredi- 
 ble,) the appearance of the tropical fire-flies on one occasion 
 led to a more important result than might have been expected 
 from such a cause. He tells us, that when Sir Thos. Cavendish 
 and Sir John Dudley first landed in the West Indies, and saw 
 in the evening an infinite number of moving lights in the 
 woods, \^hich were merely these insects, they supposed that 
 
 14. 2 S 
 
322 CURIOS TIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 the Spaniards were advancing upon them, and immediately 
 betook themselves to their ships ; a result as well entitling 
 the elatera to a commemoration feast, as a similar good office 
 by the land-crabs of Hispaniola, W'hich, as the Spaniards tell, 
 (and the story is confirmed by an anniversary Fiesta de los 
 Catigrejos,) by their clattering being mistaken for the sound 
 of Spanish cavalry close upon their heels, in like manner 
 scared away a body of English invaders from the city of St. 
 Domingo. — Wa/tords Hispaniola, i. 39. 
 
 An anecdote less improbable, perhaps, and certainly more 
 ludicrous, is related by Sir James Smith, of the effect of 
 the first sight of the Italian fire-flies upon some Moorish 
 ladies, ignorant of such appearances. These females had 
 been taken prisoners at sea, and, until they could be ran- 
 somed, lived in a house in the outskirts of Genoa, where they 
 were frequently visited by the respectable inhabitants of the 
 city ; a party of whom, on going one evening, were surprised 
 to find the house closely shut up, and their Moorish friends 
 in the greatest grief and consternation. On inquiring into 
 the cause, they ascertained that some of the Lampyris Italica 
 had found their way into the dwelling, and that the ladies 
 within had taken it into their heads that these brilliant guests 
 were no other than the troubled spirits of their relations ; and 
 some time elap^jed before they could be divested of this idea. 
 The common people in Italy have a superstition respecting 
 these insects somewhat similar, believing that they are of a 
 spiritual nature, and proceed out of the graves ; and hence 
 carefully avoid them. — Tour on the Continent, 2d ed. iii. 85. 
 
 The insects hitherto adverted to have been beetles, or of the 
 order Coleoptera. But, besides these, a genus in the order 
 Hemiptera, called Fu/gora, includes several species, which emit 
 so powerful a light, as to have obtained in English the generic 
 appellation of lantern-flies. Two of the most conspicuous of 
 this tribe are the F. lanternaria and F. Candelaria; the for- 
 mer a native of South America, the latter of China. Both, as 
 indeed is the case with the whole genus, have the material 
 which diffuses their light included in a hollow subtransparent 
 projection of the head. In F. Candelaria this projection is of 
 a subcylindrical shape, recurved at the apex, above an inch 
 in length, and the thickness of a small quill. We may easily 
 conceive, as travellers assure us, that a tree studded with 
 multitudes of these living sparks, some at rest and others in 
 motion, must during the night have a superlatively splendid 
 appearance. 
 
 Jn F, lanternaria, which is an insect two or three inches 
 long, the snout is much larger and broader, and more of an 
 oval shape, and sheds a light, the brilliancy of which tran- 
 scends that of any other luminous insect. Madam Merian 
 
THE FIRE-FLY. 
 
 323 
 
 informs us, that the first discovery she made of this property 
 caused her no small alarm. The servants had brought her 
 several of these insects, which by day-light exhibited no ex- 
 traordinary appearance, and she inclosed them in a box till 
 she should have an opportunity of drawing them, placing them 
 upon a table in her lodging-room. In the middle of the night 
 the confined insects made such a noise as to awake her, and 
 she opened the box, the inside of which, to her great astonish- 
 ment, appeared all in a blaze ; and in her fright letting it fall, 
 she was not less surprised to see each of the insects apparently 
 on fire. She soon, however, divined the cause of this unex- 
 pected phenomenon, and re-inclosed her brilliant guests in 
 their place of confinement. She adds, that the light of one 
 of these fulgora was sufficiently bright to read a newspaper 
 by. Another species, F. pyrrhorynchus^ is described by Dono- 
 van, in his Insects of India; of which the light, though from 
 a smaller snout than that of F. lanternaria, must assume a 
 more splendid and striking appearance, the projection being 
 of a rich deep purple from the base to near the apex, which is 
 of a fine transparent scarlet ; and these tints will of course 
 be imparted to the transmitted light. 
 
 With regard to the immediate source of the luminous pro- 
 perties of these insects, Mr. Macartney, to whom we are 
 indebted for the most recent investigation on the subj.ect, has 
 ascertained, that in the common glow-worm, and in Elatcr 
 noclilucus and igmtus, the light proceeds from masses of a 
 substance not generally differing, except in its yellow colour, 
 from the interstitial substance corps graisseux, of the rest of 
 the body, closely applied underneath those transparent parts 
 of the insects’ skin which afford the light. In the glowworm, 
 besides the last-mentioned substance, which, when the season 
 for giving light is passed, is absorbed, and replaced by the 
 common interstitial substance, he observed on the inner side 
 of the last abdominal segment two minute oval sacks, formed of 
 an elastic spirally-wound fibre, similar to that of the trachese, 
 containing a soft yellow substance, of a closer texture than 
 that which lines the adjoining region, and affording a more 
 permanent and brilliant light. This light he found to be less 
 under the control of the insect than that from the adjoining 
 luminous substance, which it has the power of voluntarily ex- 
 tinguishing, not by retracting it under a membrane, as Car- 
 radori imagined, but by some inscrutable change which 
 depends upon its will : and when the latter substance was 
 extracted from living glowworms, it afforded no light, while 
 the two sacks in like circumstances shone uninterruptedly for 
 several hours. Mr. Macartney conceives, from the radiated 
 structure of interstitial substance surrounding the oval yellow 
 masses immediately under the transparent spot in the thorax- 
 
324 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 df Elater noctilucus, and the sub transparency of the adjoining 
 crust, that the interstitial substance in this situation has also 
 the property of shining; a supposition which, if De Geer 
 and other authors be correct in stating, that this insect has 
 two luminous patches over its elytra, and that the incisures 
 between the abdominal segments shine when stretched, may 
 probably be extended to the whole of the interstitial substance 
 of its body. 
 
 With respect to the remote cause of the luminous property 
 of insects, philosophers are considerably divided in opinion. 
 The disciples of modern chemistry have in general, with 
 Dr. Darwin, referred it to the slow combustion of some com- 
 bination of phosphorus secreted from their fluids by an appro- 
 priate organization, and entering into combination with the 
 oxygen supplied in respiration. This opinion is very plau- 
 sibly built upon the ascertained existence of phosphoric acid 
 as an animal secretion ; the great resemblance between the 
 light of phosphorus in slow combustion, and animal light; 
 the remarkably large spiracula in glow-worms; and upon the 
 statement, that the glowworm is rendered more brilliant by 
 the application of heat and oxygen gas, and is extinguished 
 by cold and by hydrogen and carbonic acid gases. From 
 these last facts, Spallanzani was led to regard the luminous 
 matter as a compound of hydrogen and carburetted hydro- 
 gen gas. Carradori having found that the luminous portion 
 of the belly of the Italian glow-worm, lampyris Ita/ica, shone 
 in vacuo, iii oil, in water, and when under other circum- 
 stances where the presence of oxygen gas was precluded, — with 
 Brugnatelli, ascribed the property in question to the imbi- 
 bition of light, separated from the food or air taken in the body, 
 and afterwards secreted in a sensible form.* Lastly, Mr. 
 Macartney having ascertained, by experiment, that the light 
 ■of a glowworm is not diminished by immersion in w'ater, or 
 increased by the application of heat; that the substance af- 
 fording it, though poetically employed for lighting the fairies* 
 tapers,f is incapable of inflammation, if applied to the flame 
 of a candle or red-hot iron ; and when separated from the 
 body, exhibits no sensible heat on the thermometer’s being 
 applied to it, — rejects the preceding hypothesis as unsatisfac- 
 tory, butwithout substituting any other explanation; suggest- 
 'ing, however, that the facts he observed are more favourable 
 to the supposition of light being a quality of matter, than a 
 substance. 
 
 Whi.jjh of these opinions is the more correct, is left for 
 future ohilosophers to decide. 
 
 * Annal. di Chimicay xiii. 1797, Mag. ii. 80. 
 
 t “ And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs. 
 
 And light them at the fiery glowworm’s eyes.^’ 
 
THE FLEA. 
 
 325 
 
 The general use of this singular provision 's not much more 
 satisfactorily ascertained than its nature. It is conjectured 
 that it may be a means of defence against its enemies. In 
 different kinds of insects, however, it may probably have a 
 different object. Thus in the lantern-flies, (Fulgora,) whose 
 light precedes them, it may act the part that their name im- 
 ports, enable them to discover their prey, and to steer them- 
 selves safely in the night. In the fire-flies, (FlateVy) if we 
 consider the infinite numbers, that in certain climates and 
 situations present themselves every where in the night, it may 
 distract the attention of their enemies, or alarm them. And 
 in the glowworm, since their light is usually mere brilliant 
 in the female, it is most probably intended to conduct th^ 
 sexes to each other. 
 
 Thine is an unobtrusive blaze, 
 
 Content in lowly shades to shine ; 
 
 And much I wish, while yet I gaze, 
 
 To make thy modest merit mine ! Mrs. Opie, 
 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS — (Continued.) 
 
 The Flea — On the Duration of the Life of a Flea — The Louse. 
 
 The Flea, — has two eyes and six feet, fitted for leaping; the 
 feelers are like threads ; the rostrum is inflected, setaceous, 
 and armed with a sting; and the belly is compressed. Fleas 
 bring forth eggs, which they deposit on animals that afford 
 them a proper food. Of these eggs are hatched white worms 
 of a shining pearl colour, which feed on the scurfy substance 
 of the cuticle, the downy matter gathered in the piles or folds 
 of clothes, or other similar substances. In a fortnight they 
 come to a tolerable size, and are very lively and active ; and, 
 if at any time disturbed, they suddenly roll themselves into 
 a kind of ball. Soon after this, they come to creep, after 
 the manner of silk-worms, with a very swift motion. When 
 arrived at their size, they hide themselves as much as possi- 
 ble, and spin a silken thread out of their mouth, wherewith 
 they form themselves a small round bag, or case, white within 
 as paper, but without always dirty, and fouled with dust. 
 Here, after a fortnight's rest, the animalcule bursts out, trans- 
 formed into a perfect flea, leaving its exuvise in the bag While 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 326 
 
 it remains in the bag, it is milk-white till the second day before 
 its eruption, when it becomes coloured, grows hard, and gets 
 strength ; so that, upon its first delivery, it springs nimbly away. 
 The flea is covered all over with black, hard, and shelly scales 
 orplates, which are curiously jointed, and folded over each other 
 in such a manner as to comply with all the nimble motions of 
 the creature. These scales are finely polished, and beset 
 about the edges with short spikes, in a very beautiful and 
 regular order. Its neck is finely arched, and resembles the 
 tail of a lobster : the head is also very extraordinary ; for from 
 the snout-part of it proceed the two fore-legs, and between 
 these is placed the piercer, or sucker, with which it penetrates 
 the skin to get its food. Its eyes are very large and beautiful, 
 and it has two short horns, or feelers. It has four other leg's, 
 joined all at the breast. These, when it leaps, fold short, one 
 within another; and then, exerting their spring all at the 
 same instant, they carry the creature to a surprising distance. 
 The legs have several joints, are very hairy, and terminate 
 in two long and hooked sharp claws. The piercer, or sucker, 
 of the flea, is lodged between its fore-legs, and includes a 
 couple of darts or lancets, which, after the piercer has made 
 an entrance, are thrust farther into the flesh, to make the 
 blood flow from the adjacent parts, and occasion that round 
 red spot, with a hole in the centre of it, vulgarly called a flea- 
 bite. 
 
 This piercer, its sheath opening sidewise, and the two lancets 
 within it, are very .difficult to be seen, unless the two fore- 
 legs, between which they are hid, be cut off close to the head ; 
 for the flea rarely puts out its piercer, except at the time of 
 feeding, but keeps it folded inwards ; and the best way of 
 seeing it, is by cutting off’ first the head, and then the fore-legs, 
 and then it is usually seen thrust out in convulsions. By 
 keeping fleas in a glass tube corked up at both ends, but so 
 as to admit fresh air, their several actions may be observed. 
 They may be thus seen to lay their eggs, &.c. They do not 
 lay their eggs all at once, but by ten or twelve in a day, for 
 several days successively, which eggs will be afterwards 
 found to hatch successively, in the same order. The flea may 
 easily be dissected in a drop of water; and thus the stomach 
 and bowels, with their peristaltic motion, may be discovered 
 very plainly, with the veins and arteries, though minute beyond 
 all conception. This bloodthirsty insect, which fattens at 
 the expense of the human species, prefers the more delicate 
 skin of women, but preys neither upon epileptic persons, nor 
 upon the dead or dying. It loves to nestle in the fur of dogs, 
 cats, and rats. The nests of river-swallow's are sometimes 
 plentifully stored with them. Fleas are apterous, walk but 
 little, but leap to a height equal to two hundred times that 
 
THE FLEA. 
 
 327 
 
 of their own body. This amazing motion is performed by 
 means of the elasticity of their feet, the articulations of which 
 are so many springs. Thus it eludes, with surprising agility, 
 the pursuit of the person on whom it riots. Mercurial oint- 
 ment, brimstone, a fumigation with the leaves of pennyroyal, 
 or fresh-gathered leaves of that plant, sewed up in a bag, and 
 laid in the bed, are remedies pointed out as destructive of 
 fleas. 
 
 In the Athenian Oracle, a lady desires to know whether 
 fleas have stings, or whether they only suck or bite, when 
 they draw blood from the body? To which an ingenious 
 author returns the following humorous answer: 
 
 “ Not to trouble you, madam, with the Hebrew or Arabic 
 name of a flea, or to transcribe Bochart^s learned dissertations 
 on the little animal, we shall, for your satisfaction, give such 
 a description thereof as we have yet been able to discover.— 
 
 “ Its skin is of a lovely deep red colour, most neatly polished, 
 and armed with scales, which can resist any thing but fate, 
 and your ladyship’s unmerciful fingers : the neck of it is 
 exactly like the tail of a lobster, and, by the assistance of those 
 strong scales it is covered with, springs backwards and for- 
 wards much in the same manner, and with equal violence : it 
 has two eyes on each side of its head, so pretty, that I would 
 prefer them to any, madam, but yours; and which it makes 
 use of to avoid its fate, and flee from its enemies, with as much 
 nimbleness and success, as your sex manage those fatal wea- 
 pons, lovely basilisks as you are, for the ruin of your adorers. 
 Nature has provided it six substantial legs, of great strength, 
 and incomparable agility, jointed like a cane, covered with 
 large hairs, and armed each of them wdth two claws, which 
 appear of a horny substance, more sharp than lancets, or the 
 finest needle you have in your needle-book. It was a long 
 while before we could discover its mouth, which, we confess, 
 we have not yet so exactly perceived as we could wish, the 
 little bashful creature always holding up its two fore-feet be- 
 fore it, which it uses instead of a fan or mask, when it has no 
 mind to be known ; and w e were forced to be guilty of an act 
 both uncivil and cruel, without which we could never have 
 resolved your question. We were obliged to unmask this 
 modest one, and cut off its two fore-legs to get to the face ; 
 which being performed, though it makes our tender hearts, as 
 well as yours, almost bleed to think of it, we immediately 
 discovered what your ladyship desired, and found Nature had 
 given it a strong proboscis, or trunk, as a gnat or muschetto, 
 though much thicker and stouter, with which we may very 
 well suppose it penetrates your fair hand, feasts itself on the 
 nectar of your blood, and then, like a little faithless fugitive of a 
 lover, skips away, almost invisibly, nobody knows whither.” 
 
328 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 - We close our remarks on this well-known insect, with the 
 following interesting particulars on the Duration of thb 
 Life of a Flea ; by Borrichius ; from the Acts of Copenha- 
 gen. — “ Pliny represents to us a Greek philosopher, whose chief 
 occupation, for several years together, was to measure the 
 space skipped over by fleas. Without giving in to such ridi- 
 culous researches, I can relate an anecdote, which chance 
 discovered to me in regard to this insect. 
 
 “ Being sent for to attend a foreign lady, who was greatly 
 afflicted with the gout, and having staid, by her desire, to 
 dine with her, she bade me take notice of a flea on her hand. 
 Surprised at such discourse, I looked at the hand, and saw in- 
 deed a plump and pampered flea sucking greedily, and kept fast 
 to it by a little gold chain. The lady assured me, she had 
 nursed and kept the little animal, at that time, full six years, 
 with exceeding great care, having fed it twice every day with 
 her blood ; and when it had satisfied its appetite, she put it 
 up in a little box, lined with silk. In a month’s time, being 
 recovered from her illness, she set out from Copenhagen with 
 her flea; but having returned in about a year after, I took an 
 opportunity of waiting upon her, and, among other things, 
 asked after her little insect. She answered me with great 
 concern, that it died through the neglect of her waiting- 
 woman. What I found remarkable in this story was, that the 
 laov, being attacked by chronical pains in her limbs, had 
 iticourse in France to very powerful medicines during six 
 wecKs ; and all this time the flea had not ceased to feed upon 
 Ler blood, imbued with the vapours, and yet was not the 
 worse for it.” 
 
 The Louse. — This insect has six feet, two eyes, and a sort 
 of sting in the mouth ; the feelers are as long as the thorax ; 
 and the belly is depressed and sublobated. It is an oviparous 
 animal. They are not peculiar to man alone, but infest other 
 animals, as quadrupeds and birds, and even fishes and vege- 
 tables ; but these are of peculiar species on each animal, 
 according to the particular nature of each, some of which are 
 different from those which infest the human body. Nay, even 
 insects are infested with vermin, which feed on and torment 
 them. Several kinds of beetles are subject to lice, but par- 
 ticularly that kind called byway of eminence the lousy beetle. 
 The lice on this are very numerous, and will not be shook 
 off. The earwig is often infested with lice, just at the setting 
 on of its head : these are white and shining, like mites, but 
 they are much smaller ; they are round-backed, flat-bellied, 
 and have long legs, particularly the foremost pair. Snails of 
 all kinds, but especially the large naked sorts, are very subject 
 to lice ; which are continua ly seen running about them, and 
 
THE LOUSE. 
 
 329 
 
 devouring tnem. Numbers of little red lice, with a very small 
 head, and in shape resembling a tortoise, are often seen about 
 the legs of spiders, and they never leave the animal while he 
 lives; but if he be killed, they almost instantly forsake 
 him. A sort of whitish lice is found on bumblebees ; they 
 are also found upon ants; and fishes are not less subject to 
 them than other animals. Kircher tells us, that he found 
 lice also on flies, and M. de la Hire has given a curious account 
 of the creature which he found on the common fly. Having 
 occasion to view a living fly with the microscope, he observed 
 on its head, back, and shoulders, a great number of small ani- 
 mals crawling very nimbly about, and often climbing up the 
 hairs which grow at the origin of the fly’s legs. He with a fine 
 needle took up one of these, and placed it before the micro- 
 scope used to view the animalcules in fluids. It had eight 
 legs, four on each side ; these were not placed very distant 
 from each other, but the four towards the head were separated 
 by a small space from the four towards the tail. The feet 
 were of a particular structure, being composed of several 
 fingers, as it were, and fitted for taking fast hold of any 
 thing, but the two nearest the head were also more remark- 
 able in this particular than those near the tail; the extremities 
 of the legs for a little way above the feet were dry, and void 
 of flesh, like the legs of birds, but above this part they ap- 
 peared plump and fleshy. It had two small horns upon its 
 head, formed of several hairs arranged closely together ; and 
 there were some other clusters of hairs by the side of these 
 horns, but they had not the same figure ; and towards the 
 origin of the hind-legs there were two other such clusters 
 of hairs, which took their origin at the middle of the back. 
 The whole creature was of a bright yellowish red ; the legs, 
 and all the body, except a large spot in the centre, were per- 
 fectly transparent. In size, he computed it to be about 
 part of the head of the fly; and he observes, that such kind of 
 vermin are rarely found on flies. 
 
 The louse which infests the human body, makes a very 
 curious appearance through a microscope. It has such a 
 transparent shell or skin, that we are able to discover more of 
 what passes within its body, than in most other living crea- 
 tures. It has naturally three divisions, the head, the breast, 
 and the tail part. In the head appear two fine black eyes, 
 with a horn that has five joints, and is surrounded with hairs 
 standing before each eye ; and from the end of the nose, or 
 snout, there is a pointed projecting part, which serves as a 
 sheath or case to a piercer, or sucker, which the creature 
 thrusts into the skin to draw out the blood and humours 
 which are its destined food ; for it has no mouth that opens 
 in the common way. This piercer, or sucker, is judged to be 
 
 2 T 
 
330 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 seven hundred times smaller than a hair, and is contained in 
 another case within the first, and can be drawn in or thrust 
 out at pleasure. The breast is very beautifully marked in the 
 middle ; the skin is transparent, and full of little pits ; and 
 from the under part of it proceed six legs, each having five 
 joints, and their skin all the way resembling shagreen, except 
 at the ends, where it is smoother. Each leg is terminated by 
 two claws, which are hooked, and are of an unequal length 
 and size. These it uses as we would a thumb and middle 
 finger; and there are hairs between these claws, as well as all 
 over the legs. On the back part of the tail there may be dis- 
 covered some ring-like divisions, and a sort of marks which 
 look like the strokes of a rod on the human skin ; the belly 
 looks like shagreen, and towards the lower end it is very clear, 
 and full of pits : at the extremity of the tail there are two 
 semicircular parts, all covered over with hairs. When the 
 louse moves its legs, the motion of the muscles, which all 
 unite in an oblong dark spot in the middle of the breast, may 
 be distinguished perfectly ; and so may the motion of the 
 muscles of the head, when it moves its horns. We may like- 
 wise see the various ramifications of the veins and arteries, 
 which are white, with the pulse regularly beating in the arte- 
 ries. The peristaltic motion of the intestines may be dis- 
 tinctly seen, from the stomach down to the anus. 
 
 If one of these creatures, when hungry, be placed on the 
 back of the hand, it will thrust its sucker into the skin, and 
 the blood which it sucks may be seen passing in a fine stream 
 to the fore part of the head ; where, falling into a roundish 
 cavity, it passes again in a fine stream to another circular 
 receptacle in the middle of the head ; from thence it runs 
 through a small vessel to the breast, and then to a gut which 
 reaches to the hinder part of the body, where, in a curve, it 
 turns again a little upward in the breast and gut; the blood 
 is moved without intermission with great force, especially in 
 the former, where it occasions a surprising contraction. 
 
 In the upper part of the crooked ascending gut above-men 
 tioned, the propelled blood stands still, and seems to undergo 
 a separation, some of it becoming clear and waterish, while 
 other black particles are pushed forward to the anus. If a 
 louse is placed on its back, two bloody darkish spots appear; 
 the larger in the middle of the body, the smaller towards the 
 tail; the motions of which are followed by the pulsation of 
 the dark bloody spot, in or over which the white bladder seems 
 to lie. This motion of the systole and diastole is best seen 
 when the creature begins to grow' weak ; and on pricking the 
 white bladder, which seems to be the heart, it instantly dies. 
 The lower dark spot is supposed to be the excrement. 
 
THE APHIS. 
 
 331 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued.) 
 
 In the vast, and the minute, we sef 
 Th’ unanibij^ruous footsteps of a God, 
 
 Who ^ives its lustre to an insect’s wing, 
 
 And wheels his throne upon the rolling worlds. Cowper, 
 
 THE APHIS. 
 
 This is an insect which has engaged the attention of natu- 
 ralists for various reasons : their, generation is equivocal, and 
 their instinctive economy differs, in some respects, from that 
 of most other animals. Linnseus defines the generic character 
 of the aphis thus : beak inflected, sheath of five articulations, 
 with a single bristle; antennae setaceous, and longer than the 
 thorax ; either four erect wings, or none ; feet formed for 
 walking ; posterior part of the abdomen usually furnished 
 with tw'O little horns. Geoffrey says, the aphides have two 
 beaks, one of which is seated in the breast, the other in the 
 head ; this last extends to, and is laid upon, the base of the 
 pectoral one, and serves, as that writer imagines, to convey 
 to the head a part of that nourishment which the insect takes 
 or sucks in by means of the pectoral beak. 
 
 Gmelin enumerates about seventy species, all of which, and 
 doubtless many others, are found in different parts of Europe. 
 They infest an endless variety of plants ; and it is believed 
 that each species is particularly attached to one kind of vege- 
 table only : hence each sort has been hitherto named after the 
 individual species or genus of plants on which it feeds; or if 
 that could not be ascertained, that on which it had been found ; 
 for some species are rather uncommon and little known, though 
 others are infinitely too numerous. The aphides are sufficiently 
 known by the indiscriminate term of plant-lice ; they abound 
 with a sweet and grateful moisture, and are therefore eagerly 
 devoured by ants, the larvae coccinellae, and many other crea- 
 tures, or they would become, very probably, more destructive 
 to the whole vegetable creation than any other race of insects 
 known. If Bonnet was not the first naturalist (as is generally 
 acknowledged) who discovered the mysterious course of gene- 
 ration in the aphides, or, as he calls them, pucerons, his ex- 
 periments, together with those of his countryman, Trembley, 
 tended at least to confirm, in a most satisfactory manner, the 
 almost incredible circumstances respecting it, that an aphis, or 
 puceron, brought up in the most perfect solitude from the mo- 
 ment of its birth, in a few days will be found in the midst of a 
 
332 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 numerous family ; and that if the experiment be again repeated 
 on one of the individuals of this family, a second generation 
 will multiply like its parent ; and the like experiment may be 
 many times repeated with the same eftbct. 
 
 The history of aphides has also been very copiously treated 
 upon by Dr. Richardson, in a paper printed in the 41st vol. of 
 the Philosophical Transactions, and by the late ingenious Mr. 
 Curtis, in the 6th vol. of the Transactions of the Linneean So- 
 ciety. The tenor of Dr. Richardson’s remarks is briefly this : 
 The great variety of species which occur in the insects now 
 under consideration, may render an inquiry into their particu- 
 lar natures not a little perplexing; but by reducing them 
 under their proper genus, the difficulty is considerably dimi- 
 nished. We may reasonably suppose all the insects compre- 
 hended under any distinct genus, to partake of one general 
 nature ; and by diligently examining any particular species, we 
 may thence gain some insight into the nature of all the rest. 
 With this view. Dr. Richardson chose out of the various sorts 
 of aphides, the largest of those found on the rose-tree ; not 
 only as its size makes it more conspicuous, but as there are few 
 of so long duration. This sort appears early in the spring, 
 and continues late in autumn; while several are limited to a 
 much shorter term, in conformity to the different trees and 
 plants whence they draw their nourishment. 
 
 If, at the beginning of February, the weather happens to be 
 so warm as to make the buds of the rose-tree swell and appear 
 green, small aphides are frequently to be found on them, 
 though not larger than the young ones in summer, when first 
 produced. It will be found, that those aphides which appear 
 only in spring, proceed from small black oval eggs, which 
 were deposited on the last year’s shoot ; though it happens 
 that, when the insects make too early an appearance, the greater 
 part suffer from liie sharp weather that usually succeeds, by 
 which means the rose-trees are some years freed from them. 
 The same kind of animal is then at one time of the year vivi- 
 parous, and at another oviparous. Those aphides which with- 
 stand the severity of the weather, seldom come to their full 
 growth before the month of April, at which time they usually 
 begin to breed, after twice casting off their exuvia, or outward 
 covering. 
 
 When they first come from the parent, they are enveloped 
 in a thin membrane, having the appearance of an oval egg; 
 these egg-like appearances adhere by one extremity to the 
 mother, while the young ones contained in them extend to the 
 other, and by that means gradually draw the ruptured mem- 
 brane over the head and body to the hind-feet. Being thus 
 suspended in the air, the insect soon frees itself from the 
 membrane in which it was confined, and, after its limbs are 
 
THE APH 8>. 
 
 333 
 
 a little strengthened, is set down on some tender shoots, and 
 left to provide for itself. In the spring months there ap- 
 pear on the rose-trees but two generations of aphides, includ- 
 ing those which proceed immediately from the last year's eggs ; 
 the warmth of the summer adds so much to their fertility, 
 that no less than five generations succeed each other in the 
 interval. One is produced in May, which casts off their cover- 
 ing; while the months of June and July each supply two more, 
 which cast off their coverings three or four times, according 
 to the different warmth of the season. This frequent change 
 of their outward coat is the more extraordinary, because it is 
 repeated more often when the insects come the soonest to 
 their growth, which sometimes happens in ten days, when 
 they have had plenty of warmth and nourishment. Early in 
 the month of June, some of the third generation, which were 
 produced about the middle of May, after casting off the last 
 covering, discover four erect wings, much longer than their 
 bodies ; and the same is observable in all the succeeding 
 generations which are produced during the summer months, 
 but, like all the others, without any diversity of sex : for some 
 time before the aphides come to their full growth, it is easy 
 to distinguish which will have wings, by a remarkable fulness 
 of the breast, which in the others is hardly to be distinguished 
 from the body. When the last covering is ejected, the 
 wings, which were before folded up in a very narrow compass, 
 are gradually extended in a surj3rising manner, till their di- 
 mensions are at last very considerable. The increase of these 
 insects in the summer time is so very great, that by wounding 
 and exhausting the tender shoots, they would frequently sup- 
 press all vegetation, had they not many enemies to restrain 
 them. 
 
 Notwithstanding these insects have a numerous tribe of ene- 
 mies, they are not without their friends, if those may be con- 
 sidered as such, who are officious in their attendance, for the 
 good things they expect to reap thereby. The ant and bee are 
 of this kind, collecting the honey in which the aphides abound, 
 but with this difference, that the ants are constant visitors, the 
 bee only when flowers are scarce ; the ants will suck in the 
 honey while the aphides are in the act of discharging it; the 
 bees only collect it from the leaves on which it has fallen. In 
 the autumn, three more generations of aphides are produced, 
 two of which generally make their appearance in the month 
 of August, and the third before the middle of September. 
 The two first differ in no respect from those which are found 
 in summer, but the third differs greatly from all the rest. 
 
 Though all the aphides which have hitherto appeared were 
 female, in this generation several male insects are found, but 
 not by any means so numerous as the females. The females 
 
334 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 have, at first, the same appearance as those of the former 
 generations, but in a few days their colour changes from a 
 green to a yellow, which is gradually converted into an orange 
 before they come to their full growth ; they differ also, in 
 another respect, from those which occur in summer, for all 
 these yellow females are without wings. The male insects 
 are, however, still more remarkable, their outward appearance 
 readily distinguishing them from this and all other generations. 
 When first produced, they are not of a green colour like the 
 rest, but of a reddish brown, and have afterwards a dark line 
 along the back ; they come to their full growth in about three 
 weeks, and then cast off their last covering, the whole insect 
 being, after this, of a bright yellow colour, the wings only 
 excepted, but after this change they become a deeper yellow, 
 and, in a very few hours, of a dark brown, if we except the 
 body, which is something lighter coloured, and has a reddish 
 cast. Where there are a number crowded together, they of 
 course interfere with each other, in which case they will 
 frequently deposit their eggs on other parts of the branches. 
 It is highly probable that the aphides derive considerable ad- 
 vantages by living in society : the reiterated punctures of a 
 great number of them may attract a larger quantity of nutri- 
 tious juices to that part of the tree or plant where they have 
 taken up their abode. 
 
 The observations of Mr. Curtis, on the aphides, are chiefly 
 intended to shew that they are the principal cause of blights 
 in plants, and the sole cause of the honey-dew. He therefore 
 calls this insect the aphis, or blighter; and after observing, that, 
 in point of numbers, the individuals of the several species 
 composing it surpass those of any other genus in the country, 
 speaks thus, in general terms, of the whole tribe. — “ These 
 insects live entirely on vegetables. The loftiest tree is no less 
 liable to their attacks, than the most humble plant. They 
 prefer the young shoots on account of their tenderness, and, 
 on this principle, often insinuate themselves into the very 
 heart of the plant, and do irreparable mischief before they are 
 discovered. But, for the most part, they beset the foliage, 
 and are always found on the under side of the leaf, which they 
 prefer, not only on account of its being the most tender, but 
 as it affords them protection from the weather, and various 
 injuries to which they would otherwise be exposed. Some- 
 times the root is the object of their choice, which, from the 
 nature of these insects, one would not, a priori, expect : yet 
 I have seen the roots of lettuces thickly beset with them, and 
 the whole crop rendered sickly and of little value ; but such 
 instances are rare. They seldom attach themselves to the 
 bark cf trees, like the aphis salicis, which being one of our 
 largest species, and hence possessing superior strength, is 
 
THE APHIS. 
 
 335 
 
 enabled to penetrate a substance harder than the leaves them- 
 selves. 
 
 In the quality of the excrement voided by these insects, 
 there is something wonderfully extraordinary. Were a person 
 accidentally to take up a book, in which it is gravely asserted, 
 that in some countries there were certain animals that voided 
 liquid sugar, he would lay it down, regarding it as a 
 fabulous tale, calculated to impose on the credulity of the 
 ignorant; and yet such is literally the truth. Mr. Curtis col- 
 lected some on a piece of waiting-paper, from a brood of the 
 aphis salicis, and found it to be as sweet as sugar ; and observes, 
 that were it not for the wasps, ants, flies, and other insects, 
 that devour it as quickly as it is produced, it might, no doubt, 
 be collected in considerable quantities, and, by the processes 
 used with other saccharine juices, might be converted into the 
 choicest sugar or sugar-candy. The sweetness of this excre- 
 mentitious substance, the glossy appearance it gave the leaves 
 it fell upon, and the swarms of insects this matter attracts, 
 led him to imagine the honey-dew of plants was no other than 
 this secretion, which further observation has since been fully 
 confirmed ; and not, as its name implies, a sweet substance 
 falling from the atmosphere. On this opinion it is further re- 
 marked, that it neither falls from the atmosphere, nor issues 
 from the plant itself, as is easily demonstrated. If it fell from 
 the atmosphere, it would cover every thing it fell upon indis- 
 criminately ; whereas we never find it but on certain living 
 plants and trees. We find it also on plants in stoves and green- 
 houses covered with glass. If it exuded from the plant, it 
 would appear on all the leaves generally and uniformly ; 
 whereas its appearance is extremely irregular, not alike on 
 any two leaves of the same tree or plant, some having none 
 of it, and others being covered with it but partially. 
 
 It is probable that there never exists any honey-dew but 
 where there are aphides ; though such often pass unnoticed, 
 being hidden on the under side of the leaf : and wherever honey 
 is observable upon a leaf, aphides will be found on the under 
 side of the leaf or leaves immediately above it, and under no 
 other circumstance whatever. If by accident any thing should 
 intervene between the aphides and the leaf next beneath them, 
 there will be no honey-dew on that leaf: and thus he conceives 
 it is incontrovertibly proved, that aphides are the true and 
 only source of honey-dew\ 
 
 Of the British species of aphides, one of the largest and 
 most remarkable is the aphis salicis, which is found on the 
 different kinds of willows. When bruised, these insects stain 
 the fingers with red. Towards the end of September, multi- 
 tudes of the full-grown insects of this species, both with and 
 without wings, desert the willows on which they feed, and 
 
336 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 ramble over every neighbouring object in such numbers, that 
 we can handle nothing in their vicinity without crushing some 
 of them; while those in a younger or less advanced state, still 
 remain in large masses upon the trees. Aphis rosge is very fre- 
 quent, during the summer months, on young shoots and buds 
 of roses; it is of a bright green colour: the males are* fur- 
 nished with large transparent wings. Aphis vitis is most de- 
 structive to vines, as Aphis ulmi is to the elm-tree. 
 
 It is found that where the saccharine substance has dropped 
 from aphides for a length of time, as from the aphis salicis in 
 particular, it gives to the surface of the bark, foliage, &c. that 
 sooty kind of appearance which arises from the explosion of 
 gunpowder ; it looks like, and is sometimes taken for, a kind 
 of black mildew. In most seasons, the natural enemies of the 
 aphis are sufficient to keep them in check, and to prevent 
 them from doing essential injury to plants in the open air ; but 
 there are times, once perhaps in four, five, or six years, in 
 which they are multiplied to such an excess, that the usual 
 means of diminution fail in preventing them from doing irre- 
 parable injury to certain crops. 
 
 To prevent the calamities which would infallibly result from 
 an accumulated multiplication of the more prolific animals, it 
 has been ordained by the Author of nature, that such should 
 be diminished by serving as food for others. On this prin- 
 ciple, most animals of this kind have one or more natural ene- 
 mies. The helpless aphis, which is the scourge of the vege- 
 table kingdom, has to contend with many : the principal are 
 the coccinella, the ichneumon aphidum, and the musca aphi- 
 divora. The greatest destroyer of the aphides is the cocci- 
 nella, or common lady-bird. 
 
 During the winter, this insect secures itself under the bark of 
 trees, and elsewhere. When the spring expands the foliage of 
 plants, the female deposits her eggs on them in great numbers, 
 from whence, in a short time, proceeds the larva, a small grub, of 
 a dark lead-colour, spotted with orange. These maybe observed 
 in summer running pretty briskly over all kinds of plants ; and, 
 if narrowly watched, they will be found to devour the aphides 
 wherever they find them. The same may be observed of the 
 lady-bird, in its perfect state. Another most formidable enemy 
 to the aphis, is a very minute, black, and slender ichneumon 
 fly, which eats its way out of the aphis, leaving the dry in- 
 flated skin of the insect adhering to the leaf like a small pearl : 
 such may always be found where aphides are in plenty. Differ- 
 ent species of aphides are infested with different ichneumons 
 There is scarcely a division of nature, in which the musca, or 
 fly, is not found : of these, one division, the aphidivora, feeds 
 entirely on aphides. 
 
 Of the different species of aphidivorous flies, which are 
 
THE COMMON HOUSE FLY. 
 
 337 
 
 numerous, having mostly bodies variegated with transverse 
 stripes, their females may be seen hovering over plants in- 
 fested with aphides, among which they deposit their eggs on 
 the surface of the leaf. The larva, or maggot, produced 
 from such eggs, feeds, as soon as hatched, on the younger 
 kinds of aphis, and, as it increases in size, attacks and devours 
 those which are larger. The larva of the hemerolicus feeds 
 also on the aphides, and deposits its eggs on the leaves of 
 such plants as are beset with them. The earwig is likewise an 
 enemy to them, especially such as reside in the curled leaves 
 of fruit-trees, and the purses formed by certain aphides on the 
 poplars and other trees. To these may be added the smaller 
 soft-billed birds that feed on insects. 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued,) 
 
 The Common House Fly — The Hessian Fly — The May Fly — 
 The Vegetable Fly — The Boat Fly — The Ephemeral Flies — 
 Butterjiies — Metamorphoses of Insects — The Death-Watch, 
 
 What atom-forms of insect life appear! 
 
 And who can follow Nature’s pencil here? 
 
 Their wings with azure, green, and purple gloss’d, 
 
 Studded with colour’d eyes, with gems emboss’d ; 
 
 Inlaid with pearl, and mark’d with various stains 
 
 Of lively crimson through their dusky veins. Barbauld, 
 
 THE COMMON HOUSE FLY. 
 
 Gordart nas reckoned up forty-eight varieties of the fly, 
 without including them all in this enumeration. The multi- 
 tude of these lively insects, which the first genial sunshine 
 calls forth into life, has limits which the human eye is incapable 
 of exploring. The female fly is easily distinguishable from 
 the male : she is larger than the latter, fuller in the body, of 
 a lighter colour, and, when she is nearly ready to deposit her 
 eggs, the abdomen is so transparent, that they may be per- 
 ceived lying on both sides, opposite to each other. Nature 
 has instructed her not to deposit her eggs in dry, but in damp 
 substances, which keep them from being dried up, and at the 
 same time afford nourishment to the maggot or worm. The 
 latter issues from the egg generally in twenty-four hours, but, 
 in the sun, within twelve hours after it is laid. About half 
 an hour before, annular circles become visible in the egg, an 
 undulatory motion succeeds, the egg opens at the end, and 
 
338 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 the w :)rm makes its appearance. Its entrance into the world 
 is extremely tedious ; for the three or four minutes taken by 
 the worm to work its way out of the egg, are, for it, certainly 
 so many days. It is endowed, on the other hand, with vital 
 powers, which enable it to defy inconveniences which cost 
 other animals their lives. Nothing but turpentine, the general 
 destroyer of insects, kills it in half an hour. On the four- 
 teenth or fifteenth day, it begins to prepare for its transfor- 
 mation into a nymph, and in this form appears at first of a 
 light yellow, and afterwards of a dark red. You would take 
 it, in this state, for some kind of seed, rather than for the 
 habitation of a living creature. The change of the nymph 
 into a fly requires as much time as the preceding transforma- 
 tion. A thrust with the head then bursts the prison in which 
 it is confined, and the fly, perfectly formed, sallies forth. 
 The sun hastens its birtli, w^hich is then the business of but 
 a moment; but in unfavourable weather, this probably painful 
 operation often takes four or five hours. The insect is now 
 as perfect as its parents, and not to be distinguished from 
 them. As soon as it issues from the nymph, it flies away ; 
 and only those are unable to use their wings immediately, 
 which have the misfortune to come out in gloomy wea- 
 ther. 
 
 Leuwenhock reckons, that every fly has eight thousand 
 hexagons or eyes, on each of the hemispheres composing ittj 
 face, and consequently sixteen thousand on both. M. Von 
 Gleichen, a German naturalist, observes, that the law' of re- 
 taliation is in some measure established, in regard to these 
 animals ; for if they annoy us, they are in their turn persecuted 
 by others. Small yellow insects, discovered by means of the 
 magnifying glass, crawling among the hairs that grow on 
 their bodies, are supposed to be destined for this purpose. 
 
 The fecundity of flies is prodigious. On this head, the 
 last-mentioned naturalist has made the following calcula- 
 tion : — 
 
 A fly lays four times during the summer, each time 
 
 eighty eggs, which makes 320 
 
 Half of these are supposed to be females, so that 
 
 each of the four broods produces forty : 
 
 1. First eighth, or the forty females of the first 
 brood, also lay four times in the course of the 
 
 summer, which makes 12,800 
 
 The first eighth of these, or 1,600 females, three 
 
 times ■ 384,000 
 
 The second eighth, twice 256,000 
 
 The third and fourth eighth, at least one each 256,000 
 
 Car ied forward 909,120 
 
THE HESSIAN FLY. 
 
 339 
 
 Brought forward ' 909,120 
 
 2 . The second eighth, or the forty females of the 
 
 second brood, lay three times, the produce of 
 
 which is 9,600 
 
 One sixth of these, or 1,600 females, three times. . . . 384,000 
 
 The second sixth, twice 256,000 
 
 The third sixth, once 128,000 
 
 3. The third eighth, or the forty females of the third 
 
 brood, lay twice, and produce 6,400 
 
 One fourth of these, or 1,600 females, lay twice 
 
 more 256,000 
 
 4. The fourth eighth, or forty females of the fourth 
 
 brood, once 3,200 
 
 Half of these, or 1,600 females, at least once 128,000 
 
 Total produce of a single fly, in one summer. . . .2,080,320 
 
 Another curious insect is. The Hessian Fly. — This is a 
 very mischievous insect, which a few years ago appeared in 
 North America, and whose depredations threatened then to 
 destroy the crops of wheat in that country entirely. It is, in 
 its perfect state, a small winged insect, but the mischief it 
 does, is while in the form of a caterpillar ; and the difficulty 
 of destroying it is increased, by its being as yet unknown 
 where it deposits its eggs, to be hatched before the first ap- 
 pearance of the caterpillars. These mischievous insects begin 
 their depredations in autumn, as soon as the wheat begins to 
 shoot up through the ground. They devour the tender leaf 
 and stem with great voracity, and continue to do so till 
 stopped by the frost; but no sooner is this obstacle removed 
 by the warmth of the spring, than the fly appears again, laying 
 its eggs now, as has been supposed, upon the stems of the 
 wheat just beginning to spire. The caterpillars hatched from 
 these eggs, perforate the stems of the remaining plants at 
 the joints, and lodge themselves in the hollow within the corn, 
 which shews no sign of disease till the ears begin to turn 
 heavy. The stems then break, and being no longer able to 
 perform their office in supporting and supplying the ears with 
 nouiishment, the corn perishes about the time that it goes 
 into a milky state. These insects attack also rye, barley, and 
 timothy-grass, though they seem to prefer wheat. The de- 
 struction occasioned by them, is described in the American 
 Museum, (published at Philadelphia,) for Feb. 1787, in the 
 following words : — 
 
 “ It is w^ell known that all the crops of wheat in all the land 
 over which it has extended, have fallen before it, and that 
 the farmers beyond it dread its apj)roach : the prospect is, 
 
S40 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 that unless means are discovered to prevent its progress, th^ 
 whole continent will be overrun ; — a calamity more to be 
 dreaded, than the ravages of war/" This terrible insect ap- 
 peared first in Long Island, during the American war, and was 
 supposed to have been brought from Germany by the Hessians ; 
 whence its name. From thence it proceeded inland at the 
 rate of about fifteen or twenty miles annually; and, in 1789, 
 had reached two hundred miles from the place where it was first 
 observed. At that time it continued to proceed with unabat- 
 ing increase ; being apparently stopped neither by rivers nor 
 mountains. In the fly state it is likewise exceedingly trou- 
 blesome, by getting into houses in swarms, falling into victuals 
 and drink, filling the windows, and flying perpetually into 
 the cai?dles. 
 
 The May Fly. — This insect is called the May fly, from its 
 annual appearance in that month. It lies all the year, except 
 a few days, at the bottom or sides of rivers, nearly resembling 
 the nymph of the small libella ; but when it is mature, it rises 
 up to the surface of the water, and splits open its case ; then, 
 with great agility, up springs the new animal, having a slen- 
 der body, with four black-veined, transparent, shining wings, 
 with four black spots in the upper wings; the under wings 
 are much smaller than the upper ones; and with three long 
 hairs in its tail. 
 
 The husk it leaves behind floats upon the water. After this 
 creature is discharged from the water, it flies about to find a 
 proper place to fix on, (as trees, bushes, &c.) to wait for 
 its approaching change, which is effected in two or three 
 days. 
 
 The first hint I received of this wonderful operation, was by 
 seeing their exuviae hanging on a hedge. I then collected a 
 great many, and put them into boxes ; and by strictly observ- 
 ing them, I could tell when they were ready for this surprising 
 ^change. 
 
 I had the pleasure to shew my friends one, which I held in 
 my fingers all the time it performed this great work ; it was 
 surprising to see how easily the back part of the fly split 
 open, and produce^ the astonishing transformation. In the 
 new fly, a remarkable difference is seen in their sexes, which 
 is not so easy to be perceived in their first state, the male 
 and female being much of a size ; but afterwards the male 
 is much the smallest, and the hairs of their tails much the 
 longest. 
 
 When the females are about to deposit their eggs, they 
 seek the rivers, keeping constantly playing up and down upon 
 the water. It is very plainly seen, that every time they dart 
 down, they eject a cluster of eggs, which appears like a little 
 
THE VEGETABLE FLY. 
 
 341 
 
 bluish speck, or a small drop of milk, as they sink to the 
 bottom of the river. Thus they continue until they have 
 spent their strength, being so weak, that they can rise no 
 more, but fall a prey to the fish. But by much the greatest 
 number perish on the waters, which are covered with them. 
 This is the end of the females. The males never resort to the 
 river, but, after a time, drop down, languish, and die, under 
 the trees and bushes. 
 
 The species of libella abounds most with females, which 
 is very necessary, considering the many enemies they have 
 in their short appearance ; for both birds and fishes are fond 
 of them, and, no doubt, under water they are the prey of 
 aquatic animals. 
 
 What is further surprising in this remarkable creature is, 
 that during a life which consists only of three or four days, 
 it eats nothing, and seems to have no apparatus for this pur- 
 pose, but brings up with it, out of the water, sufficient support 
 to enable it to shed its skin, and perform the principal ends 
 of life with great vivacity. 
 
 The Vegetable Fly. — This is a very curious natural pro- 
 duction, chiefly found in the West Indies. It resembles the 
 drone, both in size and colour, more than any other British 
 insect, excepting that it has no wings. “ In the month of 
 May, it buries itself in the earth, and begins to vegetate. By 
 the end of July, the tree has arrived at its full growth, and 
 resembles a coral branch ; it is about three inches in height, 
 and bears several little pods, which, dropping off, become 
 worms, and thence flies, like the British caterpillar.” Such 
 was the account originally given of this extraordinary pro- 
 duction. But several boxes of these flies having been sent to 
 Dr. Hill for examination, his report was as follows : — “There 
 is in Martinique a fungus of the clavaria kind, different in 
 species from those hitherto known. It produces soboles from 
 its sides ; I call it therefore clavaria sobolijera. It grows on 
 putrid animal bodies, as our fungus (ex peek equino) from the 
 dead horse’s hoof. The cicada is common in Martinique, and 
 in its nymph state, in which the old authors call it iettigome- 
 tra, it buries itself under the dead leaves, to await its change ; 
 and, when the season is unfavourable, many perish. The seeds 
 of the clavaria find a proper bed in these dead insects, and 
 grow. The tettigometra is among the cicada in the British 
 Museum ; the clavaria is but just now known. This is the fact, 
 and all the fact; though the untaught inhabitants suppose a 
 fly to vegetate, and though there is a Spanish drawing of the 
 plants growing into a trifoliate tree ; and it has been figured 
 with the creature flying with this tree upon its back,” — Thus 
 does ignorance delight in the marvellous I 
 
342 
 
 CURIOS-TIES RESPECTING INSECTS 
 
 The Boat Fly. — This insect, called Notonecta glauca, is 
 thus described by Barbut. “ It has a head somewhat round, 
 of which the eyes seem to take up the greatest part. These 
 eyes are brown, and very large, the rest of the head being 
 yellow. In the fore-part it has a sharp trunk, that projects, 
 and is inflected between the fore feet. On the sides are seen 
 the antennae, very small, yellowish, and which spring from 
 under the head. The thorax, which is broad, short, and 
 smooth, is yellow on the fore, and black on the back part. 
 The escutcheon is large, of a rough black, and as it were 
 nappy. The elytra, rather large, and crossed over each other, 
 are a mixture of brown and yellow, not unlike the colour of 
 rust, which makes it look cloudy. The under part of the 
 body is brown ; and at the extremity of the abdomen are to 
 be seen a few hairs. The feet, six in number, are of a light 
 brown, the two hindermost having on the leg and tarsus hairs 
 that give them the shape of fins, nor are they terminated by 
 nails. The four anterior ones are somewhat flat, and serve 
 the animal to swim with ; but at their extremity they have 
 nails, and no hairs. This insect is seen in stagnating waters, 
 where it swims on its back, and presents its abdomen up- 
 wards; for which reason it has been called by the Greek 
 name of notonecta. The hinder feet, longer than the rest, 
 serve it as paddles. It is very nimble, and dives down when 
 you go to take hold of it; after which, it rises again to the 
 surface of the w'ater. It must be cautiously handled, if one 
 would avoid being pricked by it, for the point of its rostrum 
 is exceedingly sharp, and intolerably painful, 'but it goes off 
 in a few minutes. The larva very much resembles the perfect 
 nsect.” 
 
 Such is the account that Mr. Barbut gives of this beautiful 
 nimble little creature. To this account, however, we shall 
 add the following: — Its legs are long; when taken out of 
 the water, it hops ; it is very common in the ponds of water in 
 Hyde Park, and in several other places about London. It is 
 of a very particular form, being flattish at the belly, and 
 rising to a ridge on the middle of the back ; so that when it 
 swims, which is almost always on the back, its body has 
 much the resemblance of a boat in figure, — whence its vul- 
 gar name. It is eight lines long, three broad, and two and 
 a half thick. The belly is jointed, striated, and, as Barbut 
 observes, hairy. Nature has provided it with an offensive 
 weapon resembling a sting, which it thrusts out when hurt, 
 from a large opening at the tail. The head is large and hard ; 
 the eyes nearly of a triangular form. The nose is a long, 
 green, hollow proboscis, ending in a hard and sharp point, 
 which in its natural posture remains under the belly, and 
 reaches to the middle pair of legs The outer part of its 
 
EPHEMERAL FLIES. 
 
 343 
 
 wings are of a palt flesh-colour, with spots of a dead white ; 
 these are long, narrow, and somewhat transparent ; they ter- 
 minate in a roundish point, and perfectly cover the whole 
 body. The triangular piece which stands between the top of 
 the wings is hard, and perfectly black ; the inner wings are 
 broader and shorter than the outer ones; they are thin and 
 perfectly transparent, and are of a pale pearl-colour. The 
 hinder pair being greatly longer than all the rest, they serve 
 as oars ; and nature has tufted them with hair at the end for 
 that purpose. This creature mostly lives in the water, where 
 it preys on small insects, killing them, and sucking their juices 
 with its proboscis, .in the manner of the water scorpion and 
 many other aquatic insects : it seizes its prey violently, and 
 darts with incredible swiftness to a considerable distance 
 after it. 
 
 Though it generally lives in the water, it sometimes, how- 
 ever, crawls out in good weather; and drying its wings by 
 expanding them in the sun, takes flight, and becomes an 
 inhabitant of the air, not to be known as the same crea- 
 ture, unless to those who had accurately observed it before : 
 when tired of flyin^•, or in danger of an enemy, it immediately 
 plunges into the water. We are told that there are fourteen 
 species of it, seven of which are common in Europe, in wa- 
 ters, &c. 
 
 Ephemeral Flies. — This species of insect is named ephe- 
 meral, because of its very short existence in the fly state. It 
 is one of the most beautiful species of flies, and undergoes 
 five changes. At first, the egg contains its vital principle ; it 
 comes forth a small caterpillar, which is transformed into a 
 chrysalis, then into a nynipha, and lastly, into a fly, wdiich 
 deposits its eggs upon the surface of water, where the sun’s 
 rays bring them to life. Each egg produces a little red worm, 
 which moves in a serpentine manner. They are found in 
 abundance during the summer, in ponds and marshes ; and as 
 soon as cold weather sets in, the little worm makes for itself 
 a shell or lodging, where it passes the winter; at the end of 
 which it ceases to be a worm, and enters into its third state, 
 that of a chrysalis. It then sleeps till spring, and gradually 
 becomes a beautiful nympha, or a sort of mummy, something 
 in the form of a fish. At the time of its metamorphosis, the 
 nvmipha at first seems inactive and lifeless ; in six days, the 
 head appears, raising itself gradually above the surface of the 
 water ; the body next disengages itself slowly and by degrees, 
 till at length the whole animal comes out of its shell. The new- 
 born fly remains for some minutes motionless upon the water, 
 then gradually revives, and feebly shakes its wings, then moves 
 them :iuicker, and attempts first to walk, then to fly. As 
 
344 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS, 
 
 these insects are all hatched nearly at the same time^ they are 
 seen in swarms for a few hours flitting and playing upon the 
 surface of the water ; they then lay their eggs, and soon aftei 
 die Thus they terminate their short life in the space of a 
 few hours, and fhe same day that saw them born, witnesses 
 their death 
 
 THE BUTTERFLY. 
 
 Behold, ye pilgrims of this earth, behold! 
 
 See all but man with unearn’d pleasure gay 
 See her bright robes the butterfly unfold. 
 
 Broke from her wintry tomb in prime of May i 
 What youthful bride can equal her array.? 
 
 Who can with her for easy pleasure vie? 
 
 From mead to mead with gentle wing to stray, 
 
 From flower to flower on balmy gales to fly, 
 
 Is all she has to do beneath the radiant sky. Thomson 
 
 The first thing which fixes our attention on beholding these 
 aerial inhabitants, is, the clothing with which they are adorned. 
 Yet some of them have nothing in this respect to engage our 
 notice, their vestment is simple and uniform; others have a 
 few ornaments on the wings; but with some, those ornaments 
 amount to profusion, and they are covered with them all over. 
 This last species will occupy us for a short interval. How 
 beautiful are the gradations of colour which decorate them! 
 what harmony in those spots which relieve the other parts of 
 their attire ! with what delicacy has nature pencilled them ! 
 But, whatever may be my admiration when I consider this 
 insect by the naked eye, how greatly is it augmented, v/hen 
 I behold this beautiful object through the medium of the 
 microscope! Would any one ever have imagined, that the 
 wings of butterflies were furnished with feathers? Nothing, 
 however, is more true ; and what we commonly call dust, is 
 found in reality to be feathers. Their structure and arrange- 
 ment are adjusted to as perfect symmetry, as their colours are 
 soft and brilliant. The parts which form the centre of these 
 little feathers, and which immediately touch the wing, are 
 the strongest ; those, on the contrary, which compose the 
 exterior circumference, are much more delicate, and of an ex- 
 traordinary fineness. All these feathers have a quill at their 
 base, but the superior part is more transparent than the quill 
 from which it proceeds. If we lay hold of the wing too rudely, 
 we destro) the most delicate part of the feathers; but if we 
 remove all that w^e term dust, there remains only a thin trans- 
 parent skill, where may be distinguished the little orifices in 
 which the quill of each feather was lodged. This skin, from 
 the lature of its texture, may be as easily discerned from the 
 rest of the wing, as a fine gauze from the cloth on which it is 
 
THE BUTTERFLY. 
 
 345 
 
 fastened , it is more porous, more delicate, and seems as if 
 embroidered by the needle ; to complete its beauty, its extre- 
 mity finishes by a fringe, whose minute threads succeed each 
 other with the utmost regularity. 
 
 What are our most laboured dresses, w'hat is all their 
 boasted ornament, in comparison of that refined tissue with 
 which nature has invested this simple insect? Our finest 
 laces are only like coarse cloth, when brought to vie with that 
 luxurious clothing which covers the wings of the butterfly ; 
 and our smallest thread, by their infinitely delicate fibres, 
 swells into hempen cord. Such is the wonderful difference 
 to be observed between the works of nature and those of art, 
 when viewed through a microscope. The former are finished 
 to all imaginable perfection ; the others, even the most beau- 
 tiful of their kind, ippear incomplete and coarsely WTOught. 
 How fine a piece of delicate cambric appears to us! nothing 
 more slender than the threads, nothing more uniform than 
 the texture : and yet in the microscope these threads resem- 
 ble hempen strings, and we should rather be tempted to 
 believe that they had been interlaced by the hand of a basket- 
 maker, than wrought on the loom of a skilful weaver. 
 
 What is most astonishing in this brilliant insect, is, that it 
 proceeds from a worm, than which nothing has a more abject 
 and vile appearance. Behold how the butterfly displays to 
 the sun his splendid wings, how he sports in his rays, how 
 he rejoices in his existence, and, in respiring the vernal airs, 
 how he flutters in the meadow from flower to flower. His 
 rich wings present to us the magnificence of the rainbow. 
 How beautiful is he now, who but a little while ago crept a 
 worm in the dust, in perpetual danger of being crushed to 
 death! Who has raised him above the earth? Who has given 
 to him the faculty of inhabiting the ethereal regions? Who 
 has furnished him with his painted wings? It is God. 
 
 In down of evTy variegated dye, 
 
 Shines, flutt’ring soft, the gaudy butterfly ; 
 
 That powder, wliich thy spoiling hand distains. 
 
 The form of quills and painted plumes contains : 
 
 Not courts can more magnificence express. 
 
 In all their blaze of gems and pomp of dress. Browne, 
 
 Their wings, all glorious to behold, 
 
 Bedropt with azure, jet, and gold. 
 
 Wide they display ; the spangled dew 
 
 Reflects their eyes and various hue. Gay» 
 
 We shall now briefly describe The Metamorphoses op 
 Insects. And first. The Butterfly; 
 
 From form to form they pass in wondrous change. Vhgil. 
 
 At the first exclusion from the egg, and for some months 
 of its existence afterwards, the creature which is to become a 
 15. 2 X 
 
346 - 
 
 curiosities RESPECTINC INSECTS, 
 
 butterfly, is a worm-like caterpillar, crawling upcn sixteen 
 short legs, greedily devouring leaves with two jaws, and 
 seeing by means of twel e e3"es, so minute, as to be nearly 
 imperceptible without the aid of a microscope. We now view 
 it furnished with wings capable of rapid and extensive flights ; 
 of its sixteen feet, ten have disappeared, and the remaining 
 six are in most respects wholly unlike those to which they 
 have succeeded ; its jaws having vanished, are replaced by 
 a curled-up proboscis, suited only for sipping liquid sweets; 
 the form of its head is entirely changed, two long horns pro- 
 jecting from its upper surface ; and, instead of twelve invisible 
 eyes, you behold two, very large, and composed of at least 
 twenty thousand convex lenses, each supposed to be a dis- 
 tinct and effective eye! 
 
 Were we to push our examination further, and, by dissection, 
 to compare the internal conformation of the caterpillar with 
 that of the butterfly, we should witness ' changes even more 
 extraordinary. In the former we should find some thousands 
 of muscles, which in the latter are replaced by others, of a 
 form and structure entirely different. Nearly the whole body 
 of the caterpillar is occupied by a capacious stomach. In the 
 butterfly, this has become converted into an almost imper- 
 ceptible thread-like viscus ; and the abdomen is now filled by 
 two large packets of eggs, or other organs, not visible in 
 the first state. In the former, tw^o spirally-convoluted tubes 
 were filled with a silky gum ; in the latter, both tubes and 
 silk have almost totally vanished, and changes equally great 
 have taken place in the economy and structure of the nerves 
 and other organs. 
 
 What a surprising transformation! Nor was this all. The 
 change from one form to the other was not direct ; an inter- 
 mediate state, not less singular, intervened. After casting its 
 skin, even to its very jaws, several times, and attaining its full 
 growth, the caterpillar attached itself to a leaf by a silken 
 girth. Its body became greatly contracted ; its skin once more 
 split asunder, and disclosed an oviform mass, without exterior 
 mouth, eyes, or limbs, and exhibiting no other symptom of 
 life than a slight motion when touched. In this state of 
 death-like torpor, and without tasting food, the insect ex- 
 isted for several months, until at length the tomb burst, and 
 out of a case not more than an inch long, and a quarter of an 
 inch in diameter, proceeded the butterfly, which covers a 
 surface of nearly four inches square. 
 
 The Common Fly. — T his winged insect, whose delicate 
 palate selects out the choicest viands, one while extending 
 his proboscis to the margin of a drop of wine, and then gaily 
 flying 1o take a more solid repast from a pear or a peach; 
 
THE GNAT. BEETLE. — DEATH-WATCH. 
 
 347 
 
 now gambolling with his comrades in the air, now gracefully 
 carrying his furled wings with his taper feet; — was b*ut the 
 other day a disgusting grub, without wings, without legs, 
 without eyes, wallowing, well pleased, in the midst of a 
 mass of excrement. 
 
 The Greycoated Gnat. — This creature, whose humming 
 salutation, while she makes her airy circles about our bed, gives 
 terrific warning of the sanguinary operation in which she is 
 ready to engage, was a few hours ago the inhabitant of a 
 stagnant pool, more in shape like a fish than an insect. Then 
 to have been taken out of the water would have been speedily 
 fatal; now it could as little exist in any other element than 
 air. Then it breathed through its tail ; now through openings 
 in its sides. Its shapeless head, in that period of its exist- 
 ence, is now exchanged for one adorned with elegantly tufted 
 antennee, and furnished, instead of jaws, with an apparatus 
 more artfully constructed than the cupping-glasses of the 
 phlebotomist ; an apparatus, which, at the same time that it 
 strikes in the lancets, composes a tube for pumping up the 
 flowing blood. 
 
 The Shardhorn Beetle. — This species of beetle, whose 
 sullen hum, as he directs his droning flight close past our 
 ears in our evening walk, was not in his infancy an inhabit- 
 ant of air, the first period of his life being spent in gloomy 
 solitude, as a grub, under the surface of the earth. The 
 shapeless maggot, which we scarcely fail to meet with in 
 some one of every handful of nuts we crack, would not always 
 have grovelled in that humble state. If our unlucky intrusion 
 upon its vaulted dwelling had not left it to perish in the wide 
 world, it would have continued to reside there until its full 
 growth had been attained. Then it would have gnawed itself 
 an opening, and, having entered the earth, and passed a few 
 months in a state of inaction, would at length have emerged 
 an elegant beetle, furnished with a slender and very long 
 ebony beak ; two wings, and two wing-cases, ornamented 
 with yellow bands ; six feet ; and in every respect unlike the 
 worm from which it proceeded. 
 
 The De ath-w" atch. — This appalling name is applied to a 
 harmless, diminutive insect, because it emits a sound resem- 
 bling the ticking of a watch, and is supposed to predict the 
 death of some one of the family, in the house in which it is 
 heard. Thus sings the muse of the witty Dean of St. Patrick 
 on this subject : — 
 
 “ A wood worm 
 
 That lies in old wood, like a hare in her form: 
 
48 CURIOSITIES RESPECTi.NO INSECTS. 
 
 With teeth or with jlaws, it will bite or will scratch, 
 
 • And chambermaids christen this worm a death-watch; 
 
 Because like a watch it always cries click: 
 
 Then woe be to those in the house who are sick! 
 
 For, sure as a gun, they will give up the ghost, 
 
 If the maggot cries click, when it scratches the post: 
 
 But a kettle of scalding-hot water injected 
 Infallibly cures the timber aff ected ; 
 
 The omen is broken, the danger is over. 
 
 The maggot will die, and the sick will recover.'* 
 
 To add to the effect of this noise, it is said to be made 
 only when there is a profound silence in an apartment, and 
 every one is still. 
 
 Authors were formerly not agreed concerning the insect 
 from which this sound of terror proceeded, some attributing 
 it to a kind of woodlouse, and others to a spider; but it is 
 now a received opinion, adopted upon satisfactory evidence, 
 that it is produced by some little beetles belonging to the 
 timber-boring genus, Anobiumy F. Swammerdam observes, 
 that a small beetle, which he had in his collection, having 
 firmly fixed its fore-legs, and put its indexed head between 
 them, makes a continual noise in old pieces of wood, walls, 
 and ceilings, which is sometimes so loud, that upon hearing 
 it, people have fancied that hobgoblins, ghosts, or fairies, 
 were wandering around them. Evidently this was one of the 
 death-watches. Latreille observed Anohium striatum, F. pro- 
 duce the sound in question, by a stroke of its mandibles upon 
 the wood, which was answered by a similar noise from within 
 it. But the species whose proceedings have been most no- 
 ticed by British observers, is, A. tessellatum, F. When spring 
 is far advanced, these insects are said to commence their 
 ticking, which is only a call to each other, to which, if no 
 answer be returned, the animal repeats it in another place. 
 It is thus produced : Raising itself upon its hind-legs, with 
 the body somewhat inclined, it beats its head with great force 
 and agility upon the plane of its position ; and its strokes are 
 so powerful, as to make a considerable impression if they fall 
 upon any substance softer than wood. The general number 
 of distinct strokes in succession, is from seven^ to nine or 
 eleven ; they follow each other quickly, and are repeated at 
 uncertain intervals. In old houses, where these insects abound, 
 they may be heard in warm weather during the whole day. 
 The noise exactly resembles that produced by tapping mode- 
 rately with the nail upon a table ; and, when familiarized, the 
 insect will answer very readily the tap of the nail. 
 
LOCUSTS. 
 
 349 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Continued*) 
 
 Locusts and Mosquitoes, and their Uses in the Creation i-^from 
 Kirhy, Spence, and Fothergill, 
 
 Locusts. — If we could discover the use of every animal in 
 the creation, we should gain a very clear insight into the grand 
 designs of the Almighty, respecting creatures inferior to 
 ourselves, and perceive the immediate cause and necessity 
 of their existence, and how far we have a right to interfere 
 wdth their economy. That man should ever attain the whole 
 extent of this knowledge, in this state of existence, can 
 scarcely be hoped for ; but, that he may learn much, there 
 can be no doubt. 
 
 Because the utility of some animals, in a general view, is 
 not palpably obvious, we ought not pettishly or hopelessly to 
 give up the inquiry. Some of the most numerous are appa- 
 rently the most noxious, and the least useful, as the locust 
 (gryllus migratorius) for example. It has never been my 
 fortune to visit countries subject to the devastations of these 
 insects ; and the travellers who describe them, seem, either 
 through want of inclination, or astonishment at the desolating 
 effects produced by their incursions, unable to give those 
 facts which an industrious and attentive naturalist, with en- 
 larged views, might collect and apply to some useful purpose; 
 for there can be no doubt that Infinite Wisdom would not 
 have permitted these insects to be so numerous as they are, 
 if their existence was not absolutely necessary. To look at 
 a locust in a cabinet of insects, we should not, at first sight, 
 deem it capable of being the source of so much evil to man- 
 kind as stands on record against it. Yet, although this animal 
 be not very tremendous for its size, nor very terrific in its 
 appearance, it is the very same whose ravages have been the 
 theme of naturalists and historians in all ages, and, upon a 
 close examination, it will be found to be peculiarly fitted and 
 furnished for the execution of its office. 
 
 It is armed with two pair of very strong jaws, the uppei 
 terminating in short, and the lower in long teeth, by which it 
 can both lacerate and grind its food ; its stomach is of ex 
 traordinary capacity and powers; its hind-legs eneble it to 
 leap to a considerable distance, and its ample vans are calcu- 
 lated to catch the wind as sails, and so carry it sometimes 
 over the sea; and although a single individual can effect but 
 little evil, yet, when the entire surface of a country is covered 
 
350 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 by them, and every one makes bare the spot on which it 
 stands, the mischief produced may be as extensive as their num- 
 bers. So well do the Arabians know their power, that they 
 make a locust say to Mahomet, “We are the army of the 
 Great God; we produce ninety-nine eggs: if the hundred 
 were completed, we should consume the whole earth, and all 
 that is in it.” — Bochart, 
 
 The earliest plague produced by the locusts, which has been 
 recorded, appears also to have been the most direful in its 
 immediate effects, that ever was inflicted upon any nation. 
 It is that with which the Egyptian tyrant and his people 
 were visited for their oppression of the Israelites. Only con- 
 ceive of a country so covered by them, that no one can see 
 the face of the ground — a whole land darkened, and all its 
 produce, whether herb or trees, so devoured, that not the least 
 vestige of green is left in either. — Exod. x. 5, 14, 15. But it 
 is not necessary to enlarge upon a history, the circumstances 
 of which are so well known. To this species of devastation, 
 Africa in general seems always to have been peculiarly sub- 
 ject. This may be gathered from the law in Cyrenaica men- 
 tioned by Pliny, by which the inhabitants w^ere enjoined to 
 destroy the locusts in three different states, three times in 
 tlie year; first their eggs, then their young, and lastly the 
 perfect insect.* And not without reason was such a law 
 enacted; for Orosius tells us, that in the year of the world 
 3,800, Africa was infested by such infinite myriads of these 
 animals, that, having devoured every green thing, after flying 
 off to sea they were drowned, and, being cast upon the shore, 
 they emitted a stench greater than could have been pro- 
 duced by the carcases of 100,000 men! — Oros. contra Pag. 
 1. V. c. 2. St. Augustine also mentions a plague to have arisen 
 in that country from the same cause, tvhich destroyed no 
 less than 800,000 persons (octoginta hominum millia) in 
 the kingdom of Masanissa alone, and many more in the 
 territories bordering upon the sea. — Less. 1. 247. note 46. 
 From Africa this plague was occasionally imported into Italy 
 and Spain; and an historian quoted in Mouffet relates, that 
 in the year 591 an infinite army of locusts, of a size unusually 
 large, grievously ravaged part of Italy; and being at last cast 
 into the sea, from their stench arose a pestilence which carried 
 off near a million of men and beasts. In the Venetian terri- 
 tory also, in the year 1478, more than 30,000 persons are said 
 ^o have perished in a famine occasioned by these terrific 
 scourges. Many other instances of their devastations in 
 Europe, in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and other countries, 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. xi. c. 29. A similar law was enacted in Lemnos, by 
 which every one was compelled to brin^ a certain measure of locusts 
 annually to the magistrates P/m. 
 
LOCUSTS. 
 
 351 
 
 are recorded by the same author. In 1650 a cloud of them 
 was seen to enter Russia in three different places, which from 
 thence passed over into Poland and Lithuania, where the air 
 was darkened by their numbers. In some places they were 
 seen lying dead, heaped one upon another to the depth of four 
 feet; in others they covered the surface like a black cloth; 
 the trees bent with their weight; and the damage they did 
 exceeded all computation. — &ngley, iii. 258. At a later 
 period, in Languedoc, when the sun became hot, they took 
 wing, and fell upon the corn, devouring both leaf and ear, 
 and that with such expedition, that in three hours they would 
 consume a whole field. After having eaten up the corn, they 
 attacked the vines, the pulse, the willows, and lastly, the 
 hemp, notwithstanding its bitterness. — Philos. Trans. 1686. 
 Sir H. Davy informs us ( Elements of Agricultural Chemistry, 
 233,) that the French government in 1813 issued a decree with 
 a view to occasion the destruction of grasshoppers. 
 
 Even this happy island, so remarkably distinguished by its 
 exemption from most of those scourges to which other nations 
 are exposed, was once alarmed by the appearance of locusts. 
 In 1748 they were observed here in considerable numbers, but 
 providentially they soon perished without propagating. These 
 were evidently stragglers from the vast swarms which in the 
 preceding year did such infinite damage in Wallachia, Mol- 
 davia, Transylvania, Hungary, and Poland. One of these 
 swarms, which entered Transylvania in August, was several 
 hundred fathoms in width, (at Vienna the breadth of one of 
 them was three miles,) and extended to so great a length, as 
 to be four hours in passing over the Red Tower; and such 
 was its density, that it totally intercepted the solar light, so 
 that when they flew low, one person could not see another at 
 the distance of twenty paces. — Philos. Trans, xlvi. 30. A 
 similar account has been given by Major Moor, long resident 
 in India. He relates, that when at Poonah, he was witness to 
 an immense army of locusts which ravaged the Mahratta 
 country, and was supposed to come from Arabia: this, if cor- 
 rect, is a strong proof of their power to pass the sea under 
 favourable circumstances. The column they composed, ex- 
 tended five hundred miles; and so compact was it, when on 
 the wing, that, like an eclipse, it completely hid the sun, so 
 that no shadow was cast by any object; and some lofty tombs, 
 distant from his residence not more than two hundred yards, 
 were rendered quite invisible. This was not the Gtyllus 
 migratorius, L. but a red species; which circumstance much 
 increased the horror of the scene, for, clustering upon the 
 trees after they had stripped them of their foliage, they 
 imparted to them a sanguine hue. The peach was the last 
 tree they touched. 
 
362 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 Dr. Clarke, to give some idea of the infinite numbers of 
 these animals, compares them to a flight of snow when the 
 flakes are carried obliquely by the wind. They covered his 
 carriage and horses ; and the Tartars assert, that people are 
 sometimes suflfocated by them. The whole face of nature 
 might have been described as covered by a living veil. They 
 consisted of two species, G. tartariciiSy and migratorius, L.; 
 the first is almost twice the size of the second, and, because 
 it precedes it, is called by the Tartars, the herald or messen- 
 ger. — Travels, i. 348. The account of another traveller, Mr. 
 Barrow, of their ravages in the southern parts of Africa, in 
 1784, and 1797, is still more striking: an area of nearly two 
 thousand square miles might be said literally to be covered 
 by them. When driven into the sea by a n.. w. wind, they 
 formed upon the shore, for fifty miles, a bank three or four 
 feet high ; and when the wind was s. e. the stench was so 
 powerful, as to be smelt at the distance of a hundred and fifty 
 miles. — Travels, &c. 257. 
 
 From 1778 to 1780, the empire of Morocco was terribly 
 devastated by them; every green thing was eaten up, not even 
 the bitter bark of the orange and pomegranate escaping. A 
 most dreadful famine ensued : the poor were seen to wander 
 over the country, deriving a miserable subsistence from the 
 roots of plants ; and women and children followed the camels, 
 from whose dung they picked the undigested grains of barley, 
 which they devoured with avidity : in consequence of this, 
 vast numbers perished, and the roads and streets exhi- 
 bited the unburied carcases of the dead. On this sad occa- 
 sion, fathers sold their children, and husbands their wives. — 
 Southey's Thalaba, i. 171. 
 
 When they visit a country, (says Mr. Jackson, speaking of 
 the same empire,) it behoves every one to lay in provision for 
 a famine, for they stay from three to seven years. When 
 they have devoured all other vegetables, they attack the trees, 
 consuming first the leaves and then the bark. From Moga- 
 dar to Tangier, before the plague in 1799, the face of the 
 earth was covered by them : at that time a singular incident 
 occurred at El Arisch. The whole region from the confines 
 of Sahara was ravaged by them ; but on the other side of 
 the river El Kos, not one of them was to be seen, though 
 there was nothing to prevent their flying over it. Till then, 
 they had proceeded northward ; but, upon arriving at its 
 banks, they turned to the east, though all the country north of 
 Arisch was full of pulse, fruits, and grain, exhibiting a 
 most striking contrast to the desolation of the adjoining dis- 
 trict. At length they were all carried by a violent hurricane 
 into the western ocean; the shore, as in former instances, 
 was covered by their carcases, and a pestilence was caused 
 
LOCUSTS. 
 
 363 
 
 by the horrid stench which they emitted : but when this evil 
 ceased, their devastations were followed by a most abundant 
 crop. The Arabs of the desert, ** whose hands are against 
 every man,’’ Gen, xvi. 12. and who rejoice in the evil that 
 befalls other nations, when they behold the clouds of locusts 
 proceeding from the north, are filled with gladness, anticipat- 
 ing a general mortality, which they call ei khere, (the bene- 
 diction;) for, when a country is thus laid waste, they emerge 
 from their arid deserts, and pitch their tents in the desolated 
 plains. — Jackson^ s Travels in Morocco, 54. 
 
 The noise the locusts make when engaged in the work of 
 destruction, has been compared to the sound of a flame of 
 fire driven by the wind, and the effect of their bite to that of 
 fire. — Bochart. A poet of our own day has very strikingly 
 described the noise produced by their flight and approach: — 
 
 Onward they came, a dark continuous cloud 
 Of congregated myriads, numberless, 
 
 The rushing of whose wings was as the sound 
 Of a broad river, headlong in its course 
 Plung’d from a mountain summit, or the roar 
 Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm, 
 
 Shattering its billows on a shore of rocks ! 
 
 Southey's Thalaha, i. 169. 
 
 But no account of the appearance and ravages of these ter- 
 rific insects, for correctness and sublimity, comes near to that 
 of the prophet Joel : A day of darkness and of gloominess, a 
 day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread 
 upon the mountains : a great people and a strong ; there hath 
 not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even 
 to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before 
 them ; and behind them a flame burneth : the land is as the 
 garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wil- 
 derness ; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appear- 
 ance of them is as the appearance of horses ; and as horse- 
 men, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots* on the 
 tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame 
 of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people 
 set in battle-array. Before their face the people shall be 
 much pained ; all faces shall gather blackness. They shall 
 run like mighty men ; they shall climb the wall like men of 
 war ; and they shall march every one on his w^ays, and they shall 
 not break their ranks : neither shall one thrust another; they 
 shall walk every one in his path : and when they fall upon 
 the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to 
 and fro in the city ; they shall run upon the wall, they shall 
 
 * Of the symbolical locusts in the Apocalypse it is said, “ And the 
 sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses run 
 fling to battle.” — Rev. ix. 9. 
 
 2 Y 
 
354 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 climb up upon the houses ; they shall enter in at the windows 
 like a thieC The earth shall quake before them, the heavens 
 shall tremble : the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the 
 stars shall withdraw their shining!” The usual way in which 
 they are destroyed, is also noticed by the prophet. “ I will 
 remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him 
 into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east 
 sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink 
 shall come up, because he hath done great things !” — Joel ii, 
 2 — 10 , 20 . 
 
 The best method of destroying locusts, would be to recom- 
 mend them as an article of food. In the Crimea, they are 
 often eaten by the inhabitants. Some French emigrants, who 
 had been directed in this manner, assured me, that w'hen 
 fried, they were very palatable and very wholesome. The 
 Arabs, according to Hasselquist, eat them roasted, and are 
 glad to get them. 
 
 It is quite certain that there is nothing endued by na- 
 ture with peculiar functions, in vain; and it is equally certain, 
 that matter, however modified, whether in the form of ani- 
 mated or inanimated bodies, is continually undergoing change. 
 The more deeply we investigate the works of creation, the 
 more strong; will be our conviction of these truths. 
 
 We know that many animals, and particularly insects, 
 have apparently no other employment, than that of clearing 
 or purifying the surface of the earth of superfluous matter, 
 the residuum of decayed bodies, or of reconverting it into 
 useful forms, as I shall attempt to illustrate hereafter. Now, 
 if we survey those regions which give birth to, and support, 
 the vast clouds of locusts alluded to, our view will be confined 
 principally to the extensive deserts of Africa and Asia; the 
 vegetation of many of which, according to the reports of 
 travellers, is abundant and luxuriant, beyond the conception 
 of those who have not beheld them; insomuch, that the crops 
 of grass, and other annual vegetables, absolutely load the 
 earth ; and these, perishing upon each other, would form an 
 impenetrable, putrid mass, if not consumed by some animals 
 appointed for the purpose. 
 
 That locusts support existence by vegetable food, is well 
 known; but whether they have no other object than to con- 
 sume the superabundant produce of the regions they frequent, 
 and to procreate, is not so easily proved. One who has had 
 no opportunity of witnessing their manners, from their birth 
 to their final destruction, can scarcely be able positively to 
 decide; but I have no doubt that an intelligent naturalist, 
 (governed by the principles this chapter is intended, in some 
 measure, to illustrate,) with the necessary opportunities, such 
 as Dr. Shaw, in particular, had, would be able to get at facts 
 
LOCUSTS. 355 
 
 that would indisputably prove the existence of locusts to be a 
 blessing rather than a curse. 
 
 Whatever may be the direct object of their existence, 
 locusts are of great use to many other animals, for there are 
 some, particularly birds, that entirely prey upon them; and, 
 if man himself refuses this food, it is rather from the pre- 
 judice, perhaps, of an absurd education, than from any im- 
 proper or bad quality of the food itself.* The inhabitants 
 of several eastern nations have a relish for this diet: and it 
 is recorded of him who cried in the wilderness, “ Prepare ye 
 the way of the Lord,*^ that “ his meat was locusts and wild 
 honey .’* — Matthew iii. 4. After this, we cannot listen to the 
 feeble remonstrances of any modern epicure. 
 
 Mosquitoes, and their Uses. — The mosquito is ac- 
 counted one of the most noxious and the most numerous of 
 insects; at least of such as are esteemed noxious by the vul- 
 gar and the ignorant. In some countries, indeed, their num- 
 bers, and the effects produced by them, are wonderful. There 
 is no instance on record more striking than the following, as 
 related by Dr. Clarke: — 
 
 ** No contrivance on our part could prevent millions of 
 mosquitoes from filling the inside of our carriage, which, in 
 spite of gloves, clothes, and handkerchiefs, rendered our 
 bodies one entire wound. The Cossacks light numerous fires, to 
 drive them from the cattle during the night; but so insatiate 
 is their thirst of blood, that hundreds will attack a person 
 attempting to shelter himself even in the midst of smoke. 
 At the same time, the noise they make in flying cannot be 
 conceived by persons who have only been accustomed to the 
 humming of such insects in our country.” — “ Almost ex- 
 hausted by fatigue, pain, and heat, I sought shelter in the 
 carriage, sitting in water and mud. It was the most sultry 
 night I ever experienced; not a breath of air was stirring; 
 nor could I venture to open the windows, though almost 
 suffocated, through fear of the mosquitoes. Swarms, never- 
 theless, found their way to my hiding-place ; and when I 
 opened my mouth, it was filled with them. My head was 
 bound in handkerchiefs; yet they forced their way into my 
 ears and nostrils. In the midst of this torment, I succeeded 
 in lighting a lamp over the sword-case; which was instantly 
 extinguished by such a prodigious number of these insects, 
 that their dead bodies actually remained heaped in a large 
 cone over the burner for several days afterward: and I know 
 
 * Shaw says, that the gryllus errstatus, which is five or six times the 
 size of the common locust, or gryllus migratorius, is publicly sold, both 
 in a fresh and salted state, in the markets of some parts of the Levant 
 Ger. Zoology y vol. vi. part. ii. p. 138. 
 
356 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 not any mode of description which can convey a more 
 adequate idea of their afflicting visitation, than by simply 
 relating this fact : to the truth of which, those who travelled 
 with me, and who are now living, bear indisputable testi- 
 mony.” 
 
 Those who have laboured under so painful a visitation, as 
 that to which this lively account refers, may not perhaps be 
 so ready to admit the general utility of these irritating insects, 
 though their usefulness is more evident, and far more easily 
 proved, than that of the locust, or indeed of most other 
 animals of a similar nature. Bred in the midst of stagnant 
 pools, of bogs, and marshes, in regions unwholesome to 
 man, and where the effluvia arising from animal bodies, and 
 from rank decaying vegetable substances, are so abundant, 
 as to form thick pestilential vapours, that would inflict almost 
 instant destruction on the human inhabitant, and most other 
 creatures, if not removed as quickly as they were formed ; — 
 bred in such regions, and gifted with functions and propensi- 
 ties directed to the proper ends, the mosquito supports its 
 existence by consuming the noxious particles exhaled from 
 the swamps ; and the bodies of animals, as rapidly as they 
 are generated ; — thereby preventing that horrible putrefaction 
 of the air, and consequent pestilence, which would infallibly 
 take place, if the mosquitoes, and similar insects, were not 
 employed to purify the atmosphere. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. — (Concluded,) 
 
 Animalcules— The Cheese Mite — The Hi/dra, or Polypes, 
 
 The smallest creature in existence 
 
 Has limbs and sinews, blood, and heart, and brain, 
 
 Life and her proper functions to sustain. 
 
 Through the w hole fabric, smaller than a grain ! 
 
 What more can our penurious reason grant 
 To the large whale, or castled elephant; — 
 
 To those enormous terrors of the Nile, 
 
 The crested snake, and long-tail’d crocodile ; — 
 
 Than that all differ but in shape and name, 
 
 Each destin’d to a less or larger frame ? Prior*s Sblo)ntm, 
 
 ANIMALCULES. 
 
 The microscope discovers legions of animalcules in most 
 liquors, as water, vinegar, beer, dew, &c. They are also 
 found in rain, and several chalybeate waters, and in infusions 
 ♦f both animal and vegetable substances, as the seminal fluids 
 
ANIMALCULES. 
 
 367 
 
 of animals, pepper, oats, wheat, and other grain, tea, &c. &c. 
 The contemplation of animalcules has rendered the term, inji^ 
 nitely small bodies, extremely familiar to us. A mite was 
 anciently thought the limits of littleness ; but we are not now 
 surprised, to be told of animals tw'enty- seven millions of times 
 smaller than a mite. Minute animals are found proportion- 
 ably much stronger, more active and vivacious, than large 
 ones. The spring of a flea in its leap, how vastly does it 
 outskip any thing the larger animals are capable of I A mite, 
 how vastly swifter does it run than a race-horse ! M. De. 
 L’Isle has given the computation of the velocity of a little 
 creature, scarcely visible by its smallness ; which he found to 
 run three inches in half a second : supposing now' its feet to 
 be the fifteenth part of a line, it must make five hundred 
 steps in the space of three inches ; that is, it must shift its 
 legs five hundred times in a second, or in the ordinary pulsa- 
 tion of an artery. The excessive minuteness of microscopical 
 animalcules conceals them from the human eye. One of the 
 wonders of modern philosophy is, to have invented means for 
 bringing objects, to us so imperceptible, under our cogni- 
 zance and inspection : creatures, a thousand times too little 
 to be able to affect our sense, should seem to have been very 
 safe ; yet we have extended our views over animals, to whom 
 these w'ould be mountains. In reality, most of our micro- 
 scopical animalcules are of so small a magnitude, that through 
 a lens, whose focal distance is the tenth-part of an inch, they 
 only appear as so many points ; that is, their parts cannot be 
 distinguished, so that they appear from the vertex of that 
 lens under an angle not exceeding a minute. 
 
 If we investigate the magnitude of such an object, it will 
 be found nearly equal to long. Suppos- 
 
 ing, therefore, these animalcules of a cubic figure, that is, of 
 the same length, breadth, and thickness, their magnitude 
 would be expressed by the cube of the fraction that 
 
 is, by the number i^.MjToooTo^.ooo that is, so many parts of a 
 cubic inch, is each animalcule equal to. Leuwenhoek cal- 
 culates, that a thousand millions of animalcules, w'hich are 
 discovered in common water, are not altogether so large as a 
 grain of sand. In the milt of a single cod-fish, there are 
 more animals than there are upon the whole earth ; fora grain 
 of sand is bigger than four millions of them. The W'hite mat- 
 ter that sticks to the teeth also abounds with animalcules of 
 various figures, to which vinegar is fatal ; and it is known, 
 that vinegar contains animalcules in the shape of eels. In 
 short, according to this author, there is scarcely any thing 
 which corrupts, without producing animalcules. Animalcules 
 are said to be the cause of various disorders. The itch is 
 known to be a disorder arising from the irritation of a species 
 
358 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 of animalcules found in the pustules of the body ; when the 
 communication of it by contact from one to another is easily 
 conceived, as also the reason of the cure being effected by 
 cutaneous applications. 
 
 In the Philosophical Transactions, vol. 89, is a curious 
 account of animalcules produced from an infusion of pota- 
 toes, and another of hemp-seed, by the late Mr. Ellis. 
 
 “ On the 25th of May, 1768,*’ he says, “ Fahrenheit’s ther- 
 mometer 70'^, I boiled a potato in the New-River water, till 
 it was reduced to a mealy consistence : I put part of it, with 
 an equal proportion of the boiling liquor, into a cylindrical 
 glass vessel, that held something less than half a wine pint, 
 and immediately covered it close with a glass cover. At the 
 same time I sliced an unboiled potato, and, as near as I could 
 judge, put the same quantity into a glass vessel of the same 
 kind, with the same proportion of New-River water, not 
 boiled ; and, covering it with a glass cover, placed both 
 vessels together. On the 26th of May, twenty-four hours 
 afterwards, I examined a small drop of each by the first 
 magnifier of Wilson’s microscope, whose focal distance is 
 reckoned 3 ^oth part of an inch ; and, to my amazement, they 
 were both full of animalcules, of a linear shape, very distin- 
 guishable, moving to and fro with great celerity, so that there 
 appeared to be more particles of animal than vegetable life in 
 each drop. This experiment I have repeatedly tried, and 
 always found it to succeed in proportion to the heat of the 
 circumambient air; so that even in winter, if the liquors are 
 kept properly warm for two or three days, the experi- 
 ment will succeed. I procured hemp-seed from diflhrent 
 seedsmen, in different parts of the town ; some of it I put 
 into the New-River water, some into distilled water, and some 
 into very hard pump-water : the result was, that in propor- 
 tion to the heat of the weather, or warmth in which they were 
 kept, there was an appearance of millions of minute animal- 
 cules in all the infusions; and, some time after, oval ones 
 made their appearance, much larger than the first, which 
 still continued ; these wriggled to and fro in an undulatory 
 motion, turning themselves round very quick all the time 
 they moved forwards.” 
 
 The Cheese-mite. — This minute creature is a favourite sub- 
 ject for microscopic observations. It is covered with hairs or 
 bristles, which resemble in their structure the awns of barley, 
 being barbed on each side with numerous sharp-pointed pro- 
 cesses. The mite is oviparous : from the eggs proceed the young 
 animals, resembling the parents in all respects, except in the 
 number of legs, which at first amount only to six, the pair 
 from the head not making their appearance till after casting 
 
THE HYDRA, OR POLYPES. 
 
 d5d 
 
 their first skin. The eggs, in warm weather, hatch in about a 
 week, and the young animal may be seen sometimes for a day 
 together struggling to get rid of its egg-shell. The mite is a 
 very voracious animal, feasting equally upon animal and 
 vegetable substances. It is also extremely tenacious of life: 
 for, upon the authority of Leuwenhoek, though highly dis- 
 creditable to his sense of humanity, we are assured that a 
 mite lived eleven weeks after he had glued it to a pin, in 
 order to make his observations. 
 
 We shall close the account of the curiosities of insects with a 
 description of The Hydra, or Polypes. — In natural history, 
 this is a genus of the Vermes Zoophyta class and order ; an animal 
 fixing itself by the base; linear, gelatinous, naked, contractile, 
 and furnished with setaceous tentaculae, or feelers ; inhabit- 
 ing fresh .waters, and producing its deciduous offspring, or 
 eggs, from the sides. There are five species, H. gelatiiiosa, 
 minute and gelatinous, milk-white, cylindrical, with twelve 
 tentaculae shorter than the body : it inhabits Denmark, in 
 clusters on the under side of Fuci. But on the viridis, the 
 fusca, and the grisca, the greatest number of experiments have 
 been made by naturalists, to ascertain their true nature and 
 very wonderful habits. They are generally found in ditches. 
 Whoever has carefully examined these, when the sun is very 
 powerful, will find many little transparent lumps of the 
 appearance of jelly, the size of a pea, and flatted upon one 
 side. The same kind of substances are likewise to be met 
 with on the under side of the leaves of plants that grow in 
 such places. These are the polypes in a quiescent state, and 
 apparently inanimate. They are generally fixed by one end 
 to some solid substance, with a large opening, which is the- 
 mouth; the other having several arms fixed round it, pro- 
 jecting as rays from the centre, i They are slender, pellucid, 
 and capable of contracting themselves into a very small com- 
 pass, or of extending to a considerable length. The arms are 
 capable of the same contraction and expansion as the body, 
 and with these they lay hold of minute worms and insects, 
 bringing them to the mouth, and swallowing them. The in- 
 digestible parts are again thrown out by the mouth. 
 
 The green polype was that first discovered by M. Trembley ; 
 and the first appearances of spontaneous motion were per- 
 ceived in its arms, which it can contract, expand, and twist 
 about in various directions. On the first appearance of dan- 
 ger, they contract to such a degree, that they seem little 
 longer than a grain of sand, of a fine green colour, the arms 
 disappearing entirely. Soon afterwards, he found the grisca, 
 and afterwards the fusca. The bodies of the viridis and 
 orisca diminish almost insensibly from the anterioi to the pos* 
 
360 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 terior exl/emity ; but the fusca is for the most part of an 
 equal size, for two-thirds of its length, from the anterior to 
 the posterior extremities, from which it becomes abruptly 
 smaller, and then continues of a regular size to the end. 
 These three kinds have at least six, and at most twelve or 
 thirteen arms. They can contract themselves till their bodies 
 do not exceed one-fourth of an inch in length, and they can 
 stop at any intermediate degree of expansion or contraction. 
 They are of various sizes, from an inch to an inch and a half 
 long. Their arms are seldom longer than their bodies, though 
 some have them an inch, and some even eight inches long. 
 The thickness of their bodies decreases as they extend them- 
 selves, and vice versa; and they may be made to contract 
 themselves, either by agitating the water in which they are 
 contained, or by touching the animals themselves. When taken 
 out of the water, they all contract so much, that tl|ey appear 
 only like a little lump of jelly. They can contract or expand 
 one arm, or any number of arms, independently of the rest; 
 and they can likewise bend their bodies or arms in all possible 
 directions. They can also dilate or contract their bodies in 
 various places, and sometimes appear thick set with folds, 
 which, when carelessly viewed, appear like rings. Their pro- 
 gressive motion is performed by that power which they have 
 of contracting and dilating their bodies. When about to 
 move, they bend down their heads and arms; lay hold by 
 means of them, or some other substance to which they design 
 to fasten themselves; then they loosen their tail, and draw it 
 towards the head ; then either fix it in that place, or stretch- 
 ing forw^ard their head as before, repeat the same operation. 
 They ascend or descend at pleasure in this manner upon 
 aquatic plants, or upon the sides of the vessel in which they 
 are kept; they sometimes hang by the tail from the surface 
 of the w^ater, or sometimes by one of their arms; and they can 
 walk with ease upon the surface of the water. On examining 
 the tail with a microscope, a small part of it will be found to 
 be dry above the surface of the water, and, as it were, in a 
 little concave space, of which the tail forms the bottom ; so 
 that it seems to be suspended on the surface of the water, on 
 the same principle that a small pin or needle is made to 
 swim. When a polype, therefore, means to pass from the 
 sides of the glass to the surface of the water, it has only to 
 put tliat part out of the water by which it is supported, and 
 to give it time to dry, which it always does upon these occa- 
 sions; and they attach themselves so firmly by the tail to 
 aquatic plants, stones, &c. that they cannot be easily disen- 
 gaged : they often further strengthen these attachments by 
 means of one or two of their arms, which serve as a kind of 
 ancho s f"»r fixing them to the adjacent substances. 
 
THE HYDllA, OR POtYPES. 
 
 361 
 
 The fusca has the longest arms, and makes use of the most 
 curious manoeuvres to seize its prey. They are best viewed 
 in a glass seven or eight inches deep, when their arms com- 
 monly hang down to the bottom. When this or any other 
 kind is hungry, it spreads its arms in a kind of circle to a 
 considerable extent, inclosing in this, as in a net, every insect 
 which has the misfortune to come within the circumference. 
 While the animal is contracted by seizing its prey, the arms 
 are observed to swell like the muscles of the human body when 
 in action. Though no appearance of eyes can be observed in 
 the polype, they certainly have some knowledge of the ap- 
 proach of their prey, and shew the greatest attention to it as 
 soon as it comes near them. It seizes a worm the moment it 
 is touched by one of the arms, and in conveying it to the 
 mouth, it frequently twists the arm into a spiral line like a 
 corkscrew, by whicli means the insect is brought to the 
 mouth in a much shorter time than otherwise it would be ; 
 and so soon are the insects on which the polypes feed killed 
 by them, that M. Fontana thinks they must contain the most 
 powerful kind of poison; for the lips scarcely touch the ani- 
 mal, when it expires, though there cannot be anv wound per- 
 ceived on it when dead. The worm, when swallowed, appears 
 sometimes single, sometimes double, according to circum- 
 stances. When full, the polype contracts itself, hangs down 
 as in a kind of stupor, but extends again in proportion as 
 the food is digested, and the excrementitious part is dis- 
 charged. 
 
 The manner in which the polypes propagate, is most per- 
 ceptible in the grisca and fusca, as being considerably larger 
 than the viridis. If we examine one of them in summer, when 
 the animals are most active, and prepared for propagation, 
 some small tubercles will be found proceeding from its sides, 
 which constantly increase in bulk, until at last, in two or three 
 days, they assume the figure of small polypes. When they 
 first begin to shoot, the excrescence becomes pointed, assum- 
 ing a conical figure and deeper colour than the rest of the 
 body. In a short time it becomes truncated, and then cylin- 
 drical, after which the arms begin to shoot from the anterior 
 end. The tail adheres to the body of the parent animal, but 
 gradually grows smaller, until at last it hangs onlyby a point,and 
 is then ready to be separated. When this is the case, both 
 the mother and young ones fix themselves to the sides of the 
 glass, and are separated from each other by a sudden jerk. 
 The time requisite for the formation of the young ones is very 
 different, according to the warmth of the weather, and the 
 nature of the food eaten by the mother. Sometimes they are 
 fully formed, and ready to drop off, in twenty-four hours; in 
 Other cases, when the weather is cold, fifteen days have been 
 
 2 Z 
 
362 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING INSECTS. 
 
 requisite for bringing them tc perfection. The polypes pro- 
 duce young ones indiscriminately from all parts of tneir 
 bodies, and five or six young ones have frequently been pro- 
 duced at once ; nay, M. Trembley has observed nine or ten 
 produced at the same time. 
 
 When a polype is cut transversely, or longitudinally, into 
 two or three parts, each part in a short time becomes a perfect 
 animal ; and so great is this prolific power, that a new animal 
 will be produced, even from a small portion of the skin of 
 the old one. If the young ones be mutilated while they grow 
 upon the parent, the parts so cut off will be re-produced ; and 
 the same property belongs to the parent. A truncated portion 
 will send forth young ones before it has acquired a new head 
 and tail of its own, and sometimes the head of the young one 
 supplies the place of that which should have grown out of the 
 old one. If we slit a polype longitudinally through the head 
 to the middle of the body, we shall have one formed with 
 two heads ; and by again slitting these in the same manner, 
 we may form one with as many heads as we please. A still 
 more surprising property of these animals is, that they may 
 be grafted together. If the truncated portions of a polype be 
 placed end to end, and gently pushed together, they will 
 unite into a single one. The two portions are first joined 
 together by a slender neck, which gradually fills up and dis- 
 appears, the food passing from one part into the other ; and 
 thus we may form polypes, not only from different portions 
 of the same animal, but from those of different animals. We 
 may fix the head of one to the body of another, and the com- 
 pound animal will grow, eat, and multiply, as if it had never 
 been divided. By pushing the body of one into the mouth of 
 another, so far that their heads may be brought into contact, 
 and kept in that situation for some time, they will at last 
 unite into one animal, only having double the usual number 
 of arms. The hydra fusca may be turned inside out like a 
 glove, at the same time that it continues to eat and live as 
 before. The lining of the stomach now forms the outer skin, 
 and the former epidermis constitutes the lining of the sto- 
 mach. 
 
VEGETABLES. 
 
 3(S3 
 
 CHAP. XXXIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 Curiosities in the Vegetable Kingdom — Germination of Seeds — 
 Dissemination of Plants — Number of Plants upon the Earths 
 Sensibility of Plants — The Sensitive Plant, 
 
 Your contemplation further yet pursue; 
 
 The wondrous world of vegetables view ! 
 
 See various trees their various fruits produce, 
 
 Some for delightful taste, and some for use. 
 
 See sprouting plants enrich the plain and wood, 
 
 For physic some, and some design’d for food. 
 
 See fragrant flow’rs, with different colours dy’d. 
 
 On smiling meads unfold their gaudy pride. Blackmort* 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 The difference between animals and vegetables is so great, 
 that at first we do not perceive any resemblance between them. 
 Some animals only live in water ; others on the earth, cr in 
 the air ; and some are amphibious, or live equally well in 
 water as upon land. And this is literally the case with vege- 
 tables ; some of them only grow upon land, others in the 
 water ; some can scarcely bear any moisture, others live 
 either in earth or water; and some even are found that exist 
 in the air. 
 
 There is a tree in the island of Japan, which, contrary to 
 the nature of all others, to which moisture is necessary, can- 
 not bear the least portion. As soon as it is watered it 
 perishes : the only way to preserve it in such a case, is to cut 
 it off by the root, which is to be dried in the sun, and after- 
 wards planted in a dry and sandy soil. A peculiar species of 
 mushroom, some mosses, and other small plants, float in the 
 air ; but what is still more extraordinary, a branch of rose- 
 mary, which, as is the custom of some countries, was put in 
 the hand of a corpse, sprouted out to the right and left so 
 vigorously, that after a lapse of some years, the grave being 
 opened, the face of the defunct was overshadowed with rose- 
 mary leaves. The vegetation of the truflle is still more 
 singular : this extroardinary tubercle has neither roots, stem, 
 leaves, flowers, nor seeds ; it derives its nourishment through 
 the pores of its bark. But it may be asked, how is it pro- 
 duced ? why is there commonly no kind of herb in the places 
 where this species of fungus grows? and why is. the land 
 there dry and full of crevices? These things have never been 
 explained. No plant so much resembles animals, as that 
 
364 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 species of membranous moss called nostoch ; it is an irre* 
 gular substance, of a pale green colour, and somewhat trans- 
 
 f arent; it trembles upon the slightest touch, and easily breaks 
 t can only be seen after rain, and is then found in many 
 places, particularly in uncultivated soils and sandy roads 
 It exists in all seasons, even in winter; but is never so abun- 
 dant as after rain in summer. The most remarkable circum- 
 stance about it is, its speedy growth, being formed almost 
 instantaneously: sometimes walking in the garden in summer, 
 not a trace of it is seen, when a sudden shower of rain falling, 
 if the same place is visited in an hour, the walks are entirely 
 covered with it. The nostoch was long supposed to have 
 descended from the sky ; but it is now known to be a leaf, 
 W'hich attracts and imbibes water with great avidity. This 
 leaf, to which no root appears to belong, is in its natural 
 state when impregnated with water ; but a strong wind or 
 great heat soon dissipating the water, the leaf contracts, and 
 loses its colour and transparency : hence it appears to grow 
 so suddenly, and to be so miraculously produced by a shower 
 of rain ; for when the rain falls upon it in its dried and imper- 
 ceptible state, it becomes reanimated, and appears a fresh 
 production. 
 
 We might readily enumerate a variety of plants that bear a 
 resemblance to animals ; but there are other peculiarities in 
 vegetables, which solicit our attention. The w'hole atmosphere 
 is pregnant with plants and invisible seeds, and even the 
 largest grains are dispersed by the wind over the earth ; and 
 as soon as they are transported to the places where they may 
 germinate, they become plants, and often so little soil is 
 necessary for this purpose, that we can scarcely conceive 
 W'hence they derive the necessary degree of nourishment. 
 There are plants, and even trees, which take root and grow 
 in the clefts of rocks, without any soil. Vegetation is some- 
 times very rapid ; of which we have instances in mushrooms, 
 and the common cresses, the seed of which, if put into a wet 
 cloth, will be fit for a salad in twenty-four hours. There are 
 plants that exist with scarcely any perceptible vitality. We 
 often see willows, which are not only hollowed and decayed 
 within, but their external bark is so much injured that 
 very little of it remains; yet from these seemingly sapless 
 trunks, buds sprout in the spring, and they are crowned with 
 leaves and branches. How admirable, that plants should not 
 only imbibe nutriment by their roots, but that their leaves 
 also should assist in this important function, by inspiring air! 
 and an inverted tree will flourish as well as when in its pro- 
 per position, for the branches will grow in the earth and 
 oecome roots ! The advanced age that, some trees attain, 
 Ib also very wonderful. Some apple-trees are above a thou 
 
GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 
 
 36b 
 
 sand years old ; and if we calculate the amount of the annual 
 produce of such a tree for the above space of time, we shall 
 find that a single pippin might supply all Europe with trees 
 and fruit. 
 
 The Germination of Seeds. — Seeds are composed of 
 different parts, according to the variety of species, the prin- 
 cipal of which parts is the germ. Each germ has two parts : 
 the one simple, which becomes the root; and the other lami- 
 nated, which becomes the stem of the plant. The substance 
 of most seeds is composed of two pieces, called lobes, which 
 contain a farinaceous matter, and serve as seminal leaves to 
 the plants. Mosses have the most simple seed, consisting 
 only of the germ, without pellicle, and without lobes. To 
 make seeds germinate, air, and a certain degree of heat and 
 moisture, are necessary. The augmented heat, and the differ- 
 ence observable in the taste and smell, seem to denote a 
 degree of fermentation ; and the farinaceous substance be- 
 comes fitted to nourish the tender germ. It has been ascer- 
 tained by experiments made with coloured fluids, that this 
 substance imbibes a moisture, which, in conjunction with the 
 air and heat, forms a proper nourishment till the plant has 
 acquired strength enough to make use of the juices fur- 
 nished by the root. The lobes, exhausted of their farinaceous 
 matter, gradually dry, and fall off of themselves in a few 
 weeks, when the plant has no further need of their assist- 
 ance. — Certain herbs which grow on the mountains are of a 
 very peculiar nature : their duration being very short, it often 
 happens that the seed has not time to ripen ; and, that the 
 species may not be lost, the bud which contains the germ is 
 formed upon the top of the plant, puts forth leaves, falls, and 
 takes root. When the delicate plant shoots up from the 
 earth, it would run too great a risk, if it were immediately 
 exposed to the air, and to the influence of the sun. Its parts 
 therefore remain folded close to each other, nearly the same as 
 when in the seed. But as the root grows strong and branches 
 out, it furnishes the superior vessels with an abundance of 
 juice, by means of which all the organs are developed. At 
 first the plant is nearly gelatinous ; but it soon acquires more 
 firmness, and continually increases in size. 
 
 This short account of the germination of seeds may suffice 
 to shew, to the inquisitive in the wonders of nature, what 
 preparations and means nature uses to produce a single plant. 
 When, therefore, we see a seed that we have placed in the 
 earth sprout, we shall no longer consider it as beneath oui 
 notice, but shall rather be disposed to regard it as one of 
 those wonders of nature which have e'^cited the observation 
 and attention of some of the greatest of men. 
 
366 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES 
 
 (to, mark the matchless workings of that Power 
 That shuts within the seed the future flower; 
 
 Bids these in elegance of form excel; 
 
 In colour these, and those delight the smell 
 Sends nature forth, the daughter of the skies, 
 
 To dance on earth, and charm all human eyes. Cowper% 
 
 Dissemination of Plants. — When seeds are come to 
 maturity, their dissemination is absolutely necessary, since 
 without it no future crop would follow. The great Author of 
 nature has wisely provided for this in various ways. The 
 stems of many plants are long and slender, and being raised 
 above the ground, the wind shakes them to and fro, and by 
 this means are the ripe seeds conveyed to a distance. The 
 seed-vessels of most plants are shut till the seeds are ripe, that 
 so the winds may not scatter them prematurely; and when 
 the. proper season arrives, many of these open with such 
 a degree of elasticity as to throw the seeds to a consider- 
 able distance. Other seeds have a kind of wings given 
 them, by which they are conveyed to a distance of some miles 
 from the parent plant. These wings consist either of a down, 
 as in most of the composite-flowered plants, or of a membrane, 
 as in the birch, alder, ash, elm, &c. Hence^ woods, which 
 happen to be destroyed by fire, or any other accident, are 
 soon restored again by new plants. 
 
 Some seeds are rough, or provided with a sort of hooks, by 
 means of which they are apt to stick to animals that pass by 
 them, and by this means are carried to the mouths of their bur- 
 rows, where they meet with proper soil and manure for their 
 growth. Berries and other pericarpies are by nature allotted 
 for aliment to animals ; but it is on condition that they shall 
 sow the seed while they eat it: this they do by dispersing the 
 seeds as they are eating; and also after eating, by voiding 
 many of them unhurt, and even in a better state for vegetation 
 than they were before. Thus many kinds of nuts are sown; 
 and thus did the doves of the Moluccas replant with nutmegs 
 those islands of the East, which the sordid avarice of the 
 Dutch had destroyed: Providence thereby frustrating, by 
 feeble but certain means, the contemptible selfishness of that 
 commercial people. 
 
 In this manner the woods of northern countries are sown 
 with junipers, by the thrushes and other birds which feed 
 upon these heavy berries. The cross-bill lives upon fir-cones, 
 and the hawfinch upon pine-cones; by means of which the fii 
 and the pine, of various species, are continually planted in 
 vast abundance. In our own country, the common rook has been 
 observed, not only to feed on acorns, but to make holes in the 
 ground with the bill, and hide many: probably they mean 
 only to lay in a stock for future necessity by this process; 
 
NUMBER OF PLANTS, 
 
 367 
 
 but certain it is, that thousands of oaks are annually planted 
 by this means. Swine, also, in searching for food, turn up 
 the earth; and moles, by throwing up hillocks, prepare the 
 ground for seeds of various kinds. Seas, lakes, and rivers, 
 by their streams and currents, often convey seeds unhurt to 
 distant countries. 
 
 In assimilating the animal and vegetable kingdoms, Lin- 
 naeus denominates seeds the eggs of plants. The fecundity 
 of plants is frequently marvellous : from a single plant or 
 stalk of Indian Turkey wheat, are produced, in one summer, 
 2000 seeds; of elecampane, 3000; of sun-flower, 4000; of 
 poppy, 32,000 ; of a spike of cat’s-tail, 10,000 and upwards: 
 a single fruit or seed-vessel of tobacco, contains 1000 seeds; 
 that of white poppy, 8000. Mr. Ray relates, from experi- 
 ments made by himself, that 1012 tobacco seeds are equal in 
 weight to one grain; and that the weight of the whole quan- 
 tum of seeds in a single tobacco plant, is such as must, ac- 
 cording to the above proportion, determine their number to 
 be 360,000. The same author estimates the a...niial produce 
 of a single stalk of spleen-wort to be upwards of 1,000,00^ 
 of seeds. 
 
 Prodigious Number of Plants upon the Earth. — It 
 is said, that there are about 44,000 different plants already dis- 
 covered, to which new ones are daily added. By means of 
 the microscope, some have been found where they were least 
 expected. The different varieties of mosses and sponges have 
 been classed among vegetables, and have presented to the 
 observation of the naturalist, seeds and flowers before un- 
 known. Freestone is sometimes covered with browm and 
 blackish spots; the mouldy substance which composes them 
 adheres to various other matters, and may be considered as a 
 little garden in vegetation. When we reflect upon the quan- 
 tity of moss which covers the hardest stones, the trunks of 
 trees, and the most barren places; — when we consider the 
 quantity of vegetables upon the surface of the earth; the 
 different species of flowers which delight and refresh us; the 
 trees and bushes, add to these the aquatic plants, some of 
 which exceed a hair in fineness; — we may be able to form 
 some idea of the multitude of plants in the vegetable king- 
 dom. All these species grow up, and are preserved without 
 detriment or injury, each having that place assigned it, 
 which is most suited to its properties. Such is the wisdom 
 displayed in their distribution over the surface of the earth, 
 that there is no part of it wholly destitute, and no part enjoys 
 them in too great abundance. Some plants require the open 
 field, where, unsheltered by trees, they may receive the sun’s 
 rays; others can only exist in water; some grow in the sand; 
 
368 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 others in marshes and fens, which are frequently covered with 
 water, and some bud on the surface of the earth, whilst 
 others unfold themselves in its bosom. The different strata 
 which compose the soil of the earth, as sand, clay, chalk, &c. 
 favour different vegetables ; and hence it is, that in the vast 
 garden of nature nothing is absolutely sterile; from the finest 
 sand to the flinty rock, from the torrid to the frozen zone, each 
 soil and climate supports plants peculiar to itself. Another 
 circumstance highly worthy of attention is: the Creator has so 
 ordered, that, among this immense variety of plants, those which 
 twre most proper for food or medicine multiply in greater abun- 
 dance than those which are of less utility. Herbs are much more 
 numerous than trees and brambles ; grass is in greater abun- 
 dance than oaks ; and cherry-trees more plentiful than apricots : 
 had oaks been more frequent than grass, or trees than herbs and 
 roots, it would have been impossible for animals to subsist. 
 
 According to the calculation of Baron Von Humboldt, 6000 
 plants are agamoiis, that is, plants which have no sexual 
 organs, such as champignons, lichens, See. Of the remainder 
 
 there are found— 
 
 In Europe 7,000 
 
 In the temperate regions of Asia 1,500 
 
 In Equinoxial Asia, and the adjacent Islands 4,500 
 
 In Africa 3,000 
 
 In the temperate regions of America, in both hemi- 
 spheres 4,000 
 
 In Equinoxial America 13,000 
 
 In New Holland, and the Islands of the Pacific Ocean 5,000 
 
 Total 38,000 
 
 Sensibility of Plants. — There are certain motions ob- 
 servable in plants, that make it doubtful whether they are not 
 possessed of sensibility. Some plants shrink and contract 
 their leaves upon being touched ; others open and shut their 
 flowers at certain fixed hours in the day, so regularly as to 
 denote with precision the time of day; some assume a pecu- 
 liar form during the night, folding up their leaves; and these 
 different changes take place whether they are in the open air, 
 or shut up in close apartments. Those which live under 
 water during the time of fecundation, raise their flowers above 
 the surface. 
 
 The motions of a marshy plant discovered some time since, 
 in the province of Carolina, are still more singular. Its round 
 leaves are furnished above, and on the sides, with a multi- 
 tude of notches that are extremely irritable. When an insect 
 happens to creep upon the superior surface of the leaves, they 
 
THE SENSITIVE PLANT. 
 
 369 
 
 fold up, and inclose the insect till it dies ; the leaves then 
 open of themselves. We may daily observe regular motions 
 in some plants in our gardens. Tulips expand their petals 
 when the weather is fine, and close them again at sun-set or 
 during rain. Vegetables with pods, such as peas and beans, 
 open tlieir shells when dry, and curl themselves up like shav- 
 ings of wood. Wild oats, when placed upon a table, will 
 move spontaneously, more especially if warmed in the hand 
 And the heliotrope, or sunflower, with various other plants, 
 alw'ays turns towards the sun. These are incontestable facts, 
 of the certainty of which every person may be easily convinced. 
 From them, some conclude that w'e ought not to deny sensi- 
 bility to be an attribute of plants; and certainly the facts 
 which are alleged in favour of such an opinion, give it great 
 appearance of probability. But, on the other hand, plants 
 have no other sign of sensibility ; and all that they have is 
 entirely mechanical. We plant a shrub and destroy it, with- 
 out finding any analogy between it and an animal, that we 
 bring up and kill. We see a plant bud, blossom, and bear 
 seed, insensibly, as the hand of a watch runs round the points 
 of the dial. The most exact anatomy of a plant does not 
 unfold to us any organ which has the least relation to those 
 of animal sensibility. When we oppose these observations to 
 those from which w^e might infer the sensibility of plants, we 
 remain in uncertainty, and w'e cannot explain the phenomena 
 related above. Our knowledge upon this subject is very im- 
 perfect, and is confined to simple conjecture. We neither 
 attribute sensibility to plants, nor deny it to them, with cer- 
 tainty. 
 
 The Sensitive Plant. — This singular plant rises from a 
 slender woody stalk seven or eight feet in height, armed with 
 short recurved thorns ; the leaves grow upon long footstalks, 
 which are prickly, each sustaining two pair of wings ; from 
 the place where these are inserted, come out small branches, 
 having three or four globular heads of pale purplish flowers 
 f ining out from the side, on short peduncles; the principal 
 stalk has many of those heads of flowers on the upper part, 
 fui more than a foot in length ; this, as also the branches, is 
 terminated by like heads of flowers ; the leaves move uu 
 slowly when touched, but the footstalks fall, when they are 
 preiised pretty hard. It is a native of Brazil, (M. piuUca, hum- 
 ble plant,) having the roots composed of many hairy fibres, which 
 mat slowly together; from these come out several woody 
 stalks, declining towards the ground, unless supported; they 
 are armed with short recurved spines, having winged or pin- 
 nate leaves; flowers from the axils, on short peduncles, 
 collected in small globular heads, of a yellow colour. 
 
 3 A 
 
370 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 “ Naturalists (says Dr. Darwin) have not explained the 
 immediate cause of the collapsing of the sensitive plant; the 
 leaves meet and close in the night, during the sleep of the 
 plant, or when exposed to much cold in the day-time, in the 
 same manner as when they are affected by external violence, 
 folding their upper surfaces together, and in part over each 
 other like scales or tiles, so as to expose as little of the upper 
 surface as may be to the air, but do not, indeed, collapse 
 quite so far ; for when touched in the night during their sleep, 
 they fall still further, especially when touched on the foot- 
 stalks between the stems and the leaflets, which seem to be 
 their most sensitive or irritable part. Now, as their situation 
 after being exposed to external violence resembles their sleep, 
 but with a greater degree of collapsion, may it not be owing to 
 a numbness or paralysis consequent to too violent irritation, 
 like the pantings of animals from pain or fatigue? A sensi- 
 tive plant being kept in a dark room till some hours after 
 day-break, its leaves and leaf-stalks were collapsed as in its 
 most profound sleep, and on exposing it to the light, above 
 twenty minutes passed before the plant was thoroughly awake, 
 and had quite expanded itself. During this night the upper 
 surfaces of the leaves were oppressed ; this would seem to 
 shew that the office of this surface of the leaf was to expose 
 the fluids of the plant to the light, as well as to the air.'* 
 Dr. Darwin has thus characterized these plants. — 
 
 Weak with nice sense the chaste Mimosa stands. 
 
 From each rude touch withdraws her timid hands 
 Oft as light clouds o’erpass the summer glade, 
 
 Alarm’d, she trembles at the moving shade ; 
 
 And feels alive through all her tender form, 
 
 The whisper’d murmurs of the gathering storm ; 
 
 • Shuts her sweet eyelids to approaching night, 
 
 And hails with freshen’d charms the rising light. 
 
THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 
 
 371 
 
 CHAP. XXXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. — (Continued.) 
 
 The Cocoa-Nut Tree — The Bread-Fruit Tree — The Bannian 
 Tree — Fountain Trees — The Tallow Tree — The Paper Tree — 
 The Calabash Tree — Remarkable Oak — Dimensions, S^c. oj 
 some oj the largest Trees now growing in England — Upas, or 
 Poison Tree. 
 
 Admiration, feeding at the eye, 
 
 And still unsated, dwells upon the theme, Cowper. 
 
 THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 
 
 Of all the gifts which Providence has bestowed on the 
 Oriental world, the cocoa-nut tree most deserves our notice: 
 in this single production of nature, what blessings are conveyed 
 to man ! It grows a stately column, from thirty to fifty feet 
 in height, crowned by a verdant capital of waving branches, 
 covered with long spiral leaves; under this foliage, branches 
 of blossoms, clusters of green fruit, and others arrived at ma- 
 turity, appear in mingled beauty. The trunk, though porous, 
 furnishes beams and rafters for our habitations ; and the 
 leaves, when platted together, make an excellent thatch, 
 common umbrellas, coarse mats for the floor, and brooms; 
 while their finest fibres are woven into very beautiful mats 
 for the rich. The covering of the young fruit is extremely 
 curious, resembling a piece of thick cloth, in a conical form, 
 close and firm as it came from the loom ; it expands after the 
 fruit has burst through its inclosure, and then appears of a 
 coarser texture. The nuts contain a delicious milk, and a 
 kernel sweet as the almond : this, when dried, affords abun- 
 dance of oil ; and when that is expressed, the remains feed 
 cattle and poultry, and make good manure. The shell of the 
 nut furnishes cups, ladles, and other domestic utensils, while 
 the husk which incloses it is of the utmost importance; it is 
 manufactured into ropes and cordage of every kind, from the 
 smallest twine to the largest cable, which are far more dur- 
 able than those of hemp. In the Nicobar islands, the natives 
 build their vessels, make the sails and cordage, supply them 
 with provisions and necessaries, and provide a cargo of ar- 
 rack, vinegar, oil, gagpree or coarse sugar, cocoa-nuts, coir, 
 cordage, black paint, and several inferior articles, for foreign 
 markets, entirely from this tree. 
 
 Many of the trees are not permitted to bear fruit; but the 
 embryo bud, from which the blossoms and nuts would spring. 
 
,372 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 is tied up, to prevent its expansion ; and a small incision 
 being then made at the end, there oozes in gentle drops a cool 
 pleasant liquor, called Trace, or Toddy, the palm wine of the 
 poets. This, when first drawn, is cooling and salutary ; but 
 when fermented and distilled, produces an intoxicating spirit. 
 Thus, a plantation of cocoa-nut trees yields the proprietor 
 considerable profits, and generally forms part of the govern- 
 ment revenue. 
 
 ' The Bread-fruitTree. — The systematic name of thisplant 
 is Artocarpus, which is merely the English name translated into 
 Greek. There are several species; particularly A. incisa, and 
 A. iutegrifolia. 
 
 The genuine bread-fruit tree is the artocarpus incisa. In 
 captain Cook’s Voyage, it is observed, that the bread- 
 fruit tree is about the size of a middling oak; its leaves are 
 frequently a foot and a half long, oblono;, deeply sinuated, 
 like those of the fig-tree, which they resemble in consistence 
 and colour, and in exuding a milky juice when broken. The 
 fruit is the size and shape of a child’s head, and the surface is 
 reticulated, not much unlike a truffle; it is covered with a 
 thin skin, and has a core about as big as the handle of a small 
 knife; the eatable part lies between the skin and core; it is 
 as white as snow, and of the consistence of new bread. It 
 must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into 
 three or four parts; its taste is insipid, with a slight sweet- 
 ness, somewhat resembling that of the crumb of wheateii 
 bread, mixed with Jerusalem artichoke. The fruit not being 
 in season all the year, there is a method of supplying this de- 
 fect, by reducing it to sour paste, called makie; and besides 
 this, cocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, and a great variety of 
 other fruits, come in aid of it. This tree not only supplies 
 food, but also clothing, for the bark is stripped off the 
 suckers, and formed into a kind of cloth. To procure the 
 fruit for food costs the Otaheiteans no trouble or labour, 
 but climbing a tree. This most useful tree is distributed 
 very extensively over the East Indian continent and islands, 
 as well as the innumerable islands of the South Seas. In Ota- 
 heite, however, and some others, the evident superiority of 
 the seedless variety for food has caused the other to be neg- 
 lected, and it is consequently almost worn out. 
 
 We are informed by Captain King, that in the Sandwich 
 islands these trees are planted, and flourish with great luxuri- 
 ance on rising grounds; that they are not indeed in such 
 abundance, but that they produce double the quantity of fruit 
 to those growing on the rich plains of Otaheite ; that the trees 
 are nearly of the same height, but that the branches begin 
 to strike out from the trunk much lower, and with greater 
 
THE BREAD-FRUIT TREE 373 
 
 luxuriance ; and that the climate of these islands differs very 
 little from that of the West Indian islands which lie in the 
 same latitude. This reflection probably first suggested the 
 idea of conveying this valuable tree to our islands in the West 
 Indies. For this purpose his Majesty’s ship the Bounty 
 sailed for the South Seas, on the 23d of December, 1787, 
 under tlie command of Lieutenant William Bligh. But a fatal 
 mutiny prevented the accomplishment of this benevolent 
 design. His Majesty, however, not discouraged by the un- 
 fortunate event of the voyage, and fully impressed with the 
 importance of securing so useful an article of food as the 
 bread-fruit to our West Indian Islands, determined, in the 
 year 1791, to employ another ship, for a second expedition 
 on this service ; and, in order to secure the success of the 
 voyage as much as possible, it was thought proper that two 
 vessels should proceed together on this important business. 
 Accordingly, a ship of 400 tons, named the Providence, was 
 engaged for the purpose, and the command of her given to 
 Captain Bligh ; and a small tender, called the Assistant, com- 
 manded by Lieut. Nathaniel Portlock. Sir Joseph Banks, as 
 in the former voyage, directed the equipment of the ship for 
 this particular purpose. Two skilful gardeners were appointed 
 to superintend the trees and plants, from their transplantation 
 at Otaheite, to their delivery at Jamaica; and Captain Bligh 
 set sail on the 2d of August, 1791. The number of plants 
 taken on board at Otaheite, was 2634, in 1281 pots, tubs, and 
 cases; and of these 1151 were bread-fruit trees. When they 
 arrived at Coupang, 200 plants were dead, but the rest were 
 in good order. Here they procured ninety-two pots of the 
 fruits of that country. They arrived at St. Helena, with 830 
 fine bread-fruit trees, besides other plants. Here they left 
 some of them, with different fruits of Otaheite and Timor, 
 besides mountain rice and other seeds ; and hence the East 
 Indies may be supplied with them. 
 
 On their arrival at St. Vincent’s, they had 551 cases, contain- 
 ing 678 bread-fruit trees, besides a great number of other fruits 
 and plants, to the number of 1245. Near half this cargo was 
 deposited here under the care of Mr. Alexander Anderson, the 
 superintendant of his Majesty’s botanic garden, for the use of 
 the Windward islands ; and the remainder, intended for the 
 Leeward islands, was conveyed to Jamaica, and distributed 
 as the governor and council of Jamaica were pleased to direct. 
 The exact number of bread-fruit trees brought to Jamaica, 
 was 352 ; out of which, five only were reserved for the botanic 
 garden at Kew. Captain Bligh had the satisfaction, before 
 he quitted Jamaica, of seeing the trees, which he had brought 
 with so much success, in a most flourishing state ; insomuch 
 that no doubt remained of their growing well, and speedily 
 
374 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 producing fruit; an opinion which subsequent rcoorts Rave 
 confirmed. 
 
 The bre^d-fruit, when perfectly ripe, is pulpy, sweetish, 
 putrescent, and in this state is thought to be too laxative ; 
 but when green it is farinaceous, and esteemed a. very whole- 
 some food, either baked under the coals, or roasted over them. 
 The taste is not unlike that of wheaten bread, but with some 
 resemblance to that of Jerusalem artichokes or potatoes. It 
 was mentioned before, that a sort of cloth was made of the 
 inner bark : to this we may add, that the w®^od is used in 
 building boats and houses ; the male catkins serve for tinder* 
 the leaves for wrapping their food in, and for wiping their 
 hands instead of towels; and the juice for making bird-lime, 
 and as a cement for filling up the cracks of their vessels, and 
 for holding water. Three trees are supposed to yield sufli- 
 v.ient nourishment for one person. 
 
 The Bannian Tree. — The bannian, or Indian fig-tree, is 
 a native of several parts of the East Indies, and has a woody 
 stem, branching to a great height and vast extent. It is uni- 
 versally considered as one of the most beautiful of nature^s 
 productions ; and, contrary to most other things in animal 
 and vegetable nature, appears exempted from decay. Every 
 branch from the main body throws out its own roots, at first 
 fin small tender fibres, several yards from the ground, but 
 which thicken considerably before they reach the surface, and 
 then, striking in, they increase to large trunks, and become 
 parent trees, shooting out new branches from the top ; these 
 in time suspend their roots, which, swelling into trunks, pro- 
 duce other branches, thus continuing in a progressive state 
 as long as the earth, the common parent of them all, continues 
 her sustenance. The Hindoos are peculiarly fond of the ban- 
 nian tree ; they regard it as an emblem of the Deity, from its 
 long duration and overshadowing beneficence, and almost pay 
 it divine honours. Near this tree their most esteemed pagodas 
 are generally erected ; and under their .shade the Brahmins 
 spend their days in religious solitude, wandering among the 
 cool recesses and beautiful walks of this umbrageous canopy, 
 impervious to the hottest beams of a tropical sun. 
 
 A remarkably fine tree of this kind grows on an island in 
 the river Narbedda, in the province of Guzerat. It is distin- 
 guished from others of the same species by the name of Cub- 
 beer Bur, which was given it in honour of a famous saint. It 
 was once much larger than it is at present, high and violent 
 floods having carried aw'ay the banks of the island on which 
 it grew', and with them such parts of the tree as have thus far 
 extended its roots. What remains, is two thousand feet in 
 circumference, measured round the principal stems ; the over* 
 
CEDAR OF LEBANON. 
 
FOUNTAIN TREES. 
 
 376 
 
 hanging branches, which have not yet struck down, cover a- 
 much larger space. The chief trunks of this single tree, each.' 
 of which in size exceeds our English oaks or elms, amount' 
 to 350, the smaller stems to more than 3000, all casting out 
 new branches and hanging roots, to form in time parent trunks.' 
 Cubbeer Bur is famed through India for its amazing extent' 
 and beauty. The Indian armies frequently encamp around it, 
 and at stated periods solemn festivals are held under its’ 
 'branches, where thousands of votaries repair from various 
 parts of the empire. It is even said that 7000 persons found' 
 ample room under its shade. The English gentlemen some- 
 times form elegant and extensive encampments, where they* 
 spend whole weeks together under this delightful pavilion, 
 which is inhabited by green wood-pigeons, doves, and peacocks, 
 and also a variety of feathered songsters ; families of monkeys 
 are also in every quarter playing their antic tricks ; and bats, 
 to the astonishing size of six feet, from the extremity of one 
 wing to that of the other. This tree not only shelters, but 
 affords sustenance to these numerous inhabitants, being 
 covered, amidst its bright leaves, with small figs of a rich 
 scarlet, on which they regale. 
 
 Fountain Trees. — These a»-e very extraordinary vegeta- 
 bles, growing in one of the Canary Islands, and likewise said 
 to exist in some other places, which distil water from their 
 .eaves in such plenty, as to answer all the purposes of the 
 inhabitants who live near them. Of these trees we have the 
 following account, in Glasse’s History of the Canary Islands. 
 ‘‘ There are three fountains of water in the whole island of 
 Hiero, wherein the fountain tree grows. The larger cattle 
 are watered at those fountains, and at a place where water 
 distils from the leaves of a tree. Many writers have made' 
 mention of this famous tree, some in such a manner as to make 
 it appear miraculous : others again deny the existence of any 
 such tree ; among whom is Father Feyjoo, a modern Spanislf 
 author. But he, and those who agree with him in this matter,- 
 are as much mistaken as those who would make it appear to 
 be miraculous. The author of the History of the Discovery 
 and Conquest, has given us a particular account of it, which* 
 I shall here relate at large. — 
 
 The district in which this tree stands is called Tigulabe ; 
 near to which, and in the cliff or steep rocky ascent tliat sur- 
 rounds the whole island, is a gutter or gully, which com- 
 mences at the sea, and continues to the summit of the cliff, 
 where it joins or coincides with a valley, which is terminated 
 by the steep front of a rock. On the top of this rock grows 
 a tree, called, in the language of the ancient inhabitants, garse, 
 sacred or holy tree, which for many years has been preserved 
 
376 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 sound, entire, and fresh. Its leaves constantly distil s ch a 
 quantity of water as is sufficient to furnish drink to every 
 living creature in Hiero, nature having provided this remedy 
 for the drought of the island. It is situated about a league and 
 a half from the sea. Nobody knows of what species it is, 
 only that it is called til. It is distinct from other trees, and 
 stands by itself. The circumference of the trunk is about 
 twelve spans, the diameter four, and in height, from the 
 ground to the top of the highest branch, forty spans : the 
 circumference of all the branches together is 120 feet. The 
 branches are thick and extended, the lowest commence about 
 the height of an ell from the ground. Its fruit resembles the 
 acorn, and tastes something like the kernel of a pine-apple, 
 but is softer and more aromatic. The leaves of this tree 
 resemble those of the laurel, but are larger, wider, and more 
 curved ; they come forth in a perpetual succession, so that 
 the tree always remains green. Near to it grows a thorn, 
 which fastens on many of its branches, and interweaves with 
 them ; and at a small distance from the garse are some beech- 
 trees, bresoes, and thorns. On the north side of the trunk 
 are two large tanks or cisterns, of rough stone, or rather one 
 cistern divided, each half being twenty feet square, and six- 
 teen spans in depth. One of these contains water for the 
 drinking of the inhabitants ; and the other, that which they 
 use for their cattle, washing, and such like purposes. 
 
 “ Every morning, near this part of the island, a cloud or 
 mist arises from the sea, which the south or easterly winds 
 force against the forementioned steep cliff; so that the cloud, 
 having no vent but by the gutter, gradually ascends it, and 
 from thence advances slowly to the extremity of the valley, 
 where it is stopped and checked by the front of the rock which 
 teiTuinates the valley; and then rests upon the thick leaves 
 and wide spreading branches of the tree, from whence it 
 distils in drops during the remainder of the day, until it is at 
 length exhausted, in the same manner that w’e see water drip 
 from the leaves of trees after a heavy shower of rain. 
 
 “ This distillation is not peculiar to the garse or til, for the 
 bresoes, which grow near it, likewise drop water ; but their 
 leaves being but few and narrow, the quantity is so trifling, 
 that, though the natives save some of it, yet they make little 
 or no account of any but what distils from the til; which, 
 together with the water of some fountains, and what is saved 
 in the winter season, is sufficient to serve them and their flocks. 
 A person lives on the spot near which this tree grows, to take 
 care of it and its waters ; and is allowed a house to live in, 
 with a certain salary. He every day distributes to each family 
 of the district, seven pots or vessels full of water, besides 
 what he gives to the principal people of the island.” 
 
FOUNTAIN TREES. 
 
 377 
 
 Whether the tree which yields water at this present time, 
 be tlie same as that mentioned in the above description, I 
 cannot determine : but it is probable there has been a succes- 
 sion of them ; for Pliny, describing the Fortunate Island, 
 says, “ In the mountains of Oinbrion, are trees resembling the 
 plant ferula, from which water may be procured by pressure. 
 What comes from the black kind is bitter, but that which the 
 white yields is sweet and potable.” Trees yielding water are 
 not peculiar to the island of Hiero ; for travellers inform us 
 of one of the same kind on the island of St. Thomas, in the 
 bight or gulf of Guinea. In Cockburn’s Voyages, we find 
 the following account of a dropping tree, near the mountains 
 of Fera Paz, in America. — 
 
 “ On the morning of the fourth day, we came out on a large 
 plain, where were great numbers of fine deer; and in the mid- 
 dle stood a tree of unusual size, spreading its branches over 
 avast comij3ass of ground. Curiosity led us up to it. We had 
 perceived, at some distance, the ground about it to be wet; 
 at which we began to be somewhat surprised, as well knowing 
 there had no rain fallen for nearly six months past, according 
 to the certain course of the season in that latitude : that it 
 was impossible to be occasioned by the fall of dew on the 
 tree, we were convinced, by the sun’s having power to exhale 
 away all moisture of that nature a few minutes after its rising. 
 At last, to our great amazement, as well as joy, we saw water 
 dropping, or as it were distilling, fast from the end of every 
 leaf of this wonderful, (nor had it been amiss if I had said 
 miraculous tree;) at least it was so with respect to us, 
 who had been labouring four days through extreme heat, 
 without receiving the least moisture, and were now almost 
 expiring for the want of it. We could not help looking on 
 this as liquor sent from heaven, to comfort us under great 
 extremity. We catched what we could of it in our hands, 
 and drank very plentifully of it ; and liked it so well, that we 
 could hardly prevail with ourselves to give over. A matter of 
 this nature could not but incite us to make the strictest obser- 
 vations concerning it; and accordingly we staid under the 
 tree near three hours, and found we could not fathom its 
 body in five times. We observed the soil where it grew to be 
 very strong; and upon the nicest inquiry we could afterwards 
 make, both of the natives of the country and the Spanish 
 inhabitants, we could not learn there was any such tree known 
 throughout New Spain, nor perhaps all America over: but 
 I do not relate this as a prodigy in nature, because I am no^ 
 philosopher enough to ascribe any natural cause for it; the 
 learned may perhaps give substantial reasons in nature, for 
 what appeared to us a great and marvellous secret, and far 
 beyond our power to account for.” 
 
 3 B 
 
378 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 ' The Tallow' Tree. — This is a remarkable tree, growing 
 in great plenty in China; so called from its producing a sub- 
 stance like tallow, and which serves for the same purpose ; it is 
 about the height of a cherry-tree, its leaves in form of a heart, 
 of a deep shining red colour, and its bark very smooth. Its 
 fruit is inclosed in a kind of pod, or cover, like a chesnut, 
 and consists of three round white grains, of the size and form 
 of a small nut, each having its peculiar capsule, and a little 
 stone within. This stone is encompassed wdth a white pulp, 
 which has all the properties of true tallow', both as to consist- 
 ence, colour, and even smell, and accordingly the Chinese 
 make their candles of it ; which would doubtless be as good 
 -IS those in Europe, if they knew how to purify their vegeta- 
 ble, as w’ell as we do our animal tallow. All the preparation 
 they give it, is to melt it down, and mix a little oil with it, 
 to make it softer and more pliant. It is true, the candles 
 made of it yield a thicker smoke and a dimmer light than 
 ours ; but those defects are owing in a great measure to the 
 wicks, which are not of cotton, but only a little rod of dry 
 light w'ood, covered with the pith of a rush w'ound round it; 
 w'hich, being very porous, serves to filtrate the minute parts 
 of the tallow, attracted by the burning stick, and by this 
 means is kept alive. 
 
 The Paper Tree. — The name of this tree is It is a 
 
 mulberry-tree, found at Otaheite, in the South Sea, from w hich 
 a cloth is manufactured, that is worn by the principal inhabit- 
 ants. The bark of the trees is stripped off, jfnd deposited to 
 soak in running w'ater ; when it is sufficiently softened, the 
 fibres of the inner coat are carefully separated from the rest 
 of the bark ; they are then placed in lengths of about eleven 
 or twelve yards, one by the side of another, till they are about 
 a foot broad ; and tw'o or three layers are put one upon an- 
 other. This is done in the evening; and next morning the 
 w'ater is drained off, and the several fibres adhere together in 
 one piece. It is afterwards beaten on a smooth piece of w ood 
 with instruments marked lengthways, with small grooves of 
 different degrees of fineness ; and by means of this it becomes 
 as thin as muslin. After bleaching it in the air, to whiten it, 
 it is fit for use. 
 
 Another article worthy of the reader’s attention, is the 
 Adansonia, Ethiopian Sour Gourd, Monkeys’ Bread, 
 or African Calabash Tree. — There is but one known spe- 
 cies belonging to this genus, the baohal, which is perhaps the 
 largest production of the whole vegetable kingdom It is a 
 native of Africa. The trunk is not above twelve or fifteen 
 feet high, but from sixty to seventy feet round. • The lowest 
 
NORWAY SPRUCE FIR. 
 

 
 i' '' I 
 
 OF THI 
 
 1''!Vfi8^!Vy Ci^BDW 
 
 \ 
 
 Mk/ 
 
AFRICAN CALABASH TREE. 
 
 379 
 
 branches extend almost horizontally, and as they are about 
 sixty feet in length, their own weight bends their extremities 
 to the ground, and thus form an hemispherical mass of ver 
 dure of about 120 or 130 feet diameter. The roots extend 
 as far as the branches: that in the middle forms a pivot, 
 which penetrates a great way into the earth ; the rest spread 
 near the surface. The flowers are in proportion to the size of 
 the tree, and are followed by an oblong pointed fruit, ten 
 inches long, five or six broad, and covered with a kind of 
 greenish down, under which is a ligneous rind, hard, and 
 almost black, marked with rays, which divide it lengthwise 
 into sides. It is very common in Senegal, and the Cape de 
 Verd islands; and is found 100 leagues up the country, at 
 Gulam, and upon the sea-coast as far as Sierra Leone. 
 
 The age of this tree is no less remarkable than its enormous 
 size. Mr. Adanson relates, that, in a botanical excursion to 
 the Magdalen Islands, he discovered some calabash-trees, 
 from five to six feet diameter, on the bark of which were 
 engraved, or cut to a considerable depth, a number of European 
 names. Two of these names, which he was at the trouble to 
 repair, were dated, one in the fourteenth, the other in the 
 fifteenth century. The inscribed trees, mentioned by this 
 ingenious Frenchman, had been seen in 1555, almost two 
 centuries befoie, by Thevet, who mentions them in his rela- 
 tion of his V yage to Terra Antarctia, or Australis. Adanson 
 saw them m 1749. The virtues and uses of this tree and its 
 Iruits are various. The negroes of Senegal dry the bark and 
 leaves in the shaded air, and then reduce them to powder, 
 which is of a pretty good green colour. This powder they 
 preserve in bags of linen or cotton, and call it lillo. They 
 use it every day, putting three or four pinches of it into a 
 mess, whatever it happens to be, as we do pepper and salt : 
 but their view is, not to give a relish to their food, but to 
 preserve a perpetual and plentiful perspiration, and to attempei 
 the too great heat of the blood ; purposes to which it cer- 
 tainly answers, as several Europeans have proved by repeated 
 experiments; preserving themselves from the epidemic fever, 
 which, in that country, is as fatal to them as the plague, 
 and generally rages during the months of September and 
 October: when the rains have suddenly ceased, the sun ex- 
 hales the water left by them on the ground, and fills the air 
 with a noxious vapour. M. Adanson, in the critical season, 
 made a light ptisan of the leaves of the baobal, which he had 
 gathered in the August of the preceding year, and had dried 
 in the shade ; and drank constantly about a pint of it every 
 morning, either before or after breakfast, and the same qiujn- 
 tity of it every evening, after the heat of the sun began to 
 abate: he also took the same quantity in the middle of tlie 
 
380 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 day, but this was only when he felt some symptoms of an 
 approaching fever. By this precaution he preserved himself, 
 during the five years he resided at Senegal, from the 
 diarrhsea and fever, which are so fatal there, and which are, 
 however, the only diseases of the place ; while other officers 
 suffered very severely, only one of them excepted, upon whom 
 M. Adanson prevailed to use this remedy, which for its simpli- 
 city was despised by the rest. This ptisan alone prevents 
 that heat of urine which is common in these parts, from the 
 month of July to November, provided the person abstains 
 from wine. The fruit is not less useful than the leaves and 
 the bark. The pulp that envelopes the seeds has an agreeable 
 acid taste, and is eaten for pleasure : it is also dried and pow- 
 dered, and used medicinally in pestilential fevers, the dysen- 
 tery, and bloody flux: the dose is a drachm, passed through 
 a fine sieve, taken either in common water, or in an infusion 
 of the plantain. This powder is brought into Europe under 
 the name of terra sigillata Lemnia. The woody bark of the 
 fruit, and the fruit itself, when spoiled, help to supply the 
 negroes with an excellent soap, which they make by drawing 
 a lie from the ashes, and boiling it with palm-oil that begins 
 to be rancid. The trunks of such of these trees as are decayed, 
 the negroes hollow out into burying places for their poets, 
 musicians, and buffoons. Persons of these characters they 
 esteem greatly while they live, supposing them to derive their 
 superior talents from sorcery, or a commerce with demons ; 
 but they regard their bodies wdth horror w^hen dead, and will 
 not give them burial in the usual manner, neither suffering 
 them to be put into the ground, nor thrown into the sea or 
 any river, because they imagine that the water w'ould not 
 then nourish the fish, nor the earth produce its fruits. The 
 bodies shut up in these trunks become dry without rotting, 
 and form a kind of mummies without the help of embalming. 
 The baobal is very distinct from the calabash-tree of America, 
 with which it has been confounded by Father Labat. 
 
 The following is an account of a Remarkable Oak 
 Tree : — 
 
 Behold the oak does young and verdant stand 
 Above the grove, all others to command ; 
 
 His wide-extended limbs the forest crown’d, 
 
 Shading the trees, as well as they the ground: 
 
 Young murm’ring tempests in his boughs are bred. 
 
 And gathering clouds from round his lofty head ; 
 
 Outrageous thunder, stormy winds, and rain. 
 
 Discharge their fury on his head in vain ; 
 
 Earthquakes below, and lightnings from above, 
 
 Keail not his trunk, nor his fix’d root remove. Blackmon^ 
 
A REMARKABLE OAK TREE. :381 
 
 Mr. Gilpin, in his forest scenery, gives the following account 
 of an aged oak : — 
 
 “Close by the gate of the Water-walk, at Magdalen College 
 in Oxford, grew an oak, which perhaps stood there a saplin 
 when Alfred the Great founded the university. This period 
 only includes a space of nine hundred years, which is no 
 great age for an oak. It is a difficult matter indeed to ascer- 
 tain the age of a tree. The age of a castle or abbey is the 
 object of history: even a common house is recorded by the 
 family that built it. All these objects arrive at maturity in 
 their youth, if I may so speak. But the tree gradually com- 
 pleting its growth, is not worth recording in the early part of 
 its existence : it is then only a common tree; and afterwards, 
 when it. becomes remarkable for its age, all memory of its 
 youth is lost. This tree, however, can almost produce his- 
 torical evidence for the age assigned to it.” 
 
 About five hundred years after the time of Alfred, William 
 of Wainfleet, Dr. Stukely tells us, expressly ordered this col- 
 lege to be founded near the great oak ; ( Itiner, Curios.) and an 
 oak could not, I think, be less than five hundred years of age, 
 to merit that title, together with the honour of fixing the site 
 of a college. When the magnificence of Cardinal Wolsey 
 erected that handsome tower which is so ornamental to the 
 whole building, this tree might probably be in the meridian 
 of its glory; or rather, perhaps it had attained a green old 
 age. But it must have been manifestly in its decline, at that 
 memorable sera, when the tyranny of James gave the fellows 
 of Magdalen so noble an opportunity of withstanding bigotry 
 and superstition. It was afterwards much injured in the time 
 of Charles II, when the present walks were laid out : its roots 
 were disturbed; and from that period it declined fast, and 
 became reduced by degrees to little more than a mere trunk. 
 The oldest members of the university can scarcely recollect it 
 in better plight: but the faithful records of history* have 
 handed down its ancient dimensions. 
 
 It once flung its boughs through a space of sixteen yards 
 on every side from its trunk ; and under its magnificent 
 pavilion could have sheltered with ease three thousand men: 
 though in its decayed state, it could, for many years, do little 
 more than shelter some luckless individual, whom the driving 
 shower had overtaken in his evening walk. In the summer 
 of the year 1788, this magnificent ruin fell to the ground, 
 alarming the college with its crashing sound. It then appeared 
 how precariously it had stood for many years. Its grand tap- 
 root was decayed; and it had hold of the earth only by two 
 or three roots, of which none was more than a couple of inches 
 in diameter. From a part of its ruins, a chair has been made 
 * See Pr. Plot’s Hist, of Oxf. ch. vi. sect. 45. 
 
382 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES, 
 
 ror the president of the college, which will long continue its 
 memory. 
 
 This will be a proper place for introducing the history of 
 Some of the largest Trees now growing in England. 
 — In Hainault Forest, near Barking in Essex, there is an oak 
 which has attained the enormous bulk of thirty-six feet in cir- 
 cumference. This extraordinary tree has been known forages 
 by the name of Fairlop. The tradition of the country traces 
 it half way up the Christian aera. Beneath its shade, which 
 overspreads an area of three hundred feet in circuit, an annual 
 fair has long been held on the first Friday in July, and 
 no booth is suffered to be erected beyond the extent of its 
 boughs. 
 
 At Cromwell Park, near Letbury in Gloucestershire, the 
 seat of Lord Dacre, is a huge chesnut tree, probably as 
 remarkable for antiquity as size; having been mentioned 
 (according to Sir Richard Atkins) in king John’s days, six 
 centuries ago, as the wonder of the neighbourhood, and mea- 
 suring at present, at the foot, fifty-seven feet in circumference. 
 It is supposed to be at least eight hundred years old. 
 
 In Darley church-yard, near Matlock in Derbyshire, is a 
 yew tree, thirty-three feet in girt. 
 
 In the church-yard of Aldworth, in Berkshire, is a yew 
 tree, the trunk of which, four feet from the ground, measures 
 nine yards in circumference. It is of considerable height: all 
 recollection of its age is lost. 
 
 The Shelton Oak. — About a mile and a half from Shrews- 
 bury, w'here the Pool road diverges from that which leads to 
 Oswestry, there stands an ancient decayed oak. There is a 
 tradition, that Owen Glendwr (Glynder) ascended this tree to 
 reconnoitre; and hnding that the king was in great force, and 
 that the Earl of Northumberland had not joined his son Hot- 
 spur, he fell back to Oswestry, and immediately after the 
 battle of Shrewsbury, retreated precipitately to Wales. This 
 tree is now in a complete state of decay, and hollow, even in 
 the larger ramifications. The following are the dimensions of 
 
 the Shelton Oak : — ft. in. 
 
 Girt, at bottom, close to the ground 44 3 
 
 Ditto, 5 feet from ditto 25 1 
 
 Ditto, 8 feet from ditto 27 4 
 
 Height of the tree 41 6 
 
 Vide Gent. Mag. vol. Ixxxi. p. 305. 
 
 The Bowthorpe Oak, situate in the park between 
 Bourne and Stamford — 
 
 “ On a fine eminence, of slow ascent, 
 
 The landscape round stretch’d to a vast extent,’^ 
 
THE UPAS, OR POISON-TREE OF JAVA 383 
 
 — IS the property of Philip Duncombe Pauncefort, Esq. 
 The trunk is thirty-nine feet six inches in circumference. 
 The inside of the body is hollow, and the lower part of it was 
 formerly used as a feeding place for calves, the upper, as a 
 ' pigeon-house. The late possessor, George Pauncefort, Esq. 
 (in whose family it has been for many centuries,) in 1768 had it 
 floored, with benches placed round, and a door of entrance: 
 frequently twelve persons have dined in it with ease. 
 
 “ crowds yearly flock to see 
 
 In leafy pomp the celebrated tree; 
 
 Charm'd to contemplate Nature’s giant son, 
 
 Fed by the genial seasons as they run/' 
 
 . No tradition is to be found respecting it, it having, ever 
 since the memory of the oldest inhabitants, or their ancestors, 
 been in the same state of decay. 
 
 We conclude this chapter with an essay on the Upas, or 
 Poison-tree of Java; by Thomas Horsefield, M.D. — From 
 the Seventh Volume of the Transactions of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society of Java. 
 
 The literary and scientific world has in few instances been 
 more grossly and impudently imposed upon, than by the 
 account of the Bohan Upas, published in Holland about the 
 year 1780. The history and origin of this celebrated forgery 
 still remains a mystery. Foersch, who put his name to the 
 publication, certainly was (according to the information I 
 have received from credible persons, who have long resided 
 on the island,) a surgeon in the Dutch East India Company’s 
 service, about the time the account of the Upas appeared. 
 It would be in some degree interesting to become acquainted 
 with his character. I have been led to suppose that his 
 literary abilities were as mean, as his contempt of truth was 
 consummate. 
 
 Having hastily picked up some vague information con- 
 cerning the Upas, he carried it to Europe, where his notes 
 were arranged, doubtlessly by a different hand, in such a 
 form as, by their plausibility and appearance of truth, to be 
 generally credited. 
 
 But though the account just mentioned, in so far as relates 
 to the situation of the Poison Tree, to its effects on the sur- 
 rounding country, and to the application said to have been 
 made of the Upas on criminals in different parts of the island, as 
 well as the description of the poisonous substance itself, and its 
 mode of collection, has been demonstrated to be an extravagant 
 forgery, — the existence of a tree in Java, from whose sap a poi- 
 son is prepared, equal in fatality, when thrown into the circula- 
 tion, to the strongest animal poisons hitherto known, is a 
 
384 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 fact, which it is at present my object to establish and to 
 illustrate. 
 
 The tree which produces this poison, is called Antshar, 
 and grows in the eastern extremity of the island. 
 
 The Antshar is one of the largest trees in the forests of Java. 
 The stem is cylindrical, perpendicular, and rises completely 
 naked to the height of sixty, seventy, or eighty feet. Near 
 the surface of the ground it spreads obliquely, dividing into 
 numerous broad appendages or wings, much like the Canarium 
 commune, and several others of our large forest trees. It is 
 covered with a whitish bark, slightly bursting in longitudinal 
 furrows. Near the ground this bark is, in old trees, more 
 than half an inch thick ; and, upon being w^ounded, it yields 
 plentifully the milky juice from which the celebrated poison 
 is prepared. A puncture or incision being made in the tree, 
 the juice or sap appears oozing out, of a yellowdsh colour, 
 somew'hat frothy; from old trees, paler; and nearly white 
 from young ones : when exposed to the air, its surface becomes 
 browm. The consistence very much resembles milk, only it 
 is thicker and viscid. This sap is contained in the true bark, 
 or cortex, which, when punctured, yields a considerable 
 quantity, so that in a short time a cupful may be collected 
 from a large tree. The inner bark, or liber, is of a close 
 fibrous texture, like that of the Morus papyrifera, and when 
 separated from the other bark, and cleansed from the adhering 
 particles, resembles a coarse piece of linen. It has been 
 worked into ropes, which are very strong, and the poorer class 
 of people employ the inner bark of younger trees, which is 
 more easily prepared, for the purpose of making a coarse 
 stuff, which they wear when working in the fields. But it 
 requires much bruising, washing, and a long immersion in 
 w'ater, before it can be used ; and even when it appears com- 
 pletely purified, persons w’earing this dress, on being exposed 
 to the rain, are affected with an intolerable itching, w^hich 
 renders their flimsy covering almost insupportable. 
 
 It will appear, from the account of the manner in which the 
 poison is prepared, that the deleterious quality exists in the 
 gum, a small portion of which still adhering to the bark, pro- 
 duces, whenit becomes w'et, this irritating effect; and it is 
 singular, that this property of the prepared bark is knowm to 
 the Javanese, in all places where the tree grow's, (for instance, 
 in various parts of the provinces of Bangil and IVIalang, and 
 even at Onarang,) w'hile the preparation of a poison from its 
 juice, which produces a mortal effect w^hen introduced into 
 the body by pointed weapons, is an exclusive art of the inha- 
 bitants of the eastern extremity of the island. 
 
 One of the regents in the eastern districts informed me, 
 Biat having many years ago prepared caps or bonnets from 
 
THE UPAS, on POISON-TREE OF JAVA. 385 
 
 the inner bark of the Antshar, which were stiffened in the 
 usual manner with thick rice-water, and handsomely painted, 
 for the purpose of decorating his mantries, they all decidedly 
 refused to wear them, asserting that they would cause their 
 hair to fall off*. 
 
 I first met with the Antshar in the province of Poegar, on 
 my way to Bangoowangee : in the province of Blambangan, 
 I visited four or five different trees, from which this descrip- 
 tion has been made, while two of them furnished the juice 
 for the preparation of the upas. The largest of these trees 
 had, where the oblique appendages of the stem entered the 
 ground, a diameter of at least ten feet; and where the regularly 
 round and straight stem began, a distance of at least ten feet 
 from the points of the two opposite appendages at the surface 
 of the ground, its diameter was full three feet. I have since 
 found a very tall tree in Passooroowang, near the boundary 
 of Malang, and very lately I have discovered several young 
 trees in the forests of Japara, and one tree in the vicinity of 
 Onarang. In all these places, though the inhabitants are 
 unacquainted with the preparation and effect of the poison, 
 they distinguish the tree by the name of Antshar. From the 
 tree I found in the province of Passooroowang, I collected 
 some juice, which was nearly equal in its operation to that of 
 Blambangan. One of the experiments to be related below, 
 was made with the upas prepared by myself, after my return 
 to the chief village. I had some difficulty in inducing the 
 inhabitants to assist me in collecting the juice, as they feared 
 a cutaneous eruption and inflammation, resembling, according 
 to the account they gave of it, that produced by the Ingas of 
 this island, the Rhus vernix of Japan, and the Rhus radicans 
 of North America; but they were only affected by a slight 
 heat and itching of the eyes. In clearing the new grounds in 
 the environs of Bangoowangee for cultivation, it is with much 
 difficulty the inhabitants can be made to approach the tree, 
 as they dread the cutaneous eruption which it is knowm to 
 produce when newly cut down. 
 
 But except when the tree is largely wounded, or when it is 
 felled, by which a large portion of the juice is disengaged, 
 the effluvia of which, mixing with the atmosphere, affects the 
 persons exposed to it with the symptoms just mentioned, the 
 tree may be approached and ascended like the other trees in 
 the forests. 
 
 The Antshar, like trees in its neighbourhood, is on all sides 
 surrounded by shrubs and plants; in no instance have I ob- 
 served the ground naked or barren in its immediate circum- 
 ference. 
 
 The largest tree I met with in Blambangan, was so closely 
 environed by the common trees and shrubs of the forest in 
 
 3C 
 
386 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 which it grew, that it was with difficulty I could approach it. 
 Several vines and climbing shrubs, in complete health and 
 yigour, adhered to it, and ascended to nearly half its height. 
 And at the time I visited the tree and collected the juice, I 
 was forcibly struck with the egregious misrepresentation of 
 Foersch. Several young trees, spontaneously sprung from 
 seeds that had fallen from the parent, reminded me of a line 
 in Darwin’s Botanic Garden, 
 
 “ Chained at his root two scion demons dwell 
 while in recalling his beautiful description of the Upas, my 
 vicinity to the tree gave me reason to rejoice that it is founded 
 on fiction. The wood of the Antshar is white, light, and of 
 a spongy appearance. 
 
 CHAP. XXXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. — (Continued,) 
 
 Curious Plant near the Cape of Good Hope — The Mandrake — 
 • Changeable Flower — Chinese Method of Preparing Tea — An- 
 tiquity of Sugar — Curious Fsffects of Cinchona, or Peruvian 
 . Bark — Curious Particulars of a Pound Weight of Cotton- 
 wool — Animated Stalk — Animal Flower, 
 
 “ Soft roll your incense, herbs, and fruits, and flowers, 
 
 In mingled clouds to Him, whose sun exalts, 
 
 Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints.” 
 
 Curious Plant near the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 The following account of a curious plant is taken from 
 Thunberg’s Travels : — 
 
 ** The fruit of a species of Mesemhryan Thermum, (says the 
 writer,) was sometimes brought to the tavern as a rarity, and 
 was called Posa de Jericho. When it is put into water, it 
 gradually o])ens all its seed-vessels, and exactly resembles a 
 sun ; and when it becomes dry again, it contracts itself, and 
 closes by degrees. This is a no less necessary than singular 
 property, which points out the admirable institution of an all- 
 wise Creator; inasmuch as this plant, which is found in the 
 most arid plains, keeps its seeds fast locked up in time of 
 drought, but when the rainy season comes, and the seeds can 
 grow, it opens its receptacles, and lets fall the seeds, in order 
 that they may be dispersed abroad. The water in which this 
 fruit has lain, is sometimes given to women that are near 
 their time, and is thought to procure them an easy deli- 
 very .” 
 
MANDRAKE. — CHANGEABLE FLOWER. 
 
 387 
 
 The Mandrake.— This plant possesses a long taper root 
 resembling the parsnip, running three or four feet into the 
 ground ; immediately from the crown of the root arises a circle 
 of leaves, at first standing erect, but when grown to the full' 
 size, they spread open and lie upon the ground ; these leaves 
 are more than a foot in length, and about five inches broad in; 
 the middle, of a dark green colour, and a fetid scent; among: 
 these come out the flowers, each on a scape three inches in- 
 length ; they are five-cornered, of an herbaceous white colour,! 
 spreading open at top like a primrose, having five hairy sta- 
 mens, and a globular germ supporting an awl-shaped style, 
 which becomes a globular soft berry, when full-grown as large 
 as a nutmeg, of a yellowish green colour, and when ripe, full 
 of pulp. 
 
 Many singular facts are related of this plant, among which' 
 we select the following : the roots have been supposed to bear 
 a resemblance to the human form, and are figured as such in 
 the old herbals, being distinguished into the male with a long 
 beard, and the female with a prolix head of hair. Mounte- 
 banks carry about fictitious images, shaped from roots of 
 bryony and other plants, cut into form, or forced to grow 
 through moulds of earthenware, as mandrake-roots. It was 
 fabled to grow under a gallows, where the matter falling from 
 the dead body, gave it the shape of a man ; to utter a great 
 shriek, or terrible groans, at the digging up : and it was as- 
 serted, that he who would take up a plant of mandrake, should 
 in common puudence tie a dog to it for that purpose, for, if 
 a man should do it himself, he would surely die soon after. 
 To this curious vegetable the poet alludes in the following 
 lines : — 
 
 “ Mark how that rooted mandrake wears > 
 
 His human feet, his human hands ; 
 
 Oft as his shapely form he rears. 
 
 Aghast the friglUed ploughman stands.” 
 
 The Changeable Flower. — On the island of Lewchew, 
 (says Mr. M‘Leod,) is found a remarkable production, about 
 the size of a cherry-tree, bearing flowers, which, alternately 
 on the same day, assume the tint of the rose or lily, as they 
 are exposed to sunshine or the shade. The bark of this tree 
 is of a dark green, and the flowers bear a resemblance to our 
 common roses. Some of our party, whose powers of vision 
 were strong, (assisted by a vigorous imagination,) fancied that, 
 by attentive watching, the change of hue, from white to red', 
 under the influence of the solar ray, was actually ])erceptible 
 to the eye : that, however, they altered their colour -in the 
 course of a few hours, was very obvious.*' 
 
388 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 As this is a chapter devoted to miscellaneous ai deles of 
 this c^ass, it may not be amiss to insert The Chinese Me- 
 thod OF preparing Tea. — Tea grows on a small shrub, 
 the leaves of which are collected twice or thrice every year. 
 Those who collect the leaves three times a year, begin at the 
 new moon which precedes the vernal equinox, whether it 
 falls at the end of February or the beginning of March. At 
 that period most of the leaves are perfectly green, and hardly 
 fully expanded : but these small and tender leaves are ac- 
 counted the best of all; they are scarce, and exceedingly 
 dear. 
 
 The second crop, or the first with those who collect the 
 leaves only twice a year, is gathered about the end of March 
 or beginning of April. Part of the leaves have then attained 
 to maturity ; and though the rest have acquired only half 
 their size, they are both collected without any distinction. 
 
 The third (or second with some) and last crop, is more abun- 
 dant, and is collected about the end of April, when the leaves 
 have attained their full growth, both of size and number. 
 Some people neglect the two first crops, and confine them- 
 selves entirely to this, the leaves of which are selected with 
 great care, and distributed into classes, according to their 
 size or goodness. — Tea ought to be rejected as of a bad qua- 
 lity, when old, and withered leaves are found amonost it, 
 which may be easily known by infusing a little of it in water, 
 for then the leaves dilate, and return to their natural state. 
 
 The leaves of the tea shrub are oblong, sharp-pointed, in- 
 dented on the edges, and of a very beautifui green colour. 
 The flower is composed of five white petals, disposed in the 
 form of a rose, and is succeeded by a pod, of the size of a 
 filbert, containing two or three small green seeds, which are 
 wrinkled, and have a disagreeable taste. Its root is fibrous, 
 and spreads itself out near the surface of the ground. 
 
 This shrub grows equally well in a rich, as in a poor soil. 
 It is to be found all over China, but there are certain places 
 where the tea is of a better quality than in others. Some peo- 
 ple give the preference to the tea of Japan, but we have reason 
 to doubt whether there is any real difference. 
 
 The manner of preparing tea is very simple. When the 
 leaves are collected, they are exposed to the steam of boiling 
 water, in order to soften them ; and they are then spread out 
 upon metal plates, and placed over a moderate fire, where 
 they acquire that shrivelled appearance which they have when 
 brought to Europe. 
 
 In China, there are only two kinds of the tea shrub ; but 
 the Chinese, by their industry, have .considerably multiplied 
 each of them. If there are, therefore, large quantities cf tea 
 in that country which are excessively dear, there is seme 
 
METHOD OF PREPARING TEAS. 
 
 389 
 
 also very common, and sold at a low rate. The Chinese, 
 however, are very fond of good tea, and take as much pains to 
 procure it of an excellent quality, as the Europeans do to 
 procure excellent wine. 
 
 Bohea Tea . — The Chinese name of this tea is vou-y-tcha, 
 that is to say, tea of the third kind, called vou-y. It takes its 
 name from a mountain in the province of Fokien. There are 
 three kinds of this tea: the first of which, called common 
 Bohea, grows at the bottom of the mountain; the second, 
 called congjou, or camphou, grows at the top; and the third, 
 named saot-cliaon, grows in the middle. These names in 
 England are corrupted into congo, and souchong. 
 
 Bohea teas in general ought to be dry, and heavy in the 
 hand: this is a sign that the leaves have been full and juicy. 
 When infused, they ought to communicate to the water a 
 yellow colour, inclining a little to green, which indicates 
 that they are fresh, for old tea produces a red colour. Care 
 must be taken above all to avoid red leaves, and to choose 
 such as are large and entire. This is also a sign of freshness; 
 for the longer tea is kept, the more it is shaken, which breaks 
 the leaves, and mixes them with a great deal of dust. It 
 sometimes happens, however, that the tea-dust is owing to the 
 manner in which it is put into the box, as the Chinese tread 
 upon it with their feet, to make the box hold a large quantity. 
 The leaves of the cong-fou and saot-chaon ought to have a 
 beautiful black shining tint, and to communicate to water a 
 very bright yellow and a mild taste. 
 
 The Pekoe is a particular kind of tea-shrub, the leaves of 
 which are all black on the one side, and all white on the 
 other. As the real Pekoe tea is very scarce and dear, the 
 Chinese adulterate it, by mixing with it some of the small 
 half-grown leaves, as yet white, w'hich grow on the top of the 
 common Bohea tea. This changes the quality of the Pekoe, 
 for these leaves being scarcely formed, can have very little 
 sap or flavour. 
 
 Green Teas . — Green teas do not grow in the same place 
 as the Bohea tea. They are brought from the province of 
 Nankin, and are distinguished into three sorts. The first is 
 known under the name of songlo tea, but oftener under that of 
 green toukay; the second is called bing tea; and the third hays- 
 suen tea, or hyson. There are also some other kinds, but the 
 greater part of them are unknown, or of little importance to 
 foreigners. 
 
 The songlo and hayssuen teas come from the same shrub, 
 their only difi'erence is in the manner of their being prepared. 
 Bing tea grows on a different shrub, the leaves of which are 
 thicker and larger than those of other kinds. All teas ought to 
 have a green leaden tint : the older they are, the leaves become 
 
390 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 more yellow, which is a very great fault. They ought also to 
 have a burnt or scorched smell, not too strong, but agreeable; 
 for when they have been long kept, they have a filthy smell, 
 somewhat like that of pilchards. The French wish to find in 
 green teas, and particularly in songlo and imperial, an odour 
 similar to that of soap. In these several kinds of tea, there 
 is a particular distinction to be made, as they are generally 
 classed into one, two, or three kinds, according to the periods 
 at which they w'ere gathered. 
 
 Antiquity of Sugar. — From the few remains of the 
 Grecian and Roman authors which have survived the ravages 
 of time, we can find no proof that the juice of the sugar-cane 
 was known at a very early period. There can be no doubt, 
 however, that in those countries where it w'as indigenous, its 
 value was not long concealed. It is not improbable that it 
 was known to the ancient Jews; for there is some reason to 
 suppose, that the Hebrew w^ord, which occurs frequently in the 
 Old Testament, and which is by our translators rendered some- 
 times calamus^ and sometimes sweet-cane, does in fact mean the 
 suo’ar-cane. The suo^ar-cane was first made known to the 
 western parts of the world, by the conquest of Alexander the 
 Great. Strabo relates, that Nearchus^s admiral found it in 
 the F^ast Indies, A. C. 325. It is evidently alluded to in 
 a fragment of Theophrastus, preserved in Photius. Varro, 
 who lived A. C. 68. describes it in a fragment quoted by 
 Isidorus, as a fluid pressed from reeds of a large size, which 
 was sweeter than honey. Dioscorides, about A. C. 35, 
 says, “ that there is a kind of honey called saccharon, which is 
 found in India and Arabia F'elix. It has the appearance of 
 salt, and is brittle when chewed. If dissolved in water, it is 
 beneficial to the bowels and stomach, is useful in diseases of 
 the bladder and kidneys, and, when sprinkled on the eye, re- 
 moves those substances that obscure the sight.” This is the 
 first account we have of its medicinal qualities. Galen often 
 prescribed it as a medicine. Lucan relates, that an Oriental 
 nation in alliance wdth Pompey used the juice of the cane as 
 a common drink. Pliny says it was produced in Arabia and 
 India, but that the best came from the latter country. It is also 
 mentioned by Arrian, in his Petiplus of the Red Sea, by the 
 name of 2axap (sachar) as an article of commerce from 
 India to the Red Sea. iElian, Tertullian, and Alexander 
 Aphrodiseeus, mention it as a species of honey procured from 
 canes. ■ 
 
 Curious Effects of Cinchona, or Peruvian Bark.— 
 An account has been published in the Journal de Pharmacie, 
 for May 1819, of some curious effects produced by Peruvian 
 
A POUND OF COTTON-WOOL. 
 
 391 
 
 Bark. A French merchant, M. Delpech, residing at Guayra, 
 in the Caraccas, had stored up a large quantity of fresh cin- 
 chona, in apartments which were afterwards required for the 
 reception of some travellers as guests. These apartments 
 contained each eight or ten thousand pounds of bark ; and in 
 consequence of its fermentation, the heat was much greater 
 here than in the other parts of the house, rendering the place 
 somewhat disagreeable. One of the beds placed in these 
 rooms, was occupied by a traveller, ill of a malignant fever; 
 after the first day he found himself much better, though he 
 had taken no medicine ; in a few days he felt himself quite 
 recovered, without any medical treatment whatsoever. This 
 unexpected success induced M. Delpech to make some other 
 trials : several persons ill of fever, were placed successively 
 in his magazine of cinchona, and they were all speedily cured, 
 simply by the effluvia of the bark. 
 
 It happened that a bale of coffee, and some common French 
 brandy, were kept in the same place for some months : one of 
 the brandy bottles happened to be uncorked, and, on exami- 
 nation, was found to possess a slight aromatic taste, to be 
 more tonic, and very superior to common brandy. The coffee 
 was also much altered ; when roasted, it was more bitter than 
 common coffee, and left in the mouth a taste similar to that 
 of an infusion of bark. 
 
 It is to be observed, that the bark which produced all these 
 effects was fresh ; and the question whether that of commerce 
 would produce the same effects can only be answered by ex- 
 periment 
 
 Curious Particulars of a Pound Weight of Cotton- 
 wool. — The wool came from the East Indies to London ; from 
 London it went to Manchester, where it was manufactured 
 into yarn ; from Manchester it was sent to Paisley, where it 
 was woven ; it was then sent to Ayrshire, where it was tain- 
 boured ; it came back to Paisley, and was there veined ; after- 
 wards it was sent to Dumbarton, where it was hand-sewed, 
 and again brought to Paisley, whence it was sent to Renfrew 
 to be bleached; and was returned to Paisley, whence it went 
 to Glasgow and was finished; and from Glasgow was sent per 
 coach to London. The time taken to brino; this article to 
 market was three years, from the time it was packed in India, 
 till the time it arrived in cloth at the merchant’s warehouse 
 in London ; when it must have been conveyed 5000 miles by 
 sea, and 920 by land, and contributed to support no less than 
 150 people, by which the value had been increased 2000 per 
 cent. — Thus, from materials of little value in their native 
 state, do arts and manufactures administer to individual com- 
 lor*^ and national revenue 
 
392 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an account of two curious 
 articles, not strictly vegetable, denominated the animated 
 stalk, and the animal flower. 
 
 The Animated Stalk. — This very remarkable animal was 
 found by Mr. Ives, at Cuddalore, and he mentions several 
 kinds of it ; some appearing like dry straws tied together, 
 others like grass; some have bodies much larger than others, 
 with the addition of two scaly imperfect wings; their neck is 
 no bigger than a pin, but twice as long as their body ; their 
 heads are like those of a hare, and their eyes vertical and 
 very brisk. They live upon flies, and catch these insects very 
 dexterously with the two fore feet, which they keep doubled 
 up in three parts, close to their head, and dart out very quick 
 on the approach of their prey; and when they have caught it, 
 they eat it very voraciously, holding it in the same manner 
 as a squirrel does its food. On the outer joints of the fore 
 feet are several very sharp hooks, for the easier catching ind 
 holding of their prey; while, with the other feet, which are 
 four in number, they take hold of trees, or any other thing, 
 the better to surprise whatever they lie in wait for. They 
 drink like a horse, putting their mouths into the water. Their 
 excrements, which are very white, are almost as large as the 
 body of the animal, and, as the natives say, dangerous to the 
 eyes. 
 
 The Animal Flower. — Animal flower, in zoology, is a 
 name given to several species of animals belonging to the 
 genus of Actinia of Linnaeus. They have likewise been dis- 
 tinguished by the names of Urtica marina, or Sea-nettle, and 
 Sea-anemone, from their claws or tentacles being disposed in 
 regular circles, and tinged with a variety of bright lively co- 
 lours, resembling the petals of some of our most beautiful 
 flowers. As to one species particularly, mentioned by Abbe 
 Diequemarre, in the Phil. Trans, for 1773, article 37, the purest 
 white, carmine, and ultramarine, are said to be scarcely 
 sufficient to express their brilliancy. The bodies of some of 
 them are hemispherical, of others cylindrical, and others are 
 shaped like a fig. Their substance likewise differs : some are 
 stiff and gelatinous, others fleshy and muscular ; but all of 
 them are capable of altering their figure, when they extend 
 their bodies and claws in search of food. They are found in 
 many of the rocky coasts of theWest India Islands, and likewise 
 on some parts of the coast of England. They have only one 
 opening, which is the centre of the uppermost part of the 
 animal; round this are placed rows of fleshy claws ; this open- 
 ing is the mouth of the animal, and is cajDable of great exten- 
 sion. The animals themselves, though exceedingly voracious, 
 will beai long fasting. They may be preserved alive a whole 
 
THE ANIMAL FLOWER. 
 
 393 
 
 year, or perhaps longer, in a vessel of sea water, without any 
 visible food ; but, when food is presented, one of them will 
 successively devour tv/o muscles in their shells, or even swal- 
 low a whole crab as large as a hen’s egg. In a day or two 
 the crab-shell is voided at the mouth, perfectly cleared of all 
 the meat. The muscle-shells are likewise discharged whole, 
 with the two shells joined together, but entirely empty, so 
 that not the least particle of fish is to be perceived on opening 
 them. An anemone of one species, will even swallow an indi- 
 vidual of another species ; but, after retaining it ten or twelve 
 hours, will throw it up alive and uninjured. Through this 
 opening also, it produces its young ones alive, already fur- 
 nished with little claws, which, as soon as they fix themselves, 
 they begin to extend in search of food. 
 
 In Hughes’s Natural History of Barbadoes, an account is 
 also given of several species of animal liowers. They are 
 described as only found in a bason in one particular cave ; 
 and of the most remarkable species mentioned by him, we 
 have the following description : — “ In the middle of the bason, 
 there is a fixed stone or rock, which is always under water. 
 Round its sides, at different depths, seldom exceeding eighteen 
 inches, are seen at all times of the year, issuing out of little 
 holes, certain substances that have the appearance of fine 
 radiated flowers, of a pale yellow or a bright straw colour, 
 slightly tinged with green, having a circular border of thick- 
 set petals, about the size of, and much resembling those of 
 a single garden marigold, except that this seeming flow’er 
 is narrower at the discus, or setting on of the leaves, than 
 any flower of that kind. I have attempted to pluck one of 
 these from the rock, to which they are always fixed, but never 
 could effect it ; for as soon as my fingers came within two or 
 three inches of it, it would immediately contract close toge- 
 ther its yellow border, and shrink back into the hole of the 
 rock ; but, if left undisturbed for about four minutes, it would 
 come gradually in sight, expanding, though at first very cau- 
 tiously, its seeming leaves, till at last it appeared in its former 
 bloom. However, it would again recoil with a surprising 
 quickness, when ray hand came within a small distance of it. 
 Having tried the same experiment by attempting to touch it 
 with my cane, and a small slender rod, the effect was the 
 same. Though I could not by any means contrive to take or 
 pluck from the rock one of these animals entire, yet I once 
 cut off’ (with a knife, which I had held for a long time out of 
 sight, near the mouth of a hole out of which one of these 
 animals appeared) two of these seeming leaves. These, when 
 out of the water, retained their shape and colour, but, being 
 composed of a membrane-like substance surprisingly thin, iv 
 Bocn shrivelled up and decayed.” 
 
 17. 3 n 
 
394 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 The Abbe Diequemarre, by many curious, though cruel 
 experiments, related in the Phil. Trans, for 1773, has shewn, 
 that these animals possess, in a most extraordinary degree, 
 the power of reproduction, so that scarce any thing more is 
 necessary to produce as many sea anemones as we please, 
 than to cut a single one into as many pieces. A sea anemone 
 being cut in two by a section through the body, that pari 
 where the limbs and mouth are placed, ate a piece of a muscle, 
 offered to it soon after the operation, and continued to feed 
 and grow daily for three months after. The food sometimes 
 passed through the animal, but was generally thrown up 
 again, considerably changed, as in the perfect sea anemone. 
 In about two months, two rows of limbs were perceived grow- 
 ing out of the part where the incision was made. On offering 
 food to this new mouth, it was laid hold of, eaten, and, the 
 limbs continually increasing, the animal gradually became as 
 perfect as those which had never been cut. In some instances, 
 however, he found that when one of these creatures was cut 
 through, new limbs would be produced from the cut place, 
 those at the mouth remaining as before ; so that a monstrous 
 animal was the consequence, having two mouths, and feeding 
 at both ends. 
 
 Having put some of them into a pan of water, set over a 
 slow fire, he found that they lost their life at fifty degrees of 
 Reaumur’s thermometer. To avoid the imputation of cruelty 
 in these experiments, the author argues the favourable conse- 
 quences that have attended his operations on the sea anemo- 
 nes, which have been so fortunate as to fall into his hands; 
 as he has not only multiplied their existence, but also renewed 
 their youth, “ which last,” he adds, “ is surely no small advan- 
 tage.” The reproductive power of the Barbadoes animal 
 flower is prodigious. Many people coming to see these 
 strange creatures, and occasioning some inconvenience to a 
 person through whose grounds they were obliged to pass, he 
 resolved to destroy the objects of their curiosity ; and, that 
 he might do so effectually, he caused all the holes out of 
 which they appeared, to be carefully bored and drilled with 
 an iron instrument, so that we cannot suppose but their bodies 
 must have been entirely crushed to a pulp: nevertheless, they 
 again appeared in a few weeks, from the very same places. 
 
 Animal flowers are found in as great beauty and variety on 
 the coast of Galloway, as any where in the West Indies. They 
 are repeatedly taken notice of in Sir J. Sinclair’s Statistical 
 Account of Scotland. Mr. Little, minister of Colvend, men- 
 tions the polypus, or sea anemone, among the productions of 
 that coast. Mr. Muirhead, minister of Urr, gives the follow- 
 ing particular descrijDtion of them : — “ About five years ago, 
 1 discovered in the parish of Colvend, the animal flower, in 
 
FUNGUS, OR MUSHROOM. 395 
 
 as great perfection and variety as it is in Jamaica. The 
 lively colours, and the various and elegant forms of the poly- 
 pus on this coast, are truly equal to any thing related by 
 natural historians, respecting the sea-flowers of any other 
 country. To see a flower of purple, of green, blue, yellow, 
 &c. striving to catch a worm, is really amusing.’’ And Mr. 
 Marshall, minister of Brittle, has allotted a section of his 
 Statistical Account of his parish, to animal flowers ; wherein 
 he says, ** Till of late perhaps it has not been much adverted 
 to, that the animal flower, or water polypus, is even common 
 along the shores of Brittle, Colvend, and very likely round 
 the whole coast of the stewartry of Galloway. The form of 
 these polypi is elegant, and pleasantly diversified. Some 
 are found resembling the sunflower, some’ the hundred-leaved 
 rose, but the greater number bear the likeness of the poppy. 
 The colours differ as much as the form. Sometimes the ani- 
 mal flower is of a deep purple, frequently of a rose colour, 
 but mostly of a light red or fleshy hue. The most beautiful 
 of them, that could be picked up, have often been carried 
 from the shore of Colvend, twelve or fifteen miles up into the 
 the country, where they have lived, fed on worms, and even 
 bred for several weeks, and might have existed much longer, 
 if they could have been supplied with sea-water.” 
 
 CHAP. XXXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. — (Concluded,) 
 
 If to this lower planet we advert. 
 
 Seat of our birth and nurture, proofs abound 
 Of infinite contrivance, matchless skill. 
 
 Whether the site or figure we regard. 
 
 Or distribution of the various parts 
 
 Perfective of the system, strokes appear 
 
 Too exquisite for bungling chance to hit. Bally. 
 
 FUNGUS, OR MUSHROOM. 
 
 By fungus, we mean the mushroom tribe. The ancients 
 called them the children of the earth, to indicate the obscurity 
 of their origin. The moderns have likewise been at a loss in 
 what rank to place them; some referring them to the animal, 
 some to the vegetable, and others to the mineral kingdom. 
 Messrs. Wilck and Minchausen, have not scrupled to rank 
 these bodies among animal productions; because, when frag- 
 ments of them or their seeds were macerated in water, these 
 gentlemen perceived a quantity of animalcules discharged, 
 which they supposed capable of being changed into the same 
 
396 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 substance. It was an ancient opinion, that beef could produce 
 bees; but it was reserved for Messrs. Wilck and Minchauseii, 
 to suppose that bees could produce beef. The former asserts, 
 that fungi consist of innumerable cavities, each inhabited by a 
 polype ; and he does not hesitate to ascribe the formation of 
 them to their inhabitants, in the same way as it has been said 
 that the coral, the lichen, and the mucor, were formed. Hed- 
 wig has lately shewn how ill-founded this opinion is with 
 respect to the lichen ; and M. Durande has demonstrated its 
 falsity with regard to the corallines. 
 
 “ Indeed, (says M. Bonnet, speaking of the animality of 
 fungi,) nothing but the rage for paradox could induce any one 
 to publish such a fable ; and I regret that posterity will be 
 able to reproach our times with it. Observation and experi- 
 ment should enable us to overcome the prejudices of modern 
 philosophy, now that those of the ancient have disappeared 
 and are forgotten.” It cannot be denied, that the mushroom is 
 one of the most perishable of all plants, and it is therefore 
 the most favourable for the generation of insects. Consider- 
 ing the quickness of its growth, it must be furnished with the 
 power of copious absorption ; the extremity of its vessels 
 must be more dilated than in other plants. Its root seems, in 
 many cases, to be merely intended for its support; for some 
 species grow upon stones, or moveable sand, from which it is 
 impossible they can draw much nourishment. We must 
 therefore suppose, that it is chiefly by the stalk that they 
 absorb. These stalks grow in a moist and tainted air, in 
 which float multitudes of eggs, so small, that the very insects 
 they produce are with difficulty seen by the microscope. 
 These eggs may be compared to the particles of the byssus, 
 100,000 of which, as M. Gleditsch says, are not equal to one- 
 fourth of a grain. 
 
 May we not suppose that a quantity of such eggs are ab- 
 sorbed by the vessels of the fungus, and that they remain there 
 without any change, till the plant begins to decay? Besides, 
 the eggs may be only deposited on the surface of the plant, 
 or they may exist in water, into which they are thrown for 
 examination. Do not we see that such eggs, dispersed through 
 the air, are hatched in vinegar, in paste, &c. and wherever 
 they find a convenient nidus for their development? Can 
 it be surprising, then, that the corruption of the mushroom 
 should make the water capable of disclosing certain beings 
 that are really foreign to both ? It is not more easy to acqui- 
 esce in the opinions of those naturalists who place the fungi 
 in the mineral kingdom, because they are found growing on 
 porous stones, thence called lapides fungarii ; which, how- 
 ever, must be covered with a little earth, and be watered 
 with tepid water, in order to favour the growth. Such mush- 
 
FUNGUS, OR MUSHROOM. 
 
 397 
 
 rooms are no more the produce of the stone, than the lichen 
 is of the rock to which it adheres, or the moss, of the tree on 
 which it is found. 
 
 We have only to observe the growth of mushrooms, to be 
 convinced that this happens by development, and not by 
 addition or combination of parts, as in minerals. The opinion 
 of Boccone, who attributed them to an unctuous matter per- 
 forming the function of seed, and acquiring extension by 
 apposition of similar parts ; and that of Morison, who con- 
 ceived that they grew spontaneously out of the earth by a 
 certain mixture of salt and sulphur, joined with oils from the 
 dung of quadrupeds; have now no longer any adherents. 
 Fungi are produced, they live, they grow by development ; 
 they are exposed to those vicissitudes natural to the different 
 periods of life which characterize living substances ; they 
 perish and die ; they extract, from the extremity of their 
 vessels, the juices with which they are nourished ; they elabo- 
 rate and assimilate them to their own substance : they are, 
 therefore, organized and living beings, and consequently be- 
 long to the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 But whether they are real plants, or only the production of 
 plants, is still a matter in dispute with the ablest naturalists. 
 Some ancient authors have pretended to discover the seed of 
 mushrooms ; but the opinion was never generally received. 
 Petronius, when he is laughing at the ridiculous magni- 
 ficence of his hero Trimalcio, relates, that he had written 
 to the Indies for the seed of morelle. These productions 
 were generally attributed to the superfluous humidity of 
 rotten wood, or other putrid substances. The opinion took its 
 rise from observing that they grew most copiously in rainy 
 W'eather. Such was the opinion of Trajus, king of Bauhin, 
 and even of Columna, who, talking of the peziza, says, that 
 its substance was more solid and harder, becaus-e it did not 
 originate from rotten wood, but from the pituita of the earth. 
 It is not surprising, that, in times when the want of experi- 
 ment and observation made people believe that insects could 
 be generated by putrefaction, we should find the opinion 
 general, that fungi owed their origin to the putrescence of 
 bodies, or to a viscous humour analogous to putridity. 
 Malpighi could not satisfy himself as to the existence of seeds, 
 which other botanists have pretended to discover. He only 
 says, that these plants must have them, or that they perpe- 
 tuate themselves, and shoot by fragments. Micheli, among 
 the moderns, appears to have employed himself most success- 
 fully on this subject. He imagined, that he not only saw the 
 seeds, but even the stamina, as well as the little transparent 
 bodies destined to favour the dissemination and fecundation 
 of these seeds. Before this author. Lister thought he per- 
 
398 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 ceived seeds in the Fungus perosus crassus magnus of John 
 Bauhin : the little round bodies that are found in the pezizse 
 and belvellse, at that time, passed for seeds; which did not 
 appear at all probable to Marsigli, considering that the eye, 
 when assisted with the very best microscopes, could perceive 
 nothing similar in much larger fungi. Indeed, these bodies 
 may be the capsules or covers of the seeds, if they are not 
 the seeds themselves. However this may be, Marsigli, ob- 
 serving that fungi were often without roots or branches, and 
 that they wanted flowers and seeds, the means which nature 
 employs for the production of perfect plants, thought himself 
 warranted in doubting whether these beings could l)e ranked 
 in the number of vegetables. The doubts of Marsigli prompted 
 him to observe the formation of fungi. Their matrix he called 
 situs: he imagined they grew in places where they met with 
 an unctuous matter, composed of oil mixed with nitrous salt, 
 which, by fermentation, produced heat and moisture, and in- 
 sinuated itself between the fibres of wood; that is, he imagined 
 them the production of a viscous and putrescent humour. 
 Lancisi, in like manner, considered fungi as owing their 
 existence to the putrefaction of vegetables, and supposed them 
 a disease in the plants ; but he imagined “ that the fibres of 
 the trees were necessary to their production,” as is the case 
 in the formation of galls ; and compared them to the w^arts and 
 other excrescences of the human body. He added, that such 
 fungous vegetable tumors must necessarily assume various 
 forms and figures, from the fluids which distend the tubes and 
 vessels relaxed by putrescence, from the ductility of the fibres 
 and their direction, and from the action of the air. This 
 opinion has been refuted by the celebrated naturalist M. de 
 Jussieu, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for 1728. 
 He maintains, that the fungi have a great analogy with the 
 lichen, which is allowed to be a vegetable ; that, like the 
 lichen, they are divested of stalks, branches, and leaves; that, 
 like it, they grow and are nourished upon the trunks of trees, 
 on pieces of rotten wood, and on all sorts of putrid vege- 
 tables; that they resemble the lichen too in the rapidity of 
 their growth, and the facility with which many of them may 
 be dried, and restored to their former figure upon being im- 
 mersed in water; and lastly, that there is a great similiarity 
 in the manner in which their seeds are produced. He affirms, 
 that only the warts and excrescences which grow' on animal 
 bodies, and the knots and other tumors that are to be found 
 on trees, can be compared with each other; for they are 
 composed equally of the solid and liquid substance of the 
 plant or animal on which they grow ; whereas, tlie matter 
 of the fungi is not only quite distinct from that of the 
 plants on which they are found, but often entirely similar 
 
FUNGUS, OR MUSHROOM. 399 
 
 to the substance of those that spring immediately from the 
 earth. 
 
 The organization (says M. de Jussieu) which distinguishes 
 plants and other productions of nature, is visible in the fungi, 
 and the particular organization of each species is constant at 
 all times, and in all places ; a circumstance which could not 
 happen, if there were not an animal reproduction of species, 
 and consequently a multiplication and propagation by seed. 
 This is not, he says, an imaginary supposition, for the seeds 
 may be felt like meal upon mushrooms with gills, especially 
 when they begin to decay ; they may be seen with a magni- 
 fying glass, in those that have gills with black margins : and, 
 lastly, says he, botanists can have no doubt that fungi are a 
 distinct class of plants ; because, by comparing the observa- 
 tions made in different countries, with the figures and descrip- 
 tions of such as have been engraved, the same genera and 
 the same species are every where found. 
 
 Notwithstanding this refutation by M. de Jussieu, another 
 naturalist, M. de Necker, has lately maintained, in his M^- 
 citologia. That the fungi ought to be excluded from the three 
 kingdoms of nature, and be considered as intermediate beings. 
 He has observed, like Marsigli, the matrix of the fungi ; and 
 has substituted the word carchte (initium faciens) instead of 
 situs; imagining that the rudiment of the fungus cannot exist 
 beyond that point in which the development of the filaments 
 of fibrous roots is perceived. He allows, that fungi are nou- 
 rished and grow like vegetables ; but he thinks that they 
 differ very much from them in respect of their origin, struc- 
 ture. nutrition, and rapidity of growth. He says, that the 
 various vessels which compose the organization of vegetables, 
 are not to be found in the fungi, and that they seem entirely 
 composed of cellular substance and bark; so that this simple 
 organization is nothing more than an aggregation of vessels 
 endowed with a common nature, that suck up the moisture in 
 the manner of a sponge; with this difference, that the mois- 
 ture is assimilated into a part of the fungus, and not merely 
 imbibed for nutrition. 
 
 Lastly, That the fructification, the only essential part of 
 a vegetable, and which distinguishes it from all other organ- 
 ized bodies, being wanting, fungi cannot be considered as 
 plants. This, he thinks, is confirmed by the constant observation 
 of those people who gather the morelle and the mushroom, 
 and who never find them in the same spots where they had 
 formerly grown. As the generation of fungi (says M. Necker) 
 is always performed when the parenchymatous cellular &ub 
 stance has changed its nature, form, and function, we must 
 conclude that it is the degeneiation of that part which produces 
 these bodies. 
 
400 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VEGETABLES. 
 
 But if fungi were owing merely to the degeneration of 
 plants, they would be still better entitled to constitute a new 
 kingdom. They would then be a decomposition, not a new 
 formation, or new bodies. Besides, we cannot deny, that in 
 those bodies which form the limit between the animal and 
 vegetable kingdoms, the organization becomes simple, as the 
 organs destined for nutrition are multiplied ; but, as the last 
 in the class of insects belongs to the animal kingdom, fungi 
 ought, notwithstanding the simplicity of their organization, 
 still to belong to the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 The parenchymatous, or cellular substance, which, as 
 M. Bonnet says, is universally extended, embraces the whole 
 fibrous system, and becomes the principal instrument of 
 growth, must naturally be more abundant in those produc 
 tions ; and this accounts for the rapidity of their enlargement. 
 Besides, growth, w'hether slow or rapid, never was employed 
 to determine the presence or absence of the vegetable or ani- 
 mal character. The draba verma, which, in a few weeks, 
 shoots, and puts forth its leaves, flowers, and fruit, is not less 
 a plant than the palm. The insect that exists but for a day, 
 is as much an animal, as the elephant that lives for centuries. 
 As to the seeds of the fungi, it is probable that nature meant 
 to withdraw from our eyes the dissemination of these plants, 
 by making the seeds almost imperceptible ; and it is likewise 
 probable, that naturalists have seen nothing but their capsules. 
 Since, however, from the imperfection of our senses, we are 
 unable to perceive these seeds, because those bodies which 
 have been called their seeds, and the fragments or cuttings 
 of the plants themselves, have not produced others of the 
 same species; Nature seems to have reserved for herself the 
 care of disseminating certain plants : it is in vain, for instance, 
 that the botanist sow^s the dust found in the capsules of the 
 orchis, though every one allows it to be the seed. 
 
 But, after all, what are those -parts in the fungi casually 
 observed by naturalists, and which they have taken for the 
 parts of fructification? These are quite distinct from the 
 other parts ; and whatever may be their use, they cannot have 
 been formed by the prolongation of the cellular substance, or of 
 the fibres of the tree on which the fungus grow's ; they are, 
 therefore, owing, like flower and fruit, to the proper organi- 
 zation of the plant. The plants, however, have a particular 
 existence, independent of their putrefying nidus. The gills of 
 certain fungi, which differ essentially from the rest of the 
 plant in their conformation, would be sufficient to authorize 
 this latter opinion. But can putrefaction create an organic 
 substance? Nature undoubtedly disseminates through the 
 air, and over the surface of the earth, innumerable seeds of 
 fungi, as well as eggs of insects. The plant and the animal 
 
THE METEORIC STONE. 
 
 401 
 
 are excluded, when the nidus, in which they are deposited, or 
 the temperature, is favourable for their development. No 
 fortuitous concourse, either of atoms or fluids, could produce 
 bodies so exquisitely and so regularly organized. It is suf- 
 ficient, to throw one’s eye on the beautiful plates which 
 Schoeffer has published of them, and compare them, by the 
 glass, with the warts and other excrescences of animals, to be 
 convinced that they have not the same origin. The function 
 of the cellular substance in vegetables must be greatly 
 superior to that in animals, if it could produce any thing but 
 deformities. The greater part of fungi exhibit a configura- 
 tion much too regular, constant, and uniform, to be the effect 
 of chance or putrefaction. As this form is preserved the same 
 in all places where fungi have been found, it follows, that they 
 contain in themselves the principles of reproduction. They 
 resemble the misletoe, and other parasitic plants, which are 
 perfectly distinct from the trees on which they grow. The 
 fungi, therefore, are organized and living substances, — or true 
 plants^ 
 
 CHAP. XXXVII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING STONES. 
 
 The Meteoric Stone — Labrador Stone — Asbestos — Mushroom 
 Stone — The Changeable Stone — A Wonderful Diamond — 
 A Singular Curiosity. 
 
 There are more things in heaven and earth 
 
 Than are dreamt of in our philosophy. Shakspeare. 
 
 THE METEORIC STONE. 
 
 The following description of a meteoric stone, which fell 
 in the year 1511, is taken from a set of observations on 
 natural history, meteorology. See. made in the early part of 
 the sixteenth century, by Andrea da Prato, of Milan. These 
 have not been published ; but various copies of them exist. 
 They have been commented upon by Dr. Louis Rossi, in the 
 Giomale di Fisica, Chemica, &)C. from whence this descrip- 
 tion is taken.— “ On the 4th of September, 1511, at the 
 second hour of the night, and also at the seventh, there 
 appeared in the air, at Milan, a running fire, with such 
 splendour, that the day seemed to have returned; and some 
 persons beheld the appearance of a large head, which caused 
 great wonder and fear in the city. The same thing happened 
 on the following night at the ninth hour. A few days after, 
 beyond the river Adela, there fell from heaven many stone*, 
 
 3 E 
 
402 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING STONES. 
 
 which being collected at Cremasco (Creina), were found to 
 weigh eight, and even eleven pounds each. Their colour 
 was similar to that of burnt stones.” — Dr. Bossi considers this 
 as an authentic descriotion of the fall of an aerolite. 
 
 The Labrador Stone, is a curious species of Feld-spar, 
 or Rhombic Quartz, which exhibits all the colours of a 
 peacock’s tail. It was discovered some years ago by 
 the Moravians, who have a colony among the Esquimaux, 
 in Labrador. It is found of a light or deep gray colour, 
 but for the most part of a blackish gray. When held 
 in the light in various positions, it discovers a diversity of 
 colours, such as the blue of lapis lazuli, grass-green, apple- 
 green, pea-green, and sometimes, but more seldom, a 
 citron yellow. Sometimes it has a colour between that of 
 red copper and tornbuck-gray ; at other times the colours 
 are between gray and violet. For the most part, these 
 colours are in spots, but sometimes in stripes on the same 
 piece. The stones are found in pretty large angular pieces, 
 appear foliated when broken, and the fragments are of a 
 rhomboidal figure. 
 
 We shall next introduce The Asbestos. — This is a stone 
 found in several places in Europe and Asia, and particularly in 
 Sweden, Corsica, Cornw'all, and the island of Anglesea in 
 Wales. It is of a silky nature, very fine, and of a grayish 
 colour, insipid, and indissoluble in water. It may be split 
 into threads and filaments, from one to ten inches in length. 
 It is indestructible by fire; whence it may be employed for 
 many useful purposes. There are some sorts whose filaments 
 are rigid and brittle, and others more flexible. The former can- 
 not be spun into cloth, and the latter with difficulty. In con- 
 sequence of its incombustibility, it w'as very much valued by 
 the ancients for wrapping up the bodies of the dead. In the 
 year 1702, an urn was discovered at Rome, with the bones of 
 a human body wrapped in a cloth made of flexible asbestos. 
 The method of preparing it is as follows : the stone is laid tc 
 soak in \varm water, then opened and divided by the hands, 
 that the earthy matter may be washed out. This earth is 
 white like chalk, and makes the water thick and milky. This 
 being several times repeated, the filaments are afterwards 
 collected and dried: they are commodiously spun w'ith flax. 
 When the cloth is woven, it is best preserved by oil from 
 breaking. It is then put into the fire; and the flax being 
 burnt out, the cloth remains pure and white. It might also 
 be made into paper; and, from its incombustibility, wills, or any 
 other thing of importance, could be written on it. The Chinese 
 make furnaces of this mineral, which are very portable. 
 
THE MUSHROOM STONE. 
 
 403 
 
 The Mushroom Stone, or stone capable of producing mush- 
 rooms. — In the Ephemerides of the Curious mention is made, 
 of a stone, so called by Dr. J. G. Wolckamerus, who saw one in 
 Italy, which never ceases to produce, in a few days, mushrooms 
 of an excellent flavour, by the most simple and easy process ima- 
 ginable. “ It is (says he) of the bigness of an ox’s head, rough 
 and uneven on its surface, and on which are also perceived 
 some clefts and crevices. It is black in some parts, and in 
 others of a lighter and grayish colour. Internally it is porous, 
 and nearly of the nature of pumice stone, but much heavier; 
 and it contains a small piece of flint, which is so incorporated 
 with it as to appear to have been formed at the same time the 
 stone itself received its form. This gives room to judge, that 
 these stones have been produced by a fat and viscid juice, 
 which has the property of indurating whatever matter it 
 filtrates into. The stone, when lightly covered with earth, 
 and sprinkled with warm water, produces mushrooms of an 
 exquisite flavour, which are usually round, sometimes oval, 
 and whose borders, by their inflections and different curvities, 
 represent in some measure human ears. The principal colour 
 of these mushrooms is sometimes yellowish, and sometimes 
 of a bright purple, but they are always diversified with spots 
 of a deep orange colour, or reddish brown; and when these 
 spots are recent, and still in full bloom, they produce a very 
 agreeable effect to the sight. But what appears admirable is, 
 that the part of the stalk which remains adhering to the stone 
 when the mushroom has been separated from it, grows gradu- 
 ally hard, and petrifies in time; so that it seems that this 
 fungus restores to the stone the nutritive juice it received 
 from it, and that it thus contributes to its increase.” John 
 Baptist Porta says, that this stone is found in several parts of 
 Italy; and that it is not only to be met with at Naples, taken 
 out of mount Vesuvius, but also on mount Pantherico, in 
 the principality of Arellino; on mount Garganus, in Apulia; 
 and on the summit of some other high mountains. As to the 
 form of these mushrooms, their root is strong, uneven, 
 divided according to its longitudinal direction, and composed 
 of fibres as fine as hairs, interwoven one with another. I’heir 
 form, on first shooting out, resembles a small bladder, scarcely 
 larger than the bud of a vine; and if in this state they are 
 squeezed between the fingers, an aqueous subacid liquor 
 issues out. When at their full growth, their pedicle is of a 
 finger’s length, larger at top than at bottom, and becomes 
 insensibly slenderer in proportion as it is nearer the earth. 
 These mushrooms are also formed in an umbrella shape, and 
 variegated with an infinity of little specks, situated very near 
 one another. They are smooth and even on the upper part, 
 but underneath leafy, like the common mushrooms. Their 
 
404 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING STONES. 
 
 taste is likewise very agreeable, and the sick are LOt debar- 
 red from eating them when dressed in a proper manner. — 
 Some naturalists and physicians submitted these stones to 
 chemical analysis, in order to be more competent judges of 
 the uses they might be put to in medicine ; when there first 
 came forth, by distillation, an insipid water, and afterwards 
 a spirituous liquor. The retort having been heated to a cer- 
 tain point, there arose an oil, which had nearly the smell and 
 taste of that of guaiacum ; and a very acid salt was extracted 
 from the ashes. 
 
 We must not omit The Changeable Stone. — There are 
 three of these remarkable stones in the British Museum ; the 
 largest of them about the size of a cherry-stone, but of an 
 oval form. It is opaque, and coloured like a common yellow 
 pea; it may be scratched, though not without difficulty, by 
 a common knife, notwithstanding which, it seems to leave a 
 mark upon glass. It does not ferment with nitrous acid. 
 When it has lain some hours in water, it becomes transparent, 
 and of a yellow amber colour. The change begins soon after 
 the immersion, and at one end, in form of a little shot; but in 
 a small one of the same kind, the transparency begins round 
 the edges. By degrees the spot increases, until the whole 
 stone becomes uniformly clear throughout : when out of the 
 water it loses its transparency, first at one end, and then gra- 
 dually over the remainder, until the whole has become opaque, 
 which change happens in less than it takes to become trans- 
 parent. This change is not entirely peculiar to the hydro- 
 phanes. Bergman informs us, that some steatites produce 
 the same effect ; and M. Magellan, that the crust of chalce- 
 donies and agates frequently produce the same appearance. 
 Messrs. Buckman andVeltheim were the first who particularly 
 inquired into the nature of this stone, and investigated its 
 properties. Their account is as follows : — ** As soon as the 
 stone is put into water, it exhales a musty smell, several air- 
 bubbles arise, and it becomes gradually transparent. Some 
 of the stones become colourless as soon as they are thoroughly 
 transparent; others have a more or less deep yellow colour; 
 some acquire a beautiful ruby colour; and others gain a fine 
 colour of mother-of-pearl, or of a bluish opal. AVhatever be 
 the colour of the liquor in which the hydrophanes is immersed, 
 it gains only its usual degree of transparency with the colour 
 peculiar to it. When we look at it in its moist state, we per- 
 ceive aluminous point, varying its situation as the position of 
 the eye is altered.’* This luminous point is not, according to 
 Mr. Bruckman, the immediate image of the sun, but a reflec- 
 tion of that imagre refracted in the substance of the stone 
 itself ; a phenomenon which probably gave rise to its name of 
 
WONDERFUL DIAMOND. S^^NGULAR CURIOSITY 406 
 
 OcuLUS Mundi. Mr. Bruckman left a piece of this stone, 
 weighing 35 grains, seven hours in water, the space requisite 
 to make it perfectly transparent ; and in that time he found 
 that it had gained three grains in weight. The hydrophanes 
 becomes much sooner transparent when put into hot water; 
 and the same happens if it be dipped in a very dilute acid, or 
 rather a very dilute solution of alkali. When dipped in oil 
 of vitriol, it becomes very quickly transparent, and will con- 
 tinue so on account of the strong attraction of that acid for 
 moisture, which takes as much from the atmosphere as is 
 necessary to keep the stone transparent ; but its opacity will re- 
 turn, if it be dipped in an alkaline liquor, and then dried. 
 
 An account of a Wonderful Diamond, in the Island 
 OF Bornou. — The rajah of Mathan possesses the finest and 
 largest diamond in the world, that has hitherto been disco- 
 vered. This diamond, which is said to be of the finest water, 
 weighs 367 carats. The celebrated Pitt diamond weighs only 
 127 carats. The Mathan diamond is shaped like an egg, with 
 an indented hollow near the smaller end. It was discovered 
 at Landak, about ninety years ago ; and though ihe possession 
 of it has occasioned numerous wars, it has been about eighty 
 years in the possession of the Mathan family. Many years 
 ago, the governor of Batavia sent a Mr. Stuvart to ascertain 
 the weight, quality, and value of this diamond, and to endea 
 vour to purchase it; and in his mission, he was accompanied 
 by the sultan of Pontiana. After examining it, Mr. Stuvart 
 offered 150,000 dollars for the diamond, the sum to which he 
 was limited ; and, in addition to this sum, two war-brigs, with 
 their guns and ammunition, together with a certain number 
 of great guns, and a quantity of powder and shot. The rajah, 
 however, refused to deprive his family of so valuable an here- 
 ditary possession, to which the Malays attach the miraculous 
 power of curing all kinds of diseases, by means of the water 
 in which it is dipped, and with which they imagine the fortune 
 of the family is connected. 
 
 We shall close our department of remarkable Stones, with 
 the following account of A Singular Curiosity. — Mr. 
 Sloughton, the Spanish Consul at Boston, in North America, 
 has in his possession a flint pebble, obtained amongst ballast 
 stone, thrown from a vessel at an eastern port. When broken, 
 it presented two half heads in profile; all the outlines of fea- 
 ture and hair were perfectly distinct, and the heads were of a 
 darker colour than the rest of the stone. What is most sur- 
 prising is, that the one face was male and the other female ; 
 and eiien the putting up of the hair was appropriate to the 
 sexes; they were situated, in the stone, face to face. 
 
406 
 
 CUKlOSlTlEh RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 CHAP. XXXVIIL 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS, 
 
 Natural Description of Mountains — The Peak in Derbyshire-^ 
 Snowden in Wales — Skiddaw in Cumberland. 
 
 Sublime the uplifted mountains rise, 
 
 And with their pointed heads invade the skies ; 
 
 While the high clilfs their craggy arms extend, 
 
 - Distinguish states, and sever’d realms defend. Blackmorg, 
 
 NATURAL DESCRIPTION OF MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Almost all the tops of the highest mountains are bare and 
 pointed ; which proceeds from their being continually assaulted 
 by storms and tempests. All the earthy substances with 
 which they might have been once covered, have for ages been 
 washed away from their summits ; and nothing is left but 
 immense rocks, which no tempest has hitherto been able to 
 destroy. Nevertheless, time is every day making depredations, 
 and huge fragments are seen tumbling down the precipices, 
 
 . either loosened from their summits by the rains and frost, or 
 struck down by lightning. Nothing can exhibit a more terri- 
 ble picture than one of these enormous masses, commonly 
 larger than a house, falling from its height, and rolling down 
 the side of the mountain with a noise louder than thunder. 
 Dr. Plot tells us of one in particular,* which being loosened 
 from its bed, rolled down the precipice, and was partly shat- 
 tered into a thousand pieces. One of the largest fragments, 
 however, still preserving its motion, travelled, over the plain 
 below, crossed a rivulet in the midst, and at last stopped on 
 the other side of the bank ! These fragments are often struck 
 off by lightning, and sometimes undermined by rains; but 
 the most usual manner in which they are disunited from the 
 mountain is by frost : the rains first insinuate and find their 
 way between the interstices of the mountain, and continue 
 there until by the intense cold they are converted into ice, 
 when the water swells with an irresistible force, and produces 
 the same effect as gunpowder, splitting the most solid rocks, 
 and thus shattering their summits. Sometimes whole moun- 
 tains are, by various causes, disunited from each other. In 
 many parts of the Alps, there are amazing clefts, the sides of 
 which so exactly correspond with the opposite, that no doubt 
 can be entertained of their having been once joined. At 
 Cajeta, in Italy, a mountain was split in this manner by an 
 earthquake ; and there is a passage opened through it, that 
 appears as if done by the industry of man. 
 
LAND-SLIPS. 
 
 407 
 
 In the Andes these breaches are often seen. That at 
 Thermopylee in Greece has been long famous. The moun- 
 tain of the Troglodytes in Arabia has thus a passage through 
 it ; and that in the late duchy of Savoy, which Nature began, 
 and which Victor Amadeus completed, is an instance of the 
 same kind. “ In June, 1714, a part of the mountain of Dia- 
 bleret, in the district of Valais, in France, suddenly fell down, 
 between two and three p. m. the weather being very calm and 
 serene. This mountain, which was of a conical figure, de- 
 stroyed fifty-five cottages in its fall. Fifteen persons, with 
 about one hundred beasts, were also crushed beneath its ruins, 
 which covered an extent of ground of a league square. The 
 dust it occasioned instantly enveloped all the neighbourhood 
 in darkness. The heaps of rubbish were more than three 
 hundred feet high. They stopped the current of a river that 
 ran along the plain, which now is formed into several new 
 and deep lakes. There appeared, through the whole of this 
 rubbish, none of those substances that seemed to indicate 
 that this catastrophe had been occasioned by means of sub- 
 terraneous fires. Most probably, the base of this rocky 
 mountain had been decomposing through the lapse of many 
 ages, and thus fell without any extraneous violence.” 
 
 In 1618, the town of Fleurs, in France, was buried beneath a 
 rocky mountain, at the foot of which it was situated. Such 
 accidents are produced by various causes : by earthquakes; 
 by being decayed at the bottom; or by the foundation of one 
 part of the mountain being hollow'ed by waters, and, thus 
 wanting a support, breaking from the other. Thus it generally 
 has been found in the great chasms in the Alps; and it is 
 almost alw'ays the case in those disruptions of hills, called 
 land-slips : these are nothing more than the sliding dowm of 
 a higher piece of ground, driven from its situation by subter- 
 raneous inundations, and settling upon the plain below. 
 There is not an appearance in nature that so much astonished 
 our ancestors as these land-slips. To behold a large upland, 
 wdth its houses, corn, and cattle, at once loosened from its 
 place, and floating as it were upon the subjacent water, — to 
 see it quitting its ancient situation, and sailing forw'ard like a 
 ship, — is certainly one of the most extraordinary appearances 
 that can be imagined, and, to a people ignorant of the powers 
 of nature, might well be considered as a prodigy. Accord- 
 ingly, we find all our old historians mentioning it as an omen 
 of approaching calamities. In this more enlightened age, 
 how'ever, its cause is well kiiow'n ; and, instead of exciting 
 ominous apprehensions in the populace, it only gives rise to 
 some very ridiculous law-suits among the several claimants, 
 whose the property thus divided from its kindred soil shall 
 be; whether the land shall belong to the original pOa- 
 
408 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 sessor, or to him upon whose grounds it has encroached and 
 settled. 
 
 In the lands of Hatberg, in Ireland, there stood a declivity 
 gradually ascending for nearly half a mile. On the 10th of 
 March, 1713, the inhabitants perceived a crack on its side, 
 like a furrow made with a plough, which they imputed to the 
 effects of lightning, as there had been a thunder-storm the 
 night before. However, on the evening of the same day, they 
 were surprised to hear a hideous confused noise issuing all 
 around from the side of the hill ; and their curiosity being 
 awakened, they resorted to the place. There, to their amaze- 
 ment, they found an extent of ground, of nearly five acres, all 
 in gentle motion, and sliding down the hill upon the sub- 
 jacent plain. This motion, together with the noise, continued 
 the remaining part of the day, and the whole of the following 
 night ; the noise proceeding, probably, from the attrition of 
 the ground beneath. The day following, this strange journey 
 down the hill ceased ; and above an acre of the meadow below 
 was found covered with what before composed a part of the 
 declivity. But such tremendous land-slips, when a whole 
 mountain’s side descends, happen very rarely. 
 
 There are some of another kind, however, much more com- 
 mon ; and as they are always sudden, much more dangerous. 
 These are snow-slips, or avalanches, well known, and greatly 
 dreaded by travellers. They are justly described in the fol- 
 lowing beautiful lines of one of our poets : — 
 
 By an hundred winters piled, 
 
 Where the glaciers, dark with death, 
 
 Hang o’er precipices wild, 
 
 Hang suspended by a breath. 
 
 If a pulse but throb alarm, 
 
 Headlong down the steeps they fall ; 
 
 For a pulse will break the charm. 
 
 Bounding, bursting, burying all. 
 
 It often happens, that when snow has long been accumu- 
 lated on the tops and on the sides of mountains, it is borne 
 down the precipice either by tempests, or by its own melting. 
 At first, when loosened, thie volume in motion is but smail, 
 but it gathers as it continues to roll; and by the time it has 
 reached the habitable parts of the mountain, it is generally 
 grown to an enormous bulk. Wherever it rolls, it levels all 
 things in its way, or buries them in unavoidable destruction. 
 Instead of rolling, it sometimes is found to slide along from 
 the top; yet even thus, it is generally fatal. Nevertheless, 
 we had an instance a few years ago, of a small family in Ger- 
 many, that lived for above a fortnight under one of these 
 snow-slip b Although they were buried during the whole of 
 
PEAK IN DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 409 
 
 that time in utter darkness, and under abed of some hundreds 
 of feet deep, yet they were providentially taken out alive ; the 
 weight of the snow being supported by a beam that kept up 
 the roof, and nourishment supplied to them by the milk of a 
 she-goat, that was buried under the same ruin. 
 
 A Description of the Peak in Derbyshire, from 
 Moritz’s Travels in several parts of England. 
 
 Having arrived in Derbyshire, a distance of 170 miles from 
 London, the author thus describes the town of Castleton, in 
 which the Peak is situated : — • 
 
 I ascended one of the highest hills, and all at once per- 
 ceived a beautiful vale below me, which was traversed by rivers 
 and brooks, and inclosed on all sides by hills. In this vale 
 lies Castleton, a small towm, with low houses ; so named from 
 an old castle, whose ruins are still to be seen here. 
 
 “ A narrow path, which wound itself down the side of the 
 rock, led me through the vale into the street of Castleton, 
 where I found an inn, and dined. After dinner, I made the 
 best of my way to the cavern. 
 
 “ A little rivulet, which runs through the middle of the 
 town, led me to its entrance. 
 
 “ I stood here a few moments, full of wonder and astonish- 
 ment at the amazing height of the steep rock before me, 
 covered on each side with ivy and other shrubs. At its sum- 
 mit are the decayed walls and towers of an ancient castle, 
 which formerly stood on this rock ; and at its foot the mon- 
 strous aperture, or mouth to the entrance of the cavern ; where 
 it is totally dark, even at mid-day. 
 
 “ As I was standing here full of admiration, I perceived at 
 the entrance of the cavern, a man of a rude and rough ap])ear« 
 ance, who asked me if I wished to see the Peak ; and an echo 
 strongly reverberated his coarse voice. 
 
 “ Answering him in the affirmative, he next inquired if I 
 should want to be carried to the other side of the stream ; 
 telling me at the same time what the sum would be which I 
 must pay for it. 
 
 “ This man had, along with his black stringy hair, and his 
 dirty and tattered clothes, such a singularly wild and infernal 
 look, that he actually struck me as a real Charon : his voice, 
 and the questions he asked me, were not of a kind to remove 
 this notion ; so that far from its requiring any effort of imagi- 
 nation, I found it not easy to avoid believing, that at le ngth 
 I had actually reached Avernus, — was about to cross Acheron, 
 — and to be ferried by Charon! 
 
 “ I had n3 sooner agreed to his demand, than he told me, 
 all I had to do was boldly to follow him, — and thus vi*e entered 
 the cavern. 
 
 3F 
 
410 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECl NG MOUNTAINS. 
 
 In the entrance of the cavern lay the trunk of a tree that 
 had been cut down, on which several of the boys of the town 
 were playing. 
 
 “ Our way seemed to be altogether on a descent, though 
 not steep ; so that the light, which came in at the mouth of 
 the cavern near the entrance, gradually forsook it; and when 
 we had gone forward a few steps farther, 1 was astonished by 
 a sight, which, of all others, I here the least expected ; I per- 
 ceived to the right, in the hollow of the cavern, a whole sub- 
 terranean village, where the inhabitants, on account of its 
 being Sunday, were resting from their w'ork, and with happy 
 and cheerful looks were sitting at the doors of their huts 
 along with their children. 
 
 “We had scarcely passed these small subterranean houses, 
 when I perceived a number of large wheels, on which on week- 
 days these human moles, the inhabitants of the cavern, made 
 ropes. 
 
 “ I fancied I here saw the wheel of Ixion, and the incessant 
 labour of the Danai’des. 
 
 “ The opening through which the light came, seemed, as we 
 descended, every moment to become less and less, and the 
 darkness at every step to increase, till at length only a few 
 rays appeared, as if darting through a crevice, and just tinge- 
 ing the small clouds of smoke which at dusk raised themselves 
 to the mouth of the cavern. 
 
 “ This gradual increase of darkness aw^akens in a contem- 
 plative mind a soft melancholy. As you go down the gentle 
 descent of the cavern, you can hardly help fancying the mo- 
 ment is come when you are about to bid a final farewell to the 
 abodes of mortals. 
 
 “ At length the great cavern in the rock closed itself, in the 
 same manner as heaven and earth seem to join in the horizon. 
 We then approached a little door, where an old woman came 
 out of one of the huts, and brought two candles, of which we 
 each took one. 
 
 “ My guide now opened the door, which completely shut 
 out the faint glimmering of daylight, which till then it was 
 still possible to perceive, and led us to the inmost centre of 
 this dreary temple of old Chaos and Night, as if till now we 
 had only been traversing the outer coasts of their dominions. 
 The rock was here so low that we were obliged to stoop very 
 much for some few steps, in order to get through ; but how 
 great was my astonishment, when we had passed this narrow 
 passage, and again stood upright, at once to perceive, as well 
 as the feeble light of the candles would permit, the amazing 
 length, breadth, and height of the cavern, compared to which, 
 the monstro'is opening through which w^e had already passed 
 was nothing, 
 
PEAK IN DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 411 
 
 After we had wandered here more than an ho ir, as beneath 
 a dark and dusky sky, on a level sandy soil, the rock gradu- 
 ally lowered itself, and we suddenly found ourselves on the 
 edge of a broad river, which, from the glimmering of our 
 candles amid the total darkness, suggested a variety of inte- 
 resting reflections. To the side of this river a small boat was 
 moored, with some straw in its bottom. Into this vehicle my 
 guide desired me to step, and lay myself dowm in it quite flat, 
 because, as he said, towards the middle of the river the rock 
 would almost touch the water. 
 
 “ When I had laid myself down as directed, he himself 
 jumped into the water, and drew the boat after him. All 
 around us was one still, solemn, and deadly silence; and as 
 the boat advanced, the rock seemed to stoop, and come 
 nearer and nearer to us, till at length it nearly touched my 
 face ; and, as I lay, I could hardly hold the candle upright. I 
 seemed to myself to be in a coffln rather than in a boat, as 
 I had no room to stir hand or foot till we had passed this 
 frightful strait, and the rock rose again on the other side, — 
 where my guide once more handed me ashore. 
 
 “ The cavern was now become all at once broad and high, 
 and then suddenly it was again low and narrow. I observed 
 on both sides, as we passed along, a prodigious number of 
 great and small petrified plants and animals ; but these we 
 could not examine, unless we had been disposed to spend 
 some days in the cavern. 
 
 “ And thus we arrived at the opposite side, at the second 
 river or stream, which, however, w^as not so broad as the first, 
 as one may see across it to the other side : over this stream 
 my guide carried me on his shoulders, because there was here 
 no boat to ferry us. 
 
 ‘‘ From thence we only went a few steps farther, when we 
 came to a very small piece of water, which extended itself 
 lengthways, and led us to the end of the cavern. 
 
 “ The path along the edge of this water was wet and slip- 
 pery, and sometimes so very narrow that I could hardly set 
 one foot before the other. 
 
 “ Notwithstanding, I wandered with pleasure on this sub- 
 terraneous shore, and was regaling myself with the interesting 
 contemplation of all these various wonderful objects, in this 
 land of darkness, and shadow of death, — when, all at once, 
 something like music at a distance sounded in my ears. I 
 instantly stopped, full of astonishment, and eagerly asked 
 my guide what this might mean. He answered, “ Only have 
 patience, and you shall soon see.” But as we advanced, the 
 sounds of harmony seemed to die away, the noise became 
 weaker, and at length it appeared to dwindle into a gentle 
 hissing or hum. like distant drops of falling rain. 
 
412 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 “ It is not difficult to imagine how great was my wonder, 
 when ere long I actually saw and felt a violent shower of rain 
 falling from the rock as from a thick cloud, threatening to ex- 
 tinguish our candles, and leave us in entire darkness. It was 
 this that had caused the melancholy sound which I had 
 heard at a distance, the soft notes of which had been assisted 
 by the distant echo. 
 
 To this shower which fell from the ceiling or roof of the 
 cavern through the veins of the rock, the inhabitants had 
 given the name of a mizzling rain. 
 
 “ We continued our march along the sides of the water, and 
 often saw on its banks large apertures of the rock, which 
 seemed to be new or subordinate caverns, all of which we 
 passed without looking into. At length my guide prepared 
 me for one of the finest sights we had yet beheld, and which 
 was now soon to burst on our view. 
 
 We had gone but a few paces farther, when we entered 
 what might easily be taken for a majestic temple, with lofty 
 arches, supported by beautiful pillars, formed by the plastic 
 hand of some ingenious artist. 
 
 “ This subterraneous temple, in the structure of which no 
 human hand had borne a part, appeared to me at that 
 moment to surpass all the most stupendous buildings I had 
 ever seen, in point of regularity, magnificence, and beauty. 
 
 Deeply impressed with awe and reverence at this grand 
 display of the Creator’s works, my mind became insensibly 
 solemnized ; and I felt that it became me silently to adore 
 the Author of all, and acknowledge the hand of the divine 
 Architect. 
 
 From the Peak in Derbyshire, we shall conduct our reader 
 to Snowden in Wales; to the top of which Miss Eliza- 
 beth Smith, a young lady of uncommon attainments, made an 
 excursion, and published an account of her adventure, in 
 nearly the following language. 
 
 “Snowden is the loftiest of the Welsh mountains, being 
 3020 feet above the level of the sea. 
 
 “ We set off, about eleven at night, for the foot of Snowden, 
 and travelled eight miles through a fine mountainous country, 
 by moon-light. Before one, we arrived at a little hut where 
 the guide lives ; and after having him called up, and loaded 
 with a basket of bread and milk, and a tin box for specimens, 
 we began our march at a quarter past one. The clouds were 
 gathering over the mountains, and threatening us with either 
 darkness or rain. We however escaped both, and were only 
 amused with every variety they could give the landscape, by 
 hiding or obscuring the moon, and blotting out now one moun- 
 tain, and now another, from our view ; till about two o’clock. 
 
SNOWDEN IN WALES. 
 
 413 
 
 when the dawn began to appear/ they covered the moon, and 
 we saw her no more. We proceeded by a very easy ascent 
 over boggy ground till half past two, when, coming suddenly 
 to the top of the first range of hills, and meeting with a vio 
 lent wind which blew from the quarter where the sun was to 
 rise, (for we ascended the mountain on the south west,) Mrs 
 > G. S. was frightened, and seeing a very steep ascent before 
 her, said she would sit down and wait our return. My mother 
 said she would stay with her, and I proposed our all going 
 back together; but my mother very kindly insisted on my 
 proceeding. We therefore divided our provisions; the ladies 
 returned to the hut from which they had set out, and I went on 
 with the guide, who could not speak a word of English. We 
 steered our course more towards the south, and toiled up 
 several mountains, in some parts covered with loose stones, 
 which had fallen from their broken summits, but in general 
 overgrown with different sorts of moss, and a kind of short 
 grass, mixed with immense quantities of the galium pusi/lum. 
 I picked up a few other plants, but on the whole was dis- 
 appointed in the botanical way, as I found very little that I 
 had not before met with on the mountains in this neighbour- 
 hood; however, this is not the time of the year (July) for 
 mountain curiosities. I w'ent on as fast as I could, without 
 stopping, except now and then for a moment to look down on 
 the mountains under my feet, as clouds passed over them, 
 thinking each summit I saw before me was the last, and un- 
 able to gain any information from my guide to satisfy my im- 
 patience, for 1 wished to be at the top before sun-rise, and 
 pink clouds now^ began to appear over the steep I was climb- 
 ing. I also knew that the ladies would be very impatient for 
 my return ; nor was I without anxiety on their account, as I 
 was not sure they would find their way back to the hut. These 
 ideas occupied my mind all the way up; and if that deceitful, 
 but comforting lady, Hope, had not continually presented to 
 me the range of hills I was ascending as the last step in am- 
 bition’s ladder, I am not sure that, with all my eagerness to 
 get on the top, I should not have returned back. 
 
 “ I was debating this point very earnestly with myself, in 
 ascending an almost perpendicular green slope, when, on a 
 sudden, 1 saw at my feet an immense chasm, all in darkness, 
 and of a depth I cannot guess, certainly not less than a hun- 
 dred feet; I should suppose much more. It answers in some 
 respects to the idea 1 have formed of the crater of a violent 
 valcano, but evidently is not that, as there is no mark of fire, 
 the rock being composed, as it is in general throughout this 
 country, of a sort of slate. Nor does the mountain appear to 
 have been thrown down, but the pit to have sunk in ; which 
 must probably has been occasioned by subterranean waters. 
 
414 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 as there is water at the bottom of the pit, and the mountain 
 is full of springs. You think now you are at the top, but you 
 are mistaken. I am standing indeed at the top of the abyss, 
 but with a high rocky peak on each side of me, and descend- 
 ing almost perpendicularly into the lake at the bottom. 
 I have been taking a rough sketch of one of these peaks, with 
 the lake in the deepest shadow ; I am turning over my paper, 
 which the wind renders very difficult, in order to draw 
 another; I look up, and the upper part illuminated by a beau- 
 tiful rose-coloured light, while the opposite part still casts a 
 dark shade over its base, and conceals the sun from my view. 
 If I were ready to jump into the pit with delight at first see- 
 ing it, my ecstasy now was still greater. The guide seemed 
 quite delighted to see me so much pleased, and took care, in 
 descending, to lead me to the edge of every precipice, which 
 he had not done in going up. I, however, presently recol- 
 lected, that I was in a great hurry to get back, and set off 
 along the brink of the cavity for the highest peak, where I 
 arrived at a quarter past four, and saw a view, of which it is 
 impossible to form any idea from description. For many 
 miles around, it was composed of tops of high mountains, of 
 all the various forms that can be imagined : some appeared 
 swimming in an ocean of vapour; on others, the clouds lay 
 like a cap of snow, appearing as soft as down. They were all 
 far below Snowden, and I was enjoying the finest blue sky, 
 and the purest air I ever breathed. The whole prospect was 
 bounded by the sea, except to the east and south-east, and 
 the greatest part of the lands in those parts were blotted out 
 by clouds. The sun, however, rose so far toward the north- 
 east, as to be still hanging over the sea. I took a sketch of a 
 small part of the mountains, with some of the little lakes 
 which appear at their feet, — sat down, for the first time, on a 
 circle of stones which is built on the top of the hill, — and made 
 great havock in the bread and milk, in which achievement 
 the guide equalled, if not surpassed me, — and at half past four, 
 almost frozen, I began to descend. My anxiety about my 
 friends increased, as I came near the spot wffiere I had left 
 them; I made all possible haste, and found them safe in the 
 hut, at ten minutes past six. It certainly would have been 
 pleasanter to have had more time, and some one to enjoy the 
 expedition with me; but I am delighted that I have been, and 
 would not for any thing give up the recollection of the sub- 
 lime scene.^^ 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an account of Skiddaw'. — 
 This is a mountain of England, in Cumberland, one of the 
 most remarkable in the kingdom, being above 3000 feet in 
 perpendicular height, from the surface of the Derwent-water, 
 
THE ANDES. 
 
 415 
 
 which lake is far distant from the sea, and high above its ievel 
 from this circumstance. Skiddaw is reckoned the highest 
 mountain in England. The prospect from its top is very ex- 
 tensive, and, being detached from othir mountains, forms a 
 grand object from various points of view. It is easy of access, 
 and the sides are covered with grass. At the top, the atmo- 
 sphere is uncommonly rare. It is covered with loose brown 
 slate-stone. 
 
 CHAP. XXXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. — ( Continued.) 
 
 The Andes — Pichinca — Monte Bolea — Paiisilipo — Monte Nuovo 
 
 — Spectre of the Broken — Gants, or Indian Appenines — Pico 
 
 — Written Mountains — Athos — Sulphur Mountains. 
 
 His proud head the airy mountain hid’fes, 
 
 Amon^ the clouds; his shoulders and his sides, 
 
 A shady mantle clothes. Denham. 
 
 THE ANDES. 
 
 The Andes is a great chain of mountains in South America, 
 which, running from the most northern part of Peru, to the 
 Straits of Magellan, between 3000 and 4000 miles, are the 
 longest and most remarkable in the world. The Spaniards 
 call them the Cordilleras de los Andes: they form two ridges; 
 the lowermost of which is overspread with woods and groves, 
 and the uppermost covered with everlasting snow. Those 
 who have been at the top, affirm that the sky is always serene 
 and bright, the air cold and piercing, and yet so thin that 
 they were scarce able to breathe. When they looked down- 
 wards, the country was hid by the clouds that hovered on the 
 mountain's sides. 
 
 The mountains just mentioned, which have been frequently 
 ascended, are much inferior in height to many others in this 
 enormous chain. 
 
 The following is the account given of the mountain called 
 Pichincha, by Don George Juan, and Don Antonio de Ulloa, 
 two mathematicians, sent by the kings of France and Spain, 
 to make observations in relation to the figure of the earth. 
 These mathematicians suffered extremely, as well from the 
 severity of the cold, as from the impetuosity of the winds, 
 which on these heights blow with incessant violence; diffi- 
 culties the more painful, as they had been little used to such 
 •ensations Thus, in the torrid zone, nearly under the equi 
 
416 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 noctial line, where it is natural to suppose they had most to 
 fear from the heat, their greatest pain was caused by the ex- 
 cessiveness of the cold. Their first scheme, for shelter and 
 lodging in these uncomfortable regions, was to pitch a field- 
 tent for each company : but on Pichinca, this could not be 
 done, from the narrowness of the summit; they were there- 
 fore obliged to be contented with a hut so small, that the 
 w'hole of the company could scarcely creep into it. Nor will 
 this appear strange, if the reader considers the bad situation 
 and smallness of the place, it being one of the loftiest crags 
 of a rocky mountain, 100 fathoms above the highest desert of 
 Pichinca. Such was the position of their mansion, when 
 all the other adjacent parts soon became covered with ice and 
 snow'. The ascent up this stupendous rock, from the base, 
 or the place where the mules could come to their habitation, 
 was so craggy, as only to be climbed on foot; and to perform 
 it, cost them four hours’ continual labour and pain, arising not 
 only from the violent efforts of the body, but the subtilty of 
 the air, which was so thin, and probably overcharged 
 with the lighter respirable gases, as to render respiration 
 difficult. 
 
 Our philosophers generally kept w'ithin their hut. Indeed, 
 they were obliged to do this, on account of the intenseness 
 of the cold, the violence of the wind, and their being continu- 
 ally involved in so thick a fog, that an object at six or eight 
 paces was hardly discernible. When the mist cleared up, the 
 clouds, by their gravity, moved nearer to the surface of the 
 earth, and on all sides surrounded the mountains to a vast 
 distance, foiming no bad representation of the sea, with 
 their rock, like an island, stationed in its centre. When this 
 happened, they heard the horrid noises of the tempests, which 
 then spent their fury on Quito and the neighbouring country. 
 They saw the lightnings issue from the clouds, and heard the 
 thunders roll far beneath them ; and whilst the lower parts 
 were involved in tempests of thunder and rain, they enjoyed 
 a delightful serenity, the wind was hushed, the sky became 
 •clear, and the enlivening rays of the sun moderated the seve- 
 rity of the cold. But their circumstances w^ere very different, 
 when the clouds reascended : their thickness rendered respi- 
 ration difficult ; the snow and hail fell continually; and the 
 wind returned wdth all its violence; so that it was impossible 
 entirely to overcome the fears of being, together with their 
 hut, blowui down the precipice, on the edge of which it w'as 
 built, or of being buried by the daily accumulations of ice 
 and snow. 
 
 The wind w'as often so violent in these regions, that its 
 velocity dazzled the sight, whilst their fears w^ere increased, 
 from the dreadful concussions of the precipice, caused by the 
 
THE ANDES. 
 
 417 
 
 fall of enormous fragments of rocks. These crashes were the 
 more alarming, as no other noises are heard in such solitary 
 abodes : and during the night, their rest, which they so greatly 
 wanted, was frequently disturbed by these sudden sounds. 
 When the weather was fair near their hut, and the clouds 
 gathered about some of the other mountains which they had 
 selected for their observations, so that they could not make 
 all the use they desired of this interval of good weather, they 
 left their hut, to exercise themselves. Sometimes they de- 
 scended to a small distance ; and, at other times, amused 
 themselves with rolling large fragments of rocks down the 
 precipice; and these frequently required the joint strength of 
 them all, though they often saw the same effected by the 
 mere force of the wind. But they always took care, in their 
 excursions, not to go so far out, but that, on the least appear- 
 ance of the clouds gathering about their cottage, which often 
 happened very suddenly, they could regain their shelter. The 
 door of their hut was fastened with thongs of leather, and on 
 the inside not the smallest crevice was left unstopped ; besides 
 which, it was very compactly covered with straw : but, not- 
 withstanding all their care, the wind penetrated through. 
 
 The days were often little better than the nights ; and all 
 the light they enjoyed, w^as that of a lamp or two, which they 
 kept continually burning. Though their hut was small, and 
 crowded with inhabitants, besides the heat of the lamps, yet 
 the intenseness of the cold was such, that every one of them 
 was obliged to have a chafing-dish of coals. These precau- 
 tions w'ould have rendered the rigour of the climate support- 
 able, had not the imminent danger of perishing, by being 
 blown down the precipice, roused them every time it snow’ed, 
 to encounter the severity of the outward air, and sally out, 
 with shovels, to force from the roof of their hut, the masses of 
 snow which were gathering on it. Nor would it, without this 
 precaution, have been able to support the weight. They were 
 not indeed wdthout servants and Indians, but these were so 
 benumbed with the cold, that it was with great difficulty they 
 could get them out of a small tent, where they kept a con- 
 tinual fire. So that, all our artists could obtain from them, 
 was to take their turns in this labour; and even then they 
 went very unwillingly about it, and consequently performed it 
 but slowly. 
 
 The reader may easily judge what our philosophers suffered 
 from the asperities of such a climate. Their feet were swelled, 
 and so tender, that they could not even bear the heat of the 
 fire, and walking was attended with extreme pain. Their 
 hands were covered with chilblains; their lips swelled and 
 chopped, so that every motion in speaking drew blood ; con- 
 sequently they were obliged to observe strict taciturnity, and 
 18. 3 G 
 
418 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 were little disposed to laugh, as, by causing an extension of 
 the lips, it produced such wounds as were very painful for 
 two or three days after. 
 
 Their common food in this inhospitable region was a little 
 rice boiled with some flesh or fowl, procured from Quito ; 
 and, instead of fluid water, their pot was filled with ice : they 
 had the same resource with regard to what they drank ; and 
 while they were eating, every one was obliged to keep his 
 plate over a chafing-dish of coals, to prevent his provisions 
 from freezing. The same was done respecting the water. At 
 first they imagined the drinking of strong liquors would diffuse 
 a heat through the body, and consequently render it less 
 sensible of the painful sharpness of the cold ; but, to their 
 surprise, they felt no manner of strength in such liquors, nor 
 were they any greater preservatives against the cold than even 
 common water. 
 
 It is affirmed, that there are in the Andes sixteen volcanoes, 
 or burning mountains, which throw out fire and smoke with a 
 terrible noise. The height of Chimborazo, said to be the 
 highest peak of the Andes, has been determined by geome- 
 trical calculations to be 20,282 feet. As all or most rivers 
 have their source in mountains, it is no wonder a great num- 
 ber run down the sides of the Andes. Some hurry along with 
 a prodigious rapidity, while others form beautiful cascades, 
 or run through holes in rocks, which look like bridges of a 
 stupendous height. There is a public road through the moun- 
 tains, 1000 miles in length, part of which runs from Quito to 
 Cusco. 
 
 Monte Bolea. — This is a hill or mount in the neighbour- 
 hood of Verona, in the north of Italy, celebrated for the 
 uncommon abundance and remarkable variety of the organic 
 remains which it exhibits, as well as for the striking rela- 
 tions these bear to minerals of volcanic origin. This spot has 
 long attracted the attention of philosophic inquirers, and 
 even excited the curiosity of the vulgar. Various collections 
 of its petrifactions have been made, and a considerable num- 
 ber of labourers are occasionally employed in digging and 
 preparing specimens. There are many treatises purposely 
 devoted to the description and arrangement of its fossils, to 
 a minute examination of its geognostic relations, and to labo- 
 rious disquisitions on the manner in which it must have been 
 formed. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the mount, and over a great part 
 of the territory of Verona, there are seen undoubted products 
 of volcanic eruptions, together with masses of petrified animal 
 and vegetable substances. The hill itself presents a great 
 variety and singular combination of mineral phenomena, of 
 
THE PAUSILIPO. 
 
 419 
 
 different origin and nature. Its greater propc rtion is com- 
 posed of an aggregation of organic remains, and seems a 
 cemetery of shells, fishes, marine animals, birds, and qua 
 drupeds. Some of its beds consist of a range of certain species 
 possessing a considerable similarity ; while in others, animals of 
 the most o|)posite habits, and inhabiting different regions of the 
 globe, as well as different elements of nature, are strangely 
 brought into contact, and confusedly blended in one hetero- 
 geneous mass. Shell-fish of the rivers and of the sea, corals, 
 fishes of various kinds, insects, bones of different species of 
 birds, remains of elephants, bears, and other quadrupeds, re- 
 quiring for their existence different climates, are here united 
 in an extraordinary assemblage. Connected with these, we 
 find basaltic columns, scoriae, lava, and other volcanic pro- 
 ductions. These facts lead us to conclude, that this spot has 
 witnessed wonderful revolutions, and that it has been subject, 
 at different periods of its history, or perhaps nearly at the same 
 time, to the dominion of two powerful elements, of which the 
 ravages only are now visible. 
 
 Pausilipo, — which is the next we would speak of, is a 
 celebrated mountain of Naples, five miles from Puzzoli, 
 famous for its grotto, or rather a subterraneous passage 
 through it, which is near a mile long, about twenty feet 
 broad, and from thirty to forty in height. The gentry who 
 go there to gratify their curiosity, generally drive through it 
 with lighted torches; but the country people find their way 
 with little difficulty, by the light which enters at each end, 
 and by two holes pierced through the mountain from the top, 
 near the middle of the passage. This mountain is rendered 
 an object of still greater fame and veneration, by possessing 
 the tomb of Virgil, which is overgrown with ivy, and 
 shadowed with the spreading boughs of an ancient laurel 
 tree. 
 
 Monte Nuovo, — is a mountain in the environs of Naples, 
 which blocks up the valley of Averno. “ This mountain (Mr. 
 Swinburne tells us) arose in 1538: after repeated quakings the 
 earth burst asunder, and made way for a deluge of hot 
 ashes and flames, which rising extremely high, and darkening 
 the atmosphere, fell down again and formed a circular mound 
 four n iles in circumference, and one thousand feet high, with 
 a larg cup in the middle. The wind rising afterwards, wafted 
 the lif hter particles over the country, blasted vegetation, and 
 killed the animals which grazed ; the consequence was, that 
 the fiace was deserted, till Don Pedro de Toledo, viceroy 
 of N I pies, encouraged the inhabitants by his example to 
 retun 
 
420 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS 
 
 " Part of Monte Nuovo is cultivated, but the larger portion 
 of its declivity is wildly overgrown with prickly broom, and 
 rank weeds that emit a very fetid sulphureous smell. The 
 water in the valley is shallow, its inside towards the moun- 
 tain is clad with shrubs, and the little area at the bottom 
 planted with fig and mulberry trees ; a most striking specimen 
 of the amazing vicissitudes that take place in this extraordi- 
 nary country. I saw no traces of lava, or melted matter, and 
 few stones within. Near the foot of this mountain the subter- 
 raneous fires act with such immediate power, that even the 
 sand at the bottom of the sea is heated to an intolerable 
 degree.” 
 
 The next object that claims our attention is The Spectre 
 OF the Broken. — A curious phenomenon observed on the 
 Broken, one of the Hartz mountains in Hanover, of which the 
 .allowing account is given by M. Haree, “ On being here, 
 says he, for the thirtieth time, and having procured informa- 
 tion respecting the above-mentioned atmospheric phenomenon, 
 I was at length, on the 23d of May, 1797, so fortunate as to 
 have the pleasure, of seeing it for myself; and perhaps a 
 description of it may afford satisfaction to others who visit 
 the Broken through curiosity. The sun rose about four o’clock, 
 and the atmosphere being quite serene towards the east, his 
 rays could pass without any obstruction over the Heinrich 
 shbhe. 
 
 In the S. W. however, towards Achtermannshbe, a brisk 
 west wind carried before it thin transparent vapours, which 
 were not yet formed into thick heavy clouds. About a quar- 
 ter past four I went towards the inn, and looked round to 
 see whether the atmosphere would permit me to have a free 
 prospect to the S. W. ; when I observed, at a very great 
 distance, towards Achtermannshbhe, a human figure of a mon- 
 strous size. A violent gust of wind having almost carried 
 avyay my hat, I clapped my hand to it,* by moving my arm 
 towards my head; and the colossal figure did the same. The 
 pleasure which I felt on this discovery can hardly be described, 
 for I had already walked many a weary step in the hopes of 
 seeing this shadowy image, without being able to gratify my 
 curiosity. I immediately made another movement by bend- 
 ing my body ; and the colossal figure before me repeated it. 
 I was desirous of doing the same thing once more, — but my 
 colossus had vanished. 
 
 “ I remained in the same position, waiting to see whether it 
 would return ; and in a few minutes it again made its appear- 
 ance on the Achtermannshbhe. I paid my respects to it a 
 second time ; and my compliment was returned by a similar 
 inclination of the body, in the figure before me. I then called 
 
THE GAl/NTS, OR INDIAN APPENINES. 
 
 421 
 
 the landlord of the Broken, and having both put ourselves in 
 the same position I had taken alone, we looked towards the 
 Achtermannshbhe, but saw nothing. We had not, however, 
 stood long, before two similar colossal figures were formed 
 over the above eminence, which, after repeating the various 
 gesticulations of our bodies, vanished. We, however, still 
 retained our position, keeping our eyes fixed on the same 
 spot, and in a little while the two figures again stood before 
 us, and were joined by a third, who had by this time added 
 himself to our company. Every movement that we made by 
 bending our bodies, these figures imitated, — but with this 
 difference, that the phenomenon sometimes was weak and 
 faint, and at others strong and well defined. 
 
 Having thus had an opportunity of discovering the whole 
 secret of this extraordinary appearance, I can give the follow- 
 ing inforniiition to such of my readers as may be desirous of 
 seeing it for themselves. When the rising sun, and, according 
 to analogy, the case will be the same when the setting sun 
 throws his rays over the Broken, upon the body of a man 
 standing opposite to fine light clouds floating around, or ho- 
 vering past him, he needs only fix his eyes stedfastly upon 
 them, and in all probability he will see the singular spectacle 
 of his own shadow, extending to the length of five or six 
 hundred feet, at the distance of about two miles before him.^* 
 It is said, there is, in the Manchester Transactions, an account 
 of a similar phenomenon observed by Dr. Ferrier, on a hill in 
 England. 
 
 The Gauts, or Indian Appenines. — These form a stu- 
 pendous wall of mountains, which extends from Cape Comorin, 
 the southern point of the Peninsula of Hindoostan,to theTapty, 
 or Surat river, at unequal distances from the sea coast; it is 
 seldom more than sixty miles, commonly about forty, and in 
 one part approaches within six miles. These mountains rise 
 abruptly from the country of Concan, bounding, in the form 
 of a terrace, a vast extent of fertile and populous plains, which 
 are so elevated as to render the air cool and pleasant. The 
 height is supposed to be from 30(K) to 4000 feet. 
 
 This celebrated ridge does not terminate in a point when it 
 approaches the Tapty ; but, departing in this place from its 
 meridional course, it bends eastward in a serpentine line, pa- 
 rallel to the river, and is afterwards lost among the hills in 
 the neighbourliood of Burrhampour. In its course along the 
 Tapty, it forms several passes or descents towards that river, 
 from whence it derives the name of Gauts, which means a 
 landing-place. The alternate N. E. and S. W. winds, called 
 monsoons, ocxasion a rainy season only on one side, viz. on 
 the windwaid side of these mountains 
 
422 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 VVe would now wish to draw the attention of the reader 
 from the Indian Appenines, to Pico, a mountain which rears 
 its lofty head in an island of the same name. — It is filled with 
 dismal dark caverns, or volcanoes, which frequently emit flame, 
 smoke, and ashes, to a great distance. At the foot of it, 
 towards the east, is a spring of fresh water, which is generally 
 cold, but sometimes is so heated with subterraneous fire, as 
 to rush forth in torrents, with a kind of ebullition like boiling 
 water; equalling that in heat, and sending forth a steam of 
 sulphureous fetid vapours, mixed with liquefied stones, mine- 
 rals, and flakes of earth, all on fire, in such quantities, and 
 with such violence, as to form a kind of promontory, on the 
 declivity of the coast, and at the distance of 1200 paces from 
 the fountain, which is vulgarly called Mysterious. — Such is 
 the account given by Ortelius. 
 
 Written Mountains, Mountains of Inscriptions, 
 or JiBBEL El Mokatteb. — This is a mountain, or chain of 
 mountains, said to be in the wilderness of Sinai ; and the 
 marble, of which it is composed, is reported to be inscribed to 
 a considerable extent with innumerable characters, reaching 
 from the ground sometimes to the height of twelve or fourteen 
 feet. These were mentioned by a Greek author in the third 
 century ; but although some of them have been copied by 
 Pococke, Montague, and other late writers, some have affected 
 to entertain doubts whether even the mountains themselves 
 really exist. 
 
 The vast number of these inscriptions, the desert place in 
 which they are found, and the length of time requisite for 
 executing the task, induced a notion that they are the work 
 of the Israelites during their forty years’ wandering in the wil- 
 derness. Others are of opinion, that they consist merely of 
 the names of travellers, and the dates of their journeys. 
 M. Niebuhr, who visited this country in September, 1762, 
 made every attempt in his power, though without success, to 
 obtain a sight of this celebrated mountain. After much vain 
 inquiry, he was at last conducted to some rocks, upon which 
 there were inscriptions inVinknown characters. They are 
 most numerous in a narrow pass between tw’o mountains, 
 named Omer-ridstein ; and, says M. Niebuhr, “ the pretended 
 Jibbel El Mokatteb, may possibly be in its neighbourhood.” 
 Some of these inscriptions were copied by our author, but he 
 does not look upon them to be of any consequence. At length, 
 when M. Niebuhr arrived at the mountain to which the shiek 
 had promised to conduct liim, he found no inscription; but 
 on climbing up to the top, he discovered an Egyptian ceme- 
 tery, the stones of which were covered with hieroglyphics. 
 The tomb stones were from five to seven feet long, some being 
 
MOUNT AlHOS. 
 
 423 
 
 erect, and others lying flat ; and ** the more carefully they are 
 examined, (says he,) the more certainly do they appear to be 
 sepulchral stones, having epitaphs inscribed on them.” The 
 translator of Volney’s Travels ascribes these inscriptions to 
 the pilgrims who have visited Mount Sinai ; but they ought 
 surely to have been written in a language which somebody 
 could understand ; yet from the copies that have been taken 
 of them by Dr. Pococke and others, it does not appear that 
 they could be explained by any person. When Dr. Clayton, 
 bishop of Clogher, visited this part of the world, about 1723, 
 he expressed the greatest desire to have the matter concern- 
 ing these written mountains ascertained, and even made an 
 offer of £500 sterling to any literary person, who would un- 
 dertake the journey, and endeavour to decipher the inscrip- 
 tions ; but no such person appeared. 
 
 The next object that rises in our view is Mount Athos, — 
 a mountain of Chalcidia in Macedonia, equally celebrated 
 in ancient and modern times. The ancients entertained 
 extravagant notions concerning its height. Mela affirmed 
 it to be so high as to reach above the clouds, which at 
 that time might have been considered a bold assertion ; and 
 Martian-us Capellinus says, that its elevation was six miles. 
 It was a received opinion, that mount Athos was above the 
 jniddle region of the air, and that it never rained upon or near 
 its summit, because the ashes left on the altars there, were 
 always found as they had been left, dry and unscattered. 
 
 The modern Greeks, struck with its singular situation, and 
 the venerable appearance of its towering ascent, erected so 
 many churches, monasteries, hermitages, &c. upon it, that it 
 became in a manner inhabited by a company of religious 
 devotees ; and from thence received the name of Monte 
 Santo, or the Holy Mountain ; which appellation it still 
 retains, though many of those consecrated buildings are now 
 fallen into ruin and decay. 
 
 According to the accounts of modern travellers, this moun- 
 tain advances into the Archipelago, on the south of the gulf 
 of Contessa, and is joined to the continent Vjy an isthmus 
 about half a league in breadth. It is estimated to be thirty 
 miles in circumference, and two in perpendicular height. It 
 may be travelled over in about three days, and is to be seen 
 at the great distance of ninety miles. There is a fine prospect 
 from the top ; but, like all other high mountains, the cold on 
 its summit is excessive. It abounds with many different kinds 
 of plants and trees, particularly the pine and fir. In the 
 valleys grows a plant called elegia^ whose branches serve to 
 make pens for writing. In short, this mountain is said to be 
 adorned with a variety of herbage and evergreens, a multi- 
 
424 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS, 
 
 tude of springs and streams, with woods extending almost to 
 the sea shore, wdiich happy combination of circumstances 
 renders it one of the most agreeable places in the world. 
 There are twenty-four large old monasteries upon it, sur- 
 rounded with high w'alls, and inhabited by Camoyers, a cer- 
 tain description of Greek monks. 
 
 Tlirough this mountain, or rather through the isthmus 
 behind it, Xerxes king of Persia is said to have cut a passage 
 for his fleet, when about to invade Greece. In this arduous 
 task he spent three whole years, and employed in it all the 
 forces on board his fleet. He is also said, before the work 
 begun, to have written the following ridiculous letter to the 
 mountain : “ Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that 
 liftest up thy head to the very skies, I advise thee not to be 
 so audacious, as to put rocks and stones, that cannot be cut, 
 in the way of my workmen. If thou makest that opposition, 
 I will cut thee entirely down, and throw thee headlong into the 
 sea!” The directors of this enterprise are said to have been 
 Bubaris, the son of Megabysus, and Artacheus, the son of 
 Arbeus, both Persians ; but as no traces of such a great work 
 remains, the truth of the whole relation has justly been ques- 
 tioned. This venerable mountain constitutes one entire 
 chain, extending seven miles in length, and three in breadth, 
 and is situated about seventy miles east of Salonichi, the 
 ancient Thessalonica. 
 
 We will now accompany Sir George Mackenzie to The 
 Sulphur Mountains, in the Island of Iceland. — 
 “ Having taken an early breakfast, (says he,) w'e set out to- 
 wards the Sulphur Mountain, which is about three miles 
 distant from Krisuvik. At the foot of the mountain was a 
 small bank, composed chiefly of white clay mixed with sul- 
 phur, from all parts of which steam issued. Ascending it, w'e 
 got upon a ridge immediately above a deep hollow, from w hich 
 a profusion of vapour arose, and heard a confused noise of 
 boiling and splashing, joined to the roaring of steam excaping 
 from narrow crevices in the rock. This hollow', together with 
 the whole side of the mountain opposite, as far up as we could 
 see, was covered with sulphur and clay, chiefly of a w hite or 
 yellowish colour. Walking over this soft and steaming sur- 
 face, we found to be very hazardous., and we were frequently 
 very urueasy when the vapour concealed us from each other. 
 
 “ The day, however, being dry and and warm, the surface 
 was not so slippery as to occasion much risk of our falling. 
 The danger of the crust of sulphur breaking, or of the clay 
 sinking with us, was great ; and we were several times 
 in mminent peril of being scalded. MV. Bright ran at 
 one time a great hazard, and suffered considerable pain 
 
SULPHUR MOUNTAINS. 425 
 
 from accidentally plunging one of his legs into the hot 
 clay. 
 
 “ From whatever spot the sulphur was removed, steam in- 
 stantly escaped ; and in many places, the sulphur was so hot 
 that we could scarcely handle it. From the smell, we per- 
 ceived that the steam was mixed with a small quantity of 
 sulphuretted hydrogen gas. When the thermometer was sunk 
 a few inches into the clay, it rose generally to within a few 
 degrees of the boiling point. By stepping cautiously, and 
 avoiding every little hole from which steam issued, we soon 
 discovered how far we might venture. Our good fortune, 
 however, ought not to tempt any person to examine this won- 
 derful place, without being provided with two boards, with 
 which every part of the banks may be traversed in perfect 
 safety. 
 
 “ At the bottom of this hollow, we found a caldron of 
 boiling mud, about fifteen feet in diameter, similar to that on 
 the top of the mountain, which we had seen the evening 
 before; but this boiled with much more vehemence. We 
 went within a few yards of it, the wind happening to be re- 
 markably favourable for our viewing every part of this singular 
 place. The mud was in constant agitation, and often thrown 
 up to the height of six or eight feet. IS ear this spot was an 
 irregular space, filled wdth water boiling briskly. At the foot 
 of the hill, is a hollow formed by a bank of clay and sulphur, 
 whence steam rushed with great force and noise from among 
 the loose fragments of rock. 
 
 Further up the mountain, we met with a spring of cold 
 water, a circumstance little expected in a place like this. 
 Ascending still higher, we came to a ridge composed entirely 
 of sulphur and clay, joining two summits of the mountain 
 Here we found a much greater quantity of sulphur than 
 on any other part of the surface, over which we had yet gone. 
 It formed a smooth crust, from a quarter of an inch to several 
 inches in thickness. The crust was beautifully crystallized, 
 and immediately beneath it we found a quantity of loose 
 granular sulphur, which appeared to be collecting and crys- 
 tallizing, as it was sublimed along with the steam. Sometimes 
 we met with clay of different colours, white, red, and blue, 
 under the crust; but we could not examine this place to any 
 depth, as, the moment the crust was removed, steam issued, 
 and proved extremely annoying. We found several pieces of 
 wood, which were probably the remains of planks that had 
 been formerly used in collecting the sulphur, small crystals of 
 which partially covered them. 
 
 ‘‘ There appeared to be a constant sublimation of this sub- 
 stance ; and were artificial chambers constructed for the 
 reception and condensation of vapours, much of it might pro- 
 
 3 H 
 
426 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 bably be collected. As it is, there is a large quantity on the 
 surface ; and, by searching, there is little doubt that great 
 stores may be found. The inconvenience proceeding from 
 the steam issuing on every side, and from the heat, is cer- 
 tainly considerable ; but, by proper precautions, neither would 
 be felt so much as to render the collection of the sulphur a 
 matter of any great difficulty. The chief obstacle to working 
 these mines, is their distance from a port whence the pro- 
 duce could be shipped. But there are so many horses in 
 the country, whose original price is trifling, and whose main- 
 tenance during summer costs nothing, that the conveyance of 
 sulphur to Reikiavik, presents no difficulties which might not 
 probably be surmounted. 
 
 “ Below the ridge on the farther side of this great bed of 
 sulphur, we saw a great deal of vapour escaping with much 
 noise. We crossed to the opposite side of the mountain, and 
 found the surface sufficiently firm to admit of walking cau- 
 tiously upon it. We had now to make our way towards the 
 principal spring, as it is called ; and this was a task of much 
 apparent danger, as the side of the mountain, for the extent of 
 about half a mile, is covered with loose clay, into which our 
 feet sunk at every step. In many places there was a thin 
 crust, below which the clay was ‘wet, and extremely hot. 
 Good fortune attended us ; and without any serious inconve- 
 nience, we reached the object we had in view. A dense 
 column of steam, mixed with a little water, was forcing its 
 way impetuously through a crevice in the rock, at the head 
 of a narrow valley, or break in the mountain. The violence 
 with which it rushes out is so great, that the noise thus occa- 
 sioned, may often be heard at the distance of several miles ; 
 and, during night, while lying in our tent at Krisuvik, we 
 more than once listened to it with mingled emotions of awe 
 and astonishment. Behind the column of vapour was a dark- 
 coloured rock, which gave it its full effect. 
 
 “ It is quite beyond our power to offer such a description of 
 this extraordinary place, as to convey adequate ideas of its 
 wonders or its terrors. The sensations of a person, even of 
 firm nerves, standing on a support which feebly sustains him, 
 over an abyss, where, literally, fire and brimstone are in 
 dreadful and incessant action, — having before his eyes tremen 
 dous proofs of what is going on beneath him, — enveloped in 
 thick vapours, — and his ears stunned with thundering noises 5 
 roust be experienced before they can be understood.” 
 
MONT BLANC. 
 
 427 
 
 CHAP. XL. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. — (Continued,) 
 
 “ So pleas’d at first the tow’ring mounts we try, 
 
 Mount o’er the vales, and seem to tread the sky ; 
 
 Th’ eternal snows appear already past, 
 
 And the first clouds and mountains seem the last. 
 
 But, those attain’d, we tremble to survey 
 The growing labours of the lengthen’d way ; 
 
 Th’ increasing prospect tires our wand’ring eyes. 
 
 Hills peep o’er hills, and mounts on mounts arise.” 
 
 MONT BLANC, IN SAVOY. 
 
 Narrative of a Journey from the village of Chamouni, to 
 the summit of Mont Blanc, undertaken on August 8, 1787 ; 
 by Colonel Beaufoy. From the Annals of Philosophy , — 
 
 The desire of ascending to the highest part of remarkably 
 elevated land is so natural to every man, and the hope of re- 
 peating various experiments in the upper regions of the air is 
 so inviting to those who wish well to the interests of science, 
 that, being lately in Switzerland, I could not resist the incli- 
 nation I felt to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. One of 
 the motives, however, which prompted the attempt, was much 
 weakened by the consideration that I did not possess, and in 
 that country could not obtain, the instruments that were requi- 
 site for many of the experiments which I was anxious to make; 
 and the ardour of uncommon curiosity was diminished, when I 
 learned that Dr. Paecard and his guide, who in the year 1786 
 had reached the supposed inaccessible summit of the hill, 
 were not the only persons who had succeeded in the attempt; 
 for that, five days before my arrival at the foot of the moun- 
 tain, M. de Saussure, a professor in the university of Geneva, 
 had gained the top of the ascent. 
 
 “ But while I was informed of the success which had attended 
 the efforts of M. de Saussure, I was told of the difficulties 
 and dangers that accompanied the undertaking; and was 
 often assured, with much laborious dissuasion, that, to all 
 the usual obstacles, the lateness of the season would add the 
 perils of those stupendous masses of snow which are often 
 dislodged from the steeps of the mountain, together with the 
 hazard of those frightful chasms which present immeasurable 
 gulfs to the steps of the traveller, and the width of which was 
 Hourly increasing. M. Bourret, whose name has often been 
 announced to the world by a variety of tracts, and by many 
 excellent drawings, confirmed the account, and assured me 
 that he himself had made the attempt on the next day to that 
 
428 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 on which M. de Saussure descended, but was obliged, as on 
 many former occasions, to abandon the enterprise. Having, 
 however, formed my resolution, I sent to the different cot- 
 tages of the vale of Chamouni, from the skirts of which the 
 mountain takes its rise, to inquire if any of them were willing 
 to go with me as my assistants and guides ; and had soon 
 the satisfaction to find that ten were ready to accept the pro- 
 posal. I engaged them all. Having announced to them my 
 intention of setting out the next morning, I divided among 
 them provisions for three days, together with a kettle, a cha- 
 fing-dish, a quantity of charcoal, a pair of bellows, a couple 
 of blankets, a long rope, a hatchet, and a ladder, which 
 formed the stores that were requisite for the journey After 
 a night, of much solicitude, lest the summit of Mont Blanc 
 should be covered with clouds, in which case the guides would 
 have refused the undertaking as impracticable, I rose at five 
 in the morning, and saw, with great satisfaction, that the 
 mountain was free from vapour, and that the sky was every 
 where serene. My dress was a w'hite flannel jacket, without 
 any shirt beneath, and white linen trowsers, without drawers. 
 The dress w'as w’hite, that the sunbeams might be thrown off; 
 and it w-as loose, that the limbs might be unconfined. Besides 
 a pole for walking, I carried with me cramp-irons for the 
 heels of my shoes, by means of which the hold on the frozen 
 snow' is firm, and in steep ascents the poise of the body is 
 preserved. 
 
 “ My guides being at length assembled, each with his allotted 
 burden ; one of them, a fellow of great bodily strength and 
 vigour of mind, Michael Cachet by name, who had accompa- 
 nied M. de Saussure, desired to take the lead. We ranged 
 ourselves in a line, and at seven o’clock, in the midst of the 
 wives, and children, and friends, of my companions, and in- 
 deed of the w'hole village of Chamouni, we began our march. 
 The end of the first hour brought us to the Glacier des Bois- 
 sons, at which place the rapid ascent of the mountain first 
 begins, and from which, pursuing our course along the edge 
 of the rocks that form the eastern side of this frozen lake, we 
 arrived in four hours more at the second glacier, called the 
 Glacier de la Cote. Here, by the side of a stream of watei 
 w hich the melting of the snow had formed, we sat down to a 
 short repast. 
 
 “ To this place the journey is neither remarkably laborious, 
 nor exposed to danger, except that name should be given to 
 the trilling hazard that arises from the stones and loose pieces 
 of the broken rock, which the goats, in leaping from one pro- 
 jection to another, occasionally throw down. Our dinner 
 being finished, w^e fixed our cramp-irons to our shoes, and 
 b'^gan to cioss the glacier; but we had not proceeded far. 
 
MONT BLANC. 
 
 429 
 
 when we discovered that the frozen snow, which lay in the 
 ridges between the waves of ice, often concealed, with a 
 covering of uncertain strength, the fathomless chasms which 
 traverse this solid sea ; yet the danger was soon in a great 
 degree removed by the expedient of tying ourselves together 
 with our long rope, which being fastened at proper distances 
 to our waists, secured from the principal hazard such as might 
 fall within the opening of the gulf. Trusting to the same 
 precaution, we also crossed upon our ladder, without appre- 
 hension, such of the chasms as were exposed to view' ; and, 
 sometimes stopping in the middle of the ladder, looked down 
 in safety upon an abyss which baffled the reach of vision, and 
 from which the sound of the masses of ice that we repeatedly 
 let fall, in no instance ascended to the ear. In some places 
 we were obliged to cut foot-steps with our hatchet; yet, 
 on the whole, the difflculties were far from great, for in 
 two hours and a half we had passed the glacier. 
 
 ‘"We now, with more ease, and much more expedition, pur- 
 sued our way, having only snow to cross, and in two hours 
 arrived at a hut which had been erected in the year 1786, by 
 the order, and at the expense, of M. de Saussure. The hut 
 W'as situated on the eastern side of a rock, which had all the 
 appearance of being rotten with age, and which in fact was in 
 a state of such complete decay, that on my return the next 
 evening, I saw scattered on the snow many tons of its frag- 
 ments, which had fallen in my absence; but the ruin was not 
 on the side on which the hut was built. Immediately on our 
 arrival, wdiich was at five in the afternoon, the guides began 
 to empty the hut of its snow, and at seven we sat down to 
 eat; but our stomachs had little relish for food, and felt a 
 particular distaste for wine and spirits. Water, which we 
 obtained by melting snow in a kettle, was the only palatable 
 drink. Some of the guides complained of a heavy disheart- 
 ening sickness ; and my Swiss servant, who had accompanied 
 me at his own request, was seized with excessive vomiting, 
 and the pains of the severest headach. But from these com- 
 plaints, which apparently arose from the extreme lightness of 
 the air in those elevated regions, I myself and some of the 
 guides were free, except, as before observed, that we had 
 little appetite for food, and a strong aversion to the taste of 
 spirituous liquors We now prepared for rest; on which tw'O 
 of the guides, preferring the open air, threw themselves down 
 at the entrance of the hut, and slept upon the rock. I too 
 was desirous of sleep ; but my thoughts were troubled with 
 the apprehension that, although 1 had now completed one 
 naif of the road, the vapours might collect on the summit of 
 the mountain, and frustrate all my hopes. Or if at any time 
 the rest I wished for came, my repose was soon disturbed by 
 
430 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAiNS. 
 
 the noise of the masses of snow, which were loosened by the 
 wind from the heights around me, and which, accumulating in 
 bulk as they rolled, tumbled at length from the precipices 
 into the vales below, and produced upon the ear the effect of 
 redoubled bursts of thunder. 
 
 “ At two o’clock I threw aside my blankets, and went out 
 of the hut to observe the appearance of the heavens. The 
 stars shone with a lustre that far exceeded the brightness 
 which they exhibit when seen from the usual level ; and had 
 so little tremor in their light, as to leave no doubt on my 
 mind, that, if viewed from the summit of the mountain, thev 
 would have appeared as fixed points. How improved in those 
 altitudes would be the aids which the telescope gives to 
 vision ! indeed, the clearness of the air was such as led me to 
 think that Jupiter’s satellites might be distinguished by the 
 naked eye ; and had he not been in the neighbourhood of the 
 moon, I might possibly have succeeded. He continued dis- 
 tinctly visible for several hours after the sun was risen, and 
 did not wholly disappear till almost eight. 
 
 “ At the time I rose, my thermometer, which was on 
 Fahrenheit’s scale, and which I had hung on the side of the 
 rock without the hut, was 8® below the freezing point. Im- 
 patient to proceed, and having ordered a large quantity of 
 snow to be melted, I filled a small cask with water for my own 
 use, and at three o’clock we left the hut. Our route was 
 across the snow ; but the chasms which the ice beneath had 
 formed, though less numerous than those that we had passed 
 on the preceding day, embarrassed our ascent. One in parti- 
 cular had opened so much in the few days that intervened 
 between M. de Saussure’s expedition and our own, as for the 
 time to bar the hope of any further progress ; but at length, 
 after having wandered with much anxiety along its bank, I 
 found a place which I hoped the ladder was sufficiently long 
 to cross. The ladder was accordingly laid down, and was 
 seen to rest upon the opposite edge, but its bearing did not 
 exceed an inch on either side. We now considered that, 
 should we pass the chasm, and should its opening, which had 
 enlarged so much in the course of a few preceding days, in- 
 crease in the least degree before the time of our descent, no 
 chance of return remained. We also considered that, if the 
 clouds which so often envelop the hill should rise, the hope 
 of finding, amidst the thick fog, our way back to this only 
 place in which the gulf, even in its present state, was passable, 
 was little less than desperate. Yet, after a moment’s pause, 
 the guides consented to go with me, and we crossed the 
 chasm. 
 
 “ We had not proceeded far, when thirst, which, since our 
 arrival in the upper regions of the air, had been always trou- 
 
MONT BLANC. 
 
 431 
 
 blesome, became almost intolerable. No sooner had I drank 
 than the thirst returned, and in a few minutes my throat 
 became perfectly dry. Again I had recourse to the water, 
 and again my throat was parched. The air itself was thirsty; 
 its extreme of dryness had robbed my body of its moisture. 
 The guides were equally affected : wine they would not taste, 
 but the moment my back was turned, their mouths were 
 equally applied to my cask of water. Yet we continued to 
 proceed till seven o’clock, when, having passed the place 
 where M. de Saussure, who was provided with a tent, had slept 
 the second night, we sat down to breakfast. 
 
 “ All this time the thermometer was 4^ below the freezing 
 point. We were now at the foot of Mont Blanc itself; for, 
 though it is usual to apply that term to the whole assemblage 
 of several successive mountains, yet the name properly belongs 
 only to a small mountain of a pyramidal form, that rises from 
 a narrow plain, which at all times is covered with snow. Here 
 the thinness of the atmosphere began to affect my head w ith 
 a dull and heavy pain. 1 also found, to my great surprise, 
 an acute sensation of pain, very different from that of w'eari- 
 ness, immediately above my knees. Having finished our 
 repast, we pursued our journey, and soon arrived at a chasm 
 which could not have existed many days, for it was not formed 
 at the time of M. de Saussure’s ascent. Misled by this last 
 circumstance, (for we concluded, that as he had seen no rents 
 whatever from the time that he passed the place where he 
 slept the second night, none were likely t>o be formed,) 
 we had left our ladder about a league behind ; but as the 
 chasm w'as far from wide, we passed it on the poles that we 
 used for walking, an expedient which suggested to me that 
 the length of our ladder might be easily increased by the 
 addition of several poles laid parallel, and fastened to its end; 
 and that the hazard of finding our retreat cut off from the 
 enlargement of the chasms, might by this means be materially 
 diminished. 
 
 At this place I had an opportunity of measuring the height 
 of the snow which had fallen during the preceding winter, and 
 which was distinguished by its superior whiteness from that 
 of the former year. I found it to be five feet. The snow of 
 each particular year appeared as a separate stratum ; that 
 which was more than a twelvemonth old, was perfect ice, while 
 that of the last wdnter was fast approaching to a similar state. 
 At length, after a difficult ascent, which lay among preci- 
 pices, and during which we were often obliged to employ the 
 hatchet in making a footing for our feet, w'e reached, and 
 reposed ourselves upon, a narrow flat, which is the last of three 
 from the foot of the small mountain, and which, according to 
 M. de Saussure, is but 150 fathoms below the level of the 
 
432 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS 
 
 summit. Upon this platform I found a beautiful dead butter- 
 fly, the only appearance which, from the time I entered on 
 on the snow, I had seen of any animal. The pernicious effects 
 of the thinness of the air w’ere now evident on us all ; a desire, 
 of sleep, almost irresistible, came on ; my spirits had left me : 
 sometimes indifferent to the event, I wished to lie down; at 
 others, I blamed myself for the expedition; and, though just 
 at the summit, had thoughts of turning back, without accom- 
 plishing my purpose. Of my guides, many were in a worse 
 situation ; for, exhausted by excessive vomiting, they seemed 
 to have lost all strength, both of mind and body. 
 
 '' But shame at length came to our relief. I drank the last 
 pint of water that was left, and found myself amazingly re- 
 freshed, and invigorated for renewed toil. Yet the pain 
 in my knees had increased so much, that at the end of every 
 twenty or thirty paces I was obliged to rest till its sharpness 
 was abated. My lungs with difficulty performed their office, 
 and my heart was affected with violent palpitation. At last,' 
 however, but with a sort of apathy which scarcely admitted 
 the sense of joy, we reached the summit of this mountain; 
 when six of our guides, and with them my servant, threw 
 themselves on their faces, and were immediately asleep. I 
 envied them their repose, but my anxiety to obtain a good 
 observation for the latitude subdued my wishes for indulgence. 
 The time of my arrival was half an hour after ten, so that the 
 hours which ela])sed from our departure from Chamouni, were 
 only twenty-seven and a half, ten of which we had passed in 
 the hut. The summit of the hill is formed of snow, which 
 spreads into a sort of plain, which is much wider from east to 
 west than from north to south, and in its greatest width is 
 perhaps thirty yards. The snow is every where hard, and in 
 many places is covered with a sheet of ice. 
 
 “ When the spectator begins to look around him from this 
 elevated height, a confused impression of immensity is the 
 first effect produced upon his mind ; but the blue colour of the 
 canopy above him, deep almost to blackness, soon arrests his 
 attention. He next surveys the mountains, many of which, 
 from the clearness of the air, are to his eye within a stone^s 
 throw from him ; and even those of Lombardy (one of which 
 appears of an altitude but little inferior to that of Mont 
 Blanc) seem to approach his neighbourhood ; while those on 
 the other side of the vale of Chamouni, glittering with the 
 sunbeams, are to the view directly below his feet, and affect 
 his head with giddiness. On the other hand, all objects, of 
 which the distance is great, and the level low, are hid from 
 his eye by the blue vapour which intervenes, and through 
 which I could not discern the Lake of Geneva, (at the height 
 of 15,700 English feet, which, according to M. de Saussure, was 
 
MONT BLANC. 
 
 433 
 
 the level on which I stood,) though even the Mediterranean 
 Sea must have been within the line of vision. The air was 
 still, and the day so remarkably fine, that I could not disco- 
 ver in any part of the heavens the appearance of a single 
 cloud. 
 
 ** As thetimeof the sun passing the meridian now approached, 
 I prepared to take my observation. I had with me an admir- 
 able Hadley’s sextant, and an artificial horizon, and I corrected 
 the mean refraction of the sun’s rays. Thus I was enabled to 
 ascertain with accuracy, that the latitude of the summit of 
 Mont Blanc is 45® 49' 59" north. 
 
 I now proceeded to such other observations as the few 
 instruments which I had brought permitted me to make. At 
 twelve o’clock the mercury in the thermometer stood at 38® 
 in the shade; at Chamouni, at the same hour, it stood, when 
 in the shade, at 78®. I tried the effect of a burning-glass on 
 paper, and on a piece of wood, which I had brought with me 
 for the purpose, and found (contrary, I believe, to the gene- 
 rally received opinion,) that its powder was much greater than 
 in the low'er regions of the air. Having continued two hours 
 on the summit of the mountain, I began my descent at half 
 an hour after twelve. I found that, short as my absence had 
 been, many new rents were opened, and that several of those 
 which I had passed in my ascent were considerably wider. 
 In less than six hours we arrived at the hut in which we had 
 slept the evening before, and should have proceeded much 
 further down the mountain, had we not been afraid of passing 
 the Glacier de la Cote at the close of the day, when the 
 snow, from the effect of the sunbeams, was extremely rotten. 
 Our evening’s repast being finished, I was soon asleep; but 
 in a few hours I was awakened with a tormenting pain in my 
 face and eyes. My face was one continued blister, and my 
 eyes I was unable to open ; nor was I without apprehensions 
 of losing my sight for ever, till my guides told me, that if I 
 had condescended to have taken their advice, of wearing, as 
 they did, a mask of black crape, the accident would not have 
 befallen me, but that a few days would perfectly restore the 
 use of my eyes. After I had bathed them with warm water 
 for half an hour, I found, to my great satisfaction, that I could 
 open them a little ; on which I determined upon an instant 
 departure, that I might cross the Glacier de la Cote before 
 the sun was sufficiently high for its beams to be strongly re- 
 flected from the snow. But, unluckily, the sun was already 
 above the horizon ; so that the pain of forcing open my eyes 
 in the bright sunshine, in order to avoid the chasms and other 
 hazards of my way, rendered my return more irksome than 
 my ascent. Fortunately, one of the guides, soon after I had 
 passed the glacier, picked up in the snow a pair of green 
 
434 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS, 
 
 spectacles, which M. Bourret had lost, and which gave me 
 wonderful relief. 
 
 “ At eleven o’clock of August 10, after an absence of fifty- 
 two hours, of which twenty were passed in the hut, I returned 
 again to the village of Chamouni. From the want of instru- 
 ments, (the scale of the barometer I had being graduated no 
 lower than twenty inches, which was not sufficiently extended,) 
 the observations I made were but few, yet the efects which 
 the air in the heights I visited produced on the human body, 
 may not perhaps be considered as altogether uninteresting; 
 nor will the proof I made of the power of the lens on the sum- 
 mit of Mont Blanc, if confirmed by future experiments, be 
 regarded as of no account in the theories of light and heat. 
 At any rate, the having determined the latitude of Mont Blanc 
 may assist in some particulars the observations of such per- 
 sons as shall visit it in future ; and the knowledge which my 
 journey has afforded, in addition to that which is furnished 
 by M. de Saussure, may facilitate the ascent of those who, 
 with proper instruments, ma\ wish to make on that elevated 
 level, experiments in natural philosophy.” 
 
 CHAP. XLI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS . — ( CoHcluded.) 
 
 VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Description of Vesuvius — Hecla — Etna, 
 
 The fluid lake that works below, 
 
 Bitumen, sulphur, salt, and iron scum, 
 
 Heaves up its boiling tide. The lab’ring mount 
 Is torn with agjonizinj? throes. At once, 
 
 Forth from its side disparted, blazing, pours 
 A mighty river, burning in prone waves. 
 
 That glimmer thro’ the night, to yonder plain. 
 
 Divided there, a hundred torrent streams. 
 
 Each ploughing up its bed, roll dreadful on. 
 
 Resistless. Villages, and woods, and locks. 
 
 Fall flat before their sweep. The region round. 
 
 Where myrtle walks, and groves of golden fruit 
 Rose fair, where harvest war’d in all its pride. 
 
 And where the vineyard spread its purple store, 
 
 Maturing into nectar, — now despoil’d 
 Of herb, leaf, fruit, and flow’r, from end to end 
 Lies buried under fire, a glowing sea ! Mallet. 
 
 Vesuvius, — is a celebrated volcano of Italy, six miles 
 east of Naples. This mountain has two tops ; one nly of 
 whicli goes by the name of Vesuvius, the other being now 
 
VESUVIUS. 435 
 
 called Somma; but Sir William Hamilton is of opinion, that 
 the latter is what the ancients called Vesuvius. 
 
 The perpendicular height of Vesuvius is only three thou- 
 sand seven hundred feet, though the ascent from the foot to 
 the top is three Italian miles. One side of the mountain is 
 well cultivated and fertile, producing great plenty of vines ; 
 but the south and west sides are entirely covered with cinders 
 and ashes, while a sulphureous smoke constantly issues from 
 the top, sometimes attended with the most violent explosions 
 of stones, the emission of great streams of lava, and all the 
 other attendants of a most formidable volcano. 
 
 The first eruption recorded in history, took place in the 
 year 79; at which time the two cities of Pompeii and Hercu- 
 laneum were entirely buried under the stones and ashes 
 thrown out. Incredible mischief was also done to the neigh- 
 bouring country, and numbers of people lost their lives, 
 among whom was Pliny the elder. It is the opinion of the 
 best judges, however, that this eruption was by no means the 
 first that had ever happened: the very streets of those cities 
 which were at that time overwhelmed, are unquestionably 
 paved with lava. Since that time thirty different eruptions 
 have been recorded, some of which have been extremely 
 violent. In 1538, a mountain three miles in circumference, 
 and a quarter of a mile in perpendicular height, was throwri 
 up in the course of one night. 
 
 In 1766, Sir William Hamilton began to observe the 
 phenomena of this mountain ; and since that time the public 
 have been favoured with more exact and authentic accounts 
 of the various changes which have taken place in Vesuvius, 
 than were to be obtained before. The first great eruption 
 taken notice of by this gentleman was that of 1769, when 
 Vesuvius never ceased for ten years to send forth smoke, nor 
 were there many months in which it did not throw' out stones, 
 scoriae, and cinders, which increasing to a certain degree, 
 were usually followed by lava; so that from the year 1767 
 to 1769 there were nine eruptions, some of which were very 
 considerable. 
 
 In the month of August that year, an eruption took place, 
 which, for its extraordinary and terrible appearance, may be 
 reckoned among the most remarkable of any recorded con- 
 cerning this or any other volcano. During the whole of July, 
 the mountain continued in a state of fermentation. Subter- 
 raneous explosions and rumbling noises were heard ; quan- 
 tities of smoke were thrown up with great violence, sometimes 
 with red-hot stones, scoriae, and ashes; and towards the end 
 of the month, these symptoms increased to such a degree, 
 as to exhibit, in the night, the most beautiful fireworks. 
 
 On Thursday the fifth of August, the volcano appeared most 
 
436 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS 
 
 violently agitated : a white and sulphureous smoke issued with 
 unceasing impetuosity from its crater, one puff seeming to 
 impel another; so that a mass of vapour was soon accumu- 
 lated, to all appearance, four times the height and size of the 
 volcano itself. These clouds of smoke were exceedingly 
 white, resembling an immense accumulation of bales of the 
 whitest cotton. In the midst of this very white smoke, vast 
 quantities of stones, scoriae, and ashes, were thrown up to the 
 height of two thousand feet ; and a quantity of liquid-lava, 
 seemingly very heavy, was lifted up just high enough to clear 
 the rim of the crater, and take its way down the sides of the 
 mountain. This lava, having run violently for some hoirrs, 
 suddenly ceased, just before it had reached the cultivated 
 parts of the mountain, near four miles from the spot whence 
 it issued. 
 
 The heat, all this day, was intolerable at the towns of 
 Somma and Ottaiano ; and was sensibly felt at Palma and 
 Lauri, which are much farther off. Reddish ashes fell so 
 thick on the two former, that the air was darkened to such a 
 degree, that objects could not be distinguished at the distance 
 of ten feet. Long filaments of a vitrified matter, like spun- 
 glass, were mixed, and fell with these ashes ; several birds in 
 cages were suffocated ; and the leaves of the trees in the 
 neighbourhood of Somma were covered with white and very 
 corrosive salt. About twelve at night, on the seventh, the 
 fermentation of the mountain seemed greatly to increase. 
 Our author was watching the motions of the volcano from 
 the mole at Naples, which has a full view of it. Several 
 awfully fine and picturesque effects had been observed from 
 the reflection of the deep red fire w ithin the crater of Vesuvius, 
 and which mounted high amongst those huge clouds on the 
 top of it; when a summer storm, called in that country a tropen, 
 came on suddenly, and blended its heavy w'atery clouds with 
 the sulphureous and mineral ones, which were already, like 
 so many other mountains, piled up on the top of the volcano. 
 At this moment a fountain of fire was shot up to an in- 
 credible heio-ht, casting so bright a light, that the smallest 
 objects were clearly distinguishable at any place within six 
 miles or more of Vesuvius. The black stormy clouds, pass- 
 ing swiftly over, and at times covering the whole or part of the 
 bright column of fire, at other times clearing away and giving 
 a full view of it, with the various tints produced by its rever- 
 berated light on the white clouds above, in contrast with the 
 pale flashes of forked lightning that attended the tropea, formed 
 such a scene as no combination of language can express. 
 One of the king’s gamekeepers, who w'as out in the fields 
 near Ottaiano while this storm was at its height, was sur- 
 prised to find the drops of rain scald his face and hands ; a 
 
VESUVIUS. 
 
 437 
 
 phenomenon probably occasioned by the clouds having ac- 
 quired a great degree of heat in passing through the above- 
 mentioned column of fire. 
 
 On the eighth, the mountain was quiet till towards six p. m 
 when a great smoke began to gather over its crater; ami 
 about an hour after, a rumbling subterranneous noise was 
 heard in the neighbourhood of the volcano; the usual throws 
 of red-hot stones and scoriae began and increased every in- 
 stant. The crater, viewed through a telescope, seemed much 
 enlarged by the violence of the explosions on the preceding- 
 night; and the little mountain on the top was entirely gone. 
 About nine, a most violent report was heard at Portici and 
 its neighbourhood, which shook the houses to such a degree 
 as made the inhabitants run out into the streets. Many win- 
 dows were broken, and walls cracked, by the concussion of 
 the air on this occasion, though the noise was but faintly 
 heard at Naples. In an instant, a fountain of liquid trans- 
 parent fire began to rise, and, gradually increasing, arrived at 
 last to the amazing height of ten thousand feet and upwards. 
 Puffs of smoke, as black as can possibly be imagined, rapidly 
 succeeded one another, and, accompanying the red-hot trans- 
 parent and liquid lava, interrupted its splendid brightness 
 here and there by patches of the darkest hue. Within these 
 puffs of smoke, at the very moment of emission, a bright but 
 pale electrical fire was observed playing briskly about in zig- 
 zag lines. The wind was south-west, and, though gentle, was 
 sufficient to carry these puffs of smoke out of the column of 
 fire, and a collection of them by degrees formed a black and 
 extensive curtain behind it; in other parts of the sky it was 
 perfectly clear, and the stars bright. A fiery fountain of such 
 immense magnitude, on the dark ground just mentioned, 
 made the finest contrast imaginable ; and the blaze of it, re- 
 flected from the surface of the sea, which was at that time 
 perfectly smooth, added greatly to this sublime spectacle. 
 The lava, mixed with stones and scorise, having risen to the 
 amazing height already mentioned, was partly directed by the 
 wind towards Ottaiano, and partly falling, still red-hot and 
 liquid, upon the top of Vesuvius, covered its whole cone, 
 as well as that of the summit of Somma, and the valley 
 between them. 
 
 The falling matter being nearly as inflamed and vivid as that 
 which was continually issuing fresh from the crater, formed 
 with it one complete body of fire, which could not be less 
 than two miles and a half in breadth, and of the extraordinary 
 height above mentioned, casting a heat to the distance of at 
 least six miles round. The brushwood on the mountain ofSomma 
 was soon in a blaze ; and the flame of it being of a different 
 colour, from the deep red of the matter thrown out by the 
 
438 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 volcano, and from the silvery blue of the electrical fire, still 
 added to the contrast of this most extraordinary scene. The 
 black cloud increasing greatly, spread over Naples, and threat- 
 ened the city with speedy destruction ; for it was charged 
 with electrical fire, which kept constantly darting about in 
 bright zigzag lines. This fire, however, rarely quitted the 
 cloud, but usually returned t^ the great column of fire whence 
 it proceeded ; though once or twice it was seen to fall 6n the 
 top of Somma, and set fire to some dry grass and bushes. 
 Fortunately, the wind carried back the cloud just as it reached 
 the city, and had begun to occasion great alarm. The column 
 of fire, however, still continued, and diffused such a strong 
 light, that the most minute objects could be discerned at the 
 distance of ten miles or more from the mountain. Mr. Mor- 
 ris informed our author, that at Sorrento, which is tw'elve 
 miles distant from Vesuvius, he read the title page of a book 
 by that volcanic light. 
 
 All this time the miserable inhabitants of Ottaiano were 
 involved in the utmost distress and danoer by the showers of 
 stones which fell upon them, and which, had the eruption 
 continued for a longer time, would most certainly have re- 
 duced their towm to the same situation wdth Herculaneum and 
 Pompeii. 
 
 The mountain of Somma, at the foot of which the town of 
 Ottaiano is situated, hides Vesuvius from the view of its inha- 
 bitants ; so that till the eruption became considerable, it was 
 not visible to them. On Sunday night, when the noise in- 
 creased, and the fire began to appear above the mountain of 
 Somma, many of the inhabitants flew to the churches, and 
 others were preparing to quit the towm, w'hen a sudden and 
 violent report was heard ; soon after which, they found them- 
 selves involved in a thick cloud of smoke and ashes, a horrid 
 clashing noise was heard in the air, and presently fell a vast 
 shower of stones and large pieces of scoriae, some of which 
 were of the diameter of seven or eight feet, which must have 
 weighed more than lOOlbs. before they were broken, as some 
 of the frairments which Sir William Hamilton found in the 
 streets still weighed upwards of 601bs. When these large vitri- 
 fied masses either struck against one another in the air, or fell 
 on the ground, vivid sparks of fire proceeded from them, 
 w'hich communicated to every thing that was combustible. 
 These masses were formed of the liquid lava ; the exterior 
 parts of which w^ere become black and porous, by cooling in 
 their fall through such a vast space; whilst the interior parts, 
 less exposed, retained an extreme heat, and were perfectly red. 
 In an instant, the town and country about it w'ere on fire in 
 manv parts, for there were several straw huts in the vineyards, 
 which had been erected for the watchmen of the grapes, all 
 
VESUVIUS. 
 
 439 
 
 of which were burnt to the ground. A great magazine of 
 wood in the heart of the town became one sheet of fire ; and 
 had there been much wind, the flames must have spread uni- 
 versally, and the inhabitants have perished in their houses ; 
 for it was impossible for them to make their escape by flight. 
 Some, who attempted it with pillows, tables, chairs, the tops 
 of wine casks, &c. on their heads, were either knocked down 
 by the falling masses, or soon driven to make a speedy retreat 
 under arches, and in the cellars of their houses. Many were 
 wounded, but only two persons died of their wounds. To 
 add to the horror of the scene, incessant volcanic lightning 
 was darting its corruscations about the black cloud that sur- 
 rounded the inhabitants, and the sulphureous smell and heat 
 would scarcely allow them to draw their breath. 
 
 In this dreadful situation they remained about twenty-five 
 minutes, when the volcanic storm ceased all at once, and 
 Vesuvius assumed a sullen silence. Sometime after the erup- 
 tion had ceased, the air continued greatly impiegnated with 
 electrical matter. The duke of Cottosiano told our author, 
 that having, about half an hour after the great eruption had 
 ceased, held a leaden bottle, armed with a pointed wire, out 
 at his window at Naples, it soon became considerably charged: 
 but whilst the eruption was in force, its appearance was too 
 alarming to allow any one to think of such experiments. He 
 was informed also by the prince of Monte Mileto, that his son, 
 the duke of Populi, who was at Monte Mileto on the 8th of 
 August, had been alarmed by a shower of cinders that fell 
 there, some of which he had sent to Naples, weighing two 
 ounces ; and that stones of an ounce weight had fallen upon 
 an estate of his, ten miles farther off’. Monte Mileto is about 
 thirty miles from the volcano. The Abbe Cagliani also related, 
 that his sister, a nun in a convent at Manfredonia, had writ- 
 ten to inquire after him, imagining that Naples must have 
 been destroyed, when they, at so great a distance, had been 
 so much alarmed by a shower of ashes which fell on the city at 
 eleven p. m. as to open all the churches, and go to prayers. 
 As the great eruption began at nine, these ashes must have 
 travelled 100 miles in two hours. 
 
 Nothing could be more dismal than the appearance of Ot- 
 taiano after this eruption. Many of the houses were unroofed, 
 and some lay half buried under the black scoriae and ashes ; 
 all the windows toward the mountain were broken, and some 
 of the houses themselves burnt; the streets were choked up with 
 ashes, and in some narrow places it was not less than four 
 feet deep. A few of the inhabitants, who had just returned 
 were employed in clearing them away, and piling them up in 
 hillocks, to get at their ruined houses. 
 
 The palace of the prince of Ottaiano is situated on an emi- 
 
440 
 
 CUIIIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 .nence above the town, and nearer the mountain. The steps 
 leading up to it were deeply covered with volcanic matter; 
 the roof was totally destroyed, and the windows broken ; but 
 the house itself being strongly built, had not suffered much 
 dilapidation. An incredible number of fragments of lava 
 were thrown out during the eruption, some of which were of 
 immense magnitude. The largest measured by Sir William 
 Hamilton was 108 feet in circumference, and seventeen in 
 height : this was thrown at least a quarter of a mile clear of 
 the mouth of the volcano. Another, sixty-six feet in circum- 
 ference, and nineteen in height, being nearly of a spherical 
 figure, was thrown out at the same time, and fell near the 
 former : this last had all the marks of being rounded, nay, 
 almost polished, by continual exposure to rolling torrents, or 
 the still rougher beat of a sea-shore. Our author conjectures 
 that it might be a spherical volcanic salt, such as that of 
 forty-five feet in circumference mentioned by M. de St. Fond, 
 in his Treatise on Extinguished Volcanoes. A third, of sixteen 
 feet in height, and ninety-tw'o in circumference, was carried 
 much farther, and lay in the valley between Vesuvius and the 
 Hermitage : it appeared, also, from the large fragments that 
 surrounded this mass, that it had been much larger while in 
 the air. 
 
 Vesuvius continued to emit smoke for a considerable time 
 after this great eruption, so that our author was apprehensive 
 that another would soon ensue ; but from that time nothing 
 comparable to the above has taken place. From the period 
 of this great eruption, to 1786, our informant kept an exact 
 diary of the operations of Vesuvius, with drawings; which 
 shewed, by the comparative quantity of smoke emitted each time, 
 the degree of fermentation within the volcano. The operations 
 of these subterraneous fires, however, appear to be very capri- 
 cious and uncertain : one day there will be the appearance 
 of a violent fermentation, and the next every thing will be 
 calmed ; but whenever there has been a considerable ejection 
 of scoriae and cinders, it has been constantly observed, that 
 the lava soon made its appearance, either by boiling over the 
 crater, or forcing its way through the crevices in the conical 
 part of the mountain. 
 
 In the year 1794, there was a very tremendous eruption, 
 and the mischief done was very considerable : the lava covered 
 and totally destroyed 5000 acres of rich vineyards and culti- 
 vated land, and drove the inhabitanst of Torre del Greco from 
 the town, a great part of the houses being either buried, or 
 so injured as to be uninhabitable ; the damage done in the 
 vineyards by the ashes was also immense. Eruptions of this 
 volcano also took place in 1804 and 1805 ; but this article 
 will conclude by noticing only the eruption that happened on 
 
VESUVIUS. 
 
 441 
 
 the evening of the 31st of May, 1806, when a bright flame 
 rose from the mountain to the height of about 600 feet, sinking 
 and rising alternately, and aflbrding so clear a light, that a 
 letter might have been read at the distance of a league round 
 the mountain. On the following morning, without any earth- 
 quake preceding, as had been customary, the volcano began 
 to eject inflamed substances from three new mouths, pretty 
 near to each other, and about 650 feet from the summit. The 
 lava took^the direction of Torre del Greco and Annunciata, 
 approaching Portici on the road leading from Naples to 
 Pompeii. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the 2d of June, a noise was heard, 
 resembling that of two armies engaged, when the discharges 
 of artillery and musketry are very brisk. The current of lava 
 now resembled a wall of glass in a state of fusion; sparks and 
 flashes issuing from it from time to time with a powerful 
 detonation. Vines, trees, houses, in short, whatever objects 
 it encountered on its way, were instantly overthrown and 
 destroyed. In one part, where it met with the resistance of a 
 wall, it formed a cascade of fire. In a few days, Portici, Re- 
 sina, and Torre del Greco, were covered with ashes thrown 
 out by the volcano ; and on the 9th, the two former places 
 were deluged with a thick black rain, consisting of a species 
 of mud, filled with sulphureous particles. 
 
 On the 1st of July, the ancient crater had wholly disappeared, 
 being filled with ashes and lava, and a new one was formed in 
 the eastern part of the mountain, about 600 feet in depth, 
 and having about the same width at the opening. Several 
 persons, on the above day, descended about half way down 
 this new mouth, and remained half an hour very near the 
 flames, admiring the spectacle presented by the liquid lava, 
 which bubbled up at the bottom of the crater, like the fused 
 matter in a glasshouse. This eruption continued until Sep- 
 tember, made great ravages, and was considered as one of 
 the most terrible that occurred within the memory of the 
 oldest inhabitants. Sir William Hamilton observes, that the 
 inhabitants of Naples, in general, pay so little attention to the 
 operations of this 'oicano, that many of its eruptions pass 
 unnoticed by at least two-thirds of them. It is remarkable 
 to observe, with what readiness and sangfroid they inhabit 
 the towns and villas on the brow of the mountain, and how 
 quickly they return to spots which have suffered the most se- 
 verely. The inhabitants are not much alarmed by a stream 
 of lava, which moves slowly, from which they can always 
 remove, and carry off their moveable property ; their greatest 
 danger consists in the clouds of burning ashes, which fly to a 
 great distance, and the fall of which can neither be anticipated 
 nor avoided. 
 
 19. 
 
 3K 
 
. 442 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING xMOUNTAINb. 
 
 Mount Hecla. — This is a volcano of Iceland, and one of 
 those whose operations are the most powerful of any in the 
 world. It was visited in 1722, 'by Dr. Van Troil, a Swedish 
 gentleman, together with Mr. (afterwards Sir Joseph) Banks, 
 Dr. Solander, and Dr. James Lind, of Edinburgh. On their 
 first anding, they found a tract of land sixty or seventy miles 
 in extent, entirely ruined by lava, which appeared to have 
 been in the highest state of liquefaction. Having undertaken 
 a journey to the top of the mountain, they travelled* from 300 
 to 360 English miles, over an uninterrupted tract of lava, and 
 had at length the pleasure of being the first who had arrived 
 at the summit of the mountain. 
 
 Hecla, according to their accounts, is situated in the south 
 part of the island, about four miles from the sea coast; and 
 is divided into three parts at the top, the middle point being 
 the highest. From an exact observation wdth Ramsden’s 
 barometer, it is 5000 feet above the level of the sea. They 
 were obliged to quit their horses at the first opening from 
 which the fire had burst. They describe this as a place with 
 lofty walls and high glazed dills, unlike any thing which they 
 had ever seen before. A little higher up they found a large 
 quantity of grit and stones ; and still farther, another open- 
 ing, which, though not deep, descended lower than that of 
 the highest point. Here, they imagined, they plainly discerned 
 the effects of boiling water; though not far from thence the 
 mountain was covered with snow, excepting some spots, 
 which difference they perceived to be occasioned by the hot 
 vapour issuing from the crevices in the mountain. As they 
 ascended towards the top, they found the spots become larger ; 
 and about 200 yards below the summit, a hole about a yard 
 and a half in diameter was observed, whence issued so hot a 
 steam, that they could not measure the degree of heat with 
 the thermometer. 
 
 The cold began now to be very intense ; Fahrenheit’s ther- 
 mometer, which at the foot of the mountain was at fifty-four, 
 now fell to twenty-four; the wind also became so violent, 
 that they were sometimes obliged to lie down, for fear of being 
 blown down the most dreadful precipices. On the very 
 summit, they experienced at the same time a high degree of 
 heat and of cold ; for, in the air, Fahrenheit’s thermometer 
 stood constantly at twenty-four, but when set on the ground, 
 rc se to 153 ; the barometer stood at 22.247. Though they 
 wished very much to remain here for some time, they found 
 that they could not effect their purpose with safety; they 
 therefore descended quickly. 
 
 The mountain seems to be made up, not of lava, but of 
 sand, grit, and ashes; which are thrown up with discoloured 
 stones, partly melted by the fire. Several sorts of pumice 
 
ETNA. 
 
 44S 
 
 stones were founa on it, among which was one with some 
 sulphur. Sometimes the pumice was so much burnt, that it 
 was as light as tow. Its form and colour were sometimes very 
 fine, but at the same time so soft, that it was difficult to re 
 move it from one place to another. The common lava was 
 found in both large and small pieces ; as well as a quantity of 
 black jasper, burned at the extremities, and resembling trees 
 and branches. Some slate, of a strong red colour, was ob- 
 served among the stones thrown out by the volcano. In one 
 place the lava had taken the form of chimney-stacks half 
 broken down. 
 
 As they descended the mountain, they observed three open- 
 ings. In one, every thing looked as red as brick ; from 
 another, the lava had flowed in a stream about fifty yards 
 broad, and, after proceeding some length, had divided into 
 three large branches. Further on they perceived an opening, 
 at the bottom of which was a mount in form of a sugar loaf ; 
 in throwing up of which, the fire appeared to have exhausted 
 itself. The reason that no one before them had ever ascended 
 to the top of this mountain, was partly owing to superstition, 
 and partly to the steepness and difficulty of the ascent, which 
 was in a great measure removed by an eruption in 1766. 
 
 We now’ proceed to describe the celebrated Mount Etna. — 
 
 Now Etna roars with dreadful ruins nigh, 
 
 Now hurls a bursting cloud of cinders high, ^ 
 
 Involv’d in smoky whirlwinds to the sky ; S 
 With loud displosion to the starry frame, 
 
 Shoots fiery globes and furious floods of flame; 
 
 Now from her bellowing caverns burst away 
 Vast piles of melted rocks in open day. 
 
 Her shatter’d entrails wide the mountain throws, 
 
 And deep as hell her flaming centre glows. Warton. 
 
 Etna is a famous volcanic or burning mountain in Sicily, 
 situated on the eastern coast, not far from Catania. The 
 height of this mountain is more than 10,000 feet above the level 
 of the sea, and its circumference at the base is 180 miles. 
 Over its sides are seventy-seven cities, towns, and villages, 
 the number of the inhabitants of which is about 115,000. 
 Ff om Catania to the summit, the distance is tliirty miles ; and 
 the traveller must pass through three distinct climates, which 
 may be denominated the torrid, the temperate, and the frigid. 
 Accordingly, the whole mountain is divided into three distinct 
 regions, called the fertile, the woody, and the barren. 
 
 The first, or lowest region, extends through a beautiful 
 ascent from twelve to eighteen miles. The city of Catania, 
 and several villages, are situated in this first zone, and it 
 aboun Is in pastures, orchards, and various kinds of fruit trees 
 
444 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Its great fertility is ascribed to the decomposition of lava, and 
 of those vegetables which have been introduced by the arts 
 of agriculture, and the exertions of human industry. The figs 
 and fruit in general, in this part, are reckoned the finest in 
 Sicily. The lava of this region flows from a number of sm^ll 
 mountains, which are dispersed over the immense declivity of 
 Etna. 
 
 The woody region, or temperate zone, extends from eight 
 to ten miles in a direct line, towards the top of the mountain; 
 and comprehends a surface of about forty or forty-five square 
 leagues. It forms a zone of the brightest green all around the 
 mountain, which exhibits a pleasing contrast to its white and 
 hoary summits. It is called the woody region, because it 
 abounds with oaks, beeches, and firs. The soil is similar to 
 that of the lower region ; the air is cool and refreshing, and 
 every breeze is loaded with a thousand perfumes, the whole 
 ground being covered over with the richest aromatic plants. 
 Many parts of this space are the most heavenly spots upon 
 earth ; and if Etna resemble Hell within, it may with equal 
 ^ justice be said to resemble Paradise without 
 
 The upper region, called the frigid zone, is marked out by 
 a circle of snow and ice. The surface of this zone is for the 
 most part flat and even, and the approach to it is indicated 
 by the decline of vegetation, by uncovered rocks of lava and 
 heaps of sand, by near views of an expanse of snow and ice, 
 as well as of torrents of smoke issuing from the crater of the 
 mountain, and by the difficulty and danger of advancing 
 amidst streams of melted snow, sheets of ice, and gusts of 
 chilling wind. The curious traveller, however, thinks himself 
 amply recompensed, upon gaining the summit, for the peril 
 which he has encountered. At night, the number of stars 
 seem increased, and their light appears brighter than usual. 
 The lustre of the milky-way is like a pure flame, that shoots 
 across the heavens, and with the naked eye we may observe 
 clusters of stars totally invisible in the lower regions. 
 
 Dr. Woodward mentions the existence of volcanoes as a spe- 
 cial favour of Providence, and says, “ There are scarcely any 
 countries, that are much annoyed with earthquakes, that have 
 not one of these fiery vents. And these are constantly all in 
 flames whenever any earthquake happens, as they disgorge 
 that fire, which, whilst underneath, was the cause of the dis- 
 aster. Indeed, (saith he,) were it not for these diverticulay 
 whereby it thus gains an exit, it would rage in the bowels 
 of the earth much more furiously, and make greater havock 
 than it now does. So that, though those countries where 
 there are such volcanoes are usually more or less troubled with 
 earthquakes ; yet, were these volcanoes wanting, they would 
 be much more annoyed with them than they now are, yea, in 
 
GROTTO IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 446 
 
 all probability, to that degree as to render the earth, for a 
 vast space around them, perfectly uninhabitable. In one word, 
 so beneficial are these to the territories where they are, 
 that there do not want instances of some which have been 
 rescued from earthquakes by the breaking forth of a new 
 volcano there ; this continually discharging that matter, which 
 being till then barricaded up and imprisoned in the bowels 
 of the earth, was the occasion of very great and frequent 
 calamities.’’ 
 
 In every case, where we cannot discern the beneficent ten- 
 dency of particular phenomena in the universe, we ought to 
 attribute this to our limited capacities, and not arraign the 
 almighty Sovereign. However dreadful and destructive subter- 
 raneous fires may appear; on proper reflection, it may be 
 inferred that they are as necessary in promoting and sustain- 
 ing the operations of this part of the universe, as the natural 
 heat in men’s bodies is to the preservation and support of 
 their being. 
 
 CHAP. XLII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING GROTTOS, CAVES, ^c. 
 
 Grotto in South Africa — Grotto del Cani — Grotto of Antiparos 
 — Grotto of Guachoro — Snow Grotto — Cave of Fingal — Cave 
 near Mexico — The Nitre Caves of Missoui'i — Okei/ Hole — 
 Borrowdale — Needless Eye. 
 
 Sweet interchange 
 
 Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains. 
 
 Now land, now sea, and shores with forests crown’d. Milton. 
 
 Grotto in South Africa. From Thom’s account of his 
 Journey to South Africa. — In the country of Kango is the 
 greatest natural curiosity of South Africa, a grotto of unknown 
 extent. This I visited, and spent four or five hours in it. It 
 was generally supposed that the end of it had been discovered, 
 but we proved it to be still unknown ; though, from the in- 
 formation I received, we proceeded into it further than any 
 others, and our entrance into the third newly discovered cham- 
 bers, or cave, was only prevented by a descent of fourteen feet. 
 This great and astonishing work of God is divided into various 
 apartments, from fourteen to seventy feet in length, and eight 
 to one hundred in breadth. By measurement, I found that we 
 had proceeded aboutninehundred feetinto the cavern ofa moun- 
 tain, of five hundred feet in perpendicular height; the grotto 
 
446 
 
 CURIOSITIES GROTTOS AND CAVES. 
 
 is about two hundred feet above the level of the river running 
 by the hill. 
 
 “ The stalactites, united or disunited, form a hundred figures, 
 so that, without any effort of imagination, nature would seem 
 here to have assumed the province of art : for her canopies, 
 organs, pulpits, vast candles, immense pillars, heads even of 
 men and animals, meet the astonished visitor on all sides; so 
 that he supposes himself in a new part of the universe. Eye, 
 thought, and feeling, are equally overpowered; and, to com- 
 plete this remarkable assemblage, there are various baths> or 
 cisterns of water, as clear as crystal, divided by partitions, as 
 if a most ingenious sculptor had wrought for some weeks in 
 this subterraneous place of nature. Ten young colonists, 
 with two slave guides, and my servant, were with me. We 
 had a flambeau and a number of large candles ; but even these 
 did not chase away the darkness which eclipsed the beauties 
 of this great work of nature, which had been forming from 
 age to age, and was first discovered in the year 1788. It is a 
 remarkable circumstance, that no traveller appears to have 
 visited it, or the various sub-districts which I have described 
 above, since that time till we entered it.^* 
 
 The Grotto del Cant. — This is a little cavern near Poz- 
 zuoli, four leagues from Naples: the air contained in it is of a 
 mephitical or noxious quality ; it is in truth carbonic acid 
 gas, whence also it is called Bocca Venenosa, the Poisonous 
 Mouth. “ Two miles from Naples, (says Dr. Mead,) just by the 
 Lago de Agnano, is a celebrated mofeta, commonly called La 
 Grotto del Cani, whic h is destructive of all animal life that 
 comes within the rea( h of its vapours. It is a small grotto, 
 about eight feet high, twelve long, and six broad; from the 
 ground arises a thin, subtile, warm fume, visible enough to a 
 discerning eye, which does not spring up in little parcels here 
 and there, but in one continued stream, covering the whole 
 surface of the bottom of the cave ; having this remarkable 
 difference from common vapours, that it does not, like smoke, 
 disperse into the air, but quickly after its rise falls back again, 
 and returns to the earth, or hovers to a certain height, above 
 which it never rises. This fact is ascertained by the colour 
 of the sides of the grotto, which, as high as the vapour 
 ascends, is of a darkish green, but above this it has only the 
 appearance of common earth. As I found no inconvenience 
 from standing in it myself, so I believe no animal, if its head 
 were kept above this mark, would be in the least injured. 
 But when, as is often the case, a dog, or any other creature, 
 is forcibly kept below it, or the animal is so small that it 
 cannot hold its head above this noxious vapour, it presently 
 loses all voluntary motion, falls down as dead, or in a swoon ; 
 
• GROTTO OF ANTIPAROS. 
 
 447 
 
 the limbs at first become convulsed and trembling, till at last 
 no more signs of life appear, than a very weak and almost 
 insensible beating of the heart and arteries ; which, if the 
 animal is left a little longer, quickly ceases also, and then its 
 fate is irrevocable ; but if it be snatched out and laid in the 
 air, it soon revives, and, if thrown into the adjacent lake, 
 resuscitation is still more rapid.” 
 
 We now proceed to the famous Grotto of Antiparos. — 
 This grotto takes its name from the small island in which it 
 is situated. The following is Mr. Charles Saunders’s account 
 of his descent into this celebrated grotto. 
 
 ** Its entrance lies in the side of a rock, and is a spacious 
 arch, formed of rough crags, overhung with fantastic wreaths 
 of climbing shrubs. Our party amounted to six, attended by 
 the same number of guides, furnished with lighted torches. 
 We presently lost every ray of daylight, but following our 
 leaders, we entered into a low narrow passage, lined on all 
 sides with stones, that, from the reflection of the torches, 
 glittered like diamonds, and displayed the colours of the 
 rainbow. At the end of this passage, our guides desired us 
 to tie a rope about our waists, and then led us to the brink of 
 a frightful precipice. The descent was steep, and the place 
 dark and gloomy. The exchange of the lane of diamonds 
 for this abyss of darkness was very unwelcome ; but I had 
 travelled far to gratify my curiosity, and I hazarded the event. 
 The rope being held by the guides at top, I was first letdown, 
 and, after dangling a minute or two, reached the bottom with 
 my feet. 
 
 “ My friends, encouraged by my example, followed ; and we 
 pursued our way under a roof of ragged rocks for thirty yards, 
 hoping every moment to see the opening of the expected 
 grotto ; but our guides plainly told us we had far to go, and 
 much to encounter, before we should reach it, and those who 
 wanted courage and perseverance had better return. None of 
 us, however, would act so cowardly a part, though the sight 
 of another precipice, much deeper and more formidable than 
 the first, almost shook our resolution. Bv the light of the 
 torches, we could perceive that we were to plunge into a 
 place encumbered with vast pieces of rough rugged rocks, 
 and that we should be forced sometimes to climb over, and 
 sometimes to creep under them; while on the other side were 
 numerous dark caverns, like so many wells, which if one’s foot 
 should slip, would swallow us up. Two of our guides went 
 before us,' and as we stood on the edge, we were terrified 
 to see them go lower, till they appeared at a frightful depth 
 beneath us. When they were at the bottom, they hallooed to 
 us, and we very reluctantly followed. In the midst of the 
 
448 
 
 CURIOSITIES GROTTOS AND CAVES. 
 
 way, we came to a place where a rock that was perpen- 
 dicular, and a vast cavern, on one side threatened us with 
 destruction, whilst a wall of rugged rock seemed impassable 
 on the other. Here again we hesitated whether to proceed or 
 not: but the guides assured us they had often gone the same 
 way with safety, we therefore took fresh resolution, and on 
 w'e went to a corner, where was placed an old, slippery, rotten 
 ladder, which w’e ventured to descend. 
 
 At the bottom w'e perceived ourselves at the entrance of 
 another passage, which was rather dismal, but not wholly 
 without beauty. A wide gradual descent led us into a noble 
 vault, with a bottom of fine, green, glossy marble, over which 
 we were to slide on our seats; and it was wuth difficulty w'e 
 could keep ourselves from going too fast, and tumbling over 
 one another. The walls and arch of the roof is as smooth in 
 most places as if chiselled by a skilful w'orkman, and are formed 
 of a glistering red and white granite, supported in several 
 places wuth columns of a deep blood-coloured shining por- 
 phyry. Here, to our terror, we lost sight of the two guides 
 that went before us, and at the end of the passage found our- 
 selves at the brink of another precipice, the bottom of which 
 we reached by the help of a ladder, not much better than the 
 former. 
 
 Had not the dread of falling taken up my attention, I should 
 have admired many of the natural ornaments of this obscure 
 cavity. The rock to which the ladder was fixed was one 
 mass of red marble, covered with white branches of rock 
 crystal, and might be compared, from the hue of the rock 
 behind, to an immense sheet of amethysts. From the foot of 
 this ladder, we were compelled to slide, face downwards, 
 through another shallow vault of polished green and white 
 marble, for about twenty feet; and we then rejoined our 
 guides, who prudently gave us some refreshment, to enable 
 us to face the dangers w^e had yet to encounter. 
 
 “We now advanced through a narrow slanting passage of 
 ■rough coarse stone, so much resembling snakes curled round, 
 that nothing w’as w’^anting but a hissing sound, to make us 
 fancy that thousands of those noisome reptiles surrounded us. 
 There was still another terrible precipice to pass; but as we 
 heard that it was the last, we made no hesitation in descend* 
 ing the ladder. After this, we proceeded upon even ground 
 for about forty yards, when we were again entreated by our 
 guides to fasten the ropes about our waists; not for the pur- 
 pose of suspending us over a height, but as a means of secu- 
 rity against the lakes and deep waters that are numerous in 
 this part of the cavern. At length we reached the last pas- 
 sage, the dismal gloom of which might furnish images for a 
 poetical description of Tartarus. The sides and roof were 
 
GROTTO OF ANTIPAROS. 
 
 449 
 
 fomed of black stone, and the way was so rugged, that we were 
 often obliged to slide upon our backs The angles of the rocks 
 cut our clothes, and bruised our flesh in a miserable manner. 
 
 “ Though I believed myself so near the object of my curiosity, 
 I wished sincerely that I had never been allured, by the ac- 
 counts of travellers, to venture into such a horrible place, 
 when suddenly we lost sight of four out of our six guides,. 
 The' want of their torches increased the melancholy gloom '; 
 and the supposition that they had fallen into some of the 
 black pools of water that abound here, added to the appre- 
 hension for our own safety, as well as concern for their fate. 
 The two remaining guides assured us, that their companions 
 were safe, and that we should soon be rewarded for all that 
 we had suffered, if we would but advance. Our passage was 
 now become very narrow, and we were obliged to crawl on all 
 fours over rugged rocks, when, hearing a little hissing noise, 
 in an instant we were left in utter darkness. To our inex- 
 pressible terror, the guides told us that they had accidentally 
 dropped their torches into one of the pools ; but that there 
 was no danger in crawling forward, as we should soon over- 
 take their fellows. I now- gave myself up for lost, and expected 
 that I must perish in this dreadful cavern. Whilst I thus 
 yielded to despair, one of the guides came to me, blindfolded 
 me with his hand, and dragged me a few paces forward. I 
 imagined his design w^as to rob and murder me; however, in 
 the midst of my panic, he lifted me over a huge stone, and 
 set me on my feet, withdrawing his hand from my eyes at the 
 same time. 
 
 “ What words can express my transport and astonishment ; 
 instead of darkness and despair, all was splendour and mag- 
 nificence. The six guides welcomed me into fhe Grotto of 
 Antiparos. Those whom we had missed, only went before to 
 prepare the grotto for our reception, which was illurnjnated 
 with fifty torches, and produced an effect no words can describe. 
 Imagine yourself in an arched cavern, 485 yards deep, 120 
 yards wide, 113 long, and, as near as we could measure by 
 the eye, about 60 yards high, lined on every part with brilliant 
 crystallized white marble, and well illuminated. The roof is 
 a grand vaulted arch, hung all over with pendent icicles of 
 shining white marble, some of them ten feet long, and covered 
 with clusters of the same material, resembling festoons and 
 garlands of flowers, glittering like precious stones. From 
 the sides of the arch proceed fantastic forms of the same glit- 
 tering spar, that fancy can easily shape into trees, entwined 
 with flowers and climbing shrubs; and in some parts the con- 
 gelations have taken the appearance of the ineanders of a 
 winding stream. The floor, though rough and uneven, is full 
 of crystals of all colours. . t 
 
 3 L 
 
450 
 
 CURIOSITIES— GROTTOS AND CA'^ES. 
 
 “ It is impossible to convey any adequate idea of the splen- 
 dours of this natural temple, the ornaments of which are formed 
 of the droppings of water, that, in great length of time, become 
 congealed into a kind of brilliant spar. 
 
 “ Having contemplated this charming spectacle with delight, 
 and raised our aspiration to that Being, whose creative powers 
 are displayed in the most obscure, as well as in the most visi- 
 ble part of his works, we returned, impressed with the con- 
 victign, that no good can be attained without difficulty and 
 perseverance.’’ 
 
 The Grotto of Guacharo. — The gulf of Cariacho is fre- 
 quented by innumerable flocks of marine birds, of various kinds. 
 “ When the natives wish to catch any of these wild fowl, (says 
 M.Lavayse,) they go into the water, having their heads covered 
 each with a calabash, in which they make two holes for seeing 
 through. They thus swim towards the birds, throwing a 
 handful of maize on the water from time to time, which be- 
 comes scattered on the surface. The ducks and other birds 
 approach to feed on the maize, and at that moment the swim- 
 mer seizes them by the feet, pulls them under water, and 
 wrings their necks before they can make the least movement, 
 or, by their noise, spread an alarm among the flock. The 
 swimmer attaches those he has caught to his girdle, and he 
 generally takes as many as are necessary for his family.” 
 
 Amongst the natural curiosities of this neighbourhood, is a 
 lake full of crocodiles, and various other reptiles, one of which, 
 if we are to believe a common tradition of the people, resem- 
 bles the winged dragon of the poets. In going from Carupano 
 to Guiria, our author passed through the “ smiling valley” of 
 Rio Corbe, watered by numerous streams, and which he calls 
 the Temple and Compagna of Venezuela. Speaking of the 
 celebrated Grotto of Guacharo, in the mountains of Bergantin, 
 M. Lavayse observes, “ In every country the same causes 
 have produced similar effects on the imagination of our spe- 
 cies. The grotto of Guacharo is, in the opinion of the Indians, 
 a place of trial and expiation : souls, when separated from their 
 bodies, go to this cavern; those men who die without reproach 
 uo not remain in it, but immediately ascend, to reside with 
 the great Manitou in the dwellings of the blessed ; and such 
 men as have committed but slight faults, of a venial nature, 
 are kept there for a longer or shorter period, according to 
 their crime ; while those of the wicked are retained there 
 eternally. 
 
 “ Immediately after the death of their parents and friends, 
 the Indians proceed to the entrance of this cavern, to listen 
 to their groans. If they think they hear their voices, they 
 also lament, and address a prayer to the Great Spirit, and 
 
GROTTO OF GUACHARO. 
 
 451 
 
 another to the devil, Muboya; after which they drown their 
 grief with intoxicating beverages : but, if they do not hear 
 the voices of their friends, they express their joy by dances 
 and festivals. In all this, there is but one circumstance that 
 creates surprise ; it is, that the Indian priests have not availed 
 themselves of such credulity to augment their revenues. Many 
 Indians, though otherwise converted to Christianity, have not 
 ceased to believe, that to be in the cave of Guacharo is syno- 
 nymous with dying. 
 
 “ Thus, in the majestic forests of South America, as in the 
 ancient civilization of Hindoostan ; under the harsh climates 
 of the north of Europe and Canada, as in the burning regions 
 of Africa ; ^ in all parts, men of every colour are distinguished 
 from other animals by this irresistible foreboding of a future 
 life, in which an Omnipotent Being recompenses the good 
 and punishes evil doers. Whatever may be the modifications, 
 differences, or absurdities, with which imagination, ignorance, 
 and greedy imposture, have enveloped this belief, it appears 
 to be one of the strongest moral proofs of the identity of our 
 species, and to be a natural consequence of reflection.” — 
 Sketches of South America, 
 
 We will now beg the attention of our readers, while w’e relate 
 some particulars respecting The Snow^ Grotto. — This is an 
 excavation made by the waters on the side of Mount Etna, by 
 making their way under the layers of lava, and carrying away 
 the bed of pozzolano below them. It occurred to the proprie 
 tor, that this place was very suitable for a magazine of snovv^ 
 for in Sicily, at Naples, and particularly at Malta, they are 
 obliged, for want of ice, to make use of snow for cooling their 
 wine, sherbet, and other liquors, and for making sweetmeats. 
 This grotto was hired, or bought, by the knights of Malta, 
 who having neither ice nor snow on the burning rock which 
 they inhabit, have hired several caverns on Etna, into which, 
 people whom they employ, collect and preserve quantities of 
 snow, to be sent to Malta when needed. This grotto has 
 therefore been repaired within, at the expense of the order; 
 flights of steps are cut into it, as well as two openings from 
 above, through which they throw in the snow, and bv means 
 of w hich the grotto is enlightened. Above the grotto they 
 have also levelled a piece of ground of considerable extent; 
 this they have inclosed with thick and lofty walls, so that 
 wdien the winds, which at this elevation blow with great vio- 
 lence, carry the snow from the higher parts of the mountain, 
 and deposit it in this inclosure, it is retained and amassed by 
 the walls. The people then remove it into the grotto, through 
 the two openings ; and it is there laid up and preserved in 
 such a manner as to resist the force of the summer heats, as 
 
462 ' CURIOSITIES — GROTTOS AND CAVES. 
 
 the layers of lava, with which the grotto is arched above, 
 prevent them from making any impression. 
 
 When the season for exporting the snow comes on, it is 
 put into large bags, into which it is pressed as closely as 
 possible ; it is then carried by men out of the grotto, and 
 laid upon mules, which convey it to the- shore, where small 
 vessels are waiting to carry it away. But before those lumps 
 of snow are put into bags, they are wrapped in fresh leaves; 
 so that while they are conveyed from the grotto to the shore, 
 the leaves may preveint the rays of the sun from making any 
 impression upon them. 
 
 The Sicilians carry on a considerable trade in snow, which 
 affords employment to some thousands of men, horses, and 
 mules. They have magazines of it on the summits of their 
 loftiest mountains, from which they distribute it through all 
 their cities, towns, and houses; for every person in the island 
 makes use of the snow. They consider the practice of cool- 
 ing their liquors as absolutely necessary for the preservation 
 of health ; and in a climate, the heat of which is constantly re- 
 laxing the fibres, cooling liquors, by communicating a proper 
 tone to the fibres of the stomach, must greatly strengthen 
 them for the performance of their functions. In this climate a 
 scarcity of snow is no less dreaded than a scarcity of corn, 
 wine, or oil. We are informed by a gentleman who was at 
 Syracuse in 1777, when there was a scarcity of snow, that the 
 people of the town learned that a small vessel laden with that 
 article was passing the coast: without a moment’s deliberation, 
 they ran in a body to the shore, and demanded her cargo; 
 W'hich when the crew refused to deliver up, the Syracusans 
 attacked and took, though with the loss of several men. 
 
 ‘ The next object that claims our regard is The Cave of 
 Fingal, or An-ua-vine, in the Island of Staffa. 
 From Faujas St. Fond’s Travels in England, Scotland; and 
 the Hebrides. 
 
 ' “This superb and magnificent monument of a grand subter- 
 raneous combustion, the date of which has been lost in the 
 lapse of ages, presents an appearance of order and regularity 
 so wonderful, that it is difficult for the coldest observer, and 
 a peison the least sensible to the phenomena which relate 
 to the convulsions of the globe, not to be singularly astonished 
 by this prodigy, which may be considered as a kind of natural 
 palace. 
 
 ' “ To shelter myself from all critical observation on the 
 emotions which I experienced while contemplating the most 
 extraordinary of any cavern known, I shall borrow the ex- 
 pressions of him who first described it. Those who are 
 ttcquaiuted with the character of this illustrious naturalist. 
 
THE CAVE OF FINGAL. 
 
 453 
 
 Sir Joseph Banks, will not be apt to accuse him of being 
 liable to be hurried away by the force of a too ardent imagi- 
 nation ; but the sensation which he felt at the view of this 
 magnificent scene was such, that it was impossible to escape 
 a degree of just enthusiasm. 
 
 “ The impatience which every body felt to see the wonders 
 we have heard so largely described, prevented our morning’s 
 rest; every one was up and in motion before the break of day, 
 and with the first light arrived at the south-west part of the 
 island, the seat of the most remarkable pillars. We were no 
 sooner arrived at this place, than we were struck with a scene 
 of magnificence which exceeded our expectation, though 
 formed as we thought upon the most sanguine foundations 
 The whole of that end of the island is supported by ranges 
 of natural pillars, mostly above fifty feet high, standing in 
 natural colonnades, according as the bays or points of land 
 formed themselves, upon a firm basis of solid shapeless masses 
 of rock. In a short time we arrived at the mouth of the cave, 
 the most magnificent, I suppose, that has ever been described 
 by travellers. 
 
 ‘ The mind can hardly form an idea of any thing more mag- 
 nificent than such a space, supported on each side by ranges 
 of columns, and roofed by the bottoms of those from which 
 tliey have been broken, in order to form it, between the angles 
 of which a yellow stalagmitic matter has exuded ; this serves 
 to define the angles precisely, and at the same time vary the 
 colour with a great deal of elegance, and, to render it still 
 more agreeable, the whole is lighted from without ; so that 
 the farthest extremity is very plainly seen from the outside, 
 and the air w ithin, being agitated by the flux and reflux of the 
 tides, is perfectly dry and wholesome, entirely free from the 
 vapours with which natural caverns in general abound.” 
 
 The following description of the same place by Mr. Troil, 
 is also worthy of our notice ; — 
 
 “ How' splendid (says this prelate) do the porticos of the 
 ancients appear in our eyes, from the ostentatious magnifi- 
 cence of the descriptions we have received of them ! and with 
 what admiration are we seized, on seeing: even the colonnades of 
 our modern edifices ! but when we behold the cave of Fingal, 
 formed by nature in the isle of Stafla, it is no longer possible 
 to make a comparison, and we are forced to acknowledge that 
 this piece of architecture, executed by nature, far surpasses 
 that of the Louvre, that of St. Peter at Rome, and even what 
 remains of Palmira and Pestum, and all that the genius, the 
 taste, and the luxury of the Greeks, were ever capable of 
 inventing .” — Letters on Iceland, 
 
 Such also was the impression made by the cave of Fingal, 
 on Sir Joseph Banks, and on the Bishop of Linckceping. — 
 
454 
 
 CURIOSITIES GROTTOS AND CAVES. 
 
 ** I have seen many ancient volcanoes, and have given de- 
 scriptions of several superb basaltic causeways and delightful 
 caverns in the midst of lavas ; but I have never found any 
 thing which comes near this, or can bear any comparison with 
 it, either for the admirable regularity of the columns, the 
 height of the arch, the situation, the forms, the elegance of 
 this j)roduction of nature, or for its resemblance to the master- 
 pieces of art, though this had no share in its construction, 
 it is therefore not at all surprising that tradition should 
 have made it the abode of a hero. 
 
 “ This amazing monument of nature is thirty-five feet wide at 
 the entrance, fifty-six feet high, and a hundred and forty feet 
 long. 
 
 “ The upright columns which compose the frontispiece, are 
 of the most perfect regularity. Their height, to the beginning 
 of the curvature, is forty-five feet. 
 
 “ The arch is composed of two unequal segments of a circle, 
 which form a sort of natural pediment. 
 
 “ The mass which crowns, or rather which forms the roof, is 
 twenty feet thick in the lowest part. It consists of small 
 prisms, more or less regular, inclining in all directions, closely 
 united and cemented underneath, and in the joints, with a 
 yellowish white calcareous matter, and some zeolitic infiltra- 
 tions, which give this fine ceiling the appearance of mozaic 
 work. 
 
 “ The sea reaches to the very extremity of the cave. It is 
 fifteen feet deep at the mouth ; and its waves, incessantly agi- 
 tated, beat with great noise against the bottom and walls of 
 the cavern, and every where break into foam. The light also 
 penetrates through its whole length, diminishing gradually 
 inwards, and exhibiting the most wonderful varieties of co- 
 lour. 
 
 The right side of the entrance presents, on its exterior part, 
 a vast amphitheatre, formed of dinerent ranges of large trun- 
 cated prisms, the top of which may be easily walked on. 
 Several of these prisms are jointed, that is, concave on the 
 one side, and convex on the other; and some of them are 
 divided by simple transverse intersections. 
 
 “These prisms,''consisting of a very durable and pure black 
 basaltes, are from one to three feet in diameter. Their forms 
 are triangular, tetrapedral, pentagonal, and hexagonal ; and 
 some of them have seven or eight sides. I saw several large 
 prisms, on the truncatures of which are distinctly traced the 
 outlines of a number of smaller prisms ; that is, these prisms 
 are formed of a basaltes, which has a tendency to subdivide 
 itself likewise into prisms. I had before observed the same 
 phenomenon in the basaltic prisms of Vivarais. 
 
 “ The cave can be entered only by proceeding along the plat- 
 
CAVE OF FINGAL. 
 
 455 
 
 form on the right side, which I have mentioned above. But 
 the way grows very narrow and difficult as it advances ; for 
 this sort of interior gallery, raised about fifteen feet above the 
 level of the sea, is formed entirely of truncated perpendicular 
 prisms of a greater or less height, between which considerable 
 address is necessary to choose one^s steps, the passages being 
 so strait and so slippery, owing to the droppings from the 
 roof, that I took the very prudent resolution, suggested by 
 our two guides, to proceed barefooted, and take advantage 
 of their assistance, especially in a particular place, where I 
 had room only to plant one foot, whilst I clung with my right 
 hand to a large prism to support myself, and held the hand of 
 one of the guides by the other. This difficult operation took 
 place at the darkest part of the cave ; and one half of the body 
 was at the time suspended over an abyss, where the sea dashed 
 itself into a cloud of foam. 
 
 “ I was desirous of penetrating to the farthest extremity, and 
 I accomplished my purpose, though not w'ithout considerable 
 difficulty and danger. I more than once found my attention 
 distracted from the observations which I was happy to have 
 an opportunity of making, to the thought of how 1 should get 
 back again. 
 
 “ As 1 drew near to the bottom of the cave, the bold balcony, 
 on which I walked, expanded into a large sloping space, com- 
 posed of thousands of broken vertical columns. The bottom 
 was bounded by a compact range of pillars of an unequal 
 height, and resembling the front of an organ.” 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that at the time when Mr. Troil 
 visited the cave, the sea, by one of those uncommon chances 
 which do not happen once in ten years, was so calm, that it 
 permitted him to enter with a boat. 
 
 “ At the very bottom of the cave, (says he,) and a little 
 above the surface of the water, there is a kind of small cave, 
 which sends forth a very agreeable noise every time that the 
 water rushes into it .” — Letters on Iceland. 
 
 “ As the sea was far from being completely still when I visited 
 it, I heard a noise of a very different nature every time that 
 the waves, in a rapid succession, broke against its bottom. 
 This sound resembled that which is produced by striking a 
 large hard body with great weight and force against another 
 hard body in a subterraneous cavity. Th-e shock w^as so vio- 
 lent, that it was heard at some distance, and the whole cavern 
 seemed to shake with it. Being close to the place whence 
 the sound issued, and where the water is not so deep, upon 
 the retreat of the wave, I endeavoured to discover the cause 
 of this terrible collision. I soon observed, that, a little belov/ 
 the basis which supported the organ-fronted colonnade, there 
 was an aperture which formed the outlet of a hollow, or per- 
 
456 CURIOSITIES — GROTTOS AND CAVES. 
 
 haps a small cave. It w^as impossible to penetrate into this 
 cavity; but it may be presumed that the tremendous noise was 
 occasioned by a broken rock, driven by the violent impetu- 
 osity of the surge against its sides. By the boiling motion of 
 the water, however, in the same place, it is evident that there 
 are several other small passages, through which it issues, after 
 rushing into the principal aperture in a mass. It is therefore 
 not impossible, when the sea is not sufficiently agitated to 
 put the imprisoned rock in motion, that the air, strongly 
 compressed by the weight of the water, which is in incessant 
 fluctuation, should, on rushing out by the ' small lateral 
 passages, produce a particularly strange sound. It might 
 then be truly regarded as an organ created by the hand ol 
 nature; and this circumstance would fully explain why the 
 ancient and real name of this cave, in the Erse language, is. 
 The Melodious CaveT 
 
 - Sir Joseph Banks, in the description which he has given us 
 of the cave of Staffa, says, that “ between tbe angles a yellow 
 stalagmitic matter has exuded, which seemed to define the 
 angles precisely.” That is true ; but tbe learned naturalist 
 has not told us the nature of this yellowish matter. 
 
 Mr. Troil mentions it also : he says, that the colour of 
 the columns is a dark gray, but that the joints are filled wdth 
 a quartzose stalactites, which distinctly marks the separation 
 of the columns, and which, by the variety of its tints, has the 
 most agreeable effect on the eye. On breaking off several 
 pieces of it, which it is not very easy to do, owing to the 
 height of the vault, I found that it was nothing but a calca- 
 reous matter, coloured by the decomposition of the iron of the 
 lava, and intermixed with a little argillaceous earth. This 
 stalactites has also very little adhesion, and is, in general, of 
 an earthy nature. In several of the prisms I found some glo- 
 bules of zeolites, but in very small quantity. I also broke off 
 from between two prisms, which were so apart as to admit of 
 introducing my hand, an incrustation in which the white and 
 transparent zeolites was formed into very perfect small cubical 
 crystals, several of which w’ere coloured red by the ferrugi- 
 nous lime arising from the decomposition of the lava. But I 
 must repeat, that zeolites is very rare in this cave, and having 
 myself broken off all the specimens that I was able to see, I 
 doubt whether those who may visit the place after me will 
 find any quantity of it.” 
 
 Dimensions of the Cave of Fingal. — Breadth of the entrance, 
 taken at the mouth and at the level of the sea, thirty-five 
 feet; height, from the level of the sea to the pitch of the arch, 
 fifty-six feet; depth of the sea, opposite to the entrance, and 
 twelve feet distant from it, at noon of the 27th of September, 
 fifteen feet ; thickness of the roof, measured from the pitch of 
 
MEXICAN CAVE. — CAVES OF MISSOURI. 457 
 
 the arch without to its highest part, twenty feet; interior 
 length of the cave from the entrance to the extremity, one 
 hundred and forty feet ; height of the tallest columns on the 
 right side of the entrance, forty-five feet; depth of the sea in 
 the interior part of the cave, ten feet nine inches, in some 
 places eight feet, and towards the bottom somewhat less 
 
 Cave near Mexico. — A traveller of credit gives us an 
 account, in the Philosophical Transactions, of a remarkable 
 cave, some leagues to the north-west of Mexico, gilded all 
 over with a sort of leaf-gold, which had deluded many 
 Spaniards by its promising colour, but they could never 
 reduce it into a body, either by quicksilver or fusion. This 
 traveller went thither one morning with an Indian for his 
 guide, and found its situation was pretty high, and in a place 
 very proper for the generation of metals. 
 
 As he entered into it, the light of the candle soon dis- 
 covered on all sides, but especially over his head, a glittering 
 canopy of these mineral leaves, at which he greedily snatch- 
 ing, there fell down a great lump of sand, that not only put 
 out his candle, but almost blinded him, and calling aloud to 
 his Indian, who stood at the entrance of the cave, as being 
 afraid of spirits and hobgoblins, it occasioned such thundering 
 and redoubled echoes, that the poor fellow, imagining he had 
 been wrestling with some infernal ghosts, soon quitted his 
 station, and thereby left a free passage for some rays of light 
 to enter, and serve him for a better guide. The traveller’s 
 sight was somewhat affected by the corrosive acrimony of the 
 mineral dust; but having relighted his candle, he proceeded 
 in the cave, heaped together a quantity of the mineral mixed 
 with sand, and scraped off from the surface of the earth 
 some of the glittering leaves, none of which exceeded the 
 breadth of a man’s nail, but with the least touch were 
 divided into many lesser spangles, and with a little rubbing 
 they left his hand gilded all over. 
 
 We must not neglect to notice The Nitre Caves of 
 Missouri. — “ On the banks of the Merrimnck and the Gas- 
 conade are found numerous caves, which yield an earth im- 
 pregnated largely with nitre, which is procured from it by 
 lixiviation. On the head of Current’s river are also found 
 several caves from which nitre is procured, the principal of 
 which is Ashley’s cave, or Cave Creek, about eighty miles 
 south-west of Potosi. This is one of those stupendous and 
 extensive caverns, that cannot be viewed without exciting 
 our wonder and astonishment, which is increased by beholding 
 those complete works for the manufacture of nitre, situated 
 in its interior. 
 
 3M 
 
458 
 
 CURIOSITIES GROTTOS AND CAVES. 
 
 “The native nitrate of potash is found in beautiful white 
 crystals, investing the fissures of the limestone rock which 
 forms the walls of this cave ; and several of those in its vicinity 
 exhibit the same phenomenon.*’ — Schoolcroft, on the Lead 
 Mines of Missouri 
 
 Okey Hole. — This is a famous natural cavern of England, 
 on the south side of Mendip hills. The entrance is in the 
 fal of those hills, which is beset all about with rocks, and 
 there is near it a precipitate descent of twelve fathoms deep, 
 at the bottom of which there continually issues from the rocks 
 a considerable current of water. The naked rocks above the 
 entrance are about thirty fathoms high, and the whole ascent 
 of the hill above, which is very steep, is about a mile. The 
 entrance into this vault is at first upon a level, but ad- 
 vancing farther, the way is rocky and uneven, sometimes 
 ascending, and sometimes descending. 
 
 The roof of this cavern, in the highest part, is about eight 
 fathoms from the ground, but in many places it is so low, that 
 one must stoop to get along. The breadth is not less various 
 than the height, for in some places it is five or six fathoms 
 wide, and in others not more than one or two. It is in length 
 about two hundred yards. At the farthest part of the cavern 
 there is a stream of water, large enough to drive a mill, which 
 passes all along one side of the cavern, and at length slides 
 down about six or eight fathoms among the rocks, and, finding 
 its way through the clefts, falls into the valley beneath. The 
 river within the cavern is well stored with eels, and has some 
 trouts. In dry summers, a great number of frogs are seen 
 all along this cavern, even to the farthest part of it ; and on 
 the roof are vast numbers of bats. 
 
 From Okey Hole we proceed to Borrowdale, — which is 
 a most romantic valley among the Derwent-Water Fells, in the 
 county of Cumberland. These fells or hills are some of the 
 loftiest in England, and it is in one of them that the black 
 lead, or wadd, is found, from which all parts of the world are 
 supplied. The mines are opened once in seven years, and 
 when a sufficient quantity of this valuable and singular 
 mineral is taken out, they are carefully closed again. In 
 travelling among these mountains, the idea that presents itself 
 to the astonished spectator, is that of the earth having been 
 agitated like the ocean in a storm ; the hills appear like waves, 
 one behind another, and were it not for the abrupt and sudden 
 scarps, and the immense masses of rugged rocks, that give 
 the idea of fixedness and stability, the fancy might be 
 bewildered so far as to imagine they were in a state of undu- 
 lation, and ready to mingle with each other. 
 
THE needle’s eye. 
 
 459 
 
 Borrowdale is watered by the clearest brooks, which, preci- 
 pitated from the hills, form many beautiful waterfalls, and 
 then meet together in the dale in one large stream, and pass 
 out of it under the name of Borrowdale Beck, when they 
 spread out into an extensive lake, forming many beautiful 
 islands ; the lake is called Derwent-water, or Keswick Lake. 
 Borrowdale is four miles from Keswick, in passing from 
 which, the traveller has the lake on his left hand, and 
 stupendous rocky precipices on the other; with huge stones, 
 or rugged masses of rock, which have tumbled from above, 
 perhaps rent from the mountain by the expansion of the 
 water in its crevices or fissures, which, congealing into ice, 
 occasions the scattered fragments that lie in his way. As 
 he approaches the dale, he sees the shelves, or ledges of the 
 rocks, covered with herbage, shrubs, and trees, and villages 
 and farms rise in his view ; the larger cattle are seen feeding 
 in the lower grounds, and the sheep in very large flocks upon 
 the mountains. 
 
 We shall close this division with an account of The 
 Needle’s Eye. — This name is given to a subterraneous 
 passage on the coast of Banffshire, one hundred and fifty 
 yards long from sea to sea, but through which a man can 
 with difficulty creep. At the north end of it is a cave, twenty 
 feet high, thirty broad, and one hundred and fifty long, con- 
 taining a space of ninety thousand cubic feet. The whole is 
 supported by immense columns of rocks, is exceedingly grand, 
 and has a surprisingly fine effect on the spectator, after creep 
 ing through the narrow passage. 
 
460 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINKS. 
 
 CHAP. XLIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 Diamond Mine in the Brazils — Mines of Peru — Volcanic 
 Eruptions of Mud and Salt — Pitch Wells — Visit to a CoaU 
 Pit. 
 
 Through dark retreats pursue the winding ore, 
 
 Search Nature’s depths, and view her boundless store; 
 
 The secret cause in tuneful numbers sing. 
 
 How metals first were fram’d, and whence they spring 
 Whether the active sun, with chemic flames. 
 
 Through porous earth transmits its genial beams; 
 
 With heat impregnating the womb of night. 
 
 The offspring shines with its paternal light : 
 
 Or whether, ur^ed by subterraneous flames, 
 
 The earth ferments, and flows in liquid streams 
 Purg’d from their dross, the nobler parts refine. 
 
 Receive new forms, and with fresh beauties shine: 
 
 Or whether by creation first they sprung, 
 
 When yet unpois’d the world’s great fabric hung: 
 
 Metals the basis of the earth were made. 
 
 The bars on which its fix’d foundations laid; 
 
 All second causes they disdain to own. 
 
 And from th’ Almighty’s fiat sprung alone. Yalden. 
 
 Description ofaDiAMONoMiNEon the river Tigitonhonha, 
 in the Brazilian territory ; by Mr. Mawe. 
 
 ► “ I could not (says the writer) resist the favourable oppor- 
 
 tunity now offered me of gratifying the curiosity which had 
 so long occupied my mind, by visiting the diamond mines, in 
 company with the principal officer in the administration of 
 them, • who was tfierefore qualified to furnish me with the 
 amplest information.^ A fine horse was waiting for me at the 
 door, and I rode up to the house of the governor, who intro- 
 duced me to his amiable lady, daughters, and family, with 
 whom I had the honour to take breakfast. Several officers of 
 the diamond establishment arrived on horseback to accom- 
 pany us, their presence being required on this occasion. 
 
 “Having arrived at the place, I remained here five days, 
 during which I was occupied in viewing and examining 
 various parts of the works, of which I shall here attempt to 
 give a general description. 
 
 “The river Tigitonhonha is formed by a number of streams, 
 and is as wide as the Thames at Windsor, and in general from 
 three to nine feet deep. The part now in working is a curve 
 or elbow, from which the current is diverted into a canal cut 
 across the tongue of land round which it winds, the river 
 
DIAMOND MINE. 
 
 461 
 
 being stopped, just below the head of the canal, by an embank- 
 ment formed of several thousand bags of sand. This is a 
 work of considerable magnitude, and requires the co-operation 
 of all the negroes to complete it; for the river being wide 
 and not very shallow, and also occasionally subject to over- 
 flow, they have to make the embankment so strong as to 
 resist the pressure of the water, admitting it to rise four or 
 five feet. 
 
 “ The deeper parts of the channel of the river are laid dry by 
 means of large caissons or chain-pumps, worked by a water- 
 wheel. The mud is then carried oft', and the cascalhao is dug 
 up, and removed to a convenient place for washing. This 
 labour was, until lately, performed by the negroes, who carried 
 the cascalhao in gamellas on their heads; but Mr. Camara 
 has formed two inclined planes, about one hundred yards in 
 length, along which carts are drawn by a large water-wheel, 
 •divided into tw^o parts, the ladles or buckets of which are so 
 constructed, that the rotary motion may be altered by 
 changing the current of water from one side to the other; 
 this wheel, by means of a rope made of untanned hides, 
 works two carts, one of which descends empty on one 
 inclined plane, while the other, loaded with cascalhao, is 
 draw'll to the top of the other, where it falls into a cradle, 
 empties itself, and descends in its turn. At a work called 
 Canjeca, formerly of great importance, about a mile up the 
 river on the opposite side, there are three cylindrical engines 
 for drawing the cascalhao, like those used in the mining 
 country of Derbyshire, and also railways over some uneven 
 ground. This was the first and only machinery of conse- 
 quence, which I saw in the diamond district, and there appear 
 many obstacles to the general introduction of it. I'imber, 
 when wanted of large size, has to be fetched a distance of one 
 hundred miles, at a very heavy expense ; there are few persons 
 competent to the construction of machines, and the workmen 
 dislike to make them, fearing that this is onlv oart of a general 
 plan for suspending manual labour. 
 
 “ The stratum of cascalhao consists of the same materials 
 with that in the gold district. On many parts, by the edge 
 of the river, are large conglomerate masses of rounded pebbles 
 cemented by oxide of iron, which sometimes envelop gold 
 and diamonds. They calculate on getting as much cascalhao 
 in the dry season, as will occupy all their hands during the 
 months which are more subject to rain. When carried from 
 the bed of the river whence it is dug, it is laid in heaps, con- 
 taining apparently from five to fifteen tons each. 
 
 “ Water is conveyed from a distance, and is distributed to 
 the various parts of the works by means of aqueducts con- 
 structed with great ingenuity and skill. The method of wash- 
 
462 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 ing for diamonds at this place, is as follows : — A shed is 
 erected in the form of a parallelogram, twenty-five or thirty 
 yards long, and about fifteen wide, consisting of upright posts, 
 which support a roof thatched with long grass. Down the 
 middle of the area of this shed, a current of water is conveyed 
 through a canal, covered with strong planks, on which the 
 cascalhao is laid two or three feet thick. On the other side 
 of the area is a flooring of planks, from four to five yards long, 
 imbedded in clay, extending the whole length of the shed, 
 and having a slope, from the canal, of three or four inches to 
 a yard. This flooring is divided into about twenty compart- 
 ments or troughs, each about three feet wide, by means of 
 planks placed on their edge. The upper ends of all these 
 troughs (here called canoes) communicate with the canal, and 
 are so formed that water is admitted into them between two 
 planks that are about an inch separate. Through tliis opening 
 the current falls about six inches into the trough, and may- 
 be directed to any part of it, or stopped, at pleasure, by means 
 of a small quantity of clay. For instance, sometimes water 
 is required only from one corner of the aperture, then the 
 remaining part is stopped ; sometimes it is wanted from the 
 centre, then the extremes are stopped ; and sometimes only a 
 gentle rill is wanted, then the clay is applied accordingly. 
 Along the lower ends of the troughs a small channel is dug, 
 to carry oft' the water. On the heap of cascalhao, at equal 
 distances, are placed three high chairs, for the officers or over- 
 seers. After they are seated, the negroes enter the troughs, 
 each provided with a rake of a peculiar form, and short handle, 
 with which he rakes into the trough about fifty or eighty 
 pounds weight of cascalhao. The water being then let in 
 upon it, the cascalhao is spread abroad, and continually 
 raked up to the head of the trough, so as to be kept in con- 
 stant motion. This operation being performed for the space of 
 a quarter of an hour, the water then begins to run clearer; 
 havhig washed the earthy particles away, the gravel-like mat- 
 ter is raked up to the end of the trough ; after the current 
 flows away quite clear, the largest stones are thrown out, and 
 afterw'ards those of inferior size, then the whole is examined 
 with great care for diamonds. When a negro finds one, he 
 immediately stands upright and claps his hands, then extends 
 them, holding the gem between his fore finger and thumb ; 
 an overseer receives it from him, and deposits it in a gamella 
 or bowl, suspended from the centre of the structure, half full 
 of water. In this vessel all the diamonds found in the course 
 of the day, are placed, and at the close of work are taken out, 
 and delivered to the principal officer, who, after they have 
 been weighed, registers the particulars in a book kept for that 
 purpose. When a negro is so fortunate as to find a diamond 
 
DIAMOND MINE. 
 
 463 
 
 of the weight of 17 J carats, much ceremony immediately takes 
 place ; he is crowned with a wreath of flowers, and carried in 
 procession to the administrator, w.ho gives him his freedom, 
 by paying his owner for it. He also receives a present of 
 new clothes, and is permitted to work on his own account. 
 When a stone of eight or ten carats is found, the negro receives 
 two new shirts, a complete new suit, with a hat, and a hand- 
 some knife. For smaller stones of trivial amount, proportionate 
 premiums are given. During my stay at Tejuco, a stone of 
 16J carats was found : it was pleasing to see the anxious desire 
 manifested by the officers that it might prove heavy enough 
 to entitle the poor negro to his freedom; and when, on being 
 delivered and weighed, it proved only a carat short of the 
 requisite weight, all seemed to symj)athize in his disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Many precautions are taken to prevent the negroes from 
 embezzling diamonds. Although they work in a bent position, 
 and consequently never know whether the overseers are watch- 
 ing them or not, yet it is easy for them to omit gathering 
 any which they see, and to place them in a corner of the 
 trough for the purpose of secreting them at leisure hours; to 
 prevent which they are frequently changed while the opera- 
 tion is going on. A word of command being given by the 
 overseers, they instantly move into each others’ trouglis, so 
 that no opportunity of collusion can take place. If a negro 
 be suspected of having swallowed a diamond, he is confined 
 in a strong room until the fact can be ascertained. Formerly, 
 the punishment inflicted upon a negro for smuggling dia- 
 monds, was confiscation of his person to the state ; but it 
 being thought too hard for the owner to suffer for the offence 
 of his servant, the penalty has been commuted for personal 
 imprisonment and chastisement. This is a much lighter pun- 
 ishment than that which their owners, or any white man, would 
 suffer for a similar offence. 
 
 “ There is no particular regulation respecting the dress of the 
 negroes : they work in the clothes most suitable to the nature 
 of their employment, generally in a waistcoat and a pair of 
 drawers, and not naked, as some travellers have stated. 
 Their hours of labour are from a little before sunrise until 
 sunset, half an hour being allowed for breakfast, and two hours 
 at noon. While washing, they change their posture as often 
 as they please, which is very necessary, as the work requires 
 them to place their feet on the edges of the trough, and to 
 stoop considerably. This posture is particularly prejudicial 
 to young growing negroes, as it renders them in-kneed. Foik 
 or five times during the day, they all rest, when snuff, of which 
 they are very fond, is given to them. 
 
 “ The negroes are formed into working parties, called troops, 
 
464 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 containing 200 each, under the direction of an administrator 
 and inferior officers. Each troop has a clergyman and a sur« 
 geon to attend it. With respect to the subsistence of the 
 negroes, although the present governor has in some degree 
 improved it, by allowing a daily portion of fresh beef, which 
 was not allowed by his predecessors, yet I am sorry to observe 
 that it is still poor and scanty; and that in other respects they 
 are more hardly dealt with than those of any other establishment 
 which I visited : notwithstanding this, the owners are all 
 anxious to get their negroes into the service, doubtless from 
 sinister motives. 
 
 “ The officers are liberally paid, and live in a style of con- 
 siderable elegance, which a stranger would not be led to 
 expect in so remote a place. Our tables were daily covered 
 with a profusion of excellent viands, served up on fine Wedge- 
 wood ware, and the state of their household generally corre- 
 sponded with this essential part of it. They were ever ready 
 to assist me in my examination of the works, and freely gave 
 me all the necessary information respecting them 
 
 “ Having detailed the process of washing for diamonds, I 
 proceed to a general description of the situation in which they 
 are found. The flat pieces of ground on each side the river are 
 equally rich throughout their extent, and hence the officers 
 are enabled to calculate the value of an unworked place, by 
 comparison with the amount found on working with the part 
 adjoining. These known places are left in reserve, and trial 
 is made of more uncertain grounds. The following observa- 
 tion I often heard from the mtendant : ‘ That piece of ground 
 (speaking of an unworked flat by the side of the river) will 
 yield me ten thousand carats of diamonds, whenever we shall 
 be required to get them in the regular course of working, or 
 when, on any particular occasion, an order from government 
 arrives, demanding an extraordinary and immediate supply.^ 
 
 “ The substances accompanying diamonds, and considered 
 good indications of them, are bright bean-like iron ore, a 
 slaty flint-like substance, approaching Lydian stone, of fine 
 texture, black oxide of iron in great quantities, rounded bits 
 of blue quartz, yellow crystals, and other materials entirely 
 different from any thing known to be produced in the adjacent 
 mountains. Diamonds are by no means peculiar to the beds 
 of rivers or deep ravines ; they have been found in cavities 
 and watercourses on the summits of the most lofty mountains. 
 .1 had some conversation with the officers, respecting the 
 .matrix of the diamond, not a vestige of which could I trace, 
 'fhey informed me, that they often found diamonds cemented 
 in pudding-stone, accompanied with grains of gold, but that 
 they always broke them out, as they could not enter them in 
 the treasury, or weigh them with matter adhering to them. 
 
MINES OF PERU. 
 
 466 
 
 I obtained a mass of pudding-stone, apparently of very lecent 
 formation, cemented by ferruginous matter enveloping many 
 grains of gold ; and likewise a few pounds weight of the 
 cascalhao in its unwashed state. This river, and other streams 
 in its vicinity, have been in washing many years, and have 
 produced great quantities of diamonds, which have ever been 
 reputed of the finest quality. They vary in size: some are so 
 small that four or five are required to weigh one grain, con- 
 sequently sixteen or twenty to the carat: there are seldom 
 found more than two or three stones of from seventeen to 
 twenty carats in the course of a year, and not once in two 
 years is there found throughout the whole washings a stone 
 of thirty carats. During the five days I was here, they were 
 not very successful ; the whole quantity found amounted 
 only to forty, the largest of which was only four carats, and 
 of a light green colour. 
 
 “ From the great quantity of debris, or worked cascalhao, 
 in every part near the river, it is reasonable to calculate that 
 the works have been in operation above forty years ; of course 
 there must arrive a period at which they will be ex- 
 hausted, but there are grounds in the neighbourhood, particu- 
 larly in the Cerro de St. Antonio, and in the country now 
 inhabited by the Indians, which will probably afford these 
 gems in equal abundance.” 
 
 The Mines of Peru. — There are great numbers of very 
 rich mines which the waters of the ocean have invaded. 
 The disposition of the ground, which from the summit of the 
 Cordilleras goes continually shelving to the South Sea, ren- 
 ders such events more common at Peru than in other places. 
 This has been in some instances remedied. Joseph Salcedo, 
 about 1660, discovered, near Puna, the mine of Laycacoto. It 
 was so rich that they often cut the silver with a chisel. It 
 was at last overflowed with water; but in 1740, Diego de 
 Bacua associated with others to divert the springs. The 
 labours which this difficult undertaking required, were not 
 finished till 1754. The mine yields as much as it did at first. 
 But mines still richer have been discovered ; such as that of 
 Potosi, which was found in the same country where the Incas 
 worked that of Parco. An Indian, named Hualpa, in 1545, 
 pursuing some deer, in order to climb certain steep rocks, laid 
 hold of a bush, the roots of which loosened from the earth, 
 and brought to view an ingot of silver. The Indian had 
 recourse to it for his own use. The change in his fortune 
 was remarked by one of his countrymen, and he discovered to 
 him the secret. The two friends could not keep their counsel, 
 and enjoy their good fortune. They quarrelled ; on which 
 the indiscreet confidant discovered the whole to his master, 
 20. 3 N 
 
466 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 Villaroel, a Spaniard. Upon this the mine was worked, and 
 a great number of others were found in its vicinity, the prin- 
 cipal of w'hich are in the northern part of the mountain, and 
 their direction is from north to south. The fame of Potosi 
 soon spread abroad; and there was quickly built at the foot 
 of the mountain a town, consisting of 60,000 Indians, and 
 10,000 Spaniards. The sterility of the soil did not prevent 
 its being immediately peopled. Corn, fruit, flocks, American 
 stuffs, and European luxuries, arrived from every quarter. In 
 1738 these mines produced annually near £978,000, without 
 reckoning the silver which was not registered, and what had 
 been carried off by fraud. From that time the produce has been 
 so much diminished, that not above one-eighth part of the coin 
 which was formerly struck, is now made. At all the mines of 
 Peru, the Spaniards, in purifying their gold and silver, use 
 mercury, with which they are supplied from Guanca Velica. 
 The common opinion is, that this mine was discovered in 
 1564. The trade of mercury was then free ; it became 
 an exclusive trade in 1571. At this period all the mines of 
 mercury were shut; and that of Guanca Velica alone was 
 worked ; the property of which the king reserved to him- 
 self. It is not found to diminish. The mine is dug in the 
 very large mountain of Potosi, sixty leagues from Lima. In 
 its profound abyss are seen streets, squares, and a chapel, 
 where the mysteries of religion on all festivals are celebrated. 
 Millions of flambeaus are continually kept to enlighten it 
 The mine of Guanca Velica generally affects those who work 
 in it with convulsions ; and the other mines, which are not 
 less unhealthy, are all worked by the Peruvians. These 
 unfortunate victims of an insatiable avarice are crowded all 
 together, and plunged naked into these abysses, the greatest 
 part of which are deep, and all excessively cold. Tyranny 
 has invented this refinement in cruelty, to render it impossible 
 for any thing to escape its restless vigilance. If there are 
 any wretches who long survive such barbarity, it is the use of 
 cocoa that preserves them. 
 
 We shall incorporate in this chapter, the following interesting 
 account of Volcanic Eruptions of Mud and Salt, in 
 the Island of Java ; by T. S. Goad, Esq. of the Honourable 
 Company’s Bengal Civil Service. 
 
 “ Having received (says the writer) an extraordinary account 
 of a natural phenomenon in the plains of Grobogan, fifty pals 
 (or miles) north-east of Solo, a party, of which I was one, 
 set off from Solo on the eighth of September, 1815, to ex- 
 amine it. 
 
 “ On approaching the village of Kuhoo, we saw, between 
 two trees in a plain, an appearance like the surf breaking over 
 
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS OF MUD AND SALT. 467 
 
 rocks, with a strong spray falling to leeward. The spot was 
 completely surrounded by huts, for the manufacture of salt, 
 and at a distance looked like a large village. Alighting, we 
 went to the Bludugs, as the Javanese call them. They are 
 situated in the village of Kuhoo, and by Europeans are called 
 by that name. We found them to be on an elevated plain of 
 mud, about two miles in circumference, in the centre of which 
 immense bodies of salt mud were thrown up, to the height of 
 from ten to fifteen feet, in the form of large globes, w'hich, 
 bursting, emitted volumes of dense white smoke. These 
 large globes or bubbles, of which there were two, continued 
 throwing up, and bursting seven or eight times in a minute 
 At times they throw up two or three tons of mud. We got to 
 leeward of the smoke, and found it to smell like the wash 
 ing of a gun-barrel. 
 
 “As the globes burst, they threw the mud out from the 
 centre with a pretty loud noise, occasioned by the fal'ling of 
 the mud upon that which surrounded it, and of which the 
 plain is composed. It was difficult and dangerous to approach 
 the large globes or bubbles, as the ground was all a quagmire, 
 except where the surface of the mud had become hardened 
 by the sun ; upon this we approached cautiously to within 
 fifty yards of the largest bubble, or mud pudding, as it might 
 very properly be called, for it was of the consistency ofa custard- 
 pudding, and of very considerable diameter: here and there, 
 where the foot accidentally rested on a spot not sufficiently 
 hardened, it sunk, to the no small distress of the walker. 
 
 “ We also got close to a small globe or bubble, (the plain 
 being full of them of different sizes,) and observed it closely for 
 some time. It appeared to heave and swell, and when the 
 internal air had raised it to some height, it burst, and fell 
 down in concentric circles, in which shape it remained quiet 
 until a sufficient quantity of air w'as again formed internally, 
 to raise and burst another bubble. This continued at intervals 
 from about one-half to two minutes. From varioirs other 
 parts of the quagmire round the large globes or bubbles, there 
 were occasionally small quantities of mud shot up like rockets 
 to the height of twenty or thirty feet, and accompanied by 
 smoke. This was in parts where the mud was of too stiff a 
 consistency to rise in globes or bubbles. The mud at all the 
 places we came near was cold on the surface, but we were 
 told it was warm beneath. The water which drains from the 
 mud is collected by the Javanese, and by being exposed in 
 the hollows of split bamboos to the rays of the sun, deposits 
 crystals of salt. The salt thus made is reserved exclusively 
 for the Emperor of Solo. In dry weather it yields thirty 
 dudjins, of one hundred catties each, every month; but in wet 
 or cloudy weather, less. 
 
468 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 “ In the afternoon we rode to a place in a forest, called Ram • 
 sam, to view a salt lake, a mud hillock, and various boiling, 
 or rather bubbling, pools. The lake was about half a mile in 
 circumference, of a dirty looking water, boiling up all over 
 in gurgling bodies, but more particularly in the centre, which 
 appeared like a strong spring ; the water was quite cold, and 
 tasted bitter, salt, and sour, and had an offensive smell. 
 About thirty yards from the lake stood the mud hillock, which 
 was about fifteen feet high from the level of the earth. The 
 diameter of its base was about twenty-five yards, its top 
 about eight feet, and in form an exact cone. The top is open, 
 and the interior keeps constantly working, and heaving up 
 mud in globular forms, like the Bludugs. The hillock is en- 
 tirely formed of mud which has flowed out of the top; every 
 rise of the mud was accompanied by a rumbling noise from 
 the bottom of the hillock, which was distinctly heard for some 
 seconds before the bubbles burst. The outside of the hillock 
 was quite firm. We stood on the edge of the opening and 
 sounded it, and found it to be eleven fathoms deep. The mud 
 was more liquid than at the Bludugs, and no smoke was 
 emitted from the lake, hillock, or pools. 
 
 “ Close to the foot of the hillock was a small pool of the same 
 water as the lake, which appeared exactly like a pot of water 
 boiling violently ; it was shallow, except in the centre, into 
 which we thrust a stick twelve feet long, but found no bottom. 
 The hole not being perpendicular, we could not sound it with 
 a line. 
 
 “ About 200 yards from the lake, were several large pools or 
 springs, two of which were eight or ten feet in diameter. They 
 were like the small pool, but boiled more violently, and smelt 
 excessively. The ground around them was hot to the feet, and 
 the air which issued from them quite hot, so that it was most 
 probably inflammable ; but we did not ascertain this. We 
 heard the boiling at the distance of thirty yards from the pools, 
 resembling in noise a waterfall. The pools did not overflow ; 
 of course the bubbling was occasioned by the rising of air 
 alone. The water of one of the pools appeared to contain a 
 mixture of earth and lime, and, from the taste, to be combined 
 with alkali. The water of the Bludugs and the lake is used 
 medicinally by the Javanese, and cattle drinking of the water 
 are poisoned. 
 
 Now follows an account of Pitch-Wells ; from Dr. Hol- 
 land’s Travels in the Ionian Isles, &c. — “ The pitch-wells of 
 Zante are a natural phenomenon, which may be regarded as 
 among the antiquities of the isle ; since they were known and 
 described as early as the time of Herodotus, and are men 
 tinned since by Pausanias, Pliny, and other authors They 
 
VISIT TO A COAL-PIT. 
 
 469 
 
 are situated about ten miles from the city, and near the shore 
 of the bay, on the southern side of the island. We visited 
 this spot, which is called Chieri, a day or two after our arri- 
 val in Zante. A small tract of marshy ground, stretching down 
 to the sea, and surrounded on other sides by low eminences 
 of limestone, or a bituminous shale, is the immediate situation 
 of the springs ; they are found in three or four different places 
 of the morass, appearing as small pools, the sides and bottom 
 of which are thickly lined with petroleum, in a viscid state, 
 and, by agitation, easily raised in large flakes to the surface. 
 The most remarkable of these pools is one of a circular form, 
 about fifty feet in circumference, and a few feet in depth, in 
 which the petroleum has accumulated to a considerable quan- 
 tity. The water of the spring, which is doubtless the means 
 of conveying the mineral upwards to the surface, forms a small 
 stream from the pool, sensibly impregnated with bituminous 
 matter, which it deposits in parts as it flows through the 
 morass : the other pools are of similar character. The petro- 
 leum is collected generally once in the year ; and the average 
 quantity obtained from the springs is said to be about 100 
 barrels ; it is chiefly used for the caulking of vessels, not 
 being found to answer equally well for cordage.*’ 
 
 We close this chapter with Mrs. Wakefield’s account of her 
 Visit to a Coal-Pit. — “Near the town of Newcastle, in the 
 county of Northumberland, are vast beds of coal, which lie 
 far beneath the surface of the earth : they are often found at 
 the depth of 100 feet. Our visit to one of them was rather a 
 droll adventure. The first ceremony was, to put on a kind of 
 frock that covered us all over, to prevent spoiling our clothes. 
 We were then shewn a prodigious steam-engine at work, at 
 the mouth of the pit, in order to drain off’ the water; and 
 
 close to it, a ventilator for purifying the air in the pit. Our 
 
 guides now seated us on a piece of board, slung in a rope like 
 the seat of a swing, and hooked to an iron chain, which was 
 let gently down the suffocating hole by the assistance of six 
 horses. I must confess, I did not like this mode of travelling: 
 my spirits w^ere, however, rather cheered when I reached the 
 solid bottom, and saw my friend at my side. He congratu- 
 lated me on my safe arrival ; and pointed to a huge fire, 
 
 burning for the purpose of keeping the air in proper tempera- 
 ture. Gaining courage by a nearer examination, I walked 
 about the chambers with as much ease as if they had been the 
 apartments of a dwelling-house. The coal is hollowed out in 
 spaces of four yards wide, between which are left pillars of 
 coal to support the roof, ten yards broad, and twenty deep. 
 After exploring a dozen or two of these little apartments, our 
 curiosity was satisfied, as there was nothing more to be seen 
 
470 
 
 CURtOSITIES RESPECTING MINES. 
 
 but a repetition of the same objects to avast extent. A num- 
 ber of horses live here for years together, and seem to enjoy 
 themselves very comfortably : they are employed to draw the 
 coal from the subterraneous passages to the bottom of the 
 opening of the pit. The machine which raises the coal to the 
 surface of the earth, is worked by stout horses. The coal 
 is brought in strong baskets, made of osier ; they contain 
 each 12 cwt. and while one ascends, the other descends. A 
 man receives these baskets as they arrive at the top, and 
 places them on a dray, having hooked an empty basket on,, 
 instead of the full one. Before he drives the dray to a shed at 
 a little distance, where he empties his load, the dust passes 
 through holes prepared to receive it; while the large coals 
 roll down the declivity in heaps, where they are loaded in 
 waggons, and carried to wharfs on the river side, to be put 
 on board the vessels that wait to convey them to distant parts. 
 The waggons, very heavily laden, run without horses to the 
 water side, along a road ingeniously formed in a sloping direc- 
 tion, with grooves to fit the waggon wheels, and make them 
 go more readily. The dust, which is too small for common 
 fires, is put into a kiln well heated, and when it is burnt, the 
 particles unite, and run into large cakes or masses : in that 
 state it is called coke, and this substance is used in many 
 manufactories, where a strong heat is required. 
 
 There are also coal-mines in several other parts of England. 
 Near Whitehaven, in the county of Cumberland, are some 
 that extend half a mile under the sea. The collieries employ a 
 great number of hardy sailors, who, in their frequent coasting- 
 voyages, are accustomed to face all the dangers of a sea-life. 
 In time of war they contribute to man our navy; and, from 
 their courage and skill, form a very valuable part of the 
 crews.’’ 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE SEA. 
 
 471 
 
 CHAP. XLIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 General Observations respecting the Sea, or Ocean — Particular 
 Curiosities of the Sea — Oti the Saltness of the Sea — On the 
 Tides — Waves stilled by Oil. 
 
 “ And thou, majestic main, 
 
 A secret world of wonders in thyself! 
 
 Sound His stupendous praise, whose greater voice 
 Or bids you roar, or bids your roaring fall V* 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING THE SEA, OR OCEAN. 
 
 The sea, or ocean, is that vast tract of water which encom- 
 passes the whole earth. What proportion the superficies of 
 the sea bears to that of the land, is not precisely known, 
 though it is said to be somewhat more than two-thirds. As 
 the waters of the earth must necessarily rise to the surface 
 thereof, it being specifically lighter than the earth, it was 
 necessary there should be large cavities therein, as receptacles 
 to contain them, otherwise they would have overspread all the 
 surface of the earth, and so have rendered it utterly uninhabit- 
 able for terrestrial animals : it is well known, that the centre 
 of the earth is the common centre of gravity, and that the 
 nature of fluids is such, that they equally yield to equal powers ; 
 hence it follows, that where the power of attraction is every 
 where the same at equal distances from the centre, the super- 
 ficial parts of the water will every where conform themselves 
 to this attractive power, at an equidistant situation from the 
 centre, and, it is evident, will form the surface of a sphere, so 
 far as they extend. The reason then that the sea seems higher 
 than the land, results from the fallacy of vision, whereby 
 all objects, whether on the land or sea, appear higher as they 
 become more distant: and the reason will be plain to those 
 who are acquainted with optics ; for it is well known, that 
 the denser any medium is, through which we behold objects, 
 the greater is the refraction, or the more their images appear 
 above the horizontal level ; while the greater the quantity of 
 medium through which the rays pass, the more they will be bent 
 from their first direction : on both these accounts, the appear- 
 ances of things at a great distance, both on the land and the 
 sea, will be somewhat above the horizon, and the more so as 
 they are the more remote. 
 
 With regard to the depth or profundity of the sea, Vare- 
 nius affirms, that it is in some places unfathomable, in other 
 
472 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 places very various, being from fifty yards to four and a half 
 English miles, in some places deeper, and that the depth 
 is much less in bays than in oceans. In general, the depths 
 of the sea bear a great analogy to the height of mountains on 
 the land, so far as discoveries have hitherto extended. It is 
 a general rule among sailors, and is found to hold true in 
 many instances, that the more the shores of any place are 
 steep and high, forming perpendicular cliffs, the deeper the 
 sea is below; and that, on the contrary, level shores denote 
 shallow waters. Thus, the deepest part of the Mediterranean 
 is generally allowed to be under the heights of Malta. And 
 the observation of the strata of earth and other fossils, on 
 and near the shores, may serve to form a good judgment as 
 to the materials to be found in the bottom of the sea; for the 
 veins of salt and bitumen doubtless run on in the same 
 order as we see them on the shore. If we may reason from 
 analogy, the strata of rocks, that serve as a foundation for hills 
 and elevated places on shore, serve also, in the same continued 
 chain, to support the immense quantity of water in the basin 
 of the sea. 
 
 The coral fisheries have given occasion to observe, that there 
 are many, and those very large caverns or hollows in the 
 bottom of the sea, especially where it is rocky, and that the 
 like caverns are sometimes found in the perpendicular rocks 
 which form the steep sides of those fisheries. These caverns 
 are often of great depth as well as extent, and have some- 
 times wide mouths, and sometimes only narrow entrances, into 
 large and spacious hollows. 
 
 The bottom of the sea is covered with a variety of materials, 
 such as could not be imagined by any but those who have 
 examined into them, especially in deep water, where the sur- 
 face only is disturbed by tides and storms; the lower part, 
 and consequently its bed at the bottom, remaining, for ages 
 perhaps, undisturbed. The soundings, when the plummet first 
 touches the ground, on approaching the shores, give some 
 idea of this. The bottom of the plummet is hollowed, and in 
 that hollow there is placed a lump of tallow, which is the 
 first part that touches the ground ; and the soft nature of the fat 
 receives into it some part of those substances which it meets 
 with at the bottom ; the substances thus brought up, are 
 sometimes pure sand, sometimes a kind of sand made of the 
 fragments of shells beaten to a sort of powder, sometimes 
 they are composed of a like powder to the several sorts of 
 corals, and sometimes they are composed of fragments of 
 rocks ; but besides these appearances, which are natural enough, 
 and are what might well be expected, it brings up substances 
 which are of the most beautiful colours. 
 
 Dr. Donati, in an Italian work, containing an essay on a 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATION*. 
 
 473 
 
 natural history of the Adriatic Sea, has related many curious 
 observations on this subject: having carefully examined the 
 soil and productions of the various countries that surround 
 the Adriatic Sea, and compared them with those which he 
 took up from the bottom of the sea, he found that there was 
 very little difference between the former and the latter. At 
 the bottom of the water there are mountains, plains, valleys, 
 and caverns, similar to those upon land. The soil consists of 
 different strata, placed one upon another, and mostly parallel 
 and correspondent to those of the rocks, islands, and neigh- 
 bouring continents. They contain stones of different sorts, 
 minerals, metals, various petrified bodies, pumice stones, and 
 lavas formed by volcanoes. One of the objects which most 
 excited his attention, was a crust, which he discovered under 
 the water, composed of crustaceous and testaceous bodies, 
 with beds of polypes of different kinds, confusedly blended 
 with earth, sand, and gravel : the different marine bodies, 
 which form this crust, are found at the depth of a foot or 
 more, entirely petrified, and reduced into marble; these, he 
 supposes, are the natural beds of the sea, and not made so 
 by means of volcanoes and earthquakes, as some have con- 
 jectured. On this account, he imagines that the bottom of 
 the sea is constantly rising higher and higher, with which 
 other obvious causes of increase concur ; and from this rising 
 of the bottom of the sea, that of its level or surface naturally 
 results; in proof of which, this writer recites a great number 
 of facts. 
 
 M. Dassie has been at great pains to prove, that the sea 
 has a general motion, independently of winds and tides, and 
 that it is of more consequence in navigation than is generally 
 supposed. He affirms, that this motion is from east to west; 
 inclining towards the north, when the sun has passed the 
 equinoctial northward, during the time he is passing through 
 the northern signs; but the contrary way, after the sun has 
 passed the said equinoctial southward : adding, that when 
 this general motion is changed, the diurnal flux is changed 
 also; whence it happens, that in several places the tides come 
 in during one part of the year, and go out during the other, 
 as on the coasts of Norway, in the Indies at Goa, Cochin- 
 china, &c. where, while the sun is in the summer signs, the 
 sea runs to the shore ; and when in the winter signs, runs 
 from it. On the most southern coasts of Tonquin and China, 
 for the six summer months, the diurnal course runs from the 
 north with the ocean ; but the sun having repassed the line 
 toward the south, the course declines also southward. 
 
 There are two principal reasons why the sea does not in- 
 crease by means of rivers, &.c. falling every where into it. 
 The first is, because waters return from the sea by subterranean 
 
 3 O 
 
474 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 cavities and aqueducts, through various parts of the eartH. 
 Secondly, because th-e quantity of vapours raised from the 
 sea, and falling on the land, only cause a circulation, but no 
 increase of water. It has been found, by calculation, that in 
 a summer’s day there may be raised in vapours, from the 
 Mediterranean Sea, 5,280,000,000 tons of water, and yet this sea 
 receiveth not, from all its nine great rivers, above 1,827,000,000 
 tons per day, which is but a third part of what is exhausted 
 in vapours. . 
 
 The ascent of the sea for the formation of springs, by a sub- 
 terranean circulation of its water to their sources, has been a 
 great objection, with many, against the system which ascribes 
 their origin to the ocean ; but Dr. Plot has observed, that 
 there are many ways by which the water may ascend above 
 its own level: 1. By the means of subterranean heat. 
 2. By filtration. 3. By the unequal height of several seas. 
 4. By the distance of the centre of magnitude from the centre 
 of gravity in the terraqueous globe; the superficies of the 
 Pacific Sea being said to be further from the centre of gravity 
 than the top of the highest hill on the adverse part of the 
 globe. And, 5. By the help of storms. The sea water ac- 
 tually ascends above its own level, and finds its way into wells, 
 whose bottoms lie higher than the surface of the sea at high- 
 water mark. 
 
 We shall now enter more particularly on The Curiosities 
 OF THE Sea. — For the following observations we are prin- 
 cipally indebted to Sturm. 
 
 “ Instead of regarding the sea as an object of terror, let us 
 consider the wonders and the benefits which it presents to us. 
 It must be granted that when the waves swell into mountains, 
 and the tempest roars, its aspect is terrific ; and we must be 
 hardy indeed, not to consider it as a most formidable element 
 in such times of awful visitation, when ships, breaking from 
 their anchor, or driven from their course, rush before the winds 
 that beat upon them with ungovernable fury, till, dismasted, 
 and their rigging shivered in fragments, they sink, over- 
 whelmed with a weight of waters, or strike some sand-bank, 
 01 shelving rock, and are at once dashed to pieces. Some- 
 times whirlpools, or vast masses of water with a violently 
 circu.ar motion, whirl the unfortunate vessel that fate urges 
 into their vortex, with irresistible force, till the helpless victim 
 sinks an easy prey to the tremendous gulf, and the cries of 
 the unfortunate wretches are lost in the roar of the waves : 
 these whirlpools are occasioned by rocks in the ocean, and 
 the meeting of numerous currents and eddies. Not less 
 dangerous are the waterspouts, that the wind raises from the 
 sea to the clouds ; they hover in the air high above the ocean, 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 475 
 
 and the wind whirls them round with violence. They often 
 burst with a great crash, and occasion much mischief; for if 
 they fall upon a vessel, they destroy its rigging, and some- 
 times sink it to, the bottom. 
 
 “ But it would be highly unjust and ungrateful, only to con- 
 sider the losses occasioned by the sea, without reflecting upon 
 the magnificent and stupendous works of God, and that 
 goodness which even visits the unfathomable depths of the 
 ocean. The first thing that strikes us, upon the investigation 
 of sea water, is its saltness ; a pound of the water containing 
 about two ounces of salt. Sea salt appears lighter than that 
 we commonly use, and yet it is not attracted by the air, noi 
 lessened by the continual influx of fresh water ; the cause of 
 this is unknown. If this peculiar quality arose from moun- 
 tains of salt contained in the sea, it would be salter in some 
 places than in others, of which we have no proof. But what- 
 ever is the occasion of this saline property of the sea, it is 
 absolutely necessary to accomplish certain ends. It is that 
 which preserves such a vast body of water from corruption, 
 and renders it capable of supporting a greater weight. The 
 colour of sea water is also deserving of attention : it is not 
 every where alike, which perhaps arises in part from its re- 
 flecting the colour of the bottom and that of the sky. It 
 often appears dark and black in deep abysses, white and 
 foaming during a storm, silvery, and gilded with reflections of 
 the most beautiful hue, when the last rays of the setting sun 
 play upon the unruffled surface : the colour of the sea, in 
 addition to these, varies., from numberless insects, marine 
 plants, and the combination of the different substances which 
 the rivers and torrents carry with them into the ocean. When 
 it is calm, and not a breeze skims over its bosom, it some- 
 times glitters with the most brilliant stars; and the track of a 
 ship cleaving the waves has often a luminous appearance, like 
 a river of fire. 
 
 The creatures which inhabit the sea excite our surprise and 
 admiration ; we there discover a new world, and the number 
 of beings which compose it is prodigious. Aquatic animals 
 are not so numerous in their species as the land animals ; but 
 they surpass them in size and duration. The elephant and 
 ostrich yield in bulk to the whale, the largest fish of the ocean, 
 its length being often from sixty to seventy feet; and no land 
 animal can vie with it in longevity, for it lives as long as the 
 oak. If we may rely upon certain accounts, there are crea- 
 tures in the ocean, far exceeding the size of the whale; as the 
 animal called kraken, said to exist in the northern seas, and 
 whose circumference is half a German league. Who is able 
 to number the different species of animals which people the 
 seas? or who can determine their form, structure, size, and 
 
476 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 properties ? How infinitely great is that God who has created 
 the sea ! will be the conclusion of all who investigate the 
 subject, and it is not without the wisest reasons that the 
 Creator has made the ocean and the seas to occupy two-thirds 
 of the whole globe. The seas were designed not only to form 
 great reservoirs of water, but by means of their evaporation to be 
 the sources of rain, snow, and various meteors. What wis- 
 dom is displayed in the connection which the seas have with 
 each other, and in their continual motion ! And it is not less 
 wonderful that the bottom of the ocean is of the same nature 
 as the surface of the earth. There are found in the sea, rocks, 
 caverns, plains, springs, plants, and animals; and the islands 
 are only the summits of a long chain of mountains. When 
 we consider that the seas form a part of the globe the least 
 investigated, we are disposed to believe that they contai 
 many more wonders, which neither the senses nor the undei> 
 standing of man can penetrate, while all acknowledge th 
 adorable wisdom and power of the Most High. To Him thei ^ 
 who has established the monuments of his grandeur and th- 
 sceptre of his glory in the ocean, as upon the earth, be ascribe 
 all admiration and praise !” 
 
 The following opinions of a late celebrated philosopher and 
 divine, on the Saltness of the Sea, may not be unac- 
 ceptable to our readers : — ‘‘ There are few questions, (observes 
 Bishop Watson,) respecting the natural history of our globe, 
 which have been discussed with more attention, or decided 
 with less satisfaction, than that concerning the primary cause 
 of the saltness of the sea. The solution of it had perplexed 
 the philosophers before the time of Aristotle ; it surpassed 
 his own great genius ; and those of his followers, who have 
 attempted to support his arguments, have been betrayed into 
 very ill-grounded conclusions concerning it. Father Kircher, 
 after having consulted three and thirty authors upon the sub- 
 ject, could not help remarking, that the fluctuations of the 
 ocean itself were scarcely more various than the opinions of 
 men concerning the origin of its saline impregnation. The 
 question does not seem capable of admitting an illustration 
 from experiment; at least no experiments have hitherto been 
 made for that purpose, and therefore we may be the less sur- 
 prised at its remaining nearly as problematical in the present 
 age, as it has been in the preceding. Had there, indeed, 
 been any observation made three or four centuries ago, ascer- 
 taining the saltness of the sea at any particular time and place ; 
 we might, by similar observations at the same place and 
 the same season, have been able to know whether the salt- 
 ness at that particular place was an increasing, decreasing, or 
 an invariable quantity ; and this kind and degree of know- 
 
SALTNESS OF THE SEA. 
 
 477 
 
 ledge would have served as a clue to direct us to a full inves- 
 tigation of this matter in general ; but it is to be regretted, 
 that no such obser\ations have, till very lately, been made 
 with any tolerable precision. — There are three principal opi- 
 nions on this subject, which have been maintained by philo- 
 sophers of modern date; some, observing that river water, 
 almost in every part of the globe, is in a greater or less 
 degree impregnated with sea salt, have thought that the sea 
 has gradually acquired its present quality of salt from the 
 long-continued influx of rivers. 
 
 Other philosophers, observing that large beds of fossil 
 salt are not unfrequent in any quarter of the globe ; and con- 
 ceiving, with great probability, the bottom of the sea to be 
 analogous in its formation to the surface of the earth, have 
 undertaken to derive its saltness from the beds of rock salt, 
 which they have supposed to be situated at its bottom ; and 
 they are further of opinion, that without such a permanent 
 saline principle, the sea would long since have become insipid 
 from the fresh water poured into it by an infinity of rivers. 
 Strange ! that what, according to the fore-mentioned hypo- 
 thesis, was thought suflScient to account for the saltness of 
 the sea, should in this be esteemed instrumental in annihilat- 
 ing the saltness already supposed to exist. 
 
 Boyle unites, as it were, and takes the two preceding 
 hypotheses, and imagines the saltness of the sea to be sup- 
 plied, not only from rocks and other masses of salt, which at the 
 beginning were, and in some countries may yet be found, either 
 at the bottom of the sea, or at the sides, where the water can 
 reach them, but also from the salt which the rivers, rains, and 
 other waters, dissolve in their passage through divers parts of 
 the earth, and at length carry with them into the sea. Buffon, 
 and the generality of philosophers, acquiesce in the opinion of 
 Boyle. — “ After all, (says he,) it maybe observed, that we are in- 
 quiring into the cause of a phenomenon, which it may be said 
 had no secondary cause at all. It is taken for granted, in this 
 disquisition, that the water which covered the globe in its 
 chaotic state, was not impregnated with salt as at present, but 
 quite fresh : now this is an opinion concerning a matter of fact, 
 which can never be proved either way ; and surely we extend 
 our speculations very far, when we attempt to explain a phe- 
 nomenon, primeval to, or coeval with, the formation of the 
 earth." 
 
 This sensible writer then states the different experiments 
 which have been made to discover the saltness of the sea, 
 round the shores of Britain ; and proposes the following 
 simple method of ascertaining it with tolerable certainty : — 
 
 ** As it is not every person who can make himself expert in 
 the use of common means of estimating the quantity of salt 
 
478 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 contained in sea water, I will mention a method of doing it, 
 which is so easy and simple, that every common sailor may 
 understand and practise it; and which, at the same time, 
 from the trials I have made of it, seems to be as exact a 
 method as any that has yet been thought of. — Take a 
 clean towel, or any other piece of cloth ; dry it well before the 
 sun or before the fire, then weigh it accurately, and note 
 down its weight; dip it in the sea water, and, when taken out, 
 wring it a little till it will not drip when hung up to dry ; 
 weigh it in this wet state, then dry it in the sun or at the fire, 
 and when it is perfectly dry, weigh it again : the excess of 
 the weip-ht of the wetted cloth above its orio-inal weight, is 
 the weight of the sea water imbibed by the cloth; and the 
 excess of the weight of the cloth after being dried, above its 
 original weight, is the specific gravity of the salt retained by 
 the cloth; and by comparing this weight with the weight of 
 the sea water imbibed by the cloth, we obtain the proportion 
 of salt contained in that species of sea water.’’ ^ 
 
 Whoever undertakes to ascertain the quantity of salt con- 
 tained in sea water, either by this or any other method, would 
 do well to observe the state of the weather preceding the time 
 when the sea water is taken out of the sea; for the quantity 
 of salt contained in the water near the surface, may be in- 
 fluenced, both by the antecedent moisture, and the antecedent 
 heat of the atmosphere. And this leads to the consideration 
 of a question proposed by Aristotle, — Why are the upper parts 
 of the sea salter and warmer than the lower? Some philoso- 
 phers, admitting the fact, have followed him in attempting to 
 explain it; whilst others have thought themselves authorized 
 by experiment to deny the truth of the position ; and those, 
 perhaps, will argue with the greatest justness, who shall 
 affirm that it is neither generally to be admitted, nor generally 
 to be rejected, but that the sea in some places, and under 
 certain circumstances, is salter and warmer at the surface, than 
 at any considerable depth beneath it, while in many others 
 the reverse is true. The question consists of two parts, be- 
 twixt which, though there probably is a connection, yet it is 
 not so necessary a one as to hinder us from considering each 
 part by itself. 
 
 With regard to the use of this salt property of sea water, 
 it is observed, that the saltness of the sea preserves its waters 
 pure and sweet, which otherwise would corrupt, and emit a 
 stench like a filthy lake, and consequently that none of the 
 myriads of creatures which now live therein could exist. From 
 thence also the sea water becomes much heavier, and tlierefore 
 ships of greater size and burden are safely borne thereon. 
 Salt water also does not freeze so soon as fresh water, hence 
 the seas are more free for navigation 
 
THE TIDES. 
 
 479 
 
 We shall now make a few observations on The Tides: — 
 
 Say, why should the collected main 
 Itself within itself contain? 
 
 Why to its caverns should it sometimes cree 
 And with delipjhted silence sleep 
 On the lov’d bosom of its parent deep? 
 
 Why should its num’rous waters stay 
 In comely discipline and fair array, 
 
 Till winds and tides exert their high commands? 
 
 Then prompt and ready to obey, 
 
 Why do the rising surges spread 
 Their op’ning ranks o’er earth’s submissive head, 
 
 Marching through different paths to different lands ? Prior, 
 
 The tides consist of two periodical motions of the waters of 
 the sea, called the flux and reflux, or the flow and ebb. The 
 cause of the tides is the attraction of the sun and moon, but 
 chiefly of the latter; the waters of the immense ocean, forget- 
 ful, as it were, of their natural rest, move and roll in tides, 
 obsequious to the strong attractive power of the moon, and 
 weaker influence of the sun. 
 
 That the tides may have their full motion, the ocean in 
 which they are produced ought to be extended from east to 
 west 90®, or a quarter of a great circle of the earth, at least; 
 because the places where the moon raises most, and most 
 depresses the water, are at that distance from one another. 
 Hence it appears, that it is only in the great oceans that such 
 tides can be produced, and why, in the large Pacific ocean, 
 they exceed those in the Atlantic. From this it is also 
 obvious why the tides are not so great in the torrid zone, 
 between Africa and America, where the ocean is narrower, as 
 in the temperate zones on either side; and from this also, 
 we may understand why the tides are so small in islands that 
 are very far distant from the shore. It is manifest, that, in 
 the Atlantic ocean, the water cannot rise on one shore, but by 
 descending on the other; so that, on these shores, at an inter- 
 mediate distance, it must continue at about a mean height 
 between its elevation on the one, and descent on the other 
 shore. As the tides pass over shoals, and run through 
 streights into bays of the sea, their motion becomes more 
 various, and their height depends on a great many circum- 
 stances. The tide that is produced in the western coast of 
 Europe corresponds to the theory above described : thus, it 
 is high water on the coast of Spain, Portugal, and the west of 
 Ireland, about the third hour after the moon has passed the 
 meridian; from thence it flows into the adjacent channels, as 
 it finds the easiest passage. One current from it, for example, 
 runs up by the south of England, and another comes in by 
 the north of Scotland ; they take a considerable time to move 
 all this way and it is high water sooner in the places to 
 
480 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 which they first come; and the tides even begin to fallal 
 those places, while the two currents are yet going on to 
 others that are further in their course. As they return, they 
 are not able to raise a tide ; because the water runs faster off 
 than it returns, till by a new tide propagated from the ocean, 
 the return of the current is stopped, and the water begins to 
 rise again. The tide takes twelve hours to come from the 
 ocean to London bridge, so that, when it is high water there 
 a new tide is already come to its height in the ocean, and, in 
 some intermediate place, it must be low water at the same 
 time. 
 
 In channels, therefore, and narrow seas, the progress of the 
 tides may be, in some respects, compared to the motion of 
 the waves of the sea. It may be observed, that when the 
 tide runs over shoals, and flows upon flat shores, the water 
 is raised to a greater height than in the open and deep 
 oceans that have steep banks ; because the force of its motion 
 cannot be broken upon these level shores, till the water rises 
 to a greater height. If a place communicates with two 
 oceans, (or two different ways with the same ocean, one of 
 which is a readier and easier passage than the other,) two 
 tides may arrive at that place in different times, which, inter- 
 fering with each other, may produce a greater variety of 
 phenomena. 
 
 An extraordinary instance of this kind is mentioned at 
 Bathsha, a port in the kingdom of Tonquin in the East Indies, 
 of northern latitude 20® 50'. The day in which the moon 
 ipasses the equator, the water stagnates there without any 
 iinotion: as the moon removes from the equator, the water 
 begins to rise and fall once a day ; and it is high water at the 
 •setting of the moon, and low water at her rising. This daily 
 tide increases for about seven or eight days, and then de- 
 creases for as many days by the same degrees, till this motion 
 ceases when the moon has returned to the equator. When 
 she has passed the equator, and declines towards the south 
 pole, the water rises and falls again, as before ; but it is high 
 water now at the rising, and low water at the setting, of the 
 moon. 
 
 We shall close this chapter with an account of the remark- 
 able fact of Waves stilled by Oil. — This wonderful pro- 
 perty, though well known to the ancients, as appears from the 
 writings of Pliny, was for many ages either quite unnoticed, 
 or treated as fabulous by succeeding philosophers, till Dr. 
 Franklin again attracted the attention of the learned to 
 this subject; though it appears, from some anecdotes, that 
 seafaring people have always been acquainted with it. Mr. 
 Pennant, in his British Zoology, vol. iv. under the article 
 
WAVES STILLED BY OIL. 
 
 481 
 
 K^eai, takes notice, that when these animals are devouring a 
 very oily tish, which they always do under water, the waves 
 aoove are remarkably smooth ; and by this the fishermen 
 know where to find them. Sir Gilbert Lawson, who served 
 long in the army at Gibraltar, assured Dr. Franklin, that the 
 fishermen in that place are accustomed to pour a little oil on 
 the sea, in order to still its motion, that they may be enabled 
 to see the oysters lying at its bottom, which are there very 
 large, anri which they take up with a proper instrument. 
 A similar practice is followed among fishermen in various 
 other parts; and Dr. Franklin was informed by an old sea 
 captain, that the fishermen of Lisbon, when about to return 
 into the river, if they saw too great a surf upon the bar, would 
 empty a bottle or two of oil into the sea, which would suppress 
 the breakers, and allow them to pass freely. The Doctor 
 having revolved in his mind all these pieces of information, 
 became impatient to try the experiment himself. At last, 
 having an opportunity of observing a large pond very rough 
 with the wind, he dropped a small quantity of oil upon it. 
 But having at first applied it on the lee side, the oil was 
 driven back again upon the shore. He then went to the wind- 
 ward side, and poured on about a tea-spoonful of oil ; this 
 produced an instant calm over a space several yards square, 
 which spread amazingly, and extended itself gradually till it 
 came to the lee-side ; making all that quarter of the pond, 
 perhaps half an acre, as smooth as glass. This experiment 
 was often repeated in different places, and was always at- 
 tended with success. 
 
 CHAP. XLV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. — (Concluded,) 
 
 “ Adoring, own 
 
 The hand Almighty, who its channel’d bed 
 Immeasurable sunk, and pour’d abroad, 
 
 Fenc’d with eternal mounds, the fluid sphere ; 
 
 With every wind to waft large commerce on. 
 
 Join pole to pole, consociate sever’d worlds, 
 
 And link in bonds of intercourse and love 
 Earth’s universal family.” 
 
 ON THE PERFECTION OF NAVIGATION. 
 
 The following account of the present w’onderful perfection 
 of navigation, is taken from a History of Voyages and Disco- 
 veries made in the North ; translated from the German of John 
 Reinhold Foster, LL.D.* — 
 
 3P 
 
482 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 Of all the arts and professions which have at any time 
 attracted notice, none has ever appeared to be more astonish- 
 ing and marvellous than that of navigation, in the state in 
 which it is at present ; an art which doubtless affords one of 
 the most certain irrefragable proofs of the amazing powers of 
 the human understanding. This cannot be made more evident, 
 than when, taking a retrospective view of the tottering inar- 
 tificial craft to which navigation owes its origin, we compare 
 it to a noble and majestic edifice, containing 1000 men, toge- 
 gether with their provisions, drink, furniture, wearing-apparel, 
 and other necessaries, for many months, besides 100 pieces of 
 heavy ordnance ; and bearing all this vast apparatus safely, 
 and as it were on the wings of the wind, across immense seas 
 to the most distant shores. The following example may serve 
 for the present to delineate at full length, as it were, the idea 
 above alluded to. But first I must premise, that a huge un- 
 wieldy log of wood, with the greatest difficulty, and in the 
 most uncouth manner, hollowed out in the inside, and some- 
 what pointed at both ends, and in this way set on a river for 
 the purpose of transporting two or three persons belonging to 
 one and the same family, across a piece of water a few feet 
 deep, by the assistance of a pole pushed against the ground, 
 cannot with any propriety be considered as the image of navi- 
 gation in its first and earliest stage. For it seems evident to 
 me, that people in the beginning only took three or four trunks 
 of trees, and fastened them together, and then, by means of 
 this kind of raft, got across such waters as were too deep for 
 them to ford, and across which they could not well swim, 
 with their children, and various kinds of goods which they 
 might wish to preserve from being wet. The canoe, however, 
 is a specimen of the art in a more advanced state, as this kind 
 of craft is capable of having direction given to it, and even 
 of so capital an improvement as that of having a sail added to 
 it. For this reason I choose this vehicle for a standard, in 
 preference to a mere raft, to which, imperfect as it is, it is 
 so much superior. 
 
 Let us, then, compare this with a large majestic floating 
 edifice, the result of the ingenuity and labour of many hun- 
 dreds of hands, and composed of a number of well-proportioned 
 pieces, nicely fastened together by iron nails and bolts; and 
 rendered so tight with tow and pitch, that no water can pene- 
 trate it. Now, in order to give motion and direction to this 
 enormous machine, some astonishingly lofty pieces of timber 
 have been fixed upright in it, and so many moveable cross 
 pieces have been added to it, together with such a variety of 
 pieces of strong linen cloth, for the purpose of catching the 
 wind, and of receiving its impulse and propelling power, that 
 the number of them amounts to upwards of thirty. For chang- 
 
PERFECTION OF NAVIGATION. 
 
 483 
 
 ing the direction of the yards and sails, according to particular 
 circumstances, it has also been requisite to add a vast quan- 
 tity of cordage and tackling ; and nevertheless, even all this 
 would not be sufficient for the perfect direction and govern- 
 ment of the vessel, if there were not fastened to the hinder 
 part of it, by means of hinges and hooks, a moveable piece 
 of wood, very snicill indeed, in proportion to the whole machine, 
 but the least inclination of which to either side is sufficient to 
 give immediately a different direction to this enormously large 
 mass, and that even in a storm, so that two men may direct 
 and govern this swimming island with the same, or with greater 
 ease, than a single man can do a boat. But if, besides, we 
 consider, that, in a vessel like this, not a single piece is put 
 in at random, but that every part of it has its determinate 
 measure and proportion, and is fixed precisely in that place 
 which is the most advantageous for it; that, throughout every 
 part of it, there is distributed an astonishing quantity of blocks, 
 stays, and pulleys, for the purpose of diminishing the friction, 
 and of accelerating the motion of these parts; that even the 
 bellying and vaulted part of the fabric, together with its sharp 
 termination underneath, are proportioned according to the 
 nicest calculations, and the most accurately determined rules; 
 that the length and the thickness of the masts, the size of the 
 booms and yards, the length, width, and strength of the sails 
 and tackling, are all in due proportion to each other, accord- 
 ing to certain rules founded upon the principles of motion : 
 when we consider all this, I say, our admiration increases 
 more and more at this great masterpiece of human power and 
 understanding. 
 
 “ Still, however, there are wanting a few traits to complete 
 this description. A man in health consumes, in the space of 
 twenty-four hours, about eight pounds of victuals and drink : 
 consequently, 80001b. of provisions are required daily in such a 
 ship. Now, let us suppose a ship to befitted out for three months 
 only, and we shall find that she must be laden with 720,0001b. 
 of provisions. A large forty-two pounder weighs about 61001b. 
 if made of brass, and about 55001b. if iron ; and generally 
 there are twenty-eight or thirty of these on board a ship of 
 100 guns, the weight of which, exclusive of that of their car- 
 riages, amounts to 183,0001b. — on the second deck, thirty 
 twenty-four pounders, each of which weighs about 51001b. 
 and therefore altogether 153,0001b. — the weight of the 
 twenty-six or twenty-eight twelve-pounders on the lower deck, 
 amounts to about 75,400lb. — that of the fourteen six-pounders 
 on the upper deck, to about 26,6001b. — besides which, on the 
 round tops, there are even three-pounders and swivels. Now, 
 if to this we add, that the complete charge of a forty-two 
 pounder weighs about 641b. and tfet at least upwards of 100 
 
484 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE SEA. 
 
 I 
 
 charges are required for each gun, we shall find this to amount 
 nearly to the same weight as the guns themselves. In addi- 
 tion to this, we must reflect, that every ship must have, by 
 way of providing against exigencies, at least a second set of 
 sails, cables, cordage, and tacklings, which altogether amount 
 to a considerable weight. The stores, likewise, consisting of 
 planks, pitch, and tow; the chests belonging to the officers 
 and sailors ; the surgeon’s stores, and various other articles 
 requisite on a long voyage ; as also the small arms, bayonets, 
 swords, and pistols, are no inconsiderable load ; to which we 
 must finally add the weight of the crew, which is not very 
 trifling: so that one of these large ships carries at least 2162 
 tons burden, or 4,324,0001b. and at the same time is steered 
 and governed with as much ease as the smallest boat. Now, 
 the consideration of these circumstances alone, is sufficient to 
 excite the most serious reflections in a contemplative mind ; 
 and yet, if such a ship sailed along the coast only, and never 
 lost sight of the shore, as the navigators of old used to do, 
 we might still be tempted to look upon navigation as an easy 
 and trifling business. But the finding the straightest and 
 shortest way over an ocean of more than sixty or eighty degrees 
 in longitude, and thirty or forty in latitude ; or across a track 
 from 4000 to 6000 miles in extent, by day and by night, in fair 
 weather or in foul ; as well when the sky is overcast as when 
 it is clear, and often with no other guide than the compass, 
 and the being able to determine the true position of the ship 
 at sea, by the height of the sun, though this latter be enve- 
 loped in clouds, or to direct its course by the moon and stars 
 with such exactness and precision, as not to make a mistake 
 of the value of half a degree, or thirty miles; this at least 
 shews the progress and great perfection of an art practised 
 by a class of people, of whose understanding many conceited 
 and supercilious landsmen have but a mean opinon, and whose 
 plain and simple manners they frequently take the liberty cl 
 turning into ridicule, forgetting how much they are indebted 
 to their skill and prowess. 
 
 “ A violent storm of wind will make us tremble with fear, 
 even in a strong well-built house, and in the midst of a popu- 
 lous city ; yet we have seldom or never either seen or expe- 
 rienced the vast power of the enraged waves, when beat about 
 by the winds, and dashed against each other till they seem 
 transformed into froth and vapour, and the whole surface of 
 the ocean presents to the eye a confused scene of immense 
 watery mountains and bottomless precipices ; and yet on such 
 a sea as this the true seaman, provided he has but a good 
 ship, rides with calm and unshaken courage, and thinks 
 himself as safe in the midst of the ocean as in the best fortified 
 castle.” 
 
FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 466 
 
 With gallant pomp and beauteous pride, 
 The floating pile in harbour rode; 
 
 Proud other freight, tlie swelling tide 
 Reluctant left the vessel’s side, 
 
 And rais’d it as it flow’d. 
 
 The waves, with eastern breezes curl’d, 
 Had silver’d half the liquid plain; 
 
 The anchors weigh’d, the sails unfurl’d. 
 Serenely mov’d the wooden world. 
 
 And stretch’d along the main. 
 
 CHAP. XLVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WATERFALLS, LAKES, 
 GULFS, WHIRLPOOLS, 4 c 
 
 The Falls of Niagara — Lake of Killariiey — Lake Solfatara — 
 Whirlpool near Suderoc — Maelstrom — Gulf Stream — New 
 Island starting from the Sea. 
 
 Fountains and ponds he adds, and lakes immense, 
 
 Descending streams the winding borders fence; 
 
 This, deep-absorb’d, the darksome cavern laves. 
 
 These to the ocean roll their azure waves; 
 
 There, uncontroll’d, they meet the roaring tide. 
 
 And dash, for verdant banks, the hoar cliff’s side. Ovid. 
 
 T^iagara is a river of the United States, which flows from 
 Lake Erie, and runs by a north-west course into the south-w est 
 end of Lake Ontario, constituting part of the boundary be- 
 tween the United States and Canada. It is thirty-four miles 
 long, including its meanders. About twenty miles below Lake 
 Erie is the great cataract, called The Falls of Niagara, 
 which is justly reckoned one of the greatest natural curiosities 
 in the world. These falls run from south-south-east to north- 
 north-west ; and the rock of the falls crosses them, not in a 
 right line, but forms a kind of figure like a hollow semicircle, 
 or horse-shoe. Above the falls, in the middle of the river, is 
 an island called Grand Isle, about nine hundred or one thou- 
 sand feet long, the lower end of which is just at the perpen- 
 dicular edge or the fall. On both sides of this island runs all 
 the water that comes from the lakes of Canada; viz. Lakes 
 Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Before the water c.imes 
 to this island, it runs but slowly, compared with its midion 
 afterwards, when it growls the most rapid in the world, run- 
 ning with a surprising swiftness before it comes to the fall. 
 It is perfectly white, and in many places is thrown high up 
 into the air. At this island, the river divides into two chan 
 
486 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WATERFALLS, &C. 
 
 nels : the perpendicular descent of the north-east channel, as 
 measured by Dr. M’Causlin, is one hundred and sixty-three 
 feet; that of the north-west, one hundred and forty-three; and 
 the breadth of the cataract and island, above a mile. 
 
 The water that runs down on the west side is more rapid, 
 flows in greater abundance, and is whiter, than that on the 
 east side, and seems to outfly an arrow in swiftness. At 
 the principal fall, on looking up the river, one may see that 
 the water is every where exceedingly steep, almost like the 
 side of a hill ; but upon looking at the fall itself, it is im- 
 possible to express the amazement it occasions. The height 
 of it, as measured by mathematical instruments, is exactly 
 one hundred and thirty-seven feet ; and when the water is 
 come to the bottom, it rebounds back to a very great height 
 in the air. The noise is heard at the distance of forty-five 
 miles. At fort Niagara, when they hear the noise of the fall 
 more loud than ordinary, they are sure that a north-east wind 
 will follow'; which is the most surprising, as the fort lies 
 south-west from the fall. Sometimes the fall makes a much 
 greater noise than at others, and this is held for an infallible 
 sign of approaching rain or bad weather. From the place 
 where the water falls, there arises a great quantity of vapour, 
 like very thick smoke, insomuch, that when viewed at a dis- 
 tance, one would think that the Indians had set the forests on 
 fire. These vapours rise high in the air when it is calm, but 
 are dispersed by the wind when it blows hard. In September 
 and October, such quantities of dead water-fowl are found 
 every morning below the fall, on the shore, that the garrison 
 of the fort live chiefly upon them. Besides the fowls, they 
 find several sorts of dead fish, also deer, bears, and other 
 animals, which have tried to cross the water above the fall : 
 the larger animals are generally found broken to pieces. 
 Just below, a little way from the great fall, the water is not 
 rapid, but goes in circles, and whirls like a boiling pot; which 
 however does not hinder the Indians going upon it in small 
 canoes a fishing; but a little further, and lower, the other 
 smaller falls begin. 
 
 There is an island in the middle of the river above the fall, 
 where the Indians go often to kill deer, which have tried to 
 cross the river, and are driven upon it by the stream. On the 
 west side of this island are some small islands or rocks of no 
 consequence. The east side of the river is almost perpen- 
 dicular, the west side more sloping. In former times, a pari 
 of the rock, at the fall which is on the west side of the island, 
 hung over in such a manner, that the water which fell perpen- 
 dicularly from it, left a vacancy below', so that people could 
 go under between the rock and the water; but the prominent 
 pa t some year? ago broke off, and fell down. The breadth of 
 
LAKE OF KILLARNEY. 
 
 487 
 
 the great faL, as it runs in a sem'circle, is reckoned to be 
 about 300 feet Below the fall, in the holes of the rocks, are 
 great plenty of eels, which the Indians and French catch with 
 their hands. Every day, when the sun shines, may be seen 
 from ten a. m. till two p. m. below the fall, a glorious rainbow, 
 and sometimes two, one within the other. The more vapours 
 that float, the brighter and clearer is the rainbow. When the 
 wind carries the vapours from that place, the rainbow is gone, 
 but appears again as soon as new vapours arise. From the 
 fall to the landing above it, where the canoes from the Lake 
 Erie put ashore, (or from the fall to the upper end of the car- 
 rying place,) is half a mile. Lower than this, the canoes dare 
 not venture. They have often found below the fall, fragments 
 of human bodies, that have unhappily been precipitated over 
 the fall. The French say, that they have often thrown great 
 trees into the water above, to see them carried over this pre- 
 cipice with the vast body of water, which nothing can resist: 
 these go down with surprising swiftness, but can never be 
 seen afterwards ; from whence has arisen the conjecture that 
 there was a bottomless abyss just under the fall. But the 
 most reasonable supposition is, that, by the powerful agency 
 of the water, they were broken into such diminutive frag- 
 ments, as to render it impossible that they should ever be 
 recognized for the same. The rock of the fall is composed 
 of a gray limestone. 
 
 We shall next take a view of some of the most remarkable 
 lakes; and the first we would notice, is the Lake of Kil- 
 LARNEY. — This is 3 beautiful lake of Ireland, in the county 
 of Kerry, otherwise called Lough Lean, from its being sur- 
 rounded by high mountains. It is divided into three parts, 
 called the Lower, Middle, and Upper Lake. The northern, or 
 lower lake, is six miles in length, and from three to four in 
 breadth. On the side of one of the mountains is O’Sullivan’s 
 Cascade, which falls into the lake with a roar that strikes the 
 timid with awe. The view of this sheet of water is uncom- 
 monly fine ; it appears as if it were descending from an arch 
 of w'ood, which overhangs it above seventy feet in height. 
 The promontory of Mucruss, which divides the upper from 
 the lower lake, is quite enchanting; and a road is carried 
 through the centre of its promontory, which unfolds all the 
 interior beauties of the place. Among the distant mountains, 
 Turk appears an object of magnificence; while Mangerton’s 
 more loftv, though less interesting summit, soars above the 
 whole. Tho passage to the upper lake is round the extremity 
 of Mncrnss, which confines it on one side, and the approach- 
 ing mountains on the other. Here is a celebrated rock, called 
 the Eagle’s Nest, which produces wonderful echoes; the 
 
488 CURIOSITIES respecting waterfalls, &c. 
 
 report of a single cannon is answered by a succession of peaU 
 resembling the loudest thunder, and at length dies awav 
 among the distant mountains. The upper is four miles long, 
 and from two to three broad. It is almost surrounded by 
 mountains, from which descend a number of beautiful cas- 
 cades. The islands in this lake are numerous, and afford an 
 amazing variety of picturesque views. ' The centre lake, 
 which communicates with the upper, is small in comparison 
 with the other two, and cannot boast of equal variety ; but 
 the shores are, in many places, indented with beautiful bays, 
 surrounded by dark groves of trees. The east boundary is 
 formed by the base of Mangerton, down the steep side of 
 which descends a cascade, visible for 150 yards. This fall of 
 water is supplied by a circular lake, near the summit of the 
 mountain, called the Devil’s Punch Bowl ; which, on account 
 of its immense depth, and the continual overflow of water, is 
 considered as one of the greatest curiosities in Killarney. One 
 of the most delightful prospects which this universally admired 
 lake affords, is from a rising ground near the ruined cathedral 
 of Aghadoe. 
 
 Lake Solfatara. — This lake is in the Compagna of Rome, 
 near Tivoli, anciently called Albulus. It has what are called 
 three floating islands, but they are only apparently so, being 
 composed of bunches of sedges and bulrushes, glued together 
 by the bitumen which sw'ims on the lake, and the sulphur 
 with which it is impregnated, and covered with sand and dust 
 blown from the adjacent banks of the lake. These islands are 
 from twelve to fifteen yards long, and the soil is strong enough 
 to bear six persons, who, by a pole, may move to different 
 parts of the lake. This lake has an outlet, whence its waters 
 run, forming a whitish muddy stream, into the Teverone, the 
 ancient Anio, emitting a vapour of a sulphureous smell as 
 they flow. The ground near this rivulet, as w^ell as on the 
 banks of the lake, resounds w'ith a hollow sound when a horse 
 gallops over it. The water has also a petrifying quality, co- 
 vering every substance that it passes over with a hard white 
 stony substance. On throwing a bundle of sticks or shrubs 
 into the lake, they will in a few days be covered with this 
 stony crust; and this petrifying quality is even stronger in 
 the rivulet that runs from it, than in the lake itself, and still 
 increases till it falls into the Teverone. These small white 
 incrustations that cover the pebbles in the bottom of the lake 
 and rivulet, being somewhat like sugar-plums, are called 
 Confections of Tivoli. Fish abound in the Teverone above 
 and below Tivoli, till it receives the petrifying water ; after 
 which, during the remainder of its course to the Tiber, there 
 are none. 
 
SU DEROE. — MAELSTROM. 
 
 489 
 
 Our next object of curiosity is a Whirlpool near Suderoe. 
 ^Suderoe. is one of the Fero isles, situated to the north 
 of Scotland. Near this place there is a remarkable whirlpool, 
 occasioned by a crater sixty-one fathoms deep in the centre, 
 and from fifty to fifty-five on the sides. The water forms four 
 fierce circumgyrations. The point they begin at is on the 
 side of a large bason, where commences a range of rocks, 
 running spirally, and terminating at the verge of the crater. 
 This range is extremely rugged, and covered with water, from 
 the depth of twelve to eight fathoms only. It forms four 
 equidistant wreaths, with a channel from thirty-five to twenty 
 fathoms deep between each. On the outside, beyond that 
 depth, the sea suddenly sinks to eighty and ninety. On the 
 south border of the bason is a lofty rock, called Sumboe Munk, 
 noted for the multitude of birds which frequent it. On one 
 side the water is only three or four fathoms deep, on the other 
 fifteen. The danger at most times, especially in storms, is 
 very great. Ships are irresistibly drawn in ; the rudder loses 
 its power; and the waves beat as high as the masts; so that 
 an escape is almost miraculous : yet at the reflux, in fine wea- 
 ther, the inhabitants venture for the sake of fishing. 
 
 Our next subject is the celebrated Maelstrom. — This is a 
 very dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Norway, in the pro- 
 vince of Nordland, and district of Lofoden, near the island of 
 Moskoe, whence it also has its name of Moskoe-strom. Of 
 this amazing whirlpool, Jonas Ramus gives the following 
 account; — “The mountain ofHelseggen, in Lofoden, lies a 
 league from the island ofVer, and betwixt these two runs that 
 large and dreadful stream called Moskoe-strom, from the 
 island of Moskoe, which is in the middle of it; together with 
 several circumjacent isles, as Ambaaran, half a quarter of a 
 league north, Iflesen, Hoeholm, Kiedholm, Suarven, and 
 Buckholm. Moskoe lies about half a quarter of a mile south 
 of the island of Ver, and betwixt them these small islands, 
 Otterholm, Flimen, Sandfiesen, and Stockholm. Betwixt 
 Lofoden and Moskoe, the depth of the water is between thirty- 
 six and forty fathoms ; but on the side tow'ards Ver, the depth 
 decreases so as not to aflbrd a convenient passage for a vessel, 
 without the risk of splitting on the rocks, which sometimes 
 happens even in the calmest weather : when it is flood, the 
 stream runs up the country between Lofoden and Moskoe 
 with a boisterous rapidity ; but the roar of its impetuous ebb 
 to the sea is scarce equalled by the loudest and most dreadfu: 
 cataracts, the noise being heard several leagues off ; and the 
 vortices, or pits, are of such an extent and depth, that if a 
 ship comes within its attraction, it is inevitably absorbed and 
 carried dow'ii to the bottom, and there beaten to pieces against 
 21. 3 Q 
 
490 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WATERFALLS, &C. , 
 
 the rocks ; and when the water relaxes, the fragments thereof 
 aie thrown up again; but these intervals of tranquillity are 
 only at the turn of the ebb and flood, in calm weather, and 
 last but a quarter of an hour, its violence gradually returning. 
 When the stream is most boisterous, and its fury heightened 
 by a storm, it is dangerous to come within a Norway mile of 
 it; boats, ships, and yachts, having been carried away, by not 
 guarding against it before they were within its reach. It 
 likewise happens frequently, that whales come too near the 
 stream, and are overpowered by its violence ; and then it is 
 impossible to describe their bowlings and bellowings, in their 
 fruitless struggles to disengage themselves. A bear, once 
 attempting to swim from Lofoden to Moskoe, with a design 
 of preying upon the sheep at pasture in the island, afforded 
 the like spectacle to the people ; the stream caught him, and 
 bore him down, whilst he roared terribly, so as to be heard 
 on shore. Large stocks of fir and pine trees, after being 
 absorbed by the current, rise again, broken and torn to such 
 a degree as if bristles grew on them. This plainly shews the 
 bottom to consist of craggy rocks, among which they are 
 whirled to and fro. This stream is regulated by the flux and 
 reflux of the sea, it being constantly high and low water 
 every six hours. In 1645, early in the morning of Sexagesima 
 Sunday, it raged with such noise and impetuosity, that on 
 the island of Moskoe, the very stones of the houses fell to 
 the ground. When this whirlpool is agitated by a storm, its 
 vortex will reach vessels five or six miles distant.” 
 
 Gulf-Stream. — This is a remarkable current in the ocean, 
 which runs along the coast, at unequal distances, from Cape 
 Florida to the Isle of Sables and the banks of Newfoundland, 
 where it turns off and runs through the Western Islands, thence 
 to the coast of Africa, and along that coast in a southern 
 direction till it arrives at and supplies the place of those 
 waters carried by the constant trade-winds from the coast of 
 Africa towards the west ; thus producing a constant circulat- 
 ing current. This stream is about seventy-five miles from the 
 shores of the southern states, and the distance increases as 
 you proceed northward. The breadth of it is about forty or 
 fifty miles, widening towards the north. Its common rapidity 
 is three miles an hour. A north-east wind narrows the stream, 
 renders it more rapid, and drives it nearer the coast. North- 
 west and west winds produce a contrary effect. The Gulf- 
 stream is supposed to be occasioned by the trade-w'inds, that 
 are constantly driving the water to the westward, which being 
 compressed in the gulf of Mexico, finds a passage between 
 Florida and the Bahama islands, and runs to the north-east 
 along the American coast. 
 
ACCOUNT OF A NEW ISLAND. 
 
 491 
 
 A chart of this Gulf-stream was published by Dr. Fianklin, 
 in 1768, principally from the information of Captain Folger. 
 This was confirmed by the ingenious experiments of Dr. Blag- 
 den, published in 1781, who found that the water of the gulf- 
 stream was from six to eleven degrees warmer than the water 
 of the sea, through which it runs ; which must have been 
 occasioned by its being brought from a hotter climate. 
 
 We close the present chapter with an Account of a New 
 Island emerging from the Sea. — The description is taken 
 from the Edinburgh Review, No. 46, September, 1814. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Oonalashca, which is situated about 
 the centre of the Aleutian chain, a new island, nearly twenty 
 miles in circumference, has been formed within these twenty 
 years. The following is the account of it, w-hich M. Lisian- 
 sky collected from eye-w itnesses at Cadinck : — 
 
 “ In the evening, while I was alone, employed in writing the 
 memorandums of my journal, a Russian introduce-d himself, 
 who had resided on the island of Oonalashca, when a new 
 island started up in its vicinity. I had heard of this pheno- 
 menon, and was therefore desirous to learn what he knew 
 respecting it. He said, that about the middle of April, 1797, 
 a small island was seen where none had been seen before ; 
 that the first intimation of its appearance had been brought 
 by some Aleutians to Captain^s Harbour, who, returning from 
 fishing, observed a great smoke issuing out of the sea: that 
 this was the smoke of the volcano, w^hich was then gradually 
 rising above the surface of the sea, and which, in May, 1798, 
 burst forth with a blaze, that was distinctly seen from a set- 
 tlement called Macooshina, on the island of Oonalashca, at 
 the distance of no less than forty miles to the north-west. 
 This new island is tolerably high, and about twenty miles in 
 circumference. It has been remarked, that it has not increased 
 in size since the year 1799 ; and that no alteration has taken 
 place in its appearance, except that some of the highest points 
 have been thrown down by violent eruptions.^’ 
 
492 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BURNING SPRINGS. 
 
 CHAP. XLVII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BURNING SPRINGS. 
 
 Naphtha Springs — Burning Springs tn Kentucky — Hot Springs 
 of Iceland — Hot Springs of Oiiachitta — Other Burning 
 Springs. 
 
 “ Adored Artificer! what skill divine, 
 
 What wonders, in the wide creation shine !* 
 
 Naphtha Springs. — Dr. James Mounsey, and Jonas Han- 
 way, Esq., have given a particular account of these springs. 
 Both gentlemen, by their travels,. their residence in Muscovy, 
 and their acquaintance with several people who have been 
 upon the spot, have had great opportunities of becoming per- 
 fectly informed of every thing relating to the subject ; and 
 whose judgment and veracity may be depended on. Both 
 their accounts agree, that on the western coast of the Caspian 
 Sea, not far from the city of Baku, there is a large spot of 
 ground, where, on taking off two or three inches of the surface 
 of the earth, and then applying a live coal, and blowing, 
 a flame immediately issues forth, without either burning the 
 reed or paper, provided the edges be covered with clay. This 
 method supplies the want of candle in their houses. Three or 
 four of these will also boil water in a pot, and they dress their 
 victuals in this w'ay. The flame may be blown out like that of a 
 lamp, but otherwise it continues burning; it smells somewhat 
 sulphureous, or rather like naphtha, but very little offensive. 
 The ground is dry and stony, and the more stony the ground, 
 the stronger and clearer the flame. Near this place they dig 
 out brimstone, and here are also the naphtha springs. But the 
 chief place for naphtha is Swieten Island, a small tract of 
 land on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, and unin- 
 habited, except at such seasons as they fetch naphtha from 
 thence, which the Persians load in their wretched embark- 
 ations, without barrels or any other vessels, so that sometimes 
 you see the sea covered with it for leagues together. The 
 springs boil up highest in thick and heavy weather, and the 
 naphtha sometimes takes fire on the surface, and runs lighted 
 or burning into the sea in great quantities, and to great dis- 
 tances. In clear weather, it does not bubble above two or 
 three feet. People make cisterns near the springs, into 
 which they convey what overflows by troughs, taking off the 
 naphtha from the surface, under which there is a mixture of 
 water, or some other heavier fluid. The greater part is of a 
 
BURNING SPRING IN KENTUCKY. 493 
 
 dark gray colour, very unpleasant to the smell, but used in 
 lamps by the poorer sort. There are also springs of black 
 naphtha, which is thick, and in distillation grows not clear, but 
 yellow ; but the most valuable is the w'hite naphtha, w'hich is 
 naturally clear and yellowish, and bears a great price. The 
 Russians drink it as a cordial, but it does not intoxicate : it is 
 used externally in paralytic disorders, and is carried into 
 India as a great rarity, where they make with it the most 
 beautiful and lasting Japan that has ever yet been known. 
 
 What the Indians call the Everlasting Fire, lies about ten 
 English miles north-east-by-east from the city of Baku, on 
 dry rocky ground. There are several ancient temples, built 
 with stone, supposed to have been all dedicated to Fire : most 
 of them are low arched vaults, from ten to fifteen feet high. 
 Amongst the rest, there is a temple in which the Indians now 
 worship; near the altar, about three feet high, there is a large 
 hollow cave, from the end of which issues a flame, in colour 
 and gentleness, not unlike a lamp that burns with spirits. 
 The Indians affirm that this flame has continued burnino; some 
 thousands of years, and believe it will last to the end of the 
 world ; and that if it was resisted or suppressed in this place, 
 it would rise in some other. By the number of temples, it is 
 probable there were formerly a great numbei of worshippers of 
 fire, as well Indians as Persians : they are called Goners. At 
 present there are about twenty persons, who reside there con* 
 stantly, and go almost naked. In summer it is very hot; 
 and in winter they dwell within doors, and keep what fire 
 they please, in the manner above described : they live upon 
 roots and herbs for the most part, and are supposed to attend 
 as mediators for the sins of many who are absent; and by 
 their applications to this fire, in which the Deity is supposed 
 to be present and visible, they atone for the sins of others. 
 A little way from the temple just now mentioned, near Baku, 
 is a low clilf of a rock, in which there is a horizontal gap, 
 two feet from the ground, between five and six long, and about 
 iiii'de feet broad, out of which issues a constant flame, much 
 of the colour mentioned already, being a light blue. It rises 
 sometimes eight feet high, but is lower in still weather. They 
 do not perceive the rock waste in the least. This also the 
 Indians worship, and say it cannot be put out. About 
 twenty yards on the back of this cliff is a well, and a rock 
 twelve or fourteen fathoms deep, with exceedingly good 
 water. 
 
 We shall next introduce an account of a Burning Spring 
 IN Kentucky. — This is a phenomenon which has for several 
 years excited the attention of travellers, under the name of a 
 burning spring : it exists in one of the principal forks of Lick- 
 
494 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BURNING SPRINGS. 
 
 ing river in Kentucky. It is situated about three-fourths of 
 a mile from the banks of the river, and about eighty miles 
 above its junction with Ohio, opposite Cincinnati. A spring 
 here breaks out at the foot of a hill, forming a basin of water 
 about six feet in diameter and two feet deep, at the bottom of 
 which issues a stream of gas, which in volume and force is 
 about equal to the blast forced from a common smith’s 
 bellows ; but there is no cessation of its force, which is such 
 as to create a violent ebullition in the water. Being heavier 
 than common atmospheric air, the gas, on passing up through 
 the water, constantly occupies the surface, which is still the 
 lower part of an indenture in the earth at that place. On 
 presenting a taper, this gas instantly takes fire, and burns 
 with great brilliancy. There is no absorption of it by the 
 water, which possesses the purity of common spring water, 
 neither is any offensive odour thrown off. This spring has 
 been known to dry up entirely in the summer, when the air 
 rushes out with increased force, accompanied by a hissing 
 noise. There is nothing like smoke emitted. — Schoolcroft, 
 oil the Lead Mines of Missouri, p. 216 . 
 
 Hot Springs of Iceland. — From Sir G, Mackenzie's 
 Travels in Iceland. 
 
 “ The hot springs in the valley of Reikholt, or Reikiadal, 
 though not the most magnificent, are not the least curious 
 among the numerous phenomena of this sort that are found 
 in Iceland. On entering the valley, we saw numerous columns 
 of vapour ascending from different parts of it. The first 
 springs we visited, issued from a number of apertures in a 
 sort of platform of rock, covered by a thin coating of calca- 
 reous incrustations. From several of the apertures the water 
 rose with great force, and was thrown tw'O or three feet into 
 the air. On plunging the thermometer into such of them 
 as we could approach with safety, we found that it stood at 
 212^. 
 
 ** A little further up the valley, there is a rock in the middle 
 of the river, about ten feet high, twelve yards long, and six 
 or eight feet in breadth : from the highest part of this rock 
 a jet of boiling water proceeded with violence; dashing 
 the water up to the height of several feet. Near the middle, 
 and not more than two feet from the edge of the rock, there 
 is a hole, about two feet in diameter, full of water boiling 
 strongly. There is a third hole near the other end of the 
 rock, in which water also boils briskly. At the time we saw 
 these springs, there happened to be less water in the river 
 than usual, and a bank of gravel was left dry a little higher 
 up than the rock. From this bank a considerable quantity of 
 boiling water issued. 
 
HOT SPRINGS OF ICELAND. 
 
 495 
 
 " About a mile further down, at the foot of the valley, is the 
 Tungahver, an assemblag*e of springs the most extraordinary, 
 perhaps, in the whole world. A rock (waoke?) rises from the 
 bog, about twenty feet, and is about fifty yards in length, the 
 ^readth not being considerable. This seems formerly to have 
 been a hillock, one side of which remains covered with grass, 
 while the other has been worn away, or perhaps destroyed at 
 the time when the hot water burst forth. Alono; the face of 
 the rock are arranged no fewer than sixteen springs, all of 
 them boiling furiously, and some of them throwing the water 
 to a considerable height. One of them, however, deserves 
 particular notice. On approaching this place, we observed a 
 high jet of water near one extremity of the rock. Suddenly 
 this jet disappeared, and another, thicker but not so high, 
 rose within a very short distance of it. At first we supposed 
 that a piece of the rock had given way, and that the water 
 had at that moment found a more convenient passage. Having 
 left our horses, we went directly to the place where this had 
 apparently happened ; but we had sc.arcely reached the spot, 
 when this new jet disappeared, and the one we had seen before 
 was renewed. We observed that there were two irregular 
 holes in the rock, within a yard of each other; and while from 
 one a jet proceeded to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, 
 the other was full of boiling water. We had scarcely made 
 this observation, when the first jet began to subside, and the 
 water in the other hole to rise ; and as soon as the first had 
 entirely sunk down, tire other attained its greatest height, 
 which was about five feet. In this extraordinary manner, 
 these two jets played alternately. The smallest and highest 
 jet continued about four minutes and a half, and the other 
 about three minutes. We remained admiring this very remark- 
 able phenomenon for a considerable time, during which we 
 saw many alternations of the jets, which happened regularly' 
 at the intervals already mentioned. 
 
 " I have taken the liberty to give a name to this spring, and, 
 to call it ‘The Alternating Geyser.’ 
 
 " These springs have been formerly observed^ though the 
 singularity of the alternations does not seem to have been 
 attended to as any thing remarkable. Olafson and Paulson 
 mention, that the jets appear and disappear successively, in 
 the second, third, and fourth openings. We observed no ces- 
 sations in any of the springs, except in the two under con- 
 sideration. 
 
 " To form a theory of this regular alternation is no easy 
 matter; and it seems to require a kind of mechanism very 
 different from the simple apparatus usually employed by nature 
 in ordinary intermittent or spouting springs. The prime 
 mover in this case is evidently steam, an agent sufficiently 
 
496 cuRiosiriEs respecting burning’ springs. 
 
 powerful for the phenomena. The two orifices are manifestly 
 connected; for, as the one jet sinks towards the surface, the 
 other rises, and this in a regular and uniform manner. I 
 observed once, that when one of the jets was sinking, and the 
 other beginning to rise, the first rose again a little before it 
 was quite sunk down, and then when this happened, the other 
 ceased to make any efforts to rise, and returned to its former 
 state, till the first again sunk, when the second rose and played 
 as usual. This communication must be formed in such a 
 manner, that it is never complete, but alternately interrupted, 
 first on one side, and then on the other. To effect this with- 
 out the intervention of valves, seems to be impossible ; and 
 yet it is difficult to conceive the natural formation of a set of 
 permanent valves : so that this fountain becomes one of the 
 greatest curiosities ever presented by nature, even though, in 
 attempting to explain the appearances it exhibits, we take • 
 every advantage that machinery can give us. If it is occa- 
 sioned by natural valves, these must be of very durable mate- 
 rials, in order to withstand the continual agitation and conse- 
 quent attrition.” 
 
 We next proceed to a description of the Hot Springs of 
 OuACHiTTA, (Washttaw.) — These springs, which have been 
 known for many years, are situated on a stream called Hot 
 Spring Creek, which falls into the Washitaw River, eight 
 miles below. They lie fifty miles south of the Arkansa Ri- 
 ver, in Clark county, territory of Arkansa, (lately Missouri,) 
 and six miles west of the road from Cadron to Mount Prairie, 
 ‘On Red River. 
 
 The approach to the springs lies up the valley of the creek. 
 'On the right of the valley rises the hot mountain, with the 
 •springs issuing at its foot ; on the left, the cold mountain, 
 which is little more than a confused and mighty pile of 
 •stones. The hot mountain is about 300 feet high, rising quite 
 steep, and presenting occasionally ledges of rocks ; it termi- 
 nates above in a confused mass of broken rocks. The steep 
 and otherwise sterile sides are covered with a luxuriant growth 
 of vines. The valley between this and the cold mountain is 
 about fifty yards wide. 
 
 The springs issue at the foot of the hot mountain, at an 
 ■elevation of about ten feet above the level of the creek ; they 
 are very numerous all along the hill-side, and the water, which 
 runs in copious streams, is quite hot; it will scald the hand, 
 and boil an egg hard in ten minutes. Its temperature is con- 
 sidered that of boiling water, but Dr. Andrews, of Red River, 
 thinks it is not above 200® Fahr. There is a solitary spring, 
 situated seventy feet higher than the others on the side of the 
 mountain, but it is of an equal temperature, and diffiers in no 
 
VARIOUS BURNING SPRINGS, 
 
 497 
 
 respect from those below. A dense fog continually hangs 
 over the springs and upon the side of the hill, which at a dis- 
 tance loo-ks like a number of furnaces in blast. To this fog, 
 condensed into water, is attributed the rank growth of the 
 vines on the side of the mountain. 
 
 Very little is known of the chemical nature of the water; an 
 analysis is said to have been made, which indicated a little 
 carbonate of lime. An abundance of beautiful green moss 
 grows at the edges of the springs, and the paths of their 
 waters are marked by a brighter vegetation than occurs else- 
 where. The substance of the rocks here, are, limestone, slate, 
 and quartz. — Schoolcroft, Lead Mines of’ Missouri, p. 258. 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with an account of various 
 OTHER Burning Springs. — There are many burning springs 
 in different parts of the world, particularly one in France, in 
 the department of Isere, near Grenoble ; another near Her- 
 manstadt, in Transylvania; a third at Chermay, a village near 
 Switzerland; a fourth in the canton of Friburg; and a fifth 
 not far from the city of Cracow, in Poland, There also is, or 
 was, a famous spring of this kind at Wigan, in Lancashire, 
 which, upon the approach of a lighted candle, would take fire 
 and burn like spirit of wine for a whole day. But the most 
 remarkable one in England, or at least that of which we have 
 the minutest description, was discovered in 1711, at Brosely, 
 in Shropshire. The following account of this remarkable 
 spring was given by the Rev. Mr. Mason Woodwardin, Pro- 
 fessor at Cambridge, dated Feb. 18th, 1746 : — The well, for 
 four or five feet deep, is six or seven feet wide ; within that, is 
 another less hole of like depth, dug in the clay, in the bottom 
 whereof is placed a cylindric earthen vessel, of about four or 
 five inches diameter at the mouth, having the bottom taken 
 off, and the sides well fixed in the clay, which is rammed close 
 about it. Within the pot is a brown water, thick and puddly, 
 continually forced up with a violent motion beyond that of 
 boiling water, and a rumbling hollow noise, rising or falling 
 by fits, five or six inches ; but there was no appearance of any 
 vapour risincr, which perhaps might have been visible, had 
 not the sun shone so bright. Upon putting a candle down at 
 the end of a stick, at about a quarter of a yard distance, it 
 took fire, darting and flashing after a very violent manner for 
 about half a yard high, much in the manner of spirits in a 
 lamp, but with great agitation. It was said, that a teakettle 
 had been made to boil in nine minutes, and that it had been 
 left burning for forty-eight hours without any sensible dimi- 
 nution. It was extinguished by putting a wet mop upon it; 
 which must be kept there for a little time, otherwise it would 
 not go out. Upon the removal of the mop, there arises a sul- 
 
 3 R 
 
498 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 phureous smoke, lasting about a minute, and yet the water is 
 very cold to the touch.” In 1755, this well totally disappeared, 
 by the sinking of a coal-pit in its neighbourhood. The cause 
 of the inflammable property of such waters is with great pro- 
 bability supposed to be their mixture with petroleum, which 
 is one of the most inflammable substances in nature, and has 
 the property of burning on the surface of water. 
 
 CHAP. XLVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 Earthquakes, Nature’s agonizing pangs. 
 
 Oft shake the astonish’d isles ; the Solfaterre 
 Or sends forth thick, blue, suffocating steams, 
 
 Or shoots to temporary flames. A din, 
 
 Wild, thro’ the mountain’s quivering rocky caves, 
 
 Like the dread crash of tumbling planets, roars. 
 
 When tremble thus the pillars of the globe. 
 
 Like the tall cocoa by the fierce north blown, 
 
 Can the poor brittle tenements of man 
 
 Withstand the dread convulsion? Their dear homes. 
 
 Which shaking, tottering, crashing, bursting, fall, 
 
 The boldest fly ; and, on the open plain 
 Appall’d in agony, the moment wait. 
 
 When, with disrupture vast, the waving earth 
 Shall whelm them in her sea-disgorging womb. 
 
 Nor less allrighted are the bestial kind; 
 
 The bold steed quivers in each panting vein, 
 
 And staggers, bath’d in deluges of sweat: 
 
 The lowing herds forsake their grassy food. 
 
 And send forth frighted, woful, hollow sounds : 
 
 The dog, thy trusty centinel of night. 
 
 Deserts the post assign’d, and piteous howls. 
 
 Wide ocean feels 
 
 The mountain waves, passing their custom’d bounds, 
 
 Make direful loud incursions on the land. 
 
 All overwhelming : sudden they retreat. 
 
 With their whole troubled waters ; but anon 
 Sudden return, with louder, mightier force ; 
 
 The black rocks whiten, the vext shores resound ; 
 
 And yet, more rapid, distant they retire. 
 
 Vast corruscations lighten all the sky 
 
 With volum’d flames, while thunder’s awful voice. 
 
 From forth his shrine by night and horror girt, 
 
 Astounds the guilty, and appals the good Grainger. 
 
 Earthquakes and their Causes. — From A. de Hum- 
 boldt’s Personal Narrative of Travels, translated by Helen 
 Maria Williams. 
 
 It is a very old and commonly received opinion at Cum- 
 ana, Acapulca, and Lima, that a perceptible connection exists 
 
A 
 
 f 
 
EFFECTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE. 
 
 The engraving represents the great earthquake of 1755, in which the city of Lisbon^ in 
 Portugal, was entirely destroyed, and 20,000 persons were killed. 
 
 ‘ SAND STORM OR SAND FLOOD IN THE DESERTS OF ARABIA. 
 
 In these terrible whirlwinds of sand, whole caravans are sometimes overwhelmed and destroyed 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 499 
 
 between earthquakes, and the state of the atmosphere that 
 precedes these phenomena. On the coast of New Andalusia, 
 the inhabitants are alarmed, when, in excessively hot weather, 
 and after long droughts, the breeze suddenly ceases to blow, 
 and the sky, clear and without clouds at the zenith, exhibits 
 near the horizon, at six or eight degrees elevation, the appear- 
 ance of a reddish vapour. These prognostics are however 
 very uncertain ; and when the whole of the meteorological 
 variations, at the times when the globe has been the most 
 agitated, are called to mind, it is found, that violent shocks 
 take place equally in dry and in wet w^eather, when the coolest 
 W'inds blow, or during a dead and suffocating calm. From 
 the great number of earthquakes, which I have witnessed to 
 the north and south of the equator; on the continent, and in 
 the bason of the seas; on the coasts, and at 2500 toises height; 
 it appears to me, that the oscillations are generally very inde- 
 pendent of the previous state of the atmosphere. This 
 opinion is embraced by a number of enlightened persons, who 
 inhabit the Spanish colonies; and whose experience extends, 
 if not over a greater space of the globe, at least to a greater 
 number of years than mine. On the contrary, in parts of 
 Europe where earthquakes are rare compared to America, 
 natural philosophers are inclined to admit an intimate connec- 
 tion between the undulations of the ground, and certain me- 
 teors, which usually take place at the same epocha. In Italy, 
 for instance, the sirocco and earthquakes are suspected to 
 have some connection ; and at London, the frequency of fall- 
 ing stars, and those southern lights which have since been 
 often observed by Mr. Dalton, were considered as the fore- 
 runners of those shocks which were felt from 1748 to 1756. 
 
 “ On the days when the earth is agitated by violent shocks, 
 the regularity of the horary variations of the barometer is not 
 disturbed under the tropics. I have verified this observation 
 at Cumana, at Lima, and at Riobamba; and it is so much the 
 more w orthy of fixing Ihe attention of natural philosophers, 
 ajs in St. Domingo, at the town of Cape Francois, it is asserted 
 that a water barometer was observed to sink two inches and a 
 half immediately before the earthquake of 1770. It is also 
 related, that at the time of the destruction of Oran, a drug- 
 gist fled with his family, because, observing accidentally, a 
 few minutes before the earthquake, the height of the mercury 
 in his barometer, he perceived that the column sunk in an 
 extraordinary manner. I know not whether we can give cre- 
 dit to this assertion : but as it is nearly impossible to examine 
 the variations of the weight of the atmosphere during the 
 shocks, we must be satisfied in observing the barometer before 
 or after these phenomena have taken place. In the temperate 
 zone, the aurora borealis does not always modify the variation 
 
600 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EARTHQUAKES. 
 
 of the needle, and the intensity of the magnetic forces : per- 
 haps also earthquakes do not act constantly in the same man- 
 ner on the air that surrounds us. 
 
 We can scarcely doubt, that the earth, when opened and 
 agitated by shocks, occasionally sends forth gaseous exhala- 
 tions through the atmosphere, in places remote from the 
 mouths of volcanoes not extinct. At Cumana, as we have 
 already observed, flames and vapours, mixed with sulphureous 
 acid, spring up from the most arid soil. In other parts of the 
 same province, the earth ejects water and petroleum. At Rio- 
 bamba, a muddy and inflammable mass, which is called moya, 
 issues from crevices that close again, and accumulates into 
 elevated hills. At seven leagues from Lisbon, near Colares, 
 during the terrible earthquake of the 1st of November, 1755, 
 flames, and a column of thick smoke, were seen to issue from 
 the flanks of the rocks of Alvidras, and, according to some 
 witnesses, from the bosom of the sea. This smoke lasted 
 several days, and it was the more abu-ndant in proportion as 
 the subterraneous noise, which accompanied the shocks, was 
 louder. 
 
 ‘‘ Elastic fluids thrown into the atmosphere may act locally 
 on the barometer, not by their mass, which is very small 
 compared to the mass of the atmosphere ; but because, at the 
 moment of the great explosions, an ascending current is pro- 
 bably formed, which diminishes the pressure of the air. 1 am 
 inclined to think, that in the greater number of earthquakes, 
 nothing escapes from the agitated earth, and that, when 
 gaseous exhalations and vapours take place, they oftener 
 accompany or follow, than precede, the shocks. This last 
 circumstance explains a fact, which seems indubitable ; I 
 mean that mysterious influence, in equinoctial America, of 
 earthquakes accompanying a change of climate, and the order 
 of the dry and rainy seasons. If the earth generally acts on 
 the air only at the moment of the shocks, we can conceive 
 why it is so rare that a sensible meteorological change be- 
 comes the presage of these great revolutions of nature. 
 
 “ The hypothesis, according to which, in the earthquakes 
 of Cumana, elastic fluids escape from the surface of the soil, 
 seems confirmed by the observation of the dreadful noise w'hich 
 is heard during the shocks at the borders of the wells in the 
 plain of Charas. Water and sand are sometimes thrown out 
 twenty feet high. Similar phenomena have not escaped the 
 observation of the ancient inhabitants of Greece and Asia 
 Minor, abounding with caverns, crevices, and subterraneous 
 rivers. Nature, in its uniform progress, every where sug- 
 gests the same ideas of the causes of earthquakes, and the 
 means by which man, forgetting the measure of his strength, 
 pretends to diminish the effect of the subterraneous explosions. 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 501 
 
 What a great Roman naturalist has said of the utility of wells 
 and caverns, is repeated in the New World by the most igno- 
 rant Indians of Quito, when they shew travellers the guaicos, 
 or crevices of Pichincha. 
 
 “ The subterraneous noise, so frequent during earthquakes, 
 is generally not in the ratio of the strength of the shocks. 
 At Cumana it constantly precedes them ; while at Quito, and 
 lately at Caraccas, and in the West India Islands, a noise like the 
 discharge of a battery was heard a long time after the shocks 
 had ceased. A third kind of phenomenon, the most remark- 
 able of the whole, is the rolling of those subterraneous thun- 
 ders, which last several months, without being accompanied 
 by the least oscillating motion of the ground. 
 
 “ In every country subject to earthquakes, the point where 
 (probably by a disposition of the stony strata) the effects are 
 the most sensible, is considered as the cause and the focus of the 
 shocks. Thus, at Cumana, the hill of the castle of St. Antonio, 
 and particularly the eminence on which the convent of St. 
 Francis is placed, are believed to contain an enormous quan- 
 tity of sulphur, and other inflammable matter. We forget, 
 that the rapidity with which the undulations are propagated 
 to great distances, even across the basin of the ocean, proves 
 that the centre of action is very remote from the surface of 
 the globe. From this same cause, no doubt, earthquakes are 
 not restrained to certain species of rocks, as some naturalists 
 pretend, but all are fitted to propagate the movement. In 
 order to keep within the limits of my own experience, I shall 
 here cite the granites of Lima and Acapulco; the gneiss of 
 Caraccas; the mica-slate of the peninsula of Araya ; the primi- 
 tive thonschiefer of JTepecuacuilco, in Mexico; the secondary 
 limestones of the Apennines ; Spain, and new Andalusia; and 
 finally, the trappean porphyries of Quito and Popayan. In 
 these different places the ground is frequently agitated by the 
 most violent shocks ; but sometimes, in the same rock, the 
 superior strata form invincible obstacles to the propagation 
 of the motion. Thus, in the mines of Saxony, we have seen 
 workmen hasten up, affrighted by oscillations which were not 
 felt at the surface of the ground. 
 
 “ If, in legions the most remote from each other, primitive, 
 secondary, and volcanic rock, share equally in the convulsive 
 movements of the globe; we cannot but admire also, that in 
 ground of little extent, certain classes of rocks oppose them- 
 selves to tlie |)ropagation of the shocks. At (Humana, for 
 instance, before the catastrophe of 1797, the earthquakes were 
 felt only along the southern and calcareous coast of the gulf 
 of Cariaco, as far as the town of this name ; while in the pen- 
 insula of Araya, and at the village of Marinaquez, the ground 
 did not partake of the same agitation. The inhabitants of 
 
502 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EARTHQAKES. 
 
 this northern coast, which is composed of mica-slate, built 
 their huts on a motionless earth ; a gulf three or four thou- 
 sand fathoms in breadth separated them from a plain covered 
 with ruins, and overturned by earthquakes. This security, 
 founaed on the experience of several ages, has vanished; and 
 since the fourteenth of December, 1797, new communications 
 appear to have been opened in the interior of the globe. At 
 present the peninsula of Araya is not merely subject to the 
 agitation of the soil of Cumana; the promontory of mica-slate 
 is become in its turn a particular centre of the movements. 
 The earth is sometimes strongly shaken at the village of 
 Marinaquez, when on the coast of Cumana the inhabitants 
 enjoy the most perfect tranquillity. The gulf of Cariaco 
 nevertheless is only sixty or eighty fathoms deep. 
 
 ‘‘It is thought, from observations made both on the con- 
 tinent and in the islands, that the western and southern coasts 
 are most exposed to shocks. This observation is connected 
 with the ideas which geologists have long formed of the posi- 
 tion of the high chains of mountains, and the direction of their 
 steepest declivities : the volcanic phenomena of the Cordilleras 
 and Caraccas, and the freq uency of the oscillations on the eastern 
 and northern coast of Terra Firma, in the gulf of Paria, at 
 Carupano, at Cariaco, and at Cumana, are proofs of the cer- 
 tainty of this opinion. In New Andalusia, as well as in Chili 
 and Peru, the shocks follow the course of the shore, and 
 extend but little inland. This circumstance, as we shall soon 
 find, indicates an intimate connection betw'een the causes 
 that produce earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. If the 
 earth was most agitated on the coasts, because they are the 
 lowest part of the land, why should not the oscillations be 
 equally strong and frequent on those vast savannas or mea- 
 dows, which are scarcely eight or ten toises above the level 
 of the ocean ? 
 
 “ The earthquakes of Cumana are connected with those of 
 the West India Islands; and it has even been suspected, that 
 they have some connection with the volcanic phenomena of 
 the Cordilleras of the Andes. On the fourth of November, 
 1797, the soil of the province of Quito underwent such a 
 destructive commotion, that, notwithstanding the extreme 
 thinness of the population of that country, near forty thou- 
 sand natives perished, buried under the ruins of their houses, 
 swallowed up in the crevices, or drowned in lakes that were 
 suddenly formed. At the same period, the inhabitants of the 
 eastern Antilles were alarmed by shocks, which continued 
 during eight months, when the volcano of Guadaloupe threw 
 out pumice stones, ashes, and gusts of sulphureous vapours. 
 This eruption of the twenty-seventh of September, during which 
 very long-continued subterraneous noises were heard, was 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 603 
 
 followed on the fourteenth of December by the great earth- 
 quake of Cumana. Anotlier volcano of the West India 
 Islands, that of St. Vincentes, has lately given a fresh instance 
 of these extraordinary connections. This volcano had not 
 emitted flames since 1718, when they burst forth anew, in 
 1812. The total ruin of the city of Caraccas preceded this 
 explosion thirty-five days, and violent oscillations of the 
 ground were felt, both in the islands, and on the coasts of 
 Terra Firm a. 
 
 “ It has long been remarked, that the effects of great earth- 
 quakes extend much farther than the phenomena arising 
 from burning volcanoes. In studying the physical re- 
 volutions of Italy, and carefully examining the series of the 
 eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna, vve can scarcely recognize, 
 notwithstanding the proximity of these mountains, any traces 
 of simultaneous action. It is, on the contrary, undeniable, 
 that at the period of the last and preceding destruction of 
 Lisbon, the sea was violently agitated even as far as the New 
 World, for instance, at the island of Barbadoes, more than 
 twelve hundred leao:ues distant from the coasts of Portugal. 
 
 “ Several facts tend to prove, that the causes which produce 
 earthquakes have a near connection with those that act in 
 volcanic eruptions. We learnt at Pasto, that the column of 
 black and thick smoke, which in 1797 issued for several 
 months from the volcano near this shore, disappeared at the 
 very hour when, sixty leagues to the south, the towns of 
 Riobamba, Hambato, and Tacunga, were overturned by an 
 enormous shock. When, in the interior of a burning crater,- 
 we are seated near those hillocks formed by ejections of 
 scoria and ashes, we feel the motion of the ground several 
 seconds before each partial eruption takes place. We ob- 
 served this phenomenon at Vesuvius in 1805, while the moun- 
 tain threw out scoria; we were witnesses of it in 1812, on the 
 brink of the immense crater of Pichincha, from which never- 
 theless at that time clouds of sulphureous acid vapours only 
 issued. 
 
 “Every thing in earthquakes seems to indicate the action of 
 elastic fluids seeking an outlet to spread themselves in the 
 atmosjdiere. Often, on the coasts of the South Sea, the action 
 is almost instantaneously communicated from Chili to the 
 gulf of Guayaquil, a distance of six hundred leagues ; and, 
 what is very remarkable, the shocks appear to be so much the 
 stronger, as the country is more distant from burning vol- 
 canoes. The granitic mountains of Calabria, covered with 
 very recent breccia, the calcareous chain of the Apennines, 
 the country of Pignerol, the coasts of Portugal and Greece, 
 and those of Peru and Terra Firma, afford striking proofs of this 
 assertion. The globe, it may be said, is agitated with greater 
 
604 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EATHQUAKES. 
 
 force, in proportion as the surface has a smaller number of 
 funnels communicating with the caverns of the interior. At 
 Naples and Messina, at the foot of Cotopaxi and of Tungu- 
 ragua, earthquakes are dreaded only when vapours and flames 
 do not issue from the crater. In the kingdom of Quito, the 
 great catastrophe of Riobamba, which we have before men- 
 tioned, has led several well-informed persons to think, that 
 this unfortunate country would be less often desolate, if the 
 subterraneous fire would break the porphyritic dome of Chim- 
 borazo ; and this colossal mountain should become a burn- 
 ing volcano. At all times analogous facts have led to the 
 same hypothesis. The Greeks, who, like ourselves, attributed 
 the oscillations of the ground to the action of elastic fluids, 
 cited, in favour of their opinion, the total cessation of the 
 shocks at the island of Eubcea, by the opening of a crevice in 
 the Lelantine plain.” 
 
 The following is an account of an Earthquake of Caraccas; 
 by M. Palacio Faxar : — 
 
 “ The ridge of mountains, which branches out from the 
 Andes near the isthmus of Panama, and which, taking the 
 direction of the eastern coast, crosses* part of New Granada 
 and Venezuela, seems to have been the seat of that earth 
 quake, which, on the 26th March, 1812, destroyed many po- 
 pulous towns of the province of Caraccas. It is this branch 
 of the Cordilleras, that forms the Sierra-nevada of Chita, that 
 of Merida de Maracaybo, and the height called La Silla de 
 Caracca ; and it is between these three remarkable points that 
 the gold mines of Pamplona, the mineral water of Merida 
 de Maracaybo, and the copper mines of Aroa, are found. 
 Between the picturesque Sierra-nevada of Merida de Mara- 
 caybo, and La Silla de Caracca, where spring is perpetual, 
 the earthquake was most strongly felt. 
 
 “ At the south-east of this ridge of mountains, there are 
 plains of an immense extent, covered with different species 
 of grasses, and watered by innumerable torrents, which falling 
 from the mountains, and uniting in different bodies, majesti- 
 cally enter the Orinoco. These plains were likewise con- 
 vulsed for above 120 leagues in Venezuela; the towns situate 
 immediately at the foot of the Cordilliera, %)r in the valleys 
 between them, suffered most severely : those seated in the 
 plains did not suffer considerable injury, though violently 
 shaken. For five months a continued drought had parched 
 the earth, no rain having fallen, and in the preceding month 
 of December, a slight shock of an earthquake had been felt 
 at Caraccas. It was on the eve of the Crucifixion, when Ca- 
 tholics assembled together in their churches, to commemorate, 
 with public prayers and processions, the sufferings and merits 
 
EARTHQUAKE OF CARACCAS. 
 
 605 
 
 of their Redeemer, that this sad catastrophe had happened. 
 The weather was fine, and the air serene, when between four 
 and five p. m. a hollow sound like the roar of a cannon was 
 heard, which was followed by a violent oscillatory motion from 
 west to east, which lasted about seventeen seconds, and which 
 stopped all the public clocks ; the convulsion diminished for 
 some moments, but was succeeded by a more violent shock 
 than the first, for nearly twenty seconds, keeping the same 
 direction ; a calm followed, which lasted about fourteen se- 
 conds, after which, a most alarming trepidation of the earth 
 took place for fifteen seconds ; the total duration about one 
 minute and fifteen seconds. The inhabitants of Caraccas, 
 struck with terror, unitedly and loudly implored the protection 
 of Heaven : some ran wildly through the streets ; some re- 
 mained immoveable with astonishment ; while others, crowding 
 into the churches, sought refuge at the foot of the altar. The 
 crash of falling buildings, the clouds of dust which filled the 
 air, and the anxious cries of mothers, who inquired in vain 
 for their children lost in the tumult, increased the horrors of 
 this sad day. To this scene of disorder succeeded the most 
 horrible despair. Dead bodies, wounded persons crying for 
 protection, presented themselves every where to those who had 
 escaped from the catastrophe, and who could not turn their 
 eyes from these objects of pity and horror, without meeting 
 with heaps of ruin, which had buried hundreds of unfortunate 
 persons, whose lamentations uselessly pierced their hearts, 
 for it was impossible to give relief or assistance to all. 
 
 “ It has been computed, that in this calamitous day, near 
 20,000 persons perished at Venezuela. A great part of the 
 veteran troops were of this number ; and all the arms destined 
 for the defence of their country, were buried under the ruins 
 of the barracks. The towns of Caraccas, Merida de Mara- 
 caybo, and Laguaira, were totally destroyed ; those of Barqui- 
 rineto, Sanfelipe, and others, suffered considerably. It is 
 to be remarked, that Truxillo, which is situate between 
 Merida de Maracaybo and Sanfelipe, experienced very little 
 damage. At the last place, near the mines of Aroa, the first 
 signal they had of the earthquake was an electric shock, which 
 deprived many persons of their power of motion ; and in Va- 
 lencia, Caraccas, and the neighbouring country, the inhabi- 
 tants were, for about tw^enty days after the earthquake, in 
 an extraordinary state of irritability. Many persons, who 
 suffered from intermittent fevers, recovered immediately, in 
 consequence of the effect of the earthquake. 
 
 At Vallecillo, near Valencia, a rivulet spouted out from a 
 hill, which continued to flow for some hours after the earth- 
 quake, and which I visited a few days after. The river Guaire, 
 which runs through the valley of Caraccas, was greatly swelled 
 
 3S 
 
506 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING EARTHQUAKES, 
 
 soon after the earthquake, and remained in that state for se^ 
 veral days. The water of the bay of Maracaybo withdrew 
 considerably, and it is said that the mountain Avila, which 
 separates Caraccas from Laguaira, sunk several feet into the 
 earth. 
 
 The earthquakes continued for many days, we may say, 
 without interruption : they diminished as it were by degrees, 
 though the last were remarkably strong. So late as the month 
 of October in the same year, there was a violent shock. The 
 earthquake of the 26th March was felt at Santafe de Bogota, 
 and even at Carthagena, though it was very little felt at Cu- 
 mana. 
 
 In the following April, a volcano burst out in the island of 
 St. Vincent. About the time of the eruption, a noise like 
 that occasioned by the discharge of a cannon was heard 
 at Caraccas and Laguaira, which caused a general alarm, the 
 inhabitants of each place supposing that the neighbouring 
 town was attacked by the enemy. This roaring noise was 
 distinctly heard where the river Nula falls into the Apure, 
 which is more than 100 leas^ues from Caraccas. In the same 
 year, 1812, many strong shocks of an earthquake were felt at 
 Samaica and Cura^oa. 
 
 ** The earthquake of the 26th March alarmed so deeply the 
 inhabitants of Venezuela, that they expected to see the earth 
 open and swallow them at every convulsion; and as it hap- 
 pened on the anniversary of their political revolution, they 
 supposed that event had incurred the displeasure of the Al- 
 mighty. The clergy, who were enemies to the revolution, as 
 their privileges had been diminished by the new constitution 
 of Venezuela, availed themselves of the disposition of the 
 people, and preached every where against the new republic. 
 Such was the beginning of the civil war at Venezuela; a war, 
 which has desolated those beautiful countries, and which has 
 destroyed the tenth part of their population.” 
 
 The celebrated poet Cowper, in the second book of his 
 admirable poem. The Task, has given us a very accurate and 
 sublime description of the effects of Earthquakes, from which 
 the following is an extract: — 
 
 The rocks fall headlong, and the valleys rise, 
 
 The rivers die into oft'ensive pools, 
 
 \nd, charg’d with putrid verdure, breathe a grosf 
 And mortal nuisance into all the air. 
 
 What solid was, by transformation strange, 
 
 (Irows fluid ; and the fixt and rooted earth, 
 
 Tormented into billows, heaves and swells, 
 
 Or with vertiginous and hideous whirl 
 Sucks down its prey insatiable. Immense 
 The tumult and the overthrow, the pangi 
 And agonies of human and of brute 
 
SIMOOM, OR HOT WIND OF EGYPT 
 
 507 
 
 Multitudes, fugitive on ev’ry side, 
 
 And fugitive in vain. The sylvan scene 
 Migrates uplifted ; and., with all its soil, 
 
 Alighting on far distant fields, finds out 
 A new possessor, and survives the change. 
 
 Ocean has caught the frenzy, and, upwrougJit 
 To an enormous and o’erbearing height. 
 
 Not by a mighty wind, but by that voice 
 Which winds and waves obey, invades the shore 
 Resistless. Never such a sudden flood, 
 
 Upridg’d so high, and sent on such a charge. 
 
 Possess’d an inland scene. Where now the throng 
 That press’d the beach, and, hasty to depart, 
 
 Look’d to the sea for safety ? They are gone. 
 
 Gone with the refluent wave into the deep — 
 
 A prince with half his people.” 
 
 It is a consolation to every good man, to consider that the 
 world is governed by a wise and good, as well as powerful 
 Being, who gives liberty to the powers of nature to range, 
 or restrains them, as may best suit his divine purposes; 
 which have always the ultimate good of the whole creation in 
 view. 
 
 CHAP. XLIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIEl:; RESPECTING WINDS, HURRICANES, 4'c. 
 
 Tternarkahle Winds in Eg^pt — Whirlwinds of Egypt — Tornado — ■ 
 Harrnattan — Hurricane — Monsoons — Velocity of the Wind. 
 
 Bound as they are, and circumscrib’d in place. 
 
 They rend the world, resistless where they pass. 
 
 And mighty marks of mischief leave behind ; 
 
 Such is the rage of their tempestuous kind. 
 
 First, Eurus, to the rising morn is sent. 
 
 The regions of the balmy continent. 
 
 And eastern realms, where early Persians run 
 To greet the blest appearance of the sun. 
 
 Westward the wanton Zephyr wings his flight. 
 
 Pleas’d with the remnant of departing light; 
 
 . Fierce Boreas, with his oflspring, issues forth 
 T’ invade the frozen waggon of the north ; 
 
 While frowning Auster seeks the southern sphere. Ovid. 
 
 REMARKABLE WINDS IN EGYPT. 
 
 Egypt is infested with the destructive blasts common to 
 all warm countries which have deserts in their neighbourhood. 
 These have been distinguished by various names, such as Poi- 
 sonous winds, Hot winds of the desert, Samiel, the wind of 
 Damascus, Camseen, and Simoom. In Egypt they are deno- 
 minated “Winds of fifty days,” because they most commonly 
 
508 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WINDS. 
 
 prevail during the fifty days preceding and following the 
 equinox, though, should they blow constantly during one 
 half of that time, an universal destruction would be the con- 
 sequence. Of these, travellers have given various descriptions. 
 M. Volney says, that the violence of their heat may be com- 
 pared to that of a large oven at the moment of drawing out 
 the bread. They always blow from the south, and are undoubt- 
 edly owing to the motion of the atmosphere over such vast 
 tracts of hot sand, which cannot be supplied with a sufficient 
 quantity of moisture. When they begin to blow, the sky 
 loses its usual serenity, and assumes a dark, heavy, and alarm- 
 ing aspect, the sun laying aside his usual splendour, and 
 becoming of a violet colour. This terrific appearance seems 
 not to be occasioned by any real haze or cloud in the atmo- 
 sphere at that time, but solely by the vast quantity of fine 
 sand carried along by those winds, and w^hich is so excessively 
 subtile that it penetrates every where. The motion of this 
 wind is always rapid, but its heat is not intoleral)le till it has 
 continued for some time. Its pernicious qualities are evi- 
 dently occasioned by its excessive aridity ; for it dries and 
 shrivels up the skin, and, by affecting the lungs in a similar 
 manner, soon produces suffocation and death. The danger is 
 greatest to those of a plethoric habit, or who have been ex-* 
 hausted by fatigue ; and putrefaction very soon takes place 
 in the bodies of such as are destroyed by it. Its extreme 
 dryness is such, that water sprinkled on the floor evaporates 
 in a few minutes; all the plants are withered and stripped of 
 their leaves, and a fever is instantly produced in the human 
 species by the suppression of perspiration. It usually lasts 
 three days, but is altogether insupportable if it continue be- 
 yond that time. 
 
 The danger is greatest w'hen the wind blows in squalls, and 
 to travellers who happen to be exposed to its fury without 
 any shelter. The best method, in this case, is to stop the 
 nose and mouth with a handkerchief: camels, by a natural in- 
 stinct, bury their noses in the sand, and keep them there till 
 the squall is over. The inhabitants, who have an opportunity 
 of retiring to their houses, instantly shut themselves up in 
 them, or go into pits made in the earth, till the destructive 
 blast is over. 
 
 The description of a blast of this kind, which overtook Mr. 
 Bruce, in the desert of Nubia, is still more terrible. — The sun 
 was now obscured by them,* and the transmission of his rays 
 gave them a dreadful appearance, resembling pillars of fire. 
 This was pronounced by the guide to be a sign of the ap- 
 proaching simoom, or hot wind; and he directed, that when 
 it came, the people should fajl upon their faces, and keep their 
 The moving columns of sand. 
 
WHIRLWINDS OF EGYPT. 
 
 509 
 
 mouths on the sand, to avoid drawing in this pernicious blast 
 with their breath. On his calling out that the simoon was 
 coming, Mr. Bruce turned for a moment to the quarter from 
 whence it came, which was the south-east. It appeared like 
 a haze or fog of a purple colour, but less bright than the pur- 
 ple part of the rainbow ; seemingly about twenty yards in 
 breadth, and about twelve feet high from the ground. It 
 moved with such rapidity, that before he could turn about 
 and fall down, he felt the vehement heat of its current upon 
 his face ; and even after it passed over, which was very quickly, 
 the air which followed was of such a heat as to threaten sufi'o- 
 cation. Mr. Bruce had unfortunately inspired some part of 
 the pernicious blast; by which means he almost entirely los.t 
 his voice, and became subject to an asthmatic complaint,, 
 from which he did not get free for two years. 
 
 The same phenomenon occurred twice over on their journey 
 through this desert. The second time it came from the south 
 a little to the east, but it seemed to have a shade of blue 
 along with the purple, and its edges were less perfectly de- 
 fined, resemblino* rather a thin smoke, and having about a 
 yard in the middle tinged with blue and purple. 
 
 The third time, it was preceded by an appearance of sandy 
 pillars, more magnificent than any they had yet observed ; the 
 sun shining through them in such a manner as to give those 
 which were nearest a resemblance of being spangled with 
 stars of gold. The simoom which followed had the same 
 blue and purple appearance as before, and was followed by a 
 most suffocating wind for two hours, which reduced our tra- 
 vellers to the lowest degree of weakness and despondency. 
 
 It was remarkable, that this wind always came from the 
 south-east, while the sandy pillars, which prognosticated its 
 approach, seemed to keep to the westward, and to occupy the 
 vast circular space inclosed by the Nile to the west of their 
 route, going round by Chaigie towards Dongola. The heaps 
 of sand left by them when they fell, or raised by the whirl- 
 winds which carried them up, were twelve or thirteen feel^iigh, 
 exactly conical, tapering to a fine point, and their bases well 
 proportioned. 
 
 The following account of the Whirlwinds of Egypt, is 
 from Belzoni’s Narrative: — “ A strong wind which arose this 
 day leads me to mention some particulars of the phenomena 
 that often happen in Egypt. The first I shall notice is the 
 W'hirlwinds, which occur all the year round, but especially at 
 the time of the camseen wind, which begins in April, and lasts 
 fifty days. Hence the name of which in Arabic sig- 
 
 nifies fifty. It generally blows from the south-west, and lasts 
 four, five, or six days without varying, so very strong that it 
 
610 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WINDS. 
 
 raises the sands to a great height, forming a general cloud, 
 so thick that it is impossible to keep the eyes open, if not 
 under cover. It is troublesome, even to the Arabs ; it forces 
 the sand into the houses through every cranny, and fills every 
 thing with it. The caravans cannot proceed in the deserts; 
 the boats cannot continue their voyages ; and travellers are 
 obliged to eat sand, in spite of their teeth. The whole fs like 
 a chaos. Often a quantity of sand and small stones gradually 
 ascends to a great height, and forms a column of sixty or 
 seventy feet in diameter, and so thick, that were it steady on 
 one spot, it would appear a solid mass. This not only revolves 
 within its own circumference, but runs in a circular direction 
 over a great space of ground, sometimes maintaining itself in 
 motion for half an hour, and wherever it falls it accumulates 
 a small hill of sand. God help the poor traveller who is 
 caught under it!” 
 
 We shall now describe a Tornado. — This is a sudden and 
 vehement gust of wind from all points of the compass, and 
 frequent on the coast of Guinea. A tornado seems to partake 
 much of the nature of a whirlwind, or perhaps of a water- 
 spout, but is more violent in its effects. It commences very 
 suddenly ; several clouds being previously drawn together, 
 a spout of wind, proceeding from them, strikes the ground, 
 in a round spot of a few rods or perches in diameter, and 
 proceeds thus half a mile or a mile. The proneness of its 
 descent makes it rebound from the earth, throwing such things 
 as are moveable before it, sideways, or in a lateral direction 
 from it. A vapour, mist, or rain, descends with it, by which 
 the path of it is marked with wet. 
 
 The following is a description of one which happened a few 
 ,ears since at Leicester, about fifty miles from Boston, in 
 New England ; it happened in July, on a hot day, about four 
 o’clock in the afternoon. A few cloudshaving gathered vvest- 
 w’ard, and coming over-head, a sudden motion of their running 
 together in a point, being observed, immediately a spout of 
 wind struck the west end of a house, and instantly carried it 
 away, with a negro man in it, who was afterwards found dead 
 ‘^in its path. Two men and a woman, by the breach of the 
 ifloor, fell into the cellar; and one man was driven forcibly 
 up into the chimney corner. These were preserved, though 
 much bruised ; they were wet with a vapour or mist, as were 
 the remains of the door, and the whole path of the spout. 
 This wind raised boards, timbers, &,c. A joist was found on 
 one end, driven nearly three feet into the ground. The spout 
 probably took it in its elevated state, and drove it forcibly 
 dow’n. The tornado moved with the celerity of a moderate 
 wind, and declined in strength till it entirely ceased. 
 
HARM ATT AN. — HURRICANE. 
 
 611 
 
 Ha RMATTAN. — This is a name given to a singular wind, 
 which blows periodically from the interior parts of Africa, 
 towards the Atlantic ocean. It prevails in December, Janu- 
 ary, and February, and is generally accompanied by a fog or 
 haze, that conceals the sun for whole days together. Extreme 
 dryness is the characteristic of this wind : no dew falls during 
 its continuance, which is sometimes for a fortnight or more. 
 The whole vegetable creation is withered, and the grass 
 becomes at once like hay. The natives take the opportunity 
 which this wind gives them, of clearing the land, by setting 
 fire to trees and plants in this their exhausted state. The 
 dryness is so extreme, that household furniture is damaged, 
 and the wainscot of the rooms flies to pieces. The human 
 body is also affected by it, so as to cause the skin to peel off ; 
 but in other respects it is deemed salutary to the constitution, 
 by stopping the progress of infection, and curing almost all 
 cutaneous diseases. 
 
 We now proceed to some curious particulars, under the 
 term Hurricane. — This is indeed a general name for any 
 violent storm of wind, but is peculiarly applied to those 
 storms which happen in the warmer climates, and which 
 greatly exceed the most violent ones known in this country. 
 Dr. Mosely, in his Treatise on Tropical Diseases, observes, 
 that the ruin and desolation accompanying a hurricane can 
 scarcely be described. Like fire, its resistless force consumes 
 every thing in its track, in the most terrible and rapid manner 
 It is generally preceded by an awful stillness of the elements, 
 and a closeness and mistiness in the atmosphere, which makes 
 the sun appear red, and the stars larger. But a dreadful 
 reverse succeeds : the sky is suddenly overcast and wild ; the 
 sea rises at once from a profound calm into mountains; the 
 wind rages and roars like the noise of cannon; the rain de- 
 sce^ids in a deluge ; a dismal obscurity envelops the earth 
 with darkness ; and the superior regions appear rent with 
 lightning and thunder. The earth on these occasions often 
 does, and always seems to tremble ; whilst terror and conster- 
 nation distract all nature : birds are carried from the woods 
 into the ocean; and those whose element is the sea, seek for 
 refuge on land ; the frightened animals in the field assemble 
 together, and are almost suftbcated by the impetuosity of the 
 wind in searching for shelter, which, when found, is but the 
 prelude to destruction. The roofs of houses are carried to 
 vast distances from their walls, which are beat to the ground, 
 burying their inhabitants under them. Large trees are torn 
 up by the roots, and huge branches shivered off, and driven 
 through the air in every direction with immense velocity. 
 Every tree and shrub that withstands the shock is stripped 
 
512 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WINDS. 
 
 of its Loughs and foliage; plants and grass are laid flat on 
 the earth; and luxuriant spring is changed in a moment to 
 dreary winter. This direful tragedy ended, (when it happens 
 in a town,) the devastation is surveyed with accumulated horror: 
 the harbour is covered with wrecks of boats and vessels; and 
 the shore has not a vestige of its former state remaining. 
 Mounds of rubbish and rafters in one place; heaps of earth 
 and trunks of trees in another; deep gullies from torrents of 
 water; and the dead and dying bodies of men, women, and 
 children, half buried, and scattered about, where streets stood 
 but an hour before, — present the miserable survivors with the 
 shocking conclusion of a spectacle, to be followed by fa- 
 mine, and, when accompanied by an earthquake, by mortal 
 diseases. 
 
 Philosophers are now inclined to attribute these terrible 
 phenomena to electricity, though the manner in which it acts 
 in this case is by no means known. It seems probable, in- 
 deed, that not only hurricanes, but even the most gentle 
 gales of wind, are produced by the action of the electric 
 fluid. 
 
 In the next place we shall treat of Monsoons, or Trade- 
 Winds. 
 
 “ Trade-winds, observing well tlieir stated course, 
 
 To human good employ their pow’rful force; 
 
 The loaded ships across the ocean fann’d 
 By steady gales, spread commerce through the land; 
 
 These you observe — but have you no desire 
 The hidden spring of such effects t’inquire? 
 
 Or, when contending winds around you blow, 
 
 Do you ne’er wish the cause of them to know 
 
 Monsoons are those winds which blow six months con 
 stantly the same way, and the contrary way the other ^ix 
 months. 
 
 Mr. Olinthus Gregory observes, that though the winds in a 
 temperate zone of the earth are very inconstant and change- 
 able, yet this is not the case in every part of the terrestrial 
 globe ; for in the torrid zone, and some other parts, the winds 
 are generally very uniform and constant in their direction, as 
 will appear from the following facts relative thereto: — 
 
 “ 1. Over the Atlantic, and Pacific oceans, particularly be- 
 tween thirty degrees of north and thirty degrees of south 
 latitude, the trade-winds, as they are called, blow uniformly 
 from east to west, all the year round, with a small variation in 
 the different seasons. 
 
 ** 2. When the sun is on the equator, the trade-winds, in sail- 
 ing northward, veer more and more from the east towards the 
 north ; so that about their limit they become nearly north- 
 
TRADE-WINDS. 
 
 513 
 
 east; and vice versa in sailing southward, they become at last 
 nearly south-east. 3. When the sun is near the tropic of 
 Cancer, the trade-winds north of the equator become more 
 nearly east than at other times, and those south of the equator 
 more nearly south ; and vice versa, when the sun is near the 
 tropic of Capricorn. 4. The trade-winds are not due east 
 upon the equator, but about four degrees to the north of it. 
 
 “ To account for these facts relative to the winds, is a most 
 curious and important, though mysterious, inquiry ; having 
 employed the pens of several very eminent philosophers: but 
 amongst all the explanations I have seen, there is none in my 
 opinion more agreeable to nature than one given by Mr. John 
 Dalton, of Manchester, in his ** Meteorological Observations 
 and Essays.'* The method of reasoning applied to the subject 
 in that work, I shall here make use of. 
 
 “ The inequality of heat in the different climates and places, 
 and the earth’s rotation on its axis, appears to be the prin- 
 cipal causes of all winds, regular and irregular. It may be 
 observed, that whenever the heat is greatest, there the air will 
 ascend, and a supply of colder air will be received from the 
 neighbouring parts: it will be willingly allowed, that the heat 
 is at all times greatest in the torrid zone, and decreases 
 gradually in proceeding northward or southward ; also that 
 the poles may at all times be considered as the centres of 
 cold. Hence it reasonably follows, that abstracting from 
 accidental circumstances, there will be a constant ascent of 
 air over the torrid zone, which air will afterwards fall north- 
 ward and southward, whilst the colder air below is determined 
 by a continual impulse towards the equator. 
 
 “ When the effects of the earth’s rotation are taken into 
 consideration, our reasoning must be as follows: the air over 
 any part of the earth’s surface, when apparently at rest, or 
 calm, will have the same rotatory velocity as that part ; but 
 if a quantity of air in the northern hemisphere receive an im- 
 pulse in the direction of the meridian, either northward or 
 southward, its rotatory velocity will be greater in the former 
 case, and less in the latter, than that of the air into which it 
 moves; consequently, if it move northward, it will have a 
 greater velocity eastward than the air, or surface of the earth 
 over which it moves, and will therefore become a south-west 
 wind, or a wind between the south and west; and, vice versa, 
 if it move southward, it becomes a north-east wind. From 
 siniilar considerations it will appear, that in the southern 
 hemisphere the winds will be north-west and south-east re- 
 spectively. 
 
 “ The trade-winds may therefore be explained thus : The 
 two general masses of air proceeding from both hemispheres 
 towards the equator, as they advance are constantly deflected 
 • 3 T 
 
514 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WINDS. 
 
 more and more towards the east, by reason of the earth’s ro- 
 tation ; that from the southern hemisphere, originally a south 
 wind, is made to veer more and more towards the east ; in like 
 manner, that from the northern hemisphere is made to change 
 its directions from the north towards the east ; these two 
 masses meeting near the equator, their velocities south and 
 north destroy each other, and they proceed afterwards with 
 their common velocity from east to west round the torrid zone, 
 excepting the irregularities produced by the continents. The 
 equator is not in reality the place of concourse, but the north- 
 ern parallel of four degrees ; because the centre of heat is 
 thereabouts, the sun being longer on the north side of the 
 equator, than on the south side. Moreover, when the sun is 
 near one of the tropics, the centre of heat upon the earth’s 
 surface is then nearer that tropic than usual, and therefore 
 the winds about the tropic are more nearly east at that time, 
 and those about the other tropic more nearly north and 
 south. 
 
 If all the terrestrial globe w'ere covered with water, or if 
 the variations of the earth’s surface in heat were regular and 
 constant, so that the heat was the same in every part of the 
 same parallel of latitude, the winds would then be very nearly 
 regular also : but this is not the case ; for we find the irregu- 
 larities of heat, arising from the interspersion of land and sea, 
 are such, that though all the parts of the atmosphere in some 
 measure conspire to produce regular winds about the torrid 
 zone, yet very striking irregularities are often found to take 
 place. A remarkable instance we have in monsoons, which 
 are winds that in the Indian ocean, &c. blow for six months 
 together one way, and the next six months the contrary way: 
 these, with sea and land breezes, do not seem easily to be ac- 
 counted for on any other principle than that of rarefaction. 
 
 “ Perhaps some persons may be led to suppose, that the 
 winds in the northern temperate zone should be between the 
 north and east towards the poles, and between the south and 
 west nearer the equator, almost as regular as the trade-winds; 
 but when the change of seasons, the different capacities of 
 land and water for heat, the interference and opposition of the 
 two general currents, be considered, it might be concluded 
 almost next to impossible that the winds in the temperate 
 zone should exhibit any thing like regularity: however, not- 
 withstanding this, observations sufficiently evince, that the 
 winds therein are, for the most part, in the direction of one 
 of the general currents •, namely, somewhere between the south 
 and west, or more commonly between the north and east ; and 
 ihat winds in other directions ha[)pen only as accidental varie- 
 ties, chiefly in unsettled weather. 
 
 "We may have frequently taken notice, that several wind.s. 
 
MONSOON IN INDIA. 
 
 515 
 
 particularly stormy ones, are attended with a cloudy sky; to 
 this it mav be added, that we have more w'inds than usually 
 occur in rather less latitudes, where the atmosphere is gene- 
 rally more serene : these considered, make it exceedingly pro- 
 bable, that the aqueous vapours which are sustained by the 
 air, from whence come clouds and rains, may be one great 
 cause of irregular winds. It has been determined, from very 
 accurate experiments, that one inch of water when evaporated 
 will fill more than 2000 inches of space : hence it appears 
 that the water which falls in drops of rain, &c. occupied more 
 than 2000 times the space when it floated in the atmosphere 
 in vapours ; the condensation thereof must therefore occasion 
 vacua of such a nature, as will cause winds of different kinds 
 and degrees, according to the deficiency which is to be sup- 
 plied. 
 
 “ The economy of winds, an illustration of which has been 
 here attempted, is admirably adapted to the various purposes 
 of nature, and to the general intercourse of mankind : — if the 
 earth had been fixed, and the sun had revolved about it, the 
 air over the torrid zone, and particularly about the equator, 
 would have been almost always stagnant; and in the other 
 zones the winds would have had little variation either indirec- 
 tion or strength ; in this case navigation would have been 
 greatly impeded, and a communication between the two hemi- 
 spheres by sea, rendered impracticable. On the present 
 system of things, however, the irregularity of winds is of the 
 happiest consequence, by being subservient to navigation: 
 and a general circulation of air constantly takes place between 
 the eastern and western hemispheres, as well as between the 
 polar and equatorial regions; by reason of which, that diffu- 
 sion and intermixture of the different aerial fluids, so neces- 
 sary for the life, health, and prosperity of the animal and 
 vegetable kingdoms, is accomplished : — such is the transcend- 
 ent wisdom and providential care of the beneficent Father of 
 aiir 
 
 The following interesting description of the South-w^est 
 Monsoon in India, is taken from Elphinstone’s Account of 
 Cabul. — The most remarkable rainy season, is that called in 
 India the South-west Monsoon. It extends from Africa to the 
 Malay Peninsula, and deluges all the intermediate countries 
 within certain lines of latitude, for four months in the year. 
 In the south of India, this monsoon commences about the be- 
 ginning of June, but it gets later as we advance towards the 
 the north. Its approach is announced by vast masses of 
 clouds that rise from the Indian ocean, and advance towards 
 the north-east, gathering and thickening as they approach the 
 land. After some threatening days, the sky assumes a troubled 
 
516 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING WINDS. 
 
 appearance in the evenings, and the monsoon in general sets 
 in during the night. It is attended with such a thunder-storm 
 as can scarcely be imagined by those who have only seen that 
 phenomenon in a temperate climate. It generally begins with 
 violent blasts of wind, which are succeeded by floods of rain. 
 For some hours, lightning is seen almost without intermission; 
 sometimes it only illuminates the sky, and shews the clouds 
 near the horizon ; at others, it discovers the distant hills, and 
 again leaves all in darkness ; when in an instant it re-appears 
 in vivid and successive flashes, and exhibits the nearest ob- 
 jects in all the brightness of day. During all this time the 
 distant thunder never ceases to roll, and is only silenced by 
 some nearer peal, which bursts on the ear with such a sudden 
 and tremendous crash, as can scarcely fail to strike the most 
 insensible heart with awe. At length the thunder ceases, and 
 nothing is heard but the continued pouring of the rain, and 
 the rushing of the rising streams. The next day presents a 
 gloomy spectacle : the rain still descends in torrents, and 
 scarcely allows a view of the blackened fields; the rivers are 
 sw'ollen and discoloured, and sweep down along w ith them the 
 hedges, the huts, and the remains of the cultivation, which was 
 carried on during the dry season, into their beds. 
 
 This lasts for some days, after which the sky clears, and 
 discovers the face of nature, changed as if by enchantment. 
 Before the storm, the fields were parched up, and, except in 
 the beds of the rivers, scarce a blade of vegetation was to be 
 seen ; the clearness of the sky was not interrupted by a single 
 cloud, but the atmosphere was loaded with dust, which was 
 sufficient to render distant objects dim, as in a mist, and to 
 make the sun appear dull and discoloured, till he attained a 
 considerable elevation: a parching wind blew like a blast 
 from a furnace, and heated wood, iron, and every other solid 
 material, even in the shade; and immediately before the mon- 
 soon, this wind had been succeeded by still more sultry 
 calms. But when the first violence of the storm is over, the 
 whole earth is covered with a sudden but luxuriant verdure : 
 the rivers are full and tranquil, the air is pure and delicious; 
 and the sky is varied, and embellished with clouds. The effect 
 of the change is visible on all the animal creation, and can 
 only be imagined in FiUrope, by supposing the depth of a 
 dreary wdnter to start at once into all the freshness and bril- 
 liancy of spring. From this time the rain falls at intervals 
 for about a month, when it comes on again with great violence, 
 and in July the rains are at their height; during the third 
 month, they rather diminish, but are still heavy; and in Sep- 
 tember they gradually abate, and are often entirely suspended 
 till near the end of the month, when they depart amidst 
 thunders and tempests, as they came. 
 
VELOCITY OF THE WIND. 
 
 617 
 
 The following Table, which gives some particulars respect- 
 ing the Velocity of the Wind, was calculated by Mr. John 
 Smeaton, the celebrated engineer, and is founded on a correct 
 series of practical observations : — 
 
 is per hour. 
 
 Feet per second. 
 
 1 
 
 1.47 
 
 2 
 
 2.93 ) 
 
 3 
 
 4.40 S 
 
 4 
 
 5.87 \ 
 
 5 
 
 7.33 t 
 
 10 
 
 
 15 
 
 22. 5 
 
 20 
 
 29.34 ) 
 
 25 
 
 36.67 5 
 
 30 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 40 
 
 58.68 ) 
 
 45 
 
 66.01 S 
 
 50 
 
 73.36 1 
 
 60 
 
 
 80 
 
 117.36 \ 
 
 100 
 
 146.70 S 
 
 Light airs. 
 
 Breeze. 
 
 Brisk gale. 
 
 Fresh gale. 
 
 Strong gale. 
 
 Hard gale. 
 
 Storm. 
 
 Hurricane, tearing 
 up trees, &c. 
 
 We conclude this chapter with a poetical enumeration of 
 the benefits arising from the wind : — 
 
 “ Of what important use to human kind, 
 
 To what great ends subservient, is the wind ! 
 
 Where’er the aerial active vapour flies, 
 
 It drives the clouds, and ventilates the skies ; 
 
 Sweeps from the earth infection’s noxious train. 
 
 And swells to wholesome rage the sluggish main. 
 
 For should the sea unagitated stand. 
 
 Death, with huge strides, would desolate the land; 
 
 The scorching sun, with unpropitious beam. 
 
 Would give to grief an everlasting theme; 
 
 And baneful vapours, lurking in the veins. 
 
 Would fiercely burn with unabating pains. 
 
 Nor thus alone air purifies the seas. 
 
 O’er torrid climes it pours the healthful breeze: 
 
 Climes \Uiere the sun direct flings scorching day. 
 
 Feel cooling air his sultry rage allay ; 
 
 Unceasing goodness, with unceasing skill. 
 
 Educing certain good from seeming ill. 
 llis guardian care extends o’er ev’ry shore, 
 
 And blends his favours with what men deplore ; 
 
 The sable nations hence, and burning skies, 
 
 See luscious fruits in varying beauty rise ; 
 
 Spontaneous Nature laugh at culture’s toil. 
 
 And rich luxuriance bless the grateful soil.** 
 
518 
 
 CtJRIOSITIES RESPECTING SHOWERS, ETC. 
 
 CHAP. L. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SHOWERS^ STORMS^ ^e. 
 
 Surprising Showers of Hail — Singular Effects of a Storm — The 
 Mirage — Sand Floods — Showers of Gossamers — Winter in 
 Russia. 
 
 Ye vapours, hail, and snow, 
 
 Praise ye th’ Almighty Lord, 
 
 And stormy winds that blow 
 
 To execute his word. Watts* 
 
 Then from aerial treasures downwards pours 
 Sheets of unsully’d snow in lucid show’rs ; 
 
 Flake after flake, thro’ air thick wav’ring flies 
 ’Till one vast shining waste all nature lies. 
 
 Then the proud hills a virgin whiteness shed, 
 
 A dazzling brightness glitters from the mead ; 
 
 The hoary trees reflect a silver show. 
 
 And groves beneath the lovely burden low. Broome* 
 
 SURPRISING SHOWERS OF HAIL. 
 
 Natural historians record various instances of surprising 
 showers of hail, in which the hailstones were of extraordinary 
 magnitude. Mezeray, speaking of the war of Lewis XII. in 
 Italy, in 1510, relates, that there was for some time a horri- 
 ble darkness, thicker than that of night; after which the 
 clouds broke into thunder and lightning, and there fell a 
 shower of hailstones, or rather (as he calls them) pebble- 
 stones, which destroyed all the fish, birds, and beasts, of the 
 country. It was attended with a strong smell of sulphur ; and 
 the stones were of a bluish colour,- some of them weighing 
 1001b. — Hist, dr France, tom. ii. p. 339. 
 
 At Lisle, in Flanders, in 1686, hailstones fell of a very 
 large size; some of which contained in the middle, a dark 
 brown matter, which, thrown on the fire, gave a very great 
 report. — Phil. Trans. No. 203. 
 
 Dr. Halley and others relate, that in Cheshire, Lancashire, 
 &c. April 29, 1697, a thick black cloud, coming from Carnar- 
 vonshire, disposed the vapours to congeal in such a manner, 
 that for about the breadth of two miles, which was the limit 
 of the cloud, in its progress for sixty miles it did incon- 
 ceivable damage ; not onlv killing all sorts of fowls and other 
 small animals, but splitting trees, kno<“king down horses and 
 men, and even ploughing up the earth so that the hailstones 
 buried themselves underground an inch or an inch and a half 
 deep. The hailstones, many of which weighed five ounces.. 
 and some half a pound, being five or six inches in circumfe- 
 
SINGULAR EFFECTS OF A STORM. 
 
 519 
 
 Fence, were of various figures ; some round, others half round ; 
 some smooth, others embossed and crenated ; the icy sub 
 stance of them was very transparent and hard, but there was 
 a snowy kernel in the centre. 
 
 In Hertfordshire, May 4, 1697, after a severe storm ot 
 thunder and lightning, a shower of hail succeeded, which far 
 exceeded the former: some persons were killed by it, their 
 bodies beat all black and blue ; vast oaks were split, and fields 
 of rye cut down as with a scythe. The stones measured from 
 ten to fourteen inches round. Their figures were various, some 
 oval, some flat, &c. — Fhil. Trans. No. 229. 
 
 The following, account of the Singular Effects of a 
 Storm, was communicated to the Dublin Philosophical So- 
 ciety, by the secretary: — 
 
 “ Mrs. Close gave Mr. Molyneux the following account of 
 the effects of thunder and lightning on her house at New 
 Forge, in the county of Down, in Ireland, on August 9, 1707 : 
 She observed, that the whole day was close, hot, and sultry, 
 with little or no wind stirring till towards the evening, when 
 there was a small breeze, with some mizzling rain, which 
 lasted about an hour; that as the air darkened after sunset, 
 she saw several faint flashes of lightning, and heard some 
 thunder-claps at a distance ; that between ten and eleven 
 o’clock, both were very violent and terrible, and so increased, 
 and came on more frequently until a little before twelve o’clock ; 
 that one flash of lightning and clap of thunder came both at 
 the same time, louder and more dreadful than the rest, which, 
 as she thought, shook and inflamed the whole house ; and 
 being sensible at that instant of a violent strong sulphureous 
 smell in her chamber, and feeling a thick gross dust falling 
 on her hands and face as she lay in bed, she concluded that 
 part of her house was thrown down by the thunder, or set on 
 fire by the lightning ; that, arising in this fright, she called 
 up her family, and candles being lighted, she found her bed- 
 chamber, and the kitchen beneath it, full of smoke and dust, 
 and the looking-glass in her chamber was broken. 
 
 “ The next day she found, that part of the cornice of the 
 chimney, which stood witliout the gabel-end of the house 
 where her chamber was, had been struck off*; that part of the 
 coping of the splay of the gable-end itself was broken dowm, 
 and twelve or sixteen of the shingles on the adjoining roof 
 were raised or ruffled, but none shattered or carried away; 
 that a part of the ceiling in her chamber beneath those shingles 
 was forced dow n, and part of the plaster and pinning stones of 
 the adjoining wall was also broken off* and loosened, the whole 
 breach being sixteen or twenty inches broad; that at this 
 place there was left on the wall a smutted scar or trace, as ii 
 
520 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SHOWERS, ETC. 
 
 I 
 
 blacked by the smoke of a candle, which pointed downwards 
 towards another place on the same wall, where a like breach 
 was made, partly behind the place of the looking-glass ; that 
 the boards on the back of a large hair-trunk, full of linen, 
 standing beneath the looking-glass, were forced in, and splin- 
 tered as if by the blow of a smith’s sledge; that two-thirds of 
 the linen within this trunk were pierced or cut through, the 
 cut appearing of a quadrangular figure, and between two or 
 three inches over; that one end of the trunk was forced out, 
 as the back was driven in ; that at about two feet distance from 
 the end of the trunk, where the floor and the side-wall of the 
 house joined, there was a breach made in the plaster, where 
 d small chink or crevice was to be seen between the sideboard 
 of the floor and the wall, so wide that a man could thrust his 
 ringers down ; and that just beneath this, in the kitchen, the 
 ceiling was forced down, and some of the plaster of the wall 
 broken off ; that exactly under this there stood a large tub or 
 vessel of wood, inclosed with a crib of brick and lime, which 
 was broken and splintered all to pieces, and most of the brick 
 and lime work of it scattered about the kitchen. 
 
 “ The looking-glass was broken with such violence, that 
 there was not a piece of it to be found of the size of half-a- 
 crovvn, and several pieces of it were sticking like hail-shot in 
 the chamber door, which was of oak, and on the other side of 
 the room ; several of the edges and corners of some of the 
 pieces of the broken glass were tinged of a light flame colour, 
 as if heated in the fire ; the curtains of the bed were cut in 
 several places, supposed to be done by the pieces of the glass. 
 Several pieces of muslin and wearing linen, left on the large 
 hair-trunk, were thrown about the room, no way singed or 
 scorched, and yet the hair on the back of the trunk, where 
 the breach was made, was singed ; the uppermost part of the 
 linen within the trunk was not touched, and the lowermost 
 parcel, consisting of more than 350 ply of linen, was pierced 
 through, of which none was anywise smutted, except the 
 uppermost ply of a tablecloth, that lay over all the rest; there 
 was a yellow tinge or stain perceivable on some part of the 
 damaged linen, and the whole smelt strongly of sulphur; the 
 glass of two windows in the bed-chamber above, and two 
 windows in the kitchen below, were so shattered, that there 
 was scarcely one whole frame left, in many of them. The 
 pewter, brass, and iron f'lrniture in the kitchen, were thrown 
 down, and scattered about; particularly, a large girdle, about 
 twenty pounds weight, that hung upon an iron hook near 
 the ceiling, was found lying on the floor. A cat was found 
 dead next morning in the kitchen, with her legs extended in 
 a moving posture, with no other sign of being hurt, than that 
 the f'lr was singed a little about the rump. 
 
THE MIRAGE. SAND FLOODS. 
 
 621 
 
 It was further remarkable, that the wall, both above and 
 below a little window in the same gable-end, was so shattered, 
 that the light could be seen through the crevices in the wall, 
 and upon a largfe stone on the outside of the wall ; beneath 
 this window was a mark, as if made by the stroke of a smith^L 
 sledge, and a splinter of the stone was broken off, of some 
 pounds weight. I was further informed, that from the time 
 of the great thunder-clap, both the thunder and lightning 
 diminished gradually, so that in an hour’s time all was still 
 and quiet again.” 
 
 We proceed to give an account of The Mirage. — From 
 Belzoni’s Narrative. 
 
 “ This phenomenon is often described by travellers, who 
 assert having been deceived by it, as at a distance it appears 
 to them like water. This is certainly the fact, and I must 
 confess that I have been deceived myself, even after I was 
 aware of it. The perfect resemblance to water, and the strong 
 desire for this element, made me conclude, in spite of all my 
 caution not to be deceived, that it was really water I saw. It 
 generally appears like a still lake, so unmoved by the wind, 
 that every thing above it is to be seen most distinctly reflected, 
 which is the principal cause of the deception. If the wind 
 agitate any of the plants that rise above the horizon of the 
 mirage, the motion is seen perfectly at a great distance. If 
 the traveller stands elevated much above the mirage, the water 
 seems less united and less deep, for, as the eyes look down 
 upon it, there is not thickness enough in the vapour of the 
 surface of the ground to conceal the earth from the sight; 
 but if the traveller be on a level with the horizon of the 
 mirage, he cannot see through it, so that it appears to him 
 clear water. By putting my head first to the ground, and 
 then mounting a camel, the height of which from the ground 
 might have been ten feet at the most, I found a great differ- 
 ence in the appearance of the mirage. On approaching it, it 
 becomes thinner, and appears as if agitated by the wind, like 
 a field of ripe corn. It gradually vanishes as the traveller 
 approaches, and at last entirely disappears when he is on the 
 spot.” 
 
 We shall now introduce to the reader a curious account of 
 Sand Floods; a name given to the flowing of sand so 
 common in the deserts of Arabia. Mr. Bruce gives the fol- 
 lowing description of some that he saw in travelling through 
 that long and dreary desert. — “ At one o’clock (says he) we 
 alighted among some acacia trees at Waadi el Halboub, hav- 
 ing gone twenty-one miles. We were here at once surprised 
 and ♦ errified by a sight, surely one of the most magnificent in 
 
 3 U 
 
522 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING SHOWERS. 
 
 the world. In that vast expanse of desert from west to north- 
 west of us, we saw a number of prodigious pillars of sand at 
 different distances, at times moving with great celerity, at 
 others stalking on with a majestic slowness ; at intervals we 
 thought they were coming in a few minutes to overwhelm us; 
 and small quantities of sand did actually more than once 
 reach us. Again they would retreat so as to be almost out of 
 sight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. Here the tops 
 often separated from the bodies; and these, once disjoined, 
 dispersed in the air, and did not appear more. Sometimes 
 they were broken near the middle, as if struck with a large 
 cannon-shot. About noon they began to advance with con- 
 siderable swiftness upon us, the wind being very strong at 
 north. Eleven of them ranged alongside of us about the 
 distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest 
 appeared to me, at that distance, as if it would measure ten 
 feet. They retired from us with a wind at south-east, leaving 
 an impression upon my mind to which I can give no name, 
 though surely one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable 
 deal of wonder and astonishment. It was in vain to think of 
 flying ; the swiftest horse, or fastest sailing ship, could not 
 carry us out of this danger; and the full persuasion of this 
 riveted me as if to the spot where I stood, and let the camels 
 gain on me so much in my state of lameness, that it was with 
 some difficulty I could overtake them. The same appearance 
 of moving pillars of sand presented themselves to us this day, 
 in form and disposition like those we had seen at Waadi el 
 Halboub, only they seemed to be more in number and less in 
 size. They came several times in a direction close upon us. 
 that is, I believe, within less than two miles. They became, 
 immediately after sun-rise, like a thick wood, and almost 
 darkened the sun : his rays shining through them for near an 
 hour, gave them an appearance of pillars of fire. Our people 
 now became desperate: the Greek shrieked out, and said it 
 was the day of judgment; Ismael pronounced it to be hell; 
 and the Tucorories, that the world was on fire. I asked 
 Idris if ever he had before seen such a sight? He said he 
 had often seen them as terrible, though never worse ; but 
 what he feared most was that extreme redness in the air, 
 which was a sure presage of the coming of the simoom.’* 
 
 The flowing of sand, though far from being so tremendous 
 and hurtful as in Arabia, is of very bad consequences in Bri- 
 tain, as many valuable pieces of land have thus been entirely 
 lost; of which we give the following instances from Mr. Pen- 
 nant, together with a probable means of preventing them in 
 tutura. — “ 1 have more than once (says he) on the east coasts 
 of Scotland, observed the calamitous state of several exten- 
 sive tracts, formerly in a most flourishing condition, at present 
 
SAND FLOODS. — SHOWER OF GOSSAMERS. 623 
 
 corered with sands, unstable as those of the deserts of Arabia. 
 The parish of Fyrie, in the county of Aberdeen, is now re 
 duced to two farms, and above five hundred pounds a year 
 lost to the Errol family, as appears by the oath of the factor iii 
 1600, made before the court of session, to ascertain the minister's 
 salary : not a vestige is to be seen of any buildings, unless a 
 fragment of the church. The estate of Coubin, near Forres, 
 is another melancholy instance. This tract was once worth 
 three hundred pounds a year, but at this time is overwhelmed 
 with sand. This strange inundation, was still in motion in 
 1769, chiefly when a strong wind prevailed. Its motion is so 
 rapid, that I have been assured, that an apple-tree has been 
 so covered with it one season, that only the very summit 
 appeared. This distress was brought on about ninety years 
 ago and was occasioned by the cutting down some trees, and 
 pulling up the bent o;- star which grew on the sand-hills ; 
 which at last gave rise to the act of 15 George II. c. 33. to 
 prohibit the destruction of this useful plant. 
 
 “ I beg leave to suggest to the public a possible means of 
 of putting a stop to these destructive ravages. Providence 
 has kindly formed this plant to grow only in pure sand. 
 Mankind was left to make, in after times, an application of it 
 suitable to their wants. The sand-hills on a portion of the 
 Flintshire shores, in the parish of Llanasa, are covered with it 
 naturally, and kept firm in their place. The Dutch perhaps 
 owe the existence of part at least of their country, to the sow- 
 ing of it on the mobile solum, their sand-banks. My humane 
 and amiable friend, the late Benjamin Stillingfleet, Esq. 
 recommended the sowing of this plant on the sandy wilds of 
 Norfolk, that its matted roots might prevent the deluges of 
 sand which that country experiences. It has been already 
 remarked, that wheresoever this plant grows, the salutary 
 effects are soon observed to follow. A single plant will fix 
 the sand, and gather it into a hillock; these, by the increase of 
 vegetation, are formed into larger, till by degrees a barrier is 
 often made against the encroachments of the sea, and might 
 often prove preventive of the calamity in question. I can- 
 not, therefore, but recommend the trial to the inhabitants of 
 many parts of North Britain : the plant grows in most places 
 near the sea, and is known to the Highlanders by the name of 
 rnurah, and to the English by that of bent-star'* 
 
 The following is a singular but authentic account of the 
 curious phenomenon of a Shower of Gossamers. — Fiom 
 Wh ite’s Natural History of Selborne. 
 
 “ On September 21, 1741, being Intent on field diversions, 
 I rose before daybreak : when T came into the inclosures, I 
 found the stubbles and clover grounds matted all over with a 
 
624 CUR 08IT1ES RESPECTING SHOWERS, ETC. 
 
 thick coat of cobweb, in the meshes of which a copious and 
 heavy dew hung so plentifully, that the whole face of the 
 country seemed, as it were, covered with two or three setting 
 nets, drawn one over another. When the dogs attempted to 
 hunt, their eyes were so blinded and hoodwinked, that they 
 could not proceed, but were obliged to lie down and scrape 
 the incumbrances from their faces with their fore feet. As 
 the morning advanced, the sun became bright and warm, and 
 the day turned out one of those most lovely ones, which no 
 season but the autumn produces ; cloudless, calm, serene, and 
 worthy the south of France itself. About nine, an appearance, 
 very unusual, began to demand our attention ; a shower of 
 cobwebs falling from very elevated regions, and continuing 
 without any interruption till the close of day. There webs 
 were not single filmy threads, floating in the air in all direc- 
 tions, but perfect flakes or rags, some near an inch broad, 
 and five or six long. On every side, as the observer turned 
 his eyes, might he behold a continual succession of fresh 
 flakes falling into his sight, and twinkling like stars as they 
 turned their sides towards the sun. Neither before nor after, was 
 any shower observed ; but on this day the flakes hung on the 
 trees and hedges so thick, that a diligent person might have 
 gathered baskets full.^^ 
 
 This chapter closes with a description of Winter in 
 Russia. — The winter, in the climate of Russia, approaches 
 very suddenly. There is something very wonderful in the in- 
 stantaneous change of weather about the time of winter. On 
 one day the warmth shall be that of spring, while on the fol- 
 lowing day the winter shall break forth in all its horrors ; 
 snow and ice are spread in the course of a few hours, and the 
 abruptness of this instant change affects even a Russian con- 
 stitution. Nothing can defend the shivering inhabitant, but 
 the artificial heat of his own house; where he seals himself 
 up during the hibernal rigours, yet even there they reach 
 him. 
 
 There is a pleasing description of these sudden winters in 
 one of the letters of the poet Metastasio, while residing at 
 Vienna. The passage is very interesting, and finely describes 
 the instantaneous change which occurred. 
 
 “ Within these few days the Teutonic winter has unexpect- 
 edly appeared, with all his magnificent train, and without the 
 least precursor to announce his arrival. All is covered with 
 snow. The rivers, as well as lakes, were instantly frozen in a 
 most solid manner; and the cold blown from the seven neigh- 
 bouring hills is so subtle and penetrating, that we cannot 
 exclude it from our warmest apartment. But notwithstanding 
 all this unforeseen and violent change of nature, I stil’ find 
 
i? w 
 
 WiJEBwrsl/ Lr igUMiS 
 
ARCTIC i: c TONS 
 
THE GREENLAND, OR POLAR ICE. 
 
 525 
 
 much amusement here, having been more formed for Arcadian 
 tranquillity than the bustle and magnificence of courts. I am 
 pleased with the silent concord of all existence ; the roving 
 about in search of well-knowm paths, fields, bushes, pastoral 
 borders, and every known object, of which, though the fall 
 of snow has changed the colouring, yet the design is still 
 faithfully preserved. I reflect with sentiments of gratitude, that 
 the friendly forest, which by its shade but lately defended me 
 from the burning rays of the sun, now affords me materials for 
 combating the extreme fury of the season. I laugh at winter 
 with all its horrors, which I see without feeling, having it in 
 our power to compose an artificial spring in our apartments 
 at pleasure; but by an impulse of self-love, what pleases me 
 more is, the finding out, that, compared with other seasons, 
 winter has still its conveniences, beauties, and advantages.” 
 
 CHAP. LI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ICE. 
 
 On the Greenland y or Polar Ice — On the Tremendous Concussion 
 of Fields of Ice — Icebergs — Magnitude of Icebergs — Tki 
 Glaciers — Shower of Ice — Remarkable Frosts, 
 
 There winter, arm’d with terrors here unknown, 
 
 Sfts absolute on his unshaken throne ; 
 
 Piles up his stores amid the frozen waste, 
 
 And bids the mountains he has built, stand fast; 
 
 Beckons the legions of his storms away 
 From happier scenes, to make this land a prey ; 
 
 Proclaims the soil a conquest he has won. 
 
 And scorns to share it with the distant sun. Cowper, 
 
 Another poet thus describes the polar regions : — 
 
 Vast regions, dreary, bleak, and bare I 
 There on an icy mountain’s height. 
 
 Seen only by the moon’s pale light. 
 
 Stern winter rears his giant form. 
 
 His robe a mist, his voice a storm: 
 
 His frown the shiv’ring nations fly. 
 
 And, hid for half the year, in smoky caverns lie. Scott, 
 THE GREENLAND, OR POLAR ICE. 
 
 The following account of the Greenland, or Polar Ice, is 
 abridged by the Editor of this work from a paper, by W. 
 Scoresby, jun. M. W. S. published in The Memoirs of the 
 Wernerian Natural-History Society; — 
 
626 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ICE. 
 
 ** Greenland is a country where every object is strikingly 
 singular, or highly magnificent. The atmosphere, the land, 
 and the ocean, each exhibit remarkable or sublime appear 
 ances. 
 
 “ With regard to the atmosphere, several peculiarities may 
 be noticed, viz. its darkness of colour, and density; its fre- 
 quent production of crystallized snow in a wonderful perfec- 
 tion and variety of form and texture; and its astonishingly 
 sudden changes from calm to storm, from fair weather to 
 foul, and vice versa. 
 
 The land is of itself a sublime object ; its stupendous 
 mountains rising by steep acclivities from the very margin of 
 the ocean to an immense height, terminating in rigid, conical, 
 or pyramidical summits; its surface, contrasting its native 
 protruding dark-coloured rocks, with its burden of purest 
 snow ; —the whole viewed, under the density of a gloomy sky, 
 forms a picture impressive and grand. 
 
 “ Of the inanimate productions of Greenland, none perhaps 
 excites so much interest and astonishment in a stranger, as 
 the ice, in its great abundance and variety. The stupendous 
 masses known by the name of Ice Islands, Floating Moun- 
 tains, or Icebergs, common to Davis’ Straits, and sometimes 
 met with here, from their height, various forms, and the depth 
 of water in'which they ground, are calculated to strike the 
 Feholder with wonder: yet the fields of ice, more peculiar to 
 Greenland, are not less astonishing. Their deficiency in ele- 
 vation is sufficiently compensated by their amazing extent of 
 surface. Some of them have been observed near 100 miles in 
 length, and more than half that breadth ; each consisting of 
 a single sheet of ice, having its surface raised in general four 
 or six feet above the level of the water, and its base depressed 
 to the depth of nearly twenty feet beneath. 
 
 The various kinds of Ice described. — “ The ice in general is 
 designated by a variety of appellations, distinguishing it ac- 
 cording to the size or number of pieces, their form of aggre- 
 gation, thickness, transparency, 8cc. I perhaps cannot better 
 explain the terms in common acceptation amongst the whale- 
 fishers, than by marking the disruption of a field. The thickest 
 and strongest field cannot resist the power of a heavy sw^ll; 
 indeed, such are much less capable of bending without being 
 dissevered, than the thinner ice, which is more pliable When 
 a field, by the set of the current, drives to the southward, 
 and, being deserted by the loose ice, becomes exposed to the 
 effects of a ground swell, it presently breaks into a great 
 many pieces, few of which will exceed forty or fifty yards in 
 diameter. Now, such a number of these pieces collected to- 
 gether in close contact, so that they cannot, from the top of 
 tbe ship’s mast, be seen over, are termed di pack. 
 
ICEBERGS OF GREENLAND. 
 
 ICEBERGS OF SPITZBERGEN. 
 

 \ ■ 
 
 iwit LJiwtaii 
 OF I«E 
 
 n«*ifeiaw esaU-WPW 
 
THE GREENLAND, OR POLAR ICE. 527 
 
 ** When the collection of pieces can be seen across, if it 
 assume a circular or polygonal form, the name of patch is 
 applied, and it is called a stream when its shape is more of an 
 oblong, how narrow soever it may be, provided the continuity 
 of the pi(;ces is preserved. 
 
 Pieces of very large dimensions, but smaller than fields, 
 are denominated Jioes: thus, a field may be compared to a 
 pack, and a floe to a patch, as far as regards their size and 
 external form. 
 
 “ Small pieces which break off, and are separated from thi 
 larger masses by the effect of attrition, are called brash-i.e, 
 and may be collected into streams or patches. 
 
 ** Ice is said to be loose or open, when the pieces are so far 
 separated as to allow a ship to sail freely amongst them: this 
 has likewise been called drift-ice. 
 
 “ A hummock is a protuberance raised upon any plane of ice 
 above the common level. It is frequently produced by pres- 
 sure, where one piece is squeezed upon another, often set 
 upon its edge, and in that position cemented by the frost. 
 Hummocks are likewise formed by pieces of ice mutually 
 crushing each other, the wreck being heaped upon one or 
 both of them. To hummocks, the ice is indebted for its 
 variety of fanciful shapes, and its picturesque appearance. 
 They occur in great numbers in heavy packs, on the edges, 
 and occasionally in the middle of, fields and floes. They often 
 attain the height of thirty feet or upwards. 
 
 “ A calf, is a portion of ice which has been depressed by 
 the same means as a hummock is elevated. It is kept down 
 by some larger mass, from b.eneath which it shews itself on 
 one side. 1 have seen a calf so deep and broad, that the ship 
 sailed over it without touching, when it might be observed on 
 both sides of the vessel at the same time : this, however, is 
 .attended with considerable danger, and necessity alone w^ar- 
 rants the experiment, as calves have not unfrequently (by a 
 ship^s touching them, or disturbing the sea near them) been 
 called from their submarine situation to the surface, and with 
 such an accelerated velocity, as to stave the planks and tim- 
 bers of the ship, and in some instances to reduce the vessel 
 to a wreck. 
 
 “ Any part of the upper superficies of a piece of ice, w'hich 
 comes to be immersed beneath the surface of the water, ob- 
 tains the name of a tongue. 
 
 “ A bight signifies a bay or sinuosity, on the border of any 
 large mass or body of ice. It is supposed to be called bight, 
 from the low word bite, to take in, or entrap; because, in this 
 situation, ships are sometimes so caught by a change of wind, 
 that the ice cannot be cleared on either tack ; and in some 
 cases, a total loss has be^n the consequence.” 
 
628 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ICE. 
 
 On the Tremendous Concussions of Fields of Ice.— 
 The occasional rapid motion of fields, with the strange effects 
 produced on any opposing substance, exhibited by such im^ 
 mense bodies, is one of the most striking objects this country 
 presents, and is certainly the most terrific. They not unfre- 
 quently acquire a rotary movement, whereby the circumference 
 attains a velocity of several miles per hour. A field, thus in 
 motion, coming in contact with another at rest, or, more 
 especially, with a contrary direction of movement, produces a 
 dreadful shock. The consequences of a body of more than ten 
 thousand millions of tons in weight, meeting with resistance 
 when in motion, may be better conceived than expressed ! The 
 weaker field is crushed with an awful noise; sometimes the 
 destruction is mutual: pieces of huge dimensions and weight 
 are not iinfrequently piled upon the top, to the height of 
 twenty or thirty feet, whilst doubtless a proportionate quantity 
 is depressed beneath. The view of these stupendous effects, 
 in safety, exhibits a picture sublimely grand ; but where there 
 is danger of being overwhelmed, terror and dismay must be 
 the predominant feelings. The whale-fishers at all times re- 
 quire unremitting vigilance to secure their safety, but scarcely 
 in any situation so much, as when navigating amidst those 
 fields : in foggy weather, they are particularly dangero.us, as 
 their motions cannot then be distinctly observed. It may 
 easily be imagined, that the strongest ship can no more with- 
 stand the shock of two fields, than a sheet of paper can stop 
 a musket-ball. Numbers of vessels, since the establishment 
 of the fishery, have been thus destroyed ; some have been 
 thrown upon the ice, some have had their hulls completely 
 torn open, and others have been buried beneath the heaped 
 fragments of the ice. 
 
 Icebergs. — “ The term icebergs has commonly been applied 
 to those immense bodies of ice situated on the land, ‘ filling 
 the valleys between the high mountains,’ and generally exhi- 
 biting a square perpendicular towards the sea. They recede 
 backward inland to an extent never explored. Martin, Crantz, 
 Phipps, and others, have described those wonders of nature, 
 and all agree as to their manner of formation, in the congela- 
 tion of the sleet and rains of summer, and of the accumulated 
 snow, partly dissolved by the summer sun, which, on its de- 
 cline, freezes to a transparent ice. They are as permanent as 
 the rocks on which they rest : for although large portions 
 may be frequently separated, yet the annual growth replaces 
 the loss, and probably on the whole, produces a perpetual 
 increase. 1 have seen those styled the Seven Icebergs, situated 
 in the valleys of the north-west coast of Spitzbergen ; their 
 perpendicular front may be about 300 feet in height, the green 
 
TRAVELING IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 
 
ii*t L«£y6!^ 
 ef iHE 
 
 tWiVEOlf E5 4ilMf!IS 
 
MAGNITUDE OF ICEBERGS. — THE GLACIERS. 
 
 629 
 
 colour, and glistening surface of which, form a pleasing va- 
 riety in prospect, with the magnificence of the encompassing 
 snow-clad mountains, which, as they recede from the eye, 
 seem to rise ‘ crag above crag,' in endless perspective. 
 
 “ Large pieces may be separated from those icebergs in the 
 summer season, when they are particularly fragile, by their 
 ponderous overhanging masses overcoming the force of cohe- 
 sion ; or otherwise, by the powerful expansion of the water, 
 filling any excavation or deep-seated cavity, when its dimen- 
 sions are enlarged by freezing, thereby exerting a tremendous 
 force, and bursting the whole asunder. 
 
 “ Pi eces thus or otherwise detached, are hurled into the sea 
 with a dreadful crash: if they are received into deep water, 
 they are liable to be drifted off the land, and, under the form 
 of ice-islands, or ice-mountains, they likewise still retain 
 their parent name of icebergs. , I much question, however, if 
 all the floating bergs seen in the seas west of Old Greenland, 
 thus derive their origin, their number being so great, and their 
 dimensions so vast.** 
 
 Magnitude of Icebergs. — If all the floating islands of 
 ice thus proceed from disruptions of the icebergs generated 
 on the land, how is it that so few are met with in Greenland, 
 and those comparatively so diminutive, whilst Baffin's Bay 
 affords them so plentifully, and of such amazing size? The 
 largest I ever saw in Greenland, was about 1000 yards in cir- 
 cumference, nearly square, of a regular flat surface, twenty 
 feet above the level of the sea ; and as it was composed of 
 the most dense kind of ice, it must have been 150 or 160 feet 
 in thickness, and in weight about 2,000,000 of tons. But 
 masses have been repeatedly seen in Davis* Straits, nearly two 
 miles in length, and one-third as broad, whose rugged moun- 
 tain summits were reared with various spires to the height of 
 more than 100 feet, whilst their base must have reached to 
 the depth of 150 yards beneath the surface of the sea. Others, 
 again, have been observed, possessing an even surface of five 
 or six square miles in area, elevated thirty yards above the 
 sea, and fairly run aground in water of 90 or 100 fathoms in 
 depth ; the weight of which must have been upwards of two 
 thousand millions of tons.** 
 
 The Glaciers. — Those vast piles of eternal ice with which 
 it has pleased the Author of nature to crown the immense 
 chasms between the summits of the Alps, are objects more 
 grand, sublime, and terrific, than any others of the phenomena of 
 nature which remam stationary. These tremendous spires and 
 towers, of uncertain and brittle fabric, seem to forbid the at- 
 ♦enints of travellers to explore the depth between them, or 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ICE. 
 
 630 
 
 even the rocks and rich valleys around them ; but courage and 
 perseverance have been attended with commensurate success, 
 and we are enabled by their labours to learn previously con- 
 cealed wonders, and to reason upon the causes which produced 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Bourrit, precentor of the cathedral church at Geneva, 
 mentions, in the relation of his journey to the glaciers of 
 Savoy, the enterprise of Messrs. Windham and Pocock, in 1741, 
 who, inspired by the artless relations of the peasants, descrip- 
 tive of the sublimity of their country, when they descended with 
 honey and crystals for sale, determined to visit those frightful 
 regions of ice which had received the appellation of Les Mon- 
 tagiies iMaiidites; or the Accursed Mountains. The gentlemen 
 alluded to took every precaution for securing their safety; 
 but entertaining many well-grounded fears, naturally arising 
 from a first attempt, they did not reach any considerable dis- 
 tance beyond the edge of the ice in the valley of Montanvert, 
 yet their example operated so powerfully as to induce several 
 others to imitate them, and proceed to the boundary whence 
 they returned : at length M. de Saussure had the resolution 
 and courage to penetrate across the ice to the very extremities 
 of the valleys ; Mr. Coxe followed soon after : and from their 
 publications every possible information may be obtained, of 
 which the nature of the subject w'ill admit. 
 
 The most astonishing phenomeno,n attending the glaciers, 
 is their near approach to the usual vegetation of summer; for 
 what can be more wonderful than to view wheat ready for the 
 sickle, parched brown by the rays of the sun, and separated only 
 by the intervention of a few feet, from the chilling influence 
 of an endless bed of ice, which seems impenetrable to its 
 rays. 
 
 Many systems and theories have been ingeniously suggested, 
 to ascertain the hi st cause of the glaciers, their maintenance, 
 and whether they increase or diminish in extent; of which, 
 Gruner’s, improved and illustrated with actual observations 
 by M. de Saussure, is the most rational and probable, and 
 Mr. Coxe implicitly adopts it. Admitting that a person could 
 be raised sufficiently above the summits of the Alps of Switzer- 
 land, Savoy, and Dauphiny, to comprehend the whole at one 
 view, he would observe a vast chaos of mountains and val- 
 leys, with several ))arallel chains, the highest of which are 
 situated in the centre, and the remainder gradually lessening 
 as they retire from it. The central chain he would find to be 
 surmounted by stupendous fragments of rock, towering in 
 rude masses, which bear vast accumulations of snow and ice, 
 where they are not decidedly perpendicular, or do not over- 
 hang their bases : on each side he would see the intervening 
 chasms and gulfs, filled with ice, descending thence even 
 
THE GLACIEES. 
 
 631 
 
 into the verdant valleys, rich with foliage and cultivation. 
 The infeiior ranges of mountains, next the central, present 
 the same appearance in a less degree; but in those more 
 remote, the snow and ice are confined to the most elevated 
 points ; and others, still further removed, are covered with 
 grass and plants, which, in their turn, give place to such hills 
 and valleys as are common in any part of the world. 
 
 Mr. Coxe divides the glaciers, in the above general survey, 
 into two classes : the first occupy the deep valleys situated 
 in the bosom of the Alps, and the second adhere to the sides 
 and summits of the mountains. Those in the valleys are far 
 more extensive than the upper glaciers ; some are several 
 leagues in length ; and that of Des Bois is three miles broad 
 and fifteen long : but they do not communicate with each 
 other, and there are few parallel to the central chain ; their 
 upper extremities are connected with inaccessible precipices, 
 and the lower proceed, as already mentioned, quite into the 
 vales. The depth of these astonishing accumulations of frozen 
 fluid vary from eighty to six hundred feet, and they generally 
 rest on an inclined plane, where, urged forward by their own 
 enormous weight, and but weakly supported by the pointed 
 rocks inserted in their bases, they are universally intersected by 
 yawning chasms, of dreadful aspect to the curious investigator, 
 who beholds fanciful representations of walls, towers, and 
 pyramids, on every side of him ; but upon reaching those 
 parts where the glacier rests upon an horizontal plane, his 
 progress is seldom impeded by considerable fissures, and he 
 walks in safety over a surface nearly uniform, and not so per- 
 fectly polished as that of ponds and rivers suddenly and 
 violently frozen. 
 
 The absence of transparency, the various marks of air- 
 bubbles, and the general roughness, so perfectly resemble the 
 congelation of snow when half restored to fluidity, that M. de 
 Saussure was immediately led to form the following probable 
 theory of the formation of the glaciers. Snow is constantly 
 accumulating in the recesses or depths of the mountains, 
 during nine months of the year, by the usual fall of moisture, 
 and the descent of vast masses, borne down by their weight, 
 from the precipices and crags above. Part of this is neces- 
 sarily reduced to water by slight thaws and casual rains, and, 
 being frozen in this state, the glacier is composed of a porous 
 opaque ice. 
 
 The upper glaciers Mr. Coxe subdivides into those which 
 cover the summits, and those which extend along the sides of 
 the Alps; the former originate from the snow frequently fall- 
 ing and congealing into a firm body, though not becoming 
 actual ice, which the brilliancy of the projections has induced 
 some philosophers to suppose it to be. M. de Saussure, having 
 
532 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING IC*. 
 
 explored Mont Blanc, ascertained that the top was encrusted 
 with ice, (which might be penetrated by a stick,) covering a 
 mass of snow on the declivities, so chilled and dry as to be 
 incapable of coherence. 
 
 The sides of the Alps support a congelation of half-dis- 
 solved snow, which is different from the pure snow of the 
 summits, and the ice of the lower glaciers. Two causes 
 operate to produce this effect; the first is the descent of 
 water from the higher regions, where a dissolution of snow 
 sometimes occurs ; and the second arises from the more 
 favourable situation of these parts for reflecting the rays of 
 the sun, and the consequent melting of the snow. From 
 hence downwards, the ice adhering to the cavities becomes 
 gradually more solid by the freezing of the snow-water, then 
 nearly divested of that air which in the less dissolved portions 
 renders the ice, formed from it, porous, opaque, and full oi 
 bubbles. 
 
 An idea of the sublimity of the glaciers may be formed bv 
 reading the account of M. Bourrit, who appears to have viewed 
 and described them with all that enthusiasm which sucii 
 splendid objects must have inspired. — “ To come at this col- 
 lected mass of ice, (Des Bois,) we crossed the Arve, and tra- 
 velling in a tolerable road, passed some villages or hamlets, 
 whose inhabitants behaved with much politeness ; they invited 
 us to go in and rest ourselves, apologized for our reception, 
 and offered us a taste of their honey. After amusing our- 
 selves some time amongst them, we resumed our road, and 
 entered a beautiful wood of lofty firs, inhabited by squirrels. 
 The bottom is a fine sand, left there by the inundations of the 
 Arveron ; it is a very agreeable walk, and exhibits some ex- 
 traordinary appearances. In proportion as we advanced into 
 this wood, we observed the objects gradually to vanish from 
 our sight ; surprised at this circumstance, we were earnest to 
 discover the cause, and our eyes sought in vain for satis- 
 faction, till, having passed through it, the charm ceased. 
 Judge of our astonishment, when we saw before us an enor- 
 mous mass of ice, twenty times as large as the front of our 
 cathedral of St. Peter, and so constructed, that we have only to 
 change our situation to make it resemble whatever we please. 
 It is a magnificent palace, cased over with the purest crystal; 
 a majestic temple, ornamented with a portico ; and columns 
 of several shapes and colours ; it has the appearance of a 
 fortress, flanked with towers and bastions to the right and 
 left; and at the bottom is a grotto, terminating in a dome of 
 bold construction. This fairy dwelling, this enchanted re- 
 sidence. or cave of fancy, is the source of the Arveron, and of 
 the gold which is found in the Arve. And if we add to all 
 this rich variety, the ringing tinkling sound of water dropping 
 
NAVIGATING AMONG THE ICEBERGS. 
 
f '■ 
 
 \ 
 
 iiit 
 
 ci ilSLUBPW 
 
 \ 
 
 , -•). 
 
 r 
 
 =&= 
 
SHOWER OF ICE. — REMARKABLE FROSTS. 
 
 533 
 
 from its sides, with the glittering refraction of the solar rays, 
 whilst tints of the most lively green, blue, yellow, or violet, 
 have the effect of different compartments in the several 
 divisions of the grotto, the whole is so theatrically splendid, 
 so completely picturesque, so great and beautiful beyond 
 imagination, that I can hardly believe the art of man has ever 
 yet produced, or ever will produce, a building so grand in 
 its construction, or so varied in its ornaments. Desirous of 
 surveying every side of this mass, we crossed the river about 
 four hundred yards from its source, and, mounting upon the 
 rocks and ice, approached the vault; but while we were 
 attentively employed in viewing all its parts, astonished at the 
 sportiveness of nature, we cast our eyes at one considerable 
 member of the pile above us, which was most unaccountably 
 supported, for it seemed to be held by almost nothing : our 
 imprudence was too evident, and we hastened to retreat; yet 
 scarcely had we stepped back thirty paces, before it broke off 
 all at once with a prodigious noise, and tumbled, rolling to 
 the very spot where we were standing just before.’* 
 
 Shower of Ice. — A very uncommon kind of shower fell 
 in the west of England, in December 1672, whereof we have 
 various accounts in tlie Philos. Trans. — “ This rain, as soon 
 as it touched any thing above ground, as a bough or the like, 
 immediately settled into ice ; and, by multiplying and enlarg- 
 ing the icicles, broke every thing down by its weight. The rain 
 that fell on the ground immediately became frozen, without 
 sinking into the snow at all. It made an incredible destruc- 
 tion of trees, beyond any ^thing mentioned in history. Had 
 it concluded with a gust of wind, (says a gentleman who was 
 on the s|)ot,) it might have been of terrible consequence. I 
 w'eighed the sprig of an ash tree, of just three-quarters of a 
 pound, the ice on which weighed sixteen pounds. Some 
 were frightened with the noise in the air, till they dis- 
 cerned that it was the clatter of icy boughs, dashed against 
 each other.” 
 
 Dr. Beale remarks, that there was no considerable frost 
 observed on the ground during the above : whence he con- 
 cludes, that a frost may be very intense and dangerous on the 
 tops of some hills and plains; while at other places it keeps 
 at two, three, or four feet distance above the ground, rivers, 
 lakes, 8cc. and may wander about very furiously in some 
 places, and be mild in others not far off. The frost was fol- 
 lowed by glowing heats, and a wonderful forwardness of 
 flowers and fruits. 
 
 We close this division with an account of Remarkabe 
 FposTS.--In the year 220, a frost in Britain ^asted five 
 
534 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINS. 
 
 months — In 250, The Thames was frozen nine weeks. — 291, 
 Most rivers in Britain frozen six weeks. — 359, Severe frost in 
 Scotland for fourteen weeks. — 508, The rivers in Britain fro- 
 zen for two months. — 558, Danube quite frozen over. — 695, 
 Thames frozen six weeks, and booths built on it.— 759, Frost 
 from Oct. 1 till Feb. 26 following. — 827, Frost in England for 
 nine weeks. — 859, Carriages used on the Adriatic. — 908, Most 
 rivers in England frozen two months. — 923, The Thames fro- 
 zen thirteen weeks. — 987, Frost lasted 130 days ; begun Dec. 
 22. — 998, Thames frozen five weeks. — 1035, Severe frost on 
 June 24 : the corn and fruits destroyed. — 1063, The Thames 
 frozen fourteen weeks. — 1076, Frost in England from Nov. 
 till April. — 1114, Several wooden bridges carried away by ice. 
 — 1205, Frost from Jan. 15 till March 22. — 1407, Frost that 
 lasted fifteen weeks. — 1434, From Nov. 24 till Feb. 10, Thames 
 frozen down to Gravesend. — 1683, Frost for thirteen weeks. — 
 1708-9, An extraordinary frost throughout the most parts of 
 Europe, though scarcely felt in Scotland or Ireland. — 1715, 
 Severe frost for many weeks. — 1739, One for nine weeks; 
 begun Dec. 14. — 1742, Severe frost for many weeks. — 1747, 
 Severe frost in Russia. — 1754, Severe one in England. — 1760, 
 The same in Germany. — 1776, The same in England. — 1788, 
 The Thames frozen below London bridge ; and booths erected 
 on it. — 1795, The Zuyder Zee frozen over, and the rivers cl 
 Holland passed by the French. 
 
 CHAP. LIE 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINS, 
 
 Ruin at Siwa, in Rgypt — Ruins of Palmyra — Ruins of Hercu 
 laneum, and Pompeii — Ancient Ruins of Balbec — Ruins of 
 Agrigenturn, in Sicily — Ancient Grandeur oj Carthage, 
 
 The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
 
 The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 
 
 Yea, all whieh it inherit, shall dissolve. Shakspeare, 
 
 Ruin at Siwa, in Egypt. — A great curiosity about Siwa, 
 is a ruin, of undoubted antiquity, which, according to Mr. 
 Browne, resembles exactly those of Tapper Egypt, and was 
 erected and adorned by the same intelligent race of men. 
 The figures of Isis and Anubis are conspicuous among the 
 sculptures; and the proportions are those of the Egyptian 
 temples, though in miniature. What remains of it, is a single 
 apartment, built of massy stones, of the same kind as those 
 
EALMYBA. 
 
Of THE 
 
 Cl iiUHIHS 
 
 "i-. 
 
 4 
 
RUINS OF PALMYRA. 
 
 636 
 
 of which the pyramids consist. The length is thirty-two feet, 
 the height eighteen, the width fifteen. A gate at one end 
 forms the principal entrance ; and two doors open opposite to 
 each other. The other end is quite ruinous. In the interior 
 are three rows of emblematical figures, representing a proces- 
 sion ; and the space between them is filled with hieroglyphic 
 characters. It has been supposed, with some degree of pro- 
 bability, that Siwa is the Siropum of Pliny, and that this 
 building was coeval with the famous temple of Jupiter Ammon, 
 and a dependency on it. 
 
 Ruins of Palmyra. — These celebrated ruins consist of 
 temples, palaces, and porticos, of Grecian architecture ; and 
 lie scattered over an extent of several miles. They were acci- 
 dentally discovered by some English travellers from Aleppo, 
 above a century ago. The most remarkable of them is the 
 temple of the sun, of which the ruins are spread over a square 
 of 220 yards. It was encompassed with a stately wall, built 
 of large square stones, and adorned wdth pilasters within and 
 without, to the number of sixty-two on a side. Within the 
 court are the remains of two rows of noble marble pillars, 
 thirty-seven feet high, with their capitals, of most exquisite 
 workmanship. Of these, only fifty-eight remain entire, but 
 they appear to have gone round the whole court, and to have 
 supported a double piazza. The walks opposite the castle 
 appear to have been spacious. At each end of this line are 
 two niches for statues, with their pedestals, borders, sup- 
 porters, and canopies, carved with the utmost propriety and 
 elegance. The space within this inclosure seems to have been 
 an open court, in the middle of which stood the temple, en- 
 compassed with another row of pillars of a different order, 
 and much taller, being fifty feet high ; but of these, sixteen 
 only remain. The whole space contained within these pil- 
 lars is fifty-nine yards in length, and near twenty-eight in 
 breadth. 
 
 The temple is thirty-three yards long, and thirteen or four- 
 teen broad. It points north and south ; and exactly in the 
 middle of the building on the west side, is a most magnificent 
 entry, on tlie remains of which are some vines and clusters of 
 grapes, carved in the most masterly imitation of nature that 
 can be conceived. Just over the door are discerned a pair of 
 wings, which extend its whole breadth ; but the body, whether 
 of an eagle or an angel, is destroyed. The north end of this 
 temple is adorned with the most curious fret-work in bas- 
 relief; and in the middle is a dome, or cupola, about ten feet 
 diameter. 
 
 North of this place is an obelisl . consisting of seven large 
 stones, besides its capital. It is about fifty feet bighv and 
 
536 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINS. 
 
 just above the pedestal is twelve feet in circumference. About 
 a quarter of a mile from this pillar, to the east and west, are 
 two others, besides the fragment of a third. About 100 
 paces from the middle obelisk, is a magnificent entry to a 
 piazza, which is forty feet broad, and more than half a mile 
 long, inclosed with two rows of marble pillars twenty-six feet 
 high, and eight or nine in compass. Of these there still 
 remain 129, but there must originally have been no less than 
 660. The upper end of the piazza was closed by a row of 
 pillars. 
 
 To the left are the ruins of a stately banqueting-house, built 
 of better marble, and finished with yet greater elegance, than 
 the piazza. The pillars which supported it were of one entire 
 stone. It measures twenty-two feet in length, and in compass 
 eight feet nine inches. 
 
 In the west side of the piazza are several apertures for gates 
 into the court of the palace. Each of these were adorned 
 with four porphyry pillars, placed by couples in the front of 
 the gate facing the palace, two on each side. Two of these 
 only remain entire. They are thirty feet long, and nine in 
 circumference. On the east side of the piazza stands a great 
 number of marble pillars, some perfect, but the greater part 
 mutilated. 
 
 At a little distance are the remains of a small temple, with- 
 out a roof. Before the entry, which looks to the south, is a 
 piazza supported by six pillars, two on each side of the door, 
 and one at each end. The pedestals of those in front have 
 ibeen filled with inscriptions, both in the Greek and Palmyrene 
 languages, which are become totally illegible. 
 
 Among these ruins are many sepulchres. They are all 
 square towers, four or five stories high. There is a walk across 
 the whole building; the space on each hand is subdivided 
 into six partitions by thick walls. The space between the 
 partitions is wide enough to receive the largest corpse ; and in 
 these niches there are six or seven piled one upon another. 
 Many inscriptions have been found at Palmyra, which have 
 •occupied much of the attention of the learned. 
 
 Ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii, — two ancient 
 •cities of Campania in Italy, which were destroyed by an erup- 
 ition of Vesuvius, in the first year of the emperor Titus, or the 
 79th of the Christian sera, and lately rendered famous on ac- 
 count of the curious monuments of antiquity discovered in 
 their ruins ; an account of which has been published by order 
 of the king of Naples, in a work of six volumes folio. The 
 epocha of the foundation of Herculaneum is unknown. Diony 
 sius of Halicarnassus conjectures that it may be referred to sixty 
 years before the war of Troy, or about 1342 B. C. ; and there- 
 
BU)NS OF HERCULANEUM AND POMPEII. 
 
 537 
 
 fore that it lasted about 1400 years. The thickness of the 
 heaps of lava, by which the city was overwhelmed, has been 
 much increased Jby fiery streams vomited since that catastro 
 phe, and now forms a mass twenty-four feet deep, of dark 
 grey stone, which is easily broken in pieces. By its non- 
 adhesion to foreign bodies, marbles and bronzes are preserved 
 in it as in a case made to fit them, and exact moulds of the 
 faces and limbs of statues are frequently found in this sub- 
 stance. 
 
 The precise situation of this subterraneous city was not 
 known till 1713, when it was accidentally discovered by some 
 labourers, who, in digging a well, struck upon a statue on 
 the benches of the theatre. Many others were afterwards dug 
 out, and sent to France by the prince of Elboeuf. But little 
 progress was made in the excavations, till Charles, infant of 
 Spain, ascended the Neapolitan throne, by whose unwearied 
 efforts and liberality a very considerable part of Herculaneum 
 has been explored, and such treasures of antiquity drawn out, 
 as form the most curious museum in the world. 
 
 It being too arduous a task to attempt removing the cover- 
 ing, the king contented himself with cutting galleries to the 
 principal buildings, and causing the extent of one or two of 
 them to be cleared. Of these, the theatre is the most consi- 
 derable. On a balustrade which divided the orchestra from 
 the stage, was found a row of statues ; and, on each side of 
 the pulpitum, the equestrian figure of a person of the Nonian 
 family. They are now placed under porticos of the palace ; 
 and from the great rarity of equestrian statues in marble, 
 would be very valuable objects, were the workmanship even 
 less excellent than it is : one of them in particular is a very 
 fine piece of sculpture. The collection of curiosities brought 
 out of Herculaneum and Pompeii, consist not only of statues, 
 busts, altars, inscriptions, and other ornamental appendages 
 of opulence and luxury; but also comprehend an entire assort- 
 ment of the domestic, musical, and chirurgical instruments 
 used by the ancients; tripods of elegant form and exquisite 
 Jxecution, lamps in endless variety, vases and basons of noble 
 dimensions, chandeliers of the most beautiful shapes, pateras 
 and other appurtenances of sacrifice ; looking-glasses of po- 
 lished metal; coloured glass, so hard, clear, and well stained, 
 as to appear like emeralds, sapphires, and other precious 
 stones ; a kitchen completely fitted up with copper pans lined 
 with silver, cisterns for heating water, and every utensil 
 necessary for culinary purposes ; specimens of various sorts 
 of combustibles, retaining their form, though burnt to a cin- 
 der; corn, bread, fish, oil, wine, and flour; a lady’s toilet, 
 fully furnished with combs, thimbles, rings, paint, ear-rings, 
 and other articles 
 
 23. ? Y 
 
538 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINS. 
 
 Among the statues, which are numerous, a Mercury and a 
 sleeping lawn are most admired by connoisseurs. The busts 
 fill several rooms ; but very few of the originals whom they 
 were meant to imitate are known. The floors are paved with 
 ancient mosaic. Few rare medals have been found in these 
 ruins: the most curious is a gold medallion of Augustus, 
 struck in Sicily, in the fifteenth year of his reign. The 
 fresco paintings, which, for the sake of preservation, have 
 been torn off the walls, and framed and glazed, are to be seen 
 •n another part of the palace. 
 
 The streets of the city of Pompeii are said to be daily dis- 
 encumbered. Mr. Williams, a late traveller, informs us, that 
 he entered by the Appian Way through a narrow street of 
 small tombs, beautifully executed, with the names of the 
 deceased, plain and legible. At the gate was a sentry-box, in 
 which the skeleton of a soldier was found, with a lamp in his 
 hand. The streets are lined with public buildings, the painted 
 decorations of which are fresh and entire. There were several 
 tradesmen’s shops also discovered — such as, a baker’s, an 
 oilman’s, an ironmonger’s, a wine shop, with money in the till, 
 and a surgeon’s house, with chirurgical instruments ; also a 
 great theatre, a temple of justice, an amphitheatre 220 feet 
 long, various temples, a barrack for soldiers, (the columns of 
 which are scribbled wdth their names and jests,) and stocks 
 for prisoners, in one of which a skeleton was likewise dis- 
 covered. The principal streets are about sixteen feet wide ; 
 the subordinate ones from six to ten feet. 
 
 The Ancient Ruins of Balbec. — To give a just idea 
 of these ruins, we must suppose ourselves descending 
 from the interior of the town. After having crossed the 
 rubbish and huts wdth which it is filled, we arrive at a vacant 
 place, which appears to have been a square; there, in front, 
 towards the west, we perceive a grand ruin, which consists of 
 two pavilions ornamented with pilasters, joined at their bot- 
 tom angle by a wall one hundred and sixty feet in length. 
 This front commands the open country from a terrace, on the 
 edge of which we distinguish with difficulty the bases of 
 twelve columns, which formerly extended from one pavilion 
 to the other, and formed a portico. The principal gate is 
 obstructed by heaps of stones ; but, that obstacle suj'inounted- 
 we enter an empty space, which is an hexagonal court of one 
 hundred and eighty feet in diameter. This court is strewed 
 with broken columns, mutilated capitals, and the remains of 
 pilasters, entablatures, and cornices ; around it is a row of 
 ruined edifices, which display all the ornaments of the richest 
 architecture. 
 
 At the end of this colirt, opposite the west, is an outlet. 
 
THE PARTHENON. AT ATHENS 
 
CF IKE 
 
 iNiMiasw siituiHni 
 
BALBEC. 
 
 639 
 
 which formerly was a gate, through which we perceive a still 
 more extensive range of ruins, whose magnificence strongly 
 excites curiosity. To have a full prospect of these, we must 
 ascend a slope, up which were the steps to this gate ; and we 
 then arrive at the entrance of a square court, much more 
 spacious than the former, being three hundred and fifty feet 
 wide, and three hundred and thirty-six in length. The eye is 
 first attracted by the end of this court, where six enormous 
 and majestic columns render the scene astonishingly grand 
 and picturesque. Another object, not less interesting, is a 
 second range of columns to the left, which appear to have 
 been part of the peristyle of a temple ; but before we pass 
 thither, we cannot refuse particular attention to the edifices 
 which inclose this court on each side. They form a sort of 
 gallery, which contains various chambers, seven of which may 
 be reckoned in each of the principal wings, viz. two in a 
 semicircle, and five in an oblong square. The bottom of these 
 apartments still retains pediments of niches and tabernacles, 
 the supporters of which are destroyed. On the side of the 
 court they are open, and present only five or six columns 
 totally destroyed. The beauty of the pilasters, and the rich- 
 ness of the frieze of the entablature, are admirable. The 
 singular effect which results from the mixture of the garlands, 
 the large foliage of the capitals, and the sculpture of wild 
 plants with which they are every where ornamented, is 
 peculiarly pleasing. In traversing the length of the court, we 
 find in the middle a little square esplanade, where was a 
 pavilion, of which nothing remains but the foundation. On 
 arriving at the foot of the six columns, we perceive all the 
 boldness of their elevation, and the richness of their work- 
 manship. Their shafts are twenty-one feet eight inches in 
 circumference, and fifty-eight high ; so that the total height, 
 including the entablature, is from seventy-one to seventy-two 
 feet. 
 
 The sight of this superb ruin, thus solitary and unac- 
 companied, at first strikes us with astonishment; but, on 
 a more attentive examination, we discover a series of founda- 
 tions, which mark an oblong square of two hundred and sixty- 
 eight feet in length, and one hundred and forty-six wide, and 
 which, it seems probable, was the peristyle of a grand temple, 
 the primary purpose of the whole structure. It presented to 
 the great court, on the east, a front of ten columns, with nine- 
 teen on each side, which, with the other six, made in all fifty- 
 four. The ground on which it stood is an oblong square, on a 
 level with thiscourt, butnarrower,sothatthere was only a terrace 
 of twenty-seven feet wide round the colonnade; the esplanade 
 this produces fronts the open country towards the west, by a 
 sloping wall )f about thirty feet. This descen.t, near the city, 
 
540 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING RUINH. 
 
 becomes less steep, so that the foundation of the pavilion is 
 level with the foot of the hill ; whence it is evident that the 
 whole ground of the courts has been artificially raised. 
 
 Such was the former state of this edifice; but the southern 
 S’de of the grand temple was afterwards blocked up to build 
 a smaller one, the peristyle and walls of which are still 
 remaining. This temple, situated somewhat lower than the 
 other, presents a side of thirteen columns by eight in front, 
 (in all thirty-four,) which are likewise of the Corinthian order; 
 their shafts are fifteen feet eight inches in circumference, 
 and forty-four in height. The building they surround is an 
 oblong square, the front of which, turned towards the east, is 
 out of the line of the left wing of the great court. To reach 
 it, we must cross trunks of columns, heaps of stone, and a 
 ruinous wall, by which it is now hid. After surmounting 
 these obstacles, we arrive at the gate, where we may survey 
 the inclosure, which was once the habitation of a god ; but 
 instead of the solemn scene of a prostrate people, and sacri- 
 fices offered by a multitude of priests, the sky, which is open, 
 from the falling in of the roof, only lets in light to shew' a 
 chaos of ruins covered with dust and weeds. The walls, 
 formerly enriched with all the ornaments of the Corinthian order, 
 now present nothing but pediments of niches and taberna- 
 cles, of w^hich almost all the supporters are fallen to the 
 ground. Between these niches is a range of fluted pilasters, 
 whose capitals support a broken entablature ; but what re- 
 mains of it displays a rich frieze of foliage, resting on the heads 
 of satyrs, horses, bulls, &,c. Over this entablature was the 
 ancient roof, which was fifty-seven feet wide, and one hundred 
 and ten in length. The w’alls which supported it are thirty- 
 one feet high, and without a window. It is impossible to 
 form any idea of the ornaments of this roof, except from the 
 fragments lying on the ground ; but it could not have been 
 richer than the gallery of the peristyle: the principal remain- 
 ing parts contain tablets in the form of tables, on which are 
 represented Jupiter seated on his eagle, Leda caressed by the 
 swan, Diana with her bow' and crescent, and several busts, 
 which seem to be figures of emperors and empresses. 
 
 Ruins of Agrigentum, in Sicily. — The present town, 
 Girgenti, occupies the mountain on which the ancient citadel 
 stood. At the north-east angle of the ancient limits, upon 
 some foundations of large irregular stones, a church has 
 been erected ; a road appears hewn in the solid rock, for the 
 convenience of votaries, who visited this temple in ancient 
 days. It w'as then dedicated to Ceres and her daughter 
 Proserpine, the peculiar patronesses of Sicily. Bishop Blaise 
 has succeeded to their honours. 
 
AMPHITHEATRE OF VESPASIAN 
 
 t 
 
e? Hit 
 
AGRIGENTUM, IN SICILY. 
 
 541 
 
 At the south-east corner, where the ground, rising gradu- 
 ally, ends in a bold eminence, which is crowned with majestic 
 columns, are the ruins of a temple, said to have been con- 
 secrated to Juno. To the west of this, stands the building 
 commonly called the Temple of Concord ; the stone of which, 
 and the other buildings, is the same as that of the neighbour- 
 ing mountains and cliffs, a conglutination of sea-sand and 
 shells, full of perforations, — of a hard and durable texture, and 
 a deep reddish brown colour. This Doric temple has all its 
 columns, entablature, pediments, and walls, entire ; only part 
 of the roof is wanting. It owes its preservation to the piety 
 of some Christians, who have covered half the nave, and con- 
 verted it into a church, consecrated under the invocation of 
 St. Gregory, bishop of Girgenti. 
 
 In the same direction are rows of sepulchres cut in the 
 rock. Some masses of it are hewn into the shape of coffins ; 
 others are drilled full of small square holes, employed in a 
 different mode of interment, and serving as receptacles of 
 urns. One ponderous piece of it lies in an extraordinary 
 position ; by the failure of its foundation, or the shock of an 
 earthquake, it has been loosened from the general quarry, 
 and rolled down the declivity, where it now remains supine, 
 with the cavities turned upwards. 
 
 Only a single column marks the confused heap of moss- 
 grown ruins belonging to the temple of Hercules. It stood 
 on a projecting rock above a chasm in the ridge, which was 
 cut through for a passage to the port. 
 
 In the same tract, over some hills, is situated the Tomb of 
 Thero. It is surrounded by aged olive-trees, which cast a 
 wild irregular shade over the ruin. The edifice inclines to 
 the pyramidal shape, and consists at present of a triple 
 plinth, and a base supporting a square pedestal : upon this 
 plain solid foundation is raised a second order, having a win- 
 dow in each front, and at each angle two Ionic pilasters, 
 crow'ned with an entablature of the Doric O'rder. Its inside 
 is divided into a vault, a ground room, and one in the Ionic 
 story, communicating with each other by means of a small 
 internal staircase. 
 
 In the plain are seen the fragments of the temple ofiEscula- 
 pius ; part of two columns and two pilasters, with an inter- 
 mediate wall, support the end of a farm-house, and were 
 probably the front of the cells. 
 
 Towards the west are the gigantic remains of the temple of 
 Jupiter Olympus, minutely described by Diodorus Siculus. 
 It may literally be said, that it has not one stone left upon 
 another; and it is barely possible, with the help of much 
 conjecture, to discover the traces of its plan and dimensions. 
 Diodorus calls it the largest temple in the whole island ; 
 
542 
 
 CUR OSITIES RESPECTING RUINS. 
 
 but adds, that the calamities of war caused the w'ork to be 
 abandoned before the roof could be put on ; and that the 
 Agrigentines were ever after reduced to such a state of poverty 
 and dependence, that they never had it in their power to finish 
 this superb monument of the taste and opulence of their 
 ancestors. The length of this temple was 370 Greek feet, its 
 breadth 60, and its height 220, exclusive of the foundation; 
 the extent and solidity of its vaults and underworks, its spa- 
 cious porticos and exquisite sculpture, were suited to the gran- 
 deur of the whole. 
 
 The next ruin belongs to the temple of Castor and Pollux ; 
 vegetation has covered the lower parts of the building, and 
 only a few fragments of columns appear between the vines. 
 This was the point of the hill where the wall stopped on the 
 brink of a large fishpond, spoken of by Diodorus : it was cut 
 in the solid rock thirty feet deep, and water was conveyed to it 
 from the hills. In it was bred a great quantity of fish, for the 
 use of public entertainments ; swans, and various other kinds 
 of wild fowl, swam along its surface, for the amusement of 
 the citizens; and the great depth of water prevented an enemy 
 from surprising the town on that side. It is now dry, and 
 used as a garden. 
 
 On the opposite bank are two tapering columns without 
 their capitals, placed in a tuft of carob trees. Monte Toro, 
 where Hanna encamped with the Carthaginian army, before 
 the Roman consuls drew him into an engagement that ruined 
 his defensive plan, is a noble back-ground in this picturesque 
 group of objects. 
 
 The w^hole space, comprehended within the walls of the 
 ancient city, abounds with traces of antiquity, foundations, 
 brick arches, and little channels for the conveyance of water; 
 but in no part are there any ruins that can be presumed to have 
 belonged to places of public entertainment. This is the more 
 extraordinary, as the Agrigentines were fond of shows and 
 dramatic performances ; and the Romans never dwelt in any 
 place long, without introducing their savage games. 
 
 We conclude this division ol’ Curiosities by a description of 
 the Ancient Grandeur of Carthage. — At the third Punic 
 war, Carthage appears to have been one of the first cities in 
 the world. It was no less than 360 stadia, or forty-five miles, 
 in circumference, and was joined to the continent by an isth- 
 mus, twenty-three stadia, or three miles and a furlong, in 
 breadth. On the west side projected a long tract of land, 
 half a stadium broad ; which shooting out into the sea, sepa- 
 rated it from a lake, or morass, and was strongly fortified on 
 all sides by rocks and a single wall. In the middle of the 
 city stood the citadel of Byrsa, having on the top of it a 
 
jrtt 
 
 w m 
 
4NC1ENT GRANDEUR OF CARTHAGE. 543 
 
 temple sacred to iEsculapius, seated upon rocks, to which 
 the ascent was by sixty steps. Qn the south side the city 
 was surrounded by a triple wall, thirty cubits high ; flanked 
 all round by parapets and towers, at equal distances of 480 
 feet. Every tower had its foundation sunk thirty-two feet 
 deep, and was four stories high,' though the walls were but 
 two : they were arched ; and in the lower part, corresponding 
 in depth with the foundations above-mentioned, were stalls, 
 large enough to hold 300 elephants, with their fodder, &c. 
 Over these were stalls and other conveniences for 4000 horses; 
 and there was likewise room for lodging 20,000 foot and 4000 
 cavalry, without incommoding the inhabitants. There were 
 two harbours, which had one common entrance, seventy feet 
 broad, and shut up with chains. The first was appropriated 
 to the merchants, and included in it a vast number of places of 
 refreshment, and all kinds of accommodations for seamen. 
 The second, as w^ell as the island of Cothon in the midst of 
 it, was lined with large quays, in which were receptacles for 
 sheltering 220 ships of war. Over these were magazines of 
 all sorts of naval stores. The entrance into each of these re- 
 ceptacles was adorned with two marble pillars of the Ionic 
 order, so that both the harbour and island represented on 
 each side two magnificent galleries. Near this island was a 
 temple of Apollo, in which was a statue of the god, of massy 
 gold ; and the inside of the temple was lined wit4i plates of 
 the same metal, weighing 1000 talents. The city was twenty- 
 three miles in circumference, and contained 700,000 inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 “ All that remains, (says Dr. Shaw,) of this once famous 
 city, are, — the area of a spacious room upon one of the hills on 
 which it stood, commanding the south-east shore, with several 
 smaller ones at a little distance from it ; the common sewers, 
 which time has not in the least injured or impaired; and the 
 cisterns, which have shared only in a small degree the general 
 ruin of the city 
 
.644 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, BTC. 
 
 CHAP. UII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING ANCIENT BUILDINGS, TEM- 
 PLES, ^ OTHER MOmMENTS OF ANTIOUITY, 
 
 Egyptian Curiosities: — Pompey^s Pillar — Buildinm, and 
 Library, of Alexandria — Temple of Tentyra — Palace of 
 Memnon — Temple of Osiris, 
 
 If glorious structure.s and immortal deeds 
 Enlarge the thought, and set our souls on fire; 
 
 My tongue has been too cold in Egypt’s praise. 
 
 The queen of nations, and the boast of times, 
 
 Mother of science, and the house of gods! 
 
 Scarce can I open wide my labouring mind. 
 
 To comprehend the vast idea, big 
 
 With-arts and arms, so boundless is its fame. Young, 
 
 Pyramids of Egypt — From Cabillia’s Researches, as re- 
 corded in Belzoni’s Narrative. — 
 
 The enterprise of Captain Cabillia vv'as hazardous and 
 bold, and nothing but an enthusiasm for discovery could in- 
 duce a man to take such a step. The consul, with Mr. Briggs, 
 Mr. Beechey, and myself, went to see the operations that 
 "were going on. Captain Cabillia’s circumstances were much 
 better than mine ; but he had no superfluous wealth at com^ 
 mand, to continue what he had begun, which required a supply 
 beyond his means. Mr. Briggs was the first who generously 
 offered to furnish money for this purpose ; and, after a con- 
 sultation with Mr. Salt, they agreed to support the work to 
 any extent that might be required. This gentleman not only 
 encouraged the undertaking at the pyramid, but has exerted 
 ,his influence with Mohammed Ali, for the general advantage 
 of the commerce of Europe. 
 
 “ The enterprise of Captain Cabillia is worthy the attention 
 of every one interested in antiquities, as he had solved a 
 question by which the learned world has been puzzled for 
 many centuries. The famous well, which has given rise to so 
 much conjecture, turns out to be a communication with a 
 lower passage, leading into an inferior chamber, discovered 
 and opened by himself. He first descended the well to the 
 depth of thirty-eight feet, where his progress was stopped by 
 four large stones. Three of these being removed, there was 
 space enough for a man to pass through ; but the fourth he 
 could not stir, though he had the help of Mr. Kabitsch, a 
 young mail in the employment of Mr. Baghos, who bore a 
 share of the expense with the captain. Twenty-one feet below 
 
TKTATIRA 
 
fif WE 
 
PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT. 
 
 545 
 
 this place they found a grotto, seventeen feet long and four 
 high ; and seven feet below this, a platform, from which the 
 well descended two hundred feet lower. The captain went 
 down, and at the bottom found earth and sand ; but from the 
 hollow sound under his feet, he judged that the passage must 
 communicate with some other apartment below. He then set 
 some Arabs at work to remove the sand ; but the heat was so 
 great, and the candles so incapable of burning, for want of 
 oxygen, that they were compelled to desist. The captain then 
 turned his researches to another quarter, and began to enlarge 
 the entrance into the first passage of the pyramid. For this 
 operation he was well rewarded ; for by it he found that the 
 passage continued downward, and having employed several 
 men, and taken out a great deal of earth and rubbish, at last, 
 after a long and ardent toil, he came in contact with the bot- 
 tom of the well, where he found the baskets and rope which 
 had been left there. The same day that this occurred, was 
 that on which we had agreed to visit the pyramids, and I had 
 the pleasure to be an eye-witness of the arduous task of Cap- 
 tain Cabillia. Proceeding in his laborious researches, he 
 found that the passage led into a chamber cut out of the 
 rock, under the centre of the pyramid. 
 
 Captain Cabillia made several researches round the pyra- 
 mids also, but none exceeded his toil in uncovering the temple 
 sphinx. He found a small temple between the two paws, and 
 a large tablet of granite on its breast. The tablet is adorned 
 with several figures and hieroglyphics, and two representa- 
 tions of sphinxes are sculptured on it. Before the entranqe 
 into the small temple was a lion, placed as if to guard the 
 approach. Farther on from the front of the sphinx, is a stair- 
 case of thirty-two steps, at the bottom of which is an altar, 
 with a Greek inscription, of the time of the Ptolemies. At 
 each side of the altar was a sphinx of calcareous stone, much 
 mutilated. From the base of the temple to the summit of the 
 head, is sixty-five feet ; the legs of the sphinx are fifty-seven 
 feet long, from the breast to the extremity of the paws, which 
 are eight feet high. Forty-five feet from the first altar, he 
 found another, with aq inscription, alluding to the emperor 
 Septimus Severus ; and near to the first step was a stone, with 
 another Greek inscription, alluding to Antoninus. 
 
 “ Notwithstanding his own occupation about the sphinx. 
 Captain Cabillia employed other people to carry on re- 
 searches. He opened some of the mausoleums which were 
 choked up with sand, and found several small chambers, with 
 hieroglyphics and figures, some of them pretty well executed, 
 and in good preservation. In one of the pits he found some 
 mummies, in their linen envelopes, and various fragments of 
 Egyptian antiquity. He also opened some of the smaller 
 
 3Z 
 
546 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 pyramids, and from the suggestion of Mr. Briggs to follow a 
 certain direction, he succeeded in finding the entrance into 
 one of them ; but it appears, that it was so decayed in the 
 interior, he could advance only a few feet. No doubt this led 
 into some chamber or apartment, containing perhaps a sarco- 
 phagus, &c.’' 
 
 Beizoins own Researches. — M. Belzoni determined on pene- 
 trating one of the famous pyramids, and, after an immense 
 labour, succeeded in discovering the entrance, and reached a 
 portcullis ; but here a large block of stone stared him in the 
 face, and appeared to say, Ne plus ultra. He persevered until 
 the stone was removed and the passage opened, which is only 
 four feet high, and three feet six inches wide. After thirty 
 days’ exertion, he reached the central chamber, where he found 
 a sarcophagus. This chamber is forty-six feet three inches 
 long, sixteen feet three inches wide, and twenty-three feet 
 six inches high. It is cut out of the solid rock, from the floor 
 to the roof, which is composed of large blocks of calcareous 
 stone, meeting in the centre, and forming a roof of the same 
 slope as the pyramid itself. The sarcophagus is eight feet 
 long, three feet six inches wide, and two feet three inches 
 deep in the inside. It is surrounded by large blocks of gra- 
 nite, apparently to prevent its removal, which could not be 
 effected without great labour. The lid had been broken at 
 the side, so that the sarcophagus w'as quite open. It is of 
 the finest granite ; but, like the other, in the first pyramid, 
 there is not one hieroglyphic on it. 
 
 On the wall, at the west end of the chamber, was an in- 
 scription in Arabic, which has been thus translated by Mr. 
 Salame : — 
 
 “ The master Mohammed Ahmed, lapicide, has opened 
 them; and the master Ottoman attended this (opetiing;) and 
 the King Alij Mohammed at first (from the beginning) to the 
 closing up.” 
 
 M. Belzoni refutes the general assertion, that the pyramids 
 w'ere built of stone brought from the east side of the Nile; 
 since stones of immense size have been cut from the very 
 rocks around the pyramids, and there is yet stone enough to 
 build many others if required. He ik of opinion, that the 
 pyramids were erected before writing in hieroglyphics was 
 invented, and that they w’ere erected as sepulchres. By the 
 measurement which he took of the second pyramid, he found 
 
 it to be as follows : — Feet 
 
 The base 684 
 
 Apotome, or central line down the front, from the top ) 
 
 to the base 5 ^ 
 
 Perpendicular 456 
 
 Coating, from the top to the place where it ends 140 
 
PYUAMIDS OF GIZEH, EGYPT. 
 
jiit 
 
 Of lat 
 
pompey's pillar. 647 
 
 Pompey's Pillar at Alexandria; with an account of a 
 •urprising; Exploit of some British Sailors. 
 
 The Pillar . — This pillar is situated a quarter of a league 
 from the southern gate. It is composed of red granite. The 
 capital is Corinthian, with palm leaves, and not indented. It 
 is nine feet high. The shaft and upper m.ember of the base 
 are of one piece of ninety feet long, and nine in diameter. 
 The base is a square of about fifteen feet on each side. This 
 block of marble, sixty feet in circumference, rests on two 
 layers of stone, bound together with lead ; which, however, 
 has not prevented the Arabs from forcing out several of them, 
 to search for an imaginary treasure. The whole column is one 
 hundred and fourteen feet high. It is perfectly well polished, 
 and only a little shivered on the eastern side. Nothing can 
 equal the majesty of this monument: seen from a distance, it 
 overtops the town, and serves as a signal for vessels ; ap- 
 proaching it nearer, it produces an astonishment mixed with 
 awe. One can never be tired with admiring the beauty of the 
 capital, the length of the shaft, and the extraordinary simpli- 
 city of the pedestal. This last has been somewhat damaged 
 by the instruments of travellers, who are curious to possess a 
 relic of this antiquity. Learned men and travellers have made 
 many fruitless attempts to discover, in honour of what prince 
 it was erected. The best informed have concluded that it 
 could not be in honour of Pompey, since neither Strabo noi 
 Diodorus Siculus has spoken of it. The Arabian Abulfeda, 
 in his description of Egypt, calls it the Pillar of Severus. 
 And history informs us, that this emperor ‘ visited the city ot 
 Alexandria that he granted a senate to its inhabitants, 
 who, t^ntil that time, under the subjection of a Roman magi- 
 strate, had lived without any national council, as under the 
 reign of the Ptolemies, when the will of the prince was their 
 only law; and that he did not terminate his benefactions here, 
 but changed several laws in their favour. This column, there- 
 fore, Mr. Savoy concludes to have been erected by the inha- 
 bitants as a mark of their gratitude to Severus ; and in a Greek 
 inscription, now half defaced, but visible on the west side 
 when the sun shines upon it, and which probably was legible 
 in the time of Abulfeda, he supposes the name of Severus to 
 have been preserved. He further observes, that this was not 
 the only monument erected to him by the gratitude of the 
 Alexandrians, for there is still seen, in the ruins of Antinbe, 
 built by Adrian, a magnificent pillar, the inscription of which 
 is still remaining, dedicated to Alexander Severus. 
 
 The exploit of some British Seamen . — One of the volutes 
 of the column was prematurely brought down some years 
 ago, by a prank of some English captains ; which is thus re- 
 lated by Mr. Irwin. These jolly sons of Neptune had been 
 
M8 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 pushing about the can on board one of the ships in the harbour, 
 until a strange freak entered into one of their brains. The 
 eccentricity of the thought occasioned it immediately to be 
 adopted ; and its apparent impossibility was but a spur for 
 the putting it into execution. The boat was ordered ; and 
 with proper implements for the attempt, these enterprising 
 heroes pushed ashore, to drink a bowl of punch on the top of 
 Pompey’s pillar! At the spot they arrived, and many con- 
 trivances were proposed to accomplish the desired point. But 
 their labour was vain ; and they began to despair of success, 
 when the genius who struck out the frolic, happily suggested 
 the means of performing it. 
 
 A man was dispatched to the city for a paper kite ; and 
 the inhabitants, by this time apprised of what was going for- 
 ward, flocked in crowds to be witnesses of the address and 
 boldness of the English. The governor of Alexandria was 
 told that these seamen were about to pull down Pompey’s 
 pillar. But whether he gave them credit for their respect to 
 the Roman warrior, or to the Turkish government, he left 
 them to themselves ; and politely answered, that the English 
 were too great patriots to injure the remains of Pompey. He 
 knew little, however, of the disposition of the people who 
 were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkish empire 
 risen in opposition, it would not at that moment have deterred 
 them. The kite was brought, and flown directly over the 
 pillar ; so that when it fell on the other side, the string lodged 
 upon the capital. The chief obstacle was now overcome. A 
 two-inch rope was tied to one end of the string, and drawn 
 over the pillar by the end to which the kite was affixed. By 
 this rope, one of the seamen ascended to the top ; and in less 
 than an hour, a kind of shroud was constructed, by which the 
 whole company went up, and drank their punch, amidst the 
 shouts of the astonished multitude. 
 
 To the eye below, the capital of the pillar does not appear 
 capable of holding more than one man upon it; but our seamen 
 found it could contain no less than eight persons very conve- 
 niently. It is astonishing that no accident befel these mad- 
 caps, in a situation so elevated, that it would have turned 
 a landman giddy in his sober senses. The only detriment 
 which the pillar received, was the loss of the volute before- 
 mentioned, which came down with a thundering sound, and 
 was carried to England by one of the captains, as a present tc 
 a lady who had commissioned him to procure her a piece of it. 
 The discovery which they made amply compensated for thi 
 mischief ; as without their evidence, the world would not have 
 known at this hour, that there was originally a statue on this 
 pillar, one foot and ancle of which are still remaining. The 
 ■tatue must have been of a gigantic size, to have appeared of 
 
TEMPLB OF MINERVA, AT CORINTH 
 
/ 
 
 OF 100 
 
BUILDINGS, AND LIBRARY, OF ALEXANDRIA. 549 
 
 a man’s proportion at so great a height. There are circum- 
 stances in this story which might give it an air of fiction, 
 were it not proved beyond all doubt. Besides the testimonies 
 of many eye-witnesses, the adventurers themselves have left a 
 token of the fact, by the initials of their names, which are 
 very legibly painted in black just beneath the capital. 
 
 Buildings, and Library, of Alexandria. — The archi- 
 tect employed by Alexander, in this undertaking, w'as the 
 celebrated Dinocrates, who had acquired so much reputation 
 by rebuilding the temple of Diana at Ephesus. The city was 
 first rendered populous by Ptolemy Soter, one of Alexander’s 
 captains, who, after the death of the Macedonian monarch, 
 being appointed governor of Egypt, soon assumed the title of 
 king, and took up his residence at Alexandria, about three 
 hundred and four years before Christ. In the thirtieth year of 
 his reign he made his son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, partner 
 with him in the empire; and by this prince the city of 
 Alexandria was much embellished. In the first year of his 
 reign, the famous watch-tower of Pharos was finished. It 
 had been begun several years before by Ptolemy Soter; and, 
 when finished, was looked upon as one of the wonders of the 
 world. 
 
 The same year, the island of Pharos itself, originally seven 
 furlongs distant from the continent, was joined to it by a 
 causeway. This was the work of Dexiphanes, who com- 
 pleted it at the same time that his son put the last hand to 
 the tower. The tower was a large square structure of white 
 marble, on the top of which, fires were kept constantly burn- 
 ing for the direction of sailors. The building cost 800 
 talents; which, if Attic, amounted to £165.000 ; if Alexan- 
 drian, to twice that sum. The architect employed in this 
 famous structure, fell upon the following contrivance to usurp 
 the whole glory to himself. Being ordered to engrave upon 
 it the following inscription, /* King Ptolemy, to the Gods the 
 Saviours, for the Benefit of Sailors;” instead of the king’s 
 name, he substituted his own, and then filling up the marble 
 with mortar, wrote upon it the above-mentioned inscription. 
 In process of time, the mortar being worn off, the following 
 inscription appeared: “ Sostratus the Cnidian, the son of 
 Dexiphanes, to the Gods the Saviours, for the Benefit of 
 Sailors.” 
 
 This year, also, was remarkable for bringing the image of 
 Serapis from Pontus to Alexandria. It was set up in one of the 
 suburbs of the city called Rhacotis, where a temple was after- 
 wards erected to his honour, suitable to the greatness of that 
 stately metropolis, and called, from the god worshipped there, 
 Serapium. This structure, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, 
 
560 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 •urpassed in beauty the magnificence of all others in the 
 world, except the capitol at Rome. 
 
 Within the verge of this temple was the famous Alexan- 
 drian library. It was founded by Ptolemy Soter, for the use 
 of an academy he instituted in this city; and, from continual 
 additions by his successors, became at last the finest library in 
 the world, containing no fewer than seven hundred thousand 
 volumes. One method adopted in collecting books for this 
 library, was, to seize all those which were brought into Egypt 
 by the Greeks, or other foreigners. The books were tran- 
 scribed in the museum by persons appointed for that purpose ; 
 the copies were then delivered to the proprietors, and the 
 originals laid up in the library. Ptolemy Euergetes, having 
 borrowed from the Athenians the works of Sophocles, Euri- 
 pides, and iEschylus, returned them only the copies, which 
 he caused to be transcribed in as beautiful a manner as pos- 
 sible, presenting the Athenians at the same time with 13 
 talents (upwards of £3000 sterling) for the exchange. As the 
 museum was at first in that quarter of the city called Bru- 
 chion, near the royal palace, the library was placed there like- 
 wise ; but when it came to contain four hundred thousand 
 volumes, another library within the Serapium was erected, by 
 way of supplement to it, and on that account called the 
 Daughter of the former. In this second library, three hundred 
 thousand volumes, in process of time, were deposited ; and 
 both libraries together contained the seven hundred thousand 
 volumes already mentioned. In the war carried on by Julius 
 Caesar against the inhabitants of this city, the library in the 
 Bruchion, with the four hundred thousand volumes it con- 
 tained, was reduced to ashes. The library in the Serapium, 
 however, still remained ; and here Cleopatra deposited two 
 hundred thousand volumes of the Permagean library, with 
 which Marc Antony presented her. These, and others added 
 from time to time, rendered the new library at Alexandria 
 more numerous and considerable than the former ; and though 
 it was often plundered during the revolutions and troubles of 
 the Roman Empire, yet it was again and again repaired, and 
 filled with the same number of books. 
 
 Temple of Tentyra, in Egypt. — From Belzoni’s Nai- 
 rative. 
 
 “ Little could be seen of the temple, till we came near to it, 
 as it is surrounded by high mounds of rubbish of the old 
 Tentyra. On our arriving before it, I was for some time at a 
 loss to know where I should begin my examination ; the 
 numerous objects before me, all equally attractive, leaving me 
 for a while in a state of suspense and astonishment. The enor 
 mous masses of stone employed in the edifice, are so well 
 
TEMPLE OF TENTYRA IN EGYPT. 
 
LibnA^f 
 
 Qf m 
 
TEMPLE OF TENTYRA, IN EGYPT 
 
 651 
 
 disposed, that the eye discovers the most just proportion 
 every where. The majestic appearance of its construction, 
 the variety of its ornaments, and, above all, the singularity of 
 its preservation, had such an effect on me, that I seated my- 
 self on the ground, and, for a considerable time, was lost in 
 admiration. It is the first Egyptian temple the traveller sees 
 on ascending the Nile, and it is certainly the most magni- 
 ficent. It has an advantage over most others, from the good 
 state of preservation it is in ; and I should have no scruple in 
 saying, that it is of a much later date than any other. The 
 superiority of the workmanship gives us sufficient reason to 
 believe it to be of the time of the first Ptolemy ; and it is not 
 improbable, that he who laid the foundation of the Alexan- 
 drian library, instituted the philosophical society of the 
 museum, and studied to render himself beloved bv his people, 
 might erect such an edifice, to convince the ’ mis of his 
 
 superiority of mind over the ancient kings of i -,jpt, even in 
 religious devotion. 
 
 This is the cabinet of the Egyptian arts, the product of 
 study for many centuries, and it was here that Denon thought 
 himself in the sanctuary of the arts and sciences. The front 
 is adorned with a beautiful cornice, and a frieze covered with 
 figures and hieroglyphics, over the centre of which the 
 winged globe is predominant, and the two sides are em- 
 bellished with compartments of sacrifices and offerings. The 
 columns that form the portico are twenty-four in number, 
 divided into four rows, including those in the front. On 
 entering the gate, the scene changes, and requires more 
 minute observation. The quadrangular form of the capitals 
 first strikes the eye. At each side of the square there is a 
 colossal head of the goddess Isis, with cow’s ears. There is 
 not one of these heads but is much mutilated, particu- 
 larly those on the columns in the front of the temple, facing 
 the outside : but, notwithstanding this disadvantage, and the 
 flatness of their form, there is a simplicity in their counte- 
 nance that approaches to a smile. I'he shafts of the columns 
 are covered with hieroglyphics and figures, which are in basso 
 relievo, as are all the figures in the front and lateral walls. 
 The front of the door-way, which is in a straight line with the 
 entrance, and the sanctuary, is richly adorned with figures of 
 smaller size than the rest of the portico. The ceiling contains 
 the zodiac, inclosed by two long female figures, which extend 
 from one side to the other of it. The walls are divided into 
 several square compartments, each containing figures repre- 
 senting deities, and priests in the act of offering or immolat- 
 ing victims. On all the walls, columns, ceiling, or architraves, 
 there is now'here a space of two feet that is not covered with 
 8 )mc figures of human beings, animals, plants, emblems of 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 562 
 
 agriculture, or of religious ceremony. Wherever the eyes 
 turn, wherever the attention is fixed, every thing inspires re- 
 spect and veneration, heightened by the solitary situation of 
 this temple, which adds to the attraction of these splendid 
 recesses. The inner apartments are much the same as the 
 portico, all covered with figures in basso relievo. 
 
 “ On the top of the temple the Arabs had built a village; 
 I suppose, to be the more elevated, and exposed to the air: 
 but It is all in ruins, as no one now lives there. From the 
 top I descended into some apartments on the east side of the 
 temple; there I saw the famous zodiac on the ceiling. The 
 circular form of this zodiac led me to suppose, in some measure, 
 that this temple was built at a later period than the rest, as 
 nothing like it is seen any where else. In the front of the 
 edifice there is a propylaeon, not inferior to the works in the 
 temple, and, though partly fallen, it still shews its ancient 
 grandeur. On the left, going from the portico, there is a 
 small temple, surrounded by columns. In the inside is a 
 figure of Isis sitting with Oriis in her lap ; and other female 
 figures, each with a child in her arms, are observable. The 
 capitals of the columns are adorned with the figures of 
 Typhon. The gallery, or portico, that surrounds the tem- 
 ple, is filled up with rubbish, to a great height, and walls 
 of unburnt bricks have been raised from one column to 
 another. 
 
 “ Farther on, in a right line with the propylseon, are the 
 remains of an hypaethral temple, which form a scjuare of 
 twelve columns, connected with each other by a wall, except 
 at the door-way, which fronts the propylaeon. The eastern 
 wall of the great temple is richly adorned with figures in 
 inlaglio relevato; they are perfectly finished; the female 
 figures are about four feet high, disposed in diflerent com- 
 partments. 
 
 “ Behind the temple is a small Egyptian building, quite 
 detached from the large edifice; and, from its construction, 
 I would venture to say, that it was the habitation of the 
 priests. At some distance from the great temple are the 
 foundations of another, not so large as the first. 'I’he propy- 
 laeon is still standing, in good preservation.” 
 
 Two objects of great curiosity are. The Palace of Mf.m- 
 NON, AND The Temple of Osiris, at Abidos. — Abidos, 
 an inland town of Egypt, between Ptolemais and Diospolis 
 Parva, towards Gyrene, is famous for the Palace of Memnoti, 
 and the Temple of Osiris, and inhabited by a colony of 
 Milesians. It was the only one in the country into which the 
 singers and dancers were forbid to enter. This city, reduced 
 to a village under the empire of Augustus, now presents to 
 
PALACE OF MEMNON, ETC. 
 
 663 
 
 our view only an heap of ruins, without inhabitants; but to 
 the west of these ruins is still found the celebrated Tomb of 
 Ismandes. The entrance is under a portico sixty feet high, 
 and supported by two rows of massy columns. The immove- 
 able solidity of the edifice, the huge masses which compose 
 it, the hieroglyphics it is loaded with, starrip it as a work of 
 the ancient Egyptians. 
 
 Beyond it, is a temple three hundred feet long, and one 
 hundred and fifty-five wide. Upon entering the monument, 
 we meet with an immense hall, the roof of which is supported 
 by twenty-eight columns, sixty feet high, and nineteen in 
 circumference at the base. They are twelve feet distant from 
 each other. The enormous stones that form the ceiling, per- 
 fectly joined and incrusted as it were one into the other, offer 
 to the eye nothing but one solid platform of marble, one 
 hundred and twenty-six feet long, and twenty-six wide. The 
 walls are covered with hieroglyphics. Here are seen a mul- 
 titude of animals, birds, and human figures with pointed caps 
 on their heads, and a piece of stuff' hanging down behind, 
 dressed in loose robes, that come down only to the waist. 
 The sculpture, however, is clumsy ; and the forms of the body, 
 with the attitudes and proportions of the members, are ill ob- 
 served. Amongst these we may distinguish some women 
 suckling their children, and men presenting offerings to them. 
 Here also we meet with the divinities of India. 
 
 Monsieur Chevalier, formerly governor of Chanderna- 
 gore, who resided twenty years in that country, carefully 
 visited this monument on his return from Bengal. He re- 
 marked here the gods Juggernaut, Gonez, and Vechnon, or 
 Wistnou, such as they are represented in the temples of 
 I ndostan. 
 
 A great gate opens at the bottom of the first hall, which 
 leads to an apartment, forty-six feet long by twenty-two 
 wide. Six square pill-ars support the roof of it, and at the 
 angles are the doors of four other chambers, but so choked 
 up with rubbish that they cannot now be entered. The last 
 hall, sixty-four feet long by twenty-four wide, has stairs which 
 form a descent into the subterraneous apartments of this grand 
 edifice. 
 
 The Arabs, in searching after treasure, have piled up heaps 
 of earth and rubbish. In the part we are able to penetrate, 
 sculpture and hieroglyphics are discoverable, as in the upper 
 story. The natives say that they correspond exactly with 
 those above ground, and that the columns are as deep 
 in the earth, as they are lofty above ground. It would 
 be dangerous to go far into those vaults; for the air of 
 them is so loaded with a mephitic vapour, that a candle can 
 scarcely be kept burning in them. 
 
 4 A 
 
554 CURIOSU'lES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 Six lions’ heads, placed on the two sides of the temple, serve 
 as spouts to carry off the water. One mounts to the top by 
 a staircase of a very singular structure. It is built with stones 
 incrusted in the wall, and projecting six feet out; so that, 
 being supported only at one end, they appear to be suspended 
 in the air. The walls, the roof, and the columns of this edi- 
 fice, have suffered nothing from the injuries of time; and did 
 not the hieroglyphics, by being corroded in some places, mark 
 its antiquity, it would appear to have been newly built. The 
 solidity is such, that unless people make a point of destroying 
 it, the building must last a great number of ages. Except 
 the colossal figures, whose heads serve as an ornament to 
 the capitals of the columns, and which are sculptured in re- 
 hevo, the rest of the hieroglyphics which cover the inside are 
 carved in stone. 
 
 To the left of this great building we meet with another much 
 smaller, at the bottom of which is a sort of altar. This was 
 probably the sanctuary of the temple of Osiris. 
 
 — **»*o©<«*— 
 
 CHAP. LIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING BUILDINGS, ^TC—(Contimied,) 
 
 Temph of Diana at Ephesus — Laocoon — Babylon — Alhambra, 
 
 Temple of Diana, at Ephesus. — The chief ornament of 
 Ephesus was the temple of Diana, built at the common charge 
 of all the states in Asia, and, for its structure, size, and furni- 
 ture, accounted among the wonders of the world. This great 
 edifice was situated at the foot of a mountain, and at the head 
 of a marsh; which place they chose, if we believe Pliny, as 
 the least subject to earthquakes. This site doubled the 
 charges; for they were obliged to be at a vast expense in 
 making drains to convey the water that came down the hill 
 into the morass and the Cayster. Philo Byzantius tells us, 
 that in this work they used such a quantity of stone, as almost 
 exhausted all the quarries in the country ; and these drains, or 
 vaults, are what the present inhabitants take for a labyrinth. 
 To secure the foundations of the conduits or sewers, which 
 were to bear a building of such prodigious weight, they laid 
 beds of charcoal, says Pliny, well rammed, and upon them 
 others of wood : Pliny says, four hundred years were spent in 
 building this wonderful temple, by all Asi^: others say, only 
 two hundred and twenty. It was four hundred and twenty- 
 five feet in length, and two hundred in breadth, supported by 
 
Great Temple op the Ancient Egyptians at Thebes. P. 345. 
 

 ' OF M 
 
 iiiMM 
 
 \ 
 
TEMPLE OF DIANA, AT EPHESUS. 
 
 655 
 
 one hundred and twenty-seven marble pillars, seventy feet high, 
 of which twenty-seven were most curiously carved, and the 
 rest polished. These pillars were the works of so many kings, 
 and the bas-reliefs of one were done by Scopas, the most fa- 
 mous sculptor of antiquity ; the altar was almost wholly the 
 work of Praxiteles. Cheiromocrates, who built the city of Alex- 
 andria, and offered to form Mount Athos into a statue of 
 Alexandria, was the architect employed on this occasion. 
 
 The temple enjoyed the privilege of an asylum, which at 
 first extended to a furlong, was afterwards enlarged by Mi- 
 thridates to a bow-shot, and doubled by Marc Antony, so that 
 it took in part of the city : but Tiberius, to put a stop to the 
 many abuses and disorders that attended privileges of this 
 kind, revoked them all, and declared that no man, guilty of 
 any wicked or dishonest action, should escape justice, though 
 he fled to the altar itself. 
 
 The prjests who officiated in this temple were held in great 
 esteem, and entrusted with the care of sacred virgins, or priest- 
 esses, but not till they were made eunuchs. They were called 
 Estiatores and Essc/kk, had a particular diet, and were not 
 allowed to go into any private house. They were maintained 
 out of the profits accruing from the lake Selinusius, and an- 
 other that fell into it; which must have been very considerable, 
 since they erected a golden statue to one Artemidorus, who 
 being sent to Rome, recovered them, after they had been seized 
 by the farmers of the public revenues. 
 
 All the lonians resorted yearly to Ephesus, with their wives 
 and children, where they solemnized the festival of Diana 
 with great pornj) and magnificence, making on that occasion 
 rich offerings to the goddess, and valuable presents to her 
 priests. 
 
 The Asiarcha, mentioned by St. Luke, (Acts xix. 31,) were, 
 according to Beza, priests who regulated the public sports 
 annually performed at Ephesus, in honour of Diana; and were 
 maintained with the collections during the sports, for all Asia 
 flocked to see them. 
 
 The great Diana of the Ephesians, as she was styled by 
 her blind adorers, was, according to Pliny, a small statue o* 
 ebony, made by one Canitia, though believed by the super 
 stitious to have been sent down from heaver* by Jupiter This 
 statue was first placed in a niche, whicii, as we are told, the 
 Amazons caused to be made iii rhe trunk of an elm. Such 
 was the first nse of the veneration that was paid to Diana in 
 this nlace In process of time the veneration for the goddess 
 OHilv increasing among the inhabitants of Asia, a most stately 
 and magnificent temple was built near the place where the 
 “Im stood, and the statue of the goddess placed in it. This 
 was the first temple and was not quite so sumptuous as the 
 
656 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 second, though reckoned, as well as it, one of the wonderg 
 of the world. 
 
 The second temple of the great Diana, was remaining in 
 the times of Pliny and Strabo ; and is supposed to have been 
 destroyed in the reign of Constantine, pursuant to the edict 
 of that emperor, commanding all the temples of the heathens 
 to be demolished ; — the former was burnt the same day that 
 Alexander was born, by one Erostratus, who owned on the 
 rack, that the only thing which had prompted him to destroy 
 so excellent a work, was the desire of transmitting his name 
 to future ages. Whereupon the common council of Asia made 
 a degree, forbidding any one to name him; but this prohibi- 
 tion served only to make his name the more memorable, such a 
 remarkable extravagance, or rather madness, being taken 
 notice of by all the historians who have written of those times. 
 Alexander offered to rebuild the temple at his own expense, 
 provided the Ephesians would agree to put his name on the 
 front ; but they received his offer in such a manner as pre- 
 vented the resentment of that vain prince, telling him, “ it 
 was not fit that one god should build a temple to another.’" 
 The pillars, and other materials, that had been saved out of 
 the flames, were sold, with the jewels of the Ephesian women, 
 who on that occasion willingly parted with them ; and the 
 sum thus raised served for the carrying on of the work till 
 other contributions came in, which, in a short time, amounted 
 to an immense treasure. This is the temple which Strabo, 
 Pliny, and other Roman writers, speak of. It stood bt;tween 
 the city and the port, and was built, or rather finished, as 
 Livy tells us, in the reign of king Servius. Of this wonderful 
 structure there is nothing at present remaining but some ruins, 
 and a few broken pillars, forty feet long, and seven in dia- 
 meter. 
 
 Another curious monument of antiquity, which demands the 
 reader’s attention, is, Laocoon. — This is a celebrated mono 
 ment of Greek sculpture, exhibited in marble, by Polydorus. 
 Athenodorus, and Agesander, the three famous artists of 
 Rhodes. This relic of antiquity was found at Rome, among 
 the ruins of the palace of Titus, in the beginning of the six- 
 teenth century, under the pontificate of Julius II. and since 
 deposited in theFarnese palace. Laocoon is represented w ith 
 his two sons, with two hideous serpents clinging round his 
 body, gnawing it, and injecting their poison. Virgil has 
 given us a beautiful description of the fact, lib. ii. 
 
 201—222. 
 
 This statue exhibits the most astonishing dignity and tran- 
 quillity of mind, in the midst of the most excruciating torments. 
 Pliny says of it, that it is, opus omnibus picturi^ et statuaria 
 
BABYLON. 
 
 567 
 
 artk"pr(sferendum. — Lib. xxxvi. c. 5. The Laocoon (Dr. 
 Giles observes) may be regarded as the triumph of Grecian 
 sculpture; since bodily pain, the grossest and most ungovern- 
 able of all our passions, and that pain united with anguish 
 and torture of mind, are yet expressed with such propriety 
 and dignity, as afford lessons of fortitude superior to any 
 taught in the schools of philosophy. The horrible shriek 
 which Virgil’s Laocoon emits, is a proper circumstance for 
 poetry ; but the expression of this shriek would have totally 
 degraded the statue. It is softened, therefore, into a patient 
 sigh, with eyes turned to heaven in search of relief. The in- 
 tolerable agony of suffering nature is represented in the lower 
 part, and particularly the extremity of the body; but the 
 manly breast struggles against calamity. The contention is 
 still more plainly perceived in his furrowed forehead ; and his 
 languishing paternal eye demands assistance, less for himself 
 than for his miserable children, who look up to him for help.” 
 — Hist, of Greece y ii. 177. 
 
 The Laocoon was sent to Paris by Bonaparte, in 1797. 
 
 Babylon. — The following account of this city, in its great- 
 est splendour, is borrowed principally from Herodotus, who 
 had been on the spot, and is the oldest author who has treated 
 of the subject. 
 
 The city of Babylon was square, being a hundred and 
 twenty furlongs, that is, fifteen miles, or five leagues, every 
 way ; and the whole circuit of it was four hundred and eighty 
 furlongs, or twenty leagues. The walls were built with large 
 bricks, cemented with bitumen, a thick glutinous fluid, which 
 rises out of the earth in the neighbouring country, and which 
 binds stronger than mortar, and becomes harder than brick 
 itself. These walls were eighty-seven feet thick, and three 
 hundred and fifty high. Those who mention them as only 
 fifty cubits high, refer to their condition after Darius, son 
 of Hystaspes, had commanded them to be reduced to that 
 height, to punish a rebellion of the Babylonians. 
 
 The city was encompassed with a vast ditch, which was 
 filled with water, and the sides of which were built up with 
 brick-work. The earth which was dug out, was used in mak- 
 ing bricks for the walls of the city ; so that the depth and 
 width of the ditch may be estimated by the extreme height 
 and thickness of the walls. There were a hundred gates to 
 the city, twenty-five on each of the four sides. These gates, 
 with their posts, &c. were all of brass. Betw'een every two 
 gates were three towers, raised ten feet above the walls, where 
 necessary ; for the city being encompassed in several places 
 with marshes, which defended the approach to it, those parts 
 stood in no need of towers. 
 
658 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC 
 
 A street corresponded with each gate ; so that there were 
 fifty streets, which cut one another at right angles, and each 
 of which was fifteen miles in length, and one hundred and 
 fifty-one feet in width. Four other streets, which had houses 
 on one side, and the ramparts on the other, encompassed the 
 vviiole city, and were each of them two hundred feet wide. 
 By the streets crossing each other, the whole city was divided 
 into six hundred and seventy-six squares, each of which was 
 four furlongs and a half on every side, and two miles and a 
 quarter in circuit. The houses of these squares were three or 
 four stories high, and their fronts were embellished ; and the 
 inner space was filled with courts and gardens. ^ 
 
 The city was divided into two parts by the Euphrates, 
 which ran from north to south. A bridge of admirable struc-^ 
 ture, about a furlong in length, and sixty feet in width, 
 formed the communication across the river; and at the two 
 extremities of this bridge were two palaces on the east, and 
 the new palace on the west side of the river. The Temple of 
 Belus, which stood near the old palace, occupied one entire 
 square. The city was situated in a vast plain, the soil of 
 which was extremely fat and fruitful. 
 
 To people this immense city, Nebuchadnezzar transplanted 
 hither an infinite number of captives, from the Ifnany nations 
 that he subdued. It would appear, however, that the whole 
 of it was never inhabited. 
 
 The famous Hanging Gardens, which adorned the palace in 
 Babylon, were ranked among the wonders of the world. 
 They contained four hundred feet square, and were composed 
 of several large terraces; and the platform of the highest 
 terrace was equal in height to the walls of Babylon, that is, 
 three hundred and fifty feet. The assent from terrace to ter- 
 race was by steps ten feet wide. The whole mass was sup- 
 ported by large vaults, built upon each other, and strengthened 
 by a wall twenty-two feet thick. The tops of these arches were 
 covered with stones, rushes and bitumen, and plates of lead, 
 to prevent leakage. The depth of earth was so great, that in 
 it the largest trees might take root. Here was every thing 
 that could please the sight; as, large trees, flowers, plants, 
 and shrubs. Upon the highest terrace was a reservoir, sup- 
 j)lied with water from the river. 
 
 The predictions of the prophets against Babylon, gradually 
 received their accomplishment. Berosus relates, that Cyrus, 
 having taken this city, demolished its walls, lest the in- 
 habitants should revolt. Darius, son of Hystaspes, destroyed 
 the gates, 8cc. Alexander the Great intended to rebuild it, 
 but was prevented by death from accomplishing his design. 
 Seleucus Nicator built Seleucia on the Tigris, and this city 
 insensibly deprived Babylon of its inhabitants. Strabo as- 
 
ALH AMBTIA 
 
 559 
 
 8ures us, that under Augustus, Babylon was almost forsaken; 
 and that it was no longer any thing more than a great desert. 
 St. Jerome relates, on the testimony of a monk who dwelt at 
 Jerusalem, that in his time, Babylon and its ancient precincts 
 were converted into a great park, in which the kings of Persia 
 'Were accustomed to hunt. 
 
 A German traveller, named Rauwolf, who in 1574 passed 
 through the place where Babylon formerly stood, speaks of 
 its ruins as follows: “ The village of Elugo now stands where 
 Babylon of Chaldea was formerly situated. The harbour is 
 distant from it a quarter of a league, and people go on shore 
 tb proceed by land to the celebrated city of Bagdad, which is 
 distant a journev of a day and a half eastward, on the Tigris. 
 The soil is -so dry and barren, that they cannot till it; and so 
 naked, that I could scarcely believe, that this powerful city, 
 onc^ the most stately and renowned in all the world, and 
 situated in the most fruitful country of Shinar, co.. d ever 
 have stood in this place. My doubts, however, on this point, 
 were removed, by the situation, and by many antiquities of 
 great beauty, which are still to be seen, and particularly by 
 the old bridge over the Euphrates, of which some piles and 
 arches of brick remain, so strong as to excite admiration. 
 The whole front of the village of Elugo is the hill upon which 
 the castle stood ; and the ruins of its fortifications, though 
 demolished and uninhabited, are still visible. Behind, and at 
 a small distance beyond, was the tower of Babylon, which is 
 still to be seen, and is half a league in diameter. It is, how- 
 ever, so ruinous, so low, and so full of venomous creatures, 
 which lodge in holes made by them in the rubbish, that no 
 one dares approach nearer to it than within half a league, 
 except during two months in winter, when these animals never 
 leave their holes. In particular, one sort, which the inhabitants 
 of the country call eglo, possesses a very active poison, and 
 is larger than our lizard.’’ 
 
 We shall close this chapter with a full description of an 
 ancient fortress caked Alhambra. 
 
 This place was the residence of the Moorish monarchs of 
 Grenada. It derives its name from the red colour of the 
 materials with which it was originally built, Alhambra signify- 
 ing a red house. It appears to a traveller as huge a heap of 
 ugly buildings as can well be seen, all huddled together, 
 seemingly without the least intention of forming one habita- 
 tion out of them. The walls are entirely unornamented, con- 
 sisting chiefly of gravel and pebbles, daubed over with plaster 
 in a very coarse manner : yet this was the palace of the Moorish 
 'kings of Grenada, and it is indisputably the most curious 
 place that exists in Spain, perhaps in the world. In many 
 
560 CUKIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 countries may be seen excellent modern, as well as ancient 
 architecture, both entire and in ruins; but nothing to be met 
 with any where else, can convey an idea of this edifice, except 
 the decorations of an opera, or the tales of the genii. 
 
 Passing round the corner of the emperor’s palace, , one is 
 admitted at a plain unornamented door in a corner. On 
 my first visit, (says Mr. Swinburne, in his Travels in Spain,) 
 I confess I was struck with amazement, as I stepped over the 
 threshold, to find myself on a sudden transported into a 
 species of fairy land. The first place you come to is the court 
 called the Communa, or Delmesucar, that is, the common baths; 
 an oblong square, with a deep bason of clear water in the 
 middle; two flights of marble steps leading down to the 
 bottom; on each side a parterre of flowers, and a row of 
 orange trees. Round the court runs a peristyle paved with 
 marble ; the arches bear upon very slight pillars, in propor- 
 tions and style different from all the regular orders of architec- 
 ture. The ceilings and walls are incrusted with fretwork in 
 stucco, so minute and intricate, that the most patient draughts- 
 man would find it difficult to follow it, unless he made himself 
 master of the general plan. This would facilitate the opera- 
 tion exceedingly; for all this work is frequently and regularly 
 repeated at certain distances, and has been executed by 
 means of square moulds applied successively, and the parts 
 joined together with the utmost nicety. In every division 
 are Arabic sentences of different lengths, most of them 
 expressive of the following meanings ; ‘ There is no conqueror 
 but God;’ or, ‘Obedience and honour to our lord Abouab- 
 doula.’ The ceilings are gilt or painted, and time has caused 
 *no diminution in the freshness of their colours, though con- 
 stantly exposed to the air. The lower part of the wall is 
 mosaic, disposed in fantastic knots and festoons. The porches 
 at the end are more like grotto-work than any thing else to 
 which they can be compared. That on the right hand opens 
 'into an octagon vault, under the emperor’s palace, and forms a 
 perfect whispering gallery, meant to be a communication 
 between the offices of both houses. Opposite to the door of 
 the Communa through which you enter, is another leading into 
 the Quarto de los leones^ or apartment of the lions, which is an 
 oblong court, one hundred feet in length, and fifty in breadth, 
 environed with a colonnade, seven feet broad on the sides, and 
 ten at the end. Two porticos or cabinets, about fifteen feet 
 square, project into the court at the two extremities. The 
 square is covered with coloured tiles; the colonnade, with 
 white marble. The walls are covered, five feet up from the 
 ground, with blue and yellow tiles, disposed chequerwise. 
 Above and below is a border of small escutcheons, enamelled 
 blue and gold, with an Arabic motto on a bend, signifying, 
 
ALHAMBRA. 
 
 561 
 
 No conqueror but God/' The columns that support the 
 roof and gallery are of white marble, very slender, and fantasti* 
 cally adorned. They are nine feet high, including base and 
 capital, and eight and a half inches diameter. They are very 
 irregularly placed; sometimes singly, at others, in groups of 
 three, but more frequently two together. The width of the 
 horse-shoe arches above them, is four feet two inches for the 
 large ones, and three for the smaller. The ceiling of the 
 portico is finished in a much finer and more complicated man- 
 ner than that of the Communa, and the stucco laid on the 
 walls with inimitable delicacy; in the ceiling it is so artfully 
 frosted and handled, as to exceed belief. The capitals are of 
 various designs^ though each design is repeated several times 
 in the circumference of the court, but not the least attention 
 has been paid to placing them regularly, or opposite to each 
 other. Not the smallest representation of animal life can be 
 discovered amidst the variety of foliages, grotesques, and 
 strange ornaments. About each arch is a large square of 
 arabesques, surrounded with a rim of characters, that are 
 generally quotations from the Koran, Over the pillars is an- 
 other square of delightful foliage work. Higher up is a wooden 
 rim, or kind of cornice, as much enriched with carving as 
 the stucco that covers the part underneath. Over this pro- 
 jects a roof of red tiles, the only thing that disfigures this 
 beautiful square. This ugly covering is modern, put on by 
 order of Mr. Wall, the late prime minister. In the centre of 
 the court are twelve ill-made lions, muzzled, their fore parts 
 smooth, their hind parts rough ; which bear upon their backs 
 an enormous bason, out of which a lesser rises. While the 
 pipes were kept in good order, a great volume of water was 
 thrown up, that, falling down into the basons, passed through 
 the beasts, and issued out of their mouths into a large reser- 
 voir, where it communicated by channels with the jets d’eau 
 in the apartments. This fountain is of white marble, embel- 
 lished with many festoons and Arabic distichs, compliment- 
 ing the monarch and his princess. 
 
 ‘‘ Passing along the colonnade, and keeping on the south 
 side, you come to a circular room, used by the men as a place 
 for drinking coffee and forbets in. A fountain in the middle 
 refreshed the apartment in summer. The form of this hall, 
 the elegance of its cupola, the cheerful distribution of light 
 from above, and the exquisite manner in which the stucco is 
 designed, painted, and finished, exceed all powers of descrip- 
 tion. Every thing in it inspires the most pleasing voluptuous 
 ideas; yet in this sweet retreat, they say, that Abouabdoula 
 assembled the Abbencarrages, and caused their heads to be 
 struck off into the fountain. 
 
 ** Continuing your walk round, you are next brought to a 
 
 24. 4 B 
 
562 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 couple of rooms at the head of the court, which are supposed 
 to have been tribunals, or audience chambers. 
 
 “ Opposite to \\\Q Saladelos Abbencaryages, \s the entrance into 
 the 7 or/e de las dos Hermottas, or the tower of the Two Sisters; 
 so named from two very beautiful pieces of marble laid as flags 
 in the pavement. This gate exceeds all the rest in profusion 
 of ornaments, and in the beauty of prospect which it affords 
 through a range of apartments, where a multitude of arches 
 terminate in a large window open to the country. In a gleam 
 of siinsliine, the variety of tints and lights thrown upon this 
 enfilade, are uncommonly rich. The first hall is the concert- 
 room, where the women sat; the musicians played above in 
 four balconies. In the middle is a jet d’eau. The marble 
 pavement is equal to the finest existing, for the size of the 
 flags and evenness of the colour. The two sisters are slabs, 
 that measure fifteen feet by seven and a half, without flaw or 
 stain. The walls, up to a certain height, are mosaic, and 
 above are divided into very neat compartments of stucco, all 
 of one design, which is also followed in many of the adjacent 
 halls and galleries. The ceiling is a fretted cove. To preserve 
 this vaulted roof, as well as some of the other principal cupo- 
 las, the outward walls of the towers are raised ten feet above 
 the top of the dome, and support another roof over all, by 
 which means no damage can ever be caused by wet w'eather, 
 or excessive heat and cold. 
 
 “ From this hall you pass round the little myrtle garden of 
 Lindarax, into an additional building made to the east end 
 by Charles V. I'he rooms are small and low. His favourite 
 motto, ‘ Plus outre,’ appears on every beam. This leads to a 
 tower, projecting from the line of the north wall, call El To- 
 cador, or the dressino;--room of the sultana. It is a small 
 square cabinet, in the middle of an open gallery, from which it 
 received light by a door and three windows. The view is 
 charming. In one corner is a large marble flag, drilled full 
 tyi holes, through which the smoke of perfumes ascended from 
 furnaces below; and here, it is presumed, the Moorish queen 
 was wont to sit, to fumigate and sweeten her person. The 
 emperor caused this pretty room to be painted with represen- 
 tations of his wars, and a great variety of grotesques, which 
 appear to be copies, or at least imitations, of those in the 
 lobby of the Vatican. 
 
 ‘ From hence you go through a long passage to the hall of 
 ambassadors, which is magnificently decorated with innumer- 
 able varieties of mosaics, and the mottos of all the kings of 
 Grenada. This long narrow antichamber opens into the Com- 
 muna on the left hand, and on the right into the great audience 
 hall in the tower of Comares ; a noble apartment, thirty-six 
 feet square, thirty-six high up to the cornice, and eighteen 
 
I 
 
 II: 
 
 i; 
 
 lyt Ijyssi 
 
 5 , ' :'■■■-• ■- OF lat 
 
 " ;v^ p.r±u?'W^ 
 
WTKRIOR OP AN ANCIENT ROxMAN HOUSE. 
 
ALHAMBRA* 
 
 563 
 
 from tl ence to the centre of the cupola. The walls on 
 three sides are fifteen feet thick, on the other nine ; the lower 
 range of windows thirteen feet high. The wall is inlaid with 
 mosaic of many colours, disposed in intricate knots, stars, and 
 other figures. In every part, various Arabic sentences are 
 repeated. 
 
 “ Having completed the tour of the upper apartments, which 
 are upon a level with the offices of the new palace, you de- 
 scend to the lower floor, which consisted of bedchambei's 
 and summer rooms : the back stairs and passages, that facili- 
 tated the intercourse between them, are without number. The 
 most remarkable room below is the king^s bedchamber, which 
 communicated, by means of a gallery, with the upper story. 
 The beds were placed in two alcoves, upon a raised pavement 
 of blue and white tiles; but as it was repaired by Philip V. 
 who passed some time here, it cannot be said how it may have 
 been in former times. A fountain played in the middle, to 
 refresh the apartment in hot weather. 
 
 “ Behind the alcoves are small doors, that conduct you to 
 the royal baths. These consist of one small closet, with mar- 
 ble cisterns for washing children, two rooms for grown-up 
 persons, and vaults for boilers and furnaces, that supplied the 
 baths with water, and the stoves with vapour. The troughs 
 are formed of large slabs of white marble ; the walls are orna 
 mented with party-coloured earthenware, and light is admitted 
 by holes in the ceiling. Hard by, is a whispering gallery, and 
 a kind of gallery, said to have been made for the diversion of 
 the women and children. One of the passages of communi- 
 cation is fenced off with a strong iron gate, and called the 
 Prison of the Sultana; but it seems more probable that it was 
 put up to prevent any body from climbing up into the women’s 
 quarter. 
 
 “ Under the council-room is a long slip, called the King’s 
 Study : and adjoining to it are several vaults, said to be the 
 place of burial of the royal family. In the year 1574, four 
 sepulchres were opened, but, as they contained nothing but 
 bones and ashes, were immediately closed again.'’ 
 
 This description of the Alhambra, concludes by observing 
 how admirably every thing was planned and calculated for 
 rendering this palace the most voluptuous of all retirements : 
 w’hat plentiful supplies of water were brought to refresh it in 
 the hot months of summer ; what a free circulation of air was 
 contrived, by the judicious disposition of doors and windows; 
 w'hat shady gardens of aromatic trees ; what noble views over 
 the beautiful hills and fertile plains! No wonder the Moors 
 regretted Granada; no wonder they still offer up prayers to 
 God every Friday, for the recovery of this city, which they 
 esteem a terrestrial paradise. 
 
r>64 
 
 CURIOSITIES. RKSPKCTING TEMPLES. ETC. 
 
 CHAP. LV. 
 
 - CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. — (Continued,) 
 Seraglio — Museum — Colossus — and Obelisk, 
 
 Seraglio.— This word is commonly used to express the 
 house or palace of a prince. Tn this sense it is frequently used 
 at Constantinople : the houses of foreign ambassadors are 
 called seraglios. But it is commonly used, by way of eminence, 
 for the palace of the grand seignior at Constantinople ; where 
 he keeps his court, — where his concubines are lodged — and 
 where the youth are trained up for the chief posts of the em- 
 pire. It is a triangle, about three Italian miles round, wholly 
 within the city, at the end of the promontory Chrysoceras, 
 now called the Seraolio Point. The buildino;s run back to 
 the bottom of the hill, and thence are gardens that reach to 
 the edge of the sea. It is inclosed with a very high and strong 
 wall, upon which there are several watch-towers ; and it has 
 many gates, some of which open towards the sea-side, and 
 the rest into the city : but the chief gate is one of the latter, 
 which is constantly guarded by a company of capooches, or 
 porters: and in the night it is well guarded towards the sea. 
 The outward appearance is not elegant;* the architecture being 
 irregular, consisting of separate edifice's in the form of pavi- 
 lions and domes. The ladies of the seraglio are a collection 
 of beautiful young women, chiefly sent as presents from the 
 provinces and Greek islands, and most of them the children of 
 Christian parents. The brave prince Heraclicus for some 
 years abolished the infamous tribute of children of both sexes, 
 which Georgia formerly paid every year to the Porte. The 
 number of women in the Harem depends on the taste of the 
 reigning sultan. Selim had two thousand, Achmet had but 
 three hundred, and the late sultan had nearly one thousand six 
 hundred. On their admission, they are committed to the care 
 of the old ladies, taught sewing, embroidery, music, dancing, 
 8i.c. and furnished with the richest clothes and ornaments. 
 They all sleep in separate beds, and between every fifth there 
 is a preceptress. Their chief governess is called Katou Kiaga, 
 or governess of the noble young ladies. There is no servant, 
 for,they are obliged to wait on one another by rotation; the 
 last. that IS entered serves her who preceded her, and her- 
 self. 
 
 These ladies are scarcely ever suffered to go abroad, except 
 when the grand seignior removes from one place to anotbei, 
 when a troop of black eunuchs convey them to the boats. 
 
CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME AT PARIS. 
 
N ' • ' i' • 
 
 ( 
 
SERAGLIO 
 
 5iJ5 
 
 which are inclosed with lattices and linen curtains; and when 
 they go by land they are put into close chariots, and signals 
 are made at certain distances, to give notice that none approach 
 the roads through which they march. The boats of the Harem, 
 which carry the grand seignior’s wives, are manned with 
 twenty-four rowers, and have white covered tilts, shut alter- 
 nately by Venetian blinds. Among the emperor’s attendants 
 are a number of mutes, who act and converse by signs with 
 great quickness, and some dwarfs, who are exhibited for the 
 sultan’s amusement. 
 
 When he permits the women to walk in the gardens of the 
 seraglio, all people are ordered to retire, and on every side is 
 a guard of black eunuchs, with sabres in their hands, while 
 others go their rounds to hinder any person from seeing them. 
 If any one is found in the garden, even through ignorance or 
 inadvertence, he is instantly killed, and liis head brought to 
 the feet of the grand seignior, who rewards the guard for their 
 vigilance. 
 
 Sometimes the grand seignior passes into the gardens to 
 amuse himself when the women are there, and it is then they 
 make use of all their utmost efforts, by dancing, singing, se- 
 ducing gestures, and amorous blandishments, to attract his 
 affections. It is not permitted that the monarch should take 
 a virgin to his bed, except during the solemn festivals, and on 
 occasion of some extraordinary rejoicings, or the arrival of 
 some good news. Upon such occasions, if the sultan chooses 
 a new companion tc his bed, he enters into the apartment of 
 the women, who are ranged in files by the governesses, to 
 whom he speaks, and intimates the person he likes best. As 
 soon as the grand seignior has chosen the girl destined to be 
 the partner of his bed, all the others follow her to the bath, 
 washing and perfuming her, and dressing her superbly, and 
 thus conduct her, with singing, dancing, and rejoicing, to the 
 bedchamber of the grand seignior; and if by a certain time 
 she becomes pregnant, and is delivered of a boy, she is called 
 asaki-sultattess, that is to say, sultaness-mother. For the first 
 son she has the honour to be crowned, and she has the liberty 
 of forming her court: eunuchs are also assigned for her 
 guard, and for her particular service. No other ladies, though 
 delivered of boys, are either crowned or maintained with such 
 costly distinction at the first; but they have their service 
 apart, and handsome appointments. At the death of the sul- 
 tan, the mothers of the male children are shut up in the old 
 seraglio, whence they can never come out any more, unless 
 any of their sons ascend the throne. 
 
 Haron de Tott informs us, that the female slave who becomes 
 the mother of the sultan, and lives long enough to see her 
 son mount the throne, is the only woman who at that period 
 
566 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 acquires the distinction of sultana-mother; she is till then in 
 the interior of her prison with her son. The title bachl-kadtm^ 
 or principal woman, is the first dignity of the grand seignior’s 
 Harem ; and she has a larger allowance than those who have 
 the title of second, third, and fourth woman, which are the 
 four free women the Koran allows. 
 
 It must strike every reader, that the present happy condi- 
 tion of females in Christian countries is directly attributable 
 to Christianity ; and this stamps an inestimable value on the 
 gospel. Females should consider it as the charter of their 
 privileges. The Christian religion has, by its letter or spirit, 
 exploded customs and practices which were the immediate 
 causes of female degradation and wretchedness. It has made 
 marriage pure and honourable, by prohibiting polygamy, 
 and restricting within very narrow limits the dangerous liberty 
 of divorce ; two customs which violate the plain order and 
 design of Providence in creation, which degrade woman to 
 insignificance and slavery, and which brought on that disso- 
 luteness and corruption of manners in most ancient and some 
 modern nations. 
 
 Museum, — is a collection of rare' and interesting objects, 
 selected from the whole circle of natural history and the arts, 
 and deposited in apartments or buildings, either by the com- 
 mendable generosity of rich individuals, general governments, 
 or monarchs, for the inspection of the learned, and the great 
 mass of the public. 
 
 The term, which means literally a study, or place of retire- 
 ment, is said to have been given originally to that part of the 
 royal palace at Alexandria, appropriated for the use of learned 
 men, and the reception of the literary works then extant. 
 According to ancient writers, they were formed into classes 
 or colleges, each of which had a competent sum assigned for 
 their support; and we are further informed, that the establish- 
 ment was founded by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who added a 
 most extensive library. 
 
 It would answ'er little purpose to trace the history of 
 Museums, as the earlier part of it is involved in obscurity ; 
 and as we approach our own times, they multiply beyond a 
 possibility of noticing even the most important. Within our 
 brief limits we shall, therefore, confine ourselves to those at 
 the Vatican, Florence, Paris, Oxford, and London. 
 
 The Museum of the Vatican might originally have been said 
 to occupy all the apartments of the palace, which are more nu- 
 merous than in any other royal residence in the world : the 
 pictures, the books, the manuscripts, statues, bas-reliefs, and 
 every other description of the labours of ancient artists, were 
 select, uncomr^on, and valuable in the extreme, particularly 
 
THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS 
 
I 
 
 it*!!. LiMSV 
 OF THE 
 
 flWVEBvulf iJ iUHflU 
 
MUSEUMS. 
 
 667 
 
 the Laocoon, already described, and said, by Pliny, to have 
 been made from a single mass of marble ; which circumstance 
 has since caused a doubt whether that of the Vatican is really 
 tht original, as Michael Angelo discovered that it is composed 
 of more than one piece. It was found, in 1506, near the 
 baths of Titus, and, whether an original or a copy, has ob- 
 tained and deserves every possible admiration. — This invalu- 
 able collection continued to increase for several centuries, and 
 till nearly the present period. 
 
 The grand dukes of Tuscany were for a long series of years 
 ardent admirers of the arts, ancient and modern, and regretted 
 no expense in obtaining the most rare and beautiful objects 
 which vast treasures were capable of procuring ; consequently 
 their Museum at Florence vied with that of Rome, and, in 
 some instances, the value of particular articles exceeded any 
 possibility of rivalship ; we allude to the Venus de Medicis, 
 of which Keysler speaks thus, in his excellent account of that 
 part of the continent: “ I shall conclude this short criticism 
 on the celebrated Venus de Medicis, with the following obser- 
 vation, made by some able connoisseurs, namely, that if the 
 different parts of this famous statue be examined separately, 
 as the head, nose, &c. and compared with the like parts of 
 others, it would not be impossible to find similar parts equal, 
 if not superior, to those of the Venus de Medicis ; but if the 
 delicacy of the shape, the attitude, and symmetry of the whole, 
 be considered as an assemblage of beauties, it cannot be 
 paralleled in the whole world. This beautiful statue is placed 
 between two others of the same goddess, both which would 
 be admired by spectators in any other place ; but here all 
 their beauties are eclipsed by those of the Venus de Medicis, 
 to which they can be considered only as foils to augment the 
 lustre of that admired statue.’’ Little is known in England of 
 the present state of the Florentine Museum, but it is feared 
 to be deplorable. 
 
 We shall now turn our attention to the Musee Central des 
 Arts, formed in the Louvre at Paris, composed with the best 
 collections on the continent, and consequently consisting 
 of the finest specimens of human art. 
 
 The method adopted for arranging the paintings here assem- 
 bled is judicious, as they are classed in nations, by which 
 means the eye is conducted gradually to the acme of the art, 
 in the works of the Italian masters. 
 
 The gallery of antiquities is directly below the gallery of 
 pictures ; and, to give some idea of the nature of the general 
 contents, we shall mention the names of the several divisions, 
 which are : La Salle de Saisons, — La Salle des Hornmes illus- 
 tres, — La Salle des Remains, — La Salle de Laocoon, — La Salle 
 de TApolbn, — and La Salle des Muses. The Laocoon, which 
 
668 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 we have noticed in our account of the Vatican, here received 
 distinguished honours, within a space railed in; and the Apollo 
 Belvidere is equally honoured, in giving name to one of the 
 halls. 
 
 These exquisite works are described in a catalogue, which 
 may be obtained in the gallery ; and of the manner we shall 
 venture to give a specimen, hoping that a similar method 
 may be adopted, to explain the objects offered to view in our 
 national repository. Under the head ‘Pythian Apollo, called 
 the Apollo Belvidere, the author of the catalogue observes, 
 “ This statue, the most sublime of those preserved by time, 
 was found, near the close of the fifteenth century, twelve 
 leagues from Rome, at Cape d’Anzo, on the borders of the 
 sea, in the ruins of ancient Antium, a city equally celebrated 
 for its Temple of Fortune, and for its pleasant mansions, 
 erected by successive emperors, which, emulous of each other, 
 they decorated with the most rare and excellent works of 
 art. Julius II. when a cardinal, obtained this statue, and 
 placed it in the palace where he resided, near the church of 
 the Holy Apostles. After his elevation to the pontificate, he 
 had it removed to the Belvidere of the Vatican, where it 
 remained three centuries an object of universal admiration. 
 A hero, conducted by victory, drew it from the Vatican, and 
 causing it to be conveyed to the banks of the Seine, has fixed 
 it here for ever.” 
 
 Another Museum established at Paris after the return of 
 order, is that of the National Monuments. These were indis- 
 criminately destroyed, or mutilated, during the first frantic 
 emotions of the revolution ; and this act contributed not a 
 little to the general dislike it excited : at length the most 
 enlightened part of the National Convention decreed impri- 
 sonment in chains to those who should thenceforward injure 
 or destroy the marble and bronze records of their country. 
 Le Noir, a man of taste and learning, seized this opportunity of 
 rescuing the French nation from the reproach it had incurred 
 by destroying what was honourable to themselves; and con- 
 ceived that, though late, it might still be possible to collect 
 whole monuments in some instances, and fragments in others, 
 sufficient to interest foreigners in favour of his country, or at 
 least to evince to them that a change in sentiment had taken 
 place. Fortunately his plan received public encouragement, 
 and he has, through the assistance of government, procured 
 an astonishing number of specimens from all parts of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Mr. Pinkerton observes of this collection, “ It will not 
 escape the attention of the reader of taste, that the arrange- 
 ment is confused, nay, often capricious, and is capable of 
 great improvement.” And Le Maitre says, upon the same 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE BASTILE. 
 
trife iSUWi 
 Of 1»E 
 
 BwivEiiiifif B? alww* 
 
MUSEUMS. 
 
 669 
 
 subject, ** After several hours employed in this second view, 
 I continue of my former opinion, that the spot (formerly a 
 convent) in which these monuments are collected, is infinitely 
 too small ; that the garden, meant to be the tranquil site of 
 sepulchral honours, and the calm retreat of departed grandeur, 
 is on so limited a scale, so surrounded with adjoining 
 houses, and altogether so ill arranged, that instead of pre- 
 sentino the model of 
 
 “ Those deep solitudes 
 
 Where heav’niy pensive contemplation dw^ells, 
 
 And ever musing melancholy reigns 
 
 it might easily be mistaken for the working yard of a statuary, 
 or the pleasure ground of a tasteless citizen, decked out with 
 Cupids, Mercuries, and Fawns.” ' Both these authors, how» 
 ever, agree in praising the motives and perseverance of Le 
 Noir. 
 
 Oxford has the honour of producing the first, and not the 
 least important Museum in England ; which was founded in 
 1679, and the building completed in 1683, at the expense of 
 the university. The students, the public, and the professors, 
 are indebted to Elias Ashmole, Esq. for an invaluable collec- 
 tion of interesting objects presented by him for their use, and 
 immediately placed within it; since which period it has been 
 called the Ashmolean Museum. The structure, in the 
 Corinthian order of architecture, has a magnificent portal; 
 and the variety and value of the articles contained in it, 
 renders a visit to the apartments highly gratifying, particu- 
 larly as they are increased from time to time, as often as rare 
 objects can be procured. 
 
 The British Museum, in London, a repository under the 
 immediate care of government, and itself governed by fifteen 
 trustees, selected from the highest and most honourable 
 offices of the state, promises to exceed every other national 
 institution, which is not supported by the spoliation and 
 plunder of others. However inferior it may appear to those 
 splendid collections, which consist of the most exquisite pro- 
 ductions of the chisel and the pencil ever accomplished by 
 man, we have the consolation to reflect, that, had it been pos- 
 sible to procure them by purchase, the liberality of the 
 British nation is such, that Italy and many other countries 
 would have lon^z; since been drained ? but as the case is, each 
 inhabitant of England may exclaim, with his characteristic 
 integrity, as he views the vast collection which he in common 
 with all his countrymen possesses, “ These are individually our 
 own by fair purchase or gift!” Sir Robert Cotton maybe 
 Hid to have laid the foundation of the British Museum, by 
 ^retentiny hit evoelleiki collectioik manutcripU to tht 
 
570 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 public; those, and the offer of Sir Hans Sloane's books, 
 manuscripts, and curious articles in antiquity and natural 
 history, for £20,000, suggested the propriety of accepting the 
 latter, and providing a place for the reception of both : from 
 this time government proceeded rapidly in forming the plan, 
 and at length every interior regulation for pfficers, trustees, &c. 
 being made, Montague House, situated in Russell-street, 
 Bloomsbury, was purchased for £10,250, and fitted for the 
 reception of the articles then possessed, and to be bought at 
 the further expense of £14,484. 6s. 4d.: after which Lord Ox- 
 ford’s manuscripts were procured for £10,000, to which the 
 King added others; and since the above period, vast numbers 
 of interesting things have been placed there, — Sir William 
 Hamilton’s discoveries, a vast variety of valuable medals, 
 fossils, minerals, manuscripts, and printed books, together 
 with several Egyptian antiquities, and the late Mr. Towns- 
 ley’s marbles and bas-reliefs from Italy. The latter were 
 given to the public under the express condition that a proper 
 place should be built for their reception, which has been 
 complied with, and they are now exhibited, with the rest of 
 the Museum, to an admiring people. 
 
 Various alterations have taken place in the regulations 
 adopted for the convenience of those who read at the Museum, 
 and the visitors, since 1757, when it was first opened for 
 inspection and study; and it is but justice to say, each was 
 intended well, though till lately it was thought that too many 
 impediments existed in the way of visiting that which was 
 solely intended for the use of the community : at present, 
 however, no such complaint can be made with truth, as any 
 decently dressed persons, presenting themselves at certain 
 hours, are admitted free of every kind of expense. Admission 
 even to the reading room, is attended with no other diffi- 
 culty than necessarily follows the ascertaining whether the 
 applicant is deserving of the indulgence, or likely to injure 
 the interests of the institution; when there, every facility is 
 afforded him by commodious tables, with pens and ink for 
 writing, and a messenger in waiting to bring him any books he 
 may think proper to select from the vast stores of literature 
 submitted in this generous way to his use. 
 
 Colossus, — is a statue of vast or gigantic size. The most 
 eminent of this kind was the Colossusof Rhodes, a brazen statue 
 of Apollo, one of the w^onders of the world. It was the 
 workmanship of Chares, a disciple of Lysippus, who spent 
 twelve years in making it; and was at length overthrown by 
 an earthquake, B. C. 224, after having stood about sixty-six 
 years. Its height was a hundred and five feet; there were 
 few people who could encompass its thumb, which is said to 
 
DAMASCUS 
 
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 BHWMslTlI BfaUMW 
 
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COCOA-NUT TREES 
 
 THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT, 
 
COLOSSUS OF RHC3LS. OBELISKS. 
 
 571 
 
 have been a fathom in circumference, and its fingers were 
 larger than most statues. It was hollow, and in its cavities 
 were large stones, employed by the artificer to counterbalance 
 its weight, and render it steady on its pedestal. 
 
 On occasion of the damage which the city of Rhodes sus- 
 tained by tlie above-mentioned earthquake, the inhabitants 
 sent ambassadors to all the princes and states of Greek 
 origin, in order to solicit assistance for repairing it; and they 
 obtained large sums, particularly from the kings of Egypt, 
 Macedon, Svria, Pontus, and Bitbynia, which amounted to 
 a sum five times exceeding tire damages which they had suf- 
 fered. But instead of setting up the Colossus again, for which 
 purpose the greatest part of it was given, they pretended that 
 the oracle of Delphos had forbidden it, and converted the 
 money to other uses. Accordingly, the Colossus lay neg- 
 lected on the ground for the space of eight hundred and 
 ninety-four years, at the expiration of which period, or about 
 the vear of our Lord 653 or 672, Moawyas, the sixth caliph, 
 or emperor of the Saracens, made himself master of Rhodes, 
 and afterwards sold the statue, reduced to fragments, to a 
 Jewish merchant, who loaded nine hundred camels with the 
 metal ; so that, allowing eight hundred pounds weight for each 
 load, the brass of the Colossus, after the diminution which it 
 had sustained by rust, and probably by theft, amounted to 
 seven hundred and twenty thousand pounds weight. The 
 basis that supported it was of a triangular figure : its extremi- 
 ties were sustained by sixty pillars of marble. There was a 
 winding staircase to go up to the top of it; where might 
 be discovered Syria, and the ships that went to Egypt, in 
 a meat looking-glass that was hung about the neck of the 
 statue. 
 
 This enormous statue was not the only one that attracted 
 attention in the city of Rhodes. Pliny reckons one hundred 
 other colossuses, not so large, which rose majestically in its 
 different quarters. 
 
 Obelisk, — in architecture, is a truncated, quadrangular, and 
 slender pyramid, raised for the purpose of ornament, and fre- 
 quently charged either with inscriptions or hieroglyphics. 
 Obelisks appear to be of very great antiquity, and to have 
 been first raised to transmit to posterity precepts of philoso- 
 phy, which were cut in hieroglyphical characters: afterwards 
 they w'ere used to immortalize the great actions of heroes, and 
 the memory of persons beloved and venerated for having 
 performed eminent services to their country. 
 
 The first obelisk mentioned in history was that of Rameses, 
 king of Egypt, in the time of the Trojan war, which was forty 
 cubits high ; Phuis, another king of Egypt, raised one of 
 
572 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 fifty-five cubits; and Ptolemy Philadelphus, another of eighty 
 eight cubits, in memory of Arsinoe. Augustus erected one at 
 Rome, in the Campus Martius, vhich served to mark the 
 hours on an horizontal dial, drawn on the pavement. They 
 were called by the Egyptian priests, the Fingers of the Sun, 
 because they were made in Egypt to serve also as stiles or gno- 
 mons, to mark the hours on the ground. The Arabs still call 
 them Pharaoh’s Needles ; whence the Italians call them Agug- 
 lia, and the French Aiguilles. 
 
 The famous obelisks called the Devil’s Arrows, now reduced 
 to three, the fourth having been taken down in the seven- 
 teenth century, stand about half a mile from the town of 
 Boroughbridge, to the south-west, in three fields, separated bv 
 i lane, nearly two hundred feet asunder, on elevated ground, 
 sloping every way. Mr. Drake urges many arguments for 
 their Roman antiquity, and plainly proves them to be natural, 
 and brought from Plumpton quarries, about five miles off; or 
 from Tekly, sixteen miles off. The cross in the town, twelve 
 feet high, is of the same kind of stone. The easternmost, or 
 highest, is twenty-two feet and a half high, by four broad, and 
 four and a half in girth ; the second, twenty-one and a half 
 by fifty-five and a quarter; the third, sixteen and a half by 
 eighty-four. Stukeley’s measures differ. The flutings arft 
 cut in the stone, but not through : the tallest stands alone, 
 and leans to the south. Plot and Stukeley affirm them to be 
 British monuments, originally hewn square. Dr. Gale sup- 
 posed that they were Mercuries, which had lost their heads 
 and inscriptions; but in a manuscript note in his Antoninus, 
 he acknowledges that he was misinformed, and that there 
 was no cavity to receive a bust. 
 
 On the north side of Penrith, in the church-yard, are two 
 square obelisks, of a single stone each, eleven or twelve feet 
 high, about twelve inches diameter, and twelve by eight at 
 the sides ; the highest about eighteen inches diameter, with 
 something like a transverse piece to each, and mortised into a 
 round base. They are fouiteen feet asunder, and between 
 them is a grave, which is inclosed between four semicircu- 
 lar stones, of the unequal lengths of five, six, four and a 
 half, and two feet high, having on the outsides rude carv- 
 ing, and the tops notched. This is called the Giant’s Grave, 
 and ascribed to Sir Evan Caesarius, who is said to have 
 been as tall as one of the columns, and capable of stretching 
 his arms from one to the other; to have destroyed robbers and 
 wild boars in Englewood forest; and to have had an hermitage, 
 called Sir Hugh’s Parlour. 
 
 A little west of these is a stone called the Giant’s Thumb, 
 six feet high, fourteen inches at the base, contracted to ten, 
 which is only a rude cross. 
 
REMARKABLE OBELISK. 573 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with a description of a Re- 
 markable Obelisk, near Forres, in Sjcotland. 
 
 About a mile from Forres, on the left-hand side of the road, 
 is a remarkable obelisk, said to be the most stately monument 
 of the Gothic kind in Europe ; and supposed to have been 
 erected in memory of the treaty between Malcolm II. and 
 Canute the Great, in 1008. It has been the subject of many 
 able pens ; and is thus described by Mr. Cordiner, in a letter to 
 Mr. Pennant: “ In the first division, underneath the Gothic 
 ornaments, at the top are nine horses, with their riders, march- 
 ing forth in order : in the next is a line of warriors on foot, 
 brandishing their weapons, and appear to be shouting for the 
 battle. The import of the attitudes in the third division is 
 very dubious, their expression indefinite. The figures, which 
 form a square in the middle of the column, are pretty complex, 
 but distinct; four sergeants with their halberts, guarding a 
 company, under which are placed several human heads, which 
 have belonged to the dead bodies piled up at the left of the 
 division : one appears in the character of executioner, severing 
 the head from another body ; behind him are three trumpeters 
 sounding their trumpets, and before him two pair of combat- 
 ants fighting with sword and target. A troop of horse next 
 appear, put to flight by infantry, whose first lines have bows 
 and arrows, and the three following swords and targets. In 
 the lowermost division now visible, the horses seem to be 
 seized by the victorious party, their riders beheaded, and 
 the head of their chief hung in chains, or placed in a frame ; 
 the others being thrown together beside the dead bodies, 
 under an arched cover. The greatest part of the other side 
 of the obelisk, occupied by a sumptuous cross, is covered 
 over with a uniform figure, elaborately raised, and interwoven 
 with great mathematical exactness. Under the cross are two 
 august personages, with some attendants, much obliterated, 
 but evidently in an attitude of reconciliation ; and if the mo- 
 nument was erected in memory of the peace concluded between 
 Malcolm and Canute, upon the final retreat of the Danes, 
 these large figures may represent the reconciled monarchs. 
 On the edge, below the fretwork, are some rows of figures 
 joined hand in hand, which may also imply the new degree of 
 confidence and security that took place after the feuds were 
 composed, which are characterized on the front of the pillar. 
 But to whatever particular transaction it may allude, it can 
 hardly be imagined, that in so early an age of the arts in Scot- 
 land, as it must have been raised, so elaborate a performance 
 would have been undertaken, but in consequence of an event 
 of the most general importance; it is therefore surprising, 
 that no more distinct tradition of it arrived at the lera when 
 letters were known. The height of this monument, called 
 
374 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 King Sueno’s Stone, above the ground, is twenty-three feet, 
 besides twelve or fifteen feet under ground. Its breadth 
 is three feet ten inches, by one foot three inches in thick- 
 ness. 
 
 CHAP. LVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. — (Concluded.) 
 
 Inver lochy Castle — Magdalen’s Hermitage — Curiosities of Fri- 
 
 burg — Curiosities of Augsburg — Escurial — Florence Statues— 
 
 (Heat Wail oj China — Floating Gardens — Curiosity at 
 
 Palermo. 
 
 Inverlochy Castle, — is an ancient castle near Fort Wil- 
 liam, in Inverness-shire. It is adorned with large towers, 
 which, by the mode of building, seem to have been the work 
 of the English, in the time of Edward I. who laid large fines 
 on the Scotch Barons, for the purpose of erecting castles. 
 The largest of these is called Cummin’s Tower. “ The castle, 
 (says the Rev. Thomas Ross, in his Statistical Account of Kil- 
 manivaig) has survived the burgh, and now stands alone in 
 ancient magnificence, after having seen the river Lochy, that 
 formerly filled its ditches, run in another course, and has out- 
 lived all history and tradition of its own builder and age. It is 
 a quadrangular building, with round towers at the angles, 
 measuring thirty yards every way within the walls. The 
 towers and ramparts are solidly built of stone and lime, nine 
 feet thick at the bottom, and eight feet above. The tow'ers 
 are not entire, nor are they all equally high. The western is 
 the highest and largest, and does not seem to have been less 
 than fifty feet when entire ; the rampart between them, from 
 twenty-five to thirty. Ten or twelve yards without the walls 
 the ditch begins, which surrounded the castle, from thirty tr 
 forty feet broad. The whole building covers about one thou- 
 sand six hundred yards; and within the outside of the ditch 
 are seven thousand square yards, nearly an acre and a half 
 English. The whole building would require from five hundred 
 to six hundred men to defend it. From the name of the 
 western tower, it is probable this castle was occupied by the 
 Cummins in the time of Edward I. and previous to that 
 p^eriod by the Thanes of Lochaber ; among others by the noted 
 Bancho, predecessor of the race of Stuart. There is a tradi- 
 tion that this castle was once a royal residence, and that the 
 famous league betwixt Charles the Great of France, and 
 Achaius king of Scots, had been signed there on the part of 
 the Scotch monarch, A D. 790.” 
 
Magdalen's hermitage. — friburg. 
 
 576 
 
 Magdalen’s Hermitage — This place is situated about 
 a league from Friburg, in Switzerland, and is described by 
 Mr. Blainville, and also by Mr. Addison. They both say it 
 is situated among woods and rocks, in the prettiest solitude 
 imaginable. The hermit, (they say,) who was then alive, had 
 worked out of the rock a pretty chapel, with an altar, sacristy, 
 and steeple; also five chambers, a parlour, refectory, kitchen, 
 cellar, and other conveniences. The funnel of his chimney, 
 which pierces from his kitchen to the top of the rock, slanting 
 all the way, is ninety feet high, and cost him so much toil, 
 that he was a whole year about it, and often despaired of 
 finishing his design. All this must appear the more surpris- 
 ing, when we consider the dimensions of the different parts of 
 this hermitage, the chapel being sixty-three feet in length, 
 thirty-six in breadth, and twenty-two in height. The sacristy, 
 or vestry, is twenty-two feet square, and the height of the 
 steeple seventy feet. The chamber between the chapel and 
 the refectory, is above forty feet long; the refectory itself is 
 twenty-one long; and the cellar is twenty-five feet long, and ten 
 feet deep. But the hall or parlour is particularly admired, 
 being twenty-eight paces in length, twelve in breadth, and 
 twenty feet in height, with four openings for windows, much 
 higher and wider than those of our best houses. At one end 
 of thi^i hall was the hermit’s cabinet, with a small collection 
 of books and other curiosities. To add to the pleasantness 
 and convenience of this habitation, he had cut the side of the 
 rock into a flat, and having covered it with good mould, had 
 formed a pretty garden, planted with divers sons of fruit- 
 trees, herbs, and flowers ; and by following the veins of water 
 that dropped from several parts of the rock, he had made 
 himself two or three fountains, which supplied his table, and 
 watered his little garden. 
 
 This hermit, whose name was Jean du Pre, began this 
 laborious undertaking at the age of thirty, and said he was 
 twentv-five years in completing it, having had no sort of assist- 
 ance from any person whatsover, except one servant. He 
 intended to have carried on his work still farther, but was 
 drowned in 1708, as he was crossing a neighbouring river in 
 a boat, with some company that came to visit him on St. 
 Anthony’s day, the patron of his chapel. His place is sup- 
 plied by a priest, who subsists by the generosity of strangers 
 that come to see the hermitage, whom he generally entertains 
 with bread and wine, and a nosegay. 
 
 Curiosities of Friburg. — Friburg is a large town of 
 Switzerland, seated on the Sanen, in a most singular and 
 picturesque situation. IMr. Cox, in his Travels in Switzerland, 
 thus describes it ; “ It stands partly in a small plain, partly 
 
676 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 on bold acclivities on a ridge of rugged rocks, half encircled 
 by the river Sanen, and is so entirely concealed by the circum- 
 jacent hills, that the traveller scarcely catches the smallest 
 glimpse, until he bursts upon a view of the whole towm from 
 the overhanging eminence. The fortifications, which consist 
 of high stone walls and towers, inclose a circumference of 
 about four miles ; within which space the eye comprehends 
 a singular mixture of houses, rocks, thickets, and meadows, 
 varying instantly from wild to agreeable, from the bustle of 
 a town to the solitude of the deepest retirement. The Sanen 
 winds in such a serpentine manner, as to form in its course, 
 within the space of two miles, five obtuse angles, between 
 which the intervening parts of the cuiTent are parallel to each 
 other. On all sides the descent to the town is extremely 
 steep; in one place the streets often pass over the roofs of the 
 houses. Many of the edifices are raised in regular gradation, 
 like the seats of an amphitheatre; and many overhang the 
 edge of a precipice in such a manner, that, on looking down, 
 a weak head would be apt to turn giddy. But the most 
 extraordinary point of view is from the Pont-neuf. On the 
 north-west a part of the town stands boldly on the sidves and 
 the piked back of an abrupt ridge ; and from east to west, 
 a semicircle of high perpendicular rocks is seen, whose base 
 is washed and undermined by the winding Sanen, and whose 
 tops and sides are thinly scattered with shrubs and under- 
 wood. On the highest points of the rocks, and on the very 
 edge of the precipice, appears, half hanging in the air, the 
 gate called Bourguillon : a stranger standing on the bridge 
 would compare it to Laputa, or the Flying Island, in Gulliver’s 
 Travels; and would not conceive it to be accessible, but by 
 means of a cord and pulleys. The houses, constructed with 
 a gray sandstone, are neat and well built; and the public 
 edifices, particularly the cathedral, are extremely elegant.” 
 
 Curiosities of Augsburg. — In the square, near the 
 town-house, is the Fountain of Augustus, which is a marble 
 bason, surrounded with iron balustrades finely wrought: at 
 ,he four corners are four brass statues as large as life, two of 
 ivomen, and two of men; in the middle of the bason is a 
 ledestal, at the foot which are four sphinxes, squirting water; 
 
 little above these, are four infants holding four dolphins in 
 heir arms, which pour water out of their mouths ; and over 
 >:iese are festoons and pine-apples of brass; upon the pedestal 
 M the statue of Augustus, as large as life. The fountain most 
 remarkable next to this, is that of Hercules, which is an 
 hexagon bason wuth several brass figures, particularly Hercules 
 engaging the hydra. — Another curiosity is the Secret Gate, 
 which was contrived to let in persons safely in time of war * 
 
AUGSBURG. — THE ESCURIAL, 
 
 677 
 
 it has so many engines and divisions with gates and Keys, 
 and apartments for guards, at some distance from each other, 
 where passengers are examined, that it is impossible for the 
 town to be surprised this way ; the gates are bolted and un- 
 bolted, opened and shut, by unseen operators, so that it looks 
 like enchantment. — The Water Towers are also very curious, 
 of which there are three, seated on a branch of the Lech, which 
 runs through the city in such a torrent, as to drive many 
 mills, which work a number of pumps, that raise the water in 
 large leaden pipes to the top of the towers. One of these 
 sends water to the public fountains; and the rest, to near one 
 thousand houses in the city. 
 
 The Escurial, — is a royal residence of Spain, fifteen miles 
 north-west of Madrid. It is the largest and most superb 
 structure in the kingdom, and one of the finest in Europe. 
 The word is Arabic, meaning “ a place full of rocks.” It is 
 built in a dry barren spot, surrounded with rugged mountains, 
 insomuch that every thing which grows there is owing to art. 
 This place was chosen, it is said, for the sake of the stone 
 wherewith the fabric is built, which is got from a mountain 
 just by, and is very durable ; and the design of erecting it 
 was to commemorate a victory which Philip II. obtained over 
 the French (by the assistance of the English forces) at St. 
 Quintin, on St. Lawrence’s day, in the year 1557. 
 
 The Spanish description of this structure forms a sizeable 
 quarto volume. Its founder expended upon it six millions of 
 ducats. The apartments are decorated with an astonishing 
 variety of paintings, sculpture, tapestry, ornaments of gold 
 and silver, marble, jasper, gems, and other curious stones, 
 surpassing all imagination. This building, besides its palace, 
 contains a church, large and richly ornamented ; a mausoleum ; 
 cloisters; a convent; a college; and a library, containing 
 about thirty thousand volumes ; besides large apartments for 
 all kinds of artists and mechanics, noble walks, with extensive 
 parks and gardens, beautified with fountains and costly orna- 
 mf^nts. The fathers that live in the convent are two hundred, 
 -net they have an annual revenue of £12,000. 
 
 It was begun by Philip in 1562, five years after the battle, 
 and completed in twenty-two years. It consists of several 
 courts and quadrangles, which all together are disposed in the 
 shape of a gridiron, the instrument of the martyrdom of St. 
 Lav\rence; the apartment where the king resides, forming the 
 handle. The building is a long square, of six hundred and 
 forty by five hundred and eighty feet, and the height up to 
 ^.he roof is sixty feet all round, except on the garden side, where 
 the ground is more taken away. At each angle is a square 
 tower, two hundred feet high. The number of windows in the 
 
 4D 
 
67 « 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 west front is exactly 200 ; in the east front, 366. The orders 
 are Doric and Ionic. There are three doors in the principal 
 front. Over the g^rand entrance are the arms of Spain, carved 
 in stone ; and a little higher, in a niche, a statue of St. Law- 
 rence in a deacon’s habit, with a gilt gridiron in his right 
 hand, and a book in his left. Directly over the door is a 
 basso-relievo of two enormous gridirons, in stone. 
 
 This vast structure, however, with its narrow high towers, 
 small windows, and steep sloping roof, exhibits a very uncouth 
 style of architecture ; at the same time that the domes, and 
 the immense extent of its fronts, render it a wonderfully grand 
 object from every point of view. 
 
 The church is in the centre, is large, awful, and richly or- 
 namented. The cupola is bold and light. The high altar is 
 composed of rich marbles, agates, and jaspers of great rarity, 
 the produce of this kingdom. Two magnificent catajalcos 
 fill up the side arcades of this sanctuary : on one, the emperor 
 Charles V. his wife, daughter, and two sisters, are represented 
 in bronze, larger than life, kneeling; opposite are the effigies 
 of Philip II. and of his three wives, of the same materials, 
 and in the same devout attitude. Underneath, is the burial- 
 place of the royal family, called the Pantheon : twenty-five 
 steps lead down to this vault, over the door of which is a Latin 
 inscription, denoting, that “ this place, sacred to the remains 
 of the Catholic kings, was intended by Charles the emperor, 
 resolved upon by Philip II. begun by Philip III. and com- 
 pleted by Philip IV.” The mausoleum is circular, thirty-six 
 feet in diameter, and incrusted with fine marbles in an elegant 
 taste. The bodies of the kings and queens lie in tombs of 
 marble, in niches, one above the other. The plan of these 
 sepulchres is grand, and executed with a princely magnifi- 
 (:ence ; but, as a modern traveller observes, in a style rather 
 too gay, too light, and too delicately fitted up, for the idea 
 we are apt to form of a chapel destined for the reception of 
 the dead. The collection of pictures dispersed about various 
 paits of the church, sacristy, and convent, has been considered 
 as equal, if not superior, to any gallery in Europe, except 
 mat of Dresden. Formed out of the spoils of Italy, and the 
 wasted cabinet of that unfortunate monarch, Charles I. of 
 Fngland, it contains some of the most capital works of the 
 greatest painters that have flourished since the revival of the 
 art. In the sacristy is an altar called La Santa Forma: this 
 IS a kind of tabernacle of gems, marbles, woods, and other 
 precious materials, inlaid in gilt bronze ; in which, rather 
 than in the excellence of the workmanship, or taste of the 
 design, consists the merit of this rock of riches. Before it 
 hangs a curtain, on which Coello has represented Charles II, 
 and all his court, in procession, coming to place this Forma. 
 
FLORENCE STATUES. GREAT WALL Of CHINA. 579 
 
 This is esteemed one of the most curious collections of por- 
 traits in the world ; for all the persons are drawn with the 
 greatest strength of colour and truth of expression, and are 
 said to be perfect resemblances, not only of the monarch and 
 grandees, but even of the monks, servants, and guards. The 
 statues, busts, and the medallions of the Escurial, are nei- 
 ther very numerous, nor remarkable for their excellence ; but 
 the library contains a most precious collection of manuscripts, 
 many fine drawings, and other curiosities. 
 
 Notwithstanding the coldness of the exposure, the late 
 king, for the sake of hunting, used to pass several months of 
 the year at this palace. 
 
 Florence Statues. — In the Duke of Florence's garden 
 at Pratoline, is the statue of Pan ; sitting on a stool, with a 
 wreathed pipe in his hand, and that of Syrinx, beckoning him 
 to play on his pipe. Pan, putting away his stool, and stand- 
 ing up, plays on his pipe ; this done, he looks on his mistress, 
 as if he expected thanks from her, takes the stool again, and 
 sits down with a sad countenance. — There is also the statue 
 of a Laundress at her work, turning the clothes up and 
 down with her hand and battledore, wherewith she beats them 
 in the w'ater. — There is the statue of Fame, loudly sounding 
 her trumpet; an artificial toad creeping to and fro; a dragon 
 bowing down his head to drink water, and then vomiting it 
 up again ; with divers other ])ieces of art, that administer 
 wonder and light to the beholders. 
 
 The Great Wall of China. — The principal defence of 
 the empire against a foreign enemy is the Great Wall, which 
 separates China from Tartary, extending more than fifteen 
 hundred miles in length, and of such thickness, that six horse- 
 men may easily ride abreast upon it. It is flanked with towers, 
 tw'o bow-shots distant from one another: Walker says, there 
 are forty-five thousand of these towers, (a number rather in- 
 credible,) and that the wall extends two thousand miles. It is 
 said, that a third of the able-bodied men in the empire were 
 employed in constructing this wall. The workmen were 
 ordered, under pain of death, to place the materials so closely, 
 that not the least entrance might be afforded for any instru- 
 ment of iron ; and thus the work was constructed with such 
 solidity, that it is still almost entire, though two thousand 
 years have elapsed since it was constructed. 
 
 This extraordinary work is carried, not only through the 
 low lands and valleys, but over hills and mountains; the 
 height of one of which was computed by F. Verbiest, at one 
 thousand two hundred and thirty-six feet above the level ol 
 the spot where he stood. According to F. Martini, it begins 
 
580 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING TEMPLES, ETC. 
 
 at the gulf of Leatong, and reaches to the mountains near the 
 city of Kin, on the Yellow River; between which places it 
 meets with no interruption except to the north of the city of 
 Suen, in Peche-li, where it is interrupted by a ridge of inac- 
 cessible mountains, to which it is closely united. It is like- 
 wise interrupted by the river Hoang-ho ; but for others of an 
 inferior size, arches have been constructed, through which 
 the water passes freely. Mr. Bell informs us, that it is carried 
 across rivers, and over the tops of the highest hills, without 
 the least interruption, keeping nearly along that circularrange 
 of barren rocks which incloses the country ; and, after run- 
 ning about one thousand two hundred miles, ends in impassable 
 mountains and sandy deserts. The foundation consists of 
 large blocks of stone laid in mortar ; but all the rest is of 
 brick. The whole is so strong and well-built, that it scarcely 
 needs any repairs; and in the dry climate in which it stands, 
 may remain in the same condition for many ages. When car- 
 ried over steep rocks, where no horse can pass, it is about 
 fifteen or twenty feet high ; but when running through a valley, 
 or crossing a river, it is about thirty feet high, with square 
 towers and embrasures at equal distances. The top is flat, and 
 paved with cut stone ; and where it rises over a rock or emi- 
 nence, there is an ascent made by an easy stone stair. 
 
 This wall (our author adds) was begun and completely 
 finished in the short space of five years; and it is reported, 
 that the labourers stood so close for many miles, that they 
 could hand the materials from one to another. This seems 
 the more probable, as the rugged rocks among which it is 
 built must have prevented all use of carriages ; and neither 
 clay for making bricks, nor any kind of cement, are to be 
 found among them. 
 
 Floating Gardens. — Abbe Clavigero, in his History of 
 Mexico, says, that when the Mexicans were brought under 
 subjection to the Colhuan and Tapanecan nations, and confined 
 to the miserable little islands on the Lake of Mexico, they 
 had no land to cultivate, until necessity compelled them to 
 form moveable fields and gardens, which floated on the waters 
 of the lake. The method which they adopted to make these, 
 and which they still practise, is extremely simple. They 
 plat and twist together willows and roots of marsh plants, or 
 other materials, which are light, but capable of supporting 
 the earth firmly united. Upon this foundation they lay the 
 light bushes which float on the lake ; and over all, the mud 
 and dirt which they draw up from the bottom. Their regular 
 figure is quadrangular ; their length and breadth various ; but 
 generally they are about eight perches long, and not more 
 than three in breadth, and have less than a foot of elevation 
 
CURIOUS SIGHT AT PALERMO. 
 
 581 
 
 above the surface of the water. These were the first fields 
 which the Mexicans had after the foundation of Mexico ; there 
 they first cultivated maize, pepper, and other plants. In time, 
 as these fields became numerous from the industry of the 
 people, they cultivated gardens of flowers and odoriferous 
 plants, which they employed in the worship of their gods, 
 and for the recreation of their nobles. At present they culti- 
 vate flowers, and every sort of garden herbs, upon them. Every 
 day at sunrise, innumerable vessels loaded with various kinds 
 of flowers and herbs, cultivated in those gardens, arrive by 
 the canals, at the great market-place of that capital. All 
 plants thrive in them surprisingly ; the mud of the lake aflbrds 
 a very fertile soil, and requires no water from the clouds. In 
 the large gardens there is commonly a little tree, and even a 
 little hut, to shelter the cultivator, and defend him from rain 
 or the sun. When the chinampa, or owner of a garden, wishes 
 to change his situation, to remove from a disagreeable neigh- 
 bour, or to come nearer to his own family, he gets into his 
 little vessel, and by his own strength alone, if the garden is 
 small, he tows it after him, and conducts it wherever he pleases. 
 That part of the lake, where these floating gardens are, is a 
 place of high recreation, where the senses receive all possible 
 gratification. 
 
 We conclude this chapter with an account of a Curious 
 Sight at Palermo. 
 
 Among the remarkable objects in the vicinity of Palermo, 
 pointed out to strangers, they fail not to particularize a convent 
 of Capuchins, at a small distance from the town, the beautiful 
 gardens of which serve as a public walk. You are shewn un- 
 der the fabric a vault, divided into four great galleries, into 
 which the light is admitted by windows cut out at the top of 
 each extremity. In this vault are preserved, not in flesh, but 
 in skin and bone, all the Capuchins who have died in the 
 convent since its foundation, as well as the bodies of several 
 persons from the city. There are here private tombs belong- 
 ing to opulent families, who, even after death, disdain to be 
 confounded with the vulgar part of mankind. 
 
 It is said, that in order to secure the preservation of the 
 bodies, they are prepared by being gradually dried before a 
 slow fire, so as to consume the flesh without greatly injuring 
 the skin. When perfectly dry, they are invested with the 
 Capuchin habit, and placed upright on tablets, disposed step 
 above step along the sides of the vault ; the head, the arms, 
 and the feet, are naked. A preservation like this is horrid. 
 The skin, discoloured, dry, and as if it had been tanned, nay, 
 torn in some places, is glued close to the bone. It is easy 
 to imagine, from the different grimaces of this numerous 
 
582 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARK, ETC 
 
 assemblaore of fleshless fioures, irendered still more friofhtful 
 
 O O ' ^ o ^ 
 
 by a long' beard on the chin, what a hideous spectacle this 
 must exhibit; and whoever has seen a Capuchin alive, may 
 form an idea of the singular elfect produced by this repository 
 of dead friars. 
 
 CHAP. LVII. 
 
 Curiosities respecting the Ark oj' Nooh — The Galley of Hiero — 
 and the Bridge of Xerxes. 
 
 The Ark of Noah. — That such a wonderful structure as 
 this once existed, admits not of any doubt in the Jewish, 
 Christian, and Mahommedan world ; yet its dimensions far 
 exceed anv vessel of modern date, even of the most extensive 
 range, and appear to have been equally unrivalled in ancient 
 times. 
 
 There are nevertheless various difficulties which have been 
 proposed in regard to it, among those by whom its existence 
 has been admitted. One question is, as to the time employed 
 by Noah in building it. Interpreters generally believe, that 
 he was an hundred and twenty years in forming this vast 
 structure; but some allow only fifty-two years; some no more 
 than seven or eight, and others still much less. The Mahom- 
 medans say, he had but two years allowed him for this work. 
 Another question sometimes agitated is, what kind of wood is 
 meant by gopher wood ? Some think cedar, or box; others 
 cypress, the pine, fir-tree, and the turpentine tree. Pelletier 
 prefers the opinion of those who hold the ark to be made of 
 cedar: the reasons he urges for this preference are, the in- 
 corruptibility of that wood ; the great plenty thereof in Asia ; 
 whence Herodotus and Theophrastus relate, that the kings of 
 Egypt and Syria built whole fleets of it in lieu of deal: and 
 the common tradition throughout the East imports, that the 
 ark is preserved entire to this day on mount Ararat. 
 
 The dimensions of the ark, as delivered by Moses, arc three 
 hundred cubits in length, fifty in breadth, and thirty in 
 height; which, compared with the great number of things it 
 was to contain, seem to many to have been too scanty. And 
 hence an argument has been drawn against the authority of 
 the relation. Celsus long ago laughed at it, calling it the 
 “ absurd ark. This difficulty is solved by Buteo and Kircher, 
 who, supposing the common cubit of a foot and a half, prove, 
 geometrically, that the ark w'as abundantly sufficient for all 
 the animals supposed to be lodged therein. The capacity of 
 the ark will be doubled, if we admit, with Cumberland, &c 
 
THE ARK OF NOAH. 
 
 583 
 
 that the Jewish cubit was twenty-one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and eighty-eight inches. Smellius computes the ark to 
 have been above half an acre in area, Cuneus, and others, 
 have also calculated the capacity of the ark. Dr. Arbuthnot 
 computes it to have been eighty-one thousand and sixty-two 
 tons. Father Lamy says, that it was an hundred and ten feet 
 longer than the church of St. Mary at Paris, and sixty-four feet 
 narrower; to which his English translator adds, that it must 
 have been longer than St. Paul’s church in London, from 
 west to east, broader than that church is high in the inside, 
 and about fifty-four feet in height of our measure. 
 
 The vast assemblage of things contained in the ark, besides 
 eight persons of Noah’s family, consisted of one pair of every 
 species of unclean animals, with provisions for them all, dur- 
 ing the whole year. The former appears, at first view, almost 
 infinite, but if we come to a calculation, the number of species 
 of animals will be found much smaller than is generally 
 imagined; out of which, in this case, are to be excepted such 
 animals as can live in the water; and Bishop Wilkins 
 imagines, that only seventy-two of the quadruped kind needed 
 a place in the ark. 
 
 It appears to have been divided into three stories; and it la 
 agreed on, as most probable, that the lowest story was 
 destined for the beasts, the middle for the food, and the upper 
 for the birds, with Noah and his family; each story being 
 subdivided into different apartments, stalls, &c. Though 
 Josephus, Philo, and other commentators, add a kind of 
 fourth story, under all the rest; being, as it were, the hold of 
 the vessel, to contain the ballast, and receive the filth and 
 ordure of so many animals. 
 
 Drexelius makes three hundred apartments; father Foui 
 nier, three hundred and three; the anonymous author of the 
 Questions of Genesis, four hundred ; Buteo, Temporarius, 
 Arias Montanus, Wilkins, Lamy, and others, suppose as 
 many partitions as there were different sorts of animals. 
 Pelletier only makes seventy-two, viz. thirty-six for the birds, 
 and as many for the beasts : his reason is, that if we suppose 
 a greater number, as three hundred and thirty-three, or four 
 hundred, each of the eight persons in the ark must have had 
 thirty -seven, forty-one, or fifty stalls to attend and cleanse 
 daily, which he thinks impossible. But there is not much in 
 this : to diminish the number of stalls, without a diminution 
 of the animals, is vain; it being, perhaps, more difficult to 
 take care of three hundred animals in seventy-two stalls, than 
 in three hundred. 
 
 Buteo computes, that all the animals contained in the ark, 
 could not be equal to five hundred horses ; he even reduces the 
 whole to the dimensions of fifty-six pair of oxen. Father Lamy 
 
THE ARK OF NOAH. 
 
 584 
 
 enlarges it to sixty-four parr, or an hundred and twenty-eight 
 •Txen; so that, supposing one ox equal to two horses, if the 
 ark had room for two hundred and tifty-six horses, there must 
 have been room for all the animals. And the same author 
 demonstrates, that one floor of it would suffice for five hundred 
 horses, allowing nine square feet to a horse. 
 
 Of the food contained in the second story, it is observed 
 by Beauteo, from Columella, that thirty or forty pounds of 
 hay ordinarily suffices an ox for a day ; and that a solid cubit 
 of hay, as usually pressed down in our hay-ricks, weighs 
 about forty pounds; so that a square cubit of hay is more 
 than enough per day for an ox. Now it appears, that the second 
 story contained one hundred and fifty thousand ^uare cubits; 
 which, divided between two hundred and six oxen, will afford 
 to each, more hay by two-thirds than he can eat in a year. 
 
 Bishop Wilkins computes all the carnivorous animals equi- 
 valent, as 'to the bulk of their bodies, and their food, to 
 twenty-seven wolves; and all the rest to two hundred and 
 eighty beeves. For the former he allows the sustenance of 
 eighteen hundred and twenty-five sheep; and for the latter, 
 one hundred and nine thousand five hundred cubits of hay : 
 all which will be easily contained in the two first stories, and 
 much room to spare. As to the third story, nobody doubts 
 of its being sufficient for the fowls, with Noah, his sons, and 
 daughters. 
 
 Upon the whole, the learned Bishop remarks, that of the 
 two, it appears much more difficult to assign a sufficient num- 
 ber and bulk of necessary things to answer the capacitv of 
 the ark, than to find room enough for the several species of 
 animals already know n to have been there. This he attributes 
 to the imperfection of our lists of animals, especially those of the 
 unknown parts of the earth ; adding, that the most expert ma- 
 thematician, at this day, could not assign the proportions of a 
 vessel better accommodated to the purpose, than is here done; 
 and hence finally concludes, that “ the capacity of the ark, 
 which has been made an objection against scripture, ought 
 to be esteemed a confirmation of its divine authority : since, 
 in those ruder ages, men, being less versed in arts and philo- 
 sophy, were more obnoxious to vulgar prejudices than now; 
 so that, had it been of human invention, it would have been 
 contrived according to those wild apprehensions which arise 
 from a confused and general view of things; as much too big, 
 as it has been represented too little.’^ 
 
 The Galley of Hiero. — It is to Hiero that Syracuse was 
 indebted for those amazing machines of w ar, which the Syra- 
 cusans made use of when besieged by the Romans. Th' 
 public buildings, such as palaces, temples, arsenals, &.c. which 
 
THE GALLEY OP HIERO. 
 
 585 
 
 were erected in Syracuse, by his order, and under the direction 
 of Archimedes, were the greatest ornaments of that stately 
 metropolis. He caused also an infinite number of ships to be 
 built, for the exportation of corn, in which the whole riches 
 of the island consisted. We are told of a galley built by his 
 order, which was looked upon as one of the wonders of that 
 age. Archimedes, who was overseer of the work, spent a 
 whole year in finishing it, Hiero daily animating the w’orkmen 
 with his presence. This ship had twenty benches of oars, 
 three spacious apartments, and all the conveniences of a large 
 palace. The floors of the middle apartment were all inlaid, 
 and represented in various colours the stories of Homer’s Iliad. 
 The ceilings, windows, and all other parts, w^ere finished with 
 wonderful art, and embellished with all kinds of ornaments. 
 In the uppermost apartment there was a spacious gymnasium, 
 or place of exercise, and walks, with gardens, and plants of all 
 kinds, disposed in wonderful order. Pipes, some of hardened 
 clay, and others of lead, conveyed w^ater all round to refresh 
 them. But the finest of the apartments was that of Venus: 
 the floors were inlaid with agates, and other precious stones; 
 the inside was lined with cypress-wood; and the windows 
 were adorned with ivory, paintings, and small statues. In 
 this apartment there was a library, a bath with three great 
 coppers, and a bathing vessel made of one single stone, of 
 various colours, containing two hundred and fifty quarts. 
 It was supplied with water from a great reservoir at the head 
 of the ship, which held a hundred thousand quarts. The ves- 
 sel was adorned on all sides with fine paintings, and had eight 
 towers of equal dimensions, two at the head, two at the stern, 
 and four in the middle. Round these tow'ers were parapets, 
 from whence stones might be discharged against the enemy’s 
 vessels when they approached. Each tower was constantly 
 guarded by four young men completely armed, and two archers. 
 To the side of the vessel was fastened an engine, made by 
 Archimedes, which threw a stone of three hundred pounds 
 weight, and an arrow eighteen feet in length, the distance o 
 a stadium, or a hundred and twenty-five feet. Though th 
 hold of this vessel was exceedingly deep, a single man couJ-“ 
 soon clear it of water, with a machine invented for that pu"' 
 pose by Archimedes. 
 
 The story of this magnificent vessel was celebrated in poe ' 
 numbers by an Athenian poet, for which he w'as rewarded 
 by Hiero, who understood the value of verse, with a thousand 
 medimni, that is, six thousand bushels of wheat, which he 
 caused to be carried to the Pyraeus, or port of Athens. Hiero 
 afterwards made a present of this great vessel to Ptolemy, 
 (probably Philadephus,) king of Egypt, and sent it to Alexan- 
 dria. As there was at that time a great famine in Egypt, good 
 2r>. 4 E 
 
686 
 
 THE BRIDGE OF XERXES. 
 
 king Hiero sent along with it several other ships of less 
 burden, with three hundred thousand quarters of corn, ten 
 thousand great earthen jars of salt fish, twenty thousand 
 quintals of salt meat, and an immense quantity of other pro- 
 visions 
 
 Xerxes’ Bridge of Boats over the Hellespont. — 
 Xerxes, having resolved to attack Greece, that he might omit 
 nothing which could contribute to the success of his under- 
 taking, entered into an alliance with the Carthaginians, who 
 were, at that time, the most powerful people of the west; 
 whereby it was agreed, that, while the Persians invaded 
 Greece, the Carthaginians should fall upon the Greek colo- 
 nies in Sicily and Italy, that thereby they might be diverted 
 from helping each other. The Carthaginians appointed 
 Hamilcar their general, who not only raised what forces he 
 could in Africa, but with the money sent him by Xerxes, hired 
 a great many mercenaries in Spain, Gaul, and Italy ; so that 
 his army consisted of three hundred thousand men, besides a 
 proportionable number of ships for transporting his forces, 
 and the necessary provisions. Thus Xerxes, agreeable to the 
 prophecy of Daniel, having, by his strength through his 
 riches, stirred up all the nations of the then known world, 
 against the realm of Greece, that is, all the west under the 
 command of Hamilcar, and all the east under his own banners, 
 set out from Susa, to enter upon this war, in the fifth year of 
 his reign, after having spent three years in making vast 
 preparations throughout all the provinces of his wide-spread- 
 ing empire. From Susa he marched to Sardis, which was 
 ithe place appointed for the general rendezvous of all his land 
 •forces, while his navy advanced along the coasts of Asia 
 Minor, towards the Hellespont. 
 
 Two things Xerxes commanded to be done before he came 
 ^to the sea-side ; one of which was, that a passage should be 
 •cut through Mount Athos. This mountain reaches a great 
 way into the sea, in the form of a peninsula, and is joined to 
 the land by an isthmus twelve furlongs over. The sea in this 
 place is very tempestuous, and the Persian fleet had formerly 
 suffered shi])wreck in doubling this promontory. To prevent 
 the like disaster, Xerxes caused this passage to be cut through 
 ithe mountain, broad enough to let two galleys, with three 
 Banks of oars each, pass in front. By this means, he severed 
 from the continent the cities of Dion, Olophyxus, Acrothoon, 
 Thysus, and Cleone. It is said, however, that Xerxes under- 
 took this enterprise only out of ostentation, and to perpetuate 
 the memory of his name, since he might, with far less trouble, 
 have caused his fleet to be conveyed over the isthmus, as was 
 the practice in those days. 
 
'THE BRIDGE OF XERXES. 
 
 587 
 
 He likewise commanded a bridge of boats to be laid over the 
 Hellespont, for the passing of his forces from Asia into Europe. 
 The sea which separates Sestos and Abydos, where the bridge 
 was built, is seven furlongs over. The work was carried on 
 with great expedition by the Phoenicians and Egyptians, who 
 had no sooner finished it, but a violent storm arising, broke 
 it in pieces, and dispersed or dashed against the shore the 
 vessels of which it was composed ; which when Xerxes heard, 
 he fell into such a violent transport of anger, that he com- 
 manded three hundred stripes to be inflicted on the sea, and 
 a pair of fetters to be thrown into it ; enjoining those who were 
 trusted with the execution of his orders, to pronounce these 
 words : — “ Thou salt and bitter element, thy master has con- 
 demned thee to this punishment, for offending him without 
 cause ; and is resolved to pass over thee, in spite of thy bil- 
 lows, and insolent resistance.” The extravagant folly and 
 madness of this prince did not stop here, for, to crown the 
 whole, he commanded the heads of those who had the direc- 
 tion of the work to be struck off. 
 
 In their room he appointed more experienced architects to 
 build two other bridges, one for the army, the other for the 
 beasts of burden, and the baggage. When the whole work 
 w'as completed, and the vessels which formed the bridges 
 secure against the violence of the winds, and the current of 
 the water, Xerxes departed from Sardis, where the army had 
 wintered, and directed his march to Abydos. When he ar- 
 rived at that city, he desired to see all his forces together; 
 and, to that end, ascending a stately edifice of white stone, 
 which the Abydenians had built, on purpose to receive him 
 in a manner suitable to his greatness, he had a free prospect 
 to the coast, seeing at one view both his fleet and land forces. 
 The sea wus covered with his ships, and the large plains of 
 Abydos with his troops, quite down to the shore. While he 
 was surveying the vast extent of his power, and deeming him- 
 self the most happy of mortals, his joy was suddenly turned 
 into grief; he burst into a flood of tears : which Artabanus 
 perceiving, asked him what had made him, in a few' moments, 
 pass from an excess of joy to so great a grief. The king re- 
 plied, that, considering the shortness of human life, he could 
 not restrain his tears; for, of all these numbers of men, not 
 one, said he, will be alive a hundred years hence. Artabanus, 
 who neglected no opportunity of instilling into the young 
 prince’s mind sentiments of kindness towards his people, find- 
 ing him touched with a sense of tenderness and humanity, 
 endeavoured to make him sensible of the obligation that is 
 incumbent upon princes, to alleviate the sorrows, and sweeten 
 the bitterness, which the lives of their subjects are liable to, 
 sine? it is not in their power to prolong them. In the same 
 
688 
 
 THE BRIDGE OF XERXES. 
 
 conversation, Xerxes asked his uncle, whether, if he had not 
 seen the vision which made him change his mind, he would 
 still persist in the same opinion, and dissuade him from 
 making war upon Greece. Artabanus sincerely owned, that 
 he still had his fears, and uas very uneasy concerning two 
 things, the sea and the land ; the sea, because there were no 
 ports capable of receiving and sheltering such a fleet, if 
 a storm should arise ; and the land, because no country could 
 maintain so numerous an army. The king was very sensible 
 of the strength of his reasoning; but as it was now too late 
 to go back, he made answer, that, in great enterprises, men 
 ought not to enter into so nice a discussion of all the incon- 
 veniences tliat may attend them : that bold and daring under- 
 takings, though subject to many evils and dangers, are 
 preferable to inaction, however safe ; that great successes are 
 no otherwise to be obtained than by venturing boldly; and 
 that, if his predecessors had observed such scrupulous and 
 timorous rules of politics, the Persian empire would never 
 have attained to so high a degree of glory and grandeur. 
 
 All things being now in readiness, and a day appointed for 
 the passing over of the army, as soon as the first rays of the 
 sun began to appear, all sorts of perfumes were burnt upon 
 the bridge, and the way strewed with myrtle. At the same 
 time, Xerxes, pouring a libation into the sea out of a golden 
 cup, and addressing the sun, implored the assistance of that 
 deity, begging that he might meet with no impediment so 
 great, as to hinder him from carrying his conquering arms to 
 the utmost limits of Europe. This done, he threw the cup 
 into the Hellespont, with a golden bowl, and a Persian 
 cimeter; and the foot and horse began to pass over that 
 bridge which was next to the Euxine, while the carriages and 
 beasts of burden passed over the other, which was placed 
 nearer the^ .^gean sea. The bridges were boarded, and 
 covered over with earth, having rails on each side, that the 
 horses and cattle might not be frightened at the sight of the 
 sea. The army spent seven days and nights in passing over, 
 though they marched day and night, without intermission, 
 and were, by frequent blows, obliged to quicken their pace. 
 At the same time, the fleet made to the coasts of Europe. 
 After the whole army was passed, Xerxes advanced with his 
 land forces, through the Thracian Chersonessus to Doricus. 
 a city at the mouth of the river Hebrus, in Thrace: but the 
 fleet steered a quite dift’erent course, standing to the west- 
 ward for the promontory of Sarpedon, where they were com- 
 manded to attend farther orders. Xerxes, having encamped 
 in the large plains of Doriscus, and judging them convenient 
 for reviewing and numbering his troops, dispatched orders to 
 his admirals to bring the fleet to the adjacent shore, that he 
 
THE BRIDGE OF XERXES. 
 
 589 
 
 might take an account both of his sea and land forces. His 
 land army, upon the muster, was found to consist of one 
 million seven hundred thousand foot, and fourscore thousand 
 horse ; which, together with twenty thousand men that con- 
 ducted the camels, and took care of the baggage, amounted 
 to one million eight hund*red thousand men. His fleet con- 
 sisted of twelve hundred and seven large ships, and three 
 thousand galleys and transports : on board of all these vessels, 
 there were found to be five hundred and seventeen thousand 
 six hundred and ten men. So that ,the whole number of sea 
 and land forces, which Xerxes led out of Asia to invade 
 Greece, amounted to two millions three hundred and seven- 
 teen thousand six hundred and ten men. 
 
 We are told, that, on his passing the Hellespont, to enter 
 Europe, an inhabitant of that country cried out: ‘‘ O Jupiter, 
 why art thou come to destroy Greece, in the shape of a 
 Persian, and under the name of Xerxes, with all mankind 
 following thee ; whereas thy own power is sufficient to do this, 
 without their assistance?” After he had entered Europe, the 
 nations on this side the Hellespont that submitted to him, 
 added to his land forces three hundred thousand more, and 
 two hundred and twenty ships to his ffeet, on board of which 
 were twenty-four thousand men. So that the whole number 
 of his forces, when he arrived at Thermopylae, was two millions 
 six hundred and forty-one thousand six hundred and ten men, 
 without including servants, eunuchs, women, sutlers, and 
 other people of that sort, w'ho were computed to equal the 
 number of the forces : so that the whole multitude of persons 
 that followed Xerxes in this expedition, amounted to five 
 millions two hundred and eighty-three thousand two hundred 
 and twenty. Among these millions of men, there was not one 
 that could vie with Xerxes, either in comeliness or stature, or 
 that seemed more worthy of that great empire. But this is 
 a poor recommendation, when unaccompanied with other 
 qualifications of more sterling w’orth. Accordingly, Justin, 
 after he has mentioned the number of his troops, ei iphatically 
 concludes, ** but this vast body wanted a head.” Besides the 
 subordinate generals of each nation, who commanded the 
 troops of their respective countries, the whole army was 
 under the command of six Persian generals: viz. Mardonius, 
 the son of Gobryus : Triatataechmes, the son of Artabanus ; 
 Smerdones, the son of Otanes (the two latter were cousins to 
 Xerxes;) Masistus, the son of Darius hy Atossa; Gerges, the 
 son of Ariazus; and Megabyzus, the son of the celebuated 
 Zopyrus. The ten thousand Persians, who were called the 
 immortal Band, obeyed no other commander but Hydarnes. 
 The fleet was commanded by four Persian admirals : and like- 
 wise the cavalry had their particular generals and commanders. 
 
590 
 
 CVRIOSITIES — BASALTIC AND ROCKY. 
 
 CHAP. LVIII. 
 
 BASALTIC AND ROCKY CURIOSITIES, 
 
 Gianth Cause'Waif — Stonehenge, 
 
 Giant s Causeway, in Ireland. — The following account 
 is taken from notes of. a mineralogical excursion to the 
 Giant’s Causeway, by the Rev. Dr. Grierson, as published in 
 the Annals of Philosophy. 
 
 “ 1 left (says the Doctor) Colerain on the morning of Sept. 
 17, in company with a gentleman of that place, whose obliging- 
 ness, intelligence, hospitality, and kindness, afforded me a 
 most agreeable specimen of the Irish character, and pro- 
 ceeded to Giant’s Causeway. - The day was charming; and it 
 is not easy for me to express the gratification I felt, as we 
 made our way through a fine and gently varied district, at 
 the idea of having it in my power soon to contemplate in 
 favourable circumstances one of the most stupendous and 
 interesting natural phenomena, that are any w^here to be seen. 
 From Coleraine to the Causeway is eight miles in a northerly 
 direction, and I could observe no rock on our way, but the 
 trap formation. On crossing the river Bush, at the village 
 called Bushmills, the country begins gradually to rise, and we 
 descry, about two miles before us, a ridge of considerable 
 height, seeming to terminate quite abruptly on the other side. 
 What we perceive is the land side of the precipice of the 
 Giant’s Causeway. It seems to have been a hill of basalt, 
 with nearly perpendicular culumnar concretions, cut in two, 
 as it were, by a vertical section, and the half of the hill next 
 the sea carried away. On getting in front of this precipice, 
 which you do by a pass on the west side of it, a most 
 stupendous scene presents itself. The precipice, extending 
 for a mile or two along the shore, is in many places quite 
 perpendicular, and often three hundred and fifty and four 
 hundred feet high, consisting of pure columnar basalt, some 
 of the columns fifty feet in perpendicular height, straight and 
 smooth, as if polished with a chisel. In other parts the 
 columns are smaller, inclined, or bent; and a less length of 
 them strikes the eye. From the bottom of this precipice 
 issues, with a gentle slope of about one foot in thirty towards 
 the sea, an immense and surprising pavement, as it were, con- 
 sisting of the upper ends of the fragments of vertical columns 
 of basalt, that have been left when the seaward half of the 
 basaltic hill was carried off. The ends of these columns are 
 in general fifteen or twenty inches in diameter, some of 
 
A 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 I 
 
 MlWRIIiy 
 
 OF Tffi „ 
 
 0? lil.Uff?!*! 
 
THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY, 
 
 A stupendous collection of natural columns of basalt, on the coast of Ireland. 
 
 THE Sl’ECTKE OF THE EilOKEN. 
 
 This wonderful and startling phenomenon is often observed in the Hartz Mountains in Germanj. 
 
591 
 
 giant’s causeway, in IRELAND. 
 
 them of three sides, some four, five, six, seven, eight, or even 
 nine. Five or six sides seem to prevail most. From the 
 bottom of the precipice to the sea at low water, along this 
 pavement or causeway, which, from the artificial appearance 
 it puts on, has doubtless, in a rude age, given name to the 
 place, is a length of seven hundred and thirty feet. It has 
 been observed to proceed into the ocean as far as can be 
 traced by the eye in a calm and clear day. To any person 
 who has seen both this place and StafFa, the idea naturally 
 enough suggests itself, that they are parts of the same once 
 continuous immense bed of columnar basalt. 
 
 “ There are properly three pavements proceeding into the 
 sea, distinguished by the names of the Great Causeway, the 
 Middle Causeway, and the West Causeway. These are three 
 large gently sloping ridges of the ends of basaltic columns, 
 with depressions between them, covered with large blocks or 
 masses, that seem to have been from time to time detached, and 
 rolled fiorn the precipice. I had no opportunity of perceiv- 
 ing with what rocks the basalt of the Giant’s Causeway is 
 connected. I am told conchoidal white lime-stone meets it 
 on both the east and west sides. There is in one place, near 
 the east side of the Great Causeway, a green-stone vein, eight 
 or ten feet wide, intersecting the basalt from north-west to 
 south-east. 
 
 “ There was now pointed out to us by the guides a very 
 rare and curious phenomenon, and which is particularly 
 interesting, as it has been thought, by those who hold the 
 igneous origin of basalt, to be a confirmation of their doctrine. 
 Nearly opposite to the West Causeway, and within about 
 eighty feet of the top of the clifi*, is found to exist a quantity 
 of slags and ashes, unquestionably the production of fire. 
 On ascending to this spot, which can be easily done, I found 
 the slag’s and ashes deposited in a sort of bed about four feet 
 thick, and running horizontally along the face of the basaltic 
 precipice twenty or thirty feet. The ashes are in general 
 observed to lie undermost, and the slags above them. They 
 are covered with a considerable quantity of earth and stones, 
 which all consist of basalt, are of a large size, some of them 
 tiiree or four feet or more in diameter, and the ashes likewise 
 rest on the same sort of materials. What struck me here was, 
 that thfise ashes and slags are entirely unconnected with any 
 rock or tormalion which seems to be in silu, or in its original 
 position. They are therefore, in my opinion, distinctly arti- 
 ficial, and nothing more than the remains of some large and 
 powerful fire, which had been kept burning for a long while 
 on the top of this precipice, used either as a signal, or for 
 some other purpose which we cannot now ascertain ; and that, 
 owing tu the part of the cliff* on which the ashes were lying 
 
592 
 
 CURIOSITIES — BASALTIC AND ROCKY. 
 
 havinor given way and tumbled down, they have bee^ji thna 
 buried beneath the ruins, and there remain. 
 
 ** A considerable way from the repository of the ashes and 
 slags, and to the east of the Great Causeway, is another curi- 
 ous appearance. Here, in the pure basalt, seventy or eighty 
 feet from the top of the cliff, is a horizontal bed of wood coal, 
 eight feet thick. The coal to all appearance rests immediately 
 on the basalt below, and the ends of perpendicular basaltic 
 columns are seen distinctly to rest on it above. The basalt is 
 not in the least changed by the contact of the coal, nor the 
 coal by that of the basalt. The coal is very beautiful and 
 distinct, and in one place is seen a coalified tree, (if I may 
 use the word,) ten or twelve inches in diameter, running di- 
 rectly in below the basalt. 
 
 Within sight of this spot, and about three hundred yards to 
 the east of it, are the beautifully conspicuous basaltic pillars, 
 forty-five feet long, and vertical, with the longest ones in the 
 middle, and others gradually shortening towards each side, 
 like the columns of an organ. From this appearance they 
 have received the appropriate name of The Organ. 
 
 “ At the bottom of this cliff, by examining and breaking 
 the loose columnar pieces of the rock that have fallen down, 
 we found many fine specimens of calcedony, zeolite, and semi- 
 opal. These occur in cavities in the basalt. Sometimes the 
 cavity is not completely filled with the calcedony or o[)al ; 
 and when that is the case, the empty space is observed to be 
 always the upper part of the cavity, while the rock is in situ. 
 Moreover, the surface of the calcedony or opal, next to the 
 empty space, is always found to be flat and horizontal, which 
 would shew that the substance must have been filtered into 
 its situation in a fluid state, and afterwards consolidated.” 
 
 Stonehenge, — a celebrated monument of antiquity, stands 
 in the middle of a flat area, near the summit of a hill six miles 
 from Salisbury. It is inclosed by a circular double bank and 
 ditch near thirty feet broad, after crossing which, we ascend 
 thirty yards before we reach the work. The whole fabric con- 
 sisted of two circles and two ovals. The outer circle is about 
 one hundred and eight feet diameter, consisting, when entire, 
 of sixty stones, thirty uprights, and thirty imposts, of which 
 remain only twenty-four uprights, seventeen standing, and 
 ''even down, three and a half feet asunder; and eight imposts. 
 Kleven uprights have their five imposts on them by the grand 
 entrance. These stones are from thirteen to twenty feet high. 
 Ihe lesser circle is somewhat more than eight feet from the in- 
 side of the outer one, and consisted of forty lesser stones (the 
 highest six feet,) of which only nineteen remain, and onlv 
 eleven standing : the walk between these two circles is three 
 
STONEHENGE. 
 
 593 
 
 hundred feet in circumference. The adytum, or cell, is an 
 oval formed of ten stones, (from sixteen to twenty-two feet 
 high,) in pairs, with imposts, which Dr. Stukeley calls trili- 
 thons, and above thirty feet high, rising in height as they go 
 round, and each pair separate, and not connected as the outer 
 pair; the highest eight feet. Within these are nineteen smaller 
 single stones, of which only six are standing. Three of the 
 five trilithons at the west end fell flat westward, levelling also 
 in their descent, a stone of the second circle that stood in the 
 line of their precipitation, on the 3d of January, 1797. At the 
 upper end of the adytum is the altar, a large slab of blue 
 coarse marble, twenty inches thick, sixteen feet long, and 
 four broad ; pressed down by the weight of the vast stones 
 that have fallen upon it. The whole number of stones, up- 
 rights and altar, is exactly one hundred and forty. The stones 
 are far from being artificial, but were most probably brought 
 from those called the Grey Weathers, on Marlborough Downs, 
 fifteen or sixteen miles off; and if tried with a tool, they ap- 
 pear of the same hardness, grain, and colour, generally reddish. 
 The heads of oxen, deer, and other beasts, have been found 
 on digging in and about Stonehenge ; and human bones in 
 the circumjacent barrows. There are three entrances from 
 the plain to this structure, the most considerable of which is 
 from the north-east, and at each of them were raised, on the 
 outside of the trench, two huge stones, with two smaller within, 
 parallel to them. 
 
 It has long been a dispute among the learned, by wha’ 
 nation, and for what purpose, these enormous stones were 
 collected and arranged. The first account of this structure 
 we meet with, is in Geoffrey of Monmouth, who, in the reign 
 of King Stephen, wrote the History of the Britons, in Latin. 
 He tells us, that it was erected by the counsel of Merlin, the 
 British enchanter, at the command of Aurelius Ambrosius, 
 the British king, in memory of four hundred and sixty Britons, 
 who were murdered by Hengist the Saxon. The next account 
 is that of Polydore Virgil, who says that the Britons erected 
 this as a sepulchral monument of Boadicea, the famous British 
 queen. Inigo Jones is of opinion, that it was a Roman tem- 
 ple, from a stone sixteen feet long, and four broad, placed in 
 an exact position to the east, altar-fashion. Mr. Charlton 
 attributed it to the Danes, who where two years masters of 
 Wiltshire: a tin tablet, on which were some unknown cha- 
 racters, supposed to be Runic, was dug up near it, in the 
 reign of Henry VIII. but is lost. 
 
 its common name, Stonehenge, is Saxon, and signifies a 
 Stone Gallows, to which these stones, having transverse im- 
 posts, bear some lesemblance. It is also called, in Welsh, 
 Choir Gatvr, or the Giant’s Dance. Mr. Grose thinks that 
 
 4 F 
 
594 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 Dr. Stukeley has completely proved this structure to have 
 been a British temple, in which the Druids officiated. He 
 supposes it to have been the metropolitan temple of Great 
 Britain, and translates the words choir gawr, the great choir, 
 or temple. Mr. Bryant is of opinion, that it was erected by a 
 colony of Cuthites, probably before the time of the Druids ; 
 because it was usual with them to place one vast stone upon 
 another, for a religious memorial ; and these they often placed 
 so equally, that a breath of wind would sometimes make them 
 vibrate. Of such stones, one remains in the pile of Stone- 
 henge. The ancients distinguished stones erected with a reli- 
 gious view, by the name of Amber; by which was signified 
 any thing solar and divine. The Grecians called them petrcc 
 amhrosicE. Stonehenge, according to Mr. Bryant, is com- 
 posed of these amber stones: hence the next town is denomi- 
 nated Ambresbury ; not from a Roman Ambrosius, but from 
 the ambrosia petrcc, in whose vicinity it stood. Some of these 
 were Rocking Stones; and there was a wonderful monument 
 of this sort near Penzance, in Cornwall, which still retains 
 the name of Main-amber, or the Sacred Stones. Such a one 
 is mentioned by Apollonius Rhodius, supposed to have been 
 raised in the time of the Argonauts, in the island of Tenos, as 
 the monument of the two-winged sons of Boreas, slain by 
 Hercules ; and there are others in China, and other coun- 
 tries. 
 
 CHAP. LIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE VARIOUS CUSTOMS 
 OF MANKIND 
 
 Curious Demonstratiotis of Friendship — Singularities of different 
 Nations in Eating — Female Beauty and Ornaments — Various 
 Modes of Salutation — Maiden — Lady of the Lamb — Curious 
 Custom, respecting Catching a Hare — Extraordinary Ancient 
 Custom, 
 
 Customs, 
 
 Though they be never so ridiculous. 
 
 Nay, let e’m be unmanly, yet are follow'd. Shakspecrre. 
 
 Curious Demonstrations of Friendship. — The de- 
 monstrations of friendship in a rude state have a savage and 
 gross character, which it is not a little curious to observe. 
 The Tartars pull a man by the ear to press him to drink, and 
 they continue tormenting him till he opens his mouth; and 
 

 
 uii awBi* . 
 
 OF IHO ' :• 
 
 £5 jULfflOn : ' 
 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
DEMONSTRATIONS OF FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 595 
 
 when they have accomplished their object, they clap their 
 hands and dance before him. 
 
 No customs seem more ridiculous, than those practised by 
 a Kamtschadale, when he wishes to make another his friend. 
 He first invites him to his hut to eat. If the invitation is ac- 
 cepted, the host and his guest strip themselves in a cabin, 
 which is heated to an uncommon degree. While the guest 
 devours the food with which they serve him, the other con- 
 tinually stirs the fire. The stranger must bear the excess of 
 the heat, as well as of the repast. He discharges the food 
 from his stomach ten times before he will yield ; but at length, 
 obliged to acknowledge himself overcome, he begins to com- 
 pound matters. He purchases a moment’s res])ite by a present 
 of clothes or dogs; for his host threatens to heat the cabin, 
 and to oblige him to eat till he dies. The stranger has the 
 right of retaliation allowed to him : he treats the other in the 
 same manner, and exacts the same presents. Should his host not 
 accept the invitation of his guest, whom he has so handsomely 
 regaled, he would come and inhabit his cabin, till he had 
 obtained from him the presents he had in so singular a manner 
 given to him. 
 
 For this extravagant custom a curious reason has been al- 
 leged. It is meant to put the person to a trial, where friendship 
 is sought. The Kamtschadale, who is at the expense of the 
 fires and the repast, is desirous to know if the stranger has 
 the strength to support pain with him, and if he is generous 
 enough to share with him some part of his property. While 
 the guest is employed on his meal, he continues heating the 
 cabin to an insupportable degree, and, as a last proof of the 
 stranger’s constancy and attachment, he exacts more clothes 
 and more dogs, d'he host passes throu^h the same ceremo- 
 nies in the cabin of the stranger; and he shews in his turn, 
 with what degree of fortitude he can defend his friend. — It is 
 thus the most singular customs would appear simple, if it 
 were possible for the philosopher to contemplate them on the 
 spot. 
 
 As a distinguishing mark of esteem, two friendly Negroes 
 of Ardra drink out of one cup at the same time. The king of 
 Loango eats in one house, and drinks in another. A Kamt- 
 schadale kneels before his guest; he cuts an enormous slice 
 from a sea-calf; he crams it entire into the mouth of his 
 friend, furiously crying out, Tana! (There!) and cutting away 
 what hangs about his lips, snatches and swallows it with 
 avidity. 
 
 Singularities of Different Nations in Eating. — 
 The Maldivian islanders eat alone. They retire into the most 
 hidden parts of their liouses ; when they draw down the cloths 
 
596 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 that serve as blinds to their windows, that they may eat 
 unobserved. This custom probably arises from the savage, 
 in the early periods of society, concealing himself to eat, from 
 a fear that another with as sharp an appetite, butpossessing more 
 bodily strength than himself, should come and ravish his meal 
 from him. The powerful ideas of witchcraft, too, are widely 
 spread among barbarians; and they are not a little fearful 
 that some incantation may be made use of while devouring 
 their victuals. 
 
 In noticing the solitary meal of the Maldivian islander, 
 another reason may be alleged for this misanthropical 
 repast. They never will eat wdth any one who is inferior to 
 them in birth, in riches, or in dignity; and as it is a difficult 
 matter to settle this equality, they are condemned to lead this 
 unsociable life. 
 
 On the contrary, the islanders of the Philippines are remark- 
 ably sociable. Whenever one of them finds himself without 
 a companion to partake of his meal, he runs till he meets with 
 one ; and we are assured, that, however keen his appetite may 
 be, he ventures not to satisfy it without a guest. 
 
 The tables of the rich Chinese shine with a beautiful 
 varnish, and are covered with silk carpets very elegantly 
 worked. They do not make use of plates, or knives and 
 forks: every guest has two little ivory or ebony sticks, which 
 he handles very adroitly. 
 
 The Otaheiteans, who are lovers of society, and very gentle 
 in their manners, feed separately from each other. At the hour 
 of repast, the members of each family divide; two brothers, 
 two sisters, and even husband and wife, father and mother, 
 have each their respective basket. 
 
 They place themselves at the distance of tw'o or three yards 
 from each other; they turn their backs to their companions, 
 and take their meal in profound silence. 
 
 Various are the opinions and customs of mankind with 
 respect to Female Beauty and Ornaments, — as will be 
 .perceived from the following prejudices of different nations. 
 
 The ladies in Japan gild their teeth ; and those of the Indies 
 paint them red. The blackest teeth are esteemed the most 
 Feautiful in Guzerat, and in some parts of America. In 
 Greenland the wmmen colour their faces with blue and yellow ; 
 and a Muscovite lady would consider her beauty incomplete, 
 unless she were plastered over wuth paint, however prodigal 
 mature may have been in her gifts. The Chinese must have 
 itheir feet as diminutive as those of the site-goats, and to ren- 
 der them thus, their youth is passed in tortures. In ancient 
 Persia, an aquiline nose was often thought worthy of the 
 crown ; and if there was any competition between two princes. 
 
THE EMPEROR OF CHINA. 
 
^ • 
 
 ■ J- ' 
 
 5 
 
 ii't uttiiABi/ 
 
 OF TUI 
 
 npivEidify m iunnii 
 
FEMALE BErtUTY AND ORNAMENTS. 
 
 697 
 
 the people e^enerally went by this criterion of majesty. In 
 some countries, the mother’s break the noses of their children ; 
 and others press the head between two boards, that it may 
 become square. The modern Persians have a strong aversion 
 to red hair: the Turks, on the contrary, are warm admirers of 
 it. The Indian beauty is thickly smeared with bear’s fat ; 
 while the female Hottentot regrets not the absence of silks 
 and wreaths of flowers, if she can but receive from the 
 hand of her lover the warm entrails and reeking tripe of 
 animals he has just slaughtered, that she may deck herself 
 with these enviable ornaments. 
 
 In China, small eyes are liked ; and the girls are continually 
 plucking their eyebrows, that they may be small and long. The 
 Turkish women dip a gold brush in the tincture of a black 
 drug, which they pass over their eyebrows. This is too 
 visible by day, but it looks shining by night. They also 
 tinge their nails with a rose colour. 
 
 An ornament for the nose appears to us perfectly unnecces- 
 sary. The Peruvians, however, think otherwise ; and they 
 bang on it a weighty ring, the thickness of which is regulated 
 by the rank of their husbands. The custom of boring the 
 nose, as our ladies do their ears, is very common in several 
 nations. Through the perforation are hung various materials; 
 such as green crystal, gold, stones, a single and sometimes 
 a great number of gold rings, which become at times rather 
 troublesome to them. 
 
 The female head-dress is carried in some countries to 
 singular extravagance. The Chinese fair carries on her head 
 'he figure of a certain bird. This bird is composed of copper 
 Ji of gold, according to the quality of the person : the wings 
 spread out, fall over the front of the head-dress, and conceal 
 the temples ; the tail, long and open, forms a beautiful tuft 
 of feathers ; the beak covers the top of the nose ; the neck 
 is fastened to the body of the artificial animal by a spring, 
 that it may the more freely play, and tremble at the slightest 
 motion. 
 
 The extravagance of the Myantses is far more ridiculous 
 than the above. They carry on their heads a slight board, 
 rather longer than the foot, and about six inches broad: with 
 this they cover their hair, and seal it wdth wax. They cannot 
 lie down, nor lean, without keeping the neck very straight ; 
 and the coiintry being very woody, it is not uncommon to 
 find them with their head-dress entangled in the trees. When- 
 ever they comb their hair, they pass an hour by the fire in 
 melting the wax ; but this combing is only performed once or 
 twice a year. 
 
 To this curious account, extracted from Duhalde, we must 
 join that jf the inhabitants of the land of Natal. They wear 
 
598 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 caps or bonnets, from six to ten inches high, composed ol 
 the fat of oxen. They then gradually anoint the head with 
 a purer grease, which mixing with the hair, fastens these 
 bonnets for their lives. 
 
 The reader will be amused with the following account of 
 The Various Modes of Salutation. — When men, says 
 the compiler of U Esprit des Usas^es et des Coutumes, salute 
 each other in an amicable manner, it signifies little whether 
 they move a particular part of the body, or practise a parti- 
 cular ceremony. In these actions there must exist difierent 
 customs. ■ Every nation imagines it employs the most reason- 
 able ones. This infinite number of ceremonies may be 
 reduced to two kinds; to reverences or salutations, and 
 to the touch of some part of the human body. Modes of 
 salutation have very different characters, and it is not un- 
 interesting to examine their shades. Many display a refine- 
 ment of delicacy ; while others are remarkable for their 
 simplicity, or sensibility. 
 
 The islanders near the Philippines take the hand or foot 
 of him they salute, and with it they gently rub their face. 
 The Laplanders apply their nose strongly against that of the 
 persons they salute. Dampier says, that at New Guinea they 
 are satisfied in placing on their heads the leaves of trees, 
 which have ever passed for symbols of friendship and peace. 
 Other salutations are very incommodious : it requires great 
 practice to enable a man to be polite in an island in the 
 straits of the Sound. Houtman tells us, “ they raised his 
 left foot, which they passed gently over the right leg, and 
 thence over his face.^* The inhabitants of the Philippines 
 bend their bodies very low, ir placing their hands on their 
 cheeks, and raising at the same time one foot in the air, with 
 their knee bent. An Ethiopian takes the robe of another, 
 and ties it about his own waist, so that he leaves his friend 
 half naked. This custom of undressing takes other forms: 
 sometimes men place themselves naked before the person 
 whom they salute, to show their humility, and that they are 
 unworthy of a covering in his presence. This was practised 
 before Sir Joseph Banks, when he received the visit of two 
 Otaheitan ladies. Their innocent simplicity did not appear 
 immodest in the eyes of the virtuoso. Sometimes they only 
 undress partially. The Japanese only take off a ^slipper ; the 
 people of Arracan their sandals in the street, and their 
 stockings in the house. The grandees of Spain claim the 
 right of appearing covered before the king, to shew that they 
 are not so much subjected to him as the rest of the nation. 
 
 Snelgrave gives an odd representation of the embassy 
 which the king of Dahomy sent to him. The ceremonies of 
 
MODES OF SALUTATION. — THE MAIDEN. 
 
 599 
 
 salutations consisted in the most ridiculous contortions. 
 Wh en two negro monarchs visit, they salute by snapping 
 three times the middle finger. Barbarous nations frequently 
 imprint on their salutations tlieir character. When the 
 inhabitants of Carmena (says Atheneeus) would shew a pecu- 
 liar mark of esteem, they breathed a vein, and presented for 
 the beverage of their friend the blood as it issued. The 
 Franks tore hair from their head, and presented it to the per- 
 son whom they saluted. The slave cut his hair, and offered 
 it to his master. The Chinese are singularly affected in their 
 personal civilities: they ev.n calculate the number of their 
 reverences. The men move their hands in an affectionate 
 manner, while they are joined together on their breast, and 
 bow their head a little. If two persons meet after a long 
 separation, they both fall on their knees and bend their faces 
 to the earth, and this they repeat two or three times. They 
 substitute artificial ceremonies for natural actions. Their 
 expressions mean as little as their ceremonies. If a Chinese 
 is asked how he finds himself in health ? He answers, “ Very 
 well, thanks to your abundant felicity.” If they would tell 
 a man that he looks well, they say, “ Prosperity is painted on 
 your face;” or, “Your air announces your happiness.” All these 
 and many other answers are prescribed by the Chinese academy 
 of compliments. There are determined the number of bows, 
 the expressions to be employed, the genuflections, and the 
 inclinations to be made to the right or left hand, the saluta- 
 tions of the master before the chair, where the stranger is to 
 be seated, for he salutes it most profoundly, and wipes the 
 dust away with the skirts of his robe. The lower class of 
 people are equally nice in these punctilios; and ambassadors 
 pass forty days in practising them before they can appear at 
 court. A tribunal of ceremonies has been erected, and every 
 day very odd decrees are issued, to which the Chinese most 
 religiously submit. The marks of honour are frequently 
 arbitrary : to be seated, with us, is a mark of repose and 
 familiarity ; to stand up, that of respect. There are countries, 
 however, in which princes will only be addressed by persons 
 who are seated, and it is considered as a favour to be per- 
 mitted to stand in their presence. This custom prevails in 
 despotic countries : a despot cannot suffer, without disgiist, 
 the elevated figure of his subjects ; he is pleased to bend theii 
 bodies with their genius; his presence must lay those who 
 behold him prostrate on the earth ; he desires no eagerness, 
 no attention ; he would only inspire terror. 
 
 We shall next give an account of The Maiden. — This 
 term is applied to an ancient English custom, or, more 
 properly, to an instrument for beheading criminals ; of the use 
 
600 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 and form of which Mr. Ptni^ant gives the following account: 
 “ It seems to have been contined to the limits of the forest of 
 Hardwick, or the eighteen towns and hamlets within its pre- 
 cincts. The time when this custom took place is unknown ; 
 whether Earl Warren, lord of this forest, might have estab- 
 lished it among the sanguinary laws then in use against the 
 invaders of the hunting rights, or whether it might not take 
 place after the woollen manufactures at Halifax began to gain 
 strength, is uncertain. The last is very probable, for the wild 
 country around the town^was inhabited by a lawless set. whose 
 depredations on the cloth-tenters might soon stifle the efforts 
 of inf.int industry. For the protection of tiade, and for the 
 greater terror of offenders by speedy execution, this custom 
 seems to be established, so as at last to receive the force of 
 law, which was ‘That if a felon be taken within the liberty of 
 the forest of Hardw ick, with goods stolen out, or within the 
 said precincts, either handhaband, backberand, or confes- 
 sioned, to the value of thirteen-pence-halfpenny, he shall, after 
 three market days, or meeting days, within the town of Hali- 
 fax, next after such his apprehension, and being condemned, 
 be taken to the gibbet, and there have his head cut from his 
 body.' The offender had always a fair trial ; for as soon as he 
 was taken, he was brought to the lord's bailiff, at Halifax : he 
 was then exposed to the three markets, (wdiich here were held 
 thrice in a week,) placed in the stocks, with the goods stolen 
 on his back, or, if the theft was of the cattle kind, they w^ere 
 placed by him ; and this was done both to strike terror into 
 others, and to produce new informations against him. 
 
 ‘ The bailiff then summoned four freeholders of each town 
 within the forest, to form a jury. The felon and prosecutors 
 were brought face to face; and the goods, the cow, or horse, 
 or whatsoever was stolen, produced. If he was found guilty, 
 he w'as remanded to prison, had a week's time allowed for 
 preparation, and then was conveyed to this spot, where his 
 head was struck off with this machine. I should have pre- 
 mised, that if the criminal, either on apprehension, or in the 
 way of execution, should escape out of the limits of the forest, 
 (part being close to the town,) the bailiff had no further power 
 over him , but if he should be caught wdthin the precincts at 
 any time after, he w'as immediately executed on his former 
 
 sentence. 
 
 “ This privilege was 
 Elizabeth; the records 
 
 very freely used during the reign oi 
 before that time are lost. Twenty- 
 five suffered in her reign, and at least twelve from 1623 to 
 1650; after which, I believe, the privilege was no more ex- 
 erted. 
 
 “ This machine of leath is now destroyed ; but I saw one 
 of the same kind in i room under the parliament-house at 
 
A CHINESE SCHOOL 
 
m LseiuBY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 auinii 
 
LADY OF THE LAMB. — CATCHING A HARE, ETC. 601 
 
 Edinburgn, where it was introduced by the regent Morton, 
 who took a model of it as he passed through Halifax, and at 
 length suffered by it himself. It is in form of a painter's easel, 
 and about ten feet high : at four feet from the bottom is a 
 cross bar, on which the felon lays his head, which is kept 
 down by another placed above. In the inner edges of the 
 frames are grooves ; in these is placed a sharp axe, with a vast 
 weight of lead, supported at the very summit with a peg: to 
 that peg is fastened a cord, which the executioner cutting, the 
 axe falls, and does the affair effectually, without suffering the 
 unhappy criminal to undergo a repetition of strokes, as has 
 been the case in the common method. I must add, that if the 
 sufferer is condemned for stealing a horse or a cow, the string 
 is tied to the beast, which, on being whipped, pulls out the 
 peg, and becomes the executioner.” This apparatus is now 
 in possession of the Scottish Antiquarian Society. 
 
 Lady of the Lamb. — At Kidlington, in Oxfordshire, there 
 is a custom, that on the next Monday after Whitsun-vveek, 
 there is a fat live lamb provided, and the maids of the town, 
 having their thumbs tied behind them, run after it; and she 
 that with her mouth takes and holds the lamb, is declared 
 Lady of the Lamb, — which being dressed by the butcher, with 
 the skin hanging on, is carried on a long pole before the lady 
 and her companions to the green, attended with music, and 
 a morisco-dance of men, and another of women, where the 
 rest of the day is spent in dancing, mirth, and merry glee. 
 The next day the lamb is part baked, boiled, and roasted, for 
 the lady’s feast; where she sits majestically, at the upper end 
 of the table, and her companions with her, with music and 
 other attendants, which ends the ceremony. 
 
 The following is a Curious Custom Respecting catch- 
 ing A Hare. — They have an ancient custom at Coleshill, in 
 the county of Warwick, that if the young men of the town can 
 catch a hare, and bring it to the parson of the parish, before 
 ten of the clock on Easter Monday, the parson is bound to 
 give them a calfs head, and an hundred of eggs for their 
 breakfast, and a groat in money. 
 
 This chapter concludes with an account of an Extraordi- 
 nary Ancient Custom. — A court, called Lawless Court, is 
 held annually on Kingshill, at Rochford, in Essex, on Wed- 
 nesday morning next after Michaelmas-day, at cock-crowing, 
 at which court the whole of the business is transacted in a 
 whisper; no candle is allowed in the court, nor any pen and 
 ink, but the proceedings are written with a piece of charcoal , 
 and he that holds suit and service there, and does not appear, 
 
 4G . 
 
602 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 forfeits double the amount of his rent to the lord of the manor 
 This court is mentioned by Camden, who says, “ the servile 
 attendance was inijDosed on the tenants for conspiring at the 
 like unseasonable time to raise a commotion.” It belongs to 
 the honour of Raleigh, and is called Lawless, because held at 
 an unlawful hour, or, quia dicta siue lege. 
 
 CHAP. LX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND.— 
 
 ( Continued.) 
 
 Marriage Ceremonies oj different Nations — Marriage Custom of 
 the Japanese — Bacon Flitch Custom at Dunmow, Essex — On 
 the Origin of Rings in general — Matrimonial Ring — Extra- 
 ordinary Marriage Custom — Hand-Fasting. 
 
 Tho’ fools spurn Hymen’s gentle pow’rs, 
 
 They who improve his g^olden hours. 
 
 By sweet experience know. 
 
 That marriage, rightly understood. 
 
 Gives to the tender and the good 
 
 A paradise below. Cotton. 
 
 Marriage Ceremonies of different Nations. — 
 Marriage ceremonies vary in different countries, and at 
 different times. Where the practice is to purchase a wife, whe- 
 ther among savages, or among luxurious people in hot climates, 
 payment of the price completes this marriage, without any 
 other ceremony. Other ceremonies, however, are sometimes 
 practised. In old Rome, the bride was attended to the bride- 
 groom’s house, with a female slave carrying a distaff and a 
 spindle, importing that she ought to spin for the family. 
 Among the savages of Canada, and of neighbouring countries, 
 a strap, a kettle, and a faggot, are put in the bride’s cabin, as 
 symbols of her duty, viz. to carry burdens, to dress victuals, 
 and to provide wood. On the other hand, the bride, in token 
 of iier slavery, takes her axe, cuts wood, bundles it up, and 
 lays it before the door of the bridegroom’s hut. All the 
 salutation she receives is, It is time to go to rest.” The 
 inhabitants of Sierra Leone, on the coast of Africa, have in 
 all their towns a boarding-school, where young ladies are 
 educated for a year, under the care of a venerable old gentle- 
 man. When their education is completed, they are carried 
 in their best attire to a public assembly ; which may be 
 termed a matrimonial market, because there young men cou- 
 
LEGAL \V,\Y OF SETTLING DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIL S. 
 
if THI 
 6f ItUiBIB 
 
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 
 
 605 
 
 vene to make a choice. Those who fit themselves to their 
 fancy pay the dowry; and, over and above, reward the old 
 superintendant for his extraordinary care in educating the 
 bride. In the island of Java, the bride, in token of subjection, 
 washes the bridegroom’s feet; and this is a capital ceremony. 
 In Russia, the bride presents to the bridegroom a bundle of 
 rods, to be used against her when she deserves to be chas- 
 tised ; and at the same time she pulls off his boots. Very 
 different were the manners of Peru before the Spanish con- 
 quest. The bridegroom carried shoes to the bride, and put 
 them on with his own hands • but there, purchasing wives 
 is unknown. Marriage ceremonies in Lapland are directed 
 by the same principle. It is the custom there, for a man to 
 make presents to his children of rein-deer; and young women 
 who have a large stock of these animals, have lovers in 
 plenty. A young man looks for such a wife at a fair, or at a 
 meeting for paying taxes. Being solicitous, in particular, to 
 have an eloquent pleader, he carries to the house of the young 
 woman some of his relations. They are all admitted except 
 the lover, who must wait till he be called in. After drinking 
 some spirits, brought with them for the purpose, the spokes- 
 man addresses the father in humble terms, bowing the knee, as 
 if he were int oduced to a prince. He styles him the worship- 
 ful father, the higli and mighty father, the best and most 
 ill ustrious father. Sic. 
 
 The ma'rriage ceremonies among the Hottentots are of 
 a singular nature. After all matters are adjusted among the 
 old people, the young couple are shut up by themselves ; and 
 pass the night in struggling for superiority, which proves a 
 very serious work, where the bride is reluctant. If she 
 persevere to the last without yielding, the young man is 
 discarded ; but, if he prevail, which commonly happens, the 
 marriage is completed by another ceremony, no less singular, 
 d'he men and women squat on the ground in different circles, 
 the bridegroom in the centre of one, and the bride in the 
 centre of another, where ceremonies of a most indelicate 
 nature take place. The ceremonies among the present Greeks 
 are no less remarkable. Among other particulars, the bride- 
 groom and bride walk three rounds ; during which they are 
 kicked and cuffed heartily. Tournefort adds, that he only 
 and his companions forbore to join in the ceremony ; which 
 was ascribed to their rusticity, and ignorance of polite man- 
 ners. Marriage ceremonies among the Kamtschadales are 
 extremely whimsical. A young man, after making his pro- 
 posals, enters into the presence of his intended father-in-law. 
 If he prove agreeable, he is admitted to the trial of the touch. 
 The young woman is swaddled up in leathern thongs, and in 
 that condition is put under the guard of some old women. 
 
604 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 Watching every opportunity of a slack guard, he endeavours 
 to uncase her, in order to touch what is always the most con- 
 cealed. The bride must resist, in appearance at least ; and 
 therefore cries out for her guards, who fall with fury on the 
 bridegroom, tear his hair, scratch his face, and act in violent 
 opposition. The attempts of the lover sometimes prove 
 unsuccessful for months ; but the moment the touch is 
 achieved, the bride testifies her satisfaction, by pronouncing 
 the word Nt, A7, with a soft and loving voice. The next night 
 they associate together without any opposition. 
 
 One marriage ceremony amony the island negroes is singu- 
 lar. As soon as preliminaries are adjusted, the bridegroom, 
 with a number of his companions, set out at night, and sur- 
 round the house of the bride, as if intending to carry her off 
 by force. She and her female attendants, pretending to make 
 all possible resistance, cry aloud for help, but no person 
 appears. This resembles strongly a marriage ceremony that 
 is, or was, customary in Wales. On the morning of the wed- 
 ding-day, the bridegroom, accompanied with his friends on 
 horseback, demands the bride. Her friends, who are likewise 
 on horseback, give a positive refusal ; upon which a mock 
 scuffle ensues. The bride, mounted behind her nearest kins- 
 man, is carried off, and is pursued by the bridegroom and his 
 friends, with loud shouts. It is not uncommon on such an 
 occasion to see two or three hundred sturdy Cambro-Hritons 
 riding at full speed, crossing and jostling, to the no small 
 amusement of the spectators. When they have fatigued them- 
 selves and their horses, the bridegroom is suffered to overtake 
 his bride. He leads her awav in triumph, and the scene is 
 concluded with feasting and festivity. The same marriage 
 ceremony was usual in Muscovy, Lithuania, and Livonia, as 
 reported by Olaus Magnus. 
 
 Marriage Custom of the Japanese. — A very singular 
 custom at the marriages of the Japanese, is, that the teeth of 
 the bride are made black by some corrosive liquid. J'he teeth 
 remain black ever after, and serve to shew that a woman is 
 married, or a widow. Another circumstance is, at the birth 
 of every child, to plant a tree in a garden or court-yard, which 
 attains its fidl growth in as many years as a man requires to 
 be mature for the duties of marriage. When he marries, the 
 tree is cut down, and the wood is made into chests and boxes, 
 to contain the clothes and other things which are made for 
 the new-married couple. 
 
 The Japanese may marry as often as they please : marriages 
 with sisters are prohibited, but they can marry any other re 
 
 lative. 
 
WITNESSING A BATTLE FROM THE CLOUDS. 
 

 
 I 
 
 GF m 
 
 owwEisiw as aiffiws 
 
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 ■ 
 
 ( 
 
 
BACON FLITCH CUSTOM, AT DUNMOW. 605 
 
 Bacon Flitch Custom at Dunmow, Essex. — Many 
 persons who are so often jocular about a certain ** Flitch of 
 Bacon,” with those who are supposed to be in a much happier 
 state than themselves, are not always familiar with the origin 
 of this institution, and with the whimsical rhyming oath to be 
 taken with the flitcii. Old Fuller has preserved it, in his very 
 scarce work of the Worthies ; and it will probably amuse those 
 who have more wit than reading on this occasion. 
 
 The celebrated flitch of bacon of Dunmow, in Essex, which 
 can only be claimed, without perjury, by a select few in the 
 married state, was a jocular institution by the monks of a 
 monastery, in the priory of Dunmow, in Essex. Fuller observes, 
 that these mortified men would be mirthful at times, as hereby 
 may appear. — 
 
 “ Any person from any part of England, coming hither, an<i 
 humbly kneeling on two stones at the church door (which are 
 yet to be seen,) before the priory or convent, might demand 
 a gammon or flitch of bacon, upon the solemn taking of the 
 prescribed oath. 
 
 The following is a copy of the register of the form and 
 ceremony observed on a claim made more than a century ago, 
 to this flitch of bacon, by William Parsley, of Much-Easton, 
 and Jane, his wife,* 
 
 Dunmow, Nuper. — At a court baron of the Priorat’ right 
 worshipful Sir Tliomas May, knight, there holden upon Friday 
 the seventh of June, in the thirteenth year of the reign of our 
 sovereign Lord William III. by the grace of God, &c. and in 
 the year of our Lord, 1701, before Thomas Wheeler, gent 
 steward of the said manor. It is thus enrolled : — 
 
 ‘ Eliza in:TH Bi-aumont, spinster, 
 
 Hknriltta Bmaumom', spinster, 
 
 Annaiu-lla Bkaumont, spinster, 
 
 Jank lii: aumon r, spinster, 
 
 Mary Whrlf.r, spinster, 
 
 “ Be it remembered, that at this court, in full and open 
 court, it is found, and presented by the homage aforesaid, that 
 William Parsley, of Much-Easton, in the county of Essex, 
 butcher, and Jane his wife, have been married for the space of 
 three years the last past, and upward ; and it is likewise found, 
 presented, and adjudged, by the homage aforesaid, that the 
 said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, by means of their 
 quiet, peaceable, tender, and loving cohabitation, for the 
 space of time aforesaid, (as appears by the said homage,) are 
 fit and qualified persons to be admitted by the court to receive 
 the ancient and accustomed oath, whereby to entitle them- 
 selves to have the bacon of Dunmow delivered unto them, 
 according to the custom of the manor. 
 
 "Whereupon, at this court, in full and open court, came 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 cr<l 
 
 o 
 
tK)6 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS’. 
 
 the said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, in their proper 
 persons, and humbly prayed, they might be admitted to take 
 the oath aforesaid; whereupon the said steward, with the 
 jury, suitors, and other officers of the court, proceeded, with 
 the usual solemnity, to the ancient and accustomed place for 
 the administration of the oath and receiving the gammon 
 aforesaid, (that is to say) the two great stones lying near the 
 church door, within the said manor; where the said William 
 Parsley, and Jane his wife, kneeling down on the said two 
 stones, and the said steward did administer unto them the 
 above-mentioned oath in these words, or to this effect fol- 
 lowing, viz. 
 
 You do swear by custom of confession. 
 
 That you ne’er made nuptial transg^ression ; 
 
 Nor since you were married man and wife. 
 
 By household brawls, or contentious strife. 
 
 Or otherwise, in bed or at board, 
 
 Otlended each other in deed or in word ; 
 
 Or in a twelve months’ time and a day, 
 
 Repented notin thought any way ; 
 
 Or since the church clerk said Amen, 
 
 Wish’d yourselves unmarried again ; 
 
 But continue true, and in desire 
 As when you join’d hands in holy quire. • 
 
 And immediately thereupon, the said William Parsley, 
 and Jane his wife, claiming the same gammon of bacon, the 
 court pronounced the sentence for the same, in these words, 
 or to the effect following : 
 
 Since to these conditions, without any fear, 
 
 Of your own accord you do freely swear, 
 
 A whole gammon of bacon you do receive, 
 
 And bear it away with love and good leave. 
 
 For this is the custom of Dunmow well known; — 
 
 Though the pleasure be ours, the bacon’s your own. 
 
 “ And accordingly a gammon of bacon was delivered unto 
 the said William Parsley, and Jane his wife, with the usual 
 solemnity. 
 
 “ Examined per Thomas Wheeler, steward. The same day 
 a gammon was delivered to Mr. Reynolds, steward to Sir 
 Charles Barington, of Hatfield, Broad Oak.” 
 
 The Origin of Rings in general. — The origin of rings, 
 their matter and uses, together with the supposed virtue of 
 the precious stones set in them, afford a subject well deserv- 
 ing the notice of the curious. According to the accounts of the 
 heathen mythology, Prometheus, who in the first times had 
 discovered a great number of secrets, having been delivered 
 from the chains by which he was fastened to Mount Caucasus 
 
EGVPTIAK SHOPKEEPER, 
 
I 
 
 
 5 ^ 
 
 int LiUMBlr 
 
 BF TItB 
 
 qinvei^ive^iiLUMn 
 
 ! 
 
 ? 
 
 
ORIGIN OF RINGS. 
 
 607 
 
 for stealing fire from heaven ; in memory or acknowledgment 
 of the favour he received from Jupiter, made himself, of one 
 of those chains, a ring, in whose collet he represented the 
 figure of part of the rock where he had been detained, or 
 rather, as Pliny says, set in it a bit of the same rock, and put 
 it on his finger. This was the first ring, and the first stone. But 
 we otherw ise learn that the use of rings is very ancient, and 
 that the Egyptians were the first inventors of them ; which 
 seems confirmed by the history of Joseph, who, as we read in 
 Genesis, chap. xli. for having interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, 
 received not only his liberty, but was rewarded with this 
 prince’s ring, and the superintendency of Egypt. Josephus, 
 in the third book of the Jewish Antiquities, says, the Israelites 
 had the use of them after passing the Red Sea, because 
 Moses, on his return from Mount Sinai, found that they had 
 forged the golden calf from their wives’ rings. The same 
 Moses (which was upwards of four hundred years before the 
 wars of Troy) permitted ' the priests to have established the 
 use of gold rings, enriched with precious stones. The high- 
 priest wore upon his ephod, which was a kind of camaieu, 
 rings, that served him as clasps; a large emerald was set, 
 and engraved with mysterious names. The ring he w'ore on 
 his finger was of estimable value and celestial virtue. Had 
 not Aaron, the high priest of the Hebrews, a ring on his 
 finger, whereof the diamond, by its virtue, operated pro- 
 digious things? for it changed its vivid lustre into a dark 
 colour, when the Hebrews were to be punished by death for 
 their sins : when they were to fall by the sword, it appeared 
 of a blood colour ; if they were innocent, it sparkled as usual. 
 It is observable, that the ancient Hebrews used rings in the 
 time even of the war of Troy. Queen Jezebel, to destroy 
 Nabath, as it is related in the first book of Kings, made use 
 of the ring of Ahab, king of the Israelites, her husband, to 
 seal the counterfeit letters that ordered the death of that 
 unfortunate man. Did not Judah, as mentioned in the thirty- 
 eighth chapter of Genesis, deceive his daughter-in-law Tamar, 
 (who had disguised herself,) by giving her his ring and brace- 
 lets as a pledge of the faith he had promised her? Though 
 Homer is silent in regard to rings both in his Iliad and 
 Odyssey, they were, notwithstanding, used in the time of the 
 Greeks and Trojans; and it is from them that several 
 other nations received them. The Lacedemonians, as re- 
 lated by Alexander ab Alexandro, pursuant to the orders 
 of their king Lycurgus, had only iron rings, despising 
 those of gold ; probably because their king was willing there- 
 by to retrench luxury, and discourage the use of effeminate 
 ornaments among his subjects, as inconsistent with the manly 
 plainness of Spartan virtue. 
 
60 h 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 The ring was reputed, by some nations, a symbol of libe- 
 rality, esteem, and friendship, particularly among the Per- 
 sians, none being permitted to wear any, except given to him 
 from the king himself. This is what may also be remarked 
 in the person of Apollonius Thyaneus, who, as a token of 
 singular esteem and great liberality, received one from the 
 great Jarchas, prince of the gymnosophists, who were the 
 ancient priests of the Indies, and dwelt in forests, as our bards 
 and Druids, where they applied themselves to the study of 
 wisdom, and to the speculation of the heavens and stars. This 
 philosopher, by the means of that ring, learned every day the 
 greatest secrets in nature. 
 
 Though the ring found by Gyges, shepherd to the king of 
 Lydia, has more of fable than truth in it, it will not, however, 
 be amiss to relate what is said concerning Herodotus, Caelius 
 after Plato, and Cicero, in the third book of his Offices. 
 This Gyges, after a great flood, passed into a very deep cavity 
 in the earth, where having found, in the belly of a brasen horse, 
 with a large aperture in it, a human body of enormous size, 
 he pulled from off one of the fingers, a ring of surprising vir- 
 tue ; for the stone on the collet rendered him who wore it 
 invisible, w'hen the collet was turned towards the palm of the 
 hand ; so that the party could see, without being seen, all 
 manner of persons and things. Gyges, having made trial of 
 its efficacy, bethought himself that it would be a means for 
 ascending the throne of Lydia, and for gaining the queen by it. 
 He succeeded in his designs, having killed Candaules, her 
 husband. The dead body this ring belonged to was that of 
 an ancient Brahmin, who In his time was chief of all. The 
 rings of the ancients often served for seals. Alexander the 
 Great, after the defeat and death of Darius, used his ring for 
 sealing the letters he sent into Asia, and his own for those he 
 sent to Europe. It was customary in Rome for the bridegroom 
 to send the bride, before marriage, a ring of iron, without 
 ‘either stone or collet, to denote how lasting their union ought 
 to be, and the frugality they were to observe together; but 
 rluxury herein soon gained ground, and there was a necessity 
 ■of moderating it. Caius Marius did not wear one of gold 
 vtill his third consulship : and Tiberius, as Suetonius says, 
 •made some regulation in the authority of wearing rings; for 
 besides the liberty of birth, he required a considerable revenue, 
 'both on the father and grandfather^s side. 
 
 In the preceding dissertation we have anticipated the Ma- 
 trimonial Ring, therefore our further observations need be 
 but few. 
 
 Swinburne says, the iron ring was adorned with an adamant, 
 the metal hard and difrable, signifying the duration and pros- 
 
navigating the air, 
 
K 
 
 
 
 
HAND-FASTING. — FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 609 
 
 periiy of the contract. “ Howbeit/’ he says, “ it skilleth not 
 at this day what metal the ring be of. The form of it being 
 found, and without end, doth import that their love should 
 circulate and flow continually. The finger on which this ring 
 is to be worn, is the fourth finger on the left hand, next unto 
 the little finger, because there was supposed a vein of blood 
 to pass from thence into the heart.” 
 
 We shall conclude this chapter with an account of an an- 
 cient custom, called Hand-Fasting. 
 
 This custom formerly took place at an annual fair, in the 
 parish of Eskdale-muir, in Dumfriesshire, thus described by 
 the Rev. W. Brown, in his Statistical Account of that parish : 
 “ At that fair it was the custom for the unmarried persons of 
 both sexes, to choose companions with \vhom they were to 
 live till that time next year. If they were pleased with each 
 other at that time, then they continued together for life ; if 
 not, they separated, and were free to make another choice, as 
 at first. The fruit of their connection, if there were any, was 
 always attached to the disaffected person. A priest, whom 
 they named Book-i’-bosom, (because he carried in his bosom 
 a Bible, or a register of the marriages,) came from time to 
 time to confirm the marriages.” Mr. Brown traces this custom 
 from the Romans. — See Sir J. Sinclair's Statistical Account, 
 vol. xii. p. 615. 
 
 CHAP. LXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND. 
 
 ( Continued.) 
 
 Funeral Ceremonies oj the Ancient Ethiopians — Funeral Cere^ 
 monies of the Chinese — Ancient Funeral Ceremonies of the 
 Dajakkese — Ancient Modes of Mourning — Feasts among the 
 Ancients of various Nations — Feast of Lanterns. 
 
 Funeral Ceremonies of the Ancient Ethiopians. — 
 The Ethiopians had very particular ceremonies in their fune- 
 rals. According to Ctesias, after having salted the bodies, 
 they put them into a hollow statue of gold, which resembled 
 the deceased, and are placed in a niche, on a pillar set up 
 for that purpose. The remains of the richest Ethiopians were 
 thus honoured : the bodies of those of the next class were 
 contained in silver statues; the poor were enshrined in statues 
 of earthenware. Herodotus informs us, that the nearest 
 relations of the dead kept the body a year in their houses. 
 
610 
 
 CUR OSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 and offered sacrifice and first-fruits during that time to their 
 deceased friend ; and at the end of the year, they fixed the 
 corpse in a place set apart for the purpose near their town. 
 The inhabitants of the country above Meroe had various me- 
 thods of paying respect to their deceased friends. Some 
 threw their bodies into the river, thinkino- that the most 
 honourable sepulchre. Others kept them in their houses in 
 niches, thinking that their children would be stimalated to 
 virtuous deeds by the sight of their ancestors ; and that grown 
 people, by the same objects, w'ould retain their parents in 
 their memories. Others put their dead bodies into coffins of 
 earthenware, and buried them near their temples. To swear 
 with their hand laid upon a corpse, was their most sacred and 
 inviolable oath 
 
 Funeral Ceremonies of the Chinese. — The funeral 
 ceremonies are considered by the Chinese as the most import- 
 ant of any. A few moments after a person has expired, he is 
 dressed out in his richest attire, and adorned with every badge 
 of his dignity ; after which he is placed in the coffin. The 
 preparation of a coffin, in which his body may be inclosed 
 after death, is one of the chief objects of attention to a Chi- 
 nese during his life, and great expense is often thrown away 
 upon it; insomuch that the poor will give all they are worth, 
 and the rich expend one thousand crowns ; nay, a son will sell 
 himself for a slave, to purchase a coffin for his father. Some- 
 times the coffin, when purchased with all this labour and ex- 
 pense, will remain twenty years useless in the family ; but it 
 is considered as the most valuable piece of furniture in his 
 possession. The manner of interment is as follows : — First, 
 they sprinkle some lime in the bottom of the coffin ; then they 
 lay the body in it, taking care to place the head on a pillow, 
 and to add a great deal of cotton, that it may remain steady. 
 The body remains thus exposed seven days ; but the time may 
 be reduced to three, if any weighty reason makes it neces- 
 sary ; and, during this interval, all the relations and friends, 
 who are purposely invited, come and pay their respects to the 
 deceased, the nearest relations remaining in the house. The 
 coffin is exposed in the hall of ceremony, which is then hung 
 with white, but some pieces of black or violet-coloured silk 
 are here and there interspersed, as well as some other orna- 
 ments of mourning. Before the coffin is placed a table, on 
 which stands the image of the deceased, or a carved ornament 
 inscribed with his name ; and these are always accompanied 
 with flovveis, perfumes, and lighted wax candles. In the 
 mean time, those who enter the hall salute the deceased, as if 
 still in life. They prostrate themselves before the table, and 
 knock their foreheads several times against the earth; after 
 
FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 611 
 
 which they place on the table some perfumes and wax candles. 
 Their salutations are returned by the eldest son, accompanied 
 by his brothers. The latter come forth from behind a curtain, 
 which hangs on one side of the coffin, creeping along the 
 ground until they reach the spot where those stand whom they 
 are going to salute; after which, they return without rising 
 up. The women are also concealed behind the same cur- 
 tain, from whence they every now and then send forth dismal 
 cries. 
 
 The funeral procession at last commences. A troop of men 
 march in a file, carrying different figures made of pasteboard, 
 and representing slaves, lions, tigers, horses, 8cc. Others 
 follow, marching in two files ; some of whom carry standards, 
 some flags, or censers filled with perfumes; while melancholy 
 and plaintive airs are played by others, on musical instru- 
 ments. These musicians immediately precede the coffin, which 
 is covered with a canopy, in form of a dome, of violet-coloured 
 silk : its four corners are ornamented with tufts of white silk, 
 neatly embroidered, and covered at the top with net-work. 
 The coffin is placed on the bottom of this machine, and is 
 carried by sixty-four men. The eldest son, clothed in a frock 
 of canvass, having his body bent, and leaning on a staff, fol- 
 lows near the coffin ; and behind him his brothers and nephews, 
 but none of them clothed in canvass. Then come the rela- 
 tions and friends, all clad in mourning, and followed by a great 
 number of chairs, covered with white stuff, containing the 
 wives and female slaves of the deceased. These make areat 
 show of sorrow, by doleful, yet methodical cries. When 
 they arrive at the burying-place, the coffin is deposited in a 
 tomb appropriated for it, not far from which there are tables 
 arranged in different halls, on which the assistants are enter- 
 tained w ith great splendour. The entertainment is sometimes 
 followed by fresh marks of homage to the corpse; but these 
 are often changed into thanks to the eldest son, who, how- 
 ever, answers only by signs. But if the deceased was a gran- 
 dee of the empire, a certain number of his lelations do not 
 leave the tomb for a month or two; but reside in apartments 
 provided for them, and every day renew their marks of grief, 
 with the children of the deceased. The magnificence of these 
 funeral ceremonies is proportioned to the wealth or dignity of 
 the deceased. That of one of the brothers of the emperor, 
 was attended by sixteen thousand people, each of whom had 
 a particular office assigned him relating to the ceremony. 
 Mourning continues in China for three years ; during all which 
 time they must abstain from flesh and wine, nor can they as- 
 sist at any entertainment, or attend any public assembly. At 
 first they are not even permitted to go abroad; and when they 
 do 80, they are carried in a chair, covered with a white cloth. 
 
612 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 Sometimes the filial piety of the Chinese is carried to such 
 a length, that they preserve the bodies of their fathers in 
 their houses for three or four years, and impose upon them- 
 selves a great number of other duties, using no other seat 
 during the day, but a stool covered with a white serge, and 
 no other bed but a plain mat made of reeds, which is placed 
 neai the coffin. 
 
 Funeral and Marriage Ceremonies of the Dajak- 
 KESE In habitants of Borneo. — The corpse is placed in a 
 coffin, and remains in the house till the son, the father, or the 
 nearest of blood, can procure or purchase a slave, who is 
 beheaded at the time that the corpse is burnt, in order that 
 he may become the slave of the deceased in the next world. 
 The ashes of the deceased are then placed in an earthen urn, 
 on which various figures are exhibited ; and the head of the 
 slave is dried, and prepared in a peculiar manner with cam- 
 phor and drugs, and deposited near it. It is said that this 
 practice often induces them to purchase a slave guilty of some 
 capital crime, at five-fold his value, in order that they may 
 be able to put him to death on such occasions. 
 
 Marriage Ceremonies . — Nobody can be permitted to marry 
 till he can present a human head of some other tribe to his 
 proposed bride, in which case she is not permitted to refuse 
 him. It is not, however, necessary that this should be ob- 
 tained entirely by his own personal ])rowess. When a person 
 is determined to go a head-hunting, as it is often a very 
 dangerous service, he consults with his friends and acquaint- 
 ances, who frequently accompany him, or send their slaves 
 along with him. The head-hunter then proceeds with his 
 party in the most cautious manner to the vicinity of the 
 villages of another tribe, and lies in ambush till they surprise 
 some heedless unsuspecting wretch, who is instantly de- 
 capitated. Sometimes, too, they surprise a solitary fisherman 
 in a river, or on the shore, who undergoes the same fate. 
 When the hunter returns, the whole village is filled with joy, 
 and old and young, men and women, hurry out to meet him, 
 and conduct him with the sound of brasen cymbals, dancing 
 in lono; lines to the house of the female he admires, whose 
 family likewise come out to greet him with dances, pro- 
 vide him a seat, and give him meat and drink. He still holds 
 the bloody head in his hand, and puts part of the food into 
 its mouth, after which, the females of the family receive the 
 head from him, which they hang up to the ceiling over the 
 door. 
 
 If a man’s wdfe die, he is not permitted to make proposals 
 of marriage to another, till he has provided another head of 
 a dilferent tribe, as if to revenge the death of his deceased 
 
MARRIAGE. — ANCIENT MODES OF MOURNING. 613 
 
 wife. The heads procured in this manner, they preserve with 
 great care, and sometimes consult in divination. The re- 
 ligious opinions connected with this practice, are by no means 
 correctly understood. Some assert, that they believe that 
 every person whom a man kills in this world, becomes his 
 slave in the next. The Idaan, it is said, think that the 
 entrance into paradise is over a long tree, which serves for 
 a bridge, over which it is impossible to pass without the 
 assistance of a slave slain in tliis world. 
 
 The practice of stealing heads causes frequent wars among 
 the difi'erent tribes of the Idaan. Many persons never can 
 obtain a head, in which case tliey are generally despised by 
 the warriors and the women. To such a height is it carried, 
 how'ever, that a person who had obtained eleven heads, hag 
 been seen by Mr. Burn ; and he pointed out his son, a young 
 hd, who had procured three. 
 
 Ancient Modes of Mourning. — Amongst the ancient 
 Jews, on the death of their relations or intimate friends, 
 mourning was expressed by weeping, tearing their clothes, 
 smiting their breasts, or lacerating them with their nails, 
 pulling or cutting off their hair and beards, walking softly, 
 i. e. barefoot, lying upon the ground, fasting, or eating upon 
 the ground. They kept themselves close shut up in their 
 houses, covered their faces, and abstained from all work, even 
 reading the law, and saying their usual prayers. They neither 
 dressed tliemselves, nor made their beds, nor cut their nails, 
 nor went into the bath, nor saluted any body. The time of 
 mourning was generally seven days, less or more, according 
 to circumstances, but thirty days were thought sufficient 
 upon the severest occasions. The different periods of the 
 time of mourning required different degrees of grief, and 
 different tokens of it. 
 
 The Greeks, on the death of their friends, shew'ed their 
 sorrow by secluding themselves from all gaiety, entertain- 
 ments, games, public solemnities, wine, and music. They 
 sat in gloomy and solitary places, stripped themselves of all 
 external ornaments, put on a coarse black stuff by way of 
 mourning, tore their hair, shaved their heads, rolled them- 
 selves in the dust and mire, sprinkled ashes on their heads, 
 smote their breasts with their palms, tore their faces, and 
 frequently cried out with a lamentable voice and drawlhig 
 tone. At tlie funerals of soldiers, their fellow soldiers, as a 
 testimony of their affliction, held their shields, their spears, 
 and the rest of their armour, inverted. 
 
 The tokens of private grief among the Romans, were the 
 same as those among the Greeks. Black or dark brown were 
 the colours of the mourning habits worn by the men ; they were 
 
614 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 also common to the women. The mourning- of the emperors 
 at first was black. In the time of Augustus, the women were 
 white veils, and the rest of their dress was black. From the 
 time of Domitian, they wore nothing but white habits, without 
 any ornaments of gold, jewels, or pearls. The men let their 
 hair and beards grow, and wore no wreaths of flowers on their 
 heads, while the days of mourning continued. The longest 
 time of mourning was ten months : this was Numa’s establish- 
 ment, and took in his whole year. For a widow to marry 
 during this time, was infamous. Mourning was not used for 
 children who died under three years of age. From this age 
 to ten. they mourned as many months as the child was years 
 old. A remarkable victory, or other happy event, occasioned 
 the shortening of the time of mourning. The birth of a child, 
 or the attainment of any remarkable honour in the family, 
 certain feasts in honour of the gods, or the consecration of a 
 temple, had the same effect. After the defeat at Cannse, the 
 commonwealth decreed that mourning should not be worn for 
 more than thirty days, that the loss might be forgot as soon 
 as possible. When public magistrates died, or persons of 
 great note, also when any remarkable calamity happened, all 
 public meetings were intermitted, the schools of exercise, baths, 
 shops, temples, and all places of concourse, were shut up, 
 and the whole city put on a face of sorrow ; the senators laid 
 aside the laticlavey and the consuls sat in a lower seat than 
 ordinary. This was the custom of Athens also, and was 
 observed upon the death of Socrates, when the fickle Athe- 
 nians became sensible of the calamity their state had suffered 
 in the loss of that great and virtuous man. 
 
 The modes of mourning differ in various countries, as well 
 as the colours used for that end. In Europe, the ordinary 
 colour for mourning is black ; in China, it is white; in Turkey, 
 blue or violet ; in Egyp^t, yellow ; in Ethiopia, brown. White 
 obtained formerly in Castile, on the death of their princes. 
 Herrera observes, that the last time it was used was in 1498, 
 at the death of prince John. F2ach people assign their reasons 
 for the particular colour of their mourning: white is supposed 
 to denote purity ; yellow, that death is the end of human hopes, 
 in regard that leaves when they fall, and flowers when they 
 fade, become yellow ; brown denotes the earth, whither the 
 dead return; black, the privation of light; blu&expresses the 
 happiness which it is hoped the deceased does enjoy; and 
 purple or violet, sorrow on the one side, and hope on the other, 
 as being a mixture of black and blue. 
 
 Feasts among the Ancients of various Nations.— 
 All nations, whether savage or civilized, have regarded the 
 pleasures of the table as the occasion of the most agreeable 
 
FEASTS AMONG VARIOUS NATIONS. 
 
 016 
 
 society. This species of enjoyment (abstracted from its sus- 
 ^eptibiiity of abuse) makes but one family of all that it brings 
 together. It levels the distinctions introduced by policy or 
 prejudice, and disposes men to regard one another as brethren. 
 Here people feel t.he equality established by nature; here 
 they forget the evils of life ; extinguish their animosities, and 
 drop their enmities. For this reason Aristotle considers as a 
 breach of the social principle, that custom of the Egyptians 
 of eating apart, and praises the convivial repasts established 
 by Minos and Lycurgus. 
 
 We learn from Herodotus, that the ancients had neither 
 cups nor bowls at their feasts, but that they drank out of little 
 horns tipt with silver or gold. The Greeks and Romans kept 
 a domestic, for the purpose of reading during their meals and 
 feasts. Sometimes the chief of the family himself performed 
 the office of reader ; and history informs us, that the Emperor 
 Severus often read while his family ate. The time of reading 
 was generally at supper; and guests were invited to a reading 
 as they are now-a-days to play at cards. 
 
 The Greeks, in their flourishing times, did not profane, 
 (according to their own expression) the holiness of the table, 
 but rather adorned it with ingenious and elegant conversation : 
 they proposed moral topics, of which Plutarch has preserved 
 a collection. Heroes rarely assembled convivially, without 
 bringing affairs of consequence into discourse, or deliberating 
 upon those that regarded either present events or future con- 
 tingencies. The Scythians, while at meat, used to make the 
 strings of their bows resound, lest their warlike virtues might 
 be enfeebled or lost in the season of pleasure. People of rank 
 among the Rhodians, by a fundamental law of the state, were 
 obliged to dine daily with those who had the management 
 of affairs, in order to deliberate with them concerning such 
 things as were necessary or useful for the country ; and on 
 this account the principal ministers of the kingdom were 
 obliged to keep open table for all who could be of use to the 
 state. The Persians also generally deliberated on business at 
 table, but never determined, or put their determinations in 
 execution, except iii the morning before eating. 
 
 Among the Romans, the place where they supped was gene- 
 rally the vestibule, that a more retired part of the house might 
 not encourage licentiousness and disorder. There were several 
 laws that restricted their meals to these vestibules. When 
 luxury reigned in Rome, they had su])erb halls for their enter- 
 tainments. Lucullus had many, each of which bore the name 
 of some deity ; and this name was a mark which indicated to 
 the servants the expense of the entertainment. The expense 
 of a supper in Lucullus’s hall of Apollo, amounted to fifty 
 thousand drachmas. Singers, dancers, musicians, stage-play- 
 
616 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 ers, jesters, and buffoons, were brought into these halls to 
 amuse the guests. 
 
 Plutarch informs us, that Caesar, after his triumphs, treated 
 the Roman people at twenty-two thousand tables ; and by 
 calculation it would seem, that there were at these tables up- 
 wards of two hundred thousand persons. The hall in which 
 Nero feasted, by the circular motion of its walls and ceiling, 
 imitated the revolutions of the heavens, and represented the 
 different seasons of the year, changing at every course, and 
 showering down flowers and perfumes on the guests. The 
 Romans did not, as we do, use but one table at their feasts; 
 they had generally two : the first was for the service of animal 
 food, which was afterwards removed, and another introduced 
 with fruits; at this last they sung, and poured out t’heir liba- 
 tions. The Greeks and eastern nations had the same custom, 
 and even the Jews in their solemn feasts, and at sacrifices. 
 The Romans, in the time of Nero, had tables made of citron- 
 wood brought from Mauritania; they were varnished with 
 purple and gold. Dion Cassius affirms, that Seneca had five 
 hundred of these, which he made use of one after another; 
 and Tertullian tells us, that Cicero had but one. The Romans 
 chose the king of the feast by a throw of the dice. At the 
 conclusion of the feast they drank out of a large cup, as often 
 as there were letters in the names of their mistresses. 
 
 Feasting seems to have been the chief delight of the Britons, 
 Germans, Gauls, and all the other Celtic nations ; in which 
 they indulged themselves to the utmost, as often as they had 
 opportunity. “ Among these nations (says M. Pellontier, in 
 ;his Hist. Celt. lib. ii. c. 12. p. 463.) there is no public as- 
 “Sembly, either for civil or religious purposes, duly held ; no 
 'birth-day, marriage, or funeral, properly celebrated ; no treaty 
 >of peace or alliance rightly cemented, — without a great feast.” 
 When the Germans, says Tacitus, wanted to reconcile enemies, 
 ito make alliances, to name chiefs, or to treat of war and 
 .peace, it was during the repast that they took counsel; a 
 'time in which the mind is most open to the impressions of 
 simple truths, or most easily animated to great attempts. 
 These artless people, during the conviviality of the feast, spoke 
 without disguise. Next day they weighed the counsels of the 
 ■former evening : they deliberated at a time when they were 
 .not disposed to feign, and took their resolution when they 
 were least liable to be deceived. It was by frequent enter- 
 tainments of this kind, that the great men or chieftains gained 
 the affections and rewarded the services of their followers ; and 
 those who made the greatest feasts were sure to be most 
 popular, and to have the greatest retinue. These feasts, in 
 which plenty was more regarded than elegance, lasted com- 
 monly several days, and the guests seldom retired until they 
 
FEASTS AMONG VARIOUS NATIONS. G17 
 
 had consumed all the provisions and exhausted all the 
 liquors. 
 
 Athenasus describes an entertainment that was given by 
 Arcamnes, a very wealthy prince of Gaul, which continued 
 a whole year without interruption, and at which all the people 
 of Gaul, and even all strangers who passed through that 
 country, were made welcome. At these feasts they some- 
 times consulted about the most important affairs of state, 
 and formed resolutions relating to peace and war; imagin- 
 ing that men spoke their real sentiments with the greatest 
 freedom, and were apt to form the boldest designs, when their 
 spirits were exhilarated with the pleasures of the table. The 
 conversation at these entertainments very frequently turned 
 on the great exploits, which the guests themselves, or their 
 ancestors, had performed in war; which sometimes occasioned 
 quarrels, and even bloodshed. It was at a feast that the two 
 illustrious British princes, Carbar and Oscar, quarrelled about 
 their own bravery and that of their ancestors, and fell by 
 mutual wounds. — Ossian, vol. ii. p. 8, &c. 
 
 As to the drink used at those feasts, particularly in Britain 
 it seems probable, that before the introduction of agriculture 
 into the island, mead, or honey diluted with water, was the 
 only strong liqu'^r known to its inhabitants, as it was to many 
 other ancient nations in the same circumstances. This con- 
 tinued to be a favourite beverage among the ancient Britons 
 and their posterity, long after they had become acquainted 
 with other liquors, fSee Mead.) After the introduction of 
 agriculture, ale or beer became the most general drink of all 
 the British nations who practised that art, as it had long been 
 of all the Celtic people on the continent, ("See Ale.) If the 
 Phcenicians or Greeks imported any wine into Britain, it was 
 only in very small quantities; that liquor being very little 
 known in this island before it was conquered by the Romans. 
 The drinking vessels of the Gauls, Britons, and other Celtic 
 nations, were for the most part made of the horns of oxen 
 and other animals; but those of the Caledonians consisted 
 of large shells, which are still used by some of their posterity 
 in the Highlands of Scotland. 
 
 The dishes in which the meat was served up were either of 
 wood or earthenware, or a kind of baskets made of osiers. 
 These last were most used by the Britons, as they very much 
 excelled in the art of making them, both for their own use 
 and for exportation. The guests sat in a circle upon the 
 ground, with alittle hay, grass, or the skinof someanimal, under 
 them. A low table or stool was set before each person, with 
 the portion of meat allotted to him upon it. In this distribu- 
 tion, they never neglected to set the largest and best pieces 
 before those who were most distinguished for their rank, 
 
 41 
 
C18 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 their exploits, or their riches. Every guest took the meat se< 
 before him in his hands* and, tearing it with his teeth, fed 
 upon it in the best manner he could. If any one found diffi- 
 culty in separating any part of his meat with his hands and 
 teeth, he made use of a large knife, that lay in a particular 
 place for the benefit of the whole company. Servants, or 
 young boys and girls, the children of the family, stood behind 
 the guests, ready to help them to drink, or any thing they 
 wanted. 
 
 As the ancient Britons greatly excelled, and very much 
 delighted in, music, all their feasts were accompanied with 
 the 'oys of song, and the music of harps. In the words of 
 Ossran, (vol. ii. p. 9, &c.) “ whenever the feast of shells is 
 prepared, the songs of bards arise. The voice of sprightly 
 mirth is heard. The trembling harps of joy are strung. They 
 sing the battles of heroes, or the heaving breasts of love.’^ 
 Some of the poems of that illustrious British bard appear to 
 have been composed in order to be sung by the hundred 
 bards of Fingal, at the feasts of Selma, (see vol. i. p. 87, 209.) 
 Many of the songs of the bards, which were sung and played 
 at the feasts of the ancient Britons, were of a grave and solemn 
 strain, celebrating the brave actions of the guests, or of the 
 heroes of other times; but these were sometimes intermixed 
 with sprightly and cheerful airs, to which the youth of both 
 sexes danced. It has been observed by some authors, that 
 no nation comes near the English in the magnificence of their 
 feasts. Those made at our coronations, instalments, conse- 
 crations, &c. transcend the belief of foreigners ; and yet it is 
 doubted whether those now in use are comparable to the feasts 
 of former ages. 
 
 William the Conqueror, after he was peaceably settled on 
 the throne of England, sent agents into different countries, to 
 collect the most admired and rare dishes for his table ; by 
 which means, says John of Salisbury, this island, which is 
 naturally productive of plenty and variety of provisions, was 
 overflowed with every thing that could inflame a luxurious 
 appetite. The same writer tells us, that he was present at an 
 entertainment which lasted from three p. m. to midnight, at 
 which delicacies were served up, which had been brought 
 from Constantinople, Babylon, Alexandria, Palestine, Tripoli, 
 Syria, and Phoenicia. These delicacies were doubtless very 
 expensive. Thomas Becket (says his historian Fitz-Stephen) 
 gave £5, equivalent to £75 at present, for one dish of eels. 
 The sumptuous entertainments which the kings of England 
 
 f ave to their nobles and prelates, at the festivals of Christmas, 
 laster, and Whitsuntide, in which they spent a great part ol 
 their revenues, contributed very much to diffuse a taste for 
 profuse and expensive banqueting. It was natural for a proud 
 
'f 
 
FEASTS AMONG VARIOUS NATIONS. 
 
 619 
 
 and wealthy baron to imitate, in his own castle, the enteitain- 
 ments he had seen in the palace of his prince. Many of the 
 clergy, toa, both seculars and regulars, being very rich, kept 
 excellent tables. 
 
 The monks of St. Swithin’s, at Winchester, made a formal 
 complaint to Henry II. against their abbot, for taking away 
 three of the 13 dishes they used to have every day at 
 dinner. The monks of Canterbury were still more luxurious : 
 for they had at least 17 dishes every day, besides a dessert; 
 and these dishes were dressed with spiceries and sauces, 
 which excited the appetite as well as pleased the taste. Great 
 men had some kinds of provisions at their tables, that are 
 not now to be found in Britain. 
 
 When Henry II. entertained his own court, the great officers 
 of his army, with all the kings and great men of Ireland, in 
 Dublin, at the feast of Christmas, A. D. 1171, the Irish princes 
 and chieftains were quite astonished at the profusion and 
 variety of provisions which they beheld, and were with difficulty 
 prevailed upon by Henry to eat the flesh of cranes, a kind of 
 food to which they had not been accustomed. In the remain- 
 ing monuments of this period, we meet with the names of 
 several dishes, as delle gr out, mavpi gy r num, karumpie, ihQ 
 composition of which is now unknown. 
 
 The coronation feast of Edward III. cost £2835. 18s. 2d. 
 equivalent to about £40,000 of our money. At the installation 
 of Ralph, abbot of St. Augustine, Canterbury, A. D. 1309, 
 6000 guests were entertained with a dinner, consisting of 
 3000 dishes, which cost £287. 5s. equal in value to £4300 
 in our times. ** It would require a long treatise (says Matthew 
 Paris) to describe the astonishing splendour, magnificence, 
 and festivity, with which the nuptials of Richard Earl of Corn- 
 wall, and Cincia daughter of Raymond Earl of Provence, were 
 celebrated at London, A. D. 1243. To give the reader some 
 idea of it, in a few words, above 30,000 dishes were served 
 up at the marriage dinner.” 
 
 The nuptials of Alexander III. of Scotland, and the princess 
 Margaret of England, were solemnized at York, A. D. 1251, 
 with still greater pomp and profusion. If I attempted (says 
 M. Paris) to display all the grandeur of this solemnity,— the 
 numbers of the noble and illustrious guests, — the richness and 
 variety of the dresses, — the sumptuousness of the feasts, — the 
 multitudes of the minstrels, mimics, and others whose busi- 
 ness it was to amuse and divert the company, those of my 
 readers who were not present, would imagine that I was im- 
 posing upon their credulity. The following particular will 
 enable them to form a judgment of the whole. The arch- 
 bishop of York made the King of England a present of 60 fat 
 oxen; which made only one article of provision for the 
 
(520 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 marriage feast, and were all consumed at that entertainment 
 The marriage feast of Henry IV. and his queen, Jane of Navarre, 
 consisted of six courses; three of flesh and fowl, and three 
 of fish. All these courses were accompanied and adorned 
 with suttleties, as they were called. These suttleties were 
 figures in pastry, of men, women, beasts, birds, &c. placed on 
 the table, to be admired, but not touched. Each figure had 
 a label affixed to it, containing some wise or witty saying, 
 suited to the occasion of the feast, which was the reason they 
 were called suttleties.’’ 
 
 The installation feast of George Neville, archbishop ot 
 York, and chancellor of England, exceeded all others in 
 splendour and expense, and in the number and quality of the 
 guests. The reader may form some idea of this enormous 
 feast, from the following list of provisions prepared for it. In 
 wheat, 300 quarters; in ale, 300 tuns; in wine,. 100 tuns; in 
 ypocrasse pipes, 1 ; in oxen, 104; in wild bulls, 6; in muttons, 
 1000; in veals, 304; in porks, 304; in swans, 400; in geese, 
 2000; in capons, 1000; in pigs, 2000; in plovers, 400; in 
 quails, 1200; in fowls called rees, 2400; in peacocks, 104; in 
 mallards and teals, 4000; in cranes, 204; in kids, 204; in 
 chickens, 2000; in pigeons, 2000 ; in conies 4000; in bitterns, 
 204; in heronshaws, 400; in pheasants, 200 ; in partridges, 
 500; in woodcocks, 400; in curlews, 100; in egritis, 1000; 
 in stags, bucks, and roes, 500 and more; in pasties of venison, 
 cold, 4000; in parted dishes of jellies, 1000; in plain dishes 
 of jellies, 3000; in cold tarts, baked, 4000; in cold custards, 
 baked, 3000 ; iu hot pasties of venison, 1500; in hot custards, 
 2000; in pikes and breams, 308; in porpoises and seals, 12: 
 spices, sugared delicates, and wafers, plenty. No turkeys are 
 mentioned in this enormous bill of fare, because they were 
 not then known in England. Cranes, heronshaws, porpoises, 
 and seals, are seldom seen at modern entertainments. One 
 of the most expensive singularities attending the royal feasts 
 in those days, consisted in what they called Litermeats. These 
 were representations of battles, sieges, &c. introduced between 
 the courses, for the amusement of the guests. The French 
 excelled in exhibitions of this kind. At a dinner given by 
 Charles V. of France to the emperor Charles IV. A. D. 1378, 
 the following intermeat was exhibited : a ship, with masts, 
 sails, and rigging, was seen first ; she had for colours the arms 
 of the city of Jerusalem : Godfrey of Bouillon appeared upon 
 deck, accompanied by several knights armed cap-a-pie: the 
 ship advanced into the middle of the hall, without the machine 
 which moved it being perceptible. Then the city of Jerusalem 
 appeared, with all its towers lined with Saracens. The ship 
 approached the city ; the Christians landed, and began to as- 
 sault, while the besieged made a good defence : several scall^ig* 
 
ANCIENT PERSIAN SOLDIERS 
 

 ■ 
 
 nwmm 650 ^**'* 
 
 I 
 
FEAST OF LANTERNS. 
 
 621 
 
 ladders were thrown down ; but at length the city was taken. 
 Intermeats at ordinary banquets consisted of certain delicate 
 dishes, introduced between the courses, and designed rather 
 for gratifying the taste, than for satisfying hunger. At those 
 feasts, besides ale and cider, there were great quantities of 
 wine of various kinds. Of these, a poet who wrote in the 
 fourteenth century, gives an ample enumeration ; wherein he 
 mentions ypocrasse, malespine, algrade, garnade, and other 
 kinds now hardly known. Some of these liquors, as ypocrasse, 
 pyment, and claret, were compounded of wine, honey, anc 
 spices, of different kinds, and in different proportions. 
 
 The chapter concludes with the Feast of Lanterns. — In 
 China, this is a celebrated festival, held from the thirteenth to 
 the sixteenth day of the first month ; so called from the im- 
 mense number of lanterns hung out of the houses and streets; 
 which, it is said, is no less than two hundred millions. On 
 this day are exposed lanterns of all prices, whereof some are 
 said to cost two thousand crowns. Some of their grandees 
 retrench somewhat every day out of the regular expenses of 
 their table, dress, equipage, &c. to appear the more mag- 
 nificent in their lanterns. They are adorned with gilding, 
 sculpture, painting, japanning, &c. and their size is extrava- 
 gant ; some being from twenty-five to thirty feet diameter, 
 representing halls and chambers. Two or three such machines 
 together would make handsome houses ; so that in China they 
 are able to eat, lodge, receive visits, hold balls, and act plays, 
 in a lantern. To illuminate them, they light up in them an in- 
 credible number of torches or lamps, which at a distance have 
 a beautiful effect. .In these they exhibit various kinds of 
 shows, to divert the people. Besides these enormous lanterns, 
 there is a multitude of smaller ones, each about four feet high, 
 and one and a half broad. 
 
622 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 CHAP. LXII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND.-- 
 
 ( Continued , ) 
 
 Origin of the Sheriff's counting Hobnails — Origin of the Order 
 of the Garter — Origin and History of the Claim and Allow- 
 ance of the *Beneft of Clergy* in Criminal Convictions--- 
 Curious Tenures — The Origin of May Poles and Garlands — 
 Curious Custom at Oakham — Curious Practice in North Hol- 
 land- 
 
 Origin of the Sheriff's counting Hobnails. — This 
 is not an absurd custom of antiquity, such as nobody knows 
 when it begun, or why it is continued ; but it originated from 
 the following circumstances : — 
 
 In former times, when money was very scarce, and when 
 we had no larger coin than a penny, the reserved rents or 
 grants of lands or tenements, especially small ones, were 
 usually paid in something that had a reference to the nature 
 of the thing granted, or the occupation of the grantee. 
 
 The two following extracts from records in the Exchequer, 
 with the translation, will clear up the point. 
 
 Walter de Brim Mareschallus, de Stranda, redit compotum 
 de sex femis equorum, pro habenda quadam placea in Paro- 
 chia St. dementis, ad fabrica quam ibidem locandam.” — 
 Mag. Rot. 19. Henry III. 
 
 “ Walter Mareschallus, ad Crucem Lapideam, redit sex ferra 
 equorum cum clavibus, pro quadam fabrica quam de Rege 
 tenet in capite ex opposite crucis lapidea.” — Memor. 1. Ed- 
 ward I. 
 
 “ Walter le Brun, Mareshall, or farrier, of the Strand, renders 
 six horse-slioes, to have a certain place in the parish of St. 
 Clement’s, to build a forge there.” — Great Rolls of the I9th 
 Henry III. 
 
 “Walter Mareshal. or the farrier at the Stone Cross, ren 
 ders six horse-shoes wuth their nails, for (or as a reserved rent) 
 a certain forge, opposite to the stone cross, which he holds of 
 the king in capite.” — Memoranda Rolls in the Exchequer of the 
 first year of King Edward the Eirst. 
 
 The first of these points out the beginning, as w'ell as the 
 reason, of the payment of these horse-shoes and nails; for it 
 w^as to have a piece of ground to build a forge on, therefore 
 that must be the first payment. The nineteenth year of Henry 
 the Third falls in with 1234, now five hundred and eighty-eight 
 years ago. In process of time, this piece of ground, and 
 
ORDER OF THE GARTER. BENEFIT OF CLERGY. 623 
 
 buildings on it, came to the mayor and citizens of Lo idon ; 
 and they, by the sheriffs, have continued to render them into 
 the Exchequer annually to this day. 
 
 The spot where the stone cross once stood had afterwards 
 a Maypole erected on it, which many now living can well 
 remember. 
 
 Origin of the Order of the Garter. — This is vari- 
 ously related by historians. The common and not improbable 
 account is, that the Countess of Salisbury, happening at a ball 
 to drop her garter, the King took it up, and presented it to her 
 in these words, “ Honi soit qui mal y pense i. e. Evil to him 
 that evil thinks. This accident gave rise to the order and the 
 motto ; it being the spirit of the times to mix love and war 
 together. In the original statutes, however, there is not the 
 least hint of allusion to such a circumstance, farther than is 
 conveyed in the motto. — Camden, Fern, &c. take the order 
 to have been instituted on occasion of the victory obtained by 
 Edward over the French, at the battle of Cressy. That prince, 
 says some historians, ordered his garter to be displayed as a 
 signal of battle ; in commemoration whereof, he made a garter 
 the principal ornament of the order erected in memory of this 
 signal victory, and the symbol of this indissoluble union of 
 the knights. And they account for the motto, that king Ed- 
 ward having laid claim to the kingdom of France, denounced 
 shame and defiance upon him that should dare to think amiss 
 of the just enterprise he had undertaken for recovering his 
 lawful rights to that crown ; and that the bravery of those 
 knights whom he had elected into this order was such as would 
 enable him to maintain the quarrel against those that thought 
 ill of it. This interpretation, however, appears to be rather 
 forced. — A still more ancient origin of this order is given in 
 Rostel’s Chronicle, lib. vi. quoted by Granger, in the Supple- 
 ment to his Biographical History : viz. that it was devised by 
 Richard I. at the siege of Acre, when he caused twenty-six 
 knights, who firmly stood by him, to wear thongs of blue 
 leather about their legs ; and that it was revived and perfected 
 in the nineteenth year of Edward III. 
 
 Origin and History of the Claim and Allowance 
 of the ‘Benefit of Clergy’ in Criminal Convic- 
 tions. 
 
 The following learned dissertation is extracted from ‘ Chit- 
 ty’s Practical Treatise on the Criminal Law.’ 
 
 “ By far the most important circumstance interveningbetween 
 conviction and judgment, is the claim and allowance of the 
 Benefit of Clergy, in those cases where it is by law to be 
 granted. It is of course claimed immediately before judgment 
 
624 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 at the assizes. This is one of the most singular relics of old 
 superstition, and certainly the most important. That, by a 
 mere form, without the shadow of existing reason to support 
 it, the severity of the common law should be tempered, may 
 seem strange to those who have been accustomed to regard 
 our criminal law as a regular fabric, not only attaining great 
 practical benefit, but built upon solid and consistent princi- 
 ples. The IBemjit of Clergy is, no doubt, of great practical 
 advantao-e, compared to the dreadful list of offences which 
 would otherwise be punished as capital ; but it would be well 
 worthy of an enlightened age to forsake such a subterfuge, 
 and at once, without resorting to it, to apportion the degree 
 of suffering to the atrocity and the danger of the crimes. 
 
 ** The history of this singular mode of pardon, if so it can 
 be termed, is both curious and instructive. In the early pe- 
 riods of European civilization, after the final destruction of 
 the Roman empire, the church obtained an influence in the 
 political affairs of nations, which threw a peculiar colouring 
 over their original institutions. Monarchs who were desirous 
 of atoning^ for atrocious offences, or of obtaining; the sanction 
 of heaven to their projects of ambition, were easily persuaded 
 .0 confer immunities on the clergy, whom they regarded as 
 the vicegerents of God. Presuming on these favours, that 
 aspiring body soon began to claim as a right what had been 
 originally conferred as a boon, and to found their demand to 
 civil exemptions on a divine and indefeasible charter, derived 
 from the text of scripture, “ Touch not mine anointed, and do 
 my prophets no harm.” It need exceed no surprise that they 
 were anxious to take advantage of their dominion over the 
 conscience, to exempt themselves from the usual consequences 
 of crime. To the priests, impunity was a privilege of no in- 
 considerable value. And so successful was the pious zeal to 
 shield those who were dedicated to religion from the conse- 
 quences of any breach of temporal enactments, that in several 
 countries they obtained complete exemption from all civil 
 liabilities, and declared themselves responsible only to the 
 pope and his ecclesiastical ministers. They erected them- 
 selves int:) an independent community, and even laid the 
 temporal authorities under subjection. Nobles were intimi- 
 dated into vast pecuniary benefactions, and princes trembled 
 at the terrors of spiritual denunciation. In England, however, 
 this authority was always comparatively feeble. The complete 
 exemption of the clergy from secular punishments, though 
 often claimed, was never universally admitted : for repeated 
 objections were made to the demand of the bishop and ordi- 
 nary to have the clerks remitted to them as soon as they were 
 indicted. At length, however, it was finally settled in the 
 reign of Henry VI. that the prisoner should first be arraigned, 
 
BENEFIT OF CLERGY. 
 
 625 
 
 and might then claim the Benefit of the Clergy as an excuse 
 for pleading, or migh't demand it after conviction : and the 
 latter of these courses has been almost invariably adopted, to 
 allow the prisoner the chance of a verdict of acquittal. 
 
 But if the privileges of the church were less dangerous in 
 England than on the continent, they soon became more exten- 
 sive. They not only embraced every order of clergymen, but 
 were claimed for every subordinate officer of religious houses, 
 with the numerous classes of their retainers. And so liberal 
 was the application of these dangerous benefits, that, at length, 
 every one who in those days of ignorance was able to read, 
 though not even initiated in holy orders, began to demand them, 
 such reading being deemed evidence of his clerical profession. 
 The privileges of the clergy were recognized and confirmed by 
 statute in the reign of Edward the Third. It was then enacted, 
 that all manner of clerks, secular as well as religious, should 
 enjoy the privileges of holy church for all treasons or felonies ex- 
 cept those immediately affecting his majesty. To the advantage 
 of this provision, all who could read were admitted. But as 
 learning became more common, this extensive interpretation 
 was found so injurious to the security of social life, that the 
 legislature, notwithstanding the opposition of the church, 
 were compelled to afford a partial remedy. 
 
 “ In the reign of Henry the Seventh, a distinction was drawn 
 between persons actually in holy orders, and those who, in 
 other respects secular, were able to read ; by which the latter 
 were only allowed the benefit of their learning once, and, on 
 receiving it, to be branded in the left thumb with a hot iron, 
 in order to afford evidence against them on any future occa- 
 sion. The church seems to have lost ground in the succeed- 
 ing reign, probably in consequence of the separation of 
 England from the sway of the Roman pontiff’; for all persons, 
 though actually in orders, were rendered liable to be branded, 
 in the same way as the learned class of laymen. But, in the 
 time of Edward the Sixth, the clergy were restored to all the 
 riglits of which they were deprived by his predecessor, except 
 as to certain atrocious crimes, which it became necessary more 
 uniformly to punish. At the same time, some of the more 
 enormous evils attendant on this general impunity were done 
 away. Murder, poisoning, burglary, highway-robbery, and 
 sacrilege, were excepted from all that privilege which was 
 confirmed as to inferior offences. But peers of the realm, for 
 the first offence were to be discharged, in every case, except 
 murder and poisoning, even though unable to read. 
 
 But here we must pause, before we proceed to follow the 
 gradual improvement of this privilege, to inquire what was 
 originally done with an offender to whom it was allowed by 
 those ecclesiastical authorities who claimed the right of 
 
 4 K 
 
626 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 judging him, and in what manner the power of the church in 
 this respect was ultimately destroyed. It appears, that after 
 a layman was burnt in the hand, a clerk discharged on 
 reading, or a peer without either burning or penalty, he was 
 delivered to the ordinary, to be dealt with according to the 
 ecclesiastical canons. Upon this, the clerical authorities in- 
 stituted a kind of purgation, the real object of which was to 
 make him appear innocent, who had already been shewn to 
 be guilty, and to restore him to all those capacities of which 
 his conviction had deprived him. To effect this, the party him- 
 self was required to make oath of his innocence, though before 
 he might have confessed himself guilty. Then twelve com- 
 purgators were called to testify their belief in the falsehood of 
 the charges. Afterwards he brought forward witnesses com- 
 pletely to establish that innocence, of which he had induced so 
 weighty a presumption. Finally, it was the office of the jury to 
 acquit him ; and they seldom failed in their duty. If, however, 
 from any singular circumstance, they agreed in the justice of 
 'the conviction, the culprit w-as degraded, and compelled to do 
 penance. As this seldom occurred, and the most daring per- 
 juries were thus perpetually committed, the courts of common 
 law were soon aroused to abridge the power of these clerical 
 tribunals. They, therefore, sometimes delivered over the 
 privileged of felony, when his guilt was very atrocious, with- 
 out allowing him to make purgation ; the effect of which 
 proceedings was, his perpetual imprisonment, and incapacity 
 to acquire personal or to enjoy real estate, unless released by 
 his majesty's pardon. But the severity of this proceeding 
 almost rendered it useless; and it became absolutely neces- 
 sary for the legislature to interfere, in order to prevent the 
 contemptible perjuries which this absurd ceremony produced 
 under the sanction and pretence of religion. This desirable 
 object was effected in the reign of Elizabeth ; and the party, 
 after being allowed his clergy, and burnt in the hand, was to 
 be discharged without any interference of the church to annul 
 his conviction. 
 
 “ The clerical process being thus abolished, it was thought 
 proper, at the same time, to empower the temporal judges to 
 inflict a further punishment where they should regard it as 
 proper. The eighteenth Elizabeth, c. vii. empowered them, 
 therefore, to direct the convict to be imprisoned for a year or 
 any shorter period. But the law on this subject was still in 
 many respects imperfect. Females were still liable to the 
 punishment of death, wdthout any exemption, in all cases of 
 simple felony ; because, being never eligible to the clerical 
 office, they were not included in any of the extensions of the 
 Benefit oj Clergy, No other proof need be adduced to shew 
 the absurdity of the very foundations of the system. At length 
 
BENEFIT OF CLERGY, 
 
 627 
 
 it was enacted that women convicted of simple larcenies 
 under the value 10s. should be punished with burning in the 
 hand and whipping, exposure in the stocks, or imprisonment 
 for any period less than a year. And in the reign of William 
 and Mary they were admitted to all the privileges of men, in 
 clergiable felonies, on praying the benefit of the statute ; 
 though they can only once be allowed this means of escaping. 
 In the same reign, the punishment of burning in the hand was 
 changed for a more visible stigma on the cheek, but was soon 
 afterwards brought back to the original practice. 
 
 “ Hitherto all laymen except peers, who, on their convic- 
 tion, were found unable to read, were liable to suffer death 
 for every clergiable felony. But it was at length discovered, 
 that ignorance, instead of an aggravation, was an excuse for 
 guilt, and that the ability to read was no extenuation of crime; 
 and, therefore, by fifth Ann, c. vi. the idle ceremony of read- 
 ing w’as abolished, and all those who were before entitled to 
 clergy on reading, w’ere now to be admitted without any such 
 form to its benefits. At the same time it was sensibly felt 
 that the branding, which had dwindled into a mere form, and 
 the year’s imprisonment which the judges were empowered to 
 inflict, were very inadequate punishments for many clergiable 
 offences ; and, therefore, the court were authorized to commit 
 the offenders to the house of correction for any time not less 
 than six months nor exceeding two years, and to double it in 
 case of escaping. 
 
 “ Further alterations have since been made in the penalties 
 consequent upon clergy. The fourth Geo. 1. c. xi. and sixth 
 Geo. I. c. xxiii. provide, that the court, on the allowance of 
 this benefit for any larceny whether grand or petty, or other 
 felonious theft not excluded from the statutable indulgence,, 
 may, instead of judgment of burning in case of men, and 
 \\ hipping in that of females, direct the offender to be trans- 
 ported for seven years to America, which has been since 
 altered to any part of his majesty’s colonies. To return withini 
 the period, was, at the same time, made felony without Benefit 
 ()/ C/ergi/. And by several subsequent provisions, many wise 
 alterations have been made respecting transportation, and the 
 mode of treating offenders while under its sentence. 
 
 “ At length the burning in the hand u'as entirely done away, 
 and the judges were empowered to sentence the criminal, in its- 
 loom, and in addition to the former penalties, to a pecuniary 
 line, or, except in the case of manslaughter, to private whip- 
 ping, not more than thrice to be inflicted, in the presence of 
 rhree witnesses. Provisions were at the same time made for 
 ’ Oe employment of this description of convicts in penitentiary 
 houses, where a system of reformation might be adopted, 
 and an experiment made how far punishment might become 
 
628 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 conducive to its noblest and most legitimate use — the reform- 
 ation and benefit of the offender. But this regulation, though 
 applauded by Blackstone and other humane writers, after 
 having been continued by several subsequent acts, was re- 
 cently suffered to expire. It "appears from these several 
 modern regulations, that, as observed by Mr. Justice Foster, 
 we now consider Benejit of Clergy , or rather the benefit of the 
 statutes, as a relaxation of the rigour of the law, a condescen- 
 sion to the infirmities of the human frame, exempting offend- 
 ing individuals in some cases from the punishment of death, 
 and subjecting them to milder punishment; and therefore, in 
 the case of clergiable felonies, we now profess to measure the 
 degree of punishment by the real enormity of the offence, and 
 not, as the ignorance and superstition of former times sug- 
 gested, by a blind respect for sacred persons or sacred func- 
 tions, nor by an absurd distinction between subject and 
 subject, originally owing to impudent pretension on one hand, 
 and to mere fanaticism on the other.” 
 
 Clrious 'I'enures. — A farm at Broadhouse, in Langsett, 
 in the parish ofPeniston, and county of York, pays yearly to 
 (Godfrey Bosville, Esq. ‘a snow-ba-11 at Midsummer, and a red 
 rose at Christmas.’ 
 
 William de Albermarle holds the manor of Boston, ‘ by the 
 service of finding, for our lord the king, two arrows, and one 
 loaf of oat bread, when he should hunt in the forest of Eart- 
 rnoor.’ 
 
 Solomon Attefield held land at Repland and Atterton, in 
 ■the county of Kent, upon condition ‘ that as often as our lord 
 ■the king would cross the sea, the said Solomon and his heirs 
 •ought to go along with him, to hold his head on the sea, if it 
 was needful.* 
 
 John Compes had the manor of Finchfield given him by 
 Edward III. for the service of* turning the spit at his corona- 
 ^tion.’ 
 
 Geoffrey Frumbrand held sixty acres of land in Wingfield, 
 tin the county of Suffolk, by the service of paying yearly to 
 ■our lord the king two white doves. John de Roches holds 
 •the manor of Winterslew, in Wiltshire, by the service that 
 when the king should abide at Clarendon, he should go into 
 the butlery of the king’s palace there, and draw, out of what- 
 ever vessel be chose, as much wdne as should be needful for 
 .making a pitcher of claret, which he should make at the 
 king’s expense, and that he should serve the king with a cup, 
 and should have the vessel whence he took the wine, with all 
 the wine then in it, together with the cup whence the king 
 should drink the claret. 
 
 The town of Yarmouth is, by charter, bound to send the 
 
629 
 
 ORIGIN OF MAY-POLES AND GARLANDS. 
 
 sheriffs of Norwich a hundred herrings, which are to be 
 baked in twenty-four pies or patties, and delivered to the 
 lord of the manor of East Carlton, who is to convey them to 
 the king. 
 
 At the coronation of James 11. the lord of the manor of 
 Heyden, in Essex, claimed to hold the basin and ewer to the 
 king by virtue of one moiety, and the towel by virtue of the 
 other moiety of the'manor, whenever the king washed before 
 dinner; but the claim was allowed only as to the towel 
 
 The privileges of the great officers of the ancient British 
 court, were particularly striking. Each was annually pre- 
 sented by the king and queen with a piece of linen and 
 woollen cloth, besides some old clothes from the royal ward- 
 robe. The king’s riding-coat was three times a year given to 
 the master of the mews ; his caps, saddles, bits, and spurs, 
 became the perquisite of the master of the horse; and the 
 chamberlain appropriated to himself his old clothes and 
 bed-quilts. 
 
 The third in rank, in the court of the Anglo-Saxon kings, 
 was, the steward, who had a variety of perquisites, of which 
 the following were the most remarkable : — •* As much of every 
 cask of plain ale, and as much of every cask of ale with 
 spiceries, as he could reach with the second joint of the 
 middle finger; and as much of every cask of mead, as he could 
 reach with the first joint of the same finger.’ 
 
 Our next article is on The Origin of May Poles and 
 Garlands. — It was a custom among the ancient Britons, 
 before they were converted to Christianity, to erect May- 
 poles, adorned with flowers, in honour of the goddess Flora ; 
 and the dancing of milkmaids on* the first of May before 
 garlands, ornamented with flowers, is only a corruption of 
 the ancient custom, in compliance with other rustic amuse- 
 ments. 
 
 The leisure days after seed-time had been chosen by our 
 Saxon ancestors for folk-motes, or conventions of the people. 
 It was not till after the Norman conquest that the Pagan festival 
 ofWhitsuntide fullymelted into the Christian holiday of Pente- 
 cost. Its original name is Whittentide, the time of choosing 
 the wits or wisemen to the wittenagemotte. It was conse- 
 crated to Hertha, the goddess of peace and fertility; and no 
 quarrels might be maintained, no blood shed, during this truce 
 of the goddess. Each village, in the absence of the baron at 
 the assembly of the nations, enjoyed a kind of saturnalia. 
 The vassals met upon the common green around the May- 
 poles, where they erected a village lord, or king, as he was 
 called, who chose his queen. He wore an oaken, and she 
 a hawthorn wreath ; and together they gave laws to the rustic 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CLSTOMS. 
 
 630 
 
 sports during these sweet days of freedom. The May-pole, 
 then, was the English tree of liberty. How are these times 
 of village simplicity and merrifnent vanished ! 
 
 Curious Custom at Oakham. — Oakham is remarkable 
 for the following curious custom. Every peer of the realm, 
 the first time he comes within the precincts, forfeits a shoe 
 from his horse to the lord of the manor and castle, unless he 
 agreen to redeem it with money ; in which case a shoe is 
 made according to his direction, ornamented in proportion to 
 the sum given by way of fine, and nailed on the castle hall 
 door. Some shoes are of curious workmanship, and stamped 
 with the names of the donors : some are made very large, and 
 some gilt. An ancient poet says of this county, 
 
 “Small shire that can produce to thy proportion good. 
 
 One vale of special name, one forest, and one Hood.'’ 
 
 A Curious Practice in North Holland. — To every 
 house, of whatever quality, there is an artificial door, elevated 
 near three feet above the level of the ground, .and never 
 opened but upon two occasions. When any part of the 
 family marries, the bride and bridegroom enter the house by 
 this door; and when either of the parties die, the corpse is 
 carried out by the same door. Immediately after the due 
 ceremonies are performed in either of these cases, this door 
 is fastened up, never to turn on its hinges again, till some 
 new event of a similar nature demands its services. 
 
 CrfAP. LXIII 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND. — 
 
 ( Continued.) 
 
 Shrovetide — Candlemas Day — Origin of Valentine's Day— 
 Origin of I* lough Monday — Neiv Year's Gifts— Origin Oj 
 Christmas Boxes — Chiltern Hundreds — Origin of the Tern 
 ‘‘John Bull" — Origin of the Old Adage, “ if it rains on Si. 
 Swithin's Day, it will rain Forty Days afterwards" — Curfew 
 
 Shrovetide, — in its original meaning, signifies the time 
 of confessing sins to a priest. Tide refers to time; and 
 shrove, shrive, or shrift, are derived from the Saxon, and 
 signify confession. In the earlier constitution of the church, 
 it is ordered, ** That on the week next before Lent, every 
 
SHROVETIDE. 
 
 631 
 
 man should go to his shrift, and his shrift should slirive 
 him in such a manner as the deeds which he had done re- 
 quired.” 
 
 This custom of confessing to the priest at this season, was 
 laid asid^ at the Reformation. 
 
 Fitzstephen informs us, that anciently, on Shrove-Tuesday, 
 schoolboys used to bring '‘cocks of the game” to their 
 masters, and entertain themselves with cock-fighting. The 
 nr.asters presided at the battle, and claimed the runaway 
 cocks as their perquisite. 
 
 The custom of throwing at cocks on this day is not of very 
 ancient institution: it is gradually growing out of use; to 
 which amendment of our manners, the ingenious pencil of 
 Hogarth probably contributed. 
 
 Shrove-Tuesday is, in the north, called Pastern’s E’en, 
 because the following day is the commencement of Lent. 
 
 Shrove-Monday is also termed Collop-Monday ; in the 
 north, collops and eggs being on that day a constant dish, as 
 on the next day the Papists take leave of flesh. 
 
 Our custom of eating pancakes on Shrove-Tuesday, was 
 probably borrowed from the Greek church. The Russians 
 oegin their Lent always eight weeks before Easter; the first 
 week they eat eggs, milk, cheese, and butter, and make great 
 cheer with pancakes, and such other things. 
 
 In the Oxford almanacks, the Saturday preceding this day 
 is termed Festum Overum, Egg feast. 
 
 On Shrove-Tuesday, the people in every parish throughout 
 England were obliged, one by one, to confess their sins to 
 their own parish priests, in their own parish churches. And 
 that this might be done more regularly, the great bell in every 
 parish was rung at ten o’clock, or perhaps sooner, that it 
 might be heard by all, and that they might attend according 
 to the custom then in use. And though we are now Protest- 
 ants, yet the custom of ringing the great bell in an ancient 
 parish church still continues, and has the name of the pan- 
 cake bell, probably, because after the confession it was cus- 
 tomary to dine on pancakes or fritters ; and many people 
 even now have these articles as part of their dinner on this 
 day. 
 
 Th is used to be a great holiday amonst apprentices ; but 
 a contempt of old customs seems gaining ground in this 
 country, and those, or many of them above-mentioned, will 
 probably soon be forgotten. 
 
 Another account of the origin of frying pancakes on Shrove- 
 Tuesday, has been given. It is said that one Simon Eyre, 
 a shoemaker, being chosen lord-mayor of London, made a 
 pancake feast on Shrove-Tuesday for all the apprentices in 
 London ; and from that it became a custom. 
 
632 
 
 CDRIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 He ordered, that upon ringing of a bell in every parish, the 
 apprentices should leave work, and shut up their shops for 
 that day ; which being ever since yearly observed, is called 
 the pancake bell : he made them a large feast of puddings, 
 pies, and pancakes, and what remained, when all had dined, 
 was given to the poor ; afterwards in that year (1446,) he built 
 Leadenhall. 
 
 Candlemas Day. — This is the feast of the purification, 
 which was formerly celebrated with many lights in churches. 
 The custom of going in procession on Candlemas-day with 
 lighted candles in the hand, is said to have been derived from 
 the Romans, who went about Rome with torches, and candles 
 hrenniitg (burning) in worship of Februa, the mother of Mars. 
 This was afterwards, by Pope Fergius, converted into the 
 worship of our Lady, and her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Wheatley says, “ The practice of using abundance of liglits, 
 both in churches and processions, continued in England till 
 the second year of Edward VL when B.ishop Cranmer forbade 
 it, by order of the Privy Council.” 
 
 Valentin E^ s Day, — -Valentine was a pope, or bishop of 
 Rome, that lived in the ninth century ; who, on this day, 
 established an annual custom of the poorer 'clergy drawing- 
 patrons by lots for the commenced year; and these patrons, 
 or benefactors, vvere called Valentines. After his death lie 
 was canonized for a saint, and his feast-day kept on the four- 
 teenth day of February, which was thought to be his birth-day. 
 Mr. John Gordon, in his memoirs and account of the popes, 
 savs, “ that Valentine was too good a man to be a good pope, 
 and died forty days after his consecration, or instalment; 
 being choked with a fish-bone.” 
 
 This custom, in Britain, evidently appears to have been co- 
 pied by the laity from the clergy, in the days of popery, and 
 is a very ancient custom, being almost of a thousand years 
 standing. The birds too are supposed to choose their mates, 
 and pair, on this day ; which, no doubt, is an additional reason 
 to our youth of both sexes who are approaching to maturity, 
 to write their verses, and with much ingenuity ply scissars, pen. 
 and pencil, in honour of their selected or allotted lovers. 
 
 Plough-Monday.— This day is held on the ninth of Janu 
 ary, the Monday after Twelfth-day. The ploughmen, in the 
 north country, draw a plough from door to door, and beg 
 money for drink ; from whence this took its name. Plough- 
 Jay had its origin when the feudal system prevailed in this 
 country, when the lords and barons had their lands tilled by 
 their vassals, or tenants. The Christmas holidays terminated 
 
NEW year’s gifts. CHRISTMAS BOXES. 
 
 on Twelfth-day, and the ploughing season for the new vi-.,* 
 commenced the first Monday alter; on which day, the soek 
 men (as this* sort of ploughmen were then called) were obliged 
 to appear with their ploughs, &c. at a place appointed tlieie, 
 to have them examined, whether they were in a proper condi- 
 tion to perform their lord’s work; for ploughs were then sea ice, 
 and it was a mark of some consequence to possess one in 
 good order. Hence the appellation of Plough-Monday has 
 ever since being applied to the first Monday after Twelfth day. 
 It is conjectured, that the system of begging money arose at 
 a time when they could not plough the land on account of its 
 being frozen, as watermen drag about a boat in severe frosts, 
 and beg money, because they are then unable to ply on the 
 liver. 
 
 New Year’s Gifts. — Nonius Marcellus. refers the origin 
 of New Year’s Gifts among the Romans to Titus Tatius, king 
 of the Sabines, who reigned at Rome conjointly with Romu- 
 lus, and who, having considered as a good omen a present of 
 some branches cut in a wood consecrated to Strenua, the god- 
 dess of strength, which he received on the first day of the 
 new year, authorized this custom afterwards, and gave to 
 these persons the name of Streiia. The Romans on that day 
 celebrated a festival in honour of Janus, and paid their re- 
 spects at the same time to Juno; but they did not pass it in 
 idleness, lest they should become indolent during the rest of 
 the year. They sent presents to one another of figs, dates, 
 honey, &c. to shew their friends that they wished them a 
 happy and agreeable life. Clients, or those who were under 
 the protection of the great, carried presents of this kind to 
 their patrons, adding to them a small piece of silver. Under 
 Augustus, the senate, the knights, and the people, presented 
 such gifts to him, and in his absence deposited them in the 
 capitol. Of the succeeding princes, some adopted this custom, 
 and others abolished it; but it alw'ays continued among the 
 people. The early Christians condemned it, because it ap- 
 peared to be a relic of paganism, and a species of supersti- 
 tion ; but when it began to have no other object than that of 
 being a mark of esteem, the church ceased to disapprove 
 of it. 
 
 Christmas Boxes. — On looking into history, we find that 
 this custom derived its existence much about the time that 
 mass w as first said by a Catholic priest. Rome, which originally 
 gave birth to superstition, had an incredible number of clergy 
 to support, and, among other devices, this was invented as 
 one, and took its name of Mass from the Latin word mitto, to 
 ■end. This word mitto was a kind of remembrancer, or rather 
 
 4 L 
 
034 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS 
 
 dictator, which said, “ Send gifts, offerings, and oblations to 
 the priests, that they may intercede with Christ to save your 
 soul by saying so many iJiasses,** 
 
 Hence it was called Christ's mass, or, as it is now abbre- 
 viated, Christinas. Thus far the etymology of the word is 
 indisputable, and every man who has attended to the minutiae 
 of sacred history, must know the fact to be as here related. 
 The word box, is a part of the same priestcraft trade, and took 
 its origin from the following circumstance 
 
 Whenever a ship sailed from any of those ports where the 
 religious profession was under the authority of Rome, a certain 
 saint was always named, unto whose protection it*s safety was 
 committed, and in that ship there was a box, and into that 
 box every pour person put something, in onho to induce the 
 Di'iests to pray to that saint for the safe return ot the vessel; 
 which box was locked up by the priests, who said the money 
 fehould not be taken out until the vessel came back. 
 
 Chiltern Hundreds.* -Frequent mention is made of 
 members of parliament accepting the Chiltern Hundreds. 
 The following is the explanation : — 
 
 The Chiltern Hundreds are hundreds, or divisions of counties, 
 parcelled out by the wise Alfred, and now annexed to the 
 crown ; they still retain their peculiar courts. 
 
 The stewards of these courts are appointed by the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer; their salary is 20s. a year. As the 
 law enacts that a member of parliament who receives a place 
 under the Crown, may not sit, unless re-elected, — accepting the 
 stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds is merely a formal 
 manner of resigning a seat, when the member wishes to be 
 rechosen. 
 
 Origin of the term “John Bull.*' — Dr. John Bull was 
 the first Gresham professor of music, and organist and com- 
 poser to Queen Elizabeth. John, like a true Englishman, 
 travelled for improvement; and having heard of a famous mu- 
 siciai at St. Omer’s, he placed himself under him as a novice; 
 but a circumstance very soon convinced the master, that he 
 was inferior to the scholar. The musician shewed John a 
 song, which he had composed in Jhrtj/ parts! telling him at 
 the same time, that he defied all the world to produce a person 
 capable of adding another part to his composition. Bull 
 desired to be left alone, and to be indulged for a short time 
 ivith pen and ink. In less than three hours, he added forty 
 parts more to the song. Upon which the Frenchman was so 
 much surprised, that he swore in great ecstasy, he must be either 
 the Devil, or Ju/ui Bail; which has ever since been proverbial 
 in England. 
 
8T. SWITHIN’s day.- — CURFEW BELL. 
 
 €36 
 
 Origin of tl^e Old Adage, '* If it rains on Saint 
 Swithin’s Day, it will rain for Forty Days after- 
 wards.” 
 
 In the year 805, St. Swithin, bishop of Winchester, dying, 
 was canonized by the then pope. He was singular in his 
 desire to be buried in the open church-yard, and not in the 
 chancel of the minister, as was customary with the bishops ; 
 which request was complied with : but the monks, on his 
 being canonized, taking it into their heads that it was dis- 
 agreeable for the saint to lie in the open church-yard, resolved 
 to move his body into the choir, which was to have been done 
 in solemn procession on the 15th of July. It rained, however, 
 so violently on that day, and for forty days succeeding, as 
 had hardly ever been known, which made them set aside their 
 design, as contrary to the will of Heaven; and instead of 
 removing the body, they shewed their veneration by erecting 
 a chapel over his grave. 
 
 Origin of the Saying, when people speak improperly, 
 “That’s a Bull.” — This became a proverb from the re- 
 peated blunders of one Obadiah Bull, a lawyer of London 
 who lived in the reign of king Henry VII. 
 
 Curfew Bell. — The curfew bell (called, in the low Latin 
 of the middle ages, igriitegium, or peritegiiim, and in French, 
 couvrefew) was a signal for all persons ta extinguish their fires 
 at a certain hour. In those ages, people made fires in their 
 houses in a hole or pit in the centre of the floor, under an 
 opening formed in the roof; and when the fire was burnt out, 
 or the family went to bed, the hole was shut by a cover of 
 wood or earth. This practice still prevails among the cot- 
 tagers in some parts of Scotland, and perhaps in other parts 
 of the kingdom. In the dark ages, when all ranks of people 
 were turbulent, a law was almost every where established, 
 that the fire should be extinguished at a certain time in the 
 evening ; that the cover should be put over the fire-place, and 
 that all the family should retire to rest, or at least keep within 
 doors. The time when this ought to be done, was signified 
 by the ringing of a bell, called therefore the curfew bell, or 
 iguiiegium. This was the law of William the Conqueror, who 
 first introduced the practice into England, and which was 
 abolished by Henry the First, in 1100. 
 
 The ringing of the curfew bell gave rise to the Praver Bell, 
 as it is called, which is still retained in some Protestant 
 countries. Pope John the Twenty-third, with a view to avert 
 certain apprehended misfortunes which rendered his life 
 uncomfortable, gave orders, that every person, on hearing 
 the iguiiegium, should repeat the Ave Maria three times. 
 
636 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 When the appearance of a comet, and the dread of Turks, 
 alarmed all Christendom, Pope Calixtus the Third increased 
 these periodical times of prayer, by ordering the prayer bell 
 to be rung also at noon. 
 
 CHAP. LXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND. — 
 
 (Concluded.) 
 
 Rei’gious Customs. 
 
 Romish Indulgences — Act of Faith — Baptism of Bells — Curious 
 Baptism — Kalmuck Praying Machines — Curious Penance at 
 Calcutta. 
 
 Romish Indulgences. — In the Romish church, indul- 
 gences are a remission of the punishment due to sins, granted 
 by the church, and supposed to save the sinner from pur- 
 gatory. According to the Romish doctrine, all the good works 
 of the saints, over and above those which were necessary 
 towards their own justification, are deposited, together with 
 the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in one inexhaustible 
 treasury. The keys of this were committed to St. Peter, and 
 to his successors the popes, who may open it at pleasure, and 
 by transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any 
 particular person, for a sum of money, may convey to him 
 either the pardon of his own sins, or a release for any 
 one in whom he is interested, from the pains of purgatory. 
 Indulgences were first invented in the eleventh century, by 
 Urban 11. as a recompense for those who went in person upon 
 the glorious enterprise of conquering the Holy Land. They 
 were afterwards granted to those who hired a soldier for that 
 purpose; and in process of time were bestowed on such as 
 gave money for accomplishing any pious work enjoined by 
 the pope. This power of granting indulgences was greatly 
 abused. 
 
 Pope Leo X. in order to carry on the magnificent structure 
 of St. Peter’s at Rome, published indulgences, and plenary 
 remission, to all who should contribute money towards it. 
 Finding the project take, he granted to Albert, elector of 
 Mentz, and archbishop of Magdeburg, the benefit of the 
 indulgences of Saxony and the neighbouring parts, and 
 farmed out those of other countries to the highest bidders; 
 who, to make the best of their bargain, procured the ablest 
 preachers to cry up the value of the ware. The form o! these 
 

 
 If-., 
 
 . ^ ij#*! i 'is* . ff 
 
 \- 
 
 M>t iiViMSH 
 
 aF t|iE 
 
 !INIVU4IIVilflUlltll 
 
 t 
 
ROMISH INDULGENCES. 
 
 637 
 
 indulgences was as follows : “ May our Lord Jesus Christ 
 have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his 
 most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his 
 blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy Pope, 
 granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, 
 first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they 
 have been incurred, then from all thy sins, transgressions, and 
 excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even for such as are 
 reserved for the cognizance of the holy see, and as far as the 
 keys of the holy church extend ; I remit to you all punishment 
 which you deserve in purgatory on their account; and I re- 
 store you to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity 
 of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you 
 possessed at baptism ; so that when you die, the gates of 
 punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of 
 delight shall be opened ; and if you shall not die at present, 
 this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point 
 of death. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost.’^ 
 
 The terms in which the retailers of indulgences described 
 their benefits, and the necessity of purchasing them, are so 
 extravagant, that they appear almost incredible. They main- 
 tain, that if any man purchase letters of indulgence, his soul 
 may rest secure with respect to its salvation. That the souls 
 confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are 
 purchased, as soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly 
 escape from that place of torment, and ascend into heaven : 
 That the efficacy of indulgences is so great, that the most 
 heinous sins, even if one should violate (which was irnpossilDle) 
 the Mother of God, would be remitted and expiated by them, 
 and the person be freed both from punishment and guilt : That 
 this was the unspeakable gift of God, in order to reconcile 
 men to himself : That the cross erected by the preachers of 
 indulgences was equally efficacious with the cross of Christ. 
 “ Lo! (say they) the heavens are open ; if you enter not now, 
 when will you enter? For twelve-pence you may redeem the 
 soul of your father out of purgatory; and are you so ungrate- 
 ful, that you will not rescue your y^arent from torment? If 
 you had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself instantly, 
 and sel. it, in order to purchase such benefits, &c.” — This 
 monstrous abuse of indulgences contributed greatly to the 
 Reformation of religion in Germany, where Marlin Luther 
 first began to declaim against the preachers of indulgences, 
 and afterwards against indulgences themselves. Since that 
 period, the popes have been more sparing in the exercise of 
 this power : however, they still carry on a great trade with 
 them to the Indies, where they are purchased at two rials 
 apiece, and sometimes more. The pope likewise grants in- 
 
6'J8 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 dulgences to persons at the point of death ; that is, he grants 
 them, by a brief, power to choose what confessor they please, 
 who is authorized thereby to absolve them from all their sins 
 in general. 
 
 We proceed to another custom of the Romish church, called 
 the Act of Faith. — Auto da Fe, in the Romish church, is a 
 solemn day observed by the Inquisition, for the punishment 
 of heretics, and the absolution of the innocent persons who 
 have been accused. It is usually contrived to fall on some 
 grand festival, that the execution may take place with the 
 greater pomp and solemnity. At least, it is always on a Sun- 
 day. The auto da fe may be considered as the last act of the 
 inquisitorial tragedy; it is a kind of gaol delivery, appointed 
 as often as a sufficient number of prisoners in the Inquisition 
 are convicted of heresy, either by their own voluntary or 
 extorted confession, or on the evidence of witnesses. The 
 process is as follows : — In the morning they are brought into 
 a great hall, where they are clothed in certain habits, which 
 they are to wear in the procession, and by which they know 
 their doom. The procession is led on by the Dominican friars, 
 who enjoy this privilege, because St. Dominic, their founder, 
 instituted the Inquisition. Before them is carried the standard 
 of the holy office, in which the image of the founder is wrought 
 in rich embroidery, holding a sword in one hand, and an olive 
 branch in the other, with the inscription, “ Justice and Mercy."' 
 These friars are followed by the penitents, who have narrowly 
 escaped burning, and who over their black coats have flames 
 painted, with their points turned downwards. Next come the 
 negative and relapsed who are intended to be burnt, and who 
 have flames on their habits pointing upwards. After these 
 follow such as profess doctrines contrary to the faith of Rome, 
 and who, besides flames pointing upwards, have their pictures 
 painted on their breasts, and surrounded by dogs, serpents, 
 and devils, all open-mouthed Each prisoner is attended by 
 a familiar of the Inquisition ; and those intended to be burnt, 
 have also on each side a Jesuit, who is continually advising 
 them to abjure. After the prisoners, follow a troop of familiars 
 on horseback; after them, the Inquisitors, and other officers, 
 upon mules; and lastly, the inquisitor-general, upon a white 
 horse, led by two men with black hats and green hatbands. 
 A scaffold is erected sufficiently large for containing two or 
 three thousand people ; at one end of the scaffold are the pri- 
 soners, at the other end the inquisitors. After a sermon, 
 consisting of encomiums on the Inquisition, and of invectives 
 against heretics, a priest ascends a desk near the scaffold, and, 
 having received the abjuration of the penitents, recites the 
 final sentence of ^hose who are to be put to death, and delivers 
 
ACT OF FAITH BAPTISM OF BELLS. 639 
 
 them to the secular power, at the same time earnestly be- 
 seeching that their blood be not touched, nor their lives put in 
 danger! I! 
 
 The prisoners being thus in the hands of the civil magis 
 trate. are immediately loaded with chains, and cf^rried first to 
 the secular gaol, and thence, in an hour or two, brought before 
 the civil judge. After inquiring in what religion they intend 
 to die, the civil judge pronounces sentence on such as declare 
 they die in the communion of the church of Rome, that they 
 shall be first strangled, and then burnt to ashes ; on such as 
 die in any other faith, that they be burnt alive. Both are 
 immediately carried to the place of execution, where as many 
 stakes are set up as there are prisoners to be burnt, and about 
 each stake is laid a quantity of dry furze. The stakes of the 
 professed, or of such as persist in their heresy, are about four 
 yards in height, and towards the top have a small board, on 
 which the prisoner is seated. The negative and relapsed 
 being first strangled and burnt, the professed mount their 
 stakes bv a ladder; and the Jesuits, after repeatedly exhort- 
 ing them to l)e reconciled to the church, part with them, and 
 say that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at tlieir 
 elbow to receive their souls, and to carry them with him to 
 the flames of hell. On hearing this, a great shout is raised by 
 the people, who cry, ‘ Let the dogs’ beards be made !’ This is 
 performed by thrusting flaming furze, fastened to long poles, 
 against their chins, till their faces are burned to a coal. This 
 inhuman act is accompanied with the loudest acclamations of 
 joy. At last, fire is set to the furze at the bottom of the 
 stakes, over which the professed are chained so high, that the 
 top of the flame seldom reaches higher than the seat upon 
 which they sit, and they seem rather roasted than burnt. 
 There cannot be a more lamentable spectacle : the sufferers 
 continually cry out, while they are able, ‘ Pity, for the love of 
 God!’ Yet it is beheld by all ages, and by both sexes, with 
 transports of joy and admiration! 
 
 Another curious custom in the same church, is. The 
 Baptism of Bells. — “Being come to Veletre, the abbot 
 took up his lodging with one of his friends, and I betook 
 myself to an inn, near the Piazza. My host asked me if I had 
 not a mind to see the ceremony which w’as to be celebrated 
 the next day at the dome, (so they call the cathedral churches 
 in Italy ;) he told me there was a bell to be baptized, whereof 
 a great lord was to be the godfather, and a lady of quality the 
 goflmother; and that there would be a great ajipearance of 
 the nobility, who ha I been in. ited to the solemnity from all 
 parts. I had before this seen liells baptized in balance; but 
 because I knew that the Italians surpass all other nations in 
 
640 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 the magnificence of their ceremonies, and that they commonly 
 season them with a double portion of superstition, I resolved 
 with myself to see it baptized, and with that design I staid all 
 the next day at Veletre. I went to the church in the morn- 
 ing, to take a view of the preparatives that had taken up a 
 whole week’s time, which I found to be great and sumptuous 
 indeed. The bell was placed at the lower end of the body of 
 the church, hanging upon two gudgeons, covered with rich 
 hangings of velvet of a violet colour, and the bell itself was 
 accoutred with a kind of robe of the same stuff. There were 
 two theatres built on each side of it for the musicians, and an 
 amphitheatre for the ladies who were to be present at the 
 ceremony. The pillars and walls of the church were richly 
 adorned with curious sheets of silk, and pictures. Near to 
 the bell was erected an altar very neatly set forth, and on it 
 lay a white satin robe, which was to be put upon the bell as 
 soon as it should be baptized, with a great and choice garland 
 of flowers : there was also upon the altar a Roman ritual, 
 a censer, and a vessel with holy water, and round about the 
 altar rich elbow chairs for the priests who were to perform 
 the ceremony. Just over against it a throne was seen, most 
 magnificently hung, for the godfather and godmother of the 
 bell. 
 
 “ About ten o’clock the company came, and having taken 
 their several places, the priests began their function. He 
 who officiated was a bishop in partibus, whom the bishop of 
 Veletre, being at that time very sick, had deputed for this pur- 
 pose, and his chair was placed upon the steps of the high altar. 
 He struck up the first Psalm, which was continued by the 
 music. The psalms, by the way, which may be seen in the 
 Roman ritual, have as much reference to the baptizing of 
 the moon, as to the baptizing of a bell : for the prophet David 
 very probably had not the least notion of the baptism of bells. 
 After the psalms were ended, the bishop began the blessing 
 of holy water, to sanctify it in the first place, to the end that 
 afterwards it might sanctify the bell also. This benediction 
 is very long, and no less ridiculous ; which being finished, 
 the bishop and priests dipped spunges in it, with which they 
 rubbed over the bell, from the top to the bottom, within and 
 without, being in this regard certainly much better baptized 
 than children are, upon whose heads only they pour or sprinkle it. 
 They repeated, in tlie mean time, abundance of prayers, which 
 speak of nothing else but heavenly blessings, that are to 
 purify, sanctify, and consecrate the bell. Ul hoc tintinnabulum 
 (say they) caleste benedictione perfundere , purijicare, sanctijicare, 
 et consecrare digneris : * That thou wouldest be pleased to rinse, 
 purify, sanctify, and consecrate this bell with thy heavenly 
 benediction.’ 
 
BAPTISM OF BELLS. 
 
 641 
 
 “The bell being thus washed, they dried it with clean nap- 
 kins; and the bishop having taken the vial of holy oils, which 
 are those they bless on Holy Thursday for the whole year 
 following, he therewith anointed the cross of metal, which is 
 on the top of the bell, in order to make the devils flee at the 
 sound or ringing of it; Ut hoc audietites thitinnabulum, tremis- 
 cant et fngiaitt ante crucis in eo depictum vexillum: ‘ That 
 hearing this bell, they may tremble and flee before the banner 
 of thy cross designed upon it.’ He afterwards made seven 
 other crosses with the said oil upon the outside of the bell, 
 and four on the inside. This done, he made the godfather 
 and godmother draw near, and demanded of them in Italian, 
 ‘Whether they were the persons that presented this bell to be 
 consecrated?’ Who having answered that they did, he then 
 asked them, ‘ Whether the metal of the bell, and the workman- 
 ship of it, had been paid for to the artificers?’ To which they 
 answered, ‘ Yea.’ — They make this demand, because it had 
 sometimes happened, that for want of proper payment, the 
 workmen have seized and fetched away their bells the same 
 day, or the day after they had been baptized, and have melted 
 them down to be employed to profane uses. The third ques- 
 tion he asked of them was, ‘ Whether they believed all that 
 the Catholic apostolic churches believes concerning the holi- 
 ness and virtue of bells?’ The answer to which was affirmative 
 also. In the last place, he demanded of them, ‘ What name 
 they desired should be j)ut upon the bell?’ To which the 
 lady replied, ‘ Mary.’ Then the bishop took two great silk 
 ribands, which had been fastened to the gudgeons of the bell, 
 and gave each of them one in their liands, and pronounced, 
 with a loud intelligible voice, the words of consecration, 
 which are these, — Consecretur et sanctificetur signum istud, in 
 nomine Falris, et Filii, et Spiritns Sancti. Amen. ‘ Let this- 
 sign be consecrated and sanctified in the name of the Father,. 
 Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.’ Then turning himself to the 
 people, he said, ‘dlie name of this bell is Mary.’ He then* 
 takes the censer, and censeth it on the outside round about,, 
 and afterwards puts the censer under the bell, filling it with 
 sacred fumes, and repeating prayers and invocations, that it 
 might be filled with the dew of the Holy Spirit, that at the 
 sound of it the enemy of all good may take his flight. 
 
 “ The office was carried on with a great number of psalhis,. 
 which they repeated, the music all the while performing won- 
 ders ; and then the bishop, to sum up the whole ceremony, 
 arrayed the bell with the white robe of a proselyte, or convert, 
 and with a loud voice read the gospel of ‘ Mary and Martha.’ 
 I supposed at that time that the reason of their reading this 
 gospel was, because the bell was called Mary ; but 1 have 
 •ince seen, in the Roman ritual, that the same gospel, is read 
 
642 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING CUSTOMS. 
 
 at the consecration of all bells, whatever their names be. 
 This is what I am astonished at, because that gospel hath 
 no reference at all to the ceremony. The whole solemnity 
 being thus ended, the bishop gave his benediction, and the 
 priests received great presents from the godfather and god- 
 mother.*' 
 
 A Curious Baptism, which took place at Dublin, in the 
 year 1807. — A Moor, a native of Mogadore, in Africa, a strict 
 observer of the religion of Mahomet, wearing always, of 
 course, the costume of his country, resided a few months in 
 the above city. A family, w'here he occasionally visited, being 
 about to baptize their infant, solicited the stranger to stand 
 godfather, which was immediately consented to ; and on the 
 appointed day, he appeared splendidly arrayed in his turban 
 and robes, at the sacred font, where, with due solemnity, he 
 answered to the accustomed interrogatives, — All this I sted- 
 fastly believe.” To add still further to the oddity of the cir- 
 cumstance, the father was a member of the Roman Catholic 
 church, and the mother of the Established one. 
 
 Some account of Kalmuck Praying Machines: from 
 Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia. — “ Among the most 
 remarkable of the sacred utensils of the temples, is the Kurd’d, 
 a cylindrical vessel of wood or metal, either very small, or of 
 immense size. In its centre is fixed an iron axle ; but the in- 
 terior of the cylinder, which is quite hollow, is filled with 
 sacred writings, the leaves of which are all stuck one to 
 another at the edge, throughout the whole length. This paper 
 is rolled tightly round the axis of the cylinder till the whole 
 space is filled up. A close cover is fixed on at each end, and 
 the whole klirda is very neatly finished, painted on the outside 
 with allegorical representations, or Indian prayers, and var- 
 -nished. This cylinder is fastened upright in a frame by the 
 •axis; so that the latter, by means of a wheel attached to it 
 below, may be set a-going with a string, and with a slight 
 tpull kept in a constant rotatory motion. When this cylinder 
 is large, another, twice as small, and filled with writing, is 
 fixed for ornament at the top of it. The inscription on such 
 prayer-wheels commonly consists of masses for souls, psalms, 
 iand the six great general litanies, in which the most movino: 
 petitions are preferred for the welfare of all creatures. The text 
 they sometimes repeat a hundred, or even a thousand times, 
 attributing, from superstition, a proportionably augmented 
 effect to this repetition, and believing that by these frequent 
 copies, combined with their thousands of revolutions, they 
 will prove so much the more efficacious. You frequently see, 
 as well on the habitations of the priests, as on the whole roof 
 
PRAYING MACHINES. PENANCE aT CALCUTTA. 643 
 
 of the temple, small kurda placed close to each other, in rows, 
 by way of ornament ; and not only over the gates, but like- 
 wise in the fields, frames set up expressly for these praying- 
 machines, which, instead of being moved by a string, are 
 turned by the wind, by means of four sails, shaped and hol- 
 lowed out like spoons. 
 
 Other similar klirda are fastened to sticks of moderate 
 thickness; a leaden weight is then fastened to the cylinder by 
 a string, which, when it is once set a-going, keeps it, with the 
 help of the stick, in constant motion. Such like prayer-wheels, 
 neatly wrought, are fastened upon short sticks to a small 
 wooden pedestal, and stand upon the altars, for the use of 
 pious persons. While the prayer-wheel is thus turned round 
 with one hand, the devotee takes the rosary in the other, and 
 at the same time repeats penitential psalms. 
 
 “ A fourth kind of these klirda is constructed on the same 
 principle as those which are turned by wind, only it is some- 
 what smaller, and the frame is adapted to be hung up by a 
 cord, in the chimneys of the habitations or huts of the Mon- 
 gols. When there is a ^ood fire, they are likewise set in 
 motion by the smoke and the current of air, and continue to 
 turn round as long as the fire is kept up. 
 
 “ A fifth kind of klirda is erected on a small stream of water, 
 upon a foundation like that of a mill, over which a small house 
 is built to protect it from the weather. By means of the w heel 
 attached to it, and the current, the cylinder is in like manner 
 kept in a coristant circular motion. These water klirda are 
 commonly constructed on a large scale, and maintained at 
 the joint expense of the inhabitants of a whole district. They 
 have a reference to all aquatic animals, whether alive or dead, 
 whose temporal and eternal happiness is the aim of the writ- 
 ings contained in them, in like manner as the object of the 
 fire. Klirda is the salvation of the souls of all animals suffer- 
 ing by fire.” 
 
 Curious Account of an expiatory Penance at 
 Calcutta. — About a mile from the towm is a plain, where 
 the natives annually undergo a very strange kind of penance 
 on the 9th of April; some for the sins they have committed, 
 others for those they may commit, and others in consequence 
 of a vow made by their parents. This ceremony is per- 
 formed in the following manner. Thirty bamboos, each 
 about the height of twenty feet, are erected in the plain above- 
 mentioned. On the top of these they contrive to fix a swivel, 
 and another bamboo of thirty feet or more crosses it, at both 
 ends of which hangs a rope. The people pull down one end 
 of this rope, and the devotee, placing himself under it, the 
 brahmin pinches up a large piece of skin under both the 
 
644 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 shoulder blades, sometimes in the breasts, and thrusts a st ong 
 iron hook through each. These hooks have lines of Indian 
 grass hanging to them, which the priest makes fast to the 
 rope at the end of the cross bamboo, and at the same time puts u 
 sash round the body of the devotee, laying it loosely in the 
 hollow of the hooks, lest, by the skin giving way, he should 
 fall to the ground. The people then haul down the other end 
 of the bamboo : by which the devotee is immediately lifted 
 up thirty feet or more from the ground, and they run round 
 as fast as their legs can carry them. Thus the devotee is 
 thrown out the whole length of the rope, where, as he swings, 
 he plays a thousand antic tricks ; being painted and dressed 
 in a very particular manner, on purpose to make him look 
 more ridiculous. Some of them continue swinging half an 
 hour, others less. The devotees undergo a preparation of four 
 days for this ceremony. On the first and third, they abstain 
 from all kinds of food ; but eat fruit on the other two. Dur- 
 ing this time of preparation they walk about the streets in 
 their fantastical dresses, dancing to the sound of drums and 
 horns ; and some, to express the greater ardour of devotion, 
 run a wire of iron quite through their tongues, and sometimes 
 through their cheeks. 
 
 Happy are Christians in being delivered from the darkness, 
 absurdities, and horrors of superstition, by the bright efful- 
 gence of the Sun of righteousness! 
 
 CHAP. LXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTiya VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR 
 APPEARANCES IN NATURE. 
 
 ON THE IGNIS FATUUS. 
 
 A wand’ring fire 
 
 Compact of unctuous vapour, which tlie night 
 Condenses, and the cold environs round. 
 
 Kindled through agitation to a flame, 
 
 (Which oft, the} say, some evil spirit attends,) 
 
 Hovering, and blazing with delusive light. 
 
 Misleads th’ amaz’d night-wanderer from his way 
 Through bogs and mire. Milton. 
 
 The Ignis Fatuus is a luminous appearance, which is most 
 frequently observed in boggy districts and near rivers, though 
 sometimes also in dry places. By its appearance, benighted 
 travellers are said to have been sometimes led into imminent 
 danger, taking it for a candle at a distance ; from which 
 
THE IGNIS FATUU8. 
 
 645 
 
 seemingly mischievous property it has been thought by the 
 vulgar to be a spirit of a malignant nature, and been named 
 accordingly, Will-wit h-a- Wisp, or J ack-with-a- Lantern ; for 
 the same reason that it had its Latin name Ignis Fatuus. This 
 light is frequently seen about burying-places and dunghills. 
 Some countries are also remarkable for it, as about Bologna 
 in Italy, and some parts of Spain and Ethiopia. Its forms 
 are so uncertain and variable, that they can scarcely be de- 
 scribed, especially as philosophical observers seldom meet 
 with it. Dr. Derham, however, one night perceived one of 
 them, and got so near that he had a very advantageous view 
 of it. This is very difficult to be obtained ; for, among other 
 singularities of the ignis fatuus, it avoids the approach of any 
 person, and flies from place to place as if it were animated. 
 That which Dr. Derham observed, was in some boggy ground 
 betwixt two rocky hills; and the night was dark and calm, by 
 which means he was enabled to advance within two or three 
 yards of it. It appeared like a complete body of light with- 
 out any division, so that he was sure it could not be occa- 
 sioned by insects. It kept dancing about a dead tliistle, till 
 a very slight motion of the air, occasioned, as he supposed, 
 by his near approach to it, made it jump to another place ; 
 after which it kept flying before him as he advanced. 
 
 Beccari obtained information, that tw^o of these lights 
 appeared in the plains about Bologna, the one north, the 
 other south of that city, and were to be seen almost every 
 dark^ night, especially that to the eastward, giving a light 
 equal to an ordinary faggot. The latter appeared to a gen- 
 tleman of his acquaintance, as he was travelling; moved con- 
 stantly before him for about a mile, and oave a better light 
 than a torch which was carried before him. Both these 
 appearances gave a very strong light, and were constantly in 
 motion. Sometimes they would rise, sometimes sink ; but 
 commonly they would hover about six feet from the ground; 
 they would also frequently disappear on a sudden, and appear 
 again in some other place. They differed also in size and 
 figure, sometimes spreading pretty wide, and then contracting 
 themselves; sometimes breaking into two, and then joining 
 again. Sometimes they would appear like waves, at others 
 they would seem to drop sparks of fire : they were but little 
 affected by the wind ; and in wet or rainy weather, were fre- 
 quently observed to cast a stronger light than in dry weather: 
 they were also observed more frequently when snow lay upon 
 the ground, than in the hottest summer; but he was assured, 
 that there was not a dark night throughout the whole year, in 
 which they were not to be seen. The ground east of Bologna, 
 where the largest of these was observed, is a hard chalky 
 soil mixed with clay, which retains moisture long, but breakg 
 
646 CURIOUS NATURAL PHtNOMENA. 
 
 and cracks in hot weather. On the mountains, where the 
 soil is looser, the ignes fatui were less. From the best 
 information, M. Beccari found that these lights were very 
 frequent about rivers and brooks. He concludes his narrative 
 with the following singular account.— 
 
 “ An intelligent gentleman travelling in the evening, be- 
 tween eight and nine o’clock, in a hilly road about ten miles 
 south of Bologna, perceived a light which shone very strongly 
 upon some stones which lay on the banks of the Rio Verde. 
 It seemed to be about two fee.t above the stones, and near the 
 water. In size and figure it had the appearance of a parallelo- 
 piped, above a foot in length, and half a foot high, the largest 
 side being parallel to the horizon. Its light was so strong, 
 that he could plainly see by it part of a neighbouring hedge 
 and the water of the river; only in the east corner of it the 
 light was rather faint, and the square figure less perfect, as if 
 it were cut off or darkened by the segment of a circle. On 
 examining it a little nearer, he was surprised to find that it 
 changed gradually from a bright red to a yellowish, and then 
 to a pale colour, in proportion as he drew nearer; and when 
 he came to the place itself it quite vanished. Upon this, he 
 stepped back, and not only saw it again, but found that the 
 farther he went from it, the stronger and brighter it grew. 
 When he examined the place of this luminous appearance, he 
 could perceive no smell, nor any other mark of fife.” Another 
 gentleman informed M. Beccari, that he had seen the same 
 light five or six different times in spring and autumn ; and 
 that it always appeared of the same shape, and in the very 
 same spot. One night in particular, he observed it come out 
 of a neighbouring field to settle in the usual place. 
 
 A very remarkable account of an ignis fatuus is given by 
 Dr. Shaw, in his Travels to the Holy Land. It appeared in 
 the valleys of mount Ephraim, and attended him and his 
 company for above an hour. Sometimes it appeared globular, 
 or like the flame of a candle, at others it spread to such 
 a degree as to involve the whole country in a pale inoffensive 
 light, then contracted itself, and suddenly disappeared, but 
 in less than a minute it would appear again ; sometimes, run- 
 ning swiftly along, it would expand itself at certain intervals 
 over more than two or three acres of the adjacent mountains. 
 The atmosphere from the beginning of the evening had been 
 remarkably thick and hazy; and the dew, as they felt it on 
 the bridles of their horses, was very clammy and unctuous 
 Lights resembling the ignis fatuus are sometimes observed at 
 at sea, skipping about the masts and rigging of ships ; and 
 Dr. Shaw informs us, that he has seen these in such weather 
 as that just mentioned, when he saw the ignis fatuus in 
 Palestine. Similar appearances have been observed in various 
 
IGNIS FATUUS. 
 
 647 
 
 other situations ; and we are told of one which appeared about 
 the bed of a woman in Milan, surrounding it, as well as her 
 body, entirely. This light fled from the hand which ap- 
 proached ; but was at length entirely dispersed by the motion 
 of the air. 
 
 Of the same kind also, most probably, are those small lu- 
 minous appearances which sometimes appear in houses, or 
 near them, called, in Scotland, EiJ'-candles, and which are 
 supposed to portend the death of some person about the house. 
 In general these lights are harmless, though not always ; for 
 some of them have encompassed stacks of hay and corn, and 
 set them on fire; so that they became objects of great terror 
 to the country people. Of these, it was observed, that they 
 would avoid a drawn sword, or sharp-pointed iron instrument; 
 and that they would be driven away by a great noise. 
 
 Several philosophers have endeavoured to account for these 
 appearances, but hitherto with no great success; nor indeed 
 does there seem to be sufficient data for solving all their phe- 
 nomena. Sir Isaac Newton calls it a vapour shining without 
 heat; and supposes that there is the same difference between 
 a vapour of the ignis fatuus and flame, that there is between 
 the shining of rotten wood and burning coals. But though 
 this seems generally to be the case, there are exceptions, as 
 has been instanced in the vapours which set fire to the stacks 
 of corn. Dr. Priestley supposes that the light is of the same 
 nature with that produced by putrescent substances; others, 
 that the electrical fluid is principally concerned ; but none 
 have attempted to give any particular solution of the phe- 
 nomena. 
 
 From the frequent appearance of the ignis fatuus in marshes, 
 moist ground, burying-places, and dunghills, putrefaction 
 seems to be concerned in the production of it. This process 
 is attended with the emission of an aqueous steam, together 
 with a quantity of fixed inflammable and alkaline air, blended 
 together in one common vapour. It is likewise attended with 
 some degree of heat, and there are some vapours, that of 
 sulphur particularly, which becomes luminous with a degree 
 of heat much less than that sufficient to set fire to combusti- 
 bles. The putrid vapour, therefore, may be capable of shining 
 with a still smaller degree of heat than that of sulphur, and 
 consequently may become luminous by that which putrefac- 
 tion alone affords. This would account for the ignis fiituus, 
 were it only a steady luminous vapour arising from places w here 
 putrid matters are contained ; but its extreme mobility, and 
 flying from one place to another on the approach of any person, 
 cannot be accounted for on this principle. If one quantity of 
 the putrid vapour becomes luminous by means of heat, all 
 the rest ought to do so likewise ; so that though we may allow 
 
t)48 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 heat and putrefaction to be concerned, yet of necessity we 
 must have recourse to some other agent, which can be no 
 other than electricity. Without this, it is impossible to con- 
 ceive how any body of moveable vapour should not be carried 
 away by the wind ; but so far is this from being the case, that 
 the ignes fatui described by M. Beccari, w'ere but little 
 affected by the wind. It is, besides, proved by undoubted 
 experiment, that electricity is always attended with some 
 degree of heat; and this, however small, may be sufficient 
 to give a luminous property to any vapour on which it acts 
 strongly: not to add, that the electric fluid itself is” no other 
 than light, and may therefore by its action easily produce a 
 luminous appearance independent of any vapour. We have a 
 strong proof that electricity is concerned, or indeed the prin- 
 cipal agent, in producing the ignis fatuus, from an experiment 
 related by Dr. Priestley, of a flame of this kind being artifi- 
 cially produced. 
 
 A gentleman, who had been making many electrical experi- 
 ments for a whole afternoon in a small room, on goingout of it. 
 observed aflame following him at some little distance. 1 Ins 
 was doubtless a true ignis fatuus, and the circumstances neces.- 
 sary to produce it were then present, viz. an atmosphere 
 impregnated with animal vapour, and likewise strongly elec- 
 trified, for the quantity of perspiration emitted by a human 
 body is by no means inconsiderable ; and it, as well as the 
 electricity, would be collected by reason of the smallness of 
 the room. In this case, however, there seems to have been a 
 considerable difference between the artificial ignis fatuus, and 
 those commonly met with ; for this flame followed the gentle- 
 man as he went out of the room, but the natural ones com- 
 monly fly from those who approach them. This may be 
 accounted for, from a difference between the electricity of the 
 atmosphere in the one room and the other; in which case the 
 flame would naturally be attracted towards that place where 
 the electricity was either different in quality or in quantity ; 
 but in the natural way, where all bodies may be supposed 
 equally electrified for a great way round, a repulsion will as 
 naturally take place. Still, however, this does not seem to 
 be always the case. In those instances where travellers have 
 been attended by an ignis fatuus, we cannot suppose it to 
 have been influenced by any other power than what we call 
 attraction, and which electricity is very capable of producing. 
 Its keeping at some distance, is likewise easily accounted for; 
 as we know that bodies possessed of different quantities of 
 electricity may be made to attract one another for a certain 
 space, and then repel without having ever come into contact. 
 On this principle we may account for the light which sur- 
 rounded the wo nan at Milan, but fled from the hand of any 
 
IGNIS FATUUS. 
 
 649 
 
 Other person. On the same principle may we account foi 
 those mischievous vapours which set fire to the hay and corn 
 stacks, but were driven away by presenting to them a pointed 
 iron instrument, or by making a noise. Both these are known 
 to have a great effect upon the electric matter; and by means 
 of either, lightning may occasionally be made to fall upon, 
 or to avoid, particular places, according to the circumstances 
 by which the general mass happens to be effected. On the 
 whole, therefore, it seems most probable, that the ignis fatuus 
 is a collection of vapours of the putrescent kind, very much 
 affected by electricity ; according to the degree of which, it 
 will either give a weak or strong light, or even set fire to cer- 
 tain substances. This opinion seems to be confirmed from 
 some luminous appearances observed in privies, where the 
 putrid vapours have been collected into balls, and exploded 
 violently on the approach of a candle. This last eft'ect, how- 
 ever, we cannot so well ascribe to the electricity, as to the 
 ascension of the inflammable air w'hich abounds in such 
 places. 
 
 In the Appendix to Dr. Priestley’s third volume of Experi- 
 ments and Observations on Air, Mr. Warltire gives an account 
 of some very remarkable ignes fatui,w'hich he observed on the 
 road to Bfomsgrove, about five miles from Birmingham. The 
 time of observation was the 12th of December, 1776, before 
 daylight. Many of these lights were playing in an adjacent 
 field, in different directions; from some of which suddenly 
 sprang up bright branches of light, somewhat resembling the 
 explosion of a rocket that contained many brilliant stars, if 
 the discharge w^as upwards, instead of the usual direction; 
 and the hedge and trees on each side of the hedge, w'ere illu- 
 minated. 1liis appearance continued but a few seconds, and 
 then the jack-with-a-lantern played as before. Mr. Warltire 
 w as not near enough to observe if the apparent explosion was 
 attended with any report. 
 
 Cronstedt gives it as his opinion, that ignes fatui, as w'ell 
 as falling stars, are owing to collections of inflammable air 
 raised to a great height in the atmosphere. But, with regard 
 to the latter, the vast height at which they move, evidently 
 shews that they cannot be the efl’ect of any gravitating vapour 
 whatever; for the lightest inflammable air is one-twelfth of 
 that of the common atmosphere : and we have no reason to 
 believe, that at the distance of forty or fifty miles from the 
 earth, the latter has near one-twelfth of its weight at the sur- 
 face. From the accountgiven by M r. Warltire, we should be 
 apt to conclude, that there is a strong affinity betwixt the 
 ignes fatui and fireballs, insomuch that the one might be 
 very easily converted into the other. Electricity can assume 
 both these appearances, as is evider t in the case of points; 
 
650 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 or even when the atmosphere is violently electrified, as around 
 the string of an electrified kite, which always will appear to 
 be surrounded with a bine flame in the night, if the electri- 
 city be very strong. On the whole, it appears that electricity, 
 acting upon a small quantity of atmospherical air with a cer- 
 tain degree of vigour, will produce an appearance resembling 
 an ignis fatuus; with a superior force it will produce a fire- 
 ball ; and a sudden increase of electrical power might produce 
 those sparks and apparent explosions observed by Mr. Warl- 
 tire. d'his appearance has produced many superstitious fears 
 in the ignorant and uneducated. 
 
 To those who have, unfortunately, been badly educated in 
 this respect, a friendly act woidd be, to endeavour with sound 
 reasonino- to convince them of their error, and dissuade them 
 from giving heed, in future, to idle, superstitious, or inconsist- 
 ent stories of any kind ; advising them to furnisli themselves 
 with such knowledge, as may have a tendency to produce true 
 pleasure and happiness through life, and which, when dying, 
 they can reflect upon without uneasiness. ‘"The natural ofl- 
 spring of prevailing superstition is infidelity. Of the truth of 
 this, the present times afford us a lamentable example. Where 
 ignorance and fear once ruled supreme, there has rash philo- 
 sophy but too successfully planted presumption and atheism. 
 *Tis the diffusion of pure and solid knowledge, which alone 
 can preserve us from the dominion of these opposite tyrants. 
 How should this consideration increase our zeal and stimulate 
 our endeavours! The immediate sphere of our action may be 
 circumscribed, but our exertions w'ill not on that account be 
 entirely lost. In that circumscribed sphere let us labour to 
 root out every superstitious lying vanity, and plant pure reli- 
 gion and unsophisticated truth in its stead. 
 
 “ Ilow charming, how' enlivening to the soul, to gaze upon 
 the dawning beams of opening light, to behold them irradiate 
 that dismal gloom of intellectual darkness, which long over- 
 W'helmed the millions of mankind : how supremely pleasing, 
 to view' them wider and wdder spreading their invigorating 
 influence : how rapturously transporting, to ‘^^ntemplate the 
 resplendent prospect of pure and perfect day! 
 
 “ Power supreme! 
 
 O everlasting King ! to thee we kneel, 
 
 To thee we lift our voice f' — 
 
 “ 0 spreaa thy benign, thy vivifying light over the dwell- 
 ings of the sons of men ; dispel the yet impending mists of 
 ignorance and superstition : and, O preserve us from the dis- 
 mal gulf of infidelity and atheism ; let thy truth run and 
 prevail glori 3usly ; let pure celestial wisdom overspread the 
 earth as the waters cover the sea ! — Then shall millions kneel 
 
PROPERTIES AND EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING. 
 
 651 
 
 before tlite with grateful and enraptured hearts ; then shall 
 they rejoice to sing the praises of thee, their Benefactor, their 
 Father, and their God : then shall this vale of tears be filled 
 with the mansions of joy and gladness, and become a blissful 
 foretaste of those regions, where thy saints, crowned with 
 unfading glory and felicity, surround thy throne with never- 
 ceasing hallelujahs !” 
 
 See Naylor on Vulgar Superstitions. 
 
 CHAP. LXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR 
 APPEARANCES IN NATURE. — (Continued.) 
 
 Extraordinary Properties and Effects of Lighting — Thunder 
 Rod — Fire Balls — Terrible Effects of Electrified Clouds — 
 Surprising Effects of extreme Cold — Astonishing Expansive 
 Force of Freezing. 
 
 By conflicting: winds together dashed, 
 
 The thunder holds his black tremendous throne : 
 
 From cloud to cloud the rending lightnings rage ; 
 
 Till, in the furious elemental war 
 
 Dissolv’d, the whole precipitated mass 
 
 Unbroken floods and solid torrents pours. Thomson. 
 
 Extraordinary Properties and Effects of Light- 
 ning. — A very surprising property of lightning of the zigzag 
 kind, especially when near, is, its seeming omnipresence. If 
 two persons are standing in a room looking different ways, 
 and a loud clap of thunder, accompanied with zigzag lightning, 
 happens, they will both distinctly see the flash, not only by 
 that indistinct illumination of the atmosphere which is 
 occasioned by fire of any kind, but the very form of the 
 lip-htning itself, and every angle it makes in its course, will 
 be as distinctly perceptible as if both had looked directly at 
 the cloud from whence it proceeded. If a person happened 
 at that time to be looking on a book, or other object which 
 he held in his hand, he would distinctly see the form of the 
 lightning between him and the object at which he looked. 
 This property seems peculiar to lightning, and to belong to no 
 other kind of fire whatever. In August 1763, a most violent 
 storm of thunder, rain, and hail, haj)pened at London, which 
 did damage in the adjacent country to the amount of £50,000. 
 Hailstones fell of an immense size, from two to ten inches in 
 circumference, but the most surprising circumstance attending 
 
652 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 the hurricane was, the sudden flux and reflux of the tide in 
 Plymouth pool, exactly corresponding with the like agitation 
 in the same place, at the time of the great earthquake at 
 Lisbon. Instances have also occurred where lightning, by its 
 own proper force, without any assistance from those less 
 common agitations of the atmosphere or electric fluid, has 
 thrown stones of immense weight to considerable distances ; 
 torn up trees by the roots, and broke them in pieces ; shat- 
 tered rocks ; beat down houses, and set them on fire, &c. 
 The following singular effect of lightning, upon a pied bul- 
 lock, is recorded in the sixty-sixth volume of the Philosophical 
 Transactions. — 
 
 “ In the evening of Sunday the 28th of August, 1774, there 
 was an appearance of a thunder storm, but we heard no re- 
 port. A gentleman who was riding near the marshes not far 
 from this town, (Lewes) saw two strong flashes of lightning 
 running along the ground of the marsh, at about nine o'clock 
 p. M. On Monday morning, when the servants of Mr. Roger, 
 a farmer at Swanborough, went into the marsh to fetch the 
 oxen to their work, they found one of them, a four-year-old 
 steer, standing up, to appearance much burnt, and so weak 
 as to be scarcely able to walk. The animal seemed to have 
 been struck by lightning in a very extraordinary manner. 
 He was of a white and red colour; the white in large marks, 
 beginning at the rump bone, and running in various directions 
 along both sides ; the belly was all white, and the whole head 
 and horns white likewise. The lightning, with which he must 
 have been undoubtedly struck, fell upon the rump bone, 
 which w'as w'hite, and distributed itself along the sides in 
 such a manner as to take off all the hair from the white marks 
 as low as the bottom of the ribs, but so as to leave a list of 
 white hair, about half an inch broad, all round where it joined 
 to the red, and not a single hair of the red appears to have 
 been touched. The whole belly was unhurt, but the end of 
 the sheath of the penis had the hair taken off ; it was also 
 taken off from the dewlap : the horns and the curled hair on 
 the forehead were uninjured; but the hair was taken off from 
 the sides of the face, from the flat part of the jaw-bones, and 
 from the front of the face, in stripes. There were a few white 
 marks on the side and neck, which were surrounded with 
 red ; and the hair was taken off from them, leaving half an 
 inch of white adjoining to the red. The farmer anointed the 
 ox with oil for a fortnight; the animal purged very much at 
 first, and v/as greatly reduced in flesh, but afterwards re- 
 covered." In another account of this accident, the author 
 supposes that the bullock had been lying down at the time he 
 was struck ; which shews the reason that the under parts 
 were not touched. “ The lightning, conducted by the white 
 
PROPERTIES AND EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING. 653 
 
 hair, from the top of the back down the sides, came to the 
 ground at the place where the white hair was left entire.’^ 
 
 The author of this account says, that he inquired of 
 Mr. Tooth, a farrier, w'hether he ever knew of a similar ac- 
 cident ; and that he told him “ the circumstance was not new 
 to him; that he had seen many pied bullocks struck by 
 lightning in the same manner; that the texture of the skin 
 under the white hair was always destroyed, though looking 
 fair at first; but after a while it became sore, throwing out 
 a putrid matter in pustules, like the small-pox with us, which 
 in time falls off, when the hair grows again, and the bullocks 
 receive no farther injury which was the case with tijie 
 bullock in question. In a subsequent letter, however, the 
 very same author informs us, that he had inquired of Mr. 
 Tooth, “ whether he ever saw a stroke of lightning actually 
 fall upon a pied bullock, so as to destroy the white hair, and 
 shew' evident niarks of burning, leaving the red hair unin- 
 jured? He said he never did; nor did he recollect any one 
 that had. He gave an account, however, of a pied horse, 
 belonging to himself, which had been struck dead by light- 
 ning in the night time.^’ The explosion was so violent, that 
 Mr. Tooth imagined his house had been struck, and therefore 
 immediately got up. On going into the stable, he found the 
 horse almost dead, though it kept on its legs near half an 
 .hour before it expired. I'he horse was pied white on the 
 shoulder, and greatest part of the head, viz. the forehead and 
 nose, where the greatest force of the stroke came. “ The hair 
 was not burnt nor discoloured, only so loosened at the root, 
 that it came off with the least touch. And this is the case, 
 according to Mr. Tooth’s observation, with all that he has 
 seen or heard of, viz. the hair is never burnt, but the skin 
 always affected. In the horse, all the blood in the veins 
 under the white parts of the head was quite stagnated, though 
 he could perceive it to flow in other parts as usual; and the 
 skin, together with one side of the tongue, was parched and 
 dried up to a greater degree than he had ever seen before ” 
 Another instance is mentioned of this extraordinary effect of 
 lightning upon a bullock, in which even the small red spots 
 on the sides were unaffected ; and in this, as well as the 
 former, the white hair on the under part of the belly, and on 
 the legs, was left untouched. 
 
 One very singular effect of lightning is, that it has been 
 observed to kill alternately, that is, supposing a number of 
 people standing in a line; if the first person was killed, the 
 second would be safe ; the third would be killed, and the 
 fourth safe; the fifth killed, &c. Effects of this kind are 
 generally produced by the most violent kind of lightning; 
 namely, that which appears in the form of balls, which 
 
654 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 frequently divide themselves into several parts before they 
 strike. If one of these parts of a fire-ball strike a man, 
 another will not strike the person who stands immediately 
 close to him ; because there is always a repulsion between 
 bodies electrified the same way. Now, as these parts into 
 which the balls break have all the same kind of electricity, it 
 is evident that they must for that reason repel one another, and 
 this repulsion is so strong, that a man may be interposed 
 within the stroke of two of them, without beins hurt by 
 either. 
 
 Thunder Rod. — Dr. Franklin has demonstrated the iden- 
 tity of thunder with the electric explosion. He availed 
 himself of many curious discoveries which he had made of 
 electrical laws ; in particular, having observed that electricity 
 was drawn off at a great distance, and without the least 
 violence of action, by a sharp metallic point, he proposed to 
 philosophers to erect a tall mast or pole on the highest part 
 of a building, and to furnish the top of it with a fine metallic 
 point, properly insulated, with a wire leading to an insulated 
 apparatus for exhibiting the common electrical appearances. 
 To the whole of this contrivance he gave the name of Thunder 
 Rod, which it still retains. He had not a proper opportunity 
 of doing this himself, at the time of his writing his dissertation 
 in a letter from Philadelpha to the Royal Society of London ;• 
 but the contents were so scientific, and so interesting, that in 
 a few weeks they were known over all Europe. His directions 
 were followed in many places. In particular, the French 
 academicians, encouraged by the presence of their monarch, 
 and the ^reat satisfaction which he expressed at the repetition 
 of Dr. Franklin^s most instructive experiments, which dis- 
 covered and made known the theory of positive and negative 
 electricity, as it is now received, were eager to execute his 
 orders, and make his grand experiment, which promised so 
 fairly to bring this tremendous operation of nature, not only 
 within the pole of science, but in the management of* human 
 power. But in the mean time. Dr. Franklin, impatient of 
 delay, and perhaps incited by the honourable desire of w'ell- 
 deserved fame, put his own scheme in practice. His inventive 
 mind suggested to him a method of presenting a point to 
 a thunder cloud at a considerable distance. This was, by fixing 
 his point on the head of a paper kite, which the wind should 
 raise to the clouds, while the wet string that held it should 
 serve for a conductor of the electricity. With a palpitating 
 heart. Dr. Franklin, unknown to his neighbours, and accom- 
 panied only by his son, went into the fields, and sent up his 
 messenger that was to bring him news from the heavens. 
 He obtained only a few sparks from his apparatus that day; 
 
THUMDEPv ROD. — FIRE BAILS. 
 
 655 
 
 but returned to his house in a state of perfect satisfaction 
 with his success. We may justly consider this as one of the 
 greatest of philosophical discoveries, and as doing the highest 
 Honour to the inventor ; for it was not a suggestion from an 
 accidental observation, but arose from a scientific comparison 
 of facts, and a sagacious application of the doctrine of posi- 
 tive and negative electricity; a doctrine wholly Dr. Franklin s, 
 and the result of the most acute and discriminating observa- 
 tion. It was this alone, that suggested the whole ; and, by 
 explaining to his satisfaction the curious property of sharp 
 points, gave him the courage to handle the thunderbolt of the 
 heavens. It is now^ a point fully ascertained, that thunder 
 and lightning are the electric snap and spark, as much superior 
 to our puny imitations as we can conceive from the immense 
 extent of the instruments in the hands of Nature. 
 
 If (says Dr. Franklin,) a conductor, one foot thick, and five 
 feet long, will produce such snaps as agitate the whole human 
 frame, what may we not expect from a surface of ten thousand 
 acres of electrified clouds? How loud must be the explosion! 
 how terrible the effects! 
 
 To this wonderful discovery. Dr. Darwin alludes in the fol- 
 lowing lines : — 
 
 Led by the phosphor light, with daring tread 
 Immortal Franklin sought the fiery bed ; 
 
 Where, nurs’d in night, incumbent tempest shrouds 
 The seeds of thunder in circumfluent clouds, 
 
 Besieg’d with iron points his airy cell, 
 
 And pierc’d the monster slumb’ring in his shell. 
 
 Fire Balls, — are a kind of luminous bodies, commonly 
 appearing at a great height above the earth, with a splendour 
 surpassing that of the moon, and sometimes equalling her 
 apparent size. "I’hey generally proceed in this hemisphere 
 from north to south with vast velocity, frequently breaking 
 into several smaller ones, sometimes vanishing with a report, 
 and sometimes not. These luminous appearances, no doubt, 
 constitute one branch of the ancient prodigies, or blazing stars. 
 1'hey sometimes resemble comets, in being attended with a 
 train ; but frequently they appear with a round well-defined 
 disk. The first of these, of which we have any accurate ac- 
 count, was observed by Dr. Halley and others, at different 
 places, in 1719. From the slight observations they could 
 take of its course among the stars, its perpendicular height 
 was computed at about seventy miles from the surface of the 
 earth. The height of others has also been computed, and 
 found to be various; though in general it is supposed to be 
 beyond the limits assigned to our atmosphere, or where it 
 loses its refractive power. The most remarkable of these on 
 
656 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 record appeared on the 18th of August, 1783, about nine 
 o’clock in the evening. It was seen to the northward of Shet- 
 land, and took a southerly direction for an immense space, 
 being observed as far as the southern provinces of France 
 and Rome. During its course, it appears frequently to have 
 changed its shape; sometimes appearing in the form of one 
 ball, sometimes two or more ; sometimes with a train, some- 
 times without one. It passed over Edinburgh nearly in the 
 zenith, and had then the appearance of a well-defined round 
 body, extremely luminous, and of a greenish colour; the 
 light which it diffused on the ground giving likewise a green- 
 ish cast to objects. After passing the zenith, it was attended 
 by a train of considerable length, which, continually augment- 
 ing, at last obliterated the head entirely ; so that it looked 
 like a wedge, flying with the obtuse end foremost. The mo- 
 tion was not apparently swift, by reason of its great height; 
 though in reality it must have moved with great rapidity, on 
 account of the vast space it travelled over in a short time. 
 In other places its appearance was very different. At Green- 
 wich, we are told, that “ two bright balls, parallel to each 
 other, led the way, the diameter of which appeared to be 
 about two feet; these were followed by an expulsion of eight 
 others, not elliptical, seeming gradually to fall to pieces, foi 
 ihe last was small. Between each two balls a luminous ser- 
 rated body extended, and at the last a blaze issued, which 
 terminated in a point. Minute particles dilated from the 
 whole. The balls were tinted first by a pure bright light, then 
 followed a delicate yellow, mixed with azure, red, green. Sic. 
 which, with a coalition of bolder tints, and a reflection from 
 the other balls, gave the most beautiful rotundity and varia- 
 tion of colours, that the human eye could be charmed with. 
 The sudden illumination of the atmosphere, and the form and 
 singular transition of this bright luminary, contributed much 
 to render it awful: nevertheless, the amazingly vivid appear- 
 ance of the different balls, and other rich connecting parts, 
 not very easy to delineate, gave an effect equal to the rainbow 
 in the zenith of its glory.” 
 
 Terrible Effects of Electrified Clouds. — The most 
 extraordinary instance of this kind perhaps on record, hap- 
 pened in the island of Java, in the East Indies, in August, 
 1772. On the Ilth of that month, at midnight, a bright cloud 
 was observed covering a mountain in the district called Che- 
 riboUy and at the same time several reports were heard like 
 those of a gun. The people who dwelt on the upper parts of 
 the mountain, not being able to fly fast enough, a great part 
 of the cloud, almost three leagues in circumference, detached 
 itself under them, an i was seen at a distance, rising and falling 
 
EFFECTS OF ELECTRIFIED CLOUDS. 
 
 657 
 
 like the waves of the sea, and emitting globes of fire so lumi- 
 nous, that the night became as clear as day. The effects of 
 it were astonishing : every thing was destroyed for seven 
 leagues round ; the houses were demolished ; plantations wei-e 
 buried in the earth ; and two thousand one hundred and forty 
 people lost their lives, besides fifteen hundred head of cattle, 
 and a vast number of horses, goats, &c. 
 
 Another instance of a very destructive cloud, the electric 
 qualities of which at present can scarcely be doubted, is re- 
 lated by Mr. Brydone, in his Tour through Malta. It appeared 
 on the 29th of October, 1757. “ About three-quarters of an 
 
 hour after midnight, there was seen, to the south-west of the 
 city of Valetta, a great black cloud, which, as it approached, 
 changed its colour, till at last it became like a flame of fire 
 mixed with black smoke. A dreadful noise was heard on its 
 approach, which alarmed the whole city. It passed over the 
 port, and came first on an English ship, which in an instant 
 was torn in pieces, and nothing left but the hull ; part of the 
 masts, sails, and cordage, were carried to a considerable 
 distance with the cloud. The small boats and selloques, that 
 fell in its way, were all broken to pieces and sunk. The noise 
 increased, and became more frightful. A sentinel, terrified at 
 its approach, ran into his box ; but both he and it were lifted 
 up and carried into the sea, where he perished. It then tra- 
 versed a considerable part of the city, and laid in ruins almost 
 every thing that stood in its way. Several houses were laid 
 level with the ground, and it did not leave one steeple in its 
 passage. The bells of some of them, together with the spires, 
 were carried to a considerable distance ; the roofs of the 
 churches demolished and beat down, &c. It went off at the 
 north-east point of the city, and, demolishing the lighthouse, 
 is said to have mounted up into the air with a frightful noise, 
 and passed over the sea to Sicily, where it tore up some trees, 
 and did other inconsiderable damage; but nothing material, 
 as its fury had been spent at Malta. The number of killed 
 and wounded amounted to near two hundred ; and the loss of 
 shipping, &c. was very considerable.” — The effects of thunder 
 storms, and the vast quantity of electric matter formed in the 
 clouds which produce these storms, are so well known, that 
 it is superfluous to mention them. It appears, however, that 
 even these clouds are not so highly electrified as to produce 
 their fatal effects on those who are immersed in them. It is 
 only the discharge of part of their electricity upon such bodies 
 as are either not electrified at all, or not so highly electrified 
 as the cloud, that does all the mischief. We have, however, 
 only the fallowing instance on record, of any persons’ being 
 immersed in the body of a thunder cloud. Professor Saussure. 
 and young Mr. Jalabert, when travelling over one of the high 
 
 4 () 
 
658 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 Alps, were caught among clouds of this kind; and, to their 
 astonishment, found their bodies so full of electrical fire, that 
 spontaneous flashes darted from their fingers with a crackling 
 noise, and the same kind of sensation as when strongly elec- 
 trified by art. 
 
 Among the awful phenomena of nature,, none have excited 
 more terror than lightning and thunder. Some of the profligate 
 Roman emperors, of whom history records that they procured 
 themselves to be deified, confessed, by their trembling and hid- 
 ing themselves, when they heard the thunder, that there was a 
 divine power greater than their own — Cola tonantem Jovem. 
 The greatest security against the terrors of a thunder-storm, 
 although no certain one against its effects, is that life of piety 
 and virtue, which is the best guardian of every earthly bless- 
 ing. The good man, who knows that every event is under the 
 direction of an overruling Providence, and that this life is 
 only a part of his existence, introductory to the blissful scenes 
 of immortality, will behold the terrors of the storm with un- 
 shaken resolution : grateful to the Supreme Being, if permitted 
 to escape from the danger; and acquiescing in the Divine 
 Will, if thus to be conveyed, by an easy and instantaneous 
 passage, to that heaven where his conversation had long been, 
 and to that God with whom he delighted to walk. 
 
 These sentiments are beautifully expressed in the following 
 lines, written in a midnight thunder-storm, by the celebrated 
 m rs. Carter, and addressed to a lady ; — 
 
 Let coward guilt with pallid fear 
 To shelt’ring caverns fly, 
 
 And justly dread the vengeful fate 
 That thunders thro’ the sky: 
 
 Protected by that hand, whose law 
 The threat’ning storms obey, 
 
 Intrepid virtue smiles secure. 
 
 As in the blaze of day. 
 
 In the thick cloud’s tremendous glo#>m, 
 
 The lightning’s lurid glare. 
 
 It views the same All-gracious Pow’r, 
 
 That breathes the vernal air. 
 
 Thro’ nature’s ever-varying scene, 
 
 By dilTrent ways pursu’d. 
 
 The one eternal end of Heav’n 
 Is universal good. 
 
 The same unchanging mercy rules 
 When flaming ether glows. 
 
 As when it tunes the linnet’s voice. 
 
 Or blushes in the rose. 
 
ELECTRIFIED CLOUDS. — EXTREME COLD. 
 
 659 
 
 By reason taught to scorn those fears 
 That vulgar minds molest, 
 
 Let no fantastic terrors break 
 My dear Narcissa’s rest. 
 
 Thy life may all the tend’rest care 
 Of Providence defend, 
 
 And delegated angels round 
 Their guardian wings extend. 
 
 When thro’ creation’s vast expanse 
 The last dread thunders roll, 
 
 Untune the concord of the spheres, 
 
 And shake the rising soul ; 
 
 Unmov’d may’st thou the final storm 
 Of jarring worlds survey. 
 
 That ushers in the glad serene 
 Of everlasting day. 
 
 The following lines on the same subject were written by 
 Mrs. Chapone : — 
 
 In gloomy pomp, vrhilst awful midnight reigns. 
 
 And wade o’er earth her mournful mantle spreads ; 
 
 Whilst deep-voiced thunders threaten guilty heads. 
 
 And rushing torrents drown the frighted plains ; 
 
 And quick-glanc’d lightnings, to my dazzled sight. 
 
 Betray the double horrors of the night : 
 
 A solemn stillness creeps upon my soul. 
 
 And all its powers in deep attention die ; 
 
 My heart forgets to beat ; my stedfast eye 
 Catches the Hying gleam ; the distant roll. 
 
 Advancing gradual, swells upon my ear v 
 
 With louder peals, more dreadful as more near. 
 
 Awake, my soul, from thy forgetful trance ! 
 
 The storm ealls loud, and meditation wakes; 
 
 How at the sound pale superstition shakes. 
 
 Whilst all her train of frantic fears advance! 
 
 Children of darkness, hence! fly far from me! 
 
 And dwell with guilt and infidelity ! 
 
 But come, with look compos’d and sober pace. 
 
 Calm Contemplation, come! and hither lead 
 Devotion, that on earth disdains to tread ; 
 
 Her inward flame illumes her glowing face. 
 
 Her upcast eye, and spreading wings, prepare 
 Her flight for heaven, to find her treasure there. 
 
 She sees, enraptur’d through the thickest gloom. 
 
 Celestial beauty beam, and ’midst the howl 
 Of warring winds, sweet music charms her soul; 
 
 She secs, while rifted oaks in flames consume, 
 
 A Fathkk God, that o’er the storm presides. 
 
 Threatens to save, — and loves when most he chides. 
 
 Surprising Effects of Extreme Cold. — By extreme 
 degrees of cold, trees are burst, rocks rent, and rivers and 
 lakes frozen several feet deep ; metallic substances blister the 
 
6i50 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 was 
 
 which had not been 
 thermometers by the 
 
 to animals, in coun- 
 Thus seven thousand 
 
 skin like red-hot iron : the air, when drawn in by respiration, 
 hurts the luno-s, and excites a cough ; even the effects of* fire 
 in a great measure seem to cease ; and metals, though kept 
 for a considerable time before a strong fire, will still freeze 
 water when thrown upon them. When the French mathema- 
 ticians wintered at Tornea., in Lapland, the external air, when 
 suddenly admitted into their rooms, converted the moisture 
 of the air into whirls of snow ; their breasts seemed to be rent 
 when they breathed it; the contact of it was intolerable to 
 their bodies ; and the spirit of wine, 
 highly rectified, burst some of their 
 congelation of the aqueous parts. 
 
 Extreme cold very often proves fatal 
 tries where the winters are very severe. 
 
 Swedes perished at once, in attempting to pass the mountains 
 which divide Norway from Sweden. It is not necessary, in- 
 deed, that the cold, in order to prove fatal to human life, 
 should be so very intense as has been just mentioned. There 
 is only requisite a degree somewhat below 32® of Fahrenheit, 
 accompanied with snow or hail, from which shelter cannot be 
 obtained. The snow which falls upon the clothes, or the un- 
 covered parts of the body’, then melts, and, by a continual 
 evaporation, carries off the animal heat to such a degree, that 
 a sufficient quantity is not left for the support of life. In such 
 cases, the person first feels himself extremely chill and uneasy ; 
 he begins to grow listless, unwilling to walk or 
 to keep himself warm ; and at last turns drowsy, 
 refresh himself with sleep, but wakes no more. 
 
 An instance of this was seen not many years 
 ■del Fuego ; where Dr. Solander, with some others, 
 taken an excursion up the country, the cold was so intense, 
 that one of their number died. The Doctor himself, though 
 ihe had warned his companions of the danger of sleeping in 
 that situation, yet could not be prevented from making that 
 dangerous experiment himself; and though he was awaked 
 with all possible expedition, his body was so much shrunk in 
 •bulk, that his shoes fell off his feet, and it was with the utmost 
 difficulty that he was recovered. 
 
 In those parts of the world where vast masses of ice are 
 ■produced, the accumulation of it, by absorbing the heat of 
 ■the atmosphere, occasions an absolute sterility in the adjacent 
 ■countries, as is particularly the case with the island of Ice- 
 land ; where the vast collections of ice floating out from the 
 Northern Ocaan, and stopped on that coast, are sometimes 
 several years in thawing. Indeed, where great quantities of 
 ice are collected, it would seem to have a power like fire, of 
 both augmenting its own intenseness and that of the adjacent 
 bodies. 
 
 use exercise 
 sits down to 
 
 aoo 
 
 at Terra 
 having 
 
EXPANSIVE FORCE OF FREEZING WAFER. 661 
 
 Astonishingly Expansive Force of Freezing Water. 
 — Although cold, in general, contracts most bodies, and heat 
 expands them, yet there are some instances to the contrary, 
 especially in the extreme cases or states of these qualities of 
 bodies. Thus, though iron, in common with other bodies, 
 expands with heat; yet, when melted, it is always found to 
 expand in cooling again. Thus also, though water expands 
 gradually as it is heated, and contracts as it cools, yet in the 
 act of freezing it suddenly expands again, and that with an 
 enormous force, capable of rending rocks, or bursting the 
 very thick shells of metal, See. A computation of the force 
 of freezing water, has been made by the Florentine academi- 
 cians, from the bursting of a very strong brass globe or shell 
 by freezing water in it; when, from the know'ii thickness and 
 tenacity of the metal, it was found that the expansive power 
 of a spherule of water only one inch in diameter, was suffi- 
 cient to overcome a resistance of more than twenty-seven 
 thousand pounds, or thirteen tons and a half. 
 
 Such a prodigious effect of expansion, almost double that 
 of the most powerful steam-engines, and exerted in so small 
 a mass, seemingly by the force of cold, was thought a very 
 material argument in favour of those who supposed that cold, 
 like heat, is a positive substance. Dr. Black’s discovery of 
 latent heat, however, has afforded a very easy and natural 
 explication of this phenomenon. He has shewn, that, in the 
 act of congelation, water is not cooled more than it was 
 before, but rather grows warmer: that as much heat is dis- 
 charged and passes from a latent and a sensible state, as, had 
 it been applied to water in its fluid state, would have heated 
 it to 135*^. In this process, the expansion is occasioned by a 
 great number of minute bubbles suddenly produced. For- 
 merly these were supposed to be cold in the abstract, and to 
 be so subtile, that, insinuating themselves into the substances 
 of the fluid, they augmented its bulk, at the same time that, 
 by impeding the motion of its particles upon each other, they 
 changed it from a fluid to a solid. But Dr. Black shews, that 
 these are only air extricated during the congelation ; and to 
 the extrication of this air he ascribes the prodigious expan- 
 sive force exerted by freezing water. The only question, 
 therefore, is, by what means this air comes to be extricated, 
 and to take up more room than it naturally does in the fluid? 
 1 this it may be answered, that perhaps part of the heat, 
 which is discharged from the freezing water, combines with air 
 in its unelastic state, and, by restoring its elasticity, gives it 
 that extraordinary force ; as is seert in the case of air sud- 
 denly extricated in the explosion of gunpowder. The degree 
 of expansion of water, in the state of ice, is by some authors 
 computed at one tenth of its volume. Oil and quicksilver 
 
662 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 shrink and contract after freezing. Mr. Boyle relates severa 
 experiments of vessels made of metals, very thick and strong; 
 in which, when filled with water, closely stopped, and ex- 
 posed to the cold, the water being expanded in freezing, and 
 not finding either room or vent, burst the vessels. A strong 
 barrel of a gun, with water in it, close stopped and frozen, was 
 rent the whole length. Huygens, to try the force with which 
 it expands, filled a cannon with it, whose sides were an inch 
 thick, and then closed up the mouth and vent, so that none 
 could escape; the whole being exposed to a strong freezing 
 air, the water froze in about twelve hours, and burst the piece 
 in two places. Hence mathematicians have computed the 
 force of the ice upon this occasion; and they say, that such 
 a force would equal twenty-seven thousand seven hundred 
 and twenty pounds. 
 
 Major Edw'ard Williams, of the Royal Artillery, made many 
 experiments on the force of freezing water, at Quebec, in 
 1784-1785, He filled all sizes of bomb shells with water, then 
 plugged the fuze-hole close up, and exposed them to the 
 strong freezing air of the winter in that climate; sometimes 
 driving in the iron plugs as hard as possible with a sledge 
 hammer; and yet they were all thrown out by the sudden 
 expansion of the water in the act of freezing, like a ball shot 
 by gunpowder, sometimes to the distance of between four 
 and five hundred feet, though they weighed near three 
 pounds; and when the plugs were screwed in, or fur- 
 nished with hooks or barbs to lay hold of the inside of the 
 shell by, so that they could not possibly be forced out, in tliis 
 case the shell was alw'ays split in two, though the thickness 
 of the metal of the shell was about an inch and three-quarters. 
 Through the circular crack, round about the shells, where they 
 burst, there stood out a thin film or sheet of ice, like a fin ; 
 and in the cases where the plugs were projected by freezing- 
 water, there suddenly issued out from the fuze-hole a bolt of 
 ice of the same diameter, and stood over it to the height 
 sometimes of eiarht inches and a half. 
 
THE WATER-SPOUT. 
 
 663 
 
 CHAP. LXVIL 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA, OR 
 APPEARANCES IN NATURE. — (Continued,) 
 
 Water Spout — b'ata Moro^ana — Fairj/ Rings — Sheet of Phos- 
 photic Fire — Phosphorus, 
 
 — Every objeet of creation 
 
 Can furnish hints to contemplation. Gay, 
 
 Water Spout. — This extraordinary meteor is most fre- 
 quently observed at sea. It generally begins by a cloud, 
 which appears very small, and which is called, by sailors, 
 the Squall. This augments in a little time into an enormous 
 cloud of a cylindrical form, or that of a cone on its apex, and 
 produces a noise like the roaring of an agitated sea, some- 
 times accompanied with thunder and lightning, and also large 
 quantities of rain or hail, sufficient to inundate large vessels; 
 and to carry away in their course, (when they occur by land,) 
 trees, houses, and every thing that opposes tneir impetuosity. 
 Sailors, dreading the fatal consequences of water-spouts, 
 endeavour to dissipate them by firing a cannon into them just 
 before they approach the ship. We shall give an account of 
 one, as described by M. Tournefort, in his Voyage to the 
 Levant. 
 
 “ The first of these (says this traveller) that we saw, was 
 about a musket-shot from our ship. There we perceived the 
 water begin to boil, and to rise about a foot above its level. 
 The water was agitated, and whitish ; and above its surface 
 there seemed to stand a smoke, such as might be imagined to 
 come from wet straw before it begins to blaze. It made 
 a sort of a murmuring sound, like that of a torrent heard at 
 a distance, mixed, at the same time, with a hissing noise, like 
 that of a serpent: shortly after we perceived a column of this 
 smoke rise up to the clouds, at the same time whirling about 
 with great rapidity. It appeared to be as thick as one’s 
 finger; and the former sound still continued. When this disap- 
 peared, after lasting for about eight minutes, upon turning to 
 the opposite quarter of the sky, we perceived another, whicli 
 began in the manner of the former; presently after, a thiid 
 appeared in the west; and instantly beside it, still another 
 arose. The most distant of these three could not be above 
 a musket-shot from the ship. They all appeared like so 
 many heaps of wet straw set on fire, and continued to 
 smoke, and to make the same noise as before. We soon 
 
664 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA 
 
 after perceived each, with its respective canal, monnting^ up 
 in the clouds; and spreading, where it touched the cloud, like 
 the mouth of a trumpet; making a figure (to express it in- 
 telligibly) as if the tail of an animal was pulled at one end by 
 a weight. These canals w^ere of a whitish colour, and so 
 tinged, as I suppose, by the water which was contained in 
 them ; for, previous to this, they were apparently empty, and 
 of the colour of transparent glass. These canals were not 
 straight, but bent in some parts, and far from being perpen- 
 dicular, by rising in their clouds with a very inclined ascent. 
 
 “ But what is very remarkable, the spouts crossed each other, 
 in the form of a St. Andrew^s cross. In the beginning they 
 were all about as thick as one's finger, except at the top, 
 where they were broader, and two of them disappeared ; but 
 shortly after, the last of the three increased considerably, and 
 its canal, which was at first so small, soon became as thick 
 as a man’s arm, then as his leg, and at-last thicker than his 
 whole body. We saw distinctly, through this transparent 
 body, the water, which rose up with a kind of spiral motion ; 
 and it sometimes diminished a little of its thickness, and 
 again resumed the same, sometimes widening at top, and 
 sometimes at the bottom, exactly resembling a gut filled with 
 water, pressed with the fingers to make the fluid rise or fall ; 
 and I am well convinced that this alteration in the spout was 
 caused by the wind, which pressed the cloud, and compelled 
 it to give up its contents. After some time its bulk was so 
 diminished as to be no thicker than a man’s arm again, and 
 thus swelling and diminishing, it at last became very small. 
 In the end, I observed the sea which was raised about it to 
 resume its level by degrees, and the end of the canal that 
 touched it to become as small as if it had been tied round 
 with a cord ; and this continued till the light, striking through 
 the cloud, took away the view. I still, however, continued 
 to look, expecting that its parts would join again, as I had 
 before seen in one of the others, in w'hich the spout was more 
 than once broken, and yet the parts again came together; but 
 I was disappointed, for the spout appeared no more.” 
 
 In the Philosophical Transactions, (volume xxii. and xxiii.) 
 we have descriptions of several of these phenomena: their 
 effects, in some instances, are probably much exaggerated. 
 One at Topsham is said to have cut down an apple-tree, 
 several inches in diameter: another, we are told, seemed to 
 be produced by a concourse of winds, turning like a screw, 
 the clouds dropping into it : it threw trees and branches 
 about with a gyratory motion. — One in Deeping Fen, Lin- 
 colnshire, was first seen moving across the land and water of 
 the fen : it raised the dust, broke some gates, and destroyed 
 A field of turnips : it vanished with an appearance of fire,— 
 
0f TK 
 
 IlSivaiisw gf aiiBsjs 
 
 \ 
 
THE FATA MORGANA, 
 As observed in the harbour of Messina. 
 
 THE FATA MORGANA, 
 As observed at Reggio, 
 
WATER-SPOUT. — FATA MORGANA. 
 
 665 
 
 rDr. Franklin supposes that a vacuum is made by the rotatory 
 motion of the ascending air, as when water is running through 
 a funnel, and that the water of the sea is thus raised. But 
 Dr. Young says, no such cause could do more than produce 
 a slight rarefaction of the air, much less raise the water to the 
 height of thirty or forty feet, or more. 
 
 Professor Wolke describes a water-spout, which passed 
 immediately over the ship in which he was sailing, in the gulf 
 of Finland : it appeared to be twenty-five feet in diameter, 
 consisting of drops about the size of cherries. The sea was 
 agitated round its base, through a space of about one hundred 
 and thirty feet in diameter. One of the latest accounts of the 
 phenomenon of a water-spout, is that read to the Royal Society 
 in the year 1803, from a letter written to Sir Joseph Banks, 
 by Captain Ricketts, of the royal navy. In the month of 
 July, 1800, Captain Ricketts was called on deck, on account 
 of the rapid approach of a water-spout, among the Lipari 
 islands. It had the appearance of a viscid fluid, tapering in 
 its descent’, proceeding from the cloud to join the sea. It 
 moved at the rate of about two miles an hour, with a loud 
 sound of rain. It passed the stern of the ship, and wetted 
 the afterpart of the main-sail : hence it was inferred, that 
 water-spouts are not continuous columns of water; and sub- 
 sequent observations confirmed the opinion. In November, 
 1801, about twenty miles from Trieste, a water-spout was 
 seen eight miles to the south ; round its lower extremity was a 
 mist, about twelve feet high, somewhat in the form of an Ionian 
 capital, with very large volutes, the spout resting obliquely 
 on its crown. At some distance from this spout the sea began 
 to be agitated, and a mist rose to the height of about four 
 feet; then a projection descended from the black cloud that 
 was im|)ending, and met the ascending mist about twenty feet 
 above the sea ; the last ten yards of the distance were desciibed 
 with very great rapidity. A cloud of a light colour appeared 
 to ascend in this spout, something like quicksilver in a tube. 
 The first spout then snapped at about one-third of its height, 
 the inferior part subsiding gradually, and the superior curling 
 upwards. Several other projections from the cloud appeared, 
 with corresponding agitations of the water below, but not 
 always in spots vertically under them : seven spouts in all 
 were formed ; two other projections being re-absorbed. Some 
 of the spouts were not only oblique, but curved : the ascending 
 cloud moved most rapidly in those which were vertical : they 
 lasted from three to five minutes, and their dissipation was 
 attended by no fall of rain. 
 
 Fata Morgana. — This is a very remarkable aerial pheno- 
 menon, which is sometimes observed from the harbour of 
 
666 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 Messina, and adjacent places, at a certain height in the 
 atmosphere. The name, which signifies the Fairy Morgana 
 is derived from an opinion of the superstitious Sicilians, that 
 the whole spectacle is produced by fairies, or such like vision- 
 ary invisible beings. The populace are delighted whenever 
 it appears; and run about the streets shouting for joy, calling 
 everv body out to partake of the glorious sight. This singular 
 meteor has been described by various authors; but the first 
 who mentioned it with any degree of precision was Father 
 Angelucci, whose account is thus quoted by Mr. Swinburne 
 in his Tour through Sicily : “On the 15th of August, 1643, 
 as I stood at my window, I was surprised with a most wonder- 
 ful delectable vision. The sea that washe-s the Sicilian shore 
 swelled up, and became, for ten miles in length, like a chain 
 of dark mountains; while the waters near our Calabrian coast 
 grew quite smooth, and in an instant appeared as one clear 
 polished mirror, reclining against the aforesaid ridge. On 
 this glass was depicted, in chairo scuro, a string of several 
 thousands of pilasters, all equal in altitude, distance, and 
 degree of light and shade. In a moment they lost half their 
 height, and bent into arcades, like Roman aqueducts. A 
 long cornice was next formed on the top, and above it arose 
 castles innumerable, all perfectly alike. These soon split 
 into towers, which were shortly after lost in colonnades, then 
 windows, and at last ended in pines, cypresses, and other trees, 
 even and similar. This is the Fata Morgana, v/hich for twenty- 
 six years I had thought a mere fable.” To produce this 
 pleasing deception, many circumstances must concur, which 
 are not known to exist in any other situation. The spectator 
 must stand with his back to the east, in some elevated place 
 behind the city, that he may command a view of the whole 
 bay; beyond which the mountains of Messina rise like a wall, 
 and darken the back ground of the picture. The winds must 
 be hushed, the surface quite smoothed, the tide at its height, 
 and the waters pressed up by currents to a great elevation in 
 the middle of the channel. All these events coinciding, as 
 soon as the sun surmounts the eastern hills behind Reggio, 
 and rises high enough to form an angle of forty-five degrees 
 on the water before the city, every object existing or moving 
 at Reggio, will be repeated one thousand-fold upon this ma- 
 rine looking-glass, which, by its tremulous motion, is as it 
 were cut into facets. Each image w'ill pass rapidly off in 
 succession, as the day advances, and the stream carries down 
 the wave on which it appeared. Thus the parts of this mov- 
 ing picture will vanish in the twinkling of an eye. Sometimes 
 the ai • is at that moment so impregnated with vapours, and 
 undisturbed by winds, as to reflect objects in a kind of aerial 
 screen, rising about thirty feet above the level of the sea. In 
 
FATA MORGANA. FAIRV RINGS. 667 
 
 cloudy heavy weather, they are drawn on the suiface of the 
 water, bordered with fine prismatical colours. 
 
 To the above account we shall add the following, given by 
 M. Houel, whose judgment and veracity render his authority 
 highly respectable. 
 
 “ In fine summer days, when the weather is calm, there 
 rises above the great current a vapour, which acquires a cer- 
 tain density, so as to form in the atmosphere horizontal prisms, 
 whose sides are disposed in such a manner, that when they 
 come to their proper degree of perfection, they reflect and 
 represent successively, for some time, (like a moveable mirror,) 
 the objects on the coast, or in the adjacent country. They 
 exhibit by turns, the city and suburbs of Messina, trees, animals, 
 men, and mountains. They are certainly beautiful aerial mov- 
 ing pictures. There are sometimes two or three prisms, equally 
 perfect; and they continue in this state eight or ten minutes. 
 After this, some shining inequalities are observed upon the 
 surface of the prism, which render confused to the eye, 
 the objects which had been before so accurately delineated, 
 and the picture vanishes. The vapour forms other combina- 
 tions, and is dispersed in the air. Different accounts have 
 been given of this singular appearance ; which for my part I 
 attribute to a bitumen that issues from certain rocks at the 
 bottom of the sea, and which is often seen to cover a part of 
 its surface in the canal of Messina. The subtile parts of this 
 bitumen being attenuated, combined, and exhaled with the 
 aqueous globules that are raised by the air, and formed into 
 bodies of vapour, give to this condensed vapour more consist- 
 ence ; and contribute, by their smooth and polished particles, 
 to the formation of a kind of aerial crystal, which receives the 
 light, reflects it to the eye, and transmits to it all the luminous 
 points which colour the objects exhibited in this phenomenon, 
 and render them visible.” 
 
 Fairy Rings, — are circles of dark green grass frequently 
 observed in old pastures ; they have long been known under 
 the name of fairy rings, and have generally been supposed to 
 be occasioned, in some way or other, by electricity. Dr. Wol- 
 laston has, in a late volume of the Transactions of the Royal 
 Society, given a new and very ingenious theory, of which 
 we shall present our readers with a brief account, premising, 
 that Mr. Davy, in the course of his lectures at the Royal In- 
 stitution, had occasion to refer to the subject, and seemed to 
 coincide in opinion with Dr. Wollaston. That which first 
 attracted his notice was the position of certain fungi, which 
 are always found growing upon these circles, if examined in 
 a proper season. The position of these fungi led him to ima- 
 gine that the progressive increase from a central point was 
 
668 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 the probable mode of formation of the ring: hence he con- 
 jectured that the soil, which had once contributed to the 
 support of the fungi, might be so exhausted of some peculiar 
 pabulum necessary for their production, as to be rendered 
 incapable of producing a second crop. The second year’s 
 crop would, if this theory be just, appear in a small ring sur- 
 rounding the original centre of vegetation; and at every 
 succeeding year the defect of nutriment on one side, would 
 necessarily cause the new roots to extend themselves solely 
 in the opposite direction, and would occasion the circle of 
 fungi continually to proceed, by an annual enlargement, from 
 the centre outwards. An appearance of luxuriance of the 
 grass would follow^ as a natural consequence, as the soil of an 
 interior circle would always be enriched, by the decayed roots 
 of fungi of the year’s growth. This theory is supported by 
 some observations of Dr. Withering ; and Dr. Wollaston says, 
 by way of confirmation, that whenever two adjacent circles 
 are found to interfere, they not only do not cross each other, 
 but both circles are invariably obliterated between the points 
 of contact: the exhaustion occasioned by each obstructs the 
 progress of the other, and both are starved. — Philosophical 
 Transactions, 1807, Part II. 
 
 Though it cannot be doubted that most fairy rings, if not 
 all of them, have considerable relation to the running of a 
 fungus ; there, nevertheless, seems reason to conclude that 
 electricity may likewise be concerned in their production. 
 The electrical effect may relate to fairy rings of a different 
 kind from those occasioned by the fungus, or it may have 
 been antecedent to the production of the vegetable. It is 
 a familiar effect in our experiments, that the spark proceeding 
 from a positive conductor, breaks or radiates at about one- 
 third of its course, and strikes the receiving conductor by 
 a central spark surrounded by other smaller ones. The con- 
 centric rings produced upon polished metallic surfaces by the 
 strong explosion of a battery, as first observed by Dr. Priest- 
 ley, appears to be a fact of the same kind ; and the forked 
 radiations of lightning are well known. There is related, in 
 the Philosophical Journal, volume I. 4to, some events which 
 happened in Kensington Gardens in June, 1781, when a 
 powerful thunder-storm passed over the western extremity of 
 London. The explosions were very marked and distinct, 
 and in many instances forked at the lower end, but never at 
 the top ; from which it seems proper to conclude, that the 
 general mass of clouds, or, at least, that extremity which 
 passed over London, was in the state called positive. 
 
 Five days afterwards, upon visiting Kensington Gardens, it 
 was observed, that every part of that extensive piece of ground 
 Bhewed marks of the agency of the lightning, chiefly by din 
 
PHOSPHORIC FIRE. 
 
 669 
 
 coloration of the grass in zigzag streaks, some of which were 
 fifty or sixty yards in length. Instances of this superficial 
 course of the lightning along the ground, before it enters the 
 earth, are sufficiently frequent. But the circumstance appli- 
 cable to our present subject is, that several trees had been struck 
 by the lightning. Two of them, which stood on the outside to 
 the westward, had holes torn in the ground, close to the trunk ; 
 and round one of these trees was a space of six feet in 
 diameter, in which the grass was very much scorched. 
 Another tree on the west was surrounded by a faint ring of 
 burnt or faded grass, which seemed to be occasioned by some 
 earlier stroke, as the vegetation had begun to shoot up again. 
 Another tree, standing on the out side to the south, was sur- 
 rounded by a ring of twelve feet diameter, and eighteen 
 inches broad. Within the ring the grass was fresh; but on 
 the surface of the ring, the grass and the ground were much 
 burned. To the eastward of the tree, upon the ring itself, 
 were two holes, in which the ground had the appearance of 
 ashes. Another tree, on the east side of the grove, had the 
 half of a faint ring to the westward. And, lastly, a tree which 
 stood in the middle was surrounded by a faint ring of twelve 
 feet diameter, within which the grass was unhurt; and to the 
 westward, at the distance of about three feet from the inner 
 ring, was part of another similar ring, of nearly the same 
 appearance ; the verdure being unhurt in the interval between 
 the rings. 
 
 A Sheet of Phosphoric Fire. — A curious instance of 
 this occurred to Monsieur Peron, in his voyage from Europe 
 to the Isle of France. Between three and four degrees north 
 latitude, during the obscurity of a night intensely dark, the 
 wind blowing a hurricane, and the vessel making a rapid 
 progress, he was struck by the sudden appearance of a vast 
 sheet of phosphoric fire, floating before the ship, and cover- 
 ing a considerable space. The vessel presently made its way 
 through this inflamed part of the sea, w'hich enabled the 
 observant navigator to discover that this prodigious light was 
 occasioned entirely by an immense number of small animal- 
 cules, which swam at different depths, and appeared to assume 
 various forms. Those which were most immersed in the 
 water, looked like great red-hot cannon balls : whilst those 
 on the surface resembled cylinders of red-hot iron. Some of 
 them were soon caught, and found to vary in size, fronj 
 three to seven inches. All the outside surface of the ani- 
 mal was bristled Avith thick oblong tubercles, shining like 
 80 many diamonds; and these seemed to be the principal 
 seat of its wonderful phosphorescence. The inside, also, 
 appeared furnished with a multitude of little, narrow, oblong 
 
670 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 glands, which possessed the phosphoric virtue in a high 
 degree. 
 
 When in a tranquil state, the colour of these brilliant 
 inhabitants of the ocean is an opal yellow, mixed with green ; 
 but, on the slightest movement of those voluntary contrac- 
 tions exercised by the creature, or those which the observer 
 can at pleasure excite by the least irritation, the animal seems 
 to inflame, and it becomes instantly like a piece of red-hot 
 iron of the most vivid brilliancy. When its phosphorescency 
 declines, it assumes a succession of light elegant tints, that 
 are very pleasing to the eye, such as red, aurora, orange, 
 green, and azure blue ; the last is particularly lively and 
 pure. The organization of this animal, which is called the 
 Pyrosoma Atlanticum, ranks it amongst the most singular 
 of the zoophite tribe ; whilst its extraordinary phosphoric 
 powers render it the most beautiful that has yet been 
 seen. 
 
 It may be not amiss to conclude this chapter with an 
 account of that very curious substance, Phosphorus. — This 
 singular production was accidentally discovered, in 1677, by 
 an alchymist of Hamburgh, named Brandt, when he was en- 
 gaged in searching for the philosopher’s stone. Kunkel, 
 another chemist, who had seen the new product, associated 
 himself with one of his friends, named Kraflft, to purchase the 
 secret of its preparation; but the latter deceiving his friend, 
 made the purchase for himself, and refused to communicate 
 it. Kunkel, who at this time knew nothing further of its 
 preparation, than that it was obtained by certain processes 
 from urine, undertook the'task, and succeeded. It is on this 
 account that the substance long went under the name of 
 KunkeTs phosphorus. Mr. Boyle is also considered as one 
 of the discoverers of phosphorus. He communicated the 
 secret of the process for preparing it, to the Royal Society of 
 London, in 1680. It is asserted, indeed, by Kraflft, that he 
 discovered the secret to Mr. Boyle, having, in the year 1678, 
 carried a small piece of it to London, to shew it to the royal 
 family; but there is little probability that a man of such 
 integrity as Mr. Boyle would claim the discovery of the pro- 
 cess as his own, and communicate it to the Royal Society, if 
 this had not been the case. Mr. Boyle communicated the 
 process to Godfrey Hankwitz, an apothecary of London, who 
 for many years supplied Europe with phosphorus, and hence 
 it went under the name of English Phosphorus. In the year 
 1774, the Swedish chemists, Gahn and Scheele, made the 
 important discovery, that phosphorus is contained in the 
 bones of animals ; and they improved the processes for pro- 
 curing it. 
 
PHOSPHORUS. SPOTS IN THE SUN. 
 
 671 
 
 When phosphorus is heated to the temperature of 148®, it 
 takes fire, burns with a bright flame, and gives out a great 
 quantity of white smoke. Phosphorus enters into combi- 
 nation with oxygen, azote, hydrogen, and carbon. Phosphorus 
 is soluble in oils, and, when thus dissolved, forms what has 
 been called liquid phosphorus, which may be rubbed on the 
 face and hands without injury. It dissolves too in ether; and 
 a very beautiful experiment consists in pouring this phos- 
 phoric ether in small portions, and in a dark place, on the 
 surface of hot water. The phosphoric matche-s consist of 
 phosphorus extremely dry, minutely divided, and perhaps 
 a little oxygenized. The simplest mode of making them, is to 
 put a little phosphorus, dried by blotting paper, into a small 
 phial ; heat the phial, and when the phosphorus is melted, 
 turn it round, so that the phosphorus may adhere to the sides. 
 Cork the phial closely, and it is prepared. On putting a 
 common sulphur match into the bottle, and stirring it about, 
 the phosphorus will adhere to the match, and will take fire 
 when brought out into the air. 
 
 CHAP. LXVIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA, OR 
 APPEARANCES IN NATURE — (Continued.) 
 
 Spots in the Sun — Diminution of the Sun — Parhelia, or Mock 
 
 Suns — Eclipses — Halo, or Corona ; and similar Appearances — 
 
 Falling or Shooting Star — Volcanoes in the Moon. 
 
 Hail, sacred source of inexhausted flight! 
 
 Prodij^ious instance of creating: inisht! 
 
 His distance man’s imag:ination foils; 
 
 Numbers will scarce avail to count the miles. 
 
 His g;lobose body how itnmensely g:reat! 
 
 How fierce his burning;s! hovv intense his heat! 
 
 As s\Aift as thoug:ht, he darts his radiance round 
 
 To distant worlds, his system’s utniost bound; 
 
 Of all the planets the direetinj^ soul, 
 
 That heightens and invigorates the whole. Brown. 
 
 Spots in the Sun. — The following account of the spots 
 in the sun is taken from a French paper. 
 
 “The spots w'ere seen for the first time in 1611 ; and nearly 
 about the same time by J. Fabricius, at Wittenberg, by the 
 Jesuit Scheiner, and by Galileo. This great man watched 
 their course with so much attention, and so well developed 
 their phenomena, that very little has been since added to the 
 
CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 e72 
 
 descriptions which he gave, except more precise measures 
 The spots of the sun are at present viewed with astronomical 
 telescopes, in w'hich the great brilliancy of that luminary is 
 mitigated, and not effaced, by the coloured glass placed be- 
 tween the telescope and the eye. There are in the interior of 
 the telescope, at the focus of the object, some very fine threads 
 stretched crosswise, and moveable parallel to each other, by 
 means of which the distance of the spot from the nearest border 
 of the sun’s disk may be ascertained, which determines its 
 position on the disk at the moment of observation. By fol- 
 lowing in this manner the same spot for several days, it is 
 perceived to change its place. Its size also varies much. The 
 spots sometimes grow thinner, and disperse from one day to 
 another; and hence it is, that, though in one month rather a 
 large number was visible, in the following only two are to be 
 seen. But during the whole time of their presence they pur- 
 sue a regular course, of which the aspects are common to 
 
 “ When they first come in sight, they appear on the su-n’s 
 border, like a slender thread. In proportion as they advance 
 towards the middle of the disk, they appear, from day to day, 
 to enlarge in the direction of their movement. They then de- 
 crease periodically; and if they last long enough to traverse 
 the whole disk, they go off by the opposite side, narrowing to 
 a single thread. These appearances are evidently such as a 
 small body, adhering to a spherical surface, and revolving 
 with or upon that surface, must present. The diminution of 
 the spots, in proportion as they approximate the borders of 
 the disk, results from this — that they then project more 
 obliquely, and are only seen sidewdse ; but when in the middle 
 of the disk, they are seen in their full extent. In fine, upon 
 comparing the direction and rapidity of their course, it soon 
 becomes evident, that the supposition of their adhering to the 
 body of the sun is the only admissible one. On thus tracing 
 the route of all those which appear, it is ascertained that they 
 move in courses exactly parallel, describing circles which all 
 have their centre on a common axis, passing through the 
 centre of the sun. The size of these circles varies ®n different 
 points of the disk, according to the same laws as on a sphere; 
 and the rate of movement is modified in such a way, that all 
 the circles are run through in equal times. This perfect con- 
 cordance of revolution in spots so changeable in other respects, 
 evidently shews that they must be attached to one and the 
 same round body, wdiich makes them revolve altogether w'ith a 
 common motion. Hence it has been concluded, that the 
 sun revolves upon itself with the general motion of these 
 spots, that is, in twenty-five. days and a half, in like manner 
 as our earth revolves in twenty-four hours. The same calcu- 
 

PARHELIA, OR MOCK SUN. 
 
 THE IGNIS FATUUS, 
 Will-irith-a-Wisp, or Jack-with-a-Lantern. 
 
DIMINUTION OF THE SUN. PARHELIA. 
 
 673 
 
 lation, applied to the spots which have been discovered on the 
 other planets, has in like manner made us ac 4 uainted with 
 their rotation. 
 
 “ As to the nature of these solar spots, it is absolutely un* 
 known. Herschel is of opinion, that luminous clouds float 
 in the inflamed atmosphere of this luminary, as clouds of 
 vapour float in ours. He supposes that the body of the sun 
 13 opaque and dark ; and that the black spots observed there 
 at intervals, are merely the summits of very elevated moun- 
 tains, which the solar clouds permit us to see between their 
 openina^s. Other astronomers think that the globe of the sun 
 is on fire, and that the spots are merely immense scoria, 
 launched on the surface of that mass by some terrible explo- 
 sions, of which our terrestrial volcanoes afford but a feeble 
 picture. But whatever may be thought of these conjectures, 
 it seems sufficient for us to know, that the solar spots are 
 trifling compared with the immense mass of that body ; and 
 that the eruptions, of which they are perhaps the effect, take 
 place at too great a distance from our earth to produce the 
 least effect upon it. Generally speaking, the physical state 
 of our little world is incomparably more stable and steady 
 than its moral state.’’ 
 
 Diminution of the Sun. — Baron Lindeneau, who re- 
 cently published a work on the diminution of the solar mass, 
 says, that the sun may have been imperceptibly subject to 
 successive diminution since the science of astronomy has been 
 cultivated. Baron Lindeneau supposes the sun’s diameter to 
 be 800,000 miles, 4,204,000,000 feet, or nearly 2000 seconds. 
 We have not, he observes, hitherto possessed any instrument 
 for measuring the diameter of the heavenly bodies to a 
 second. The sun may therefore diminish 12,000 of its dia- 
 meter, or 2,102,000 feet, without the possibility of being per- 
 ceived. Supposing the sun to diminish daily two feet, it 
 would require three thousand years to render the diminution 
 of a second of its diameter visible. 
 
 Account of those singular Appearances, called. Parhelia 
 OR Mock Suns. — 
 
 As when two suns appear in th^ azure sky, 
 
 Mounted in Phoebus’ chariot lierie bright: 
 
 Both darling fortli fair beams to each man’s eye; 
 
 And botli adorn’d with lamps of flaming light. 
 
 All that behold such strange prodigious sight. 
 
 Not knowing nature’s work, nor what to weene, 
 
 Are wrapt with wonder, and with rare afl’righte. Spenser. 
 
 A Parhelion is a meteor in form of a bright light, appearing 
 on one side of the sun. Phenomena of this kind have been 
 mentioned both by the ancienis and moderns Aristotle 
 
 4 Q 
 
674 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 observes, that in general they are seen only when the sun is 
 near the horizon, though he takes notice of two that were 
 seen in Bosphorus from morning till evening; and Pliny has 
 related the times when such phenomena were observed at 
 Rome. Gassendi says, that in 1635-1636 he often saw one 
 mock sun. Two were observed by M. de la Hire in 1689; 
 and the same number by Cassini in 1693 ; by Mr. Grey in 1700, 
 and by Dr. Halley in 1702 ; but the most celebrated phenomena 
 of this kind were seen at Rome by Scheiner; by Muschen- 
 broek at Utrecht; and by Hevelius at Ledan. By the two 
 former, four mock suns were observed ; and by the latter, 
 seven. Parhelia are apparently of the same size with the 
 sun, though not always of the same brightness, nor even of 
 the same shape ; and when a number appear at once, there is 
 some difference in both respects among them. Externally 
 they are tinged with colours like the rainbow ; and many 
 have a long fiery tail opposite the sun, but paler towards the 
 extremity. Parhelia are generally accompanied with coronas, 
 some of which are tinged with rainbow colours, but others 
 are white. (See Halo ) They differ in number and size ; but 
 all agree in breadth, which is that of the apparent diameter of 
 the sun. A very large white circle, parallel to the horizon, 
 generally passes through all the parhelia ; and, if it were 
 entire, it would go through the centre of the sun. Sometimes 
 there are arcs of lesser circles concentric to this, touching 
 those coloured circles which surround the sun. They are 
 also tinged with colours, and contain other parhelia. Other 
 circles are said to have been obliquely situated with respect 
 to all these. The order of the colours in these circles is the 
 same as in the rainbow; but on the inside, with respect to 
 the sun, they are red, as is also observed in many haloes. 
 Parhelia have been visible for one, two, three, and four hours 
 together; and in North America, they are said to continue 
 some days, and to be visible from sunrise to sunset. When 
 the parhelia disappear, it sometimes rains, or snow falls in 
 the form of oblong spiculae, as Maraldi, Weidler, Krafft, and 
 others, have observed ; and because the air in North America 
 abounds with such frozen spiculae, which are even visible to 
 the eye, according to Ellis and Middleton, such particles 
 have been thought to be the cause of all coronas and par- 
 helia. 
 
 Mr. Wales says, that at Churchill, in Hudson’s Bay, the 
 risin'g of the sun is always preceded by two long streams of 
 red light, one on each side, and about twenty degrees distant 
 from him. These rise as the sun rises; and as they grow 
 longer, they begin to bend towards each other, till they meet 
 directly over the sun, just as he rises, forming there a par- 
 helion, or mock sun. These two streams of light, he says, 
 
PARHELIA, OR MOCK SUNS. 
 
 675 
 
 seem to have their source in two other parhelia, which rise 
 with the true sun ; and in winter, when the sun never rises 
 above the haze or fog, which he says is constantly seen near 
 the horizon, all these accompany him the whole day, and set 
 with him. Once or twice he saw a fourth parhelion, directly 
 under the sun; but this is not common. These facts being 
 constant, are very valuable, and may throw great light on the 
 theory of these remarkable phenomena. Sometimes parhelia 
 appear in a different manner; as when three suns have been 
 seen in the same vertical circle, well defined, and touching 
 one another. The true sun was in the middle, and the lowest 
 touched the horizon, and they set one after the other. This 
 appearance was seen by Maleziew, in 1722. Other appear- 
 ances similar to this are recited by Mr. Muschenbroek. 
 Sometimes the sun has risen or set with a luminous tail pro- 
 jecting from him, of the same breadth with his diameter, and 
 perpendicular to the horizon. Such an appearance w^as seen 
 by Cassini in 1672 and 1692 ; by De la Hire in 1702 ; and by Mr. 
 Ellis in Hudson’s Bay. As M. Feuilee was w'alking on the 
 banks of the river La Plata, he saw the sun rising over the 
 river, w ith a luminous tail projecting downwards, which con- 
 tinued till he was six degrees high. Paraselee, or mock 
 moons, have also been seen, accompanied with tails and 
 coloured circles, like those which accompany the parhelia. 
 An account of several, and a particular description of a fine 
 appearance of this kind, may be seen in Muschenbroek. 
 
 The following account of this phenomenon is extracted 
 from a pamphlet, entitled, ‘ Somewhat written by occasion of 
 .Three Sunnes’ seene, at Tregorie, in Cornwall, the 22nd of 
 December last; with other memorable occurrents in other 
 places. Imprinted 1622: 20 pages small 4to.’ 
 
 “ Since this strange apparition, namely, upon the 10th of 
 January last, there happened in Devonshire, yet not farre from 
 the other place, being on the edge of Cornwalle, another 
 wonder, which, did as much alfrighte the eares of men, as this 
 did their eyes: for in the afternoone of that day, being the 
 Thursday after Twelfth-day, there were heard in the aire un- 
 usuall cracks or claps of thunder, resembling in all points the 
 sound of many drums together, sometimes beating charges, 
 sometimes retreats, sometimes marches, and all other points 
 of warre : which, after it had continued a good time, it seemed 
 that the same thunder did most lively expresse many volleyes 
 of small-shot, 'and afterwards the like volleyes of ordnance, 
 with so great and yet so distinct noyse, that many of them 
 who dw( lt neare the sea, w'ent toward the shore to see what 
 it might meane, as verily supposing there had beene some 
 sea fight neere upon that coast. I'hese severall fearfull noyses 
 were againe and againe renewed in the same orde«r, till at 
 
m 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 length with an horrible and extraordinary cracke of thunder, 
 there fell in a ground of one Robert Pierce, where there were 
 divers workemen planting apple-trees, (which ground lay neere 
 the house of one Master George Chidley,) a thunder-bolt, if 
 I may so call it, being a stone of three foot and an halfe in 
 length, of two foot and an halfe in breadth, and one foot and an 
 halfe in thicknesse, the substance whereof was in hardnesse and 
 colour not much unlike a flint, as appeares by many pieces 
 thereof, which are shewed up and dow'ue by many credible and 
 honest gentlemen, who, with their own hands, brake them off 
 from the maine stone. After the fall of this stone, which with 
 the weight thereof was cleane buried in the ground above a yard 
 deepe, the thunder ceased, and people began as much to won- 
 at tliat which they now saw, as they had lately done at that, 
 which with so much feare and amazement they had heard.’’ 
 
 Observations on Eclipses of the Sun and Moon. — 
 
 Give me the ways of wand’ring stars to know, 
 
 The depths of heav'n above and earth below; 
 
 Teach me the various labours of the Moon, 
 
 And w hence proceed th’ Eclipses of the Sun. Vir^. Georg, ii 
 
 The deprivation of the light of the sun, or some heavenly 
 body, by the interposition of another heavenly body between 
 our sight and it is, called an Eclipse. Thus, eclipses of the 
 sun happen by the moon’s intervening between it and the 
 earth ; by which means the shadow of the moon falls upon 
 the earth, wdien the latitude of the moon does not prevent it, 
 by elevating her orb above, or depressing it below the earth. 
 On the other hand, an eclipse of the moon can only happen 
 when the earth is interposed between the sun and it ; for then, 
 if the latitude of the moon does not prevent it, the shadow of 
 the earth may fall on the moon, and thereby cause either a 
 partial, or total eclipse. A total eclipse of the sun or moon, 
 is when their whole bodies are obscured ; and a partial one, is 
 when part only of their bodies is darkened: again, a central 
 eclipse is when it is not only total, but the eclipsed body 
 passes through the centre of the shadow. 
 
 As total solar eclipses are by no means common, we shall 
 give an interesting description of one, by Dr. Stukeley, sent 
 to his friend, the celebrated Dr. Edmund Halley. 
 
 According to my promise, I send you what I observed of 
 the solar eclipse, though I fear it will not be of any great use 
 to you. I was not prepared with any instruments for measur- 
 ing time or the like, and proposed to myself only to watch all 
 the appearances that nature would present to the naked eye 
 upon so remarkable an occasion, and which generally are 
 overlooked, or but grossly regarded. 1 chose for my station 
 a place called Haradon Hill, two miles eastward from Ams- 
 
ECLIPSES. 
 
 677 
 
 bury, and full east from the opening of Stonehenge avenue, 
 to which it is as the point of view. Before me lay the vast 
 plain where that celebrated work stands, and I knew that the 
 eclipse would appear directly over it; besides, I had the ad- 
 vantage of a very extensive prospect every way, this being the 
 highest hill hereabouts, and nearest the middle of the shadow. 
 Full west of me, and beyond Stonehenge, is a pretty copped 
 hill, like the top of a cone, lifting itself above the horizon ; 
 this is Clay-hill, near Warminster, twenty miles distant, and 
 near the central line of darkness, which must come from thence, 
 so that I could have notice enough beforehand of its approach. 
 Abraham Sturgis and Stephen Ewens, both of this place, and 
 sensible men, were with me. Ehough it was very cloudy, 
 yet now and then we had gleams of sunshine, rather more 
 than I could perceive at any other place around us. These 
 two persons, looking through smoked glasses, while I was 
 taking some bearings of the country with a circumferentor, 
 both confidently affirmed the eclipse was begun, wlien, by my 
 watch, I found it just half an hour after five; and accordingly 
 from thence the progress of it was visible, and very often to 
 the naked eye; the thin clouds doing the office of glasses. 
 From the time of the sun’s body being half covered, there 
 was a very conspicuous circular iris round the sun, with per- 
 fect colours. On all sides we beheld the shepherds hurrying 
 their flocks into fold, the darkness coming on; for they ex- 
 pected nothing less than a total eclipse for an hour and a 
 quarter. 
 
 “When the sun looked very sharp like anew moon, the 
 sky was pretty clear in that spot; but soon after a thicker 
 cloud covered it, at which time the iris vanished ; the copped 
 hill before-mentioned grew' very dark, together with the horizon 
 on both sides, that is, to the north and south, and looked 
 blue, just as it appears at the declension of day. We had 
 scarcely time to tell them, when Salisbury steeple, six miles 
 off southward, became very black ; the copped hill was quite lost, 
 and a most gloomy night with full career came upon us : at 
 this instant we lost sight of the sun, whose place among the 
 clouds w'as hitherto sufficiently distinguishable, but now not 
 the least trace of it was to be found, any more than if really 
 absent: then I saw by my watch, though with difficulty, and 
 only by help of some light from the northern quarter, that it 
 was six hours thirty-five minutes: just before this, the whole 
 compass of the heavens and earth looked of a lurid complex- 
 ion, properly speaking, for it was black and blue, only on the 
 earth upon the horizon the blue prevailed ; there was likewise 
 in the heavens, among the clouds, much green interspersed, so 
 that the whole appearance was really very dreadful, and as 
 symptoms of sickening nature. 
 
678 
 
 Cl RIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 Now I perceived we were involved in total and palpable 
 darkness, as I may aptly call it; for though it came quickly, 
 yet I was so intent, that I could perceive its steps, and feel it 
 as it were drop upon us, and fall on the right shoulder (we look- 
 ing' westward) like a great dark mantle, or coverlet of a bed, 
 thrown over us, or like the drawing of a curtain on that 
 side. The horses we held in our hands were very sensible of 
 it, and crowded close to us, startling with great surprise ; and 
 as much as I could see of the men’s faces that stood by me, 
 they had a horrible aspect. At this instant 1 looked around 
 me, not without exclamations of admiration, and could dis- 
 cern colours in the heavens, but the earth had lost its blue, 
 and was wholly black. For some time, among the clouds, there 
 were visible streaks of rays, tending to the place of the sun as 
 their centre ; but immediately after, the whole appearance of 
 earth and sky was entirely black : of all things I ever saw in 
 my life, or can by imagination fancy, it was a sight the most 
 tremendous. / 
 
 “ Towards the north-west, whence the eclipse came, I could 
 not in the least find any distinction in the horizon between 
 heaven and earth, for a good breadth of about sixty degrees, 
 or more ; nor the town of Amsbury underneath us, nor scarcely 
 the ground we trod on. I turned myself round several times 
 during this total darkness, and remarked at a good distance 
 from the west on both sides, that is, to the north and south, the 
 horizon very perfectly ; the earth being black, the lower parts ot 
 the heavens light; for the darkness above hung over us like a 
 canopy, alnost reaching the horizon in those parts, or as if made 
 with skirts of a lighter colour; so that the upper edges of all the 
 hills were as a black line, and I knew them very distinctly by 
 ^their shape or profile; and northward, I saw perfectly, that 
 the interval of light and darkness in the horizon was between 
 Martinsal-hill and St. Ann’s-hill ; but southward it was more 
 {indefinite. I do not mean that the verge of the shadow passed 
 between those hills, which were but twelve miles distant from 
 'US ; but, so far I could distinguish the horizon ; beyond it 
 mot at all. The reason of it was this ; the elevation of ground 
 :I was upon gave me an opportunity of seeing the light of the 
 ■heavens beyond the shadow ; nevertheless, this verge of light 
 llooked of a dead yellowish, and greenish colour; it was 
 .broader to the north than south ; but the southern was of a 
 •tawny colour: at this time behind us, or eastward toward 
 ^London, it was dark too, w^here otherwise I could see the 
 ■hills beyond Andover ; for the foremost end of the shadow 
 was past thither; so that the whole horizon was now divided 
 into four parts of unequal bulk, and degrees of light and dark ; 
 the part to the north-west broadest and blackest, to the south- 
 west lightest and longest. All the change I could perceive 
 
ECLIPSES. 
 
 679 
 
 during the totality, was, that the horizon degrees drew 
 into two parts, light and dark : the northern hemisphere 
 growing still longer, lighter, and broader; and the two opj)o~ 
 site dark parts un*ting into one, and swallowing up the southern 
 enlightened part. 
 
 “ As at the beginning the shade came feelingly upon our 
 right shoulders, so now the light from the north, where it 
 opened as it were; though I could discern no defined light or 
 shade upon the earth that way, which I earnestly watched 
 for yet it was manifestly by degrees, and with oscillation, 
 going back a little, and quickly advancing further, till at 
 length, upon the first lucid point appearing in the heavens, 
 where the sun was, I could distinguish pretty plainly a rim 
 of light running alongside of us a good while together, or 
 sweeping by at our elbows from west to east. Just then^ 
 having reason to suppose the totality ended with us, I looked 
 on my watch, and found it to be full three minutes and a 
 half more. Now the hill-tops changed their black into blue 
 again, and I could distinguish an horizon where the centre of 
 darkness was before : the men cried out, they saw the copped- 
 hill again, which they had eagerly looked for; but still it 
 continued dark to the south-east, yet I cannot say that ever 
 the horizon that way was undistinguishable. Immediately 
 we heard the larks chirping, and singing very briskly, for joy 
 of the restored luminary, after all things had been hushed 
 into a most profound and universal silence. The heavens and 
 earth now appeared exactly like morning before sunrise, of a 
 greyish cast, but rather more blue interspersed ; and the earth, 
 so far as the verge of the hill reached, was of a dark green, 
 or russet colour. 
 
 “ As soon as the sun emerged, the clouds grew thicker, and 
 the light was very little amended for a minute or more, like a 
 cloudy morning slowly advancing. After about the middle of 
 the totality, and so after the emersion of the sun, we saw 
 Venus very plainly, but no other star. Salisbury steeple now 
 appeared ; but the clouds never removing, we could take no 
 account of it afterwards ; but in the evening it lighten.ed very 
 much. I hastened home to write this letter, and the ini pres - 
 sion was so vivid upon my mind, that 1 am sure, I could foi 
 some days after have written the same account of it, and very 
 precisely. After supper I made a drawing of it fiom my 
 imagination, upon the same paper on which 1 had taken a 
 prospect of the country before. 
 
 “ I must confess to you, that I was (1 believe) the only 
 person in England, that regretted not the cloudiness of the 
 day, which added so much to the solemnity of the sight, and 
 which incomparably exceeded, in my apprehension, that of 
 1715 which I saw very ji^rfectly from the top of Boston 
 
580 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 steeple, in Lincolnshire, where the air was very clear ; but 
 the night of this was more complete and dreadful : there, 
 indeed, I saw both sides of the shadow come from a great 
 distance, and pass beyond us to a considerable extent ; but 
 this eclipse had much more of variety and majestic terror; so 
 that I cannot but felicitate myself upon the opportunity of 
 seeing these two rare accidents of nature, in so different a 
 manner. Yet I should willingly have lost this pleasure, for 
 your more valuable advantage of perfecting the noble theory 
 of the celestial bodies, which, last time, you gave the world 
 so nice a calculation of ; and I wish the sky had now as 
 much favoured us for an addition to your honour and 
 great skill, which I doubt not to be as exact in this as 
 before.” 
 
 We now proceed to describe The Halo, or Corona ; and 
 SIMILAR Appearances. — A n Halo is a luminous circle sur- 
 rounding the sun, moon, planets, or fixed stars. Occasionally 
 these circles are white, and sometimes they are coloured like the 
 rainbow. Sometimes one only is visible, and at others several 
 concentric halos appearatthesametime. Mr. Huygensobserved 
 red next the sun, and a pale blue outwards. Sometimes they 
 are red on the inside, and white on the outside. In France, 
 one was observed in 1683, the middle of which was white ; 
 after which followed a border of red, next to it was blue, then 
 green, and the outermost circle was a bright red. In 1728, 
 one was seen of a pale red outwardly, then followed yellow, 
 and then green, terminated by a white. In Holland, M. Mus- 
 chenbroek says, fifty may be seen in the day-time, almost 
 every year; but they are difficult to be observed, except the 
 eye be so situated, that not the body of the sun, but only the 
 neighbouring parts of the heavens, can be seen. Mr. Mid- 
 dleton says, that this phenomenon is very frequent in North 
 America; for that there is generally one or two about the sun 
 every week, and as many about the moon every month. 
 Halos round the sun are very frequent in Russia. M, jEpinus 
 says, that from the 23d of April, 1758, to the 20th of September, 
 he himself had observed no less than twenty-six, and that 
 he has sometimes seen twice as many in the same space o^ 
 time. 
 
 Similar, in some ’espects, to the halo, was the remarkable 
 appearance which M. Bouguer describes, as observed on the 
 top of Mount Pichinca, in the Cordilleras. When the sun 
 was just rising behind them, so as to appear white, each of 
 them saw his own shadow projected upon it, and no other. 
 The distance was such, that all the parts of the shadow were 
 easily distinguishable, as the arms, the legs, and the head ; bat 
 what surprised them moat was, that the head was adorned '* itb 
 
MUlwr/ 
 
 Of TJ?E 
 
 !W¥« fSTv |,f 
 
FALLING OR SHOOTING STARS. 
 
 The engraving represents an extraordinary shower of these remarkable meteors, which took place 
 ai the Falls of Niagara. The view comprises the entire falls^ with Goat Island in the centre. 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE SOUTH-WEST MONSOON IN INDIA. 
 
HALO. — FALLING OR SHOOTING STAR. 
 
 6Si 
 
 a kind of glory, consisting of three or four small concentric 
 crowns, of a very lively colour, each exhibiting ail the varieties 
 of the primary rainbow, and having the circle of red on the 
 outside. The intervals between these circles continued equal, 
 though the diameters of them all were constantly changing. 
 The last of them was very faint; and at a considerable dis- 
 tance was another great white circle, which surounded the 
 whole. This phenomenon never appeared but in a cloud con- 
 sisting of frozen particles, and never in drops of rain like the 
 rainbow. When the sun was not in the horizon, only part of 
 the white circle was visible, as M. Bouquer frequently ob- 
 served afterwards. Similar to this curious appearance, was 
 one seen by Dr. M‘Fait in Scotland ; who observed a rainbow 
 round his shadow in the mist, when he was upon an eminence 
 above it. In this situation the w^hole country round seemed 
 buried under a vast deluge, and nothing but the tops of dis- 
 tant hills appeared here and there above the flood. In those 
 upper regions, the air, he says, is at that time very pure and 
 agreeable. At another time he observed a double range of 
 
 o ^ O 
 
 colours round his shadow. The colours of the outermost 
 range were broad and very distinct, and every where about 
 two feet distant from the shadow. Then there was a darkish 
 interval, and after that another narrower range of colours, 
 closely surrounding the shadow, which was very much con- 
 tracted. He thinks that these ranges of colours are caused by 
 the inflection of the rays of light, the same that occasions 
 the ring of light which surrounds the shadow of all bodies, 
 observed by M. Maraldi, and others. 
 
 We next proceed to the phenomenon generally called 
 Falling or Shooting Star. — This is a luminous meteor, 
 darting rapidly through the air, and resembling a star falling 
 from the heavens. The explication of this phenomenon had 
 puzzled all philosophers, till the modern discoveries in elec- 
 tricity led to the most probable account of it. Signior 
 Beccari makes it pretty evident, that it is an electrical 
 appearance, and recites the following fact in proof of his 
 opinion. About an hour after sunset, he, and some friends 
 that were with him, observed a falling star directing its course 
 towards them, and apparently growing larger and larger, but 
 it disappeared not far from them. When it vanished, it left their 
 faces, hands, and clothes, with the earth, and all the neigh- 
 bouring objects, suddenly illuminated with a diffused and 
 lambent light, but not attended with any noise. During their 
 surprise at this appearance, a servant informed them, that he 
 had seen a light shine suddenly in the garden, and especially 
 upon the streams which he was throwing to water it. All 
 these appearances were evidently electrical; and Beccari was 
 
 4'R 
 
0'82 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 confirmed in his conjecture, that electricity was the cause of 
 them, by the quantity of electric matter which he had seen 
 gradually advancing' towards a kite he had elevated, which 
 had very much the appearance of a falling star. Sometimes, 
 also, he saw a kind of glory roun3 the kite, which followed 
 it when it changed its place, but left some light, for a small 
 space of time, in the place it had quitted. 
 
 Captain Bagnold says, whilst passing through the straits of 
 Bahama, in the autumn of 1799, he witnessed the following 
 singular atmospheric phenomenon. 
 
 “ It was a fine star-light morning, about two o’clock, the 
 atmosphere remarkably clear, with a light air from the north- 
 east ; the sky to windward, from north-north-east to south- 
 south-east, was illuminated by a profusion of those meteors, 
 vulgarly denominated falling stars, but of a description far 
 more vivid than those usually seen in the higher latitudes ; 
 the head of each was an oblong ignited mass, followed by a 
 long luminous tail, which, after three or four seconds, gradu- 
 ally vanished. They were formed, to all appearance, in the 
 air, at an elevation of from thirty-five to sixty-four degrees, 
 none being observed in the zenith, and few to commence 
 nearer the horizon than the first-mentioned angles. At the 
 mean of these elevations, the greatest numbers were seen 
 darting in different directions, forming portions of a large 
 curve, all slightly inclined to the horizon. Multitudes were 
 constantly visible at the same moment, and they succeeded 
 each other so rapidly, that the eye of the spectator was kept 
 in motion between the above points of the compass. In 
 about ten minutes they became less frequent, and at length 
 ceased altogether. 
 
 “ The apparent distance of this phenomenon would, by a 
 seaman, be estimated at fifteen or twenty miles; and if it 
 really was what I have always considered it, namely, a 
 nocturnal shower of meteoric stones, it was perhaps fortunate 
 for all on board, that we were not within the sphere of its 
 action: whatever it was, never shall I forget the splendour 
 of the spectacle.” — See Humboldt's Personal Narrative, volume 
 III. page 331, 335. 
 
 We close this chapter with An Account of Three Vol- 
 canoes IN THE Moon ; by Dr. Herschel. 
 
 “ It will be necessary to say a few words by way of intro- 
 duction to the account I have to give of some appearances 
 upon the moon. The phenomena of nature, especially those 
 that fall under the inspection of the astronomer, are to be 
 viewed, not only with the usual attention to facts as they 
 occur, but with the eye of reason and experience. In this we 
 are however, not allowed to depart from plain appearances. 
 
THREE VOLCANOES IN THE MOON. 
 
 683 
 
 though th«ir origin and significatioi. should be indicated by 
 the most characterizing features. Thus, when we see on the 
 surface of the moon a great number of elevations, from hall 
 a mile to a mile and a half in height, we are strictly entitled 
 to call them mountains ; but when we attend to their parti- 
 cular shape, in which many of them resemble the craters ol 
 our volcanoes, and thence argue that they owe their oricrju 
 to the same cause which has modelled many of these, we may 
 be said to see by analogy, or with the eye of reason. Now, 
 in this latter case, though it may be convenient, in speaking 
 of phenomena, to use expressions that can only be justified 
 by reasoning upon the facts themselves, it will certainly be the 
 safest way not to neglect a full description of them, that it 
 may appear to others how^ far we have been authorized to use 
 the mental eye. This being premised, I may safely proceed 
 to give my observations. 
 
 “ April i9th, 1787, lOh. 36', sidereal time. I perceive three 
 volcanoes in different places of the dark part of the new 
 moon. Two of them are either already nearly extinct, or 
 otherwise in a state of going to break out; which, perhaps, 
 may be decided next lunation. The third shews an actual 
 eruption of fire, or luminous matter. I measured the dis- 
 tance of the crater from the northern limb of the moon, and 
 found it 3' 57".3. Its light is much brighter than the nucleus 
 of the comet which M. Mechain discovered at Paris the lOth 
 of this month, — April 20th, 1787, lOh. 2', sidereal time: The 
 volcano burns with greater violence than last night. I be- 
 lieve its diameter cannot be less than 3", by comparing it with 
 that of the Georgian planet: as Jupiter was near at hand, 
 I turned the telescope to his third satellite, and estimated 
 the diameter of the burning part of the volcano to be equal 
 to at least twice that of the satellite. Hence we may com- 
 pute that the shining or burning matter must be above 
 three miles in diameter. It is of an irregular round figure, 
 and very sharply defined on the edges. The other two vol- 
 canoes are much farther towards the centre of the moon, and 
 resemble large pretty faint nebulae, that are gradually much 
 brighter in the middle; but no well-defined luminous spot can 
 be discerned in them. These three spots are plainly to be 
 distinguished from the rest of the marks upon the moon ; for 
 the reflection of the sun^s rays from the earth is, in its pre- 
 sent situation, sufficiently bright, with a ten-feet reflector, to 
 shew the moon’s spots, even the darkest of them ; nor did 
 I perceive any similar phenomena last lunation, though I 
 then viewed the same places with the same instrument. 
 
 “The appearance of what I have called the actual fire, or 
 eruption of a volcano, exactly resembled a small piece of 
 burning charcoal, when it is covered by a very thin coat of 
 
CURIOUS NATURAL PHENOMENA. 
 
 »S84 
 
 tfvhite as.ies, which frequently adhere to it after it has been 
 some time ignited; and it had a degree of brightness about 
 as strong as that with which such a coal would be seen to 
 glow in faint daylight. All the adjacent parts of the vol- 
 canic mountain seemed to be faintly illuminated by the 
 eruption, and were gradually more obscure as they lay at 
 a greater distance from the crater. 
 
 “ This eruption resembled much that which I saw' on the 
 fourth of May, in the year 1783 ; an account of which, with 
 many remarkable particulars relating to volcanic mountains 
 in the moon, 1 shall take an early opportunity of communi- 
 cating to the Royal Society. It differed, however, consider- 
 ably in magnitude and brightness; for the volcano of the 
 year 1783, though much brighter than that wdiich is now 
 burning, was not near so large in the dimensions of its 
 eruption ; the former seen in the telescope resembled a star 
 of the fourth magnitude, as it appears to the natural eye: 
 this, on the contrary, shews a visible disk of luminous 
 matter, very difterent from the sparkling brightness of star- 
 light.’^ 
 
 CHAP. LXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA, OB 
 APPEARANCES IN NATURE. — (Concluded.) 
 
 The Aurora Borealis. 
 
 Silent from the north 
 
 A blaze of meteors shoots: ensweeping; first 
 The lower skies, they all at once converge 
 High to the crown of heav’n, and all at once 
 Relapsing quick, as quickly reasccnd, 
 
 , And mix and thwart, extinguish and renew', 
 
 All ether coursing in a maze of light Thomson. 
 
 The Aurora Borealis, sometimes called Streamers, is an 
 extraordinary meteor, or luminous appearance, shewing itself 
 in the night time in the northern part of the heavens; and 
 most usually in frosty weather. It is generally of a reddish 
 colour, inclining to yellow, and sends out frequent corrus- 
 cations of pale light, which seem to rise from the horizon in 
 a pyramidical undulating form, and shoot with great velocity up 
 to the zenith. The Aurora Borealis appears frequently in form 
 of an arch, chiefly in the spring and autumn, after a dry year. 
 The arch is partly bright, partly dark, but generally trans- 
 parent: and the matter of which it consists, is also found to 
 have no effect on rays of light which pass through it. 
 
AURORA BOREALIS. 
 
 This is an extraordinary appearance of the Aurora Borealis, observed by Captain Parry 
 in his expedition to the Arctic regions. 
 
 AURORA BOREALIS. 
 
 This is an aspect of the Aurora Borealis someTimes observed in Scotland. The view embraces 
 a portion of Loch Leven, with the island and the castle in which the unfortunate Mary Queen 
 of Scots was imprisoned- 
 
jrifc uKftiiS'!! 
 
 8f TEI 
 
 UtiSVBilW U iUESCSS 
 
AURORA BOREALIS. 
 
 686 
 
 Dr. Hamilton observes, that he could plainly discern the 
 smallest speck in the Pleiades through the density of those 
 clouds which formed the Aurora Borealis in 1763, without the 
 least diminution of its splendour, or increase of twinkling 
 
 This kind of meteor, which is more uncommon as we ap- 
 proach towards the equator, is almost constant during the 
 long winter, and appears with the greatest lustre in the polar 
 regions. In the Shetland isles, the ‘‘Merry Dancers,’’ as the 
 northern lights are there called, are the constant attendants 
 of clear evenings, and afford great relief amidst the gloom of 
 the long winter nights. They commonly appear at twilight, 
 near the horizon, of a dun colour, approaching to yellow; they 
 sometimes continue in that state for several hours, without 
 any perceptible motion ; and sometimes they break out into 
 streams of stronger light, spreading into columns, and altering 
 slowly into ten thousand different shapes, and varying their 
 colours from all the tints of yellow, to the most obscure russet. 
 They often cover the whole hemisphere, and then exhibit the 
 most brilliant appearance. Their motions at this time are 
 most amazingly quick ; and they astonish the spectator with 
 the rapid changes of their form. They break out in places 
 where none were seen before, skimming briskly among the 
 heavens, are suddenly extinguished, and are succeeded by a 
 uniform dusky tract. This again is brilliantly illuminated in 
 the same manner, and as suddenly left a dark space. In some 
 nights, they assume the appearance of large columns, on one 
 side of the deepest yellow, and on the other, gradually chang- 
 ing, till it becomes undistinguished from the sky. They have 
 generally a strong tremulous motion from one end to the other, 
 and this continues till the whole vanishes. 
 
 As for us, who see only the extremities of these northern 
 phenomena, we can have but a faint idea of their splendour 
 and motions. According to the state of the atmosphere, they 
 differ in hue; and sometimes assuming the colour of blood, 
 they make a dreadful appearance. The rustic sages who ob 
 serve them, become prophetic, and terrify the spectators with 
 alarms of war, pestilence, and famine. Nor, indeed, were 
 these superstitious presages peculiar to the northern islands: 
 appearances of a similar nature are of ancient date ; and they 
 were distinguished by the appellations of “ phasmata,”“ trabes,’* 
 and “balides,” according to their forms and colours. In old 
 times they were either more rare, or less frequently noticed : 
 they were supposed to portend great events, and the timid 
 imagination formed of them aerial conflicts. 
 
 In the northern latitudes of Sweden and Lapland, the 
 Aurorae Boreales are not only singularly beautiful in their 
 appearance, but they afford travellers, by their almost constant 
 effulgence, a very beautiful light during the whole night. In 
 
686 
 
 CURIOUS NATURAL PHKNOMENA. 
 
 Hudson’s Bay the Aurora Borealis diffuses a variegated splen 
 dour, which is said to equal that of the full moon. In the north- 
 eastern parts of Siberia, according to the description of Ginelin, 
 these northern lights are observed to “ begin with single 
 bright pillars, rising in the north, and almost at the same time 
 in the north-east, which, gradually increasing, comprehend a 
 large space of the heavens, rush about from place to place 
 with incredible velocity, and, finally, almost cover the whole 
 sky up to the zenith, and produce an appearance as if a vast 
 tent were expanded in the heavens, glittering with gold, rubies, 
 and sapphire. A more beautiful spectacle cannot be painted ; 
 but whoever should see such a northern light for the first 
 time, could not behold it without terror. For, however fine 
 the illumination may be, it is attended, as I have learned from 
 the relation of many persons, with such a hissing, crackling, 
 and rushing noise through the air, as if the largest fire-works 
 were played off. To describe what they then hear, they make 
 use of the expression, ‘ The raging host is passing.’ The hunt- 
 ers, who pursue the white and blue foxes in the confines of 
 the Icy Sea, are often alarmed in their course by these 
 northern lights. Their dogs are then so much frightened, 
 that they will not move, but lie obstinately on the ground, till 
 the noise has passed. Commonly, clear and calm weather 
 follows this kind of northern lights. This account has been 
 confirmed by the uniform testimony of many, who have spent 
 part of several years in these northern regions, and inhabited 
 different countries from the Yenisei to the Lena; so that no 
 doubt of its truth can remain. This seems, indeed, to be the 
 real birth-place of the Aurora Borealis.” 
 
 A person who resided seven years at Hudson’s Bay, con- 
 firms M. Gmelin’s relation of the fine appearance and brilliant 
 colours of the northern lights, and particularly of their rush- 
 ing noise, which he affirms he has frequently heard, and he 
 compares it to the sound produced by whirling round a stick 
 swiftly at the end of a string. A similar noise has likewise 
 been noticed in Sweden. Mr. Nairne also, being in North- 
 ampton at the time when the northern lights were remarkably 
 bright, is confident he heard a hissing or whizzing sound. 
 Mr. Belknap, of Dover, in New Hampshire, North America, 
 testifies to this fact. M. Cavallo says, that the cracking noise 
 is distinctly audible, and that he has heard it more than once. 
 Similar lights, called Aurorae Australes, have been long since 
 observed towards the south pole, and their existence has been 
 lately ascertained by Mr. Forster, who assures us, that in his 
 voyage round the world with Captain Cook, he observed 
 them in high southern latitudes, though attended with 
 phenomena somewhat different from those which are seen 
 here. 
 
AURORA BOREALIS 
 
 687 
 
 On February 17, 1773, in south latitude 58°, “ a beautiful 
 phenomenon (he says) was observed during the preceding 
 night, which appeared again this and several following 
 nights. It consisted of long columns of a clear white light, 
 shooting up from the horizon to the eastward, almost to 
 the zenith, and gradually spreading on the whole southern 
 part of the sky. The columns were sometimes bent sideways 
 at their upper extremities; and though in most respects simi- 
 lar to the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) of our hemisphere, 
 yet they differed from them in being always of a whitish colour, 
 whereas ours assume various tints, especially those of a fiery 
 and purple hue. The sky was generally clear when they ap- 
 peared, and the air sharp and cold, the thermometer standing 
 at the freezing point.” 
 
 The periods of the appearance of these northern lights are 
 very inconstant. In some years they occur very frequently, 
 and in others they are more rare; and it has been observed, 
 that they are more common about the time of the equinoxes 
 than at other seasons of the year. Dr. Halley (see Pliilos. 
 Trans. No. 347, p. 406,) has collected together several obser- 
 vations, which form a kind of history of this phenomenon. 
 After having particularly described the various circumstances 
 which attended that observed by himself, and many others, in 
 March, 1716, and which was singularly brilliant, he proceeds 
 with informing us, that the first account of similar phenomena 
 recorded in the English annals, is that of the appearance 
 noticed January 30, 1560, and called. Burning Spears, by 
 the author of a book entitled, A Description of Meteors,” 
 by W. F. D.D.; reprinted at London, in 1654. The next 
 appearance of a like kind, recorded by Stow, occurred on 
 October 7, 1564. In 1574, as Camden and Stow inform us, an 
 Aurora Borealis was seen for two successive nights, viz. on the 
 14th and 15th of November, with appearances similar to those 
 observed in 1716, and which are now commonly noticed. 
 The same phenomenon w^as twice seen in Brabant, in 1575, 
 viz. on the 13th of February, and the 28th of September; and 
 the circumstances attending it were described by Cornelius 
 Gemma, who compares them to “ spears, fortified cities, and 
 armies fighting in the air.” In the year 1580, M. Masline 
 observed these phasmata, as he calls them, at Baknang, in 
 the county of Wirtemberg, in Germany, no less than seven 
 times in the space of twelve months; and again at several 
 different times, in 1581. On September 2d, 1621, the same 
 phenomenon was seen over all France ; and it was particularly 
 described by Gassendus, in his Physics,” who gave it the 
 name of Aurora Borealis. Another was seen all over Ger- 
 many, in November, 1623, and was described by Kepler. 
 Since that time, for more than eighty years, we have no account 
 
0‘88 
 
 curiosities: — aurora borealis. 
 
 of any such phenomenon, either at home or abroad. In 1707, 
 Mr. Neve observed one of small continuance in Ireland ; and 
 in the same year, a similar appearance was seen by Romer, at 
 Copenhagen ; and during an interval of eighteen months, in 
 the years 1707 and 1708, this sort of light had been seen no 
 less than five times. 
 
 Hence it should seem, (says Dr. Halley,) that the air or 
 earth, or both, are not at all times disposed to produce this 
 phenomenon, though it is possible it may happen in the day- 
 time, in bright moonshine, or in cloudy weather, and so pass 
 unobserved. Dr. Halley further observes, that the Aurora 
 Borealis of 1716, which he described, was visible from the 
 west of Ireland to the confines of Russia, and to the east ot 
 Poland ; extending at least near thirty degrees of longitude, and 
 ’ from about the fiftieth degree of north latitude, over almost 
 all the north of Europe ; and in all places at the same time, it 
 exhibited appearances similar to those which he observed in 
 London. He regrets, however, that he was unable to deter- 
 mine its height, for want of contemporary observations at 
 different places. 
 
 Father Boscovich has determined the height of an Aurora 
 'Borealis, observed on the 16th of December, 1737, by' the 
 Marquis of Poleni, to have been eight hundred and twenty- 
 five miles; and Mr. Bergman, from a mean of thirty compu- 
 tations, makes the average height of the Aurora Borealis to be 
 seventy-two Swedish, or (supposing a Swedish mile to be 
 about six and a half English miles) four hundred and sixty- 
 eight English miles. Euler supposes the height to be several 
 thousands of miles ; and Mairan also assigns to these pheno- 
 mena a very elevated region, the far greater number of them 
 ^being, according to him, about two hundred leagues above 
 the surface of the earth. Dr. Blagden, speaking of the height 
 <of some fiery meteors, (Phil. Trans, vol. Ixxiv. p. 227,) says. 
 “ that the Aurora Borealis appears to occupy as high, if not a 
 ?higher region, above the surface of the earth, as may be 
 judged from the very distant countries to which it has been 
 visible at the same time he adds, that “ the great accumula- 
 !tion of electric matter seems to lie beyond the verge of our 
 .atmosphere, as estimated by the cessation of twilight.” But 
 as it is difficult to make such observations on this phenome- 
 non as are sufficient to afford a just estimate of its altitude, 
 they must be subject to considerable variation, and to mate- 
 rial error. 
 
 Dr. Blagden informs us, that instances are recorded, in 
 which the northern lights have been seen to join, and form 
 luminous balls, darting about with great velocity, and even 
 leaving a train behind them like the common fire-balls. This 
 ingenious author, however, conjecturing that distinct regions 
 
GALVANISM. 
 
 689 
 
 are allotted to the electrical phenomena of our atmosphere, 
 assigns the appearance of fire-balls to that region which lies 
 beyond the limits of our crepuscular atmosphere ; and a greater 
 elevation above the earth, to that accumulation of electricity 
 in a lighter and less condensed form, which produces the 
 wonderfully diversified streams and coruscations of the Aurora 
 Borealis. 
 
 CHAP. LXX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING GALVANISM. 
 
 “Nature, exhaustles still, has power to warm, 
 
 And every change presents a novel charm.” 
 
 Galvani, a professor of anatomy in the university of Bo- 
 logna, was one day making experiments on electricity. In 
 his laboratory, near the machine, were some frogs that had 
 been flayed ; the limbs of which became convulsed every time 
 a spark was drawn from the apparatus. Galvani, surprised at 
 this phenomenon, made it a subject of investigation, and dis- 
 covered that metals, applied to the nerves and muscles of 
 these animals, occasioned powerful and sudden contractions, 
 when disposed in a certain manner. He gave the name of 
 Animal Electricity to this order of new phenomena, from the 
 analogy that he considered existing between these effects and 
 those produced by electricity. 
 
 The name. Animal Electricity, has been superseded, not- 
 withstanding the great analogy that exists between the effects 
 of electricity and of Galvanism, in favour of the latter term ; 
 which is not only applicable to the generality of the pheno- 
 mena, but likewise serves to perpetuate the memory of the 
 discoverer. 
 
 In order to give rise to galvanic effects, it is necessary to 
 establish a communication between two points of one series 
 of nervous and muscular organs. In this manner a circle is 
 formed, one arch of which consists of the animal parts, ren- 
 dered the subject of experiment, while the other arch is com- 
 posed of exciting instruments, which generally consists of 
 those animal parts called supporters; others, destined to 
 establish a communication between the latter, are called con- 
 ductors. To form a complete galvanic circle, take the thigh 
 of a frog, deprived of its skin ; detach the crural nerve, as far 
 as the knee ; put it on a piece of zinc ; lay the muscles of the 
 leg on a piece of silver; then finish the exciting arch, and 
 complete the sralvanic ci v'le by establishing a communication 
 
 4S 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING 
 
 090 
 
 by means of the two supporters, by iron or copper wire, 
 pewter, or lead. The instant that the communicators touch 
 the two supporters, a part of the animal arch formed by the 
 two supporters will be convulsed. Although this disposition 
 of the animal parts, and of galvanic instruments, be most 
 favourable to the development of the phenomena, yet the 
 composition of the animal and excitatory arch may be much 
 varied. Thus contractions are obtained, by placing the two 
 supporters under the nerve, and leaving the muscle out of the 
 circle ; which proves that nerves essentially constitute the 
 animal arch. 
 
 It is not necessary for nerves to be entire, in order to pro- 
 duce contractions. They take place whether the organs be 
 tied or cut through, provided there exists a simple contiguity 
 between the divided ends. This proves that we cannot strictly 
 conclude what happens in muscular action, from that which 
 takes place in galvanic phenomena; since, if a nerve be tied 
 or divided, the muscles on which the energy is distributed lose 
 the power of action. 
 
 The cuticle is an obstacle to galvanic effects ; they are al- 
 ways feebly manifested in parts covered by it. When it is 
 moist, fine, and delicate, the effect is not entirely interrupted. 
 Humboldt, after having detached the cuticle from the poste- 
 rior part of the neck and back, by means of two blisters, 
 applied plates of metal to the bare cutis, and, at the moment 
 of establishing a communication, he experienced sharp prick- 
 ings, accompanied with a serosanguinous discharge. 
 
 If a plate of zinc be placed under the tongue, and a flat 
 piece of silver on its superior surface, on making them touch 
 each other, an acerb taste will be perceived, accomoanied 
 with a slight trembling. 
 
 The exciting arch may be constructed with two or three 
 metals, or even one metal only; with alloys, amalgams, or 
 other metallic or mineral combinations, carbonated substances, 
 &c. It is observed, that metals, which are in general the 
 most powerful exciters, induce contractions so much the more 
 as they have an extent of surface. Metals are all more or less 
 excitants; and it has been noticed that zinc, gold, silver, and 
 pewter, are of the highest rank ; then copper, lead, nickel, 
 antimony, &c. 
 
 Galvanic susceptibility is exnausted by too long-continued 
 exercise, and is recruited by repose. Immersion of nerves in 
 alkohol and opiate solutions diminishes, and even destroys, 
 this susceptibility; in the same manner, doubtless, as the 
 immoderate use of these substances in the living man, blunts, 
 and induces paralysis in muscular action. Immersion in oxy- 
 genated muriatic acid, revests the fatigued parts, in being 
 acted on by the stimulus. Animals killed by the repeated 
 
GALVANISM. 
 
 691 
 
 discharge of an electric battery, acquire an increase of gal- 
 vanic susceptibility ; and this property subsists unchanged in 
 animals destroyed by submersions in mercury, pure hydrogen 
 gas, azote, and ammoniac ; and finally, it is totally annihilated 
 in animals suffocated by the vapour of charcoal. 
 
 Galvanic susceptibility is extinct in the muscles of animals 
 of warm blood, in proportion as vital heat is dissipated; 
 sometimes even when life is terminated in convulsions, con- 
 tractibility cannot be put into action, although warmth be net 
 completely gone, as though the vital property were consumed 
 by the convulsions amidst which the animals had expired. 
 In those of cold blood, on the contrary, it is more durable. 
 The thighs of frogs, long after being separated from every 
 thing, and even to the instant of incipient putrefaction, are 
 influenced by galvanic stimuli ; doubtless, because irritability, 
 in these animals, is less intimately connected with respiration, 
 and life more divided among the different organs, which have 
 less occasion to act on each other for the execution of its 
 phenomena. The galvanic chain does not produce sensible 
 actions (that is, contractions) until the moment it is completed, 
 by establishing a communication with the parts constituting 
 it. During the time it is complete, that is, throughout the 
 whole space of time that the communication remains estab- 
 lished, every thing remains tranquil ; nevertheless, galvanic 
 influence is not suspended ; in fact, excitability is evidently 
 increased or diminished, in muscles that have been long con- 
 tinued in the galvanic chain, according to the difference of 
 the reciprocal situation of the connecting metals. 
 
 If silver has been applied to the nerves, and zinc to the 
 muscles, the irritability of the latter increases in proportion 
 to the time they have remained in the chain. By this method, 
 the thighs of frogs have been revivified in some degree, and 
 afterwards became sensible to stimuli that before had ceased 
 to act on them. By distributing the metals in an inverse 
 manner, applying zinc to the nerves, and silver to the muscles, 
 an effect absolutely contrary is observed ; and the muscles 
 that possessed the most lively irritability when placed in the 
 chain, seem to be rendered entirely paralytic if they remain 
 long in this situation. 
 
 This difference evidently depends on the direction of the 
 galvanic fluid., determined towards the muscles or nerves, 
 according to the manner in which these metals are disposed ; 
 and this is of some importance to be known for the application 
 of galvanic means to the cure of diseases 
 
 M. Volta’s apparatus is as follows: — Raise a pile, by pla- 
 cing a plate of zinc, a flat piece of wet card, and a plate of 
 silver, successively ; then a second piece of zinc, &c. until 
 the elevation is several feet high ; for the effects are greatei 
 
692 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING GALVANISM. 
 
 in proportion to its height; then touch both extremities of the 
 pile, at the same instant, with one piece of iron wire ; at the 
 moment of contact, a spark is excited from the extremities of 
 the pile, and luminous points are often perceived at different 
 heights, w’here the zinc and silver come into mutual contact. 
 The zinc end of this pile appears to be negatively electrified; 
 that formed by the silver, on the contrary, indicates marks of 
 positive electricity. 
 
 If we touch both extremities of the pile, after having dipped 
 our hands into water, or, what is better, a saline solution, a 
 commotion, followed by a disagreeable pricking in the fingers 
 and elbow, is felt. 
 
 If we place, in a tube filled with water, and hermetically 
 closed by two corks, the extremities of two wires of the same 
 metal, which are in contact at the other extremity, one with the 
 summit, the other with the base of the pile ; these ends, even 
 when separated only by the space of a few lines, experience 
 evident changes at the instant the extremities of the pile are 
 touched ; the wire in contact with that part of the pile com- 
 posed of zinc, becomes covered with bullse of hydrogen gas ; 
 that which touches the extremity formed by silver, becomes 
 oxydated. Fourcroy attributes this phenomenon to the decom- 
 position of water by the galvanic fluid, which abandons the 
 oxygen to the iron that touches the positive extremity of the 
 pile; then conducts the other gas invisibly to the end of the 
 other wire, there to be disengaged. 
 
 From the numerous experiments of Mr. Davy, many new 
 and important facts have been established, and Galvanism has 
 been found to be one of the most powerful agents in chemis- 
 try. By its influence, platina wire has been melted ; gold, 
 silver, copper, and most of the metals, have easily been burnt! 
 the fixed alkalis, and many of the earths, have been made to 
 appear as consisting of a metallic base and oxygen; com- 
 pound substances, which were before extremely difficult to 
 decompose, are now, by the aid of Galvanism, easily resolved 
 into their constituent 
 
MAGNETISM. 
 
 6d3 
 
 CHAP. LXXI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAGNETISM 
 
 Almighty Cause ! His thy preserving care 
 That keeps thy works for ever fresh and fair; 
 
 Hence life acknowledges its glorious Cause, 
 
 And matter owns its great Disposer’s laws; 
 
 Hence flow the forms and properties of things; 
 
 Hence rises harmony, and order springs. 
 
 Thy watchful providence o’er all intends; 
 
 Thy works obey their great Creator’s ends. 
 
 Thee, Infinite! what finite can explore? 
 
 Imagination sinks beneath thy power. 
 
 Yet present to all sense that power remains, 
 
 Reveard in nature, Nature’s Author reigns. Boytt^ 
 
 The obedient steel with living instinct moves, 
 
 And veers for ever to the pole it loves. 
 
 So turns the faithful needle to the pole, 
 
 Tbo’ mountains rise between, and oceans roll. Darunn, 
 
 Ma GNETISM is supposed to have been first rendered useful 
 about the end of the twelfth, or at least very early in the 
 thirteenth, century, by John de Gioja, a handicraft of Naples, 
 who noticed the peculiar attraction of metals, and iron in 
 particular, towards certain masses of rude ore ; the touch of 
 which communicated to other substances of a ferruginous 
 nature, especially iron or steel bars, the property of attrac- 
 tion : these touched bars he observed to have a peculiar and 
 similar tendency towards one particular point; that when 
 suspended in equilibrio, by means of threads around their 
 centres, they invariably turned towards the same point ; and 
 ',hat, when placed in a row, however adversely directed, they 
 joon disposed themselves in perfectly parallel order. In this 
 instance he improved upon the property long known to, but 
 not comprehended or applied to use by, the ancients, who 
 considered the loadstone simply as a rude species of iron ore, 
 and curious only so far as it might serve to amuse. 
 
 Gioja being possessed of a quick understanding, and of 
 a strong mind, was not long in further ascertaining the more 
 sensible purposes to which the magnet might be appropriated. 
 He accordingly fixed various magnets upon pivots, support- 
 ing their centres in such a manner as allowed the bars to 
 traverse freely. Finding that, however situated within the 
 reach of observation and comparison, they all had the same 
 tendency, he naturally concluded them to be governed by 
 some attraction, which might be ultimately ascertained and 
 acted upon. He therefore removed into various parts of 
 Italy, to satisfy himself whether or not the extraordinary 
 
694 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING 
 
 impulse which agitated these bars, that had been magnetized 
 by friction, existed only in the vicinity of Naples, or was 
 general. The result of his researches appears to be, that the 
 influence was general, but that the magnets were rendered 
 extremely variable, and fluctuated much, when near large 
 masses of iron. The experiments of Gioja gave birth to many 
 others, and at length to a trial of the magnetic influence on 
 ♦he surface of the water. To establish this, a vessel was 
 moored out at sea, in a direction corresponding with that of 
 the magnet; and a boat, having a magnet equipoised on a 
 pivot at its centre, was sent out at night in the exact line 
 indicated thereby; which, being duly followed, carried them 
 close to the vessel that was at anchor. Thus the active 
 powder of attraction appeared to be established on both ele- 
 ments, and in the course of time the magnet was fixed to a 
 card, marked with thirty-two points, whereby the mariner’s 
 compass was presented to us. The points to which the mag- 
 net always turned itself, being generally in correspondence 
 with the meridian of the place where it acted, occasioned the 
 extremities of the bars to be called poles. Succeeding experi- 
 ments proved, that the magnetic bar never retained an exactly 
 horizontal position ; but that one of its poles invariably 
 formed an angle with any perfect level, over which it was 
 placed : this was not so very measurable in a short bar, but 
 in one of a yard in length was formed to give several degrees 
 of inclination. This, which is called ** the dip of the needle,” 
 (or magnet,) seems to indicate that the attracting power is 
 placed within the earth. What that attracting power is, we 
 cannot determine; some consider it to be a fluid, while others 
 conjecture it to be an immense mass of loadstone, situated 
 somewhere about the north pole. The difficulty is, however, 
 considerably increased by the known fact of the needles of 
 compasses not always pointing due north ; but in many 
 places varying greatly from the meridional lines respectively; 
 and from each other at different times and places. 
 
 The facility with which a meridional line may be drawn by 
 solar observation, and especially by taking an azimuth, for- 
 tunately enables navigators to establish the variation betw^een 
 the true northern direction, and that indicated by the magnet 
 attached to the card of the compass. Nevertheless, we have 
 great reason to believe, that, for want either of accurate 
 knowledge of the prevalent variations, or from inattention 
 thereto, many vessels, of which no tidings were ever heard, 
 have been castaway; it being obvious, that a false indication 
 of the northern point, in many places amounting to nearly the 
 extent of twenty-five degrees, must produce so important an 
 error in a vessel’s course, as to subject her to destruction on 
 those very shoals, rocks, &c. of which the navigator unhappily 
 
MAGNETISM. 
 
 695 
 
 thinks he steers perfectly clear. To obviate such danger, as 
 far as possible, all modern sea-charts have the variations of 
 the compass in their several parts duly noted down; and in 
 reckoning upon the course steered by the compass, an allow- 
 ance is usually made for the difference between the apparent 
 course by the compass, and the real course, as ascertained by 
 celestial observation. Under circumstances so completely 
 contradictory, the principle of magnetism must remain un- 
 known: we know not of any hypothesis which strikes con- 
 viction on our minds, or which seems to convey any adequate 
 idea of the origin, or modus operaudi, of this wondrous 
 influence. All we can treat of is, the effect ; also of the appear- 
 ances which guide our practice, and of the manner in which 
 the attractive power may be generated and increased. In 
 regard to the latter point, namely, the generation and increase 
 of the magnetic attraction, we shall endeavour to give a brief 
 but distinct view of what relates thereto : observing, that where 
 volcanic eruptions are frequent, and in those latitudes where 
 the Aurora Borealis is distinctly seen, the needle or magnet is 
 sensibly affected. 
 
 Previously to earthquakes, as well as during their action, 
 and while the northern lights are in full display, no reliance 
 can be placed on the compass; the card of which will appear 
 much agitated. This has given rise to the opinion held by 
 some, that the power is a fluid: to this, however, there appear 
 so many objections, that we are more disposed to reject 
 than to favour it, although under the necessity of confessing, 
 that we are not able to offer one that may account satis- 
 factorily for the various phenomena attendant upon mag- 
 netism. 
 
 We have already stated, that every magnet has two poles; 
 that is, one end is called the north, the other the south pole : 
 the former being considered as capable of attraction ; the 
 other, as we shall infer from the subjoined explanations, being 
 far more inert, if at all possessed of an attractive power. 
 When two magnets are brought together with their north 
 poles in contact, they will, instead of cohering, be obviously 
 repelled to a distance corresponding with their respective 
 powers of attraction, when applied individually to unmag- 
 iietized needles. The south poles will, in like manner, repel 
 each other; but the north pole of one, and the south pole of 
 the other, will, when approximated, be evidently attracted, 
 and will cohere so as to sustain considerable weights. Iron 
 is the only metal, hitherto known, which is capable of receiv- 
 ing and communicating the magiietic power; but quiet, and 
 the absence of contact, in some respects, are indispensably 
 necessary towards its perfect retention. Thus, when a bar 
 has been impregnated, however abundantly, with the magnetic 
 
696 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING 
 
 principle, if it be heated or hammered, the power of attraction 
 will be dissipated ; or if a tube filled with iron filings have 
 their surface magnetized, by shaking the tube the magnetic 
 influence will likewise be lost. In some respects the magnetic 
 influence resembles caloric; for it very rapidly communicates 
 to iron, devoid of magnetism, a certain portion of its own 
 powers; which, however, appear to be reproduced instanta- 
 neously. As various small fires under one large vessel will 
 thereby heat it, and cause the water it contains to boil, though 
 neither of them individually would produce that effect; so, many 
 weak magnets may, by being united, communicate a power 
 equal to its own, and be made to create an accumulated 
 power, larger than that contained by either of them indivi- 
 dually. 
 
 There is, however, a seeming contradiction to be found in 
 some authors, who recommend that the weakest magnets 
 should be first applied, — and those more forcible, in succession, 
 according to the power they may possess ; the reason assigned 
 being, that the weaker magnets would else, in all probability, 
 draw off some of the accumulated power from the new magnet. 
 But of this there appears no danger, since experience proves 
 that magnets rather gain than lose efficiency by contact, not 
 only with each other, but even with common iron. In fact, 
 the magnetic power may at any time be created by various 
 means : the friction of two pieces of flat and polished bars of 
 iron, will cause them for a short time to attract and to sus- 
 pend light weights. Soft iron is more easily influenced, but 
 steel will retain the influence longer. Lightning, electricity, 
 and galvanism, being all of the same nature, equally render 
 iron magnetic. It is also peculiar, that when two or more 
 magnets are left for any time with their several north poles in 
 contact, the whole will be thereby weakened ; whereas, by leav- 
 ing a piece of common iron attached to a magnet, the latter 
 will acquire strength. It is also well known that some pieces of 
 steel quickly receive the magnetic influence, while others re- 
 quire considerable labour, and after all are scarcely impreg- 
 nated. The oxide of iron cannot be impregnated, and those 
 bars that have been so, when they become partially oxydized, 
 lose their power. Hence we see the necessity of preserving 
 the needles of compasses from rust. 
 
 Magnets have the power to act notwithstanding the inter- 
 vention of substances in any degree porous between them and 
 the body to be acted upon : thus, if a needle be put on a sheet 
 of paper, and a magnet be drawn under it, the needle will 
 follow the course of the magnet. The peculiar affinity of the 
 loadstone for iron, is employed with great success, by those 
 who work in precious metals, for the separation of filings, &c. 
 of iron from the smaller particles of gold, &c A magnet 
 
MAGNETISM. 
 
 697 
 
 being dipped into the vessel, in which the whole are blended, 
 will attract all ferruginous particles. 
 
 To communicate the magnetic power to a needle, let it be 
 placed horizontally; and with a magnet in each hand, let the 
 north pole of one, and the south pole of the other, be brought 
 obliquely in contact over the centre of the needle : draw them 
 asunder, taking care to press firmly, and preserving the same 
 angle or inclination to the very ends of the needles, which 
 should be supported by two magnets, whose ends ought to 
 correspond in polarity with those of the needle Observe to 
 carry the magnets you press with clear away from the ends of 
 the needle, at least a foot therefrom ; repeat the friction in 
 the same manner several times, perhaps six, eight, or ten, 
 and the needle will be permanently magnetized ; and, as we 
 have already stated, by using other magnets in succession, 
 the powers of the needle will be proportionabl v increased. 
 
 But no effect will result from the friction if the bars are 
 rusty, or. indeed, not highly polished ; their angles must be 
 perfect, and their several sides and ends completely flat. It is, 
 perhaps, one of the most curious of the phenomena attendant 
 on this occult property, that the centre of every magnet is 
 devoid of attraction ; yet, that when a needle is placed in a 
 line with a magnet, and within the influence of its pole, that 
 needle almost becomes magnetic, or rather, a conductor, 
 possessing a certain portion of attractive power: and it is no 
 less extraordinary, that the magnet retains its power even in 
 the exhausted receiver of an air-pump ; which seems to be a 
 formidable objection to its being influenced by any fluid. 
 Perhaps the oj)inion entertained by many of our most popu- 
 lar lecturers on this subject, viz. that the earth itself is the 
 great attractor, may be nearest the truth. We are the 
 more inclined towards such an hypothesis, knowing that, 
 at the true magnetic equator, the needle does not dip; and 
 from the well-ascertained fact, that bars of iron, placed for a 
 length of time exactly perpendicular, receive a strong magnetic 
 power, their lower ends repelling the south, but attracting the 
 north poles of magnets applied to them respectively. The 
 direction of the dipping needle was ascertained by one Robert 
 Norman, about two hundred and fifty years ago. He sus- 
 pended a small magnetic needle, by means of a fine thread 
 round its centre, so as to balance perfectly, over a large 
 magnet : the south pole of the former was instantly attracted 
 by the north pole of the latter. He found, that so long as the 
 needle was held exactly centrical, at about two inches above 
 the magnet, it remained horizontal ; but so soon as withdrawn 
 a little more towards one end than the other of the magnet, 
 the equi ibrium was destroyed, and that pole of the needle 
 which was nearest to either pole of the magnet was instantly 
 
 4 T 
 
698 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 attracted, and pointed downwards thereto. By the magnetic 
 equator, we mean a circle passing round the earth at right 
 angles with the magnetic poles, which do not correspond with 
 the geographical poles, as may be fully understood by the 
 indications of all compasses to points differing from the latter; 
 and as the indications of compasses vary so much both at 
 diflferent times and places, we may reasonably conclude, that 
 the magnetic poles are not fixed. The variation of the dip- 
 ping-needle has not, in our latitude at least, varied more than 
 half a degree since its depressive tendency was first discovered 
 by Norman. 
 
 By means of the mariner’s compass. 
 
 Tall navies hence their doubtful way explore, 
 
 And ev’ry product waft from ev’ry shore ; 
 
 Hence meagre want expell’d, and sanguine strife, 
 
 For the mild charms of cultivated life. Blacklock, 
 
 CHAP. LXXII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS, ^c. 
 
 Early Invention of several useful Arts — Automaton — Androides — 
 Extraordinary Pieces of Clockwork — Heidelberg Clock — 
 Strasburg Clock — Clepsydra — Invention of Watches. 
 
 What cannot art and industry perform, 
 
 When science plans the progress of their toil! 
 
 They smile at penury, disease, and storm ; 
 
 And oceans from their mighty mounds recoil. 
 
 When tyrants scourge, or demagogues embroil 
 • A land, or when the rabble’s headlong rage 
 Order transforms to anarchy and spoil-; 
 
 Deep vers’d in man, the philosophic sage 
 Prepares with lenient hand their frenzy t’ assuage : 
 
 Tis he alone, whose comprehensive mind, 
 
 From situation, temper, soil, and clime 
 Explor’d, a nation’s various pow’rs can bind. 
 
 And various orders, in one form sublime 
 Of polity, that ’midst the wrecks of time. 
 
 Secure shall lift its head on high, nor fear 
 Th’ assault of foreign or domestic crime. 
 
 While public faith, and public love sincere, 
 
 And industry and law maintain their sway severe. Beattit, 
 
 Early Invention of several useful Arts. — Some 
 useful arts must be nearly coeval with the human race; 
 ifor food, clothing, and habitation, even in their original sim- 
 plicity, require some display of ingenuity. Many arts are of 
 
EARLY INVENTIONS. 
 
 699 
 
 •uch antiquity as to place the inventors beyond the reach of 
 tradition; while several have gradually crept into existence 
 without an inventor. The busy mind, however, accustomed 
 to date the progress of science from some particular era, can- 
 not rest till it finds or conjectures a beginning to every art. In 
 all countries where the people are illiterate, the progress of 
 arts is extremely slow. It is vouched by an old French poem, 
 that the virtues of the loadstone were known in France before 
 the year 1180. The mariner’s compass was exhibited at 
 Venice, A. D. 1260, by Paulus Venetus, as his own invention. 
 John Goya, of Amalphi, was the first, who, many years after- 
 wards, used it in navigation, and also passed for being the 
 inventor. 'I'hough it was used in China for navigation long 
 before it was known to the western nations, yet to this day it 
 is not so perfect as in Europe. Instead of suspending it in 
 order to make it act freely, it is placed upon a bed of sand, 
 by which every motion of the ship disturbs its operation. 
 
 Hand-mills, termed querns, were early used for the grinding 
 of corn ; and when corn came to be raised in greater quantities, 
 horse-mills succeeded. Water-mills for grinding corn are 
 described by Vitruvius. Windmills were known in Greece 
 and Arabia, so early as the seventh century ; and yet no men- 
 tion is made of them in Italy till the fourteenth. That they 
 were not known in England in the reign of Henry VIII. ap- 
 j)ears from a household book of an earl of Northumberland, 
 contemporary with that king, stating an allowance for three 
 mill horses, “ two to draw in the mill, and one to carry stuff 
 to the mill.” Water-mills for corn must in England have been 
 of a late date. 
 
 The ancients had mirror glasses, and employed glass to 
 imitate crystal vases and goblets; yet they never thought of 
 using it in windows. In the thirteenth century, the Venetians 
 were the only people who had the art of making crystal glass 
 for mirrors. A clock that strikes the hours was unknown in 
 Europe till the end of the twelfth century. And hence the 
 custom of employing men to proclaim the hours during night; 
 which to this day continues in Germany, Flanders, and Eng- 
 land. Galileo was the first who conceived an idea that a 
 pendulum might be useful for measuring time; and Huygens 
 w'as the first who put the idea in execution, by making a 
 pendulum clock. Hook, in 1660, invented a spiral spring for 
 a watch, though a watch was far from being a new invention. 
 Paper was made no earlier than the fourteenth century ; and 
 the invention of printing was a century later. Silk manufac- 
 tures were long established in Greece, before silk-worms were 
 introduced there. The manufacturers were provided with raw 
 silk from Persia ; but that commerce being frequently inter- 
 ruptea by war, two monks, in the reign of Justinian, brought 
 
700 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 eggs of the silk-worm from Hindoostan, and taught their 
 countrymen the method of managing them. 
 
 The art of reading made a very slow progress. To encou- 
 rage that art in England, the capital punishment for murder 
 was remitted, if the criminal could but read, which in law 
 language is termed benejit of clergy. One would imagine that 
 the art must have made a very rapid progress when so greatly 
 favoured : but there is a signal proof of the contrary, for so 
 small an edition of the Bible as six hundred copies, translated 
 into English in the reign of Henry VIII. was not wholly sold 
 off’ in three years. The people of England must have been 
 profoundly ignorant in Queen Elizabeth’s time, when a forged 
 clause, added to the twentieth article of the English creed, 
 passed unnoticed till about sixty years ago. 
 
 The discoveries of the Portuguese on the west coast of 
 Africa, afford a remarkable instance of the slow progress of 
 the arts. In the beginning of the fifteenth century, they 
 were totally ignorant of that coast beyond Cape Non, in 
 28 degrees, north latitude. In 1410, the celebrated Prince 
 Henry of Portugal fitted out a ffeet for discoveries, which 
 proceeded along the coast to Cape Bajadore, in 26 de- 
 grees, but had not courage to double it ; and seventy-six 
 years elapsed before this was done bv Bartholomew Diaz, in 
 1486 ! 
 
 Description of An Automaton. — This is a machine, so 
 constructed by means of weights, levers, springs, wheels, &c. 
 as to move for a considerable time, as if it were endued with 
 animal life. According to this definition, clocks, watches, 
 and all machines of that kind, may be ranked as a species of 
 automata. But the word is most commonly applied to such 
 machines as are made in the form of men and other animals, 
 at the same time that their internal machinery is so contrived, 
 that they seem voluntarily to act like the animals they repre- 
 sent. Archytas of Tarentum, who lived A. C. 400, is said to 
 have made a wooden pigeon that could fly. It is also 
 recorded, that Archimedes made similar automata; that 
 Regiomontanus made a wooden eagle, which flew forth from 
 the city of Nuremburg, met the emperor, saluted him, and 
 returned; also that he made an iron fly, which flew out of his 
 hand at a feast, and returned again after flying about the 
 room. Dr. Hook made the model of a flying chariot, capable 
 of supporting itself in the air. Many other surprising auto- 
 mata have been exhibited in the present age. M. Vaucanson 
 made a duck, which could eat, drink, and imitate exactly the 
 voice of a natural one; and what is still more surprising, the 
 food it swallowed was evacuated in a digested state, or at 
 least onsiderably altered, on the principles of solution. The 
 
AUTOMATON. — AN OROIDES. 
 
 701 
 
 wings, viscera, and bones, were so formed, as greatly to 
 resemble those of a living duck ; and the actions of eating 
 and drinking shewed the strongest resemblance, even to mud- 
 dling the water with its bill. 
 
 M. de Droz, of la Chaux de Fonds, in the province of 
 Neuchatel, has also executed some curious pieces of mecha- 
 nism. One was a clock, presented to the king of Spain, which 
 had, among other curiosities, a sheep that imitated the bleat- 
 ing of a natural one, and a dog that watched a basket of fruit, 
 and which barked and snarled if any one attempted to take 
 it away; if it was actually taken, it would bark till it was 
 restored. A son of this gentleman has also made some extra- 
 ordinary pieces, particularly an oval gold snuff-box, about 
 four inches long, three broad, and one and a half thick. It is 
 double, having an horizontal partition, with a lid to each of 
 its parts. One contains snuff; but in the other, as soon as 
 the lid is opened, there rises up a very small bird, (for it is 
 only three-quarters of an inch from the beak to the extremity 
 of the tail,) of green-enamelled gold, sitting on a gold stand, 
 which immediately wagging its tail and shaking its wings, 
 and opening its bill of white-enamelled gold, pours forth 
 a clear melodious song, capable of filling a room of twenty or 
 thirty feet square with its melody. The same gentleman 
 exhibited an automaton in England, of the figure of a man, as 
 large as life. It held in its hand a metal style, under which 
 was a card of Dutch vellum. A spring was then touched, 
 and the internal machinery being thus set a-going, the figure 
 began to draw elegant portraits, and likenesses of the king 
 and queen facing each other; and it was curious to observe, 
 with what precision the figure lifted up its pencil, in the 
 transition of it from one point of the picture to another, with- 
 out making the least blunder whatever; for instance, in passing 
 from the forehead to the eye, nose, and chin, or from the 
 waving curls of the hair to the ear, &c The first card being 
 finished, the figure rested, until a second was completed, and 
 so on through five separate cards put to it, on all of which 
 it delineated different subjects, but five or six was the extent 
 of its surprising powers. 
 
 An oroides. — This is an automaton, in the figure of a man, 
 which, by virtue of certain springs, &c. duly contrived, walks, 
 and performs other external functions of a man. Albertus 
 Magn us is recorded as having made a famous androides, which 
 is said not only to have moved, but to have spoken. Thomas 
 Aquinas is said to have been so frightened when he saw this 
 head, that he broke it to pieces ; upon which Albert ex- 
 claimed, “ Periit opus triginta amiorum!'* 
 
 Artificial puppets, which, by internal springs, run upon 
 
702 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 a table, and, as they advance, move their heads, eyes, orhands^ 
 were common among the Greeks, and from thence they were 
 brought to the Romans. Figures, or puppets, which appear 
 to move of themselves, were formerly employed to work 
 miracles; but this use is now superseded, and they serve 
 only to display ingenuity, and to answer the purposes of 
 amusement. One of the most celebrated figures of this kind, 
 was constructed and exhibited at Paris, in 1738; and a parti- 
 cular account of it was published in the memoirs of the academy 
 for that year. This figure represents a flute-player, which w'as 
 capable of performing various pieces of music, by wind issu- 
 ing from its mouth into a German flute, the holes of which it 
 opened and shut with its fingers : it was about five and a half 
 feet high, placed upon a square pedestal four and a half feet 
 high, and three and a half broad. The air entered the body 
 by three separate pipes, into which it was conveyed by nine 
 pairs of bellows, that expanded and contracted, in regular 
 succession, by means of an axis of steel turned by clock- 
 work. These bellows performed their functions without any 
 noise, which might have discovered the manner by which the 
 air was conveyed to the machine. 
 
 The three tubes, which received the air from the bellows, 
 passed into three small reservoirs in the trunk of the figure. 
 Here they united, and, ascending towards the throat, formed 
 the cavity of the mouth, which terminated in two small lips, 
 adapted in some measure to perform their proper functions. 
 Within this cavity was a small moveable tongue, which by its 
 motion, at proper intervals, admitted the air, or intercepted it 
 in its passage to the flute. The fingers, lips, and tongue, 
 derived their proper movements from a steel cylinder, turned 
 by clock-work. This was divided into fifteen equal parts, 
 which, by means of pegs, pressing upon the ends of fifteen 
 different levers, caused the other extremities to ascend. Seven 
 of these levers directed the fingers, having wires and chains 
 fixed to their ascending extremities, which, being attached to 
 the fingers, made them to ascend in proportion as the other 
 extremity was pressed down by the motion of the cylinder, 
 and vice versa; then the ascent or descent of one end of a 
 lever produced a similar ascent or descent in the correspond- 
 ing fingers, by which one of the holes of the flute was occa- 
 sionally opened or stopped, as it might have been by a living 
 performer. Three of the levers served to regulate the ingress 
 of the air, being so contrived as to open and shut, by means 
 of valves, the three reservoirs above-mentioned, so that more 
 or less strength might be given, and a higher or lower note 
 produced, as occasion required. The lips were, by a similar 
 mechanism, directed by four levers, one of which opened them, 
 to give the air a freer passage, the other contracted them. 
 
ANDROIDES. 
 
 703 
 
 the third drew them backward, and the fourth pushed them 
 forward. The lips were projected upon that part of the flute 
 which receives the air, and, by the different motions already 
 mentioned, modified the tune in a proper manner. The remain- 
 ing lever was employed in the direction of the tongue, which 
 it easily moves so as to shut or open the mouth of the flute. 
 The just succession of the several motions, performed by the 
 various parts of this machine, was regulated by the following 
 simple contrivance. 
 
 The extremity of the axis of the cylinder terminated on the 
 riaht side by an endless screw, consisting of twelve threads, 
 each placed at the distance of a line and a half from the 
 other. Above this screw was fixed a piece of copper, and in 
 it a steel pivot, which, falling in between the threads of the 
 screw, obliged the cylinder to follow the threads ; and, in- 
 stead of turning directly round, it w'as continually pushed to 
 one side. Hence, if a lever was moved, by a peg placed on 
 cylinder, in any one revolution, it could not be moved by the 
 same peg in the succeeding revolution, because the peg 
 would be moved a line and a half beyond it by the lateral 
 motion of the cylinder. 
 
 Thus, by an artificial disposition of these pegs in different 
 parts of the cylinder, the statue was made, by the successive 
 elevation of the proper levers, to exhibit all the different 
 motions of a flute-player, to the admiration of every one who 
 saw it. Another figure, constructed by the same artist, 
 Vaucanson, played on the shepherd’s pipe, held in its left 
 hand, and with the right beat upon a drum. 
 
 The performances of Vaucanson were imitated, and even 
 exceeded, by M. de Kempelin, of Presburg, in Hungary. 
 The androides constructed by this gentleman in 1769, was capa- 
 ble of playing at chess. It was first brought over to England in 
 1783, and has often been exhibited since that period. It is thus 
 described : The figure is as large as life, in a Turkish dress, 
 seated behind a table, with doors three and a half feet long, 
 two deep, and two and a half high. The chair on which it sits 
 is fixed to the table, which is made to run on four wheels. 
 It leans its right arm on the table, and in its left hand holds 
 a pipe; with this hand it plays after the pipe is removed. 
 A chess-board of eighteen inches is fixed before it. The 
 table, or rather chest, contains wheels, levers, cylinders, and 
 other pieces of mechanism, all of which are publicly dis- 
 played. The vestments of the figure were then lifted over its 
 head, and the body was seen full of similar wheels. There is 
 a little door in its thigh, which is likewise opened : and with 
 this, and the table also open, and the figure uncovered, the 
 whole is wheeled about the room. The doors are then shut, 
 aid the automaton is ready to play; but it always takes the 
 
704 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 first move. At every motion the wheels are heard; the image 
 moves its head, and looks over every part of the chess-board. 
 When it checks the queen, it shakes its head twice; and thrice 
 in giving check to the king. It likewise shakes its head 
 when a false move is made, replaces the piece, and makes its 
 own move, by which means the adversary loses one. M. de 
 Kempelin exhibited his automaton at Petersburg, Vienna, 
 Paris, and London, before thousands, many of whom were 
 mathematicians, and chess players, and yet the secret by 
 which he governed the motion of its arm was never discovered. 
 He valued himself upon the construction of a mechanism, by 
 which the arm could perforin ten or twelve moves. It then 
 needed to be wound up like a watch, after which it was 
 capable of continuing the same number of motions. This 
 automaton could not play unless M. de Kempelin, or his 
 assistant, was near it to direct its movements. A small 
 square box was frequently consulted by the exhibiter during the 
 game, and in this consisted the secret, which the inventor 
 declared he could communicate in a moment. Any person 
 who could beat M. de Kempelin at chess, was sure of con- 
 quering the automaton. 
 
 Extraordinary Pieces of Clock-Work. — Amongst 
 he modern clocks, those at Strasburg and Lyons are very 
 eminent for the richness and variety of their furniture, and for 
 their motions and figures. In the former, a cock claps his 
 wings, and proclaims the hour, and an angel opens a door, 
 and salutes the Virgin ; while the Holy Spirit descends on 
 her, &c. In the latter, two horsemen encounter, and beat the 
 hour on each other; a door opens, and there appears on the 
 theatre theVirgin, with Jesus Christ in her arms ; the Magi, with 
 their retinue, marching in order, and presenting their gifts ; 
 two trumpeters sounding all the while to nroclairp ^he pro- 
 cession. 
 
 These, however, are excelled by two which were lately 
 made by English artists, and sent as a present from the East 
 India Company to the Emperor of China. These clocks are 
 in the form of chariots, in which are placed, in a fine attitude, 
 a lady, leaning her right hand upon a part of the chariot, 
 under which is a clock of curious workmanship, little larger 
 than a shilling, that strikes and repeats, and goes eight days. 
 Upon her finger sits a bird finely modelled, and set with 
 diamonds and rubies, with its wings expanded in a flying 
 posture, and it actually flutters for a considerable time on 
 touching a diamond button below it; the body of the bird 
 (which contains part of the wheels that in a manner give life 
 to it) is not the bigness of the 16 th part of an inch. The 
 lady holds in her left hand a gold tube not much thicker than 
 
HEIDELBERG CLOCK. STKaSBURG CLOCK. 706 
 
 a large pin, on the top of which is a small round box, to which a 
 circular ornament, set with diamonds not larger than a sixpence, 
 is fixed, which goes round nearly three hours in a constant 
 regular motion. Over the lady’s head, supported by a small 
 fluted pillar not bigger than a quill, are two umbrellas, under 
 the largest of which a bell is fixed, at a considerable distance 
 from the clock, and seems to have no connection with it; but 
 from which a communication is secretly conveyed to a ham- 
 mer that regularly strikes the hour, and repeats the same to 
 the clock below. At the feet of the lady is a golden dog ; before 
 which, from the point of the chariot, are two birds fixed on 
 spiral spiings, the wings and feathers of which are set with 
 stones of various colours, and appear as if flying away with 
 the chariot, which, from another secret motion, is continued 
 to run in a straight, circular, or any other direction ; while a 
 boy that lays hold of the chariot behind, seems also to push it 
 forw’ard. Above the umbrella are flowers and ornaments of 
 precious stones; and it terminates with a flying dragon set in 
 the same manner. The whole is of gold, most curiously exe 
 cuted, and embellished with rubies and pearls. 
 
 Heidelberg Clock. — At Heidelberg, in Germany, upon 
 the town-house, was a clock with divers motions ; and when 
 the clock struck, the figure of an old man pulled off his hat, 
 a cock crowed, and clapped his wings, soldiers fought with 
 one another, &c.; but this curious piece of workmanship, with 
 the castle and town, were burnt by the French, who committed 
 at the same time the most inhuman barbarities upon the peo- 
 ple, when they took those garrisons, in the year 1693. 
 
 Strasburg Clock. — At Strasburg, there is a clock, of all 
 others the most famous, invented by Conradus Dasipodius, 
 in the year 1573. Before the clock stands a globe on the 
 ground, shewing the motions of the heavenly bodies. The 
 heavens are carried about by the first mover, in twenty-four 
 hours ; Saturn, by his proper motion, is carried about in thirty 
 years; Jupiter in twelve. Mars in two, the Sun, Mercury, and 
 Venus, in one year; and the Moon in one month. In the 
 clock itself there are two tables on the right and left hand, 
 shewing the eclipses of the Sun and Moon from the year 1573, 
 to the year 1624. The third table in the middle is divided 
 into three parts. In the first part, the statue of Apollo and 
 Diana shews the course of the year, and the day thereof, 
 being carried about in one year; the second part shews the 
 year of our Lord, and the equinoctial days, the hours of each 
 day, the minutes of each hour, Easter-day, and all other feasts, 
 and the Dominical Letter. The third part has the geographi- 
 cal description of all Germany, and particularly of Strasburg, 
 
 4U 
 
706 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 with the names of the inventor, and of all the workmen. In 
 the middle frame of the clock is an astrolabe, shewing the 
 sign in which each planet is every day, and there are the sta- 
 tues of the seven planets, upon a round piece of iron, lying 
 flat; so that every day the statue of the planet that rules the 
 day comes forth, the rest being hid within the frames, till 
 they come out by course at their day, as the sun upon Sunday, 
 and so for all the week. And there is also a terrestrial globe, 
 which shews the quarter, the half hour, and the minutes. 
 There is also the skull of a dead man, and statues of two boys, 
 one of whom turns the hour-glass when the clock has struck, 
 the other puts forth the rod in his hand at each stroke of the 
 clock. Moreover, there are the statues of the Spring, 
 Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and many observations of the 
 moon. 
 
 In the upper part of the clock are four old men’s statues, 
 which strike the quarters of the hour; the statue of Death 
 comes out at each quarter to strike, but is driven back by the 
 statue of Christ, with a spear in his hand, for three-quarters ; 
 but in the fourth quarter, that of Christ goes back, and that of 
 Death strikes the hour, with a bone in his hand, and then the 
 chimes sound. On the top of the clock is an image of a cock, 
 which twice in the day cries aloud, and claps his wings. 
 Besides, this clock is decked with many rare pictures : and 
 being on the inside of the church, carries another frame to 
 the outside of the wall, wherein the hours of the sun, the 
 courses of the moon, the length of the day, and such other 
 things, are set out with great art. 
 
 Clepsydra — is a water-clock, or instrument to measure 
 time by the fall of a certain quantity of water, and is con- 
 structed on the following principles. — Suppose a cylindrical 
 vessel, whose charge of water flows out in twelve hours, w'ere 
 required to be divided into parts, to be discharged each hour. 
 1. As the part of time is to the whole time. Twelve, so is the 
 same time Twelve to a fourth proportional Hundred-and-forty- 
 four. Divide the altitude of the vessel into one liundred and 
 forty-four equal parts : here the last w ill fall to the last hour ; 
 the three next above, to the last part but one ; the five next, 
 to the tenth hour; lastly, the twenty-three last to the first 
 hour. For since the times increase in the series of the natural 
 numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. and the altitudes, if the numeration 
 be in a retrograde order from the tw^elfth hour, increase in the 
 series of the unequal numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c. the altitudes 
 computed from the twelfth hour will be as the squares of the 
 times 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, &c. Therefore the squares of the whole 
 time, one hundred and forty-four, comprehend all the parts of 
 the altitude of the vessel to be emptied. But a third propor- 
 
INVENTION OF WATCHES. 
 
 707 
 
 tional to 1 and 12, is the square of twelve, and consequently 
 it is the number of equal parts in which the altitude is to be 
 distributed, according to the series of the unequal numbers^ 
 through the equal interval of hours. 
 
 There were many kinds of clepsydrse among the ancients; 
 but they all had this in common, that the water ran generally 
 through a narrow passage, from one vessel to another, and in 
 the lower was a piece of cork, or light wood, which, as the 
 vessel filled, rose up by degrees, and shewed the hour. 
 
 We shall in the next place make a few remarks on the 
 Invention of Watches. — The invention of spring or pocket 
 watches belongs to the 17th century. It is true, we find men- 
 tion made of a watch presented to Charles V. in the history of 
 that prince : but this, in all probability, was no more than a 
 kind of clock to be set on a table, some resemblance whereof 
 we have still remaining in the ancient pieces made before the 
 year 1670. There was also a story of a watch having been 
 discovered in Scotland, belonging to King Robert Bruce ; but 
 this we believe has turned out altogether erroneous. The 
 glory of this very useful invention lies between Dr. Hooke 
 and M. Huygens; but to which of them it properly belongs, 
 has been greatly disputed ; the English ascribing it to the 
 former, and the French, Dutch, &c. to the latter. Mr. Der- 
 ham, in his Artificial Clockmaker, says, roundly, that Dr. 
 Hooke was the inventor; and adds, that he contrived various 
 ways of regulation. One way was, with a loadstone ; another 
 with a tender straight spring, one end whereof played back- 
 wards and forwards with the balance, so that the balance was 
 to the spring as the bob to a pendulum, and the spring as the 
 rod thereof. A third method was, w ith two balances, of which 
 there were divers sorts; some having a spiral spring to the 
 oalance for a regulator, and others not. But the way that 
 prevailed, and which still continues to prevail, was, with one 
 balance, and one spring running round the upper part of the 
 verge ; though this has a disadvantage, from which those with 
 two s[)rings. Sic. were free, since a sudden jerk, or confused 
 shake, will alter its vibrations, and disturb its motion. 
 
 The time of these inventions was about the year 1658; as 
 appears, among other evi- nces, from an inscription on one of 
 the double-balance wat< presented to King Charles II. viz. 
 ‘‘ Rob. Hooke iuven. lu^o. T. Tompion fecit, 1675.*' The 
 invention presently got into reputation, both at home and 
 abroad : and two of them were sent for by the dauphin of 
 France. Soon after this, M. Huygens’ watch with a spiral 
 spring got abroad, and made a great noise in England, as if 
 the longitude could be found by it. It is certain, however, 
 that his invention was later than the year 1673, when his 
 
708 
 
 UKIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 book “ De Horol. Oscillat.*^ was published ; wherein he has 
 not one word of this, though he has of several other contri- 
 vances in the same way. 
 
 One of these the Lord Brouncker sent for out of France, 
 where M. Huygens had got a patent for them. This watch 
 agreed with Dr. Hooke’s, in the application of the spring to 
 the balance ; only M. Huygens’ had a long spiral spring, 
 and the pulses and beats were nnirh slower. The balance, 
 instead of turning quite round, as Di. iiooke’s, turns several 
 rounds every vibration. 
 
 Mr. Derham suggests, that he has reason to think M. Huy- 
 gens’ fancy was first set to work by some intelligence he 
 might have of Dr. Hooke’s invention from Mr. Oldensworth, or 
 some other of his correspondents in England ; and this, not- 
 withstanding Mr. Oldensworth’s attempt to vindicate himself 
 in the Philosophical Transactions, appears to be the truth. 
 Huygens invented divers other kinds of watches, some of 
 them without any string or chain at all; which he called 
 particularly, pendulum w'atches. 
 
 CHAP. LXXIII. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. — (Continued*) 
 
 Telegraph — Spectacle of a Sea Fight at Rome — Wooden Eagle; 
 and Iron Fly — Whitehead^ s Ship — Scaliofs Lock, — Praxi- 
 
 teles^ Venus — Weaving Engine — Hydraulic Birds — HerschelVs 
 Grand Telescope — Boverick's Curiosities — Bunzlau Curiosities 
 — Artificial Flying. 
 
 Telegraph. — This is a word derived from the Greek, and 
 which is very properly given to an instrument, by means of 
 which information may be almost instantaneously conveyed 
 to a considerable distance. The telegraph, though it has 
 been generally known and used by the moderns only for a few 
 years, is by no means a modern invention. There is reason 
 to believe, that amongst the Greeks there was some sort of 
 telegraph in use. The burning of Troy was certainly known 
 in Greece very soon after it happened, and before any person 
 had returned from thence. Now that was altogether so tedi- 
 ous a piece of business, that conjecture never could have 
 supplied the place of information. A Greek play begins with 
 a scene, in w hich a watchman descends from the top of a tower 
 in Greece, and gives the information that Troy was taken. 
 “ I have been looking cut these ten years (says he) to see 
 
TELEGRAPH. 
 
 709 
 
 when that would happen, and this night it is done.” Of the 
 antiquity of a mode of conveying intelligence quickly to a 
 great distance, this is certainly a proof. The Chinese, when 
 they send couriers on the great canal, or when any great man 
 travels there, make signals by fire, frJm one day's journey to 
 another, to have every thing prepared ; and most of the bar- 
 barous nations used formerly to give the alarm of war by fires 
 lighted on the hills, or rising grounds. 
 
 It does not appear that the moderns had thought or such 
 a machine as a telegraph, till the year 1663, when the Marquis 
 of Worcester, in his “Century of Inventions,” affirmed, that 
 he had discovered “ a method by which., at a window, as far as 
 eye can discover black from white, a man may hold discourse 
 with his correspondent, without noise made, or notice taken, 
 being, according to occasion given, or means afforded, ex re 
 nata, and no need of provision beforehand ; though much 
 better if foreseen, and course taken by mutual consent of 
 parties.” This could be done only by means of a telegraph, 
 which, in the next sentence, is declared to have been rendered 
 so perfect, that by means of it the correspondence could be 
 carried on “ by night as well as by day, though as dark as 
 pitch is black.” 
 
 About forty years afterwards, M. Amontons proposed a new 
 telegraph. His method was this : — Let there be people placed 
 in several stations, at such a distance from one another, that, 
 by the help of a telescope, a man in one station may see a 
 signal made in the next before him; he must immediately 
 make the same signal, that it may be seen by persons in the 
 station next after him, who are to communicate it to those in 
 the following station, and so on. These signals may be as 
 letters of the alphabet, or as a cipher, understood only by 
 the two persons who are in the distant places, and not by 
 those who make the signals. The person in the second station 
 making the signal to the person in the third, the very moment 
 he sees it in the first ; the news may be carried to the greatest 
 distance in as little time as is necessary to make the signals 
 in the first station. The distance of the several stations, which 
 must be as few as possible, is measured by the reach of a 
 telescope. Amontons tried this method in a small tract of 
 land, before several persons of the highest rank at the court 
 of France. It was not, however, till the French revolution, 
 that the telegraph was applied to useful purposes. 
 
 Whether M. Chappe, who is said to have invented the tele- 
 graph first used by the French about the end of 1793, knew any 
 thing of Amonton’s invention or not, it is impossible to say ; 
 but his telegraph was constructed on principles nearly similar. 
 The manner of using this telegraph was as follows : — At the 
 first station, which was on the roof of the palace of Louvre, at 
 
710 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 Paris, M. Chappe, the inventor, received in writing from the 
 Committee of Public Welfare, the words to be sent to Lisle, 
 near which the French army at that time was. An upright 
 post was erected on the Louvre, at the top of which were two 
 transverse arms, moveable in all directions by a single piece 
 of mechanism, and with inconceivable rapidity. He invented 
 a number of positions for these arms, which stood as signs 
 for the letters of the alphabet; and these, for the greater 
 celerity and simplicity, he reduced in number as much as 
 possible. The grammarian will easily conceive that sixteen 
 signs may amply supply all the letters of the alphabet, since 
 some letters may be omitted, not only without detriment, but 
 with advantage. These signs, as they were arbitrary, could 
 be changed every week ; so that the sign of B for one day, 
 might be the sign of M the next; and it was only necessary 
 that the persons at the extremities should know the key. The 
 intermediate operators were only instructed generally in these 
 sixteen signals ; which were so distinct, so marked, so different 
 the one from the other, that they were remembered with the 
 greatest ease. 
 
 The construction of the machine was such, tha"' each signal 
 was uniformly given in precisely the same manner at all times : 
 it did not depend on the operator’s manual skill ; and the 
 position of the arm could never, for any one signal, be a degree 
 higher or a degree lower, its movement being regulated me- 
 chanically. M. Chappe having received, at the Louvre, the 
 sentence to be conveyed, gave a known signal to the second, 
 station (which was Mont Martre) to prepare. At each station 
 there was a watch-tower, where telescopes were fixed, and 
 the person on watch gave the signal of preparation which he 
 had received, and this communicated successively through all 
 the line, which brought them all into a state of readiness. 
 The person at Mont Martre then received, letter by letter, 
 the sentence from the Louvre, which he repeated with his 
 own machine; and this was again repeated from the next 
 height, with inconceivable rapidity, to the final station at 
 Lisle. 
 
 Various experiments were in consequence tried upon tele- 
 graphs in this country ; and one was soon after set up by 
 government, in a chain of stations from the admiralty-office 
 to the sea-coast. It consists of six octagon boards, each of 
 which is poised upon an axis in a frame, in such a manner 
 that it can be either placed vertically, so as to appear with its 
 full size to the observer at the nearest station, or it becomes 
 invisible to him by being placed horizontally, or with only 
 the narrow edge exposed. These six boards make thirty-six 
 changes, by the most plain and simple mode of working; and 
 they will make many more, if more were necessary. 
 
SEA-FIGHT AT ROME. — A WOODEN EAGLE, ETC. 711 
 
 We submit to the reader the following account of a Spec- 
 tacle OF A Sea Fight at Rome. — Augustus, to divert his 
 mind from fixing on his domestic misfoitunes, exhibited the 
 most magnificent and expensive shows that had ever been 
 seen at Rome. Chariot-races in the circus, representations 
 on the stage, combats by gladiators, &c. were now become 
 common. Augustus, therefore, the better to divert both him- 
 self and the people, revived these sports, which had been for 
 a considerable time laid aside, on account of the extra- 
 ordinary charges that attended them. He caused a canal to 
 be dug, eighteen hundred paces in length, and two hundred in 
 breadth, conveying into it the Flaminian waters, and building 
 scaffolds quite round it, capable of holding a prodigious multi- 
 tude of spectators. And indeed the concourse of people 
 was so great, that the emperor was obliged to place guards in 
 all quarters of the city, lest the thieves should lay hold of that 
 opportunity to plunder the empty and abandoned houses. 
 Augustus had frequently entertained the people with fights 
 of lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, &c. but now the new 
 canal appeared all on a sudden covered with crocodiles, of 
 which thirty-six were killed by Egyptians, brought from the 
 banks of the Nile for that purpose. The multitude were 
 highly delighted by this sight, which was quite new ; but the 
 sea-fight which ensued, afforded them still greater diversion : 
 for, at the opposite ends of the lake, or canal, two fleets 
 appeared, the galleys of one being built after the Greek, and 
 those of the other after the Persian manner. Both fleets 
 engaged; and, as they fought in good earnest, most of the 
 combatants being persons sentenced to death, the battle 
 proved very bloody. 
 
 A Wooden Eagle, and an Iron Fly. — Petrus Ramus 
 tells us of a Wooden Eagle and an Iron Fly, made by Regio- 
 montanus, a famous mathematician at Nuremberg: whereof 
 the first flew forth out of the city, aloft in the air, met the 
 Emperor Maximilian a good way off, coming towards it; and, 
 having saluted him, returned again, waiting on him at the 
 city gates. The second, at a feast, whereto the Empero*’ had 
 invited his familiar friends, flew forth from his hand, and, 
 taking a round, returned thither again, to the great astonish- 
 ment of the beholders: both which, the excellent pen of the 
 noble Du Bartas has expressed in the following lines: 
 
 Why should I not that Wooden Eagle mention, 
 
 A learned German’s late admir’d invention. 
 
 Which, mounting from his fist that fram’d her, 
 
 Flew far to meet the German Emperor? 
 
 And, having met him, with her nimble train 
 And pliant wings turning about again. 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 Follow’d him close unto the castle gate 
 Of Nuremberg; whom all their shows of state. 
 
 Streets hung with arras, arches curious built, 
 
 Grey-headed senate, and youth’s gallantries, 
 
 Grac’d not so much as only this device. 
 
 lie goes on, and thus describes the Fly: 
 
 Once, as this artist, more with mirth than meat; 
 
 Feasted some friends whom he esteemed great, 
 
 Forth from his hand an Iron Fly flew out ; 
 
 Which having flow n a perfect round about. 
 
 With weary wings returned to his master. 
 
 And as judicious on his arm he plac’d her. 
 
 Oh! wit divine, that in the narrow womb 
 
 Of a small Fly could find sufficient room 
 
 For all those springs, wheels, counterpoise, and chains, 
 
 Which stood instead of life, and blood, and veins. 
 
 Wh itehead’s Ship. — Geor2;e Whitehead, an Englishman, 
 made a ship, with all her tackling, to move itself on a table, 
 with rowers plying the oars, a woman playing on the lute, 
 and a little whelp crying on the deck, — says Scottus, in his 
 Itinerary. 
 
 Scaliot’s Lock, &.c. — In the twentieth year of Queen 
 Elizabeth, Mark Scaliot, a blacksmith, made a lock, con- 
 sisting of eleven pieces of iron, steel, and brass, all which, 
 together with a pipe-key to it, weighed but one grain of gold: 
 he made also a chain of gold, consisting of forty-three links, 
 whereunto having fastened the lock and key before men- 
 tioned, he put the chain about a flea's neck, which drew them 
 all with ease. All these together, lock and key, chain and 
 flea, being weighed, the weight of them was but one grain 
 and a half. 
 
 Praxiteles’ Venus. — Praxiteles, who was an ingenious 
 worker in imagery, made a statue of Venus for the Cnidians, so 
 much resembling life, that a certain young man became 
 enamoured of it to such a degree, that the excess of his love 
 deprived him of his senses. This piece of art was so eagerly 
 coveted by king Nicomedes, that, though the Cnidians owed 
 him an immense sum of money, he offered to take the statue 
 in full satisfaction for his debt; but was refused. 
 
 The next subject is a curious Weaving Engine. — At 
 Dantzic in Poland, there was set up a rare invention for 
 weaving four or five webs at a time, without any human 
 help. It was an engine that moved of itself, and would work 
 night and day. This invention was suppressed, because it 
 would have ruined the poor people of the town; and the 
 artificer was secretly destroyed, as Lancelotti, the Italian 
 abbot, relates from the mouth of M. Muller, a Pole, who had 
 ■een the device. 
 
HYDRAULIC BIRDS. — BOVERICK’s CURIOSITIES. 713 
 
 Hydraulic Birds. — At Tibur, in Tivoli, near Rome, in 
 the gardens of Hippolitus d’Este, Cardinal of Ferrara, there 
 are the representations of sundry birds sitting on the tops of 
 trees, which, by hydraulic art, and secret conveyances of 
 water through the trunks and branches of the trees, are made 
 to sing and clap their wings; but at the sudden appearance 
 of an owl out of a bush of the same artifice, they immediately 
 become all mute and silent. It was the work of Claudius 
 Callus, as Possivenus informs us. 
 
 Herschkll’s Grand Telescope. — The tube of this tele- 
 scope is thirty-nine feet four inches in length, and four feet 
 ten inches in diameter, every part being made of iron. It 
 stands in the open air, appears to be considerably elevated, 
 and is encircled with a complicated scaftblding, by which its 
 steadiness is secured. The concave face of its speculum is 
 forty-eight inches of polished surface in diameter, and it 
 weighs nearly 'two thousand one hundred, and eighteeen pounds! 
 With proper eye-glasses it magnifies above six thousand times: 
 it is the larijest instrument, and has the oreatest magnifvino; 
 power, of any that has been made. By its aid, Dr. Herschell 
 has been able to observe the lightning in the atmosphere of 
 the moon, and has found out several celestial bodies, unknown 
 to preceding astronomers. The whole was finished on August 
 the 28th, 1789, on which day the sixth satellite of Saturn was 
 discovered. The observer, suspended at the end of the in- 
 strument, with his back towards the object he views, looks 
 down the tube, and sees the image reflected from the mirror; 
 whilst a man below turns gently round the instrument, to 
 accord with the apparent rotatory motion of the heavens, 
 thus preserving the image of the object on the mirror with 
 stability. 
 
 Boverick’s Curiosities. — Mr. Baker, in his Treatise on 
 the Microscope, says, “ I myself have seen, near Durham 
 Yard, in the Strand, and have examined with my microscope, 
 a chaise, (made by one Mr. Boverick, a watch-maker,) having 
 four wheels, with all the proper apparatus belonging to them, 
 turning readily on their axles, together with a man sitting in 
 the chaise, all formed of ivory, and drawn along by a flea, 
 without any seeming difficulty. I weighed it with the greatest 
 care 1 was able; and found the chaise, man, and flea, were 
 barely equal to a single grain. I weighed also, at the same 
 time and place, a brass chain made by the same hand, about 
 two inches long, containing tw'o hundred links, w’ith a hook at 
 at one end, and a padlock and key at the other; and found it 
 less than the third part of a grain. I have seen (made by the 
 same artist) a quadrille table with a drawer in it, an eating- 
 
 4 X 
 
714 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 table, a sideboard table, a looking-glass, twelve chairs, with 
 skeleton backs, two dozen of plates, six dishes, a dozen knives, 
 and as many forks, twelve spoons, two salts, a frame and 
 castors, together with a gentleman, l*ady, and footman, all 
 contained in a cherry-stone, and not filling much more than 
 half of it 
 
 Bunzlau Curiosities. — Mr. Adams, in his Letters on 
 Silesia, gives the following account of two ingenious mecha- 
 nics he met with at Bunzlau. Their names were Jacob, and 
 Huttig ; the one was a carpenter, the other a weaver, and they 
 were next-door neighbours to each other. “ The first (says 
 Mr. Adams) has made a machine, in which, by the means 
 of certain clock-w'ork, a number of puppets, about six inches 
 high, are made to move upon a kind of stage, so as to repre- 
 sent in several successive scenes the 'passion of Jesus Christ. 
 I'he first exhibits him in the garden at prayer, while the three 
 apostles are sleeping at a distance. In the last, he is shewn 
 dead in the sepulchre, guarded by two Roman soldiers. The 
 intervening scenes represent the treachery of Judas, the ex- 
 amination of Jesus before Caiaphas, the dialogue between 
 Pilate and the Jews concerning him, the denial of Peter, the 
 scourging, and the crucifixion. It is all accompanied by a 
 mournful dirge of music; and the maker, by way of explana- 
 tion, repeats the passages of Scripture which relate the events 
 he has undertaken to shew. I never saw a stronger proof of 
 the strength of the impression of objects, which are brought 
 immediately home to the senses. I have heard and read more 
 than one eloquent sermon upon the passion ; but I confess, 
 none of their most laboured efforts at the pathetic ever touched 
 my heart with one-half the force of this puppet-show. The 
 traitor’s kiss, the blow struck by the high-priest’s servant, the 
 scourging, the nailing to the cross, the sponge of vinegar, 
 every indignity offered, and every pain inflicted, occasioned 
 a sensation, when thus made perceptible to the eye, which ] 
 had never felt at mere description. 
 
 Hultig, the weaver, with an equal, or superior mechanical 
 genius, has applied it in a different manner, and devoted it to 
 geographical, astronomical, and historical pursuits In the 
 intervals of his leisure from the common weaver’s work, which 
 affords him subsistence, he has become a very learned man 
 The walls of his rooms are covered with maps and drawings 
 of his own, representing, here the course of the Oder, w ith 
 all the towns and villages through which it runs ; there, the 
 .mountains of Switzerland, and those of Silesia, over both of 
 which he has travelled in person. In one room he has two 
 very large tables, one raised above the other : on one of them 
 he has ranged all the towns and remarkable places of Germany; 
 
BUNZLAU CURIOSITIES. 
 
 715 
 
 and on the other, of all Europe : they are placed according 
 to their respective geographical bearings. The names of the 
 towns are written on a small square piece of paper, and fixed 
 in a slit on the top of a peg, which is stuck into the table. 
 The remarkable mountains are shewn by some pyramidical 
 black stones; and little white pyramids are stationed at all the 
 spots which have been distinguished by any great battle, or 
 other remarkable incident. The man himself, in explaining 
 his work, shews abundance of learning, relative to the ancient 
 names of places, and the former inhabitants of the countries 
 to which he points ; and amused us with anecdotes of various 
 kinds, connected with the lands he has marked out. 
 
 Thus, in shewing us the Alps, he pointed to the very spot 
 over which the French army of reserve so lately ])assed, and 
 where Buonaparte so fortunately escaped being taken by an 
 Austrian officer; and then he gave us a short comment of his 
 own, upon the character and extraordinary good fortune of 
 the First Consul. In a second room he has a large machine, 
 representing the Copernican system of the universe : it is made 
 in such a manner, that the whole firmament of fixed stars 
 moves round our solar system once in every twenty-four hours, 
 and thus always exhibits the stars, in the exact position, rela- 
 tive to our earth, in which they really stand. Internally, he 
 has stationed all the planets which belong to our system, with 
 their several satellites, and all the comets that have been ob- 
 served during the last three centuries. In a third room he 
 has another machine, exhibiting in difTerent parts the various 
 phases of the moon, and those of Jupiter’s satellites, the 
 apparent motion of the sun round the earth, and the real 
 motion of the earth round the sun. • 
 
 “ In his garret he has another work, upon which he is yet 
 occupied, and which, being his last labour, seems to be that 
 in which he takes the most delight. Upon a very large table, 
 siniilar to that in the first room, he has inlaid a number of 
 thin plates of wood, formed so as to represent a projection of 
 the earth under Mercator’s plan. All the intervals between 
 the plates of w ood designate that portion of the world which 
 is covered with water. He has used a number of very small 
 ropes of two colours, drawn over the surface in such a manner 
 as to describe the tracks of all the celebrated circumnavigators 
 of the globe. The colours of the ropes distinguish the several 
 voyages which claim especial pre-eminence above the rest. 
 To Columbus, Anson, and Cook, he has shewn a special 
 honour by three little models of ships bearing their names, 
 which are placed upon the surface of his ocean, in some spot 
 of their respective courses. The names of all the other voy- 
 agers, and the times at which their voyages were performed, are 
 marked by papers fixed at the points of their departure. Such 
 
716 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 IS the imperfect description I can give you, from a short view 
 of the labours of this really curious man. He must be nearly, 
 or quite seventy years old, and has all his lifetime been of an 
 infirm constitution. But this taste for the sciences, he told 
 us, was hereditary in his family, and had been common to 
 them all, from his great-grandfather down to himself. His 
 dress and appearance were those of a common weaver ; but 
 his expressive countenance, at once full of enthusiastic fire 
 and of amiable good-nature, was a model, upon which Lava- 
 ter might expatiate with exultation. The honest and ingeni- 
 ous weaver, on our taking leave, made us smile by exclaiming, 
 that now. if he could but have a traveller from Africa come 
 to see his works, he could boast of having had visitors from 
 all the four quarters of the globe.*’ 
 
 Artificial Flying. — The art of flying has been attempted 
 by several persons in all ages. The Leucadians, out of super- 
 stition, are reported to have had a custom of precipitating a 
 man from a high cliff into the sea, first fixing feathers, vari- 
 ously expanded, round his body, in order to break his fall. 
 Friar Bacon, who lived near five hundred years ago, not only 
 affirms the art of flying possible, but assures us, that he him- 
 self knew how to make an engine, wherein a man, sitting, might 
 be able to cenvey himself through the air, like a bird ; and 
 further adds, that there was one who had then tried it with 
 success; but this method, which consisted of a couple of 
 large thin hollow copper globes, exhausted of the air, and 
 sustaining a peison who sat thereon. Dr. Hooke shews to be 
 impracticable. The philosophers of King Charles the Second’s 
 reign were mightily busied about this art. Bishop Wilkins 
 was so confident of success in it, that he says, he does not 
 question but, in future ages, it will be as usual to hear a man 
 call for his wings, when he is going a journey, as it is now to 
 call for his boots. 
 
 The art of flying has in some measure been brought to bear 
 in the construction and use of balloons. 
 

 ijjt LiSiWS'j 
 
 OF m 
 
BURNING GLASSES. 
 
 717 
 
 CHAP. LXXIV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. — (Concluded.) 
 
 Burning Glasses — Duct Hit i/ of Glass — Remarkable Ductility 
 and Extensibility of Gold — Pin Making — Needles — Shoes — 
 The Great Bell of Moscow, 
 
 Burning Glasses. — We have some extraordinary instances 
 and surprising accounts of prodigious effects of burning- 
 glasses. Those made of reflecting mirrors are more powerful 
 than those made with lenses, because the rays from a mirror 
 are reflected all to one point nearly; whereas by a lens, t. \r 
 are refracted to different points, and are therefore not su 
 dense or ardent. The whiter also the metal or substance 
 is, of which the mirror is made, the stronger will be the 
 effect. 
 
 The most remarkable burning-glasses, or rather mirrors, 
 among the ancients, were those of Archimedes and Proclus; 
 by the first of which the Roman ships, besieging Syracuse, 
 (according to the testimony of several writers,) and by the 
 other, the navy of Vitalian besieging Byzantium, were re- 
 duced to ashes. Among the moderns, the burning mirrors 
 of greatest eminence, are those ofVilette, and Tschirnhausen, 
 and the new complex one of M. de Buffon. 
 
 That of M. de Vilette was three feet eleven inches in 
 diameter, and its focal distance was three feet two inches. 
 Its substance is a composition of tin, copper, and tin glass. 
 Some of its effects, as found by Dr. Harris and Dr. Desagu- 
 liers, are, that a silver sixpence melted in seven seconds and 
 a half; a king George’s halfpenny melted in sixteen seconds, 
 and ran in thirty-four seconds; tin melted in three seconds; 
 and a diamond weighing four grains, lost seven-eighths of its 
 weight. That of M. de Buffon is a polyhedron, six feet 
 bioad, and as many high, consisting of one hundred and sixty- 
 eight small mirrors, or flat pieces of looking-glass, each six 
 inches square; by means of which, with the faint rays of the 
 sun in the month of March, he set on fire boards of beech- 
 wood at one hundred and fifty feet distance. Besides, his 
 machine has the conveniency of burning downwards, or hori- 
 zontally, at pleasure; each speculum being moveable, so 
 as, by the means of three screws, to be set to a proper incli- 
 nation for directing the rays towards any given point; and it 
 turns either in its greater focus, or in any nearer interval, 
 which our common burning-glasses cannot do, their focus being 
 fixed and determined. M. de Buffon, at another time, burnt 
 
718 
 
 CURIOSITIES IlESPECriNG THE ARTS. 
 
 wood at the distance of two hundred feet. He also melted 
 tin and lead at the distance of above one hundred and twenty 
 feet, and silver at fifty. 
 
 Mr. Parker, of Fleet-street, London, was induced, at an 
 expense of upwards of £700, to contrive, and at length to com- 
 plete, a large transj^arent lens, that would serve the purpose 
 of fusing and vitrifying such substances as resist the fires 
 of ordinary furnaces, and more especially of applying heat in 
 vacuo, and in other circumstances in which it cannot be 
 applied by any other means. After directing his attention 
 for several years to this object, and performing a great variety 
 of experiments in the prosecution of it, he at last succeeded 
 in the construction of a lens, of flint-glass, three feet in 
 diameter, which, when fixed in its frame, exposes a surface 
 two feet eight inches and a half in tlie clear, without any 
 other material imperfection, except a disfigurement of one of 
 the edges by a piece of the scoria of the mould, which un- 
 fortunately found its way into its substance. This lens was 
 double-convex, both sides of which were a portion of a sphere 
 of eighteen feet radius. It is difficult to form an accurate 
 estimate of the burning power of this lens; inasmuch as it is 
 next to impossible to discover what should be deducted for 
 the loss of power, in consequence of the impediments that 
 the glass of which it was made must occasion, as well as the 
 four reflections, and two more by way of diminution; but we 
 will endeavour to appreciate it, after a full allowance for these 
 deductions, which must necessarily result from every means 
 of concentrating the solar rays, and must be considered as the 
 friction of an engine, of which nature they really partake. 
 
 The solar rays received on a circular surface of two feet 
 eight inches and a half, when concentrated within the dia- 
 meter of an inch, will be 105,626 times its intensity, or 
 this number of times greater than the heat of the sun as 
 it is experienced on the surface of the earth. We will sup- 
 pose, that as the heat of the air, in ordinary summer 
 weather, is 65 degrees, and in sultry weather is 75 degrees, 
 the average of which is 70 degrees, and that we take this 
 as the average effect, the accumulated power of the lens, on 
 the supposition of an uniform heat over the whole surface of 
 the focus, will be equal to 73,938 degrees. It must be recol- 
 lected, by those who have an opportunity of examining the 
 effects of this lens, that the external part of the focal light 
 was less intense than that part which was near the centre of 
 it; or rather, that the effect was very much accumulated in 
 the centre ; but as it is possible that the refraction of the light 
 and of the caloric fluid may not take place in the same angles, 
 we think it safest to consider it as of uniform effect, and after 
 deducting one fourth part thereof as a compensation, there 
 
BURNING GLASSES. 
 
 719 
 
 remains 5545 as the expression of its power. As the applica- 
 tion of the second lens reduced the diameter of the focus to 
 half an inch, the efl’ect, without allowing for the reduction of 
 its power, would be equal to 221,816 degrees; but deducting 
 one-fourth for the second transmission, there remains 166,362 
 degrees, as the expression of its power. 
 
 Mr. Parker further informs us, that a diamond, w'eighing 
 ten grains, exposed to this lens for thirty minutes, was reduced 
 to six grains ; during which operation it opened and foliated 
 like the leaves of a flower, which emitted whitish fumes, and 
 when closed again, bore a polish, and retained its form. Gold 
 remained in its metallic state without apparent diminution, 
 notwithstanding an exposure at intervals of many hours : but 
 what is remarkable, the rest, or cupel, which was composed 
 of bone-ash, was tinctured with a beautiful pink colour. 
 
 The experiments on platina evince that the specimens were 
 in different states of approach to a complete metallic form; 
 several of them threw' off their parts in sparks, which in most 
 instances w'ere metallic. Copper, after three minutes’ expo- 
 sure, was not found to have lost in weight. 
 
 What is remarkable with regard to experiments on iron, is, 
 that the lower part, i. e. that part in contact with the charcoal, 
 was first melted, when that part which was exposed to the 
 focus remained unfused ; an evidence of the effect of flux on 
 this metal. 
 
 Several of the semi-crystalline substances, exposed to the 
 focal heat, exhibited symptoms of fusion; such as the agate, 
 oriental flint, cornelian, and jasper: but as the probability is, 
 that these substances were not capable of complete vitrifica- 
 tion, it is enough that they were rendered externally of a 
 glassy form. Garnet completely fused on black lead in 120 
 seconds, lost a quarter of a grain, became darker in colour, 
 and was attracted by the magnet. Ten cut garnets taken from 
 a bracelet began to run the one into the other in a few seconds, 
 and at last formed into one globular garnet. The clay used 
 by Mr. Wedgwood to make his pyrometric test, run in a few 
 seconds into, a white enamel. Seven other kinds of clay, sent 
 by M r. Wedgwood, w'ere all vitrified. Several experiments 
 were made on limestone, some of which were vitrified, but all 
 of which were agglutinated ; it is, however, suspected that 
 some extraneous substance must have been intermixed. A 
 globule produced from one of the specimens, on being put 
 into the mouth, flew into a thousand pieces, occasioned, it is 
 presumed, by the moisture. 
 
 A sid)scription was proposed for raising the sum of seven 
 hundred guineas, towards indemnifving the charges of the 
 inventor, and retaining the very curious and useful machine 
 above described in our own country ; but from the failure (»r 
 
720 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 the subscription, and some other concurring circumstances, 
 Mr. Parker was induced to dispose of it to Capt. Mackintosh, 
 who accompanied Lord Macartney in the embassy to Chilian; 
 and it was left, much to the regret of philosophers in Europe, 
 at Pekin ; where it remains in the hands of persons, who most 
 probably know neither its value nor use. 
 
 Ductility of Glass. — We all know, that when glass is well 
 penetrated with the heat of the fire, the workmen can figure 
 and manage it like soft wax ; but, what is most remarkable, it 
 may be drawn, or spun out, into threads exceedingly long and 
 fine. Our ordinary spinners do not form their threads of silk, 
 flax, or the like, with half the ease and expedition the glass- 
 spinners do threads of this brittle matter. We have some of 
 them used in plumes for children’s heads, and divers other 
 works, much finer than any hair, and which bend and wave, 
 like hair, with every wind. Nothing is more simple and easy 
 than the method of making them. There are two workmen 
 employed : the first holds one end of a piece of glass over the 
 flame of a lamp; and when the heat has softened it, a second 
 operator applies a glass hook to the metal thus in fusion, and, 
 withdrawing the hook again, it brings with it a thread of glass, 
 which still adheres to the mass; then, fitting his hook on the 
 circumference of a wheel about tw'o feet and a half in diame- 
 ter, he turns the wheel as fast as he pleases, which, drawing 
 out the thread, winds it on its run, till, after a certain number 
 of revolutions, it is covered with a skein of glass-thread. 
 The mass in fusion over the lamp diminishes insensibly, being 
 wound out like a clue of silk upon the wheel ; and the parts 
 cooling as they recede from the flame, become more coherent 
 to those next to them, and this by many degrees : the parts 
 nearest the fire are always the least coherent, and, of conse- 
 quence, must give way to the effort the rest make to draw 
 them towards the wheel. The circumference of these threads 
 IS usually a flat oval, being three or four times as broad as 
 thick : some of them seem scarcely bigger than the thread of 
 1 silkworm, and are surprisingly flexible. If the two ends of 
 5uch threads are knotted together, they may be drawn and 
 bent, till the aperture, or space in the middle of the knot, 
 Joes not exceed one-fourth of a line, or one forty-eighth of 
 an inch in diameter. Hence M. Reaumur maintains, that the 
 flexibility of glass increases in proportion to the fineness of 
 the threads; and that, probably, had we but the art of draw- 
 ing threads as fine as a spider’s web, vve might weave stuffs 
 and cloths of them for wear. Accordinojy, he made some 
 experiments this way; and found that he could make threads 
 fine enough, viz. as fine, in his judgment, as spider’s thread, 
 but not 1 )ng enough for the purposes of any manufacture. 
 
DUCTILITY OF GOLD. — PIN-MAKING. 721 
 
 Remarkable Ductility and Extensibility of Gold. 
 ■—Gold is the most ductile, as well as the most malleable, of 
 all metals. According to Cronstedt, one grain of it may be 
 stretched out so as to cover 98 Swedish ells, equal to 63.66 
 English yards of silver wire; but Wallerius asserts, that a 
 grain may be stretched out in such a manner, as to cover 500 
 ells of wire. At any rate, the extension is prodigious; for, 
 according to the least of the calculations, the millionth part 
 of a grain of gold may be made visible to the naked eye. Nor 
 is its malleability inferior to its ductility. Boyle, quoted 
 by Apligny, in his treatise on Colours, says, that one grain 
 and a half of gold may be beaten into 50 leaves of an inch 
 square, which, if intersected by parallel lines drawn at right 
 angles to each other, and distant only the hundredth part of 
 an inch from each other, will produce twenty-five millions of 
 little squares, each very easily discernible by the naked eye. 
 Mr. Magellan tells us, that its surface may be extended by 
 the hammer 159,092 times. “ I am informed, (says he) by an 
 intelligent goldbeater in England, that the finest gold leaf is 
 that made in new skins, and must have an alloy of three grains 
 of copper to the ounce of pure gold, or else it would be too 
 soft to pass over the irregularities of the skins. He affirms, 
 that 80 books, or 2000 leaves of gold, each leaf containing 
 10.89 square inches, weigh less than 384 grains. Each book, 
 therefore, of 25 leaves, or 272.25 inches, weighs less than 4.8 
 grains; so that each grain of the metal will produce about 
 57 square inches of gold leaf.” From further calculation it 
 appears, that the thickness of these leaves is less than the 
 282,000th part of an inch ; and that 16 ounces of gold would 
 be sufficient to gild a silver wire, equal in length to the whole 
 circumference of the globe we inhabit! 
 
 Pin-making. — Though pins are apparently simple, their 
 manufacture is not a little curious and complex. When the 
 brass wire, of which the pins are formed, is first received at 
 the manufactory, it is generally too thick for the purpose of 
 being cut into pins. The first operation, therefore, is that of 
 winding it off from one wheel to another with great velocity, 
 and causing it to pass between the two, through a circle in a 
 piece of iron of smaller diameter. The wire being thus re- 
 duced to its proper dimensions, is straightened by drawing it 
 between iriui pins, fixed in a board in a zigzag manner, but 
 so as to leave a straight line between them : afterwards it is 
 cut into lengths of three or tour yards, and then into smaller 
 ones, every length being sufficient to make six pins. Each 
 end of these is ground to a point, which was performed, (where 
 these observations were made,) by boys, who sat each with two 
 Rmall grinding-stones before him, turned by awheel. Taking 
 
722 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 up a handful, he applied the ends to the coarsest of the two 
 stones, being careful at the same time to keep each piece 
 moving round between his fingers, so that the points may not 
 become flat ; he then gives them a smoother and sharper point 
 by applying them to the other stone, and by that means a lad of 
 twelve or fourteen years of age, is able to point about sixteen 
 thousand pins in an hour. When the wire is thus pointed, a 
 pin is taken off at each end, and this is repeated till it is cut 
 into six pieces. The next operation is, that of forming the 
 heads, or, as they term it, head-spinning, which is done by 
 means of a spinning-wheel, one piece of wire being thus with 
 astonishing rapidity wound round another, and the interior 
 one being drawn out, leaves a hollow tube between the cir- 
 cumvolutions : it is then cut with shears, every two circum- 
 volutions, or turns of the wire, forming one head ; these are 
 softened by throwing them into iron pans, and placing them 
 in a furnace till they are red hot. As soon as they are cold, 
 they are distributed to children, who sit with hammers and 
 anvils before them, and catching one at the extremity, they 
 apply them immediately to the anvil and hammer, and by a 
 motion or two of the foot, the top and the head are fixed to- 
 gether in much less time than it can be described, and with a 
 dexterity only to be acquired by practice. The pin is now 
 finished as to its form, but still it is merely brass ; it is there- 
 fore thrown into a copper containing a solution of tin and the 
 lees of Avine. Here it remains for some time, and, when taken 
 out, assumes a w'hite, though dull appearance: in order there- 
 fore to give it a polish, it is put into a tub containing a quan- 
 tity of bran, which is set in motion by turning a shaft that 
 runs throuijh its centre, and thus, by means of friction, it 
 becomes perfectly bright. The pin being complete, nothing 
 remains but to separate it from the bran, which is perfectly 
 similar to the winnowing of corn, the bran flying off, and 
 leaving the pin behind it for immediate sale. 
 
 We must not forget to present to the reader some curious 
 particulars respecting the manufacture of Needles. — Needles 
 make a very considerable article in commerce, though there 
 is scarcely any commodity cheaper, the consumption of them 
 being almost incredible. The sizes are from No. 1, the largest, 
 to No. 25, the smallest. In the manufacture of needles, Ger- 
 man and Hungarian steel are of most repute. 
 
 In the making of them, the first thing is, to pass the steel 
 through a coal fire, and under a hammer, to bring it out of 
 its square figure into a cylindrical one. This done, it is drawn 
 thuough a large hole of a wire-drawing iron, and returned into 
 the fire, and drawn through a second hole of the iron, smaller 
 than the first; and thus successively from hole to hole, till it 
 
NEEDLES. 
 
 723 
 
 has acquired the degree of fineness required for that species 
 of needles; observing, every time it is to be drawn, that it 
 be greased over with lard, to render it more manageable. 
 The steel, thus reduced to a fine wire, is cut in pieces of the 
 length of the needles intended. These pieces are flatted at 
 one end on the anvil, by force of a puncheon of well-tempered 
 steel, and laid on a leaden block to bring out, with another 
 puncheon, the little piece of steel remaining in the eye. The 
 corners are then filed off the square of the heads, and a little 
 cavity filed on each side of the flat of the head ; this done, 
 the point is formed with a file, and the whole filed over: they 
 are then laid to heat red-hot on a long narrow iron, crooked 
 at one end, in a charcoal fire; and when taken out thence, 
 are thrown into a bason of cold water to harden. On this 
 operation a good deal depends; too much heat burns them, 
 and too little leaves them soft; the medium is learned by ex- 
 perience. When they are thus hardened, they are laid in an 
 iron shovel on a fire more or less brisk in proportion to the 
 thickne&s of the needles ; taking care to move them from time 
 to time. This serves to temper them, and take off’ their brit- 
 tleness ; great care here too must be taken of the degree of 
 heat. They are then straightened one after another with tlie 
 hammer, the coldness of the water used in hardening them 
 having twisted the greatest part of them. 
 
 The next process is the polishing of them. To do this, 
 they take 12,000 or 15,000 needles, and range them in little 
 heaps against each other, on a piece of new buckram sprinkled 
 with emery-dust. The needles being thus disposed, emery-dust 
 is thrown over them, which is again sprinkled wdth oil of olives ; 
 at last the whole is made up into a roll, well bound at both 
 ends. This roll is then laid on a polishing table, and over it 
 a thick plank loaded with stones, which two men w'ork back- 
 wards and forwards a day and a half, or two days, successively; 
 by which means the roll thus continually agitated by the 
 weight and motion of the plank over it, the needles withinside 
 being rubbed against each other with oil and emery, are insen- 
 sibly polished. After polishing, they are taken out, and the 
 filth washed off them with hot water and soap : they are then 
 wiped in hot bran, a little moistened, placed with the needles 
 in a round box suspended in the air by a cord, which is kept 
 stirring till the bran and needles are dry. The needles thus 
 wiped in two or three different brans, are taken out and put 
 in wooden vessels, to have the good separated from those 
 whose points or eyes have been broken either in polishing or 
 wiping; the points are then all turned the same way, and 
 smoothed with an emery-stone turned with a wheel. This 
 operation finishes them, and there remains nothing but to 
 make them into packets. 
 
724 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 Needles were first made in England by a native of India, in 
 1545, but the art was lost at his death ; it was, however, re- 
 covered by Christopher Greening, in 1560, who was settled, 
 with his three children, Elizabeth, John, and Thomas, by 
 Dr. Damar, ancestor of the present Lord Milton, at Long 
 Crendon, in Bucks, where the manufactory has been carried 
 on from that time to the present day. 
 
 Curiosities respecting Shoes. — Among the Jews, shoes 
 were made of leather, linen, rush, or wood; those of soldiers 
 were sometimes of brass or iron. They were tied with thongs, 
 which passed under the soles of the feet. To put off their 
 shoes, was an act of veneration ; it was also a sign of mourning 
 and humiliation : to bear one’s shoes, or to untie the latchets 
 of them, was considered as the meanest service, as appears in 
 the Baptist’s declaration of his own inferiority to Christ. 
 
 Among the Greeks, shoes of various kinds were used. 
 Sandals were worn by women of distinction. The Lacedemo- 
 nians wore red shoes. The Grecian shoes generally reached 
 to the middle of the leg. The Romans used two kinds of shoes : 
 the calceus, which covered the whole foot, somewhat like our 
 shoes, and was tied above with latchets or strings; and the solea, 
 or slipper, which covered only the sole of the foot, and was 
 fastened with leathern thongs. The calceus was always worn 
 along with the toga^ when a person went abroad : slippers 
 were put on during a journey, and at feasts, but it was reckoned 
 effeminate to appear in public with them. Black shoes were 
 worn by the citizens of ordinary rank, and white ones by the 
 women. Red shoes were sometimes worn by the ladies, and 
 purple ones by the coxcombs of the other sex. Red shoes were 
 put on by the chief magistrates of Rome, on days of ceremony 
 and triumphs. The shoes of senators, patricians, and their 
 children, had a crescent upon them, which served for a buckle ; 
 these were called calcei lunati. Slaves wore no shoes; hence 
 they were called cretori, from their dusty feet. Phocion also, 
 and Cato Uticensis, went without shoes. The toes of the 
 Roman shoes were turned up in the point; hence they were 
 called calcei rostrati, repandi, &c. 
 
 In the ninth and tenth centuries, the greatest princes of 
 Europe wore w'ooden shoes, or the upper part of leather, and 
 the sole of wood. In the reign of William Rufus, a great 
 beau, Robert, surnamed The Horned, used shoes wdth long 
 sharp points, stuffed with tow, and twisted like a ram’s horn. 
 It is said, the clergy being highly offended, declaimed against 
 the long-pointed shoes with great vehemence. The points, 
 however, continued to increase, till, in the reign of Richard 
 II. they were of so enormous a length, that they were tied to 
 knees with chains, sometimes of gold, sometimes of silver 
 
VARIETY OP FASHIONS IN SHOES. 
 
 725 
 
 The upper parts of these shoes, in Chaucer’s time, were cut in 
 imitation of a church window. The long-pointed shoes were 
 called crackowes, and continued in fashion for three centuries, 
 in spite of the bulls of popes, the decrees of councils, and the 
 declamations of the clergy. At length the parliament of 
 England interposed, by an act A. D. 1463, prohibiting the use 
 of shoes or boots with pikes exceeding two inches in length, 
 and prohibiting all shoemakers from making shoes or boots 
 with longer pikes, under severe penalties. But even this was 
 not sufficient : it was necessary to denounce the dreadful 
 sentence of excommunication against all who wore shoes or 
 boots with points longer than two inches. The present 
 fashion of shoes was introduced in 1633, but the buckle was 
 not used till 1670. 
 
 In Norway, they use shoes of a particular construction, con- 
 sisting of two pieces, and without heels ; in which the upper- 
 leather sits close to the foot, the sole being joined to it by 
 many plates or folds. 
 
 The shoes or slippers of the Japanese, as we are informed 
 by Professor Thunberg, are made of rice-straw, woven ; but 
 sometimes, for people of distinction, of fine slips of ratan. 
 The shoe consists of a sole, without upper-leather or hind- 
 piece : forwards, it is crossed by a strap, of the thickness of 
 one’s finger, which is lined with linen ; from the tip of the 
 shoe to the strap, a cylindrical string is carried, which passes 
 between the great and second toe, and keeps the shoe fast on 
 the foot. As these shoes have no hind-piece, they make a 
 noise, when people walk in them, like slippers. When the 
 Japanese travel, their shoes are furnished with three strings 
 made of twisted straw, with which they are tied to the legs 
 and feet, to prevent them from falling. Some people carry 
 one or more pairs of shoes with them on their journeys, in 
 order to put on new when the old ones are worn out. When 
 it rains, or the roads are very dirty, these shoes are soon 
 wetted through; and a great number of worn-out shoes are 
 continually seen lying on the roads, especially near the brooks, 
 where travellers have changed their shoes after washing their 
 feet. 
 
 Instead of these, in rainy or dirty weather, they wear high 
 wooden clogs, which underneath are hollowed out in the 
 middle, and at top have a band across, like a stirrup, and 
 a string for the great toe; so that they can walk without 
 soiling their feet. Some of them have their straw shoes 
 fastened to these wooden clogs. The Japanese never enter 
 their houses with their shoes on ; but leave them in the entry, 
 or place them on the bench near the door, and thus are 
 always barefooted in their houses, so as not to dirty their 
 neat i» ats. 
 
726 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE ARTS. 
 
 Great Bell of Moscow. From Dr. Clarke's Travels. — 
 “ The great bell of Moscow, known to be the largest ever 
 founded, is in a deep pit in the midst of the Kremlin. The 
 history of its fall is a fable ; and as writers are accustomed to 
 copy each other, the story continues to be propagated. The 
 fact is, the bell remains in the place where it was originally 
 cast. It never was suspended ; the Russians might as well 
 attempt to suspend a first-rate line-of-battle ship, with all her 
 guns and stores. A fire took place in the Kremlin ; the 
 flames caught the building erected over the pit where the bell 
 yet remains ; in consequence of this, the bell became hot, 
 and water being thrown to extinguish the fire, fell upon the 
 bell, causing the fracture which has taken place. The bell 
 reaches from the bottom of the cave to the roof. The en- 
 trance is by a trap-door, placed even with the surface of the 
 earth. We found the steps very dangerous ; some were want- 
 ing, and others broken. In consequence of this, I had a 
 severe fall down the whole extent of the first flight, and a 
 narrow escape for my life, in not having my skull fractured 
 upon the bell. After this accident, a sentinel was placed at 
 the trap-door, to prevent people becoming victims to their 
 curiosity. He might have been as well employed in mending 
 the ladders, as in waiting all day to say they were broken. 
 The bell is truly a mountain of metal. It is said to contain 
 a very large proportion of gold and silver. While it was in 
 fusior., the nobles and the people cast in, as votive offerings, 
 their plate and money: I endeavoured in vain to assay a small 
 part: the natives regard it with superstitious veneration, and 
 they would not allow even a grain to be filed off. At the 
 same time, it may be said, the compound has a white shining 
 appearance, unlike bell-metal in general; and, perhaps, its 
 silvery aspect has strengthened, if not excited, a conjecture 
 respecting the costliness of its constituents. 
 
 “ On festival days, peasants visit the bell as they would 
 resort to a church ; considering it an act of devotion, and 
 crossing themselves as they descend and ascend the steps. 
 The bottom of the pit is covered with water, mud, and large 
 pieces of timber; these, added to the darkness, render it 
 always an unpleasant and unwholesome place; in addition to 
 the danger arising from the ladders leading to the bottom. 
 I went frequently there, in order to ascertain the dimensions 
 of the bell with exactness. To my great surprise, during one 
 of those visits, half a dozen Russian officers, whom I found 
 in the pit, agreed to assist me in the admeasurement. It so 
 nearly agreed with the account published by Jonas Hanway, 
 that the difference is not worth notice This is somewhat 
 remarkable, considering the difficulty of exactly measuring 
 what is partly buried in the earth, and the circumference of 
 
BELL OF MOSCOW.— MAN WITH THE IRON MASK. 727 
 
 winch is not entire. No one, I believe, has yet ascertained 
 tll£ size of the base ; this would afford still greater dimen- 
 sions than those we obtained ; but it is entirely buried. 
 About ten persons were present when I measured the part 
 exposed to observation. We applied a strong cord close to 
 the metal, in all parts of its periphery, and round the lower 
 part, where it touches the ground, taking care at the same 
 time not to stretch the cord. From the piece of the bell 
 broken ofl‘, it was ascertained that we had thus measured 
 within two feet of its lower extremity. The circumference 
 obtained was sixty-seven feet four inches ; allowing a dia- 
 meter of twenty-two feet five inches, and one-third We then 
 took the perpendicidar height from the top, and found it to 
 correspond exactly wdth the statement made by Hanway; 
 namely, twenty-one feet four inches and a half. In the 
 stoutest part, that in which it should have received the blow 
 of the hammer, its thickness equalled twentv-three inches. 
 We were able to ascertain this, by placing our hands under 
 water, where the fracture has taken place; this is above seven 
 feet high from the lip of the bell. I'he weight of this 
 enormous mass of metal has been computed to be 443,772 
 cwt. which, if valued at three shillings a pound, amounts to 
 £66,565 16s. lying unemployed, and of no use to any one. 
 
 It was founded, according to Augustine, in 1653, during 
 the reign of Alexis. (See Voyage de Moscoio, page 117.' 
 The Russians and people of Moscow maintain, that it was 
 cast during the reign of their empress Anne, probably from 
 the female figure represented. Augustine proves that it is 
 larger than the famous bell of Erford, and even than that of 
 Pekin. 
 
 CHAP. LXXV. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, 
 
 Man with the Iron Mask. — There was a remarkable 
 personage, so denominated, who existed as a state prisoner in 
 France during the latter part of the seventeenth century. 
 The circumstances of this person form an historical enigma, 
 which has occasioned much inquiry, and many conjectures. 
 The authenticated particulars concerning the Iron Mask are 
 as follows : — A few' months after the death of Cardinal Maza- 
 rin, there arrived at the isle of Saint Marguerite, in the sea 
 of Provence, a young prisoner whose appearance was pecut- 
 liarly attracting; his person was above the middle size, and 
 Megantly formed ; his mien and deportment were noble,, and 
 
*.28 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 his manners graceful; and even the sound of his voice dad 
 in it something uncommonly interesting. On the ro*^d he 
 constantly wore a mask made with iron springs, to enable 
 him to eat without taking it off. It was at first believed that 
 this mask was made entirely of iron, whence he acquired the 
 title of The Man with the Iron Mask. His attendants had re- 
 ceived orders to dispatch him, if he attempted to take off his 
 mask or discover himself. He had been first confined at 
 Pignerol, under the care of the governor, M. de St. Mars ; and 
 being sent thence to St. Marguerite, he was accompanied 
 thither by the same person, who continued to have the charge 
 of him. He was always treated with the utmost respect: he 
 was served constantly in plate ; and the governor himself 
 placed his dishes on the table, retiring immediately after, and 
 locking the door behind him. He tu-to* yoii (thee'd and 
 thou*d) the governor; who, on the other hand, behaved to 
 him in the most respectful manner, and never wore his hat 
 before him, nor ever sat down in his presence without being 
 desired. The Marquis of Louvoisis, who went to see him at 
 St. Marguerite, spoke to him standing, and with those marks 
 of attention which denote high respect. 
 
 During his residence there, he attempted twice, in an in- 
 direct manner, to make himself known. One day he wrote 
 something with his knife on a plate, and threw it out of his 
 window, to a boat that was drawn on shore near the foot of 
 the tower. A fisherman picked it up, and carried it to the 
 governor, M. de St. Mars was alarmed at the sight; and 
 asked the man with great anxiety, whether he could read, and 
 whether any one else had seen the plate? The man answered, 
 that he could not read, that he had but just found the plate, 
 and that no one else had seen it. He was, however, confined 
 till the governor was well assured of the truth of his as- 
 sertions. Another attempt to discover himself proved equally 
 unsuccessful. A young man who lived in the isle, one day 
 perceived something floating under the prisoner’s window; 
 and on picking it up, he discovered it to be a very fine shirt 
 written all over. He carried it immediately to the governor; 
 who, having looked at some parts of the writing, asked the 
 lad, with some appearance of alarm, if he had not had the 
 -curiosity to read it? He protested repeatedly that he had 
 not; but two days afterwards he was found dead in his bed. 
 The Masque de Fer remained in that isle till 1698, when 
 M. St. Mars, being promoted to the government of the Bas- 
 tile, conducted his prisoner to that fortress. In his way 
 thither, he stopt with him at his estate near Palteau. The 
 Mask arrived there in a litter, surrounded by a numerous 
 guard on horseback. M. de St. Mars ate at the same table 
 with him all the time they resided at Palteau ; but the latter 
 
MAN WITH THE IRON MASK. 
 
 729 
 
 was always placed with his back towards the windows ; and 
 the peasants, who came to pay their compliments to their 
 master, whom curiosity kept constantly on the watch, observed 
 that M. de St. Mars always sat opposite to him, with two 
 pistols by the side of his plate. They were waited on by one 
 servant only, who brought in and carried out the dishes, al- 
 ways carefully shutting the door, both in going out and return- 
 ing. The prisoner was always masked, even when he passed 
 through the court; but the people saw his teeth and lips, and 
 observed that his hair was grey. The governor slept in the 
 same room with him, in a second bed, that was placed in it 
 on that occasion. In the course of his journey, the Mask was 
 one day heard to ask his keeper, whether the king had any 
 design on his life? “ No, Prince,” he replied ; provided that 
 you quietly allow yourself to be conducted, your life is per- 
 fectly secure.” 
 
 The stranger was accommodated as well as it was possible 
 to be in the E \stile. An apartment had been prepared for 
 him by order of the governor before his arrival, fitted up in 
 the most convenient style ; and every thing he expressed a 
 wish for, was instantly procured him. His table was the best 
 that could be provided, and he was supplied with as rich clothes 
 as he desired ; but his chief taste in this last particular was 
 for lace, and for linen remarkably fine. He was allowed the 
 use of such books as he requested, and he spent much of his 
 time in reading. He also amused himself with playing on the 
 guitar. He had the liberty of going to mass ; but w^as then 
 strictly forbid to speak, or uncover his face: orders were even 
 given to the soldiers to fire upon him, if he attempted either; 
 and their pieces were always pointed towards him as he passed 
 through the court. When he had occasion to see a surgeon 
 or a physician, he was obliged, under pain of death, constantly 
 to wear his mask. An old physician of the Bastile, who had 
 often attended him when he was indisposed, said, that he 
 never saw his face, though he had frequently examined his 
 tongue, and different parts of his body ; and that he never 
 complained of his confinement, nor let fall any hint, by which 
 it might be guessed who he was. He often passed the night 
 in walking up and down his room. This unfortunate prince 
 died on the 19th of November, 1703, after a short illness ; and 
 was interred next day, in the burying-place of the parish of St. 
 Paul. The expense of his funeral amounted only to forty livres. 
 The name given him was Marchiali; and even his age, as well 
 as his real name, it seemed of importance to conceal, for in 
 the register made of his funeral, it was mentioned that he was 
 about forty years old, though he had told his apothecary, some 
 time before his death, that he thought he must be sixty. 
 Immediately after his death, his apparel, linen clothes, mat- 
 31 4 Z 
 
'’30 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN BISIORY. 
 
 tresses, and in short, every thing that had been used. by him, 
 were burnt; the walls of his room were scraped, and the floor 
 taken up, evidently from the apprehension that he might have 
 found means of writing something that would have discovered 
 who he was. Nay, such was the fear of his having left a 
 letter, or any mark which might lead to a discovery, that his 
 plate was melted down; the glass w’as taken out of the win- 
 dow of his room, and pounded to dust; the window-frames 
 and doors burnt; and the ceiling of the room, and the plaster 
 of the inside of the chimney, demolished. 
 
 Several writers have affirmed, that the body of this unfor- 
 tunate personage was buried without a head; and M. de St. 
 Foix informs us, in his Essais Historiques, that “ a gentleman 
 having bribed the sexton, had the body taken up in the night, 
 but found a stone instead of the head.” The natural inference 
 from these extraordinary accounts, is, that the Iron Mask 
 was not only a person of high birth, but that he must have 
 been of great consequence ; and that his being concealed w^as 
 of the utmost importance to the king and ministry. 
 
 Among the various conjectures that have been formed, con- 
 cerning the real name and condition of this remarkable man, 
 none appears to have any probability except the following : — 
 That he was a son of Anne of Austria, queen to Louis XIII. 
 and consequently that he was a brother of Louis XIV ; but 
 whether a bastard-brother, a brother-german, or a half-brother, 
 is a question that has given rise to three several opinions, 
 viz. 1. That the queen proved with child at a time when it 
 was evident it could not have been by her husband, who, for 
 some months before, had never been with her in private. The 
 supposed father of this child is said to have been the duke of 
 Buckingham, who came to France, in May, 1625, to conduct 
 the princess Henrietta, w ife of Charles I. to England. The 
 private letters and memoirs of those times speak very suspi- 
 ciously of the Queen and Buckingham : his behaviour at 
 Amiens, whither the queen and queen-mother accompanied 
 the princess in her way to Boulogne, occasioned much whis- 
 pering ; and it appears, that the king, on this occasion, was 
 extremely offended at her, and that it required all the influence 
 and address of the queen-mother to effect a reconciliation. It 
 is said, that this child was privately brought up in the country ; 
 that when Mazarin became a favourite, he was entrusted w ith 
 the care of him; and that Louis XIV. having discovered the 
 secret on the death of the cardinal, thought it necessary to 
 confine him in the manner above related. 
 
 The second, and the most probable opinion, is, that he was 
 the twin-brother of Louis XIV. born some hours after him 
 This opinion first appeared in a short anonymous work, pub- 
 lished without date, or name of place, or printer. It is therein 
 
CESAR LANDING IN GREAT BRITAIN 
 
liii LdifMBt 
 
 (IF m 
 
 aillvn3l1V8IAUN6lt 
 
MAN WITH THE IRON MASK. 
 
 731 
 
 said, “ Louis XIV. was born at St. Germains-en-Laye, on the 
 6th of September, 1638, about noon; and the illustrious pri- 
 soner, known by the appellation of the Iron Mask, was 
 born the same day, while Louis XIII. was at supper. The 
 king and the cardinal, fearing that the pretensions of a twin- 
 brother might one day be employed to renew those civil wars 
 with which France had been so often afflicted, cautiously 
 concealed his birth, and sent him away, to be brought up pri- 
 vately.” This opinion was confirmed, in a work, entitled, 
 Memoires de Marechal Due de Richelieu, written by the Abbe 
 Soulavie ; in which it is asserted, that “The birth of the 
 prisoner happened in the evening of the 5th September, 1638, 
 in presence of the chancellor, the bishop of Meaux, the author 
 of the MS. a midwife, named Peronete, and a sieur Honorat.” 
 This circumstance greatly disturbed the king’s mind ; he ob- 
 served, that the Salic law had made no provision for such 
 a case. By the advice of cardinal Richelieu, it was therefore 
 resolved to conceal his birth, but to preserve his life, in case, 
 by the death of his brother, it should be necessary to avow 
 him. A declaration was drawn up, and signed and sworn to 
 by all present; in which every circumstance was mentioned, 
 and several marks on his body described. This document 
 being sealed by the chancellor with the royal seal, was deli- 
 vered to the king; and all took an oath never to speak on the 
 subject, not even in private and among themselves. The 
 child was delivered to the care of Madame Peronete, to be 
 under the direction of cardinal Richelieu, at w'hose death the 
 charge devolved to cardinal Mazarin. Mazarin appointed the 
 author of the MS. his governor, and entrusted to him the 
 care of his education. But as the prisoner was extremely 
 attached to Madame Peronete, and she equally so to him, she 
 remained with him till her death. His governor carried him 
 to his house in Burgundy, where he paid the greatest attention 
 to his education. 
 
 As the prisoner grew up, he became impatient to discover 
 his birth, and often importuned his governor on that subject. 
 His curiosity had been roused, by observing that messengers 
 from the court frequently arrived at the house ; and a box, 
 containing letters from the queen and the cardinal, having 
 one day been inadvertently left out, he opened it, and saw 
 enough to guess at the secret. From that time he became 
 thoughtful and melancholy, which, (says the author,) I could 
 not then account for. He shortly after asked me to get him 
 a portrait of the late and present king; but I put him off, by 
 saying, that I could not procure any that were good. He 
 then desired me to let him go to Dijon ; which I have known 
 since was witl) an inteniion of seeing a |) 0 !trait of the king 
 there, and of going secretly to St. John de Las, where the 
 
732 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 court then was, on occasion of the marriage with the Infanta. 
 He was beautiful, and love helped him to accomplish his 
 wishes. He had captivated the affections of a young house- 
 keeper, who procured him a portrait of the king. It might 
 have served for either of the brothers ; and the discovery put 
 him into so violent a passion, that he immediately came to me 
 with the portrait in his hand, saying, Voila mon frerey et valla 
 qui je suis, shewing me at ine s^nne time a letter of the cardi- 
 nal de Mazarin that he had taken out of the box !’’ Upon this 
 discovery, his governor immediately sent an express to court, 
 to communicate what had happened, and to desire new in- 
 structions ; the consequence of which was, that the governor, 
 and the young prince under his care, were arrested and con- 
 fined. The author of this memoir concludes, “ I have suffered 
 with him in our common prison ; I am now summoned to 
 appear before my Judge on high; and for the peace of my 
 soul, I cannot but make this declaration, which may point 
 out to him the means of freeing himself from his present igno- 
 minious situation, in case the king his brother should die 
 without children. Can an extorted oath compel me to observe 
 secrecy on a thing so incredible, but which ought to be left 
 on record to posterity 
 
 The third opinion is, that he was a son of the queen by 
 cardinal Mazarin, born about a year after the death of her 
 husband, Louis XIII.; that he was brought up secretly; and 
 that, soon after the death of the cardinal, on the 9th of March, 
 1661, he was sent to Pignerol. To this account Father Grif- 
 fet justly objects, “that it was needless to mask a face that 
 was unknown; and therefore this opinion does not merit 
 discussion .’’ — {Traite de la Verite de V Histoire, p. 318.) 
 Indeed, it seems totally unaccountable, that so much care 
 should have been taken to conceal a child of the queen by the 
 cardinal, who, whether they were privately married or not, 
 could never have had the most distant claim to the crown of 
 France. The conjectures advanced by other authors, that he 
 was the duke of Monmouth’s, the count of Vermandois’, or 
 the duke of Beaufort’s, &c. are still more improbable. 
 
 CHAP. LXXVI. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, ETC. — (Continued,) 
 
 Gipsies. — Mr. Lyons, in his entertaining work of the 
 Environs of London, has given the following curious account 
 of the Queen of the Gipsies, and the extraordinary people 
 under her dominion. 
 
(VESAU CROSSING THK RURICON, 
 
 
 ii 
 
 
 '^i(iiriiiiiifiriiiii!lill'!*®^^ ilr'l!!ii'iillli!ill;ii!!fiiliiiili;iliiiiiiM^^ 
 
Of m ... 
 
 HHWlllIff Bf 
 
GIPSIES. 
 
 733 
 
 From tne register of the parish of Bockenham, in Kent ; 
 extract; ‘ Margaret Finch, buried October 24, 1740.* — “This 
 remarkable person lived to the age of one hundred and nine 
 years. She was one of the people called Gipsies; and had 
 from them the title of Queen. After travelling over various 
 parts of the kingdom, during the greater part of a century, 
 she settled at Norwood, whither her age, and the fame of her 
 fortune-telling, attracted numerous visitors. From a habit of 
 sitting on the ground with her chin resting on her knees, the 
 sinews at length became so contracted, that she could not 
 rise from that posture. After her death, they were obliged to 
 enclose her body in a deep square box. Her funeral was 
 attended by two mourning coaches, a sermon was preached on 
 the occasion, and a great concourse of people attended the 
 ceremony. Her portrait adorns the sign-post of a house of 
 entertainment in Norwood, called the Gipsy-House. In an 
 adjoining cottage lives an old woman, grand- daughter of 
 queen Margaret, who inherits her title. She is niece of queen 
 Bridget, who was buried at Dulwich, in 1768. Her rank 
 seems to be merely titular: I do not find that the gypsies pay 
 her any particular deference ; or that she differs in any other 
 respect from the rest of her tribe, than that of being a house- 
 holder.** To the above he adds some leading facts concerning 
 this extraordinary race of people, who are scattered over most 
 Darts of Europe, Asia, and America. 
 
 “ The gipsies, (continues he,) in most places on the Continent 
 are called Cittgari, or Zingari: the Spaniards call them Gitanos. 
 It is not certain kvhen they first appeared in Europe; but 
 mention is made of them, in Hungary and Germany, so early 
 as the year 1417. Within ten years afterwards, they made 
 their appearance in France, Switzerland, and Italy. The date 
 of their arrival in England is more uncertain : it is most pro- 
 bable, that it was not till nearly a century afterwards. In the 
 year 1530, they are thus spoken of in the penal statutes 
 ‘ Forasmuch as before this time, divers and many outlandish 
 people, calling themselves Egyptians, using no craft nor feat 
 of merchandise, have come into this realm, and gone from 
 shire to shire, and from place to place, in great companies, and 
 used great subtilty and crafty means to deceive the people ; 
 bearing them in hand, that they, by palmistry, could tell 
 men’s and women’s fortunes ; and so, many times, by craft and 
 subtilty, have deceived the people of their money ; and also 
 have committed many heinous felonies and robberies, to 
 the great hurt and deceit of the people they have come 
 among, &,c.* 
 
 “ It was afterwards made death to them to continue in the 
 kingdom; and it remains on record, that thirteen were exe- 
 cuted for a violation of this law, a few years before the Resto- 
 
CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 734 
 
 ration : noi was this cruel act repealed till about the year 
 1783. 
 
 The gipsies were expelled from France in 1560, and from 
 Spain in 1591; but it does not appear that they have been 
 entirely extirpated in any country. Their collective numbers, 
 in every quarter of the globe, have been calculated at 
 seven or eight hundred thousand. They are most numerous 
 in Asia, and in the northern parts of Europe. Various have 
 been the opinions relating to their origin. That they came 
 from Egypt has been the most prevalent. This opinion 
 (which has procured them here the name of Gipsies, and in 
 Spain that of Gitanos,) arose, from some of the first who arrived 
 in Europe, pretending that they came from that country; 
 which assertion they made, perhaps, to heighten their reputa- 
 tion for skill in palmistry* and the occult sciences. It is 
 now, 1 believe, pretty generally agreed, that they came origi- 
 nally from Hindostan ; since their language so far coincides 
 with the Hindostanic, that even now, after a lapse of more 
 than three centuries, during which they have been dispersed 
 in various foreign countries, nearly one half of their words 
 are precisely those of Hindostan ; and scarcely any variation 
 is to be found in vocabularies procured from the gipsies in 
 Turkey, Hungary, Germany, and those in England. 
 
 “ Their manners, for the most part, coincide, as well as 
 their language, in every quarter of the w'orld where they are 
 found; being the same idle, wandering race of beings, and 
 seldom professing any ostensible mode of livelihood, except 
 that of fortune-telling. Though they are no great frequenters 
 either of mosques or churches, they generally conform to rites 
 and ceremonies as they find them established. 
 
 “ Upon the whole, we may certainly agree with Grellman 
 who has written their history, by regarding them as a singular 
 phenomenon in Europe. For the space of betw'een three or 
 four hundred years, they have gone wandering about like 
 pilgrims and strangers, yet neither time nor example has made 
 in them any alteration : they remain ever, and every where, 
 what their fathers were. Africa makes them no blacker, nor 
 does Europe make them whiter.” 
 
 It is not the least singular feature in the history of this 
 wandering and vagabond race, that they should have so long 
 maintained their credit for foretelling events, when the fallacy 
 of their predictions must have been so often experienced, and 
 their ignorance and w'ant of principle so well known. What 
 reliance can be placed on the oracular decisions of a man, who 
 has not sufficient foresight of his own affairs, to escape the 
 hands of justice for robbing a hen-roost? 
 
 * Palmistry is the pretended art of telling the future events of men^a 
 lives by the lines in their hands. 
 
GIPSIES. 
 
 736 
 
 The desire of prying into futurity seems to be a natural pro- 
 pensity in the human mind. In the ancient world, the con- 
 sultation of oracles, soothsayers, and augurs, divining by the 
 flight of birds, the entrails of the victims, or the feeding of 
 chickens, were so many efforts of a weak endeavour to with- 
 draw that veil, which in mercy is appointed to conceal from 
 our view the events that are to befal us. 
 
 In modern times, the impudent pretensions of astrologers, 
 conjurers, and fortune-tellers, have deluded the credulous, 
 even of that rank, in which men should set a more rational 
 example. About sixty years ago, a celebrated professor of 
 this dark science lived in London, in a place called Frying- 
 pan Alley; and crowds of (carriages were daily seen waiting in 
 the neighbourhood, whilst the artful impostor#was distributing 
 different allotments to their owmers, according to his arbitrary 
 caprice, or what he thought would bring most money into 
 his purse. 
 
 The following account is taken from a Liverpool weekly 
 magazine, entitled ‘ The Freeman,* published some years 
 since : — 
 
 “ Of late years some attempts have been made to reduce the 
 numbers, or at any rate to civilize the habits, of that vagabond 
 and useless race, the gipsies. In pursuance of such purpose, 
 a society of gentlemen have been making all the preliminary 
 inquiries requisite to a proper understanding of the subject. 
 A series of questions have been proposed to competent per- 
 sons in the different counties of England and Scotland ; and 
 answ’ers have been received. The following are specimens of 
 these replies : 
 
 “ 1. All gipsies believe that Egypt was the residence of their 
 most remote ancestors. 
 
 *‘2. They cannot form any idea of their number in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 “3. The gipsies of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, some parts of 
 Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire, are 
 continually making revolutions within the ranges of those 
 counties. 
 
 “4. They are either ignorant of the number of gipsies in the 
 counties thiough which they travel, or unwilling to disclose 
 their knowledge. 
 
 ** 5 . The most common names are Smith, Cooper, Draper, 
 Taylor, Boswell, Lee, Lovel, Loversedge, Allen, Mansfield, 
 Glover, Williams, Carew, Martin, Stanley, Buckley, Plunkett, 
 and Corrie. 
 
 “ 6. and 7. The gangs in different towns have not any regular 
 connection or organization ; but those who take up their win- 
 ter quarters in the same city or town, appear to have some 
 knowledge of the different routes each horde will pursue; 
 
736 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 probably with a desire to prevent interference with each 
 other. 
 
 “ 8. In the county of Herts, it is computed there may be 
 sixty families, having many children. Whether they are 
 quite so numerous in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and 
 Northamptonshire, the answers are not sufficiently definite to 
 determine. In Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, 
 Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire, greater numbers are calculated 
 upon. In various counties, the attention has not been com- 
 petent to the procuring data for any estimate of families or 
 individuals. 
 
 9. More than half their number follow no business ; some 
 ftre dealers in horses and asses : while others profess them- 
 selves to be fatriers, smiths, tinkers, braziers, grinders of 
 cutlery, basket-makers, chair-bottomers, and musicians. 
 
 “ 10. The children are brought up in the habits of their 
 parents, particularly to music and dancing, and are of dis- 
 solute habits. 
 
 ‘*11. The women mostly carry baskets with trinkets and 
 small wares ; and tell fortunes. 
 
 “ 12. They are too ignorant to have acquired accounts of 
 genealogy, and perhaps indisposed by the irregularity of their 
 habits. 
 
 “ 13. In most counties there are particular situations to 
 which they are partial. There is a marsh, near Newbury in 
 Berkshire, much frequented by them ; and Dr. Clark states, 
 that in Cambridgeshire, their principal rendezvous is near the 
 western villages. 
 
 “ 14. It cannot be ascertained whether this attachment to 
 particular places has prevailed from their first coming into 
 the nation, 
 
 “ 15, 16, and 17. When among strangers, they elude inquiries 
 respecting their peculiar language, calling it Gibberish. They 
 know of no person that can write it, or of any written speci- 
 men of it. 
 
 “ 18. Their habits and customs in a., places are peculiar. 
 
 “ 19. Those who profess any religion, represent it to be that 
 of the country in which they reside : but their description of 
 it seldom goes beyond repeating the Lord’s Prayer; and only 
 a few of them are capable of that. Instances of their attend- 
 ing any place for worship are very rare. 
 
 “20. They marry for the most part by pledging to each 
 other, without any ceremony. A few exceptions have occurred, 
 when money was plentiful. 
 
 “21. They do not teach their children religion. 
 
 “ 22, and 23. Not one in a thousand can read.” 
 
FREE MASONS. 
 
 737 
 
 CHAP. LXXVIl 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, ETC. — (Continued.) 
 
 Free and accepted Masons. — This very ancient society 
 is so called, either from some extraordinary knowledge of 
 masonry, of which they are supposed to be masters, or because 
 the first founders of the society were persons of this pro- 
 fession. They are now very considerable, both on account 
 of their numbers, and the rank they hold in society, being 
 found in every country in Europe, as well as North America ; 
 and they consist principally of persons of merit and con- 
 sideration. They make no small pretensions to antiquity, for 
 they claim a standing of some thousands of years. What the 
 design of their institution is, seems still in some measure 
 a secret : the members are said to be admitted into the 
 fraternity by being put in possession of a great number of 
 secrets, called the mason^s word ^ which have been religiously kept 
 from aoje to a< 4 e. In a treatise on Masonry, published in 
 1792, by William Preston, master of the Lodge of Antiquity, 
 the origin of masonry is traced from the creation. “ Ever 
 since symmetry began, and harmony displayed her charms, 
 (says he,) our order has had a being.’* By other accounts the 
 antiquity of masonry has only been traced as far back as the 
 building of Solomon’s temple. 
 
 In Dr. Henry’s history of Great Britain, we find the origin 
 of the Free Mason Society attributed to the difficulty found 
 in former times to procure workmen to build the vast number 
 of churches, monasteries, and other religious edifices, which 
 either the pretended piety or the superstition of those ages 
 prompted the people to raise. Hence the masons were greatly 
 favoured by the popes, and many indulgences were granted, 
 to augment their numbers. In those times, it may well be 
 supposed, that such encouragement from the supreme pastors 
 of the church must have been productive of the most bene- 
 ficial results to the fraternity ; and hence the society rapidly 
 increased. An ancient author, who was well acquainted with 
 their history and constitution, says, “ The Italians, with some 
 Greek refugees, and with them French, Germans, and Flemings, 
 joined into a fraternity of architects, procuring papal bulls 
 for their encouragement ; they styled themselves Free Masons, 
 and ranged from one nation to another, as they found 
 churches to be built: their government was regular; and 
 where they fixed near the building in hand, they made a camp 
 of huts. A surveyor governed in chief ; while every tenth man 
 was called a warden, and superintended the other nine 
 
 5 A 
 
738 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 Masonry had a very early introduction into Britain, but 
 never attained to any degree of importance, until the year 557 of 
 the Christian era; when St Austin, with forty monks, among 
 whom the sciences had been preserved, came into England. 
 By these Christianity was propagated; all the kings of the 
 heptarchy were converted ; masonry was patronized by St. 
 Austin; and the Gothic style of building was introduced into 
 England, by numerous foreigners, w’ho resorted at this time to 
 the kingdom. Austin appeared at the head of the fraternity 
 in founding the old cathedral of Canterbury, in 600; that of 
 Rochester, in 602; St. Paul’s in London, in 604; St. Peter’s in 
 Westminster, in 605: to which may be added many others. 
 The number of masons was thus greatly increased, as well 
 as by other buildings, such as castles, &c. throughout the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Masonry found a zealous protector in Alfred the Great, the 
 liberal patron of all arts and manufactures. He appropriated 
 a seventh part of his revenue for maintaining a number of 
 masons, whom he employed in rebuilding the cities, castles, 
 &c. ruined by the Danes. Under his successor, Edward, the 
 masons continued to hold their lodges ; they were patronized 
 by Ethred, husband to the king’s sister, and Ethelwald his 
 brother, to whom the care of this fraternity was entrusted. 
 The latter was a great architect, and founded the university 
 of Cambridge. The complete re-establishment of masonry in 
 England, however, is dated from the reign of king Athelstan*. 
 and the grand masons at York trace their existence from this 
 period. 
 
 The Grand Lodge of York, the most ancient in England, 
 was founded in 926, under the patronage of Edwin the king’s 
 brother, who obtained for them a charter from Athelstan, and 
 became grand-master himself. By virtue of this charter all 
 the masons in the kingdom were convened at a general 
 assembly in that city, where they established a grand lodge for 
 their government; and for many centuries afterwards, no 
 general meetings were held in any other place. Hence the 
 appellation of Ancient York Masons is well known both in 
 Ireland and Scotland; and the general tradition is, that they 
 originated at Auldby near York, which was a seat belonging 
 to Edwin. 
 
 It was the glory and boast of the brethren, in almost every 
 country where masonry was established, to be accounted 
 descendants of the original York masons; and from the 
 universality of the idea that masonry was first established at 
 York by charter, the masons of England have received tribute 
 from the first states in Europe. At present, however, this 
 social intercourse is abolished. The duke of Buccleugh, who, 
 in 1723, succeeded the duke of Wharton as grand-master, first 
 
FREE MAi>ONS 
 
 739 
 
 proposed the scheme of raising a general fund for distressed 
 masons. The duke’s motion was supported by Lord Paisley, 
 Colonel Houghton, and a few other brethren; and the grand 
 lodge appointed a committee to consider of the most effectual 
 means of carrying the scheme into execution. The disposal 
 of the charity was first vested in seven brethren ; but this 
 number being found too small, nine more were added. It 
 \vas afterwards resolved, that twelve masters of contributing 
 lodges, in rotation with the grand officers, should form the 
 committee; and by another regulation since made, it has been 
 determined that all past and present grand officers, with the 
 masters of all regular lodges, which shall have contributed 
 within twelve months to the charity, shall be members of the 
 committee. This committee meets four times in the year, by 
 virtue of a summons from the grand-master or his deputy. 
 The petitions of the distressed brethren are considered at 
 these meetings; and if the petitioner be considered as a 
 deserving object, he is immediately relieved with five pounds. 
 If the circumstapces of the case are of a peculiar nature, his 
 petition is referred to the next communication, where he is 
 relieved with any sum the committee may have specified, not 
 exceeding twenty guineas at one time. Thus the distressed 
 have always found ready relief from this general charity, 
 which is supported by the voluntary contributions of different 
 lodges out of their private funds, without being burdensome 
 to any member in the society. Thus has the committee of 
 charity for free masons been established; and so liberal 
 have the contributions been, that though the sums annually 
 expended, I'or the relief of the distressed brethren, have for 
 several years past amounted to many thousand pounds, there 
 still remains a considerable fund. 
 
 The most remarkable event which of late has taken place in 
 the affairs of masonry, is the initiation of Omitul Omrah Bahau- 
 der, eldest son of the nabob of the Carnatic, who was received 
 by the lodge of Trinchinopolv, in the year 1779. The news being 
 officially transmitted to England, the grand lodge determined to 
 send a congratulatory letter to his highness on the occasion, 
 accompanied with an apron elegantly decorated, and a copy 
 of the book of Constitutions superbly bound. The execution 
 of this commission was entrusted to Sir John Duy, advocate- 
 general of Bengal; and in the beginning of 1780, an answer 
 was received from his highness, acknowledging the receipt of 
 the present, and expressing the warmest attachment and 
 benevolence to his brethren in England. The letter was 
 written in the Persian language, and inclosed in an elegant 
 cover of cloth of gold, and addressed to the grand-master 
 and grand lodge of England. A proper reply was made ; and 
 a translation of his highness’s letter was ordered to be copied 
 
740 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN IISTORT. 
 
 on yellum; and, with the original, elegantly framed and 
 glazed, and hung up in the hall at every public meeting of the 
 society. 
 
 It must be natural to inquire into the uses of the institu- 
 tion, and for what purpose it has been patronized by so many 
 great and illustrious personages. The profound secrecy, 
 however, in which every thing relating to masonry is involved, 
 prevents us from being very particular on this head. The 
 masons themselves say in general, that it promotes philan- 
 thropy, friendship, and morality ; that in proportion as 
 masonry has been cultivated, countries have become civi- 
 lized, &c. How far this can be depended upon, the fraternity 
 best know. Another advantage, however, seems less equivo- 
 cal, viz. that its signs serve as a kind of universal language; 
 so that by means of them, people of the most distant nations 
 may become acquainted, and enter into friendship with one 
 another. This certainly must be accounted a very important 
 circumstance ; and considering the great numbers that have 
 been, and daily are, admitted to the society, and their invio- 
 lable attachment to the art, we must certainly conclude, that 
 if it contains nothing of great importance to mankind at large, 
 it must at least be extremely agreeable, and even fascinating, 
 to those who are once initiated. 
 
 CHAP. LXXVIll. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, ETC. — (Continued.) 
 
 Peeping Tom of Coventry — Long absent Husband returned—^ 
 Curious Historical Fact — The most Extraordinary Fact on 
 Record. 
 
 Peeping Tom of Coventry. — The following are the par- 
 ticulars of the event which, it is said, gave birth to the above 
 appellation. 
 
 The wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia, with her husband, founded 
 amonastery, for an abbot and twenty-four Benedictine monks, 
 at Coventry, in 1043 ; which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, 
 St. Peter, and St. Osburg. Leofric and his Lady, who both 
 died about the latter end of the reign of Edward the Confes- 
 sor, were buried in the church of the abbey which they had 
 ‘founded. The former seems to have been the first lord of 
 Coventry, and the latter its greatest benefactress, as will 
 appear from the following extraordinary and indeed romantic 
 tradition, which is not only firmly believed at Coventry, but 
 is recorded by many of our own historians : — 
 
PBBPIN6 TOM. — THE ABSENT HUSBAND. 741 
 
 The earl had granted the convent and city many valuable 
 privileges; but the inhabitants having offended him, he im- 
 posed on them very heavy taxes ; for the great lords to whom 
 the town belonged, under the Anglo-Saxons, had those 
 privileges, which cannot be exercised at present by any but 
 the house of commons. The people complained grievously of 
 the severity of the taxes, and applied to Godeva, the earl’s 
 lady, a woman of great piety and virtue, to intercede in their 
 favour. She willingly complied with the request; but the earl 
 remained inexorable! he told his lady, that were she to ride 
 naked through the streets of the city, he would remit the tax; 
 meaning, that no persuasion whatever should prevail with him. 
 and thinking to silence her by the strange proposal : but she, 
 sensibly touched by the distress of the city, generously ac- 
 cepted the terms. She therefore sent notice to the magistrates 
 of the town, with the strictest orders that all doors and win- 
 dows should be shut, and that no person should attempt to 
 look out on pain of death. These precautions being taken, 
 the lady rode through the city, covered only with her fine 
 flowing locks. While riding in this manner through the streets, 
 no one dared to look at her, except a poor tailor, who, as a 
 punishment, it is said, for his violating the injunctions of the 
 noble lady, which had been published with so pious and 
 benevolent a design, was struck blind. This tailor has been 
 ever since remembered by the name of Peeping Tom ; and in 
 memory of the event, his figure is still kept up in the window 
 of the house, from whence, it is said, he gratified his curiosity. 
 The lady having thus discharged her engagements, the earl 
 performed his promise, and granted the city a charter, by 
 which the inhabitants were exempted from all taxes. As a 
 proof of this circumstance, in a window of Trinity church are 
 the figures of the Earl and his Lady, and beneath the following 
 inscription ; — 
 
 ** I, Lu riche, for the love of thee, 
 
 Doc set Coventre toll free.” 
 
 To this day, the love of Godeva is annually commemorated 
 on Friday in Trinity week, when a valiant fair one rides, not 
 literally like the good countess, but in silk, closely fitted to 
 her limbs, and of colour emulating her complexion. The 
 figure of Peeping Tom, in the great street, is also new dressed 
 on the occasion. Mr. O’Keefe has produced a musical enter- 
 tainment on this subject, written with all the delicacy the 
 subject would admit. 
 
 The Long Absent Husband returned: (From Dr, 
 King’s Anecdotes.) — ** About the year 1706, I knew,” said Dr. 
 K»ng, “one Mr. Howe, a sensible well-natured man, possessed 
 
742 
 
 CURIOUSn^ES IN BISTORT, 
 
 of an estate of £700 or £800 per annum ; he married a young 
 lady of o'ood family, in the west of England ; her maiden 
 name was Mallet ; she was agreeable in her person and manners, 
 and proved a very good wife. Seven or eight years after they 
 had been married, he arose one morning very early, and told 
 his wife he was obliged to go to the Tower to transact some 
 particular business: the same day, at noon, his wife received 
 a note from him, in which he informed her that he was under 
 the necessity of going to Holland, and should probably be 
 absent three weeks or a month. He was absent from her se- 
 venteen years, during which time she never heard from him or 
 of him. The evening before he returned, while she was at 
 supper, and with some of her friends and relations, particularly 
 one Dr. Rose, a physician, who had married her sister, a bil- 
 let, without any name subscribed, was delivered to her, in 
 which the writer requested the favour of her to give him a 
 meeting the next evening, in the Birdcage-walk, in St. Jamesis 
 Park. When she had read the billet, she tossed it to Dr. 
 Rose, and laughing, said, ‘You see, brother, old as I am, I 
 have got a gallant.’ Rose, who perused the note with more 
 attention, declared it to be Mr. Howe’s hand-writing : this 
 surprised ail the company, and so much affected Mrs. Howe, 
 that she fainted away; however, she soon recovered, when it 
 was ao^reed that Dr. Rose and his w ife, with the other gentle- 
 men and ladies who were then at supper, should attend Mrs. 
 Howe the next evening to the Birdcage-walk : they had not 
 been there more than five or six minutes, wdien Mr. Howt 
 came to them, and after saluting his friends, and embracing 
 his wife, walked home with her, and they lived together ii. 
 great harmony from that time to the day of his death. Bui 
 the most curious part of my tale remains to be related. 
 
 “ When Howe left his wife, they lived in a house in Jermyn- 
 street, near St. James’s church ; he went no farther than a 
 little street in Westminster, where he took a room, for which 
 he paid five or six shillings a week, and changing his name, 
 and disguising himself by wearing a black wig, (for he was a 
 fair man,) he remained in this habitation during the whole 
 time of his absence! He had two children by his wife w'hen 
 he departed from her, who were both living at that time; but 
 they both died young, in a few years after. However, durino; 
 their lives, thesecond orthird year after theirfatherdisappeared, 
 Mrs. Howe was obliged to apnly for an act of parliament, to 
 procure a proper settlement of her husband’s estate, and a 
 provision for herself out of it, during his absence, as it was 
 uncertain whether he was alive or dead ; this act he suffered 
 to be solicited and passed, and en joyed the pleasure of reading 
 the progress of it in the votes, in a little coffee-house uhicb 
 he frequented, near his lodging 
 
THE ABSENT HUSBAND 
 
 743 
 
 •* Upon quitting his house and family in the ma^^ner I have 
 mentioned, Mrs. Howe at first imagined, as she could not 
 conceive any other cause for such an abrupt elopement, that 
 he had contracted a large debt unknown to her, and by that 
 means involved himself in difficulties which he could not 
 easily surmount; and for some days she lived in continual 
 apprehension of demands from creditors, or seizures, execu- 
 tions, &c. But nothing of this kind happened; on the con- 
 trary, he did not only leave his estate free and unencumbered, 
 but he paid the bills of every tradesman with wffiom he had 
 any dealings; and upon examining his papers, in due time 
 after he was gone, proper receipts and discharges were found 
 from all persons, whether tradesmen or others, with whom he 
 had any manner of transactions or money concerns. Mrs. 
 Howe, after the death of her children, thought proper to 
 lessen her establishment of servants, and the expenses of her 
 housekeeping: and therefore removed from her house in Jer- 
 mvn-street, to a little house in Brewer-street, near Golden- 
 square. Just over-against her lived one Salt, a corn-chandler. 
 About ten years after Howe’s abdication, he contrived to form 
 an acquaintance with Salt, and was at length in such a degree 
 of intimacy with him, that he usually dined with Salt once 
 or twice a week. From the room in which they sat, it was 
 not difficult to look into Mrs. Howe’s dining-room, wdiere she 
 generally ate, and received her company; and Salt, who 
 believed Howe to be a bachelor, frequently recommended Mrs. 
 Howe as a suitable match. During the last seven years of 
 this gentleman’s absence, he went every Sunday to St. James’s 
 church, and used to sit in Mr. Salt’s seat, where he had a 
 view of his wife, but could not be easily seen by her. After 
 he returned home, he never would confess, even to his most 
 intimate friends, what was the real cause of such a singular 
 conduct : apparently there was none ; but whatever there was. 
 he was certainly ashamed to own it. 
 
 “ Dr. Rose has often said to me, that he believed his brother 
 Howe would never"^ have returned to his wife, if the money 
 which he took with him, which was supposed to have been 
 £1000 or £2000, had not been all spent: indeed, he must 
 have been a good economist, and frugal in his manner of living, 
 otherwise his money would scarcely have held out; for I 
 imagine he had his whole fortune by him ; I mean what he 
 carried away with him in money and bank-bills : and he daily 
 took out of his bag, like the Spaniard in Gil Bias, what was 
 sufficient for his expenses.” 
 
 * And yet I have seen him, after liis return, addressing hij wife in the 
 language of a young bridegroom. And I have been assured, by some of 
 his most intimate friends, that he treated her, during the rest of their 
 lives, with the greatest kindness and atiection. 
 
CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 744 
 
 A Curious Historical Fact. — During the troubles in 
 the reign of Charles I. a country girl came to London, in 
 search of a place as a servant maid ; but not succeeding, she 
 hired herself to carry out beer from a brewhouse, and was one 
 of those called tub-women. The brewer, observing a good 
 looking girl in this low occupation, took her into his family 
 as a servant, and, after a short time, married her; but he died 
 while she was yet a young woman, and left her the bulk of 
 his fortune. The business of the brewery was dropped, and 
 the young widow was recommended to Mr. Hyde, as a skilful 
 lawyer to arrange her husband’s affairs. Hyde, (who was after 
 wards the great Earl of Clarendon,) finding her fortune con 
 siderable, married her. Of this marriage there was no other 
 issue than a daughter, who was afterwards the wife of James 
 11. , and mother of Mary and Anne, queens of England. 
 
 The following is said to be The most Extraordinary 
 Fact on record. — -In the appendix to the Rev. John Camp- 
 bell’s Travels in South Africa, is recorded one of the strangest 
 occurrences in the moral annals of mankind. It will be 
 recollected, that some years ago the Grosvenor, East India- 
 man, was wrecked off the coast of Caffraria, (a district divided 
 from the country of the Hottentots by the Great Fish River,) 
 and that nearly the whole of the passengers and crew perished 
 on the occasion. It was, however, discovered, that two 
 young ladies had survived the miseries of this dreadful event, 
 and were resident in the interior of a country uninhabited by 
 Europeans. Mr. Campbell does not relate this occurrence 
 from personal evidence, but we cannot doubt the extraordinary 
 fact. 
 
 The Landdrost of Graaf Ragrel had been deputed by the 
 British government to pay a visit to the king of Caffraria, foi 
 the purpose of ascertaining whether there were any survivors 
 from the wreck of the Grosvenor. Finding there w'ere two 
 females, he succeeded in procuring an introduction to them. 
 He saw them habited like Caffre women; their bodies were 
 painted after the fashion of the native inhabitants; and their 
 manners and appearance were altogether anti^European. The 
 Landdrost, however, sought to obtain their confidence by 
 a liberal offer of his best services to restore them to their 
 country and friends. But they were unmoved by his solicita- 
 tions. They stated that they had fallen into the hands of the 
 natives after they had been cast ashore from the wreck; that 
 their companions had been murdered, and that they had been 
 compelled to give themselves in marriage; that having affec- 
 tionate husbands, children, and grand-children, their attach- 
 ments w'ere bounded by their actual enjoyments. Upon being 
 repeatedly urged to depart with the Landdrost, they replied. 
 
EXTRAORDINARY FACT.— UNFORTUNATE ARTIFICER. 74h 
 
 that probably at their return to England they might find 
 themselves without connections or friends, and that their 
 acquired habits ill fitted them to mingle with polished society; 
 in short, that they would not quit CalFraria. 
 
 Such, then, is the powerful influence of habit! Two young 
 ladies, highly educated and in all probability lovely in theii 
 persons, are taught by habit to forget those scenes of gaiety 
 they were so well calculated to ornament, and the anticipated 
 enjoyments of high matrimonial connections; to forget their 
 parents, their relations, the accomplished companions of thei 
 youth, and all the refinements of life ! Among a savage peo- 
 ple, they acquire congenial feelings, and their vitiated nature 
 ceases to repine: they love the untutored husbands given to 
 them by fate; they rear their children in the stupidity of 
 Hottentot faith; they designate their wretched hovel with the 
 sacred name of Home; they expel memory from their occu- 
 pations ; and regret no longer mingles with their routine of 
 barbarous pleasures. Is this, in reality, a picture of the 
 human mind, with all its boasted attributes, its delicacies, its 
 refinements, its civilized superiority? Yes! for custom is a 
 second nature. 
 
 This fact is also related by Vaillant, in his Travels in the 
 interior parts of Africa. He says, volume i. page 286, I was 
 told, almost six weeks prior to my visiting that coast, that an 
 English vessel had been wrecked on these barbarous shores; 
 that being driven on the sands, a part of the crew had fallen 
 into the hands of the CafFres, who had put them all to death, 
 except a few’ women, whom they had cruelly reserved.^* 
 
 Unfortunate Artificer. — There was an artificer in 
 Rome, who made vessels of glass of so tenacious a temper, 
 that they were as little liable to be broken as those that are 
 made of gold and silver; when therefore he had made a vial 
 of the purer sort, and such as he thought a present worthy of 
 Caesar alone, he was admitted into the presence of their 
 then Emperor Tiberius. The gift was praised, the skilful hand 
 of the artist applauded, and the donation of the giver accepted. 
 The artist, that he might enhance the wonder of the spectators, 
 and promote himself yet further in the favour of the Emperor, 
 desired the vial out of Caesar’s hand, and threw it with such 
 force against the floor, that the most solid metal would have 
 received some damage or bruise thereby. Caesar was not only 
 amazed, but affrighted with the act; but he, taking up the vial 
 from the ground, (which was not broken, but only bruised 
 together, as if the substance of the glass had put on the tem- 
 perature of brass,, he drew out an instrument from his bosom, 
 and beat it out to its former figure. This done, he imagined 
 that he hid conquered the world, as believing that he had 
 
 5 B 
 
746 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 merited an acquaintance with Caesar, and raised the admi- 
 ration of all the beholders; but it fell out otherwise, for the 
 Emperor inquired if any other person besides himself was 
 privy to the like tempering of glass? When he had told him, 
 “ No,’^ he commanded his attendants to strike off his head, 
 saying, “ That should this artifice come once to be known, 
 gold and silver would be of as little value as the dirt of the 
 street.” Long after this, viz. in 1610, we read, that amongst 
 other rare presents, then sent from the Sophy of Persia to the 
 king of Spain, were six mirrors of malleable glass, so ex- 
 quisitely tempered that they could not be broken. 
 
 CHAP. LXXIX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY, wvc.—( Concluded,) 
 
 Great Events ^'rom Little Causes — Dreadful Instances of the 
 
 Plague, in Europe — Fire of London — Vicar of Bray — Curious 
 
 Account of the Ceremonies at Queen Elizabeth's Dinnei — 
 
 A Blacksmith's Wife become a Queen — Swine's Concert, 
 
 Great Events from Little Causes. — The most im- 
 portant events sometim'es take place from little and insignifi- 
 cant causes. 
 
 1. Sir Isaac Newton’s sublime genius, set a-going by the 
 fall of an apple, never stopped till it had explained the laws 
 of nature. 
 
 2. Hospinian (who wrote so successfully against the Popish 
 ceremonies) was first convinced of the necessity of such 
 a work by the talk of an ignorant country landlord, who 
 thought that religious fraternities were as old as the creation, 
 that Adam was a monk, and that Eve was a nun. 
 
 3. Metius was led to the discovery of optic glasses, by 
 observing some schoolboys play upon the ice, who made use 
 of their copy-books, rolled up in the shape of tubes, to look 
 at each other, to which they sometimes added pieces of ice 
 at the end, to view distant objects. 
 
 4. Luther’s quarrelling with Pope Leo. X. and bringing 
 himself into difficult and dangerous circumstances, perhaps 
 led him to search, think, and judge for himself, and consult 
 the scriptures; by which he overthrew errors, which had been 
 received as truths for ages. 
 
 5. To this we may add the marriage of Henry VIII. with 
 Ann Boleyn, which was the occasion of England’s renouncing 
 the supremacy of the Pope, and of bringing about the Reform- 
 ation. 
 
THE BIRTH OF CHRIST 
 
iwt LrfSWS'i 
 GF IHE 
 criLUSSis 
 
THE PLAGUE IN EL ROPE. 
 
 747 
 
 6. *' An apothecary's chariot (says one) very probably pro- 
 duced No. 45. of the North Briton, and its consequences the 
 American war, the French revolution, and the dreadful events 
 that have since taken place in Europe.'* 
 
 Dreadful Instances of the Plague, in Europe. — 
 Thucydides, lib. ii. gives an account of a dreadful plague 
 which' happened in Athens about B. C. 430, and with which he 
 was himself infected, while the Peloponnesians under the 
 command of Archidamus wasted all her territory abroad ; but 
 of these two enemies the plague was by far the most severe 
 The most dreadful plague that ever raged at Rome, was in the 
 leign of Titus, A. D. 80. The emperor left no remedy un- 
 attempted to abate the malignity of the distemper, acting 
 during its continuance like a father to his people. The same 
 fatal disease raged in all the provinces of the Roman empire 
 in the reign of M. Aurelius, A. D. 167, and was followed by a 
 dreadful famine, earthquakes, inundations, and other calami- 
 ties. About A. D. 430, the plague visited Britain, just aftei 
 the Piets and Scots had made a formidable invasion of the 
 southern part of the island. It raged with uncommon fury, 
 and swept away most of those whom the sword and famine 
 had spared, so that the living were scarcely sufficient to bury 
 the dead. About A. D. 1348, the plague became almost 
 general over Europe. Many authors give an account of this 
 plague, which is said to have appeared first in the kingdom 
 of Kathay, in 1346, and to have proceeded gradually west to 
 Constantinople and Egypt. From Constantinople it passed 
 into Greece, Italy, France, and Africa, and by degrees along 
 the coast of the ocean into Britain and Ireland, and after- 
 wards into Germany, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, and tho 
 other northern kingdoms. According to Antonius, arch- 
 bishop of Florence, the distemper carried off 60,000 people 
 in that city. In 1656, the plague was brought from Sardinia 
 to Naples, being introduced into the city by a transport with 
 soldiers on board. It raged with excessive violence, carrying 
 off, in less than six months, 400,000 of the inhabitants. In 
 1720, the city of Marseilles was visited with this destructive 
 disease, brought in a ship from the Levant; and in seven 
 months, during which time it continued, it carried off not less 
 than 60,000 people. The ravages of this disease have been 
 dreadful wherever it has made its appearance. On the first 
 arrival of the Europeans at the island of Grand Canaria, it 
 contained 14,000 fighting men ; soon after which, two-thirds 
 of these inhabitants fell a sacrifice to the plague. The destruc- 
 tion it has made in Turkey in Europe, and particularly in Con- 
 stantinople, must be known to every reader; and its fatal 
 effects have been particularly heightened there by that firm 
 
CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 748 
 
 belief which prevails among the people of predestination, &c. 
 It is generally brought into European Turkey fiom Egypt, 
 where it is very frequent, especially at Grand Cairo. To give 
 even a list of all the plagues which have desolated many 
 flourishing countries, would extend this article beyond ah 
 bounds, and minutely to describe them all is impossible. 
 Respecting the plague which raged in Syria in 1760, we refer to 
 the Abbe Mariti’s Travels through Cyprus, Syria, and Pales- 
 tine, volume i. pages 278, 296. This plague was one of the 
 most malignant and fatal that Syria ever experienced; for it 
 scarcely had made its appearance in any part of the body, 
 before it carried off the patient. 
 
 Some particulars respecting The Great Fire of Lon 
 DON. — The following is part of the inscription on the 
 Monument, which records this calamitous event “ The 
 second day of September, 1666, at the distance of two hun- 
 dred and two feet, the height of this column, a terrible fire 
 broke out about midnight. It consumed in its progress 
 eighty-nine churches, the city gates, Guildhall, many public 
 structures, hospitals, schools, libraries, a vast number of 
 stately edifices, thirteen thousand two hundred dwelling- 
 houses, and four hundred streets. The ruins of the city were 
 four hundred and thirty-six acres, from the Tower by the 
 Thames side to the Temple church, and from the north-east 
 gate along the city wall, to Holborn bridge. Three days 
 after, when this fatal fire had baffled all human counsels and 
 endeavours, it stopped, as it were by a command from Heaven, 
 and was on every side extinguished.” 
 
 Vicar of Bray. — Every one has frequently heard this 
 reverend son of the church mentioned; probably his name 
 may have outlived the recollection of his pious manceuvres: 
 he was in his principles a Sixtus the Fifth. The vicar of 
 Bray, in Berkshire, w'as a Papist under the reign of Henry the 
 Eighth, and a Protestant under Edward the Sixth; he was 
 a Papist again under Mary, and once more became a Pro- 
 testant in the reign of Elizabeth. When this scandal to the 
 gown was reproached for his versatility of religious creeds, 
 and taxed for being a turn-coat and an inconstant changeling, 
 as Fuller expresses it, he replied, Not so, neither! for if 
 I changed my religion, I am sure I kept true to my principle ; 
 W’hich is, to live and die the Vicar of Bray!” 
 
 This vivacious and reverend hero has given birth to a 
 proverb peculiar to his county, “ The Vicar of Bray will be 
 Vicar of Bray still.” Fuller tells us, in his facetious chronicle 
 of his Worthies, that this vicar had seen some martyrs burnt 
 two miles off a* Windsor, and found this fire too hot for his 
 
THE FINDING- OF MOSES 
 
mi 
 
 Of THE 
 
 OBWERan 8f ILUBOIS 
 
749 
 
 QUEEN Elizabeth's dinner. 
 
 tender temper. He was one of those who, thougn they 
 cannot turn the wind, will turn their mills, and set them 
 so, that wheresoever it bloweth, their grist shall certainly be 
 ground. 
 
 The following Account of the Ceremonies at Queen 
 Elizabeth’s Dinner, deserves to be recorded. — A German 
 traveller, (Hentzner) talking of Queen Elizabeth, thus de- 
 scribes the solemnity of her dinner. “ While she was at 
 prayers, we saw her table set out in the following solemn 
 manner: a gentleman entered the room, bearing a rod, and 
 along with him another who had a table-cloth, which, after 
 they had both kneeled three times with the utmost veneration, 
 he spread upon the table ; and, after kneeling again, they both 
 retired. Then came two others, one with the rod again, the 
 other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread: when they had 
 kneeled, as the others had done, and placed what was brought 
 upon the table, they too retired with the same ceremonies 
 performed by the first. At last came an unmarried lady, (we 
 were told she was a countess,) and along with her a married 
 one, bearing a lasting knife: the former, who was dressed in 
 white silk, when she had prostrated herself three times in the 
 most graceful manner, approached the table, and rubbed the 
 plates with bread and salt, with as much care as if the queen 
 had been present: when they had waited there a little while, 
 the yeomen of the guard entered, bareheaded, clothed in 
 scarlet, with a golden rose upon their backs, bringing in af 
 each turn a course of twenty-four dishes, served in plate, 
 most of it gilt; these dishes were received by a gentleman in 
 the same order they were brought, and placed upon the table, 
 while the lady-taster gave to each of the guards a mouthful 
 to eat, of the particular dish he had brought, for fear of any 
 poison. During the time that this guard, which consists of 
 the tallest and stoutest men that could be found in all Eng- 
 land, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two kettle- 
 drums made the hall ring for half an hour together. At the 
 end of this ceremonial, a number of unmarried ladies appeared, 
 who, with particular solemnity, lifted the meat off the table, 
 and conveyed it into the queen's inner and more private 
 chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the resi 
 went to the ladies of the court." 
 
 A Blacksmith's Wife become a Queen. — It is a 
 curious circumstance, that the present queen of the Sandwich 
 islands, was formerly, or rather is at this time, the wife of a 
 Russian blacksmith. An English vessel lying off what we 
 usually call the Fox Island, several years ago, one of the 
 officers became enamoured of the fair spouse of a son of Vulcan 
 
750 
 
 CURIOSITIES IN HISTORY. 
 
 there; ar.d, his passion being returned, he contrived to smug 
 gle her on board the vessel, and keep her there concealed 
 without the knowledge of his captain, till they had cleared 
 the port. 
 
 In the course of the voyage, however, the circumstance 
 became known to the captain, who being highly enraged at 
 such a breach of faith and discipline, kept her confined till 
 they arrived at the Sandwich Islands, where she was put on 
 shore. The forlorn Ariadne, however, found a Bacchus for her 
 Theseus, — a royal lover, to replace her lost lieutenant. Thr 
 king of the island became enamoured of the fair Russian 
 made her his wife, and raised her to his throne. He was nc 
 every-day king. He was a statesman and a hero, though we 
 should call him a savage. He progressively created a respect- 
 able navy of several well-built frigates; taught his subjects tc 
 be excellent sailors; raised armies; subdued the surrounding 
 islands ; and at the close of a prosperous reign, left his posses- 
 sions and his sovereignty to his queen, who now reigns as his 
 successor. She is well obeyed by her subjects; possesses 
 great wealth in flocks, herds, and rice-ground; and sends 
 frequent presents to her former deserted husband, who still 
 continues to hammer horses’ shoes in a Russian colony, while, 
 his faithless, but it seems not quite ungrateful spouse, 
 stretches her sceptre over several prosperous isles. 
 
 The Swine’s Concert. — The abbot of Baigne, a man of 
 great wit, and who had the art of inventing new musical 
 instruments, being in the service of Louis XI. king of France, 
 was ordered by that prince to get him a concert of swine’s 
 voices, thinking it impossible. The abbot was not surprised, 
 but asked money for the performance, which was immediately 
 delivered him; and he wrought a thing as singular as ever 
 was seen. For out of a great number of hogs, of several ages, 
 which he got together, and placed under a tent or pavilion 
 covered with velvet, before which he had a table of wood 
 painted, with a certain number of keys, he made an organical 
 instrument; and as he played upon the said keys, he, by 
 means of little spikes, which pricked the hogs, made them 
 cry in such order and consonance, as highly delighted the 
 king and all his company. 
 
ORlGl> OF THE MATERIALS OF WRITING. 
 
 751 
 
 CHAP. LXXX. 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE, 
 
 Origin of the Materials of Writing — Minute Writing — Titles oj 
 Books — Literary Labour and Perseverance — Curious Account 
 of the Scarcity of Books — Celebrated Libraries — Book oJ 
 Blunders — Curious Account of the Means of Intellectual Im- 
 provement ill' London. 
 
 “ Of all the pleasures, noble and refin’d. 
 
 Which form the taste and cultivate the mind ; 
 
 In ev’ry realm where science darts its beam. 
 
 From Zembla’s ice to Afric’s jfolden stream ; 
 
 From climes where Phoebus pours his orient ray, 
 
 To the fair reg^ions of declining: day : 
 
 The ‘feast of reason’ which from reading springs, 
 
 To reas’ning man the highest solace brings. 
 
 ’Tis books a lasting pleasure can supply. 
 
 Charm while we live, and teach us how to die.” 
 
 Origin of the Materials of Writing. — The most ari 
 cient mode of writing was on bricks, and on tables of stone, 
 afterwards on plates of various materials, on ivory, on the bark 
 of trees, and on their leaves. 
 
 Specimens of most of these modes of writing may be seen 
 in the British Museum. No. 3478, in the Sloanian library, is a 
 Nabob’s letter, on a piece of bark about two yards long, and 
 richly ornamented with gold. No. 3207, is a book of Mexi- 
 can hieroglyphics, painted on bark. In the same collection 
 are various species, many from the Malabar coast, and other 
 parts of the East. Tlie latter writings are chiefly on leaves. 
 The prophecies of the Sibyls were on leaves. There are seve 
 ral copies of Bibles written on palm-leaves, still preserved ii 
 various collections in Europe. The ancients, doubtless, wrote 
 on any leaves they found adapted for the purpose. Hence 
 the leaf of a book, as well as that of a tree, is derived. 
 
 In the book of Job, mention is made of writing on stone, 
 and on sheets of lead. The law of Moses was written on stone. 
 Hesiod’s works were written on leaden tables; lead was used 
 for writing, and rolled up like a cylinder, as Pliny states. 
 The laws of the Greeks were engraven on bronze tables. In 
 the shepherd state, they wrote their songs with thorns and 
 awls, on leather. The Icelanders wrote on walls ; and Olaf, 
 according to one of the sagas, built a large house, on the 
 balks and spars of which he had engraven tlie history of his 
 own and m^re ancient times; while another northern hero 
 appears to have had nothing better than his own chair and 
 
CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 752 
 
 bed, on which to perpetuate his own heroic acts. The Arabs 
 took the shoulder-bones of sheep, on which they carved re- 
 markable events with a knife, and after tying them with a 
 string, they hung these chronicles up in their cabinets. 
 
 These early inventions led to the discovery of tablets of 
 A-ood ; and as cedar is incorruptible, from its bitterness, they 
 chose this wood for cases or chests to preserve their most 
 important writings. From this custom arises the celebrated 
 expression of the ancients, when they meant to give the 
 highest eulogium of an excellent work, et cedro digna locuti; 
 that it was worthy to be written on cedar. These tablets were 
 made of the trunks of trees; the use of them still exists, but 
 in general they are made of other materials than wood. The 
 same reason which led them to prefer the cedar to other trees, 
 induced them to write on wax, which is incorruptible from its 
 nature. Men generally used it to write their testaments, in 
 order the better to preserve them : thus Juvenal says, Cerai 
 implere capaces. This thin paste of wax was also spread rn 
 tablets of wood, that it might more easily admit of erasure. 
 
 They wrote with an iron bodkin, as they did on thr ot-ci 
 substances we have noticed. The stylus was made sharp at 
 one end to write with, and blunt and broad at the other, t^ 
 deface and correct easily; hence the phrase vertere stylum, t' 
 turn the stylus, was used to express blotting out. But thf, 
 Romans forbade the use of this sharp instrument, from the 
 circumstance of many persons having used theii. as daggers. 
 A schoolmaster was killed by the pugiliares, or table-book, 
 and the styles of his own scholars. J hoy substituted a stylus 
 made of the bone of a bird, or other animal, so that tl cir 
 writings resembled engravings. When they wrote on softer 
 materials, they employed reeds and canes, split like our pens 
 at the points, which the Orientalists still use to lay their colour 
 <or ink neater on the paper. 
 
 By the word pen in the translation of the Bible, we are to 
 understand an iron style. Table-books of ivory are still used 
 'for memoranda, written by black-lead pencils. The Romans 
 used ivory to write the edicts of the senate on ; and the ex- 
 pression of libris elephantinis, which, some authors imagine, 
 alludes to books which for their size were called elephantine 
 others more rationally conclude, were composed of ivory, the 
 Jusk of the elephant. 
 
 Pumice was likewise a writing material of the ancients, 
 Nvhich they used to smooth the roughness of the parchment, 
 or to sharpen their reeds. 
 
 In the progress of time, the art of writing consisted in paint- 
 lug with different kinds of ink This novel mode of writing 
 occasioned them to invent other materials proper to receive 
 their writing. They now chose the thin bark of certain trees 
 
MATERIALS OF WRITING. — MINUTE WRITING. 753 
 
 and plants ; they wrote on linen, and at length, when thhi was 
 found apt to become mouldy, they prepared the skins of ani- 
 mals. Those of asses are still in use; and on those of serpents, 
 &c. were once written the Iliad and Odyssey. The first place 
 where they began to dress these skins was Pergamus, in Asia; 
 whence the Latin name is derived of PergameriiBy or ])archment. 
 These skins are, however, better known amongst the authors 
 of the purest Latin, under the name of membranay so called 
 from the membranes of animals of which they were composed. 
 The ancients had parchments of three different colours, white, 
 yellow, and purple. At Rome, white parchment was disliked, 
 because it was more subject to be soiled than the others, and 
 dazzled the eye. They generally wrote letters of gold and 
 silver on purple or violet parchment. This custom continued 
 in the early ages of the church ; and copies of the Evangelists 
 of this kind are preserved in the British Museum. 
 
 When the Egyptians employed for writing the bark of a 
 plant or reed, called papi/ruSy* or paper-rush, it superseded all 
 former modes, because this was tiie most convenient. For- 
 merly there grew great quantities of it on the sides of the 
 Nile. It is this plant which has given the name to our paper, 
 although the latter is composed of linen or rags. After the 
 eighth century the papyrus was superseded by parchment. 
 The Chinese make their paper with silk. The use of paper is 
 of great antiquity; it is what the ancient Latinists call chartay 
 or chartay. Before the use of parchment and paper passed to 
 the Romans, they contrived to use the thin peel which was 
 found on trees, between the wood of these trees and their bark. 
 This second skin they called libery whence the Latin word 
 libeVy a book, and library and librarian, in the European lan- 
 guages, and the French livre for book ; but we of northern 
 orioin derive our book from the Danish bogy the beech tree, 
 because that being the most plentiful in Denmark, was used 
 to er:grave on. Anciently, instead of folding this bark, this 
 parchment, or paper, as we fold ours, they rolled it according 
 as they wrote on it ; and the Latin name which they gave these 
 rolls has passed into our language as well as the others. We 
 say a volume or volumes, although our books are composed 
 of pages cut and bound together. The books of the ancients 
 on the shelves of their libraries, were rolled up on a pin, and 
 placed erect, titled on the outside in red letters, or rubrics, 
 and appeared like a number of small pillars on the shelves. 
 
 Curious information respecting small, or Minute Writ- 
 ing. — The Iliad of Homer in a nut-shell, which Pliny says 
 
 * A specimen of the papyrus is to be seen at the British Museum; it 
 is the first known in England. ItM'as broug^iit by Mr. Bruce, and given 
 to Sii Josepli Banks, who presented it to the British Museum, 
 
 5 C 
 
754 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 that Cicero once saw, it is pretended might have been a fact, 
 however to some it may appear impossible. iElian notices 
 an artist who wrote a distich in letters of gold, which he in- 
 closed in the rind of a grain of corn. 
 
 Antiquity, and modern times, have recorded many penmen, 
 whose glory consisted in writing so small a hand, that it 
 could not be legible to the naked eye. One wrote a verse of 
 Homer on a grain of millet ; and another, more indefatigably 
 industrious in this important trifling, is said by Menage to have 
 written whole sentences which were not perceptible to the 
 eye without the microscrope : pictures and portraits, also, 
 appeared at first to be lines and scratches thrown down at 
 random ; one of these formed the face of the Dauphiness, with 
 the most pleasing delicacy and correct resemblance. He read 
 an Italian poem in praise of this princess, containing some 
 thousands of verses, written by an officer, in the space of a 
 foot and a half. This species of curious idleness has not been 
 lost in our own country : about a century ago, this minute 
 writing was a fashionable curiosity. A drawing of the head 
 of Charles I. is in the library of St. John’s college, at Oxford. 
 It is wholly composed of minute written characters, which at 
 a small distance resemble the lines of engraving. The lines 
 of the head and ruff, are said to contain the book of Psalms, 
 the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. In the British Museum 
 we find a drawing representing the portrait of Queen Anne, 
 not much above the size of the hand. On this drawing 
 appear a number of lines and scratches, which, the librarian 
 assures the marvelling spectator, includes the entire con- 
 tents of a thill folio volume, that on this occasion is carried 
 in the hand, as if to vouch for the truth of a statement so lia 
 ble to be received with hesitation. 
 
 On this subject it may be worth noticing, that the learned 
 Huet asserts that he, like the rest of the world, for a long 
 time considered as a fiction the story of that industrious wri- 
 ter, who is said to have inclosed the Iliad in a nut-shell. But 
 having examined the matter more closely, he thought it pos- 
 sible. One day, in company at the Dauphin’s, this learned 
 mai. trifled half a hour in proving it. A piece of vellum, 
 abo it ten inches in length and eight in width, pliant and 
 firm, can be folded up and enclosed in the shell of a large 
 walnut. It can hold in its breadth one line, which can con- 
 tain 30 verses, and in its length 250 lines. With a crow-quill 
 the WTiting can be perfect. A page of this vellum will then 
 contain 7500 verses, and the reverse as much ; the whole 
 15,000 verses of the Iliad. And this he proved in their pre 
 se.ice, by using a piece of paper, and with a common pen. 
 The thing is possible to be effected ; and if some occasion 
 should happen, when paper is excessively rare, it may be 
 
TITLES OF BOOKS. 765 
 
 useful to know, that a volume of matter may be contained itt 
 a very small space. 
 
 We submit the following curious particulars respecting the 
 Titles of Books. — The Jewish, and many Oriental authors, 
 were foud of allegorical titles, which always shews the most 
 puerile age of taste. The titles were usually adapted to their 
 obscure works. It might exercise an able enigmatist to explain 
 their allusions; for we must understand by “The Heart of 
 Aaron,’” a commentary on several of the prophets. “The 
 Bones of Joseph” is an introduction to the Talmud. “The 
 Garden of Nuts,” and “The Golden Apples,” are theological 
 questions, and “ The Pomegranate with its Flower,” is a 
 treatise of ceremonies no longer practised. Jortin gives a' 
 title, which he says, of all the fantastical titles he can recol- 
 lect, is one of the prettiest. A Rabbin published a catalogue' 
 of Rabbinical writers, and called it Labia Dormieutium, from 
 Cantic. vii. 9. “ Like the best wine of my beloved, that goeth 
 do'wn sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to, 
 speak.” It has a double meaning, of which he was not 
 aware, for most of his Rabbinical brethren talk very much 
 like men in their sleep. 
 
 Almost all their works bearsuch titles as. Bread, Gold, Silver, 
 Roses, Eyes, &c. ; in a word, any thing that meant nothing. 
 
 Affected title-pages were not peculiar to the Orientalists; 
 nut the Greeks and the Romans have shewn a finer taste. 
 'Fhey had their Cornucopias, or horns of abundance; Limones, 
 or meadows; Pinakidions, or tablets; Pancarpes, or all sorts 
 of fruits; titles not unhappily adapted for the miscellanists 
 The nine books of Herodotus, and the nine epistles of iEsc bi- 
 nes, were respectively honoured by the name of a Muse; and 
 three orations of the latter, by those of the Graces. 
 
 'fhe modern fanatics have had a most barbarous taste for 
 titles. We could produce numbers from abroad, and also at 
 home. Some works have been called, “ Matches Lighted at 
 the Divine Fire,” and one “The Gun of Penitence:” a col- 
 lection of passages from the Fathers, is called, “ The Shop of 
 the Spiritual Apothecary:” we have “The Bank of Faith,” 
 and “The Sixpennyworth of Divine Spirit:” one of these 
 works bears the following elaborate one; “ Some fine Baskets 
 baked in the Oven of Charity, carefully conserved for the 
 Chickens of the Church, the Sparrows of the Spirit, and the 
 sweet Swallows of Salvation.” Sometimes their quaintness 
 has some humour. One Sir Humphrey Lind, a zealous puri- 
 tan, published a work, which a Jesuit answered by another, 
 entitled, “ A Pair of Spectacles for Sir Humphrey Lind.” The 
 doughty knight retorted, by “ A Case for Sir Humphrey Lind’s 
 Spectacles.” 
 
756 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE 
 
 Some of these obscure titles have an entertaining absurdity; 
 as, “ The Three Daughters of Job,’* which is a treatise on the 
 three virtues of patience, fortitude, and pain, “ The Innocent 
 Love, or the Holy Knight,” is a description of the ardours of 
 a saint for the Virgin. “ The Sound of the Trumpet,” is a work 
 on the day of judgment; and “ A Fan to drive aw'ay Flies,” 
 is a theological treatise on purgatory. 
 
 The title which George Gascoigne, who had great merit in 
 his day, has given to his collection, may be considered as a 
 specimen of the titles of his times. It was printed in 1576. 
 He calls it ** A hundred sundrie Floures bounde up in one 
 small Poesie ; gathered partly by translation in the fyne and 
 outlandish gardens of Euripides, Ovid, Petrarche, Ariosto, and 
 others; and partly by invention out of our own fruitefull or- 
 chardes in Englande; yielding sundrie sweet savours of tragi- 
 call, comicall, and morall discourses, both pleasaunt and 
 profitable to the well-swelling noses of learned readers.” 
 
 Literary Labour and Perseverance. — The Rev. Wil 
 liam Davy, curate of Lustleigh, Devon, in the year 1807, 
 finished a work in twenty-six volumes, of w'hich the following 
 is the title : — 
 
 “ A System of Divinity, in a Course of Sermons on the first 
 Institutions of Religion — on the Being and Attributes of God 
 — on some of the most important Articles of the Christian 
 Religion, in Connection — and on the several Virtues and Vices 
 of Mankind ; with Occasional Discourses. Being a Compila- 
 tion of the best Sentiments of the Polite Writers and eminent 
 sound Divines, both ancient and modern, on the same subjects, 
 properly connected, with Improvements; particularly adapted 
 for the Use of Chief Families, and Students in Divinity, for 
 Churches, and for the Benefit of Mankind in general.” 
 
 The author of the work bearing this astounding title, once 
 attempted to publish it by subscription ; in which he failed : 
 he being poor, and unable to venture its publication, resolved 
 to print it himself; for which purpose he procured as many 
 W'orn-out types from a country printing-office as enabled him 
 to print two pages at once ; w hich, with the addition of a 
 press of his own manufacture, he set to work in the year 1795, 
 serving every office himself, from compositor to printer’s-devil; 
 and proceeding regularly page by page, he struck off forty 
 copies of the first three hundred pages, half of which he dis- 
 tributed among the reviews, the bishops, and the universi- 
 ties, w ith a view of attracting public attention ; but here also 
 he failed : when he became determined to treat a misjudging 
 world with contempt, and accordingly continued to print off 
 fourteen copies of each, and at the end of twelve years finished 
 the whole aix-and-twenty volumes. 
 
SCARCITY OF BOOKS. 
 
 757 
 
 Curious account of the Scarcity of Books — Of the 
 scarcity and value of books during the seventh and many 
 subsequent centuries, the following curious account is given 
 by Mr. Warton, in his History of English Poetry, vol. i. 
 “ Towards the close of the seventh century, (says he,) even in 
 the papal library at Rome, the number of books was so incon- 
 siderable, that pope St. Martin requested Sanctarnand, bishop 
 of Maestricht, if possible, to supply this defect from the re- 
 motest parts of Germany. In 855, Lupus, abbot of Ferriers, 
 in France, sent two of his monks to pope Benedict III. to 
 beg a copy of Cicero de Oratore, and Quintilian^s Institutes, 
 and some other books : * for (says the abbot) although we 
 have part of these books, yet there is no whole or complete 
 copy of them in all France.^ Albert, abbot of Gemblours, 
 who with incredible labour and immense expense hid col- 
 lected one hundred volumes on theological, and fifty on profane 
 subjects, imagined he had formed a splendid library. About 
 A. D. 790, Charlemagne granted an unlimited right of hunt- 
 ing, to the abbot and monks of Sithin, for making covers for 
 their books of the skins of the deer they killed. These reli- 
 gious were probably more fond of hunting than reading; and, 
 under these circumstances, did not manufacture many volumes. 
 At the beginning of the tenth century, books were so scarce 
 in Spain, that one copy of the Bible, St. Jerome's epistles, 
 and some volumes of ecclesiastical offices and martyrologies, 
 often served several different monasteries. In an inventory of 
 the goods of John de Pontissara, bishop of Winchester, in 
 his palace of Wulvesey, all the books are only septemdecim 
 %peciem librorum de diversis scientiis. This was in 1294. The 
 same prelate, in 1299, borrows of his cathedral convent of 
 St. Swithin, at Winchester, Bibliam bene g/ossatam ; i. e. the 
 Bible with marginal annotations, in two large folio volumes ; 
 but gives a bond for due return of the loan, drawn up with 
 great sole-mnity. This Bible had been bequeathed to the 
 convent by Pontissara’s predecessor, bishop Nicholas de Ely: 
 and in consideration of so important a bequest, pro bona Bihlia 
 dicti episcopi bene g/ossata, and one hundred marks in money, 
 the monks founded a daily mass for the soul of the donor. 
 When a single book was bequeathed to a friend, it was seldom 
 without many restrictions. If any person gave a book to a 
 religious house, he believed that so valuable a donation merited 
 eternal salvation; and he offered it on the altar with great 
 ceremony. The most formidable anathemas were perempto- 
 rily denounced against those who should dare to alienate a 
 book presented to the cloister, or library of a religious house. 
 The priorand convent of Rochester declare, that they will every 
 year pronounce the irrevocable sentence of damnation on him 
 who shall purloin or conceal a Latin translation of Aristotle's 
 
758 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 Physics, or even obliterate the title. Sometimes a book 
 given to a monastery, on condition that the donor should 
 have the use of it during his life; and sometimes to a private 
 person, on the terms that he who received it should pray for 
 the soul of his benefactor. When a book was bought, the 
 affair was of so much importance, that it was customary to 
 assemble persons of consequence and character, and to make 
 a formal record that they were present. 
 
 Among the royal manuscripts in the book of the Sentences 
 of Peter Lombard, an archdeacon of Lincoln has left this 
 entry : “ This book of the Sentences belongs to master 
 Robert, archdeacon of Lincoln, which he bought of Geoffrey 
 the chaplain, brother of Henry, vicar of Northelkington, in the 
 presence of master Robert de Lee, master John of Lirling, 
 Richard of Luda, clerk, Richard the almoner, the said Henry 
 the vicar, and his clerk, and others: and the said archdeacon 
 gave the said book to God and St. Oswald, and to Peter 
 abbot of Barton, and the convent of Barden.” The disputed 
 property of a book often occasioned the most violent alter- 
 cations. Many claims appear to have been made to a manu- 
 script of Matthew Paris, belonging to the last mentioned 
 library; in which John Russel, bishop of Lincoln, condi- 
 tionally defends or explains his right of possession ; and 
 concludes thus, A. D. 1488, “ Whoever shall obliterate or 
 destroy this writing, let him be anathema.” 
 
 About 1225, Roger de Insula, dean of York, gave several 
 Latin Bibles to the university of Oxford, on the condition, 
 that the students who perused them should deposit a cau- 
 tionary pledge. The library of that university, before A. D. 
 1300, consisted only of a few tracts, chained or kept in chests 
 in the choir of St. Mary’s church. In 1327, the scholars and 
 citizens of Oxford pillaged the opulent Benedictine abbey of 
 the neighbouring town of Abingdon. Among the books they 
 found there, were one hundred psalters, as many grayles, 
 forty missals, which undoubtedly belonged to the choir of the 
 church, and twenty-two codices, on common subjects. And 
 although the invention of paper, at the close of the eleventh 
 century, contributed to multjply manuscripts, and consequently 
 to facilitate knowledge, yet, even so late as the reign of 
 Henry VI. the following remarkable instance occurred of the 
 inconveniences and impediments to study, which must have 
 been produced by a scarcity of books. It is in the statutes 
 of St. Mary’s college at Oxford, founded as a seminary to 
 Oseney abbey, in 1446: “ Let no scholar occupy a book in the 
 library above one hour, or two hours at most; so that others 
 shall not be hindered from the use of the same!” The famous 
 library established in the university of Oxford, by that muni- 
 ficent patron of literature, Humphrey duke of Gloucester, 
 
SCARCITY OF BOOKS 
 
 759 
 
 contained only six hundred volumes. About the commence- 
 ment of the fourteenth century, there were only four classics 
 in the royal library at Paris. There was one copy of Cicero, 
 Ovid, Lucan, and Boetius. The rest were chiefly books of 
 devotion, which included but few of the Fathers : many treatises 
 of astrology, geomancy, chiromancy, and medicine, originally 
 written in Arabic, and translated into Latin or French: pan- 
 dects, chronicles, and romances. This collection was prin- 
 cipally made by Charles V. who began his reign in 1365. 
 This monarch was passionately fond of reading; and it was 
 the fashion to send him presents of books from every part of 
 the kingdom of France. These he ordered to be elegantly 
 transcribed, and richly illuminated; and he placed them in a 
 tower of the Louvre, from thence called La Toure de la 
 Libraire. The whole consisted of nine hundred volumes. 
 They were deposited in three chambers, wainscoted with 
 Irish oak, and ceiled with cypress curiously carved. The 
 windows were of painted glass, fenced w'ith iron bars and 
 copper wire. The English became masters of Paris in the 
 year 1425; on which event the Duke of Bedford, regent of 
 France, sent the whole library, then consisting of only eight 
 hundred and fifty-three volumes, and valued at 2223 livres, 
 into England ; where perhaps they became the groundwork 
 of Duke Humphrey’s library. Even so late as the year 1471, 
 when Louis XI. of France borrowed the works of the Arabian 
 physician, Rhasis, from the faculty of medicine at Paris, he 
 not only deposited by way of pledge a quantity of valuable 
 plate, b-ut was obliged to procure a nobleman to join with 
 him as a surety in a deed, by which he bound himself to 
 return it, under a considerable forfeiture. The excessive 
 prices of books in the middle ages afford numerous and 
 curious proofs of the caution with which literary property was 
 secured in those times of general ignorance. 
 
 In 1174, Walter, prior of St. Swithin’s at Winchester, a 
 writer in Latin of the lives of the bishops who were his 
 patrons, purchased of the monks of Dorchester, in Oxford- 
 shire, Bede’s Homilies and St. Austin’s Psalter, for twelve 
 measures of barley, and a pall, on which was richly em- 
 broidered in silver the history of St. Birinus converting a 
 Saxon king. Among the royal manuscripts in the British 
 Museum, there is Comestor’s Scholastic History in French ; 
 which, as‘H is recorded in a blank page at the beginning, was 
 taken fiom the king of France at the battle of Poictiers; and 
 being puichased by William Montague, Earl of Salisbury, for 
 100 marcs, was ordered to be sold by the last will of his 
 countess. Elizabeth, for 40 livres. About A. D. 1400, a 
 copy of Johr. of Meun’s Romance de la Rose, was sold before 
 the palace gate at Paris' for a sum equal to £33. 6s. Cd. 
 
760 
 
 rumosiTiEs of literature. 
 
 Celebrated Libraries. — The first who erected a libraiy 
 at Athens was the tyrant Pisistratus. This was transported 
 by Xerxes into Persia, and afterwards brought back by 
 Seleucus Nicanor to Athens. Plutarch says, that under 
 Eumenes thert' was a library at Pergamus which contained 
 two hundred thousand books, That of Ptolemy Philadel- 
 phus, according to A. Gellius, contained forty thousand, 
 which were all burnt by Caesar’s soldiers. The celebrated 
 library of Alexandria, begun by Ptolemy Soter, and enlarged 
 by his successors, consisting of seven hundred thousand 
 volumes, contained nearly all the literary treasures of the 
 world. This was burnt by order of the Caliph Omar, in the 
 seventh century, and the loss must for ever remain irreparable. 
 On this calamity, literature can never reflect without a sigh. 
 Constantine and his successor erected a magnificent one at 
 Constantinople, which in the eighth century contained three 
 hundred thousand volumes, and among the rest, one in which 
 the Iliad and Odyssey were written in letters of gold, on the 
 entrails of a serpent; but this library was burnt, by order of 
 Leo Isaurus. The most celebrated libraries of ancient Rome, 
 were the Ulpian and the Palatine; and in modern Rome, that 
 of the Vatican, the foundation of which was laid by Pope 
 Nicholas in the year 1450. It was afterwards diminished in 
 ne sacking of Rome by the constable of Bourbon, and 
 estored by Pope Sixtus V. and has been considerably enriched 
 ith the ruins of that of Heidelberg, plundered by count 
 illy in 1682. One of the most complete libraries in Europe, 
 • as that erected by Cosmo de Medicis; though it was after- 
 .ards exceeded by that of the French king, w hich was begun 
 by Francis I. augmented by cardinal Richelieu, and com- 
 pleted by M. Colbert. The emperor’s library at Vienna, 
 according to Lambecius, consists of eighty thousand volumes, 
 and fifteen thousand nine hundred and forty curious medals. 
 The Bodleian library at Oxford exceeds that of any university 
 in Europe, and even those of any of the sovereigns, except 
 those of the emperors of France and Germany, which are 
 each of them older by a hundred years. It was first opened 
 in 1602, and has since been increased by a great number of 
 benefactors : indeed the Medicean library, that of Bessarion 
 at Venice, and those just mentioned, exceed it in Greek 
 fiaanuscripts, but it outdoes them all in Oriental manuscripts; 
 and as to printed books, the Ambrosian at Milan, and that of 
 Wolfenbuttle, are two of the most famous libraries on the 
 continent, and yet both are considerably inferior to the Bod- 
 leian. The Cottonian library consists wholly of manuscripts, 
 particularly of such as relate to the history and antiquities 
 of England; which, as they are now bound, make about one 
 thousand volumes. 
 
BOOK OF BLUNDERS.— tLONDON INSTIUTIONS. 761 
 
 Book OF Blunders. — One of the most egregious, shall 
 we add illustrious, of all literary blunders, is that of the edition 
 of the Vulgate, by Sixtus V. His holiness carefully superin- 
 tended every sheet as it passed through the press; and, to the 
 amazement of the world, the work remained without a rival — 
 it swarmed with errata! A multitude of scraps were printed, 
 to paste over the erroneous passages, in order to give the 
 true text. The book makes a whimsical appearance with 
 these pasted corrections; and the heretics exulted in the 
 demonstration of papal infallibility! The copies were called 
 in, and violent attempts made to suppress it; however, a few 
 still remain for the pursuit of biblical collectors: at a late sale, 
 the Bible of Sixtus V. fetched above sixty guineas — a tole- 
 rable sum for a mere book of blunders! The world was highly 
 amused at the bull of the Pope and editor prefixed to the 
 first volume, which excommunicates all printers, &c. who 
 in reprinting the work should make any alteration in the 
 text! 
 
 Curious account of The Means of Intellectual Im- 
 provement IN London. — The following is an 'estimate made 
 of the means of intellectual improvement in London. There 
 are four hundred and seven places of public worship; four 
 thousand and fifty seminaries for education, including two 
 hundred and thirty-seven parish charity schools; eight socie- 
 ties for the express purpose of promoting good morals; twelve 
 societies for promoting the learned, the useful, and the polite 
 arts; one hundred and twenty-two asylums and alms-houses 
 for the helpless and indigent, including the Philanthropic 
 Society for reclaiming criminal children; thirty hospitals and 
 dispensaries for sick and lame, and for the delivery of poor 
 pregnant women; seven hundred friendly or benefit societies; 
 about thirty institutions for charitable and humane purposes ; 
 about thirty institutions for teaching some thousands of poor 
 children the arts of reading, writing, and arithmetic, on the 
 plans of Mr. Lancaster and Dr. Bell ; and these several estab- 
 lishments, including the poor’s rate, are supported at the 
 Inmost incredible cost of one million per annum. 
 
762 
 
 CURIOSITIES Of LITERATURE. 
 
 CHAP. LXXXl. 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. — (Continued,) 
 
 Origin of the Word News*' — Origin of Newspapers — Instances oj 
 New Studies in Old Age — Literary Shoemakers — Imprison- 
 ment of the Learned — Singular (Customs annually observed 
 hy the Company of Stationers — Book of Sports — Origin of 
 Cards -Explanation of all the Letters on a Ouinea, 
 
 Origin of the Word “News.” — The four cardinal points 
 of the compass, marked with the letters N. E. W. S. standing 
 for North, East, West, and South, form the word News, 
 which coming from all parts of the world, gave derivation to 
 the word. 
 
 Origin of Newspapers. — We are indebted to the Italians 
 for the idea of Newspapers. The title of the Gazettas, was 
 perhaps derived from Uazzera, a magpie or chatterer; or more 
 probably from a farthing coin, peculiar to the city of Venice, 
 called Gazetta, which was the common price of the news- 
 papers. Another learned etymologist is for deriving it from 
 the Latin Gaza, which would colloquially lengthen into 
 Gazetta, and signify a little treasury of news. The Spanish 
 derive it indeed from the Latin Gaza; and likewise their 
 Gazatero, and our Gazetteer, for a writer of the Gazette; and, 
 what is peculiar to themselves, Gazetista, for a lover of the 
 Gazette. 
 
 Newspapers then took their birth in that principal land 
 of modern politicians, Italy, and under the government of that 
 aristocratical republic, Venice. The first paper was a Vene- 
 tian one, and only monthly: but it was the newspaper of the 
 government only. Other governments afterwards adopted the 
 Venetian name for it; and from one solitary government 
 Gazette, we see what an inundation of newspapers has burst 
 out upon us in this country. 
 
 Mr. Chalmers gives, in his life of Ruddiman, a curious 
 particular of these Venetian Gazettes. “ A jealous govera- 
 ment did not allow a printed newspaper; and the Venetian 
 Gazetta continued long after the invention of printing to the 
 close of the sixteenth century, and even to our own days, to 
 be distributed in manuscript.” In the Magliabechian library 
 at Florence are thirty volumes of Venetian Gazettas, all in 
 manuscript. 
 
 Those who first wrote newspapers, were called by the Italians 
 Me?ianti, because, says Vossius, they intended commonly by 
 
ORIGIN OF NEWSPAPERS. — STUDIES IN OLD AGE. 763 
 
 these loose papers to spread about defamatory reflections, and 
 were therefore prohibited in Italy by Gregory XIII. in a 
 particular bull, under the name of Menantes, from the Latin 
 Minantes, threatening. Menage, however, derives it from the 
 Italian Menare, which signifies, to lead at large, or spread 
 afar. 
 
 Mr. Chalmers discovers in England th first newspaper. 
 It may gratify national pride, says he, to be told, that man- 
 kind are indebted to the wisdom of Elizabeth and the pru- 
 dence of Burleigh for the first newspaper. The epoch of the 
 Spanish Armada is also the epoch of a genuine newspaper. 
 In the British Museum are several newspapers which had 
 been printed while the Spanish fleet was in the English 
 Channel, during the year 1688. It was a wise policy to pre- 
 vent, during a moment of general anxiety, the danger of false 
 reports, by publishing real information. The earliest news- 
 paper is entitled ‘‘ The English Mercurie,” which by authority 
 “was imprinted at London by her highness’s printer, 1588.” 
 These were, however, but extraordinafy Gazettes, not regularly 
 published. 
 
 The following are curious Instances of New Studies in 
 Old Age. — Socrates learnt to play on musical instruments 
 in his old age; Cato, at eighty, thought proper to learn Greek; 
 and Plutarch, almost as late in life, Latin. 
 
 Theophrastus began his admirable work on the characters 
 of men, at the extreme age of ninety. He only terminated 
 his literary labours by his death. 
 
 Peter Ronsard, one of the fathers of French poetry, applied 
 himself late to study. His acute genius, and ardent applica- 
 tion, rivalled those poetic models which he admired. 
 
 The great Arnauld retained the vigour of his genius, and 
 the command of his pen, to his last day; and at the age of 
 eighty-two was still the great Arnauld. 
 
 Sir Henry Spelman neglected the sciences in his youth, 
 but cultivated them at fifty years of age, and produced good 
 fruit. His early years were chiefly passed in farming, which 
 greatly diverted him from his studies; but a remarkable dis- 
 appointment respecting a contested estate, disgusted him 
 with these rustic occupations, and resolving to attach himself 
 to regular studies and literary society, he sold his farms, and 
 became a most learned antiquary and lawyer. 
 
 Colbert, the famous French minister, almost at sixty re- 
 turned to his Latin and law studies. 
 
 Tellier, the chancellor of France, learnt logic, merely for 
 an amusement, to dispute with his grandchildren. 
 
 Dr. Johnson applied himself to the Dutch language but a few 
 years before his death. But on this head the Marouis de Saint 
 
7(54 
 
 CURIOSITIES or LITERATURE 
 
 Anlaire may be regarded as a prodigy • at the age of seventy 
 he began to court the Muses, and they crowned him with 
 their freshest flowers. His verses are full of fire, delicacy, 
 and sweetness. Voltaire says, that Anacreon, less old, pro- 
 duced less charming compositions. 
 
 Chaucer^s Canterbury Tales were the composition of his 
 latest years: they were begun in his fifty-fourth year, and 
 finished in his sixty-first: it is on these works his fame is 
 established, at least they are those which are most adapted to 
 attract all classes of poetical readers. 
 
 The celebrated Boccacio was thirty-five years of age when 
 he began his studies in polite literature. He has, however, 
 excelled many whose whole life has been devoted to this branch 
 of letters. Such is the privilege of genius. 
 
 Ludovico Monaldesco, at the extraordinary age of 115, 
 wrote the memoirs of his time: a singular exertion, noticed 
 by V^oltaire, who himself is one of the most remarkable in- 
 stances of the progress of age in new studie.®. 
 
 Koonhert began at forty to learn the Latin and Greek lan- 
 guages, of which he became a master ; several students, who 
 afterwards distinguished themselves, have commenced as late 
 in life their literary pursuits. Ogilby, the translator of Homer 
 and Virgil, knew little of Latin or Greek, till he uas past 
 fifty ; and Franklin’s philosophical pursuits began when he 
 had nearly reached his fiftieth year 
 
 Accorso, a great lawyer, being asked why he began the 
 study of the law so late, answered, that indeed he began it 
 late, but should therefore master it the sooner. 
 
 Dryden’s complete works form the largest body of poetry 
 from the pen of one writer in the English language ; yet he 
 gave no public testimony of poetical abilities till his twenty- 
 seventh year. In his sixty-eighth year he proposed to trans- 
 late the whole Ilias; his mc»st pleasing productions were written 
 ’]n his old age. 
 
 Michael Angelo preserved his creative genius even in ex- 
 treme old age ; for he worked almost to his last day, and he 
 reached his ninetieth year. He alludes, doubtless, to himself 
 in an ingenious device, if it be of his own invention : A vene- 
 rable old man is represented in a go-cart, an hour-glass upon 
 it, with the inscription, Ancora Imparo! Yet I am learn- 
 ing ! 
 
 Literary Shoemakers. — The fraternity of shoemakers 
 have unquestionably given rise to some characters of worth 
 and genius. The late Mr. Holcroft was originally a shoe- 
 maker. His dramatic pieces must rank among the best of 
 those on the English stage. Robert Bloomfield wrote his 
 poem of “ The Farmer’s Boy,” while employed at this business. 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF THE LEARNED. 76.5 
 
 and Dr. William Carey, professor of Sanscrit and Bengalee 
 at the college of Fort William, Calcutta, and the able and 
 indefatigable translator of the Scriptures into many of the 
 Eastern languages, was in early life a shoemaker in North- 
 amptonshire. The present Mr. Gilford, the translator of 
 Juvenal, and the supposed editor of the Quarterly Keview, 
 spent some of his early days in learning the “ craft and mys- 
 tery” of a shoemaker; as he tells us, in one of the most inte- 
 resting pieces of auto-biography ever penned, and prefixed to 
 his nervous and elegant version of the great Roman satirist. 
 
 Imprisonment of the Learned. — Imprisonment seems 
 not much to have disturbed the men of letters in the progress 
 of their studies. 
 
 It was in prison that Boethius composed his excellent book 
 on the Consolations of Philosophy. 
 
 Grotius wrote, in his confinement, his Commentary on St. 
 Matthew. 
 
 Buchanan, in his dungeon of a monastery in Portugal, 
 composed his excellent Paraphrases on the Psalms of David. 
 
 Pelisson, during five years* confinement for some state affairs, 
 pursued with ardour his studies in the Greek language, in 
 philosophy, and particularly in theology, and produced several 
 good compositions. 
 
 Michael Cervantes composed the best and most agreeable 
 book in the Spanish language, during his captivity in Bar- 
 bary. 
 
 Fleta, a well-known and very excellent little law production, 
 was written by a person confined in the fleet prison for debt, 
 but vvhose name has not been preserved. 
 
 Louis XII. when he was Duke of Orleans, being taken pri- 
 soner at the battle of St. Aubin, was long confined in the 
 tower of Bourges, and applying himself to his studies, which 
 he had hitherto neglected, he became, in consequence, an 
 able and enlightened monarch. 
 
 Margaret, Queen of Henry IV. King of France, confined in 
 the Louvre, pursued very warmly the study of elegant literature, 
 and composed a very skilful apology for the irregularities of 
 her conduct. 
 
 Charles I. during his cruel confinement at Holmsby, wrote 
 that excellent book, entitled The Portait of a King, which he 
 addressed to his son, and where the political reflections will 
 be found not unworthy of Tacitus. This work, however, has 
 been attributed, by his enemies, to a Dr. Gowden, who was 
 incapable of writing a single paragraph of it. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth, while confined by hei sister Mary, wrote 
 some very charming poems, which we do not find she ever 
 could equal after her enlargement : and Mary Queen of Scots, 
 
766 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 during her long imprisonment by Elizabeth, produced many 
 beautiful poetic compositions. 
 
 Singular Custom annually observed by the Com- 
 pany OF Stationers. — On the annual aquatic procession 
 of the Lord Mayer of London to Westminster, the barge of 
 the Company of Stationers, which is usually the first in the 
 show, proceeds to Lambeth palace, where fcir time immemorial 
 they have received a present of sixteen bottles of the Arch- 
 bishop’s prime wine. This custom originated at the beginning 
 of the last century. When archbishop Tenison enjoyed the 
 see, a very near relation of his, who happened to be master 
 of the Stationers’ Company, thought it a compliment to call 
 there in full state, and in his barge : when the archbishop was 
 informed that the number of the company within the barge 
 was thirty-two, he thought that a pint of wine for each would 
 not be disagreeable ; and ordered, at the same time, that a 
 sufficient quantity ot new bread and old cheese, with plenty 
 of strong ale, should be given to the watermen and attendants: 
 and from that accidental circumstance it has grown into a 
 settled custom. The Company, in return, presents to the 
 Archbishop a copy of the several almanacks which they have 
 the peculiar privilege of publishing. 
 
 Book of Sports. — A book, or declaration, drawn up by 
 bishop Morton, in the reign of king James I. to encourage 
 recreations and sports on the Lord’s day. It was to this 
 effect; “That for his good people’s recreation, his majesty’s 
 pleasure was, that, after the end of divine service, they should 
 not be disturbed, letted, or discouraged, from any lawful recre- 
 ations ; such as dancing, either of men or women; archery 
 for men ; leaping, vaulting, or any such harmless recreations; 
 nor having of may-games, whitsun-ales, or morrice-dances; 
 or setting up of may-poles, or other sports therewith used, 
 so as the same may be had in due and convenient time, w'ith- 
 out impediment or let of divine service; and that women 
 should have leave to carry rushes to the church for the deco- 
 rating of it, according to their old customs ; withal prohibiting 
 all unlawful games to be used on Sundays only ; as bear- 
 bating, bull-bating, interludes, and at all times (in the 
 meaner sort of people prohibited) bowling.” Two or three 
 restraints were annexed to the declaration, which deserve 
 notice : — 1. No recusant (i. e. papist) was to have the benefit 
 of this declaration. 2. Nor such as were not present at the 
 whole of divine service. 3. Nor such as did not keep to their 
 own parish churches, that is, puritans. 
 
 This declaration was ordered to be read in all the parishes 
 of Lane ishire, which abounded with papists; and Wilson adds. 
 
ORIGIN OF CARDS. 
 
 767 
 
 that it was to have been read in all the churches of England, 
 but that archbishop Abbot, being at Croydon, flatly forbade 
 its being read there. In the reign of king Charles I. arch- 
 bishop Laud put the king upon republishing this declaration, 
 which was accordingly done. The court had their balls, 
 masquerades, and plays, on the Sunday evenings; wddle the 
 youth of the country were at their morrice-dances, may-games, 
 church and clerk al^, and all such kind of revelling. The 
 severe pressing of this declaration made sad havock among 
 the puritans, as it was to be read in the churches. Many 
 poor clergymen strained their consciences in submission to 
 their superiors. Some, after publishing, immediately read 
 the fourth commandment to the people : — '* Remember the 
 sabbath day, to keep it holy:” adding, “This is the law of 
 God;” the other, “The injunction of man.” Some put it 
 upon their curates; whilst great numbers absolutely refused 
 to comply : the consequence of w'hich was, that several cler- 
 gymen W’ere actually suspended for not reading it. 
 
 Origin of Cards. — About the year 1390, cards were in- 
 vented, to divert Charles VI. then king of France, who was 
 fallen into a melancholy disposition. 
 
 That they were not in use before, appears highly probable, 
 1st. Because no cards are to be seen in any paintings, sculp- 
 ture, tapestry, &.c. more ancient than the preceding period, but 
 are represented in many w'orks of ingenuity since that age. 
 
 2dly. No prohibitions relative to cards, by the king’s edicts, 
 are mentioned, although, some few years before, a most severe 
 one was published, forbidding by name, all manner of sports 
 and pastimes, in order that the subjects might exercise them- 
 selves in shooting with bows and arrows, and be in a condi- 
 tion to oppose the English. Now it is not to be presumed, 
 that so luring a game as cards would have been omitted in the 
 enumeration, had they been in use. 
 
 3dly. In all the ecclesiastical canons prior to the said time, 
 there occurs no mention of cards ; although, twenty years after 
 that date, card-playing was interdicted by the clergy, by a 
 Gallican synod. A bout the same time is found, in the account 
 book of the king’s cofferer, the following charge : — “Paid for 
 a pack of painted leaves bought for the king’s amusement, 
 three livres.” Printing and stamping being then not disco- 
 vered, the cards were painted, which made them so dear. 
 Thence, in the above synodical canons, they are called gilla 
 pict(£, painted little leaves. 
 
 4thly About thirty years after this, came a severe edict 
 against cards in France; and another by Emanuel, duke of 
 Savoy ; only permitting the ladies this pastime, pro spmulis, 
 for pins and needles. 
 
768 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 Of their design. — The inventor proposed, by the figures of 
 the four suits, or colours, as the French call them, to repre- 
 sent the four states, or classes, of men in the kingdom 
 
 By the Censors (Hearts) are meant the gens de chaur, choir 
 men, or ecclesiastics; and therefore the Spaniards, who cer- 
 tainly received the use of cards from the French, have copers, 
 or chalices, instead of hearts. 
 
 The nobility, or prime military part tif the kingdom, are 
 represented by the ends or points of lances or pikes; and our 
 ignorance of the meaning or resemblance of the figure induced 
 us to call them Spades. The Spaniards have cspoccs (swords) 
 in lieu of pikes, which is of similar import. 
 
 By Diamonds, are designed the order of citizens, merchants, 
 and tradesmen, carreanx (square stone tiles or the like.) The 
 Spaniards have a coin dinevos, which answered to it; and the 
 Dutch call the French word carreanx stieneen, stones and dia- 
 monds, from their form. 
 
 Treste, the trefoil leaf, or clover-grass (corruptly called 
 Clubs) alludes to the husbandmen and peasants. How this suit 
 came to be called clubs is not explained, unless, borrowing the 
 game from the Spaniards, who have bastos (staves or clubs) 
 instead of the trefoil, we gave the Spanish signification to the 
 French figure. 
 
 The history of the four Kings, w'hich the French in drollery 
 sometimes call the cards, is David, Alexander, Ccesar, and 
 Charles, (which names were then, and still are, on the French 
 cards.) These respectable names represent the four cele- 
 brated monarchies of the Jews, Greeks, Romans, and Franks 
 under Charlemagne. 
 
 By the Queens are intended Argine, Esther, Jndith,^\\di Pallas, 
 (names retained in French cards,) typical of birth, piety, for- 
 -titude, and wisdom, the qualifications residing in each person 
 Argine is an anagram for Regina, queen by descent. 
 
 By the Knaves were designed the servants to knights (for 
 iknave originally meant only servant ; and in an old translation 
 ■of the Bible, St. Paul is called the knave of Christ) but French 
 pages and valets, now indiscriminately used by various orders 
 .of persons, were formerly only allowed to persons of quality, 
 .esquires, (escuiers,) shield or armour-bearers. 
 
 Others fancy that the knights themselves were designed by 
 those cards, because Flogier and Lahire, two names on the 
 French cards, were famous knights at the time cards were 
 supposed to be invented. 
 
 Explanation of all the Letters on a Guinea. — The 
 Inscription on a Guinea runs thus : — GEORGIUS III. DEI 
 GRATIA, M. B. F. ET H. REX, F. D B. ET L. D. S. R. I 
 A. T. ET E. 
 
ADDRESS TO THE LATE QUEEN CHARLOTTE. 769 
 
 That is, — Georgius Tertius, Dei Gratia, Magnae Briitanniae, 
 Franciae et Hiberniae Rex, Fidei Defensor, Brunswicii et Lu- 
 nonburgi Dux, Sacri Romani Imperii Archi-Thesaurarius et 
 Elector. 
 
 In English, — George the Third, by the Grace of God, King 
 of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, 
 Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburgh, Arch-Treasurer and 
 Elector of the Holy Roman Empire 
 
 CHAP. LXXXII, 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. — (Concluded) 
 
 Curious Address to the late Queen Charlotte — Quaint Lines on 
 Queen Elizabeth — Curious Names adopted in the Civil Wars — 
 Curious Extracts from the Will of an Earl of Pembroke — 
 Curious Letter from Pomare, King of Otaheite, to the Mis- 
 sionary Society — Curious Love Letter and Answer — Creeds oj 
 the Jews — The Unbeliever s Creed — Explanation of the Terms 
 “ Whif^ and “ Toryr 
 
 CURIOUS ADDRESS TO THE LATE QUEEN CHARLOTTE. 
 
 ** The Address of the Burgomaster, Magistrates, and Citizens 
 of Strelitz, to her Royal Highness the Most Illustrious 
 Princess Sophia Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburgh, 
 Princess of Wenden, Schrouin, and Piotzburgh, and Coun- 
 tess of Schwerin, and the countries of Rostock and Slan- 
 gard, on her leaving the Territories of the said City in her 
 Way to England, as the Royal Bride of his Most Illustrious 
 Majesty George the Third, King of Great Britain, &c. &c. 
 Aug. 27, 1761. 
 
 “ Illustrious Dutchess, most gracious Princess and Lady; 
 your Royal Highness is at present leaving that country whoise 
 happiness it has hitherto been to admire you, the model of a 
 perfect Princess; you leave it to share with the greatest 
 monarch in Europe, a throne respected through every part of 
 the universe. The instant is at hand when your Royal High- 
 ness will for ever be withdrawn from our eyes : but it affects 
 us the more sensibly, from the apprehension that the many 
 great and brilliant objects, with which you will henceforth b<“ 
 connected, will efface so small a place as ours from your ines- 
 timable remembrance. Yet that goodness which we have 
 hitherto with transport admired in your Royal Highness, 
 revives our spirits; it assures us, that you will ever from the 
 fhrcne condescend gracicuslv to look back on our town; and 
 
 5E 
 
770 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 continue the patroness of those whose happiness it is to be 
 the subjects of your illustrious Family. We, therefore, in full 
 confidence, give ourselves up to that lively joy excited in us 
 all, on the glorious union to w^hich the Divine Provid'ence has 
 called your Royal Highness, and beg leave to accompany you 
 with our most cordial wishes for your safe journey and con- 
 tinual welfare and prosperity. May the Eternal Ruler of all 
 things, who has appointed this great event, make your Royal 
 High ness the most perfect instance of felicity, the delight of 
 that Royal Family into which you are now entering, the joy of 
 Britain, and the glory of the illustrious Mecklenburg! May 
 our illustrious Sovereign, the beloved Adolphus Frederic, long, 
 and in all earthly happiness, together with his faithful and 
 happy subjects, rejoice in these felicities! Your Royal High- 
 ness will graciously permit that Twelve of our Daughters, here 
 present in the attire of innocence, may, as a memorial of this 
 fortunate event, second the ardent sentiments of their Fathers, 
 and in artless words, most humbly wish you a safe and plea 
 sant journey : — • 
 
 Eleonora Dorothea Maria Bentghoven. 
 
 Hail Princess! with each shining virtue bright, 
 
 All pure within, without all glorious light. 
 
 Whose form divine, whose goodness we adore; 
 
 Heaven bless thy parting from the German shore! 
 
 Christiana Juliana Elizabeth Eerendsden, 
 
 As Consort of a mighty Monarch shine. 
 
 Restore the honour of an ancient line; 
 
 For this thy coming, Britain’s King invites, 
 
 For this he calls to Hymen’s soft delights. 
 
 Dorothea Elizabeth Tetlington. 
 
 Thy soul with each divinest virtue fraught. 
 
 Thy wisdom perfect, both in word and thought; 
 
 Each British bosom snail with rapture fire, 
 
 And faction sleep whilst gazing crowds admire. 
 
 Sophia Elizabeth Gradhandlan, 
 
 When seated by thy royal Consort’s side. 
 
 New lustre he shall gain from such a Bride; 
 
 Her worth shall grace the sacred nuptial ties. 
 
 And Britain’s throne in dignity shall rise. 
 
 Carolina Henrietta Tan gate. 
 
 O God! whose mercies through the world abound. 
 
 Whose power supports the King thy hand has crown’d. 
 Waft o’er the main the Bride’s transcendent charms. 
 
 In -safety to the Bridegroom’s longing arms. 
 
771 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE LATE QUEEN CHARLOTTE. 
 
 Dorothea Gaven, 
 
 May she, with each endearing art possest. 
 
 To pleasure ever soothe the Monarch’s breast! 
 
 May all the royal virtues of her heart. 
 
 To faithful subjects joy sincere impart! 
 
 A/ina Maria Elizabeth Christen. 
 
 Britons, rejoice, receive with loud acclaim 
 Sophia Charlotte, ever dear to fame ; 
 
 Del ight of Mecklenburg! she comes to shower 
 On Britain’s isle new blessings every hour. 
 
 Madalen Elizabeth Colterjahn. 
 
 Thrice happy Bride! who soon shall cross the maia* 
 Whom to behold again we wish in vain ; 
 
 May happiness increasing v/ith thee dwell. 
 
 To every age may fame thy glory tell! 
 
 Christiana Sophia Sealon, 
 
 From Ganges to where Mississippi flows. 
 
 Diffusing wealth and plenty as it goes; 
 
 From Senegal, still scorch’d by Phoebus’ beam*. 
 
 To where St. Lawrence rolls his silver streams. 
 Proclaim Britannia’s bliss the world around. 
 
 From pole to pole, to earth’s remotest bound. 
 
 Christiana Elizabeth Fhoelen. 
 
 It’s wish auspicious Flavel hastes to bring, • 
 
 For fair Charlotta and his Britain's King; 
 
 On Britain’s isle all blessing he implores. 
 
 And rolls his friendly wave to Albion’s shores. 
 
 Dorothea Christiana Elizabeth Rexsehen, 
 
 Beneath the Lord’s anointed may she thrive. 
 
 Still may his influence keep the palm alive. 
 
 Still may it flourish, branches still extend. 
 
 Afford us shelter, and from heat defend. 
 
 Catharine Sophia Bertrowen. 
 
 Nought can our brothers’ ardent zeal restrain. 
 
 Fain would they tempt with thee the roaring main| 
 Permit them. Queen, thy person to be near. 
 
 That of thy safety tidings we may hear. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Yet for one favour more we must apply. 
 
 But little can these barren tracts supply; 
 
 Permit us, since both gold and pearls you scorn^ 
 Your royal brows with myrtle to adorn!” 
 
772 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 Quaint Lines on Queen Elizabeth. — Queen Elizabeth, 
 who died at Greenwich, was brought thence to Whitehall by 
 wate.r, in a grand procession. On this Occasion, as Camden 
 informs us, the following quaint lines were written; — 
 
 “ The Queen was brought by water to Whitehall; 
 
 At every stroke the oars did tears let fall; 
 
 More clung about the barge; fish under water 
 
 Wept out their eyes of pearl, and swam blind after. 
 
 I think the bargemen might, with easier thighs. 
 
 Have row’d her thither in her people’s eyes; 
 
 For howsoe’er, thus much my thoughts have scanned, 
 
 She had come by water, had she come by land.” 
 
 CuriousNames adopted in the Civil Wars. — Acuiious 
 style of naming individuals was exceedingly common in the 
 time of the civil wars. It was said that the genealogy of our 
 Saviour might be learned from the names in Cromwell’s 
 regiments. The muster-master used no other list than the 
 first chapter of Matthew. 
 
 A Jury was returned in the county of Sussex of the fol- 
 lowing names: 
 
 Accepted Trevor, of Horsham. 
 
 Redeemed Compton, of Battle. 
 
 Faint-iiot Hewet, of Heathfield. 
 
 Make-peace Heaton, of Hare. 
 
 God-reward Smart, of Fivehurst. 
 
 Staud-J'ast-on-high Stringer, of Crowhurit 
 
 Earth Adams, of Warbleton. 
 
 Called Lower, of Warbleton. 
 
 Kill-sin Pimple, of Witham. 
 
 Return Spelman, of Watling. 
 
 Be-faithful Joiner, of Britling. 
 
 Fltj-debaie Robert, of Britling. 
 
 Fight- the-good-Jight-of-f ait h White, of Emer. 
 
 More-fruit Fowler, of East Hadley. 
 
 Hope-for Bending, of East Hadley 
 
 Graceful Harding, of Lewes. 
 
 Weep-not Billings, of Lewes. 
 
 Meek Brewer, of Okeham. 
 
 A noted character in those days was a divine of the name 
 of Fraise-God Barebone. He is little known as a divine, but 
 IS celebrated for having been an active member in Cromwell’s 
 parliament, and indeed for giving a name to it which is yet 
 preserved in history. Praise-God Barebone had two brothers, 
 namely, Christ-came-into-the-world-to-save Barebone, and If- 
 Christ-had-uot-died-thou-hadst-been-damned Baiebone: some are 
 said to have omitted the former part of the latter name, and 
 to have calle .' him only “ Damned Barebone.” 
 
EXTRACTS FROM A WILL, ETC. 
 
 773 
 
 The reader will be amused with the following Curious 
 Ex TRACTS FROM THE WlLL OF AN EaRL OF PEMBROKE. 
 
 “ Imprimis. — For my soul; I confess I have heard very much 
 of souls, but what they are, or whom they are, or what they 
 are for, God knows, I know not: they tell me now of another 
 world, where 1 never was, nor do I know one foot of the way 
 thither. While tl'.e king stood, 1 was of his religion, made 
 my son wear a cassock, and thought to make him a bishop, 
 but then came the Scots, and made me a Presbyterian ; and 
 since Cromwell entered, I have been an Independent. 'I hese, 
 
 1 believe, are the kingdom’s three estates; and ifany of these 
 can save a soul, I may claim one; therefore if my executors 
 do find I have a soul, I give it to him who gave it me. 
 
 “ Item. — L give my body, for 1 cannot keep it, to be buried. 
 Do not lay me in the church-porch, for 1 was a Lord, and 
 would not be buried where Colonel Pride was born. 
 
 “ will is, that I have no monument, for then 
 
 1 must have epitaphs and verses, and all my life long 1 have 
 had too much of them. 
 
 “ ltera.--\ give all my deer to the Earl of Salisbury, who 
 I know will preserve them, because he denied the king a buck 
 out of one of his own parks. 
 
 “ Item. — I give nothing to the Lord Say; which legacy 
 1 give him, because I know he will bestow it on the poor. 
 
 “ Item.- "To Tom May 1 give five shillings: 1 intended him 
 more: but whoever has seen his history of the parliament, 
 thinks five shillings too much. 
 
 “ hem. — I give Lieutenant General Cromwell one word of 
 mine, because hitherto he never kept his own. 
 
 Item. — I give up the ghost, concordat cum originati.** 
 
 Curious Letter from PoxMare, King of Otaheite, to 
 THE Missionary Society. 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 Friends Matavae , Otaheite , Jan . 1, 1807. 
 
 I WISH you every blessing, friends, in your residence in 
 your country, with success in teaching this bad land, this 
 foolish land, this wicked land, this land which is ignorant of 
 good, this land that knoweth not the true God, this regardless 
 land. 
 
 Friends, I wish you health and prosperity; may I also live, 
 and may Jehovah save us all ! 
 
 Friends, with respect to your letter you wrote to me, I have 
 this to sny to you, that your business with me, and your 
 wishes, I fully consent to, and shall consequently banish Ore 
 (his chief idol) and send him to Racatea. 
 
 Friends, 1 do therefore believe and shall obey your word. 
 
774 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 Friends, I hope you also will consent to my request, which 
 is this; 1 wish you to send a great number of men, women, 
 and children, here. 
 
 Friends, send also property and cloth for us, and we also 
 will adopt English customs. 
 
 Friends, send also plenty of muskets and powder, for wars 
 are frequent in our country : — should I be killed, you will have 
 nothino- in Tahete ; do not come iiere when I am dead. Ta- 
 hete IS a regardless country ; and should I die with sickness, 
 do not come here. This also 1 wish, that you would send me 
 all the curious things that you have in England : also send 
 me every thing necessary for writing; paper, ink, and pens, 
 in abundance; let no writing utensil be wanting. 
 
 Friends, I have done, and have nothing at all more to ask 
 you for: as for your desire to instruct Tahete, ’tis what I 
 fully acquiesce in. ’Tis a common thing for people not to un- 
 derstand at first; but your object is good, and I fully consent 
 to it; and shall cast off all evil customs. 
 
 What I say is truth, and no lie; it is the real truth. 
 
 This is all I have to write. I have done. Friends, write to 
 me, that I may know what you have to say. I wish you life 
 and every blessing. May 1 also live, and Jehovah save us 
 all! 
 
 PoMARE, King of Tahete, &c. &c. 
 For mi/ Friends, the Missionary/ 
 
 Society, London. 
 
 Curious Love Letter. 
 
 Madam, — Most wortliy of estimation! After long conside 
 ration, and much meditation, on the great reputation you 
 possess in the nation, I have a strong inclination to become 
 your relation. On your approbation of this declaration, I 
 shall make preparation to remove my situation, to a more 
 convenient station, to profess my admiration ; and if such 
 oblation is worthy of observation, and can obtain commisera- 
 tion, it will be an aggrandization beyond all calculation of the 
 joy and exultation. 
 
 Of your’s. 
 
 Sans Dissimulation. 
 
 The Answer. 
 
 Sir, — I perused your oration with much deliberation, and 
 a little consternation, at the great infatuation of your imagi- 
 nation, to shew such veneration on so slight a foundation. 
 But after examination and much serious contemplation, I sup- 
 posed your animation was the fruit of recreation, or had 
 sprung from ostentation, to display your education, by an 
 odd enumeration, or rather multiplication, of words of the 
 
CREEDS OF THE JEWS. 775 
 
 same termination, though of great variation m each respective 
 signification. 
 
 Now without disputation, your laborious application in so 
 tedious an occupation, deserves commemoration, and thinking 
 imitation a sufficient gratification, I am, without hesitation, 
 
 Your’s, 
 
 Mary Moderation. 
 
 Creeds of the Jews. — The following piece is transcribed 
 from the Common Prayer now in use among the Jews, and is 
 entitled the Thirteen Creeds. It will give some idea of the 
 theoretic branch of religion now prevailing among this singu- 
 lar people. 
 
 1. I believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God is the 
 Creator of all things ; that he doth guide and support all 
 creatures; that he alone has made every thing; and that he 
 still acts, and will act, during the whole eternity. 
 
 2. I believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God is one* 
 there is no unity like his : he alone hath been, and shall bf 
 eternally, our God. 
 
 3. I believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God is not 
 corporeal ; he cannot have any material properties ; and no 
 corporeal essence can be compared with him 
 
 4. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God is the 
 beginning and end of all things. 
 
 5. I believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God alone 
 ought to be worshipped, and none but he ought to be 
 adored. 
 
 6. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, whatever hath 
 been taught by the Prophets. 
 
 7. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that the doctrine 
 of Moses is true. He is the father and the head of all the 
 doctors that lived before or since, or shall live after him. 
 
 8. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that the law we 
 have is the same as was given by Moses. 
 
 9. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that this law 
 shall never be altered, and God will give no other. 
 
 10. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God know 
 eth all the thoughts and actions of men. 
 
 11. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that God will 
 reward the works of all those who perform his commandments, 
 and punish those who transgress his laws. 
 
 12. I believe, with a firm and perfect faith, that the Mes- 
 siah is to come. Although he tarrieth, I will wait, and expect 
 daily his coming ! 
 
 13. 1 believe, with a firm and perfect faith, the Resurrection 
 of the Dead shall happen when God shall think fit. Blessed, 
 and glorified eternally, be the name of the Creator! Amen. 
 
776 
 
 CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE. 
 
 The Unbeliever’s Creed. 
 
 ** I believe that there is iio God, but that maUer is God, 
 and God is matter, and that it is no matter whether there is 
 any God or not. 1 believe, also, that the world was not made; 
 that the world made itself; that it had no beginning; that it 
 will last for ever, world without end. 
 
 I believe that a man is a beast, that the soul is the body, 
 and the body is the soul ; and that after death there is neither 
 body nor soul. 
 
 “ 1 believe there is no religion ; that natural religion is the 
 only religion ; and that all relii^ion is unnatural. I believe not 
 in Moses; I believe in the first philosophy; 1 believe hot in 
 the Evangelists; 1 believe in Chubb, Collins, Toland, Tindal, 
 Morgan, Mandeville, Woolston, Hobbes, and Shaftsbury ; I 
 believe in lord Bolingbroke ; I believe not in St. Paul. 
 
 “ I believe not in revelation ; I believe in tradition ; I believe 
 in the Talmud ; I believe in the Alcoran ; I believe not in the 
 Bible; I believe in Socrates ; I believe in Confucius ; 1 believe 
 in Sanchoneathon ; I believe in Mahomet; I believe not in 
 Christ. 
 
 “ Lastly, I believe in all unbelief.” 
 
 Explanation of the Terms ‘‘Whig” and “Tory.” — 
 Burnet, who was contemporary with the introduction of these 
 terms, gives the following account of the former: — 
 
 “ The south-west counties of Scotland have seldom corn 
 enough to serve them through the year; and the northern 
 parts producing more than they need, those in the west come 
 in the summer to buy at Leith, the stores that come from the 
 north; and from a word (whiggam) used in driving their horses, 
 all that drove were called Whiggamors, and, shorter, the 
 Wh igs. Now in that year, before the news came down of the 
 duke of Hamilton’s defeat, the ministers animated the people 
 to rise and march to Edinburgh; and they came up, marching 
 at the head of their parishes with an unheard-of fury, praying 
 and preaching all the way as they came. This was called the 
 Whiggamor’s inroad ; and ever after, all that opposed the 
 court came in contempt to be called Whigs. 
 
 Dr. Johnson, in his Dictionary, quotes this passage ; yet by 
 placing against the term Whig, the Saxon word W/iag, syno- 
 nymous to whey, or sour milk, he seems not to reject another 
 derivation, which has been assigned to it by some writers. 
 
 Echard says — “ Great animosities were created by these 
 petitioners and abhorrers, and they occasioned many feuds and 
 quarrels in private conversations ; and about the same time, 
 1680, and from the same cause, arose the pernicious terms 
 and distinctions of Whig and Tory, both exotic names, 
 which the parties invid ously bestowed upon each other. All 
 
TERMS OF WHIG AND TORY. — MONSTER. 
 
 777 
 
 that adhered to the interest of the crown and lineal succes- 
 sion, were by the contrary branded with the title given to the 
 Irish robbers ; and they, in return, gave the others the appel- 
 lation of Whig, or sour milk, formerly appropriated to the 
 Scotch presbyterians and rigid covenanters.” — p. 988. 
 
 Tindal, in his introduction to the Continuation of Rapines 
 History, notices the distinction between the principles of the 
 parties, but does not inquire into the etymology of the terms. 
 
 Toland, in his State Anatomy, considers the words as 
 mere terms of reproach, first applied to each party by its ene- 
 mies, and then adopted by each as a distinction. 
 
 “ The words themselves are but late nicknames, given by 
 each party to the other in King Charles the Second’s reign : 
 Tories in Ireland, and Whigs in Scotland, being what we in 
 England call highwaymen ; and you, public robbers.” — 
 Part 1. 
 
 Hume, the historian, says — 
 
 “ This year, 1680, is remarkable for being the epoch of the 
 well-known epithets Whig and Tory, by which, and sometimes 
 without any material difference, this island has been so long- 
 divided. The court party reproached their antagonists w'ith 
 their affinity to the fanatical conventiclers, who were known 
 by the name of Whigs; and the country party found a resem- 
 blance between the courtiers and the Popish banditti in Ire- 
 land, who were known, by the name of Tories.” — Vol. VIII. 
 p. 125. 
 
 These are the principal writers in which the origin of the 
 terms is noticed. 
 
 CHAP. LXXXm 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES 
 
 Monster — Individuation — Reproduction — Peruke — Centaurs 
 and Lapitha. 
 
 Monster. — A birth or production of a living being, dege- 
 nerating from the proper and usual disposition of parts in the 
 species to which it belongs ; as, when there are too many 
 members, or too few ; or some of them are extravagantly out 
 of proportion, either on the side of defect or excess, — is gene- 
 rally denominated a monster. 
 
 F. Malebranche accounts for the production of monsters in 
 the animal world in the followintr manner : — “ The Creator has 
 
 33. 5 F 
 
MIS :ellaneous curiosities. 
 
 778 
 
 establ'shefi such a communication between the several parts 
 of his creation, that we are naturally led to imitate one 
 another, i. e. to have a disposition to do the same things, and 
 assume the same manners, with those about which we converse ; 
 we have also certain natural dispositions, which incline us to 
 compassion as well as imitation. Of these things most men are 
 sensible, and therefore they need not be proved. The animal 
 spirits, then, are not only naturally carried into the respective 
 parts of the body to perform the same actions and the same 
 motions which we see others do, but also to receive in some 
 manner their wounds, and take part in their sufferings. 
 
 “ Experience tells us, that when we look attentively on any 
 person severely beaten, or that has a large wound, ulcer, or 
 the like, the spirits immediately flow into those parts of our 
 bodies which answer to those we see suffer in the other; un- 
 less their course be stopped from some other principle. This 
 flux of spirits is very sensible in persons of delicate constitu- 
 tions, who frequently shudder, and find a kind of trembling 
 in the body on these occasions ; and this sympathy in bodies 
 produces compassion in the mind. 
 
 “ Now it must be observed, that the view of a wound, &c. 
 affects the person who views it the more strongly and sensibly, 
 as the person is more u'eak and delicate ; the spirits making a 
 stronger impression on the fibres of a delicate body, than in 
 those of a robust one. Thus, strons; and vigorous men, &.c. 
 see an execution without much concern, while women, 6cc. are 
 struck with pity and horror. As to children that are unborn, 
 the fibres of their flesh being incomparably finer than those in 
 w'omen, the course of the animal spirits must necessarily pro- 
 duce much greater alterations. 
 
 ** These things being laid down, monsters are easily ac- 
 counted for. Suppose, for instance, a child to be born a fool, 
 and also w'ith its legs and arms broken in the same manner 
 as those are of criminals executed ; the phenomena may be 
 accounted for thus : Every stroke given to the poor man 
 struck forcibly the imagination of the mother, and, by a 
 kind of counter-stroke, the tender and delicate brain of the 
 child. Now, though the fibres of the woman’s brain were 
 strongly shaken by the violent flux of animal spirits on this 
 occasion, yet they had strength and consistence enough to 
 prevent an entire disorder; whereas the fibres of the child’s 
 brain, being unable to bear the shock of those spirits, were 
 quite ruined, and the ravage was great enough to deprive him 
 of reason all his lifetime. 
 
 “ Agff.in, the view of an execution frightening the mother, 
 the viol mt course of the animal spirits was directed forcibly 
 from the brain to all those parts of the body corresponding to 
 the suffering parts of the criminal* and the same thing must 
 
MONSTERS. 
 
 779 
 
 happen in the child. But as the bones were strong enough 
 to resist the impulse of those spirits, they were not damagea ; 
 and yet the rapid course of these spirits could easily over- 
 power and break the tender and delicate fibres of the bones of 
 the child ; the bones being the last parts of the body that are 
 formed, and having a very slender consistence, while the child 
 is yet in the womb.’^ 
 
 To this it may here be added, that had the mother deter- 
 mined the course of these spirits towards some other part of 
 her body, by tickling or scratching herself vehemently, the 
 child would not in all probability have had its bones broken ; 
 but the part answering that to which the motion of the spirits 
 was determined, would have been the sufferer. Hence ap- 
 pears the reason why women, in the time of gestation, seeing 
 persons, &c. marked in such a manner in the face, impress 
 the same mark on the same parts of the child ; and why, upon 
 rubbing some other part of the body when startled at the 
 sight of any thing, or agitated with any extraordinary passion, 
 the mark or impression is fixed on that hidden part, rather 
 than on the face of the child. From the principles here laid 
 down, most, if not all, of the phenomena of monsters, may be 
 easily accounted for. 
 
 Various other theories have been formed by different philo- 
 sophers and, phisiologists. But, after all, it must be con- 
 fessed that we seem as yet to be very little acquainted w*^h 
 nature in her numerous variations. 
 
 Monsters are more common and more extraordinary in the 
 vegetable than in the animal kingdom, because the different 
 juices are more easily deranged and confounded together. 
 Leaves are often seen, from the internal part of which other 
 leaves spring forth ; and it is not uncommon to see flowers of 
 the ranunculus, from the middle of which issues a stalk bear- 
 ing another flower. M. Bonnet informs us. that in certain 
 warm and rainy years he has frequently met with monsters of 
 this kind in rose-trees. This observer saw a rose, from the 
 centre of which issued a square stalk of a whitish colour, 
 tender, and without prickles, which at its top bore two flower- 
 buds opposite to each other, and totally destitute of a calix; 
 a little above the buds issued a petal of a very irregular 
 shape. Upon the prickly stalk which supported the rose, 
 a leaf was observed which had the shape of trefoil, together 
 with a broad flat pedicle. In the Memoirs of the Academy 
 of Sciences, for 1707, p. 448, mention is made of a rose, from 
 the centre of the leaves of which issued a rose-branch two or 
 three inches long, and furnished with leaves. See the same 
 Memoirs for 1724, p.20, and for 1749, p. 44. In the Memoirs 
 for 1755, a very singular instance is mentioned of a monstro- 
 sity observed by M. Duhamel, in an apple-tree ingrafted with 
 
780 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 clay. At the place of the insertion there appeared a bud, 
 which produced a stalk and some leaves ; the stalk and the 
 pedicle of the leaves were of a pulpy substance, and had the 
 most perfect resemblance both in taste and small to the pulp 
 of a green apple. 
 
 An extraordinary chamtzmelum is mentioned in the Acta 
 Helvetica. M. Bonnet, in his Recherches sur V Usage des Feu- 
 Hies, mentions likewise some monstrous pioductions which 
 have been found in fruits with kernels, analogous in their 
 nature to those which occur in the flowers of the ranunculus 
 and of the rose-tree. He has seen a pear, from the eye of 
 which issued a tuft of thirteen or fourteen leaves, very well 
 shaped, and many of them of the natural size. He has seen 
 another pear which gave rise to a ligneous and knotty stalk, 
 on which grew another pear somewhat larger than the first. 
 The stalk had probably flourished, and the fruit had formed. 
 The lilinm album polyanthos, observed some years ago at 
 Breslaw, which bore on its top a bundle of flowers, consisting 
 of one hundred and two lilies, all of the common shape, is 
 well-known. M. Regnier has mentioned some individuals 
 monstrous with respect to the flower, in the Journal de Phy- 
 sique et d'Histoire Naturelle, for November, 1785. He has 
 likewise mentioned a monstrous tulip, which is seen in the 
 gardens of some amateurs; juniper berries with horns; a 
 balsamine with three spurs, &c. 
 
 Individuation, — is the unity of a thing with itself, or that 
 whereby a thing is what it is. 
 
 To begin with those species of body that are not properly 
 organized, which have neither life nor, sense, as stones, metals, 
 &c. In these, individuation seems to consist in nothing but 
 greater or less : take the less part of a stone away, you may 
 still call it the same stone ; take an equal part with the remains, 
 that individuation ceases, and they are two new individuals. 
 Di vide a stone, &c. as often as you please, every part of it 
 will be a stone still, another individual stone, as much as any 
 in the mountain or quarry out of which it was first cut, even 
 though reduced to the minutest sand, or, if possible, a thou- 
 sand times less. But when we take one step farther, and 
 proceed a degree higher, to the vegetable kingdom, the case 
 is far otherwise ; and indeed Nature seems to be still more 
 distinct, and, as it were, careful in its individuation, the 
 higher it rises, till at last it brings us to that great transcen- 
 dental individual, the only proper uncompounded essence, the 
 One God, blessed for ever. 
 
 To return to plants: their individuation consists in that 
 singular form, contexture, and order of their parts, whereby 
 they are disposed for those uses to which Nature has designed 
 
INDIVIDUATION. — REPRODUCTION. 
 
 781 
 
 them, and by which they receive and maintain their beings. 
 For example, in a tree, though you take away the branches, 
 it grows, receives nourishment from the earth, maintains 
 itself, and is still a tree, which the parts thereof are not 
 when separated from the rest; for we cannot say that every 
 part of a tree is a tree, as we can that every part of a stone is 
 still a stone, but if this tree be cloven in two or more pieces, 
 or felled by the roots, this contexture, 6V orderly respect of 
 the parts one to another, ceases; its essence as a tree is 
 destroyed; its individuation perishes; and it is no more 
 a tree, but a stump, or piece of timber. 
 
 Let us proceed a degree higher, to merely sensible creatures, 
 who are not so immediately depending on the earth, the 
 common mother, as the plants, nor rooted to it as they are, 
 but walk about, and have a kind of independent existence, 
 and are a sort of world by themselves. And here the in- 
 dividuation consists in such a particular contexture of their 
 essential parts, and their relation one toward another, as 
 enables them to exert the operations of the sensible or animal 
 life. Thus, cut off' the legs or any other parts of an animal, 
 it is the same animal still; but cut off its head, or take away 
 its life, and it is no longer that individual animal, but a mere 
 carcase, and will, by degrees, resolve itself into common 
 matter again. 
 
 To ascend now to the highest rank of visible beings, — the 
 rational. The individuation of man appears to consist in the 
 union of a rational soul with any convenient portion of fitly 
 organized matter. Any portion of matter duly qualified, and 
 united to the soul by such a union as we experience, is 
 immediately individuated by it, and, together with that soul, 
 makes a man; so that, if it were possible for one soul to be 
 clothed over and over at different times with all the matter in 
 the universe, it uould in all those distinct shapes be the same 
 individual man. Nor can a man be supposed in this case to 
 differ more from himself, than he does from what he reallv 
 was when an infant, or just passed an embryo, when compared 
 with what he is when of adult or decrepit age; he having, 
 during that intermediate time, changed his portion of matter 
 over and over; as, being fat and lean, sick and well, having 
 been exhausted by bleeding, effluvia, perspiration, &c. ; and 
 reunited again by aliment; so that perhaps not one particle, 
 or but very few of the first matter which he took from his 
 parents, and brought with him into the world, is now re- 
 maining. 
 
 The preceding article is naturally followed by Reimk^- 
 DucTioN. — Reproduction is usually understood to mean the 
 restoration of a thing before existing, and since destroyed. 
 
782 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 It is very well known that trees and plants may be raised 
 from slips and cuttings; and some late observations have 
 shewn, that there are some animals which have nearly the 
 same property. The polype (See Hi/dra) was the first in- 
 stance we had of this kind; but we had scarcely time to 
 wonder at the discovery M. Trembley had made, when 
 M. Bonnet discovered the same property in a species of water- 
 worm. Amongst the plants which may be raised from cuttings, 
 there are some which seem to possess this quality in so 
 eminent a degree, that the smallest portion of them will 
 become a complete tree again. A twig of willow, popiar, or 
 many other trees, being planted in the eartli, takes root, and 
 becomes a tree, every piece of which will in the same manner 
 produce other trees. The case is the same with these worms: 
 they are cut to pieces, and these several pieces become per- 
 fect animals; and each of these may be again cut into a 
 number of pieces, each of which will in the same manner 
 produce an animal. It has been supposed by some, that these 
 worms were oviparous; but, M. Bonnet, on cutting one of 
 them to pieces, having observed a slender substance, resem- 
 bling a small filament, to move at the end of one of the pieces, 
 separated it, and on examining it with glasses, found it to be 
 a perfect worm, of the same form with its parent, which lived 
 and grew larger in a vessel of water into which he put it. 
 These small bodies are easily divided, and very readily com- 
 plete themselves again, a day usually serving for the production 
 of a head to the part that wants one; and, in general, the 
 smaller and more slender the worms are, the sooner they 
 complete themselves after this operation. When the bodies 
 of the large worms are examined by the microscope, it is 
 very easy to see the appearance of the young worms alive, and 
 moving about within them ; but it requires great precision 
 and exactness to be certain of this, since the ramifications of 
 the great artery have very much the appearance of young 
 worms, and they are kept in a sort of continual motion by the 
 systoles and diastoles of the several portions of the artery, 
 which serve as so many hearts. It is very certain, that what 
 we force in regard to these animals by our operations, is done 
 also naturally every day in the brooks and ditches where they 
 live. A curious observer will find in these places many of 
 them without heads or tails, and some without either; as also, 
 other fragments of various kinds, all of which are in the act 
 of completing themselves; but whether accidents have reduced 
 them to this state, or they thus purposely throw off parts of 
 their own bodies for the production of more animals, it is 
 not easy to determine. They are plainly liable to many 
 accid mts, by which they lose the several parts of their bodies ; 
 and they must perish very early, if they had not a power of 
 
REPRODUCTION.— PERUKE. 
 
 783 
 
 reproducing what was lost. They are often broken into two 
 parts, by the resistance of some hard piece of mud which 
 they enter; and they are subject to a disease, a kind of 
 gangrene, rotting off the several parts of their bodies, by 
 which they must inevitably perish, were they not possessed of 
 this surprising property. 
 
 The reproduction of several parts of lobsters, crabs, &c s 
 one of the greatest curiosities in natural history. It seems, 
 indeed, inconsistent with the modern philosophical system of 
 generation, which supposes the animal to be wholly formed 
 in the egg; that, in lieu of an organical part of an animal cut 
 off, another should arise perfectly like it: the fact, however, 
 is too well attested to be denied. The legs of lobsters, Sic. 
 consist each of five articulations; now, when any of the legs 
 happen to break by any accident, as by walking, &c. which 
 frequently occurs, the fracture is always found to be at the 
 suture near the fourth articulation; and what they thus lose 
 is exactly reproduced in some time afterwards; that is, a part 
 of the leg shoots out, consisting of four articulations, the first 
 whereof has two claws, as before; so that the loss is entirely 
 repaired. 
 
 If the leg of a lobster be broken off by design at the fourth 
 or fifth articulation, what is thus broken off is always repro- 
 duced, even after a second or third accident. But if the frac- 
 ture be made in the first, second, or third articulation, the 
 reproduction is not so certain. And it is very surprising, 
 that if the fracture be made at these articulations, at the end 
 of two or three days, all the other articulations are generally 
 found broken off to the fourth, which, it is supposed, is done 
 by the creature itself, to make the reproduction certain. The 
 part reproduced, is not only perfectly similar in form to that 
 retrenched, but also, in a certain space of time, it grows 
 equal to it. The creature is, however, frequently taken before 
 this is accomplished. Hence it is that we frequently see 
 lobsters, which have their two large legs unequal in all pro- 
 portions. 
 
 Peruke. — It appears that this term was originally applied 
 to describe a fine natural head of long hair, and if this appel- 
 lation had been retained, we should never have associated 
 wigs with monsters. But whatever may have been the ancient 
 use or meaning of the word, it has now almost become obsolete, 
 though it was for more than a century in constant application 
 to those artificial heads of hair, made probably at first to con- 
 ceal natural or accidental baldness, but which afterwards 
 became so ridiculously fashionable, as to be worn in preference 
 to the most beautiful locks, absurdly shaved off the head to 
 make room for them. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 784 • 
 
 Ancient authors miglit be quoted, to p.rove, that the great 
 and luxurious of that time, had recourse to this mode of con- 
 cealing defects, and of decorating the head; nay, it might 
 perhaps be proved, that the peruke of the Emperor Commodus 
 was more absurdly composed than any modern peruke has 
 ever been; and indeed it must be admitted, that a wig pow- 
 dered with scrapings of gold, in addition to oils and glutinous 
 perfumes, must have made a more wonderful appearance than 
 our immediate ancestors ever witnessed. It was in the reign 
 of our Cliarles the First, that perukes were introduced through- 
 out Europe, when the moralists attacked them without mercy, 
 as they perceived that the folly of youth even extended to 
 the cutting off nature’s locks, to be replaced by the hair ot 
 the dead, and of horses, woven into a filthy piece of can- 
 vass. Admonition and ridicule were, howeve;, of little avail, 
 and the clergy began to be affected by the general mania. 
 Those on the Continent being almost universally Roman 
 Catholics, were so completely subject to their superiors, that 
 the peruke was soon routed from their body; but as the 
 dignified clergy of England conceive that their consequence 
 is increased by the enormous bushes of hair upon their heads, 
 and the judges have adopted their sentiments in this parti- 
 cular, it is probable many years will elapse before the shape 
 and absurdity of two particular species of perukes are for- 
 gotten. 
 
 About the close of the seventeenth century, the peruke was 
 made to represent the natural curl of the hair, but in such 
 profusion, that ten heads would not have furnished an equal 
 quantity, as it flowed down the back, and hung over the 
 shoulders half way down the arms. By 1721, it had become 
 fashionable to tie one half of it on the left side into a club. 
 Between 1730 and 1740, the bag-wig came into fashion, and 
 the peruke was docked considerably, and sometimes plaited 
 behind into a queue, though even till 1752 the long flowing 
 locks maintained their influence. After 1770 those were 
 rarely seen; and since that time persons wearing perukes have 
 generally had substantial reasons for so doing, from baldness, 
 and complaints in the head. At one time, indeed, when the 
 stern virtues of Brutus were much in vogue, the young men 
 of Europe wore perukes of black or dark hair, dressed from 
 his statues. Many particulars on this subject have been 
 preserved by Mr. Malcolm, in his “ Anecdotes of the Manners 
 and Customs of London,” froni which we learn, that a young 
 countrywoman obtained £60 for her head of hair in the year 
 1700, when human hair sold at £3 per ounce; and in 1720, 
 the grey locks of an aged woman sold for £50 after her 
 decease. Wigs of peculiar excellence were sold at £40 
 each. 
 
CENTAURS AND LAPITH^. 
 
 /86 
 
 A petition from the master peruke-makers of London and 
 Westminster, presented to the King, in 1763, points out the 
 great decline of their use to have taken place at that time. 
 In this they complain of the public wearing their own hair; 
 and say, “ That this mode, pernicious enough in itself to their 
 trade, is rendered excessively more so by swarms of French 
 hair-dressers already in those cities, and daily increasing/’ 
 
 We close this chapter with an account of Centaurs and 
 LAPiTHAi. — Under the reign of Ixion, king of Thessaly, a 
 company of bulls which fed upon Pelion ran mad, by w'hich 
 means the mountain was inaccessible. They also descended 
 into the inhabited parts, ruining the trees and fruits, and 
 killing the larger cattle. Upon which Ixion declared that he 
 would give a great reward to any person that w'ould destroy 
 these bulls. Riding on horseback was never practised before 
 that time. But some young men that lived in a village at the 
 foot of Pelion, had attempted successfully to train horses fit 
 to back, and had accustomed themselves to that exercise^ 
 These youths undertook to clear the mountain of the bulls, 
 w’hich they effected by pursuing them on horseback, and pier- 
 cing them with their arrows as they fled; but when the bulls 
 stopped or followed them, they retired without receiving any 
 hurt. xA.nd from hence they were called Centaurs, viz. Pierce 
 bulls. Having received of Ixion the recompense he promised 
 them, they became so fierce and proud, that they committed 
 a tliousand insolences in Thessaly, not sparing even Ixion 
 himself, who dwelt in the totfrn of Larissa. The inhabitants 
 of tlie country were at that time called Lapithae, who one day 
 invited the Centaurs to a feast which they celebrated : but the 
 Centaurs abused their civility ; for, having drunk too much, 
 they took the Lapithites’ women from them, set them on their 
 horses, and carried them away. This violence kindled a long 
 war between the Centaurs and the Lapithae : the Centaurs in 
 the night came down into the plain, and laid ambushes for 
 their enemies, and, as soon as day appeared, retired again into 
 the mountain, wdth whatever they had taken. Thus, as they 
 retired, the Lapithae saw only the hinder parts of their horses, 
 a?jd the men’s heads; so that they seemed but as one animal, 
 whence they believed the Centaurs had become half men 
 and half horses, and that they were clouds, because the vil- 
 lage where they dwelt was called Nophelus, which signified a 
 cloud. 
 
 5G 
 
786 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 CHAP. LXXXIV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. — ( Continued,) 
 
 Spontaneous Injiammation — Diseases 'peculiar to Particular Cow/i- 
 tries — Injuries from Swallowing the Stones of Fruits — Fxtraor- 
 dinary Surgical Operation — Extraordinary Cures by Burning 
 — Illumination by Electricity — Divisibility of Matter, 
 
 Spontaneous Inflammation. — A paper on this subject, 
 which appeared in the RejDertory of Arts, vol. ii. p. 425, in- 
 duced the Rev. W. Tooke to publish some remarks in vol. iii. 
 p. 95, of that work, from which the following is an extract, 
 respecting the spontaneous inflammation of animal and vege- 
 table substances. One Rlide, (says he,) an apothecary at 
 Bautzen, had prepared a pyrophorus from rye -bran and alum. 
 Not long afte-r he had made the discovery, there broke out, in 
 the next village of Nauslitz, a great fire, which did much mis- 
 chief, and was said to have been occasioned by the treating 
 of a sick cow in the cow-house. Mr. Rude knew that the 
 countrymen were accustomed to lay an application of parched 
 rye-bran to their cattle, for curing the thick neck ; he knew 
 also that alum and rye-bran, by a proper process, yielded a 
 pyrophorus ; and now, to try whether parched rye-bran alone 
 would have the same effect, he roasted a quantity of it by the 
 fire, till it had acquired the colour of roasted coffee. This 
 roasted bran he wrapped up in a linen cloth ; in a few minutes 
 there arose a strong smoke, with a smell of burning. Soon 
 after, the rag grew as black as tinder, and the bran, now become 
 hot, fell through it on the ground in little balls. Mr. Riide 
 repeated the experiment, and always with the same result. 
 Who now will doubt, that the frequency of fires in cow- 
 houses, which in those parts are mostly wooden buildings, 
 is occasioned by this practice, of binding roasted bran about 
 the necks of the cattle?” 
 
 Montet relates, in the Memoires de I Academic de Paris, 1748, 
 that animal substances kindle into flame; and that he him- 
 self has been witness to the spontaneous accension of dung- 
 hills. The woollen stuff prepared at Sevennes, named 
 Emperor’s stuff, has kindled of itself, and burnt to a coal. 
 It is usual for this to happen to woollen stuffs, when in hot 
 summers they are laid in a heap, in a room but little aired. 
 In June, 1781, this happened at a woolcomber’s in Germany, 
 where a heap of wool-combings, piled up in a close ware- 
 house seldom aired, took fire of itself. This wool burnt from 
 within outwards, and became quite a coal; though neither 
 
SPONTANEOUS INFLAMMATION. 
 
 •787 
 
 fire nor light had been used at the packing. In like manner 
 cloth-workers have certified, that after they have bought wool 
 that was become wet, and packed it close in their warehouse, 
 this wool has burnt of itself. The spontaneous accension of 
 various matters from the vegetable kingdom, as wet hay, corn, 
 and madder, and at times wet meal and malt, is well known. 
 Hemp, flax, and hemp-oil, have also often given rise to dread- 
 ful conflagrations. 
 
 In the spring of 1780, a fire was discovered on board a frigate 
 lying in the roads off Cronsladt, which endangered the whole 
 fleet. After the severest scrutiny, no cause of the fire was to 
 be found ; and the matter remained without explanation, but 
 with strong surmises of some wicked incendiary. — In August, 
 1780, a fire broke out at the hemp magazine at St. Peters- 
 burg, by which several hundred thousand poods (about 361b. 
 English) of hemp and flax w'ere consumed. The walls of the 
 magazine are of brick, the floors of stone, and the rafters and 
 covering of iron ; it stands alone on an island in the Neva, on 
 which, as well as on board the ships lying in the Neva, no fire 
 is permitted. — In St. Petersburg, in the same year, a fire 
 was discovered in the vaulted shop of a furrier. In these 
 shops, which are all vaults, neither fire nor candle is allowed, 
 and the doors of them are all of iron. At length the probable 
 cause was found to be, that the furrier, the evening before the 
 fire, had got a roll of new cerecloth, and had left it in his 
 vault, where it w'as found almost consumed. — In the night 
 between the 20th and 21st of April, 1781, a fire was seen on 
 board the frigate Maria, at anchor, with several other ships, in 
 the roads off the island ofCronstadt; the fire was, however, soon 
 extinguished, but, by the severest examination, nothing could 
 be extorted concerninp’ the manner in which it had arisen. The 
 garrison was threatened with a scrutiny that should cost them 
 dear; and while they were in this cruel suspense, the wisdom 
 of the sovereign gave a turn to the affair, which quieted the 
 minds of all, by pointing out the proper method to be pursued 
 by the commissioners of inquiry, in the following order to 
 Czernichef: “When we perceived, by the report you have 
 delivered in of the examination into the accident that hap- 
 pened on board the frigate Maria, that, in the cabin where 
 the fire broke out, there were found parcels of matting, tied 
 together with packthread, in which the soot of burnt fir-wood 
 had been mixed with oil, for the purpose of painting the ship’s 
 bottom, it came into our mind, that, for the fire which hap- 
 pened last year at the hemp-warehouses, the following cause 
 was assigned ; that the fire might have proceeded from the 
 hemp being bound up in greasy mats, or even from such mats 
 having lain near the hemp : therefore, neglect not to guide 
 your farther inquiries by this remark.” 
 
788 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 As, upon juridical examination as well as private inquiry, 
 it was found that, in the ship’s cabin, where the smoke ap- 
 peared, there lay a bundle of matting, containing Russian 
 lamp-black, prepared from fir-soot moistened with hemp-oil 
 varnish, which was perceived to have sparks of fire in it at the 
 time of the extinction, the Russian admiralty gave orders to 
 make various experiments, to see whether a mixture of hemp- 
 oil varnish and the forementioned Russian black, folded up 
 in a mat and bound together, would kindle of itself. They 
 shook 401b. of fir-wood soot into a tub, and poured about 
 351b. of hemp-oil varnish upon it; this they let stand for an 
 hour, after which they poured off the oil. The remaining 
 mixture they now wrapped up in a mat, and the bundle was 
 laid close to the cabin where the midshipmen had their birth. 
 Two officers sealed both the mat and door with their own 
 seals, and stationed a watch of four officers, to take notice of 
 all that passed during the whole night; and as soon as any 
 smoke should appear, immediately to give information to the 
 commandant of the port. The experiment was made on the 26th 
 of April, about eleven o’clock a. m. in presence of all the 
 officers. Early on the 27th, about six o’clock a. m. a smoke 
 appeared, of which the chief commandant was immediately 
 informed : he came with speed, and, through a small hole in 
 the door, saw the mat smoking. He dispatched a messenger 
 to the members of the commission ; but as the smoke became 
 stronger, and fire began to appear, he found it necessary to 
 break the seals and open the door. No sooner was the air 
 thus admitted, than the mat began to burn with greater force, 
 and presently it burst into a flame. 
 
 The Russian admiralty, being now fully convinced of the 
 self-enkindling property of this composition, transmitted their 
 experiment to the Imperial Academy of Sciences; who ap- 
 pointed Mr. Georgi, a very learned adjunct of the academy, 
 to make farther experiments on the subject. Three pounds of 
 Russian fir-black were slowly impregnated with 51b. of hemp- 
 oil varnish ; and when the mixture had stood open five hours, it 
 was bound up in linen. By this process it became clotted ; 
 but some of the black remained dry. When the bundle had 
 lain sixteen hours in a chest, it was observed to emit a very 
 nauseous, and rather putrid smell, not unlike that of boiling 
 oil. Some parts of it became warm, and steamed much ; 
 eighteen hours after the mixture was wrapt up, one place 
 became brown, emitted smoke, and directly afterwards glow- 
 ing fire appeared. The same thing happened in a second or 
 third place ; though other places were scarcely warm. The 
 fire crept slowly around, and gave a thick, grey, stinking 
 smoke. Mr. Georgi took the bundle out of the chest, and 
 laid it on a stone pavement ; when, on being exposed to the 
 
DISEASES OF PARTICULAR COUNTRIES. 
 
 789 
 
 free air, there arose a slow burning flame, a span high, with 
 a strong body of smoke. Not long afterwards, there appeared, 
 here and there, several chaps, or clefts, as from a little vol- 
 cano, the vapour issuing from which burst into flames. On 
 his breaking the lump, it burst into a very violent flame, full 
 three feet high, which soon grew less, and then went out. 
 The smoking and glowing fire lasted six hours; and the re- 
 mainder continued to glow without for two hours longer. 
 The grey earthy ashes, when cold, weighed five and a half 
 ounces. Mr. Tooke concludes with a case of self-accen- 
 sion, noticed by Mr. Hagemann, an apothecary, at Bremen. 
 He prepared a boiled oil of ht^oscyamus^ or henbane, in the 
 usual way, with common oil. The humidity of the Kerb was 
 nearly evaporated, when he was called away by other affairs, 
 and was obliged to leave the oil on the fire. The evaporation 
 of the humidity was hereby carried so far, that the herb could 
 easily be rubbed to powder. The oil had lost its green colour, 
 and had become brownish. In this state it was laid on the 
 straining cloth, and placed in the garden, behind the house, 
 in the open air. In half an hour, on coming again to this 
 place, he perceived a strong smoke there, though he thought 
 the oil must have long been cooled : on closer inspection, he 
 found that the smoke did not proceed from the oil, but from 
 the herb on the straining cloth ; at the same time the smell 
 betrayed a concealed fire. He stirred the herb about, and 
 blew into it with a bellows, whereupon it broke out into a 
 bright flame. 
 
 Diseases peculiar to ^Particular Countries. — The 
 inhabitants of particular places are peculiarly subject to par- 
 ticular diseases, owing to their manner of living, or to the 
 air and effluvia of the earth and waters. Hoffman has made 
 some curious observations on diseases of this kind. He re- 
 marks, that swellings of the throat have always been common 
 to the inhabitants of mountainous countries : and the old 
 Roman authors say, ‘Who wonders at a swelled throat in the 
 Alps?’ The people of Switzerland, Carinthia, Stiria, the 
 Hartz forest, Transylvania, and the inhabitants of Cronstadt, 
 he observes, are all subject to this disease. The French are 
 peculiarly troubled with fevers, worms, hydroceles, and sarco- 
 celes ; and all these disorders seem to be owing originally to 
 their eating very large quantities of chestnuts. The people of 
 Britain are affected with hoarsenesses, catarrhs, coughs, dy- 
 senteries, consumptions, and the scurvy ; the women with the 
 Jiuor alhus; and children with a disease scarcely known else- 
 where, which we call the rickets. 
 
 In different parts of Italy, different diseases reign. At Naples, 
 the venereal disease is more common than in any other part 
 
790 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 of the world. At Venice, people are peculiarly subject to the 
 bleeding piles. At Rome, tertian agues and lethargic dis- 
 tempers are most common; in Tuscany, the epilepsy; and in 
 Apulia, burning fevers, pleurisies, and that sort of madness 
 which is attributed to the bite of the tarantula, and fancied to 
 be cured by music. In Spain, apoplexies are common, as also 
 melancholy, hypochondriacal complaints, and bleeding piles. 
 The Dutch are peculiarly subject to the scurvy, and to the 
 stone in the kidneys. The people of Denmark, Norway, Swe- 
 den, Pomerania, and Livonia, are all terribly afflicted with 
 the scurvy : and it is remarkable, that in Denmark, Sweden, 
 and Norway, fevers are very common ; but in Iceland, Lap- 
 land, and Finland, there is scarcely ever such a disease met 
 with. The Russians and Tartars are afflicted with ulcers, 
 made by the cold, of the nature of what we call chilblains, 
 but greatly worse ; and in Poland and Lithuania, there reigns 
 a peculiar disease, called the Plica Polonica, so terribly pain- 
 ful and offensive, that scarcely any thing can be thought worse. 
 The people of Hungary are very subject to the gout and rheum- 
 atism : they are also more infested with lice and fleas than 
 any other people in the world ; and they have a peculiar dis- 
 ease which they call cremor. The Germans, in different parts 
 of the empire, are subject to different reigning diseases. In 
 Westphalia, they are peculiarly troubled with peripneumonies 
 and the itch. In Silesia, Franconia, Austria, and other places 
 thereabout, they are very liable to fevers of the burning kind, 
 to bleedings at the nose, and other haemorrhages; and to the 
 gout, inflammations, and consumptions. In Misniathey have 
 purple fevers; and the children^are peculiarly infested with 
 worms. In Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace, there are very 
 few diseases ; but what they have are principally burning 
 fevers and phrenzies. Anciently, the most common diseases 
 •in Egypt were blindness, ulcers in the legs, consumptions, 
 and the leprosy, called elephantiasis, which was peculiar to 
 that country ; as Pliny observes, Egypti peculiare hoc malum 
 elephantiasis. At Constantinople the plague always rages ; 
 and in the West Indian islands, malignant fevers, and the 
 .most terrible colics. These diseases are called endemic. 
 In general, it is observed, that the colder the country is, the 
 rfewer and the less violent are the diseases. 
 
 Schceffer tells us, that the Laplanders know no such thing 
 as the plague, or fevers of the burning kind ; nor are they 
 •subject to half the distempers we are. They are robust and 
 strong, and live to eighty, ninety, and many of them to more 
 than one hundred years; and at this great age they are not 
 feeble and decrepit, but a man of ninety is able to work or 
 travel as well as a man of sixty with us. They are subject, 
 fiowever, to some diseases, more than other nations. They 
 
ON SWALLOWING THE STONES OF FRUITS. 
 
 791 
 
 have often distempers of the eyes, owing to their living in 
 smoke, or being blinded by snow. Pleurisies, inflamma- 
 tions of the lungs, and violent pains of the head, are also very 
 frequently found among these hardy inhabitants of the north; 
 and the small-pox rages with great violence. They have one 
 general remedy against these and all other internal diseases; 
 this is, the root ol that sort of moss which they call jerth. 
 They make a decoction of this root in the whey of rein-deer’s 
 milk, and drink very large doses of it warm, to keep up 
 a breathing sweat; if they cannot get this, they use the stalks 
 of angelica boiled in the same manner: but the keeping in a 
 sweat, and drinking plentifully of diluting liquors, may go 
 a great way in the cure. They cure pleurisies by this method 
 in a very few days, and get so well through the small-pox 
 with it, that very few die of the disease. 
 
 Injuries from swallowing the Stones of Fruits. — 
 The dangers arising from swallowing the stones of plums and 
 other fruits are very great. The Philosophical Transactions 
 give an acount of a woman who suffered violent pains in her 
 bowels for thirty years, the malady returning once in a month 
 or less. At length, a strong purge being given her, the occa- 
 sion of all these complaints was discovered to be a stone of 
 an oval figure, of about ten drams in weight, and measur- 
 ing five inches in circumference. This had caused all the 
 violent fits of pain, which she had suffered for so many years; 
 after this, she became perfectly well. The ball extracted 
 looked like a stone, and felt very hard, but swam in water. 
 On cutting it through with a knife, there was found in the 
 centre, a plum-stone, round which several coats of this hard 
 and tough matter had gathered. 
 
 Another instance is given in the same papers, of a man, 
 who, dying of an incurable colic, which had tormented him 
 many years, and baffled the effects of medicines, was opened 
 after death; and in his bowels was found a ball similar to 
 that above-mentioned, but somewhat larger, being six inches 
 in circumference, and weighing an ounce and a half. In the 
 centre of this, as of the other, there was found the stone of 
 a common plum, and the coats were of the same nature with 
 those of the former. These and similar instances mentioned 
 in the same work, sufficiently shew the folly of that common 
 opinion, that the stones of fruits are wholesome. Even 
 cherry stones, swallowed in great quantities, have occasioned 
 death. 
 
 Extr AORDIN ARY S u RG I c A L 0 p ER AT I o N . — “The most sur- 
 prising and honourable operation of surgery ever performed, 
 was, without any contradiction, that executed by M Richerand. 
 
792 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 by taking away a part of the ribs and of the pleura. The 
 patient was himself a medical man, and not ignorant of the 
 danger he ran in this operation being had recourse to; but he 
 also knew that his disorder was otherwise incurable. He was 
 attacked with a cancer on the internal surface of the ribs and 
 of the pleura, which continually produced enormous fungo- 
 sities, that had been in vain attempted to be repressed by the 
 actual cautery M. Richerand was obliged to lay the ribs 
 bare, to saw away two, to detach them from the pleura, and 
 to cut away all the cancerous part of that membrane. 
 
 *‘As soon as he had made the opening, the air rushi.ig into 
 the chest, occasioned the first day great suft’ering, and distress- 
 ing shortness of breath; the surgeon could touch and see the 
 heart through the pericardium, which was as transparent as 
 glass, and could assure himself of the total insensibility of 
 both. Much serous fluid flowed from the wound, as long as 
 it remained open; but it filled up slowly by means of the 
 adhesion of the lung with the pericardium, and the fleshy 
 granulations that were formed in it. At length the patient 
 got so well, that on the twenty-seventh day after the opera- 
 tion, he could not resist the desire of going to the Medicinal 
 School, to see the fragments of the ribs that had been taken 
 from him ; and in three or four days afterwards he returned 
 home, and went about his ordinary business. The success of 
 M. Richerand is the more important, because it will authorize, 
 in other cases, enterprises, which, according to received 
 opinions, would appear impossible ; and we shall be less afraid 
 of penetrating into the interior of the chest. M. Richerand 
 even hopes, that by opening the pericardium itself, and using 
 proper injections, we may cure a disease that has hitherto 
 always been fatal, the dropsy of that cavity .” — Thomsons 
 Annals. 
 
 Extraordinary Cures by Burning. — Idie following 
 case is recorded in the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, 
 by M. Homberg. A w'oman, of about thirty-five, became sub- 
 ject to a headach, which at times w'as so violent, that it drove 
 her out of her senses, making her sometimes stupid and 
 foolish, at other times raving and furious. The seat of the 
 pain was in the forehead, and over the eyes, which were 
 inflamed, and looked exceedingly red and sparkling; and the 
 most violent fits of it were attended with nausea and vomiting. 
 In the time of the fits, she could take no food; but at all 
 others she had a very good appetite. M. Homberg had in 
 vain attempted her cure for three years, with all kinds of 
 medicines: only opium succeeded; and that but little, all its 
 effect being only to take off the pain for a few hours. The 
 redness of her eyes was always the sign of an approaching 
 
DIVISIBILITY OF MATTER. 
 
 793 
 
 fit. One night, feeling a fit coming on, she went to lie down 
 upon the bed ; but first walked up to the glass with the candle 
 in her hand, to see how her eyes looked: in observing this, 
 the candle set fire to her cap; and as she was alone, her head 
 was terribly burnt before the fire could be extinguished. 
 M. Homberg was sent for, and ordered bleeding and proper 
 dressings: but the expected fit this night never came on; the 
 pain of the burning wore off by degrees ; and the patient 
 found herself from that hour cured of the headach, which had 
 never once returned in four years after; such being the time 
 when the account was communicated. 
 
 Another case, not less remarkable, was communicated to 
 M. Homberg by a physician at Bruges. A woman, who for 
 several years had her legs and thighs swelled in an extra- 
 ordinary manner, found some relief from rubbing them before 
 the fire with brandy every morning and evening. One even- 
 ing, the brandy she had rubbed herself with took fire, and 
 slightly burnt her. She applied some brandy to her burn; 
 and in the night all the water with which the afflicted parts 
 were swelled, was entirely discharged, and the swelling did 
 not again return. 
 
 Illumination by Electricity. — Professor Meinecke, of 
 Hallchas, in Gilbert’s Annals, 1819, Number 5, proposed to 
 illuminate halls, houses, and streets, by the electric spark; 
 and expresses his strong persuasion that one day it will afford 
 a more perfect and less expensive light than gas-illumination, 
 and ultimately replace it. His plan is, to arrange, what are 
 called, in electricity, luminous tubes, glasses, &c.; i. e. insulat- 
 ing substances, having a series of metallic spangles at small 
 distances from each other, along the place to be illuminated; 
 and then, by a machine, send a current of electricity through 
 them: sometimes also partially exhausted glasses, as the 
 luminous receiver, conductor, &c., are used. In this way 
 Professor Meinecke obtained from a two-feet plate machine, 
 a constant light in his apartment equal to that of tlie moon, 
 and even surpassing it ; and by enclosing his system of sparks 
 in tubes filled with rarified hydrogen gas, in which gas 
 it is assumed that the electric spark is more than doubled in 
 brilliancy, he thinks it will be easy to enlarge the plan to any 
 extent. 
 
 Divisibility of Matter. — We may be readily convinced 
 of the infinite divisibility of bodies, by simply walking in 
 a garden, and inhaling the sweet incense that rises from 
 a thousand flowers. How inconceivably small must be the 
 odoriferous particles of a carnation, which diffuse themselves 
 through a whole garden, and every where strike our sense oi 
 
 5 H * 
 
794 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 smell If this is not sufficient, let us consider some other 
 objects of nature; as, for instance, one of those silk threads, 
 the work of a poor worm. Suppose this thread is three hun- 
 dred and sixty feet long, it will weigh but a single grain. 
 Again, consider into how many perceptible parts a length of 
 three hundred and sixty feet can be divided. A single inch 
 may be divided into six hundred parts, each as thick as 
 a hair, and consequently be perfectly visible. Hence a single 
 grain of silk can be divided into at least two millions five 
 hundred and ninety-two thousand parts, each of which may 
 be seen without the help of a microscope. And as every one 
 of these parts may be again divided into several more millions 
 of parts, till the division is carried beyond the reach of 
 thought, it is evident that this progression may be infinite 
 The last particles, which are no longer divisible by human 
 industry, must still have extension, and be consequently 
 susceptible of division, though we are no longer able to effect 
 it. If we examine the animal kingdom, we shall discover 
 still further proofs of the infinite divisibility of matter. Pep- 
 per has been put into a glass of water, and on looking through 
 a microscope, a multitude of animalcules were seen in the 
 water, a thousand million times less than a grain of sand! 
 How inconceivably minute then must be the feet, muscles, 
 vessels, nerves, and organs of sense, in these animals! And 
 how small their eggs and their young ones, and the fluids 
 which circulate in them! Here the imagination loses itself, 
 our ideas become confused, and we are incapable of giving 
 form to such very small particles. What still more claims our 
 attentn^n i^, that the more we magnify, by means of glasses, 
 the productions of nature, the more perfect and beautiful do 
 they appear: whilst with works of art it is generally quite con- 
 trary; for when these are seen through a microscope, we find 
 them rough, coarse, and imperfect, though executed by the 
 most able artists, and with the utmost care. Thus the 
 Almighty has impressed even upon the smallest atom the 
 stamp of his inhnity. The most subtile body is as a world, 
 in which millions of parts unite and are arranged in the most 
 perfect order. 
 
iEW’s HARP. — REMARKABLE AQUEDLCT8. 
 
 796 
 
 CHAP. LXXXV. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. — ( Continued,) 
 
 Fhe Jew's Harp — Remarkable Aqueducts — Crichup Linn — Eddy~ 
 stone Rocks — Dismal Sivamp — Curious Wine Cellar — Mint oj 
 Segovia — Remarkable Mills — Silk Mill at Derby — Portland 
 Vase — Murdering Statue — A Curious Pulpit. 
 
 The Jew’s Harp. — The Jew’s trump, or Jew’s harp, as it 
 is often called, though now a boy’s instrument, is of ancient 
 origin, for Mr. Pennant informs us, (Tour to Scotland, p. 195,) 
 that one made of gilt brass was found in Norway, deposited 
 in an urn. There appears to be an allusion, in the name, to 
 the inhabitants of Judea; and it is to be observed, that in 
 Dodsley’s old plays, vol. iv. p. 171, Quick calls the usurer, 
 on account of his Jewish avarice, “ a notable Jew’s trump.” 
 In the plate, however, of Jewish musical instruments, in Cal- 
 met’s Dictionary, nothing of this kind occurs ; so that perhaps 
 there is a corruption here of jeu~trompe, a plaything, or play- 
 tromp, as it is now only used by boys for that purpose ; or it 
 may be a corruption of Jew’s harp, from the circumstance of 
 its being placed between the teeth when played. 
 
 Remarkable Aqueducts. — Aqueducts are conveyances 
 for carrying water from one place to another; made on uneven 
 ground, to preserve the level. Aqueducts of every kind were 
 long ago the wonders of Rome ; the vast quantity of them 
 which they had ; the ])rodigious expense employed in con- 
 ducting waters over arcades from one place to another, at the 
 distance of thirty, forty, sixty, and even one hundred miles, 
 which were either continued or supplied by other labours, as 
 by cutting mountains and piercing rocks : all this may well 
 surprise us, as nothing like it is undertaken in our times; we 
 dare not purchase conveniency at so dear a rate. Appius 
 Claudius, the censor, devised and constructed the first aque- 
 duct. His example gave the public luxury a hint to cultivate 
 these objects; and the force of prodigious and indefatigable 
 labour diverted the course of rivers and floods to Rome. 
 Agrippa, in that year when he was edile, put the last hand 
 to the magnificence of these works. 
 
 The aqueduct of the Aqua Martia, had an arch of sixteen 
 feet in diameter. The whole was composed of three different 
 kinds of stone; one of them reddish, another brown, and a 
 third of an eartl colour. Above, there appeared two canals, 
 of which the highest was fed by the new waters of the Tivc 
 
796 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 rone, and the lower by what they called the Claudian river. The 
 entire edifice is seventy Roman feet high. Near this aque* 
 duct, we have, in Father Montfaucon, the plan of another, with 
 three canals; the highest supjDlied by the Aqua Julia, that in 
 the middle fromTepula, and the lowest from the Aqua Martia. 
 The arch of the aqueduct of the Aqua Claudia is of hewn stone, 
 very beautiful; that of the aqueduct of the Aqua Neronia is 
 of bricks . they are each of them seventy-two Roman feet in 
 height. The canal of the aqueduct which was called Aqua 
 Appia, deserves to be mentioned for a singularity which is 
 observed in it; for it is not, like the others, plain, nor gradual 
 in its descent, but much narrower at the lower than the higher 
 end. The consul Frontinus, who superintended the aqueducts 
 under the emperor Nerva, mentions nine of them which had 
 each 13,594 pipes of an inch in diameter. Vigerus observes, 
 that, in the space of twenty-four hours, Rome received 500,000 
 hogsheads of water. Not to mention the aqueducts of Dru- 
 sus and Rhiminius, that which gives the most striking idea 
 of Roman magnificence, is the aqueduct of Metz, of which a 
 great number of arcades still remain. These arcades crossed 
 the Moselle, a river which is of vast breadth at that place. 
 1 he copious sources of Gorze furnished water for the repre- 
 sentation of a sea-fight. This water was collected in a re- 
 servoir; whence it was conducted by subterraneous canals 
 formed of hewn-stone, and so spacious, that a man could walk 
 erect in them: it traversed the Moselle upon its superb and 
 lofty arcades, which may still be seen at the distance of two 
 leagues from Metz ; so nicely wrought, and so finely cemented, 
 that except those parts in the middle which have been carried 
 away by the ice, they have resisted, and will still resist, the 
 severest shocks of the most violent seasons. From these 
 arcades, other aqueducts conveyed the waters to the baths, 
 and to the place where the naval engagement was exhibited. 
 
 If we may trust Colmenarus, the aqueduct of Segovia may 
 be compared with the most admired labours of antiquity. 
 There still remain one hundred and fifty-nine arcades, wholly 
 consisting of stones enormously large, and joined without 
 mortar. These arcades, with what remains of the edifice, are 
 one hundred and two feet high; they are formed in two ranges, 
 one above another. The aqueduct flows through the city, 
 and runs beneath the greatest number of houses, which are at 
 the lower end. After these enormous structures, w'e may be 
 believed when we speak of the aqueduct which Louis XIV. 
 caused to be built near Maintenon, for carrying w'atei from 
 the river Bucq to Versailles : it is perhaps the greatest aque- 
 duct now in the world, being 7000 fathoms in length, above 
 2560 in height, and containing no fewer than two hundred 
 and forty-two arcades. 
 
Eddystone Lighthouse. 
 

CPtICHUP LINN. — EDDYSTONE ROCKS 
 
 797 
 
 Crichup Linn. — This is a very beautiful cascade, formed 
 by the rivulet Criclmp, in Berwickshire. It falls over a preci- 
 pice about eighty-five or ninety feet high, and almost perpendi- 
 cular. About a half a mile below' this, descends a hill of red 
 free-stone, forming a linn, or waterfall, peculiarly romantic. 
 The linn from top to bottom is upwards of a hundred feet, 
 and though twenty deep, it is yet so narrow at the top, that 
 one might easily leap across it, were it not for the tremendous 
 prospect below, and the noise of the water running its dark 
 course, and by its deep murmuring, affrighting the imagina- 
 tion. “ In the time of persecution, (says the Rev. Mr. Yor- 
 stoun,) the religious flying from their persecutors found an 
 excellent hiding-place in Crichup Linn ; and there is a seat, 
 cutout by nature in the rock, which, having been the retreat 
 of a shoemaker in those times, has ever since borne the 
 name of the tutor’s Seat. Nothing can be more striking 
 than the appearance of th.is linn from its bottom. The dark- 
 ness of the place, upon which the sun never shines ; the ragged 
 rocks rising over one’s head, and seeming to meet at the top, 
 with here and there a blasted, tree bursting from the crevices; 
 the roaring of the water, together with some degree of danger 
 to the spectator, while he surveys the striking objects — all 
 naturally tend to work upon the imagination. Hence many 
 fabulous stories which are told, were once believed concerning 
 this curious linn.” 
 
 Eddystone Rocks. — This is the name of some rocks in 
 the English Channel, so called from the variety of contrary 
 currents in their vicinity. They are situated nearly S. S. W. 
 from the middle of Plymouth Sound, their distance from the 
 port is about fourteen miles, and from Rame Head, the nearest 
 point of land, tw'elve and a half. They are almost in the line 
 which joins tlie Start and Lizard points; and as they lie nearly 
 in the direction of vessels coasting up and down the channel, 
 they were very dangerous, and ships were sometimes wrecked 
 on them, before the lighthouse was established. They are so 
 exposed to the swells of the ocean, from all the south and 
 w'est points of the compass, that the heavy seas com*e uncon- 
 trolled, and break on them with the utmost fury. Sometimes 
 after a storm, when the sea in general is, to all appearance, 
 quite smooth, and its surface unruffled by the slightest breeze, 
 the growing swell or under current, meeting the slope of the 
 rocks, the sea beats dreadfully upon them, and even rises 
 above the lighthouse in a magnificent manner, overtopping it, 
 foi' the moment, as with a canopy of frothy wave. Notwith- 
 standing this tremendous swell, Mr. Henry Winstanley, in 
 1696, undertook to build a lighthouse on the principal rock ; 
 and he completed it 1700. This ingenious mechanic was so 
 
798 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 confident of the stability of his structure, that he declared 
 his wish to be in it during the most tremendous storm that 
 could blow. Unfortunately he obtained his wish, for he pe- 
 rished in it, during the dreadful storm which destroyed it on 
 the 27th of November, 1703. In 1709, another lighthouse 
 was erected of wood on this rock, but on a different construc- 
 tion, by Mr. John Rudyard. It stood till 1755, when it was 
 burnt. A third one, of stone, was begun by the late cele- 
 brated Mr. John Smeaton, on the 2d of April, 1757, and 
 finished 24th of August, 1759; and has withstood the rage of 
 all weathers ever since. The rock w'hich slopes towards the 
 south-west is cut into horizontal steps ; into w'hich are dove- 
 tailed, and united by a strong cement, Portland stone, and 
 granite : for Mr. Smeaton discovered, that it was impossible 
 to make use of the former entirely, as there is a marine ani- 
 mal that can destroy it; and that he could not use the latter 
 solely, as the labour of working it would have been too expen- 
 sive. He therefore used the one for the internal, and the other 
 for the external part of the structure. Upon the principle of 
 a broad base and accumulation of matter, the whole, to the 
 height of thirty-five feet from the foundation, is a solid mass 
 of stones engrafted into each other, and united by every kind 
 of additional strength. The lighthouse has four rooms, one 
 over another, and at the top a gallery and lantern. The stone 
 floors are flat above, but concave below, and are kept from 
 pressing against the sides of the building by a chain let into 
 th e walls. The lighthouse is nearly eighty feet high, and 
 withstands the most violent storms, without sustaining the 
 smallest injury.' It has now stood above sixty-three years, 
 during which time it has been often assaulted by all the fury 
 of the elements; and, in all probability, as Mr. Smeaton said, 
 nothing but an earthquake can destroy it. The wooden part 
 of it, however, was burnt in 1770,. but renewed in 1774. 
 
 Dismal Swamp, — is a morass in North America, reaching 
 from Albermarle Sound, in North Carolina, to the neighbour- 
 bood of Portsmouth, on the opposite side of the harbour to 
 Norfolk. It is supposed to contain about two hundred and 
 'fifty square miles, or one hundred and fifty thousand acres. 
 
 Some of the interior parts of this vast swampy plain are 
 seldom explored, being full of danger; yet several adventu- 
 rous huntsmen sometimes pursue their game within its precincts, 
 but they cannot advance far without great risk of forfeiting 
 their lives to their temerity. 
 
 Mr. Janson a late traveller, relates, that in one of these 
 ^excursions he was often knee-deep, though, in other parts, 
 the ground supported him firmly. In endeavouring to pass 
 one of these fmny spots, he attempted to avail himself of a 
 
CURIOUS WINE CELLAR, ETC. 
 
 79 ^ 
 
 sort of bridge, formed of the body of a very large tree ; when, 
 to his surprise, he was suddenly immersed in dust up to his 
 waist, the tree having become rotten, or probably eaten out 
 by insects, though it retained its shape, and appearance of 
 solidity. Wild beasts lurk in this impenetrab.e recess ; cat- 
 tle also stray there, and often become wild : hogs are turned 
 into it by their owners, to fatten upon the acorns that fall from 
 the oaks. 
 
 Lake Drummond is situated near the centre of the swamp, 
 and is formed by the drainings of this immense bog. It is 
 crowded with fish of various kinds, which, living unmolested, 
 attain a prodigious size. 
 
 Curious W'ine Cellar. — The monastery of Arcadi, in 
 Candia, surpasses every other part of the island, though fer- 
 tile in religious houses, both in the number of monks, and 
 the endowment of the convents. It is supposed to be built 
 on rtie spot where the ancient Arcadia once stood. The house 
 itself contains nearly one hundred inhabitants, while about 
 two hundred more are dispersed over the lands belonging to 
 the monastery, and are employed in agriculture. The cellar 
 is by far the finest part of the building. It contains two hun- 
 dred casks of wine, of which the choicest is marked with the 
 name of the superior, and no one may touch it without his 
 permission. This cellar receives a solemn annual benediction 
 immediately after the vintage. The prayer recited by the 
 superior on this occasion, is printed in the Greek Spiritual; 
 it is as follows : — “ Lord God ! who lovest mankind, look on 
 this wine, and on those that shall drink it ; bless those vessels 
 as thou hast blessed the wells of Jacob, the fishpool of Siloa, 
 and the beverage of thy holy apostles. Lord, who didst con- 
 descend to be present at the marriage of Cana, where thou 
 didst manifest thy glory to thy disciples by changing water 
 into wine, send thy holy Spirit on this wine, and bless it in 
 thy name.** 
 
 Mint of Segovia. — At the mint of Segovia, in Spain, 
 there is an engine moved by water, but so artificially made, 
 that one part of it distends an ingot of gold into the breadth 
 and thickness requisite to make coin. “ It delivereth the 
 plate that it hath wrought unto another, that printeth the 
 figure of the coin upon it; and from thence it is turned over 
 tc another, that cutteth it according to the print in due shape 
 and weight And lastly, the several pieces fall into a coffer 
 in another room, where the officer, whose charge it is, findi 
 treasure ready coined.’* 
 
 Remarkable Mills. — At Dantzic, a city of Prussia, Mr 
 
800 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 MorristDi,^ an ingenious traveller of this nation, saw a mill, 
 which, without help of hands, did saw boards, having an iron 
 wheel, which did not only drive the saw, but also did hook in, 
 and turn the boards unto the saw. Dr, John Dee mentions 
 the like seen by him at Prague ; but whether the mill moved 
 by wind or water, is set down by neither of them. 
 
 Silk Mill at Derby. — This mill, situated on the river 
 Derwent, was erected by SirT^ Loombe, who, at a vast expense 
 and great hazard, brought the model from Italy. It is fixed 
 in a large house, six stories high, and consists of 26,586 
 wheels, with 97,746 movements, all driven by one large waters 
 wheel, fixed on the outside of the house! It goes round three 
 times in one minute, and each time works 78,726 yards of silk 
 thread, so that in twenty-four hours it works 318,496,320 
 yards of silk thread, under the management of only one regu- 
 lator! It has been of such service to the silk trade, that Sir 
 Thomas had the benefit of it during his life ; but the parlia- 
 ment having allow'ed him £14,000, as a further reward for his 
 services, he suffered a model of it to be taken. This model 
 now lies in the Record-office at the Tower, for the benefit of 
 the public, any person being allowed to inspect it, so that 
 there are at present several mills of the kind erected in different 
 parts of the kingdom. 
 
 PoRTLA N D Vase. — This is a celebrated funeral vase, which 
 was long in the possession of the Baherini family; but which 
 was some years since purchased for 1000 guineas by the duke 
 of Portland, from whom it has derived its present name. Its 
 height is about ten inches ; and its diameter, where broadest, 
 six. There are a variety of figures upon it, of most exquisite 
 workmanship, in bas relief, in white opaque, raised on a 
 ground of deep blue glass, which appears black, except when 
 held against the light. It appears to have been the work of 
 many years ; and there are antiquarians who date its produc- 
 tion several centuries before the Christian era, since, as has 
 been said, sculpture w-as declining in excellence in the time 
 of Alexander the Great. Respecting the purpose of this vase, 
 and what the figures on it were meant to represent, there have 
 been various conjectures. We shall, therefore, give a short 
 account of the several figures, without noticing any of the 
 theories or conjectures that have been made about them. In 
 one compartment, three exquisite figures are placed on a ruined 
 column, the capital of which is fallen, and lies at their feet 
 among other disjointed stones : they sit under a tree, on loose 
 piles of stone. The middle figure is a female in a reclining 
 and dying attitude, with an inverted torch in her left hand, 
 the elbow of which supports her as she sinks, while the righ^ 
 
TDH tra s vaxYctoaio 
 
Yiilb 
 
 Of THE 
 
 oBrtttan »f HUMS 
 
MURDERING STATUE. — CURIOUS PULPIT. 
 
 801 
 
 hand is raised, and thrown over her drooping head. The figure 
 on her right hand is a man, and that on the left a woman, 
 both supporting themselves on their arms, and apparently 
 thinking intensely. Their backs are to the dying figure, and 
 their faces are turned towards her, but without an attempt to 
 assist her. On another compartment of the vase is a figure 
 coming through a portal, and going down w'ith great timidity 
 into a darker region, where he is received by beautiful female, 
 who stretches forth her hand to help him: between her knees 
 is a large and playful serpent. She sits with her feet tow'ards 
 an aged figure, having one foot sunk into the earth, and the 
 other raised on a column, v\ith his chin resting on his hand. 
 Above the female figure is a Cupid preceding the first figure, 
 and beckoning him to advance. This first figure holds a cloak 
 or garment, which he seems anxious to bring with him. but 
 which adheres to the side of the portal through which he has 
 passed. In this compartment there are two trees, one of 
 which bends ove.r the female figure, and the other over the 
 aged one. On the bottom of the vase, there is another figure 
 )n a larger scale than the one w'e have already mentioned, but 
 not so well finished nor so elevated. This figure points with 
 its finger to its mouth. The dress appears to be curious and 
 cumbersome, and above there is a foliage of a tree. On the 
 head of the figure there is a Phrygian cap: it is not easy tc 
 say whether this figure be male or female. On the handles of 
 the vase are represented two aged heads with the ears of a 
 quadruped, and from the middle of the forehead rises a kind 
 of tree without leaves : these figures are, in all probability., 
 mere ornaments, and have no connection with the story repre- 
 sented on the vase. 
 
 Murdering Statue — Kenith, king of Scotland, had 
 slain Cruthlintus the son, and Malcolnius DiifFus the king 
 and kinsman of Fenella: she, to be revenged of the murderer, 
 caused a statue to be framed with admirable art. In one of 
 the hands of it was an apple of gold set full of precious 
 stones, which, whosoever touched, was immediately slain with 
 many darts, which the statue threw or shot at him. Kenith, 
 suspecting nothing, was invited to this place, and being slain 
 in this manner, Fenella escaped over into Ireland. 
 
 A Curious Pulpit. — The pulpit of the grand parochial 
 church at Brussels, a curious production of Henry Verbruggen, 
 of Antwerp, is placed in the middle of the nave. At the base 
 are Adam and Eve, large as life, the expelling Angel and Death 
 in the rear! Our first parents, though closely pursued, bear 
 upon their shoulders the terrestrial globe, the cavity of which 
 is filled by the preacher! From the globe rises a tree, whose 
 
802 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 top extends into a canopy sustaining an Angel, and Truth 
 exhibited as a female genius. Above are the Virgin and the 
 infant Jesus, crushing the serpent’s head with a cross. The 
 steps on either side appear as if cut from trunks of trees, and 
 are accompanied by carvings of the ostrich, eagle, peacock, 
 parrot, &c. 
 
 —^•©• 444 - 
 
 chap. LXXXVI. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. — (Continued.) 
 
 Exlraordinarij Echoes, and Whispering Places — Natural Produc 
 tions resembling Ariijicial Compositions — Remarkable Lamps, 
 — Perpetual Fire — Magical Drum — An Flxtraordinary Can- 
 non . — Curious Account of Old Bread — Substitute for Spec- 
 tacles — Winter Sleep of Animals and Plants. 
 
 Extraordinary Echoes, and Whispering Places. — 
 These are places where a whisper, or other low sound, may 
 be heard from one part to another, to a great distance. They 
 depend on a principle, that the voice, &c. being applied 
 to one end of an arch, easily passes by repeated reflections to 
 the other. 
 
 Hence sound is conveyed from one side of a whispering 
 gallery to the opposite one, without being perceived by those 
 who stand in the middle. The form of a whispering-gallery 
 is that of a segment of a sphere, or the like arched figure. 
 All the contrivance in whispering-places is, that near the per- 
 son w ho whispers there may be a smooth wall, arched either 
 cylindrically or elliptically. A circular arch will do, but not 
 so well. 
 
 The most considerable whispering-places in England are, 
 the whispering-gallery in the dome of St. Paul’s, London, 
 where the tic^king of a w'atch may be heard from side to side, 
 and a very easy whisper be sent all round the dome. The 
 famous whispering-place in Gloucester Cathedral, is no other 
 than a gallery above the east end of the choir, leading from 
 one side thereof to the other. It consists of five angles and 
 six sides; the middlemost of which is a naked window, yet 
 two whisperers hear each other at the distance of twenty-five 
 yards. 
 
 In the Philosophical Transactions for 1746, there is a letter 
 inserted from Robert Southwell, Esq. in which he gives the 
 following account of some extraordinary whispering-places 
 and eclioes. — “ The best whispering-place in England,” he 
 observes, “ I ever saw, was that at Gloucester: but in Italy, 
 
ECHOES, AND WHISPERING-PLACES, 
 
 803 
 
 in the way to Naples, two days from Rome, I saw, in a inn, 
 a room with a square vault, where a whisper could be easily 
 heard at the opposite corner, but not at all in the side corner 
 that was near to you. 
 
 “ I saw another, in the way from Paris to Lyons, in the 
 porch of a common inn, which had a round vault : but neither 
 of these was comparable to that of Gloucester; only the differ- 
 ence between these last two was, that to the latter, by holding 
 your mouth to the side of the wall, several could hear you on 
 the other side; the voice being more diffused; but to the 
 former, it being a square room, and you w'hispering in the 
 corner, it was only audible in the opposite corner, and not 
 to any distance from thence, as to distinction of words. And 
 this property was common to each corner of the room. 
 
 “ As to Echoes, there is one at Brussels that answers fifteen 
 times; but when at Milan, I went two miles from thence to a 
 nobleman’s palace, to notice one still more extraordinary. 
 The building is of some length in the front, and has two 
 wings projecting forward; so that it wants only one side of 
 an oblong figure. About one hundred paces before the house, 
 there runs a small brook, and that very slowly; over which 
 you pass from the house into the garden. We carried some 
 pistols with us, and, firing one of them, I heard fifty-six 
 reiterations of the noise. The first twenty were with some 
 distinction; but then, as the noise seemed to fly away, and 
 the answers w’ere at a great distance, the repetition was so 
 doubled, that you could hardly count them all, seeming as if 
 the principal sound was saluted in its passage by reports on 
 this and that side at the same time. Some of our company 
 reckoned above sixty reiterations, when a louder pistol was 
 discharged.” 
 
 Some persons tell us, that the sound of one musical instru- 
 ment in this place will seem like a great number of instruments 
 playing together in concert. This echo is of the multiple or 
 tautological kind, returning one sound several times succes- 
 sively, so as to make one clap of the hands seem like many, — ■ 
 one ha, like a laughter, — or one instrument like several of the 
 same kind, imitating each other; and by placing certain echo- 
 ing bodies in such a manner, that any note played should be 
 returned in thirds, fifths, and eighths, a musical room may be 
 so contrived, that not only one violin played therein shull 
 seem many of the same sort and size, but even a concert o^ 
 different instruments. Those echoes which return the voice 
 but once are callerl single; whereof some are tonical, only 
 repeating when modulated into some particular musical tone. 
 Others, that repeat many syllables or words, are termed 
 m)lysyllabical ; of which kind is the fine echo in Woodstock 
 Park, which Dr. Plott assures us will return seventeen sylla 
 
MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 804 
 
 bles distinctly in the day-time, and in the night twenty. 
 Barthius likewise, in his notes on Statius’s Thebais, mentions 
 an echo near Bingeni in Germany, which would repeat words 
 seventeen times, as he himself had proved ; and what is very 
 strange in this echo, the person who speaks is scarcely heard 
 at all, but the repetition most clearly, and always in surprising 
 varieties, the' echo seeming sometimes to approach nearer, 
 and sometimes to retire to a greater distance. Vitruvius tells 
 us, that in several parts of Greece and Italy there were brazen 
 vessels artfully ranged under the seats of the theatres, to 
 render the sound of the actors’ voices more clear, and make 
 a kind of echo; by which means, of the prodigious number 
 of persons present, every one might hear with ease and plea- 
 sure. 
 
 Knout. — This is a punishment inflicted in Russia, with a 
 kind of whip called knout, and made of a long strap of leather 
 prepared for this purpose. With this whip the executioners 
 dexterously carry a slip of skin from the neck to the bottom 
 of the back, laid bare to the waist; and repeating their blows, 
 in a little while rend away all the skin oft’ the back in parallel 
 strips. In the common knout, the criminal receives the lashes 
 suspended on the back of one of the executioners; but in the 
 great knout, which is generally used on the same occasions 
 as racking on the wheel w'as in France, the criminal is raised 
 into the air by means of a pulley fixed to the gallows, and 
 a cord fastened to the two wrists, which are tied together; 
 a piece of wood is placed between his two legs, w'hich are also 
 tied together; and another of a crucial form under his breast 
 Sometimes his hands are tied behind over his back, and when 
 he is pulled up in this position, his shoulders are dislocated. 
 The executioners can make this punishment more or less 
 cruel; and it is said, they are so dexterous, that when a 
 criminal is condemned to die, they can make him expire 
 either by one or several lashes. 
 
 Natural Productions resembling Artificial Com- 
 positions. — Some stones are preserved by the curious, for 
 representing distinctly figures traced by Nature alone, and 
 without the aid of Art. 
 
 Pliny mentions an agate, in which appeared, formed by the 
 hand of Nature, Apollo amidst the Nine Muses, holding a 
 harp. ■ Majolus assures us, that at Venice another is seen, in 
 which is naturally formed the perfect figure of a man. At 
 Pisa, in the church of St. John, there is a similar natural pro- 
 duction, which represents an old hermit in a desert, seated 
 by the side of a stream, and who holds in his hands a small 
 bell, as St. Anthony is commonly painted. In the temple of 
 
FIGURES FORMED BY NATURE. — LAMPS. 80fl 
 
 St. Sophia, at Constantinople, Inert, was formerly, on a white 
 marble, the image of St. John the Baptist, covered with the 
 skin of a camel, with this only imperfection, that nature had 
 given but one leg. — At Ravenna, in the church of St. Vital, 
 a Cordelier is seen on a dusky stone. In Italy, a marble was 
 found, in which a crucifix was so elaborately finished, that 
 there appeared the nails, the drops of blood, and the wounds, 
 as perfectly as the most excellent painter could have per- 
 formed. — At Sneilberg, in Germany, they found in a mine 
 a certain rough metal, on which was seen the figure of a man, 
 who carried a child on his back. — In Provence, was found, in 
 a mine, a quantity of natural figures of birds, trees, rats, and 
 serpents; and in some places of the western parts of Tartary, 
 are seen on divers rocks, the fio^ures of camels, horses, and 
 sheep. Pancirollus, in his Lost Antiquities, attests, that in a 
 church at Rome, a marble perfectly represented a priest 
 celebrating mass, and raising the host. Paul III. conceiving 
 that art had been used, scraped the marble to discover whe- 
 ther any painting had been employed; but nothing of the 
 kind was discovered. 
 
 There is a species of the orchis found in the mountainous 
 parts of Lincolnshire, Kent, See Nature has formed a bee, 
 apparently feeding in the breast of the flower, with so much 
 exactness, that it is impossible at a very small distance to 
 distinguish the imposition. Hence the plant derives its 
 name, and is called the Bee Flower, 'fhis is elegantly ex- 
 pressed by Langhorne, who thus notices its appearance: 
 
 See on that flow’ret’s velvet breast, 
 
 How elose the busy vajrrant lies! 
 
 His thin-wrought plume, his downy breast, 
 
 Th’ ambrosial gold that swells his thighs. 
 
 Perhaps his fragrant load may bind 
 His limbs; we’ll set the captive free: — 
 
 I sought the living Bee to find. 
 
 And found the picture of a Bee. 
 
 Remarkable Lamps. — Cedrenus makes mention of a 
 lamp, which, together with an image of Christ, was found at 
 Ed essa, in the reign of the Emperor Justinian. It was set 
 over a certain gate there, and privily enclosed, as appeared by 
 the date of it, soon after Christ was crucified: it was found 
 burning, as it had done for five hundred years before, by the 
 soldiers of Cosroes, king of Persia, by whom also the oil was 
 taken out, and cast into the fire ; which occasioned such 
 a plague, as brought death upon almost all his forces. — At 
 the demolition of our monasteries here in England, there was 
 found, in the supposed monument of Constantins Chlorus, 
 (father to the Great Constantine,) a lamp, which was thought 
 to ha\ ^ continued burning there ever since his burial, which 
 
S06 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 was about three hundred years after Christ. The ancient 
 Romans used in that manner to preserve lights in their sepul- 
 chres a long- time, by the oil of gold, resolved by art into a 
 liquid substance. 
 
 Perpetual Fire. — In the peninsula of Abeheron, in the 
 province of Schirwan, formerly belonging to Persia, but now 
 in Russia, there is found a perpetual, or as it is there called, 
 an eternal fire. It rises, and has risen from time immemorial, 
 from an irregular orifice in the earth, of about twelve feet in 
 depth, with a constant flame. The flame rises to the height 
 of six or eight feet, unattended with smoke, and it yields no 
 smell. The aperture, which is about one hundred and twenty 
 feet in width, consists of a mass of rock, ever retaining the 
 same solidity and the same depth. The finest turf grows about 
 the borders, and at the distance of two toises, are two springs 
 of water. The neighbouring inhabitants have a sort of vene- 
 ration for tins fire, which they accompany with religious cere- 
 monies. 
 
 Magical Drum. — This is an instrument of superstition, 
 used in Lapland, which is thus described by Schoefter, in his 
 History of that country : It is made of beech, pine, or fir, 
 split in the middle, and hollowed on the flat side where the 
 drum is to be made. The hollow is of an oval figure, and is 
 covered with a skin clean dressed, and painted with figures 
 of various kinds, such as stars, suns and moons, animals and 
 plants, and even countries, lakes, and rivers ; and of later 
 days, since the preaching of Christianity among them, the 
 acts and sufferings of our Saviour and his apostles are often 
 added among the rest. All these figures are separated by 
 lines into three regions or clusters. There is, besides these 
 parts of the drum, an index and a hammer. The index is a 
 bundle of grass or iron rings, the largest of which has a hole 
 in its middle, and the smaller ones are hung to it. The ham- 
 mer, or drumstick, is made of the horn of a reindeer; and 
 with this they beat the drum so as to make these rings move, 
 they being laid on the top for that purpose. In the motion of 
 these rings about the pictures figured on the drum, they 
 fancy to themselves some prediction in regard to the things 
 they inquire about. What they principally search into by 
 this instrument, are three things; 1. What sacrifices will 
 prove most acceptable to their gods : 2. What success they 
 shall have in their occupations, as hunting, fishing, curing 
 diseases, and the like : and 3. What is done in places remote 
 from them. On these occasions they use several peculiar 
 ceremonies, and place themselves in various odd postures as 
 they beat the drum, which influences the rings if the one or 
 
CANNON. — OLD BEEAD. — SPECTACLES. 
 
 807 
 
 the other side, and to come nearer to the one or the other set 
 of figures. And when they have done this, they have a me- 
 thod of calculating a discovery, which they keep as a great 
 secret, but which seems merely the business of the imagination 
 in the diviner or magician. 
 
 An Extraordinary Cannon. — At Kubberpore-na-Jeal, 
 in India, there is a cannon two hundred and thirteen inches 
 long, sixty-six inches round the muzzle, and eighteen inches 
 round the calibre. It has five, and had originally six, equi- 
 distant rings, by which it was lifted up. This gun is called 
 by the natives, Jaun Kushall, or the destroyer of life, and its 
 casting and position are attributed to the doctas or divinities, 
 though its almost obliterated Persian inscriptions declare its 
 formation by human means. But what is most extraordinary 
 about it is, that two peepul trees have grown both cannon 
 and carriage into themselves. Fragments of the iron, a spring, 
 one of the linches, and part of the wood-work, protrude from 
 between the roots and bodies of these trees; but the trees 
 alone entirely support the gun, one of the rings of which, 
 and half of its whole length, are completely hidden between, 
 and inside their bark and trunks. A more curious sight, or a 
 cannon more firmly fixed, though by the mere gradual growth 
 of two trees, cannot well be imagined. The Indians assert 
 that it was only once fired, and then sent the ball twenty-four 
 miles ! — Asiatic Journal. 
 
 Old Bread. — Bartholinus assures us, that in Norway 
 the inhabitants make bread which keeps thirty or forty 
 years ; and that they are there fonder of their old hard bread, 
 than others are of new or soft; since the older it is, the more 
 agreeable it grows. For their great feasts, particular care is 
 taken to have the oldest bread ; so that at the christening of 
 a child, they have usually bread which had been baked per- 
 haps at the christening of his grandfather! It is made by 
 a mixture of barley and oatmeal, baked between two hollow 
 stones. 
 
 The following is said to be A Substitute for Specta- 
 cles. — A man, especially if accustomed to spend his time 
 among books, would be much to be pitied, when his sight 
 begins to fail, could he not in a great measure restore it by 
 the aid of spectacles ; but there are some men whose sight 
 cannot be aided by the use either of convex or concave glasses. 
 The following method, adopted by one of these to aid his 
 sight, is certainly worthy of notice. When about sixty years 
 of age, this man had almost entirely lost his sight, seeing 
 nothing but a kind of thick mist, with little black specks 
 
808 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 which appeared to float in the air. He knew not any of his 
 friends ; he could not even distinguish a man from a woman ; nor 
 could he walk in the streets without being led. Glasses were 
 of no use to him ; the best print, seen through'the bell spec- 
 tacles, seemed to him like a daubed paper. Wearied with 
 this melancholy state, he thought of the following expedient. 
 He procured some spectacles with very large rings ; and tak- 
 ing out the glasses, substituted in each circle a conic tube of 
 black Spanish copper. Looking through the large end of the 
 cone, he could read the smallest print placed at its other 
 extremity These tubes were of different lengths, and the 
 openings at the end were also of different sizes; the smaller 
 the aperture, the better could he distinguish the smallest let- 
 ters ; the larger the aperture, the more words or lines it com- 
 manded ; and consequently, the less occasion was there for 
 moving the head and the hand in reading. Sometimes he 
 used one eye, sometimes the other, alternately relieving each ; 
 for the rays of the two eyes could not unite upon the same 
 object when thus separated by two opaque tubes’. The thin- 
 ner these tubes, the less troublesome are they. They must be 
 totally blackened within, so as to prevent all shining, and 
 they should be made to lengthen or contract, and enlarge or 
 reduce the aperture, at pleasure. When he placed convex 
 glasses in these tubes, the letters indeed appeared larger, but 
 not so clear and distinct as through the empty tube; he also 
 found the tubes more convenient when not fixed in the spec- 
 tacle rings; for when they hung loosely, they could be raised 
 or lowered with the hand, and one or both might be used, as 
 occasion required.- It is almost needless to add, that the 
 material of the tubes is of no importance, and that they may 
 be made of iron or tin as well as of copper, provided the in- 
 sides of them be sufficiently blackened. — See La Noiive/i, 
 Bigarure for February, 1754, or Monthlj/ Magazine for April, 
 1799. 
 
 Winter Sleep of Animals and Plants. — The winter 
 sleep is a very singular property of animals and plants ; and, 
 though it occurs daily before our eyes, we are not able to 
 explain the phenomena wdth which it is attended. In cold 
 countries, many animals, on the approach of winter, retire to 
 their subterraneous abodes, in which they bury themselves 
 under the snow, where they remain five or six months w'ithout 
 nourishment or motion ; nay, almost without circulation of 
 their blood, which flow's only sluggishly, and in the widest 
 vessels. Their perspiration is almost imperceptible; but still 
 they lose something by it, as they enter their winter quarters 
 in very oood condition, and are exceedingly thin when they 
 ‘•eturn from them. 
 
WINTER SLEEP OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 
 
 809 
 
 Some animals ^njoy their winter sleep under the earth, and 
 others are concealed beneath the snow ; some for the same 
 purpose creep into the holes of rocks, and others under stones, 
 or the bark of trees. 
 
 Plants have their winter sleep also; for, during the period 
 of winter, their sap flows towards the roots, and the circula- 
 tion of it, which is very slow, takes place only in the widest 
 vessels. Were the expansion of the sap in winter as conside- 
 rable as in summer, it would burst all the vessels, on being 
 frozen. 
 
 Some observers have endeavoured to prove that this singu- 
 larcircuinstance is merely accidental, and, indeed, no difference 
 is found in the internal organization of those animals which 
 have winter sleep, and those which have not. It is very 
 remarkable, that this property belongs in general to animals 
 of prey. As these have far stronger powers of digestion, and 
 stronger digestive juices, it would appear that abstinence 
 from food for several months would to them be hardly pos- 
 sible. 
 
 The common bear, the bat, and the hedgehog, have winter 
 sleep, but the white bear has not. As the latter is secured 
 from the cold by his long hair, he finds nourishment in 
 the dead whales and seals which are cast on shore by the 
 waves. 
 
 The earthworms have winter sleep; but aquatic vvorm& 
 very seldom. Insects, as well as their larvee, have winter 
 sleep. Butterflies may be often seen flutterincr about in the 
 warm days of spring, after having spent the whole winter in 
 that condition. Amphibious animals have winter sleep, those 
 which live merely in the ocean excepted. Few birds, on the 
 other hand, are exposed to this state. The greater part of 
 these, on the approach of winter, retire to a milder climate, 
 where they can find more abundant nourishment. In Iceland, 
 the sheep have winter sleep. In that country they are suf- 
 fered to range in perfect freedom. In the winter season, 
 therefore, they may be found buried under the snow, where 
 it would be impossible for them to remain, were they not in 
 that condition. 
 
810 
 
 MlSCELLANLOl S CURIOSITIES 
 
 CHAP. LXXXVII. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. — ( Concluded,) 
 
 Lama — Nun — Mahometan Paradise — Opinions respecting He(i 
 — / ondon — Coins of the Kings of Kn gland — Singular Calcu- 
 lations respecting the National Debt — Moral and Physical 
 Thermometer, — Conclusion. 
 
 Lama. — This is the sovereign pontiff, or rather god, of the 
 Asiatic Tartars, inhabiting the country of Barantola. The lama 
 is not only adored by the inhabitants of the country, but also 
 by the kings of Tartary, who send him rich presents, and go 
 in pilgrimage to pay him adoration, calling him lama congiu, 
 i. e “god, the everlasting father of heaven.” He is never to 
 be seen but in a secret place of his palace, amidst a great 
 number of lamps, sitting crosslegged upon a cushion, and 
 adorned all over with gold and precious stones ; where at a 
 distance they prostrate themselves before him, it not being 
 lawful for any to kiss his feet. He is called the great lama, 
 or lama of lamas; that is, “ priest of priests.” The orthodox 
 opinion is, that when the grand lama seems to die either of 
 old age or infirmity, his soul in fact only quits a crazy habi- 
 tation to look for another younger or better; and it is disco- 
 vered again in the body of some child, by certain tokens 
 known only to the lamas, or priests, in which order he always 
 appears. A particular account of the pompous ceremonies 
 attending the inauguration of the infant lama in Thibet, is 
 given in the first volume of the Asiatic Researches. The 
 emperor of China appears, on such occasions, to act a very 
 conspicuous part, in giving testimony of his respect and zeal 
 for the great religious father of his faith. 
 
 The twenty-eighth day of the seventh moon, corresponding 
 nearly (as their year commences with the vernal equinox) with 
 the middle of October, is reckoned the most auspicious foi 
 the ceremony of inauguration. The procession, on these 
 occasions, from Terpaling to the Teeshoo Loombo, is con- 
 ducted with such slow and majestic solemnity, that though 
 the distance is only twenty miles, it takes up three days. 
 The crowd of spectators is immense. The three next days are 
 spent in the inauguration, in delivering the presents sent by 
 the emperor to the lama, and in the public festivals on the 
 occasion ; during which, all who are at the capital are enter- 
 tained at the public expense, and alms are distributed liberally 
 to the poor. Universal rejoicings prevail throughout Thibet; 
 banners arvi unfurled on all their fortreses, the peasantry fill 
 
NUNS. MAHOMETAN PARADISE. 
 
 ' 811 
 
 up the day with music and festivity, and the night is cheered 
 by general illuminations. A long period is afterwards em- 
 ployed in making presents and public entertainments to the 
 newly-inducted lama, who, at the time of his accession to 
 the mumud, or pontificate of Teeshoo Loombo, is often not 
 three years of age. The whole ceremony, from its commence- 
 ment to its consummation, lasts forty days. 
 
 Some particulars respecting Nuns. — A nun is a woman 
 dedicated to the severer duties of religion, secluded in a clois- 
 ter from the w'orld, and debarred by a vow from the converse 
 of men. When a woman is to be made a nun, the habit, veil, 
 and ring of the candidate, are carried to the altar; and she 
 herself, accompanied by her nearest relations, is conducted to 
 the bishop, who, after mass and an anthem (the subject of 
 w'hich is, “ that she ought to have her lamp lighted, because 
 the bridegroom is coming to meet her,”) pronounces the bene- 
 diction : then she rises up, and the bishop consecrates the 
 new habit, sprinkling it with holy water. When the candi- 
 date has put on her religious habit, she presents herself before 
 the bishop, and sings on her knees, Ancilla Christi sum, S)'C.; 
 then she receives the veil, and afterwards the ring, by which 
 she is married to Christ; and lastly, the crown of virginity. 
 When she is crowned, an anathema is denounced against all 
 who shall attempt to make her break her vows. In some few 
 instances, perhaps, nunneries and monasteries may have been 
 useful to morality and religion, as well as to literature, but, 
 in the gross, they have been highly prejudicial ; and however 
 pious they may appear in theory, in fact they are unnatural 
 and impious. 
 
 Mahometan Paradise. — The paradise of the Maho- 
 metans is said by them to be situated above the seven heavens, 
 or in the seventh, and next under the throne of God; and, to 
 express the amenity of the place, they tell us that the earth 
 of it is of the finest w heat flour, or of the purest musk, or of 
 saffron ; and that its stones are pearls and jacinths, the walls 
 of its buildings enriched with gold and silver, and the trunks 
 of all its trees of gold, amongst which the most remarkable is 
 the tree Iiiba, or tree of happiness. They pretend that this 
 tree stands in the palace of Mahomet, though a branch of 
 *it will reach to the house of every true believer, loaded with 
 pomegranates, grapes, dates, and other fruits, of surprising 
 size, and delicious tastes, unknown to mortals. 
 
 If a man desires to eat of any particular kind of fruit, it 
 will immediately be presented to him; or if he chooses flesh, 
 birds ready dressed will be set before him, and such as he 
 may wish foi. They add, that this tree will supply the blessed, 
 
812 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 not only with fruit, but with silk garments also, and beasts 
 to ride on, adorned with rich trappings, all which will burst 
 forth from the fruit; and that the tree is so large, that a per- 
 son mounted on the fleetest horse would not be able to gallop 
 from one end of its shade to the other in one hundred years. 
 Plenty of water being one of the greatest additions to the 
 pleasantness of any place, the Koran often speaks of the 
 rivers of paradise as the principal ornament. Some of these 
 rivers are said to flow with water, some with milk, some with 
 wine, and others with honey : all of them have their sources 
 in the root of this tree of happiness ; and, as if these rivers 
 were not sufficient, we are told that the garden of this paradise 
 is also watered by a great number of lesser springs and foun- 
 tains, whose pebbles are rubies and emeralds, their earth of 
 camphor, their beds of musk, and their sides of saffron. 
 
 But all these glories will be eclipsed by the resplendent 
 and exquisite beauty of the girls of paradise, the enjoyment 
 of whose company will constitute the principal felicity of the 
 faithful. These (they say) are not formed of clay, as mortal 
 women, but of pure musk, and are, as their prophet often 
 affirms in his Koran, free from all the natural defects and in- 
 conveniences incident to the sex. Being also of the strictest 
 modesty, they keep themselves secluded from public view, in 
 pavilions of hollow pearls, so large, that, as some traditions 
 have it, one of them will be no less than sixteen, or, as others 
 say, sixty miles long, and as many broad. With these the 
 inhabitants of paradise may taste pleasures in their height ; 
 and for this purpose will be endowed with extraordinary abili- 
 ties, and enjoy a perpetual youth. 
 
 Opinions respecting Hell. — The hell of the ancient 
 heathens was divided into two mansions: the one called Ely- 
 sium, on the right hand, pleasant and delightful, appointed 
 for the souls of good men ; the other called Tartarus, on the 
 left, a region of misery and torment, appointed for the wicked. 
 The latter only was hell, in the present restrained senrse of the 
 word. The philosophers were of opinion, that the infernal 
 regions were at an equal distance from all the parts of the 
 earth ; nevertheless, it was the opinion of some, that there 
 were certain passages which led thither, as the river Lethe 
 near the Syrtes, and the Acherusian cave in Epirus. At 
 Hermione, it was thought, that there was a very short way to * 
 hell ; for which reason the people of that country never put 
 the fare into the mouths of the dead to pay their passage. 
 The Jews placed hell in the centre of the earth, and believed 
 -it to be situated under waters and mountains. According to 
 them, there are three passages leading to it: the first is in 
 the wilderness, and by that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram 
 
OPINIONS RESPECTING HELL. LONDON. 
 
 813 
 
 descended into hell; the second is in the sea, because Jonah, 
 who was thrown into the sea, cried to God out of the belly of 
 hell; the third is in Jerusalem, because it is said “the fire of 
 the Lord is in Zion, and his furnace is in Jerusalem.’’ They 
 likewise acknowledged seven degrees of pain in hell, because 
 they find this place called by seven different names in Scrip- 
 ture. In the Koran of Mahomet, it is said that hell has seven 
 gates; the first for the Mussulmans, the second for the Christ- 
 ians, the third for the Jews, the fourth for the Sabeans, the 
 fifth for the Magians, the sixth for the Pagans, and the seventh 
 for hypocrites of all religions. 
 
 Among Christians, there are two controverted questions in 
 regard to hell; the one concerning the locality, the other the 
 duration of its torments: — The locality of hell, and the reality 
 of its fire, began first to be controverted by Origen. That 
 father, interpreting the scripture account metaphorically, 
 makes hell to consist, not in external punishments, but in a 
 consciousness or sense of guilt, and a remembrance of past 
 pleasures. Among the moderns, Mr. Whiston advanced a 
 new hypothesis. The comets, he thinks, are so many hells, 
 appointed in their orbits alternately to carry the damned into 
 the confines of the sun, there to be scorched by its violent 
 heat, and then to return with them beyond the orb of Saturn, 
 there to starve them in those cold and dismal regions. An- 
 other modern author, Mr Swinden, supposes the sun to be the 
 local hell. However difficult it may be to ascertain the local 
 place of hell, we may rest assured God will find both place 
 and means to punish the obstinately wicked. 
 
 London. — This metropolis is unparalleled, in extent and 
 opulence, in the whole habitable globe, except, perhaps, 
 Pekin in China, Jeddo in Japan, and Houssa in Africa; 
 which are all said to be larger. 
 
 It comprehends, besides London, Westminster, and South- 
 wark, no less than forty-five villages, of considerable extent, 
 independent of a vast accession of buildings upon the open fields 
 in the vicinity. Its length is nearly eight miles, its breadth 
 three, and its circumference twenty-six. It contains above 
 80'jr streets, lanes, alleys, and courts, and more than 65 
 different squares. Its houses, warehouses, and other buildings, 
 make 162,000, besides 246 churches and chapels, 207 meeting 
 houses for dissenters, 43 chapels for foreigners, and 6 syna- 
 gogues for the Jews, which in all make 504 places of public 
 worship. The number of inhabitants, during the sitting of 
 parliament, is estimated at 3,500,000. Among these are found 
 about 150,000 thieves, coiners and other bad persons. 
 
 The annual depredations on the public, by this numerous 
 
814 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 body of pilferers, are estimated at the sum of £2,100,000 
 sterling In this vast city, there are, moreover, upwards of 
 4000 seminaries for education, 8 institutions for promoting 
 morality, 10 institutions for promoting the arts, 122 asylums 
 for the indigent, 17 for the sick and lame, 13 dispensaries, 
 704 charitable institutions, 58 courts of justice, and 7040 
 professional men connected with the various departments of 
 the law. — There are 13,500 vessels trading in the river Thames 
 in the course of a year; and 40,000 waggons going and return- 
 ing to the metropolis in the same period, including their 
 repeated voyages and journeys. — The amount of exports and 
 imports to and from the Thames is estimated at £66,811,932 
 sterling annually, and the property floating in this vast city 
 every year, is £170,000,000. These circumstances may be 
 sufficient to convince us of the amazing extent and import- 
 ance of the capital of the British empire. 
 
 The numbers of bullocks, sheep, lambs, calves, hogs, and 
 sucking pigs, purchased at the Smithfield markets, and 
 annually consumed in the metropolis, are in the following 
 proportion : bullocks 110,000; sheep and lambs 776,000; calves 
 210,000; hogs 210,000; sucking pigs 60,000. Markets for hay, 
 Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The markets for the sale 
 of provisions are numerous, and amply supplied with every 
 sort, generally of the most excellent kind: the bread generally 
 fine and sound. Besides animal food and bread, there are no 
 less than 6,980,000 gallons of milk [and water] annually con- 
 sumed here: of vegetables and fruit, there are 10,000 acres of 
 ground near the metropolis, cultivated wholly for vegetables ; 
 and about 4000 acres of fruit. Of wheat, coals, ale, and 
 porter, &,c. the annual consumption is as follows: of wheat, 
 700,000 quarters; of coals 600,000 chaldrons; of ale and por- 
 ter 1,113,500 barrels; of spirits and compounds 11,146,782 
 gallons; of wine 32,500 tons; of butter 16,600,000 pounds ; 
 and of cheese 21,100,000 pounds. Fish and poultry are 
 sometimes excessively dear, and the quantities consumed are 
 comparatively small. 
 
 Coins of the Kings of England. — The silver Penny 
 which was first circulated during the Heptarchy, continued to 
 be the general coin after the kingdom had been united under 
 one head, and extends, in a continued series, from Egbert 
 almost to the present reign. The only kings wanting are 
 Edmund Ironside, Richard I., and John. At first the penny 
 weigheii twenty-two and a half grains, but towards the close 
 of the reign of Edward III. it fell to eighteen grains; in that 
 of Edward IV. to twelve. In the time of Edward VI. it was 
 reduced to eight grains; and in queen Elizabeth’s reign to 
 7|4 grains, at which it still continues. 
 
COINS OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 815 
 
 Halfpince and farthings were first struck in silver by 
 Edward I. in 1280: the former continued to the time of the 
 Commonwealth, but the latter ceased with Edward VI. The 
 groat and half groat were introduced in the reign of Edward 
 III., in 1354, and continue to this day, though notin common 
 circulation. 
 
 Shillings were first coined by Henry VIE in 1503; at 
 first they were called testoon, from the teste, tete, or head of 
 the king, upon them; the name shilling being derived from 
 the German schelling, under which name coins had been 
 struck at Hamburgh in 1407. The crown was first coined in 
 its present form by Henry VIII. The half-crown, six-pence, 
 and three-pence, were coined by Edward VI. In 1558, queen 
 Elizabeth coined three-halfpenny, and in 1561, three-farthing 
 pieces; but they were discontinued in 1582. Gold was coined 
 in England by Henry III. in 1257; the piece was called a gold 
 penny, and was larger than the silver one, and the execution' 
 by no means bad for the time. The series of gold coinage, 
 however, commences properly from Edward III. In 1344, 
 this monarch fifst struck florins, in imitation of those in 
 Italy; and it is remarkable, that though these coins, at the 
 time they were first issued, bore only six shillings value, they 
 were (even before the late increased value of gold) intrin- 
 sically worth nineteen shillings; so much has the value of 
 gol increased since that time. The half and quarter florin 
 were struck at the same time, but only the last has been 
 found. The florin being found inconvenient, gave place to 
 the noble, of six shillings and eight-pence value, and exactly 
 half a maik. The latter had its name from being a limited 
 Slim in accounts; and was eight ounces in weight, tw'o-thirds 
 of the money pound. The noble had its name from the 
 nobility of the metal; the gold of which it is coined being of 
 the finest sort. Sometimes it was called rofie-iioble, from both 
 sides being impaled in an undulating circle. It continued, 
 with the half and quarter noble, to be the only gold coin till 
 the angels of Edward IV. appeared in 1465. These had their 
 name from the image of Michael and the Dragon which they 
 bore. The angelites, of three shillings and four-pence value, 
 were substituted in their place. In 1527, Henry VIII. added 
 to the gold coins the crown and half-crown at their present 
 value ; the same year he gave sovereigns of twenty-two shillings 
 and six-pence, and ryals of eleven shillings and three-pence, 
 angels at seven shillings and six-pence, and nobles at their 
 old value of six shillings and eight-pence. In 1546 he caused 
 sovereigns to be coined of the value of twenty shillings, and 
 half sovereigns in proportion. 
 
 On the union of the two crowns, James gave the sovereign 
 tlie name of unite; the value continuing twenty shillings, as 
 
816 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS CURIOSITIES. 
 
 before. He coined also rose ryals of thirty shillings, sp ir 
 ryals of fifteen shillings, angels of ten shillings, and angelites 
 of five shillings value. Under the Commonwealth, the sove- 
 reign received the name of the twenty shilling piece, and 
 continued current till the coinage of guineas. These were so 
 called, from their being coined of gold brought from the coast 
 of Guinea, and were at first to pass but for twenty shillings, 
 though by a universal but tacit consent, they always passed 
 for twenty-one shillings. Half-guineas, double-guineas, and 
 five guinea pieces, were also coined during the same reign ; 
 which still continue, though the two latter are not in common 
 circulation. Quarter-guineas were coined by George I. and 
 likewise by his late Majesty; but they were found so trou- 
 blesome on account of their small size, that they were stopped 
 at the Bank of England ; and therefore are not to be met 
 with in circulation at present. A few pieces of seven shil- 
 lings value were likewise coined, and are known by the lion 
 above the helmet ; ' but none were issued. In 1668, the guinea 
 rose to twenty-one shillings and sixpence, and continued to 
 increase in value till 1696, when it was as hi# as thirty shil- 
 lings ; but after the recoinage in 1697 and 1698, it fell by 
 degrees, and in 1717 was at its old standard of twenty-one 
 shillings. During the reign of George III. vast numbers of 
 seven shilling pieces were issued, which continued some years 
 in general circulation. Sovereigns have also been coined since 
 his present Majesty’s accession, and they constitute at pre 
 sent the [)revailing gold currency of the realm. 
 
317 
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL 
 
 THIESRIVIOMISTSR; 
 
 OR, A 
 
 SCALE OF THE PROGRESS 
 
 OF 
 
 TEMPERANCE and INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 Liquors, with their Effects in their usual Order. 
 
 70 - 
 
 60 — 
 
 60 — 
 
 40 — 
 
 30 — 
 
 20 — 
 
 10 — 
 
 10 — 
 
 20 — 
 
 30 - 
 
 40 — 
 
 60 — 
 
 60 - 
 
 70 - 
 
 © 
 
 Water 
 
 Milk and Water 
 
 Small Beer 
 
 Cider and Perry 
 
 Wine 
 
 Porter 
 
 Strong Beer .... 
 
 TEMPERA NCE. 
 
 Health, Wealth. 
 
 Serenity and Composure of Mind. 
 Reputation, Long Life, and Happiness. 
 Cheerfulness and Contentment. 
 Strength, Vigour, and Nourishment, — 
 when taken only at Meals, and in 
 moderate quantities. 
 
 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 Punch 
 
 Toddy & Crank, 
 
 S Grog, & Bran- 
 ^ dy and Water, 
 
 Flip and Shrub, 
 
 r Bitters infus- 
 \ ed in Spirits, 
 
 X Usquebaugh, 
 / Hysteric 
 V Water. 
 
 ^Gin, Aniseed, 
 ) Brandy, Rum, 
 ^ and Whiskey, 
 vin the Morninff 
 
 r Ditto, during 
 < the Day and 
 L Night, 
 
 " Vices. 
 
 Diseases. 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 Idleness ; 
 
 Sickness ; 
 Puking; and 
 Tremors of the 
 
 Peevishness ; 
 
 Hands in the 
 Morning ; 
 
 Quarrelling ; 
 
 Bloatedness ; 
 InllamedEyes ; 
 
 Fighting ; 
 
 Red Nose and 
 Face; 
 
 Lying ; 
 
 Sore &swelled 
 Legs ; 
 
 > Swearing; 
 
 Jaundice ; 
 
 Pains in the 
 
 Obscenity ; 
 
 Limbs and 
 Burning in the 
 
 Swindling; 
 
 Palms of the 
 Hands & Soles 
 
 Perjury ; 
 
 of the Feet ; 
 Dropsy ; 
 
 Burglary ; 
 
 Epilepsy ; 
 Melancholy ; 
 Madness; 
 
 Murder ; 
 
 Palsy ; 
 Apoplexy ; 
 
 
 
 Punishments 
 Debt ; 
 
 Black Eyes ; 
 Rags; ' 
 
 Hunger; 
 
 Hospital ; 
 Poor-house ; 
 Jail , 
 
 Whipping ; 
 
 The Hulks; 
 
 Botany Bay , 
 
 quotes 
 
 5L 
 
818 
 
 M ISC ELLA N ECUS CU RIOSITiES. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Thus we have conducted our reader through some of th 
 principal curiosities of Nature and Art, Science and Literature 
 We trust he has found both amusement and instruction. Our 
 object has been, throughout the work, to assist the reader 
 in looking through Nature up to Nature’s God. All second 
 causes derive their origin, permanency, and efficacy from Him 
 alone. 
 
 Since, then, the Lord God is himself the source and per- 
 fection of all beauty and excellency, the author of our exist- 
 ence, and the bountiful giver of all good gifts; we undoubtedly 
 ought to love him with our whole hearts, and to serve him 
 with all our powers; we ought to reverence his majesty and 
 authority, and endeavour above all things to obtain his favour; 
 we ought to devote ourselves entirely to his service, and make 
 all our actions tend to the advancement of his glory. And as 
 his mercy and goodness are unbounded, so should be our gra- 
 titude and praise. 
 
 Jehovah reigns : let ev’ry nation hear, 
 
 And at his footstool bow with holy fear; 
 
 Let heav’n’s high arches echo with his name. 
 
 And the wide-peopled earth his praise proclaim ; 
 
 Then send it down to hell’s deep gloom resounding, 
 
 Thro’ all her caves in dreadful murmurs sounding. 
 
 He rules with wide and absolute command 
 O’er the broad ocean and the stedfast land : 
 
 Jehovah reigns, unbounded and alone. 
 
 And all creation hangs beneath his throne : 
 
 He reigns alone; let no inferior nature 
 Usurp or share the throne of the Creator. 
 
 He saw the struggling beams of infant light 
 Shoot thro’ the massy gloom of ancient night; 
 
 His spirit hush’d the elemental strife, 
 
 And brooded o’er the kindling seeds of life: 
 
 Seasons and months began the long procession. 
 
 And measur’d o’er the year in bright succession. 
 
 The joyful sun sprung up th’ ethereal way. 
 
 Strong as a giant, as a bridegroom gay; 
 
 And the pale moon diffus’d her shadowy light, 
 
 Superior o’er the dusky brow of night; 
 
 Ten thousand glittering lamps the skies adorning, 
 
 Num’rous as dew-drops from the womb of morning. 
 
 Earth’s blooming face with rising flow’rs he dress’d. 
 
 And spread a verdant mantle o’er her breast; 
 
 Then from the hollow of his hand he pours 
 The circling waters round her winding shores, 
 
 The new-born w orld in their cool arms embracing. 
 
 And with soft murmurs still her banks caressing. 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 819 
 
 At length she rose complete in finish’d pride, 
 
 All fair and spotless like a virgin bride ; , 
 
 Fresh with untarnish’d lustre as she stood, 
 
 Her Maker ble ss’d his work, and call’d it good ; 
 The morning stars with joyful acclamation. 
 
 Exulting sung, and hail'd the new creation. 
 
 Yet this fair world, the creature of a day, 
 
 Tho’ built by God’s right hand, must pass awayj 
 And long oblivion creep o’er mortal things, 
 
 The fate of empires, and the pride of kings; 
 Eternal night shall veil their proudest story, 
 
 And drop the curtain o’er all human glory. 
 
 The sun himself, with weary clouds opprest, 
 
 Shall in his silent dark pavilion rest ; 
 
 His golden urn shall broke and useless lie. 
 
 Amidst the common ruins of the sky ! 
 
 The stars rush headlong in the wild commotion. 
 
 And bathe their glittering foreheads in the ocean. 
 
 But fix’d, 0 God! for ever stands thy throne, 
 Jehovah reigns, a universe alone; 
 
 Th’ eternal fire that feeds each vital flame, 
 Collected or diflus’d, is still the same. 
 
 He dwells within his own unfathom’d essence. 
 
 And fills all space with his unbounded presence. 
 
 But oh! our highest notes the theme debase. 
 
 And silence is our least injurious praise: 
 
 Cease, cease your songs, the daring flight control, 
 Bevere him in the stillness of the soul; 
 
 With silent duty meekly bend before him. 
 
 And deep withinyour inmost hearts — adore him. 
 
 Mrs. Barhauld. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ©(©(©IS (©® (©iiriai!(©siii^iii2i^3 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 CURIOUS RXPERIIVEENTS, 
 
 AND 
 
 AMUSING RECREATIONS, 
 
 WHICH MAY BE PERFORMED WITH EASE, AND AT A SMALL 
 
 EXPENSE. 
 
 
 A Person having an even dumber of Counters in one Hand, 
 and an odd Number in the other, to tell in which hand each 
 of them is. 
 
 Desire the person to multiply the number in his right 
 hand by three, and the number in his left by two. 
 
 Bid him add the two products together, and tell you whe- 
 ther the sum be odd or even. 
 
 If it be even, the even number is in the right hand ; but if 
 it be odd, the even number is in the left hand. 
 
 No. in left hand. 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 Example I. 
 
 No. in right hand. 
 18 
 3 
 
 64 54 14 
 
 14 
 
 No in right hand. 
 7 
 3 
 
 21 
 
 68 sum of the products. 
 Example 11. 
 
 No. in left hand. 
 18 
 2 
 36 
 
 21 36 
 
 57 sum of the produ^vo. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 821 
 
 A Person having fixed on a Number in his Mind, to tell him what 
 
 Number it is. 
 
 Bid him quadruple the number thought on, or multiply it 
 by 4; and having done this, desire him to add 6, 8, 10, or any 
 even number you please, to the product; then let him take 
 the half of this sum, and tell you how much it is; from which, 
 if you take away half the number you desired him at first 
 to add to it, there will remain the double of the number 
 
 thought on. Example. 
 
 Suppose the number thought on is 5 
 
 The quadruple of it is 20 
 
 8 added to the product is 28 
 
 And the half of this sum 14 
 
 4 taken from this leaves 10.— 
 
 Therefore 5 was the number thought on. 
 
 Another Method of discovering a Number thought on. 
 
 After the person has fixed on a number, bid him double it, 
 and add 4 to that sum; then let him multiply the whole by 5, 
 and to that product add 12; desire him also to multiply this 
 sum by 10, and after having deducted 302 from the product, 
 to tell you the remainder, from which, if you cut off the 
 last two figures, the number that remains will be the one 
 thought on. Example. 
 
 Let the number thought on be 7 
 
 Then the double of this is 14 
 
 And 4 added to it makes 18 
 
 This multiplied by 5 is 90 
 
 And 12 added to it is 102 
 
 And this multiplied by 10 is 1020 
 
 From which deducting 302 
 
 There remains 718, — 
 
 which, by striking off the last two figures, gives 7, — the num- 
 ber thought on. 
 
 To tell the Number a Person has fixed upon, without asking him 
 any Questions. 
 
 The person having chosen any number in his mind, from 1 
 to 15, bid him add one to it, and triple the amount. Then, 
 
 If it be an even number, let him take the half of it, and 
 triple that half; but if it be an odd number, he must add 1 to 
 it, and then halve it, and triple that half. 
 
 In like manner let him take the half of this number, if it 
 be even, or the half of the next greater, if it be odd; and 
 triple that half. 
 
822 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Again, bid him take the half of this last number, if even, 
 or of the next greater, if odd; and the half of that half in the 
 same way; and by observing at what steps he is obliged to 
 add 1 in the halving, the following table will shew the number 
 
 thought on: 
 
 1 — 0—0 
 
 2 - 0-0 
 
 3—0—0 
 
 1 — 2—0 
 
 1—3—0 
 
 1— 2—3 
 
 2— 3—0 
 0 - 0-0 
 
 — 4—8 
 —13— 5 
 
 — 3 -11 
 
 — 2—10 
 - 8-0 
 
 — 6—14 
 
 — 1—9 
 —15— 7 
 
 Thus, if he be obliged to add 1 only at the first step, or 
 halving, either 4 or 8 was the number thought on; if there 
 were a necessity to add 1 both at the first and second steps, 
 either 2 or 10 was the number thought on, &c. 
 
 And which of the two numbers is the true one may always 
 be known from the last step of the operation; for if 1 must 
 be added before the last half can be taken, the number is in 
 the second column, or otherwise in the first, as will appear 
 
 from the following examples: 
 
 Suppose the number chosen to be 9 
 
 To which, if we add 1 
 
 The sum is 10 
 
 Then the triple of that number is 30 
 
 1. The half of which is 15 
 
 The triple of 15 is 45 
 
 2. And the half of that is 23 
 
 The triple of 23 is 69 
 
 3. The half of that is 35 
 
 And the half of that is 18 
 
 From which it appears, that it was necessary to add 1 both 
 at the second and third steps, or halvings; and therefore, by 
 the table, the number thought on is either 1 or 9. And as the 
 last number was obliged to be augmented by 1 befoie the half 
 could be taken, it follows also, by the above rule, that the num- 
 ber must be in the second column; and consequently it is 9. 
 
 Again, suppose the number thought on to be ... . 6 
 
 To which, if we add 1 
 
 The sum is 7 
 
 Then the triple of that number is 21 
 
 1. The half of which is 11 
 
 The triple of 1 1 is . 33 
 
 2. And the half of that is 17 
 
 The triple of 17 is 51 
 
 3. The half of that is 26 
 
 And the half of that half is 13 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 823 
 
 From which it appears, that it was necessary to add 1 at 
 all the steps, or halvings, 1, 2, 3, therefore, by the table, the 
 number thought on is either 6 or 14. 
 
 And as the last number required no augmentation before 
 its half could be taken, it follows also, by the above rule, that 
 the number must be in the first column; and consequently 
 it is 6. 
 
 A curious Recreation, usually called — The Blind Abbess and her 
 
 Nuns. 
 
 A blind abbess visiting her nuns, who were twenty-four in 
 number, and equally distributed in eight cells, built at the 
 four corners of a square, and in the middle of each side, 
 finds an equal number in every row, containing three cells. 
 At a second visit, she finds the same number of persons in each 
 row as before, though the company was increased by the 
 accession of four men. And coming a third time, she still 
 finds the same number of persons in each row, though the 
 four men were then gone, and had each of them carried away 
 a nun. 
 
 Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 
 
 3 3 3 
 
 
 2 5 2 
 
 
 4 1 4 
 
 3 3 
 
 
 5 5 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 3 3 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 5 2 
 
 
 4 1 4 
 
 Let the nuns be first placed as in fig. 1, three in each cell; 
 then when the four men have got into the cells, there must 
 be a man placed in each corner, and two nuns removed thence 
 to each ^of the middle cells, as in fig. 2, in which case there 
 will evidently be still nine in each row ; and when the four 
 men are gone, with the four nuns with them, each corner cell 
 must contain four nuns, and every other cell one, as in fig. 3; 
 it being evident, that in this case also, there will still be nine 
 in a row, as before. 
 
 Ariy Number being named, to add a Figure to it, which shall make 
 it divisible by 9. 
 
 Add the figures together in your mind which compose the 
 number named; and the figure which must be added to 
 this sum, in order to make it divisible by 9, is the one re- 
 quired. 
 
 Suppose, for example, the number named was 8654; you 
 find that the sum of its figures is 23; and that 4 being added 
 to this sum will make it 27 ; which is a number exactly divi- 
 sible by 9 
 
824 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 You therefore desire the person who named the number 
 8654, to add 4 to it ; and the result, which is 8658, will be 
 divisible by 9, as w^as required. 
 
 This recreation may be diversified, by your specifying, 
 before the sum is named, the particular place where the 
 figure shall be inserted, to make the number divisible by 9; 
 for it is exactly the same thing, whether the figure be put 
 at the end of the number, or between any two of its digits. 
 
 A Person having made choice of several Numbers, to tell him 
 what Number will exactly divide the Sum of those which he 
 has chosen. 
 
 Provide a small bag, divided into two parts; into one of 
 which put several tickets, numbered 6, 9, 15, 36, 63, 120, 
 213, 309, or any others you please, that are divisible by 3, 
 and in the other part put as many different tickets marked 
 with the number 3 only. 
 
 Draw a handful of tickets from the first part, and, after 
 shewing them to the company, put them into the bag again; 
 and having opened it a second time, desire any one to take 
 out as many tickets as he thinks proper.. 
 
 When he has done this, open privately the other part of 
 the bag, and tell him to take out of it one ticket only. 
 
 You may then pronounce, that this ticket shall contain 
 the number by which the amount of the other numbers 
 is divisible; for, as each of these numbers is some mul- 
 tiple of 3, their sum must evidently be divisible by that 
 number. 
 
 This recreation may also be diversified, by marking the 
 tickets in one part of the bag with any numbers vyhich are 
 divisible by 9, and those in the other part of the bag with the 
 number 9 only; the properties of both 9 and 3 being the 
 same; or if the numbers in one part of the bag be divisible by 
 9, the other part of the bag may contain tickets marked both 
 with 9 and 3, as every number divisible by 9 is also divisible 
 by 3. 
 
 To find the Difference between any two Numbers, the greater oj 
 which is unktioion. 
 
 Take as many 9’s as there are figures in the less number, 
 and subtract the one from the other. 
 
 Let another person add that difference to the larger num- 
 ber; and then, if he take away the first figure of the amount, 
 and add it to the remaining figures, the sum will be the differ- 
 ence of the tw'o numbers, as was required. 
 
 Suppose, for example, that Matthew, who is 22 years of 
 
APPENDIX. 825 
 
 age, tells Henry, who is older, that he can discover thf» 
 difference of their ages. 
 
 He privately deducts 22, his own age, from 99, and the 
 difference, which is 77, he tells Henry to add to his age, and 
 to take away the first figure from the amount. 
 
 Then if this figure, so taken away, be added to the remain- 
 ing ones, the sum will be the difference of their ages ; as, for 
 instance : 
 
 The difference between Matthew’s age and 99, is ... . 77 
 
 To which Henry adding his age 35 
 
 The sum will be 112 
 
 And 1, taken from 112, gives 12 
 
 Which being increased by 1 
 
 Gives the difference of the two ages 13 
 
 And, this added to Matthew’s age 22 
 
 Gives the age of Henry, which is 35 
 
 A Person striking a Figure out of the Sum of two given Numbers, 
 to tell him what that Figure was. 
 
 Such numbers must be offered as are divisible by 9; such, 
 for instance, as 36, 63, 81, 117, 126, 162, 207, 216, 252, 261, 
 306, 315, 360, and 432. 
 
 Then let a person choose any two of these numbers, and 
 after adding them t 02 :ether in his mind, strike out any one ol 
 the figures he pleases, from the sum. 
 
 After he has done this, desire him to tell you the sum of 
 the remaining figures ; and that number which you are obliged 
 to add to this amount, in order to make it 9, or 18, is the 
 one he struck out. 
 
 For example, suppose he chose the numbers 126 and 252, 
 the sum of which is 378. 
 
 Then, if he strike out 7 from this amount, the remaining 
 figures, 3 and 8, will make 11 ; to which 7 must be added to 
 make 18. 
 
 If he strike out the 3, the sum of the remaining figures, 7 
 and 8, will be 15; to which 3 must be added, to make 18; 
 and so in like manner, for the 8. 
 
 By knowing the last Figure of the Product of two Numbers, to 
 tell the other Figures. 
 
 If the number 73 be multiplied by each of the numbers in 
 the following arithmetical progression, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 
 24, 27, the products will terminate with the nine digits, in 
 35. 5 M 
 
826 
 
 APPEN DIX. 
 
 this order, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ; the numbers themselves 
 being as follows, 219, 438, 657, 876, 1095, 1314, 1533, 1752, 
 and 1971. 
 
 Let therefore a little bag be provided, consisting of two 
 partitions, into one of which put several tickets, marked with 
 the number 73; and into the other part, as many tickets num- 
 bered 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 27. 
 
 Then open that part of the bag which contains the number 
 73, and desire a person to take out one ticket only; after 
 which, dexterously change the opening, and desire another 
 person to take a ticket from the other part. 
 
 Let them now multiply their two numbers together, and tell 
 you the last figure of the product, and you will readily deter- 
 mine, from the foregoing series, what the remaining figures 
 must be. 
 
 Suppose, for example, the numbers taken out of the bag 
 were 73, and 12; then, as the product of these two numbers, 
 which is 876, has 6 for its last figure, you will readily know 
 that it is the fourth in the series, and that the remaining 
 figures are 87. 
 
 A curious Becreation with a Hundred Numbers, usually called 
 the Magical Century. 
 
 If the number 11 be multiplied by any one of the nine digits, 
 the two figures of the product will always be alike, as appears 
 from the following example : — 
 
 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 
 
 123456789 
 
 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 
 
 Now, if another person and yourself have fifty counters 
 apiece, and agree never to stake more than ten at a time, you 
 may tell him, that if he will permit you to stake first, you will 
 always undertake to make the even century before him. 
 
 In order to this you must first stake one, and remembering the 
 order of the above series, constantly add to what he stakes as 
 many as will make one more than the numbers 11, 22, 33, &c. 
 of which it is composed, till you come to 89; after wdiich, 
 the other party cannot possibly make the even century him- 
 self, or prevent you from making it. 
 
 If the person who is your opponent have no knowledge of 
 numbers, you may stake any other number first, under 10, 
 provided you afterwards take care to secure one of the last 
 terms, 56, 67, 78, &c.: or you may even let him stake first, 
 provided you take care afterwards to secure one of these 
 numbert . 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 827 
 
 This recreation may be performed with other numbers; but, 
 in order to succeed, you must divide the number to be attained, 
 by a number which is an unit greater than what you can stake 
 each time; and the remainder will then be the number you 
 first stake. Suppose, for example, the number to be attained 
 is 52, and that you are never to add more than six ; then 
 dividing 52 by 7, the remainder, which is 3, will be the num- 
 ber you must stake first; and whatever the other stakes, you 
 must add as much to it as will make it equal to 7, the num 
 her by which you divided ; and so on. 
 
 A Person in Company having privately put a Ring on one oj 
 his Jingers, to i^ame the Person, the Hand, the Finger, and 
 even the Joint on which it is placed. 
 
 Desire a third person to double the number of the order in 
 which the wearer of the ring stands, and add 5 to that num- 
 ber, then multiply that sum by 5, and to the product add 10. 
 Let him then add 1 to the last number, if the ring be on the 
 right hand, and 2 if on the left, and multiply the whole by 
 10 : to this product he must add the number of the finger, 
 beginning with the thumb, and multiply the whole again by 
 10. Desire him then to add the number of the joint; and 
 lastly, to increase the whole by 35. 
 
 This being done, he is to declare the amount of the whole, 
 from uhich you are to subtract 3535; and the remainder will 
 consist of four figures, the first of which wdll give the place in 
 which the person stands, the second the hand, 1 denoting the 
 right, and 2 the left hand, the third number the finger, and 
 the fourth the Joint. 
 
 Example. 
 
 Suppose the person stands the second in order, and has 
 put the ring on the second joint of the little finger of the left 
 hand : 
 
 670 
 
 Number of finger . . 6 
 
 575 
 
 Multiply by 10 
 
 5 ^ 
 
 Number of joint •• 2 
 
 5 ^ 
 
 Add 
 
 5787 
 
 Subtract 3535 
 
 22 ^ 
 
 Double the order is 4 
 Add 5 
 
 9 
 
 Multiply by 5 
 
 45 
 
 Add 10 
 
 55 
 
 Number for left hand 2 
 Multiply by 10 
 
828 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Hence it will appear that the first 2 denotes= the second 
 person in order, the second 2 the left hand, 5 the little finger, 
 and 2 the second joint. 
 
 To make u Deaf Man hear the Sound of a Musical Instrument. 
 
 It must be a stringed instrument; with a neck of some 
 length, as a lute, a guitar, or the like ; and before you begin 
 to play, you must by signs direct the deaf man to take hold 
 with his teeth of the end of the neck of the instrument; for 
 then, if one strikes the strings with the bow one after another, 
 the sound will enter the deaf man’s mouth, and be conveyed 
 to the organ of hearing through a hole in the palate, and thus 
 the deaf man will hear with a great deal of pleasure the sound 
 of the instrument, as has been several times experienced ; nay, 
 those who are not deaf may make the experiment upon them- 
 selves, by stopping their ears so as not to hear the instrument, 
 and then holding the end of the instrument in their teeth, 
 while another touches the strings. 
 
 When two Vessels or Chests are like one another, and of equal 
 Weight, being filed with diferent Metals, to distinguish the 
 one from the other. 
 
 This is easily resolved, if we consider that two pieces of 
 different metals, of equal weight in air, do not w eigh equally 
 in water, because that of the greatest specific gravity takes 
 up a lesser space in water; it being a certain truth, that any 
 metal weighs less in water than in air, by reason of the water, 
 the room of which it fills; for example, if the w'ater weighs a 
 pound, the metal will weigh in that water a pound less than 
 in the air: this gravitation diminishes more or less, according 
 as the specific gravity of the metal is greater than that of the 
 ^water. 
 
 We will suppose, then, two chests perfectly like one an- 
 other, of equal weight in the air, one of which is full of gold, 
 and the other of silver; we weigh them in water, and that 
 which then weighs down the other must needs be the gold 
 .chest, the specific gravity of gold being greater than that of 
 silver w'hich makes the gold lose less of its gravitation in 
 water than silver. We know by experience, that gold loses 
 in water about an eighteenth part only, whereas silver loses 
 near a tenth part; so that if each of the two chests weighs in 
 the air, for example, 180 pounds, the chest that is full of gold 
 will lose ir. the water ten pounds of its w'eight; and the chest 
 that is full of silver will lose eighteen ; that is, the chest full 
 of gold will weigh 170 pounds, and that of silver only 162. 
 
 Or, if you will, considering that gold is of a greater sjiecific 
 gravity than silver, the chest full of gold, though similar and 
 
APPENDIX. 829 
 
 of equal weight with the other, must needs contain a less 
 bulk, and consequently it contains the gold. 
 
 . To find the Burden of a Ship at Sea, or in a River, 
 
 It is a certain truth, that a’ship will carry a weight equal to 
 that of a quantity of water of the same bulk with itself; 
 subtracting from it the weight of the iron about the ship, foi 
 the wood is of much the same weight with water; and so^ il 
 it were not for the iron, a ship might sail full of water. 
 
 The consequence of this is, that, however a ship be loaded, 
 it will not totally sink, as long as the weight of its cargo is 
 less than that of an equal bulk of water: now, to know this 
 bulk or extent, you must measure the capacity or solidity of 
 the ship, which we here suppose to be 1000 cubical feet, and 
 multiply that by 73 pounds, the weight of a cubical foot of 
 sea-water; then you have in the product 73,000 pounds for 
 the weight of a bulk of water equal to that of the ship; so 
 that in this example, we may call the burden of the ship 
 73,000 pounds, or 36^ tons, reckoning a ton *2,000 pounds, 
 that'bting the weight of a ton of sea-water, if the cargo of 
 this ship exceeds 36J tons, she will sink ; and if her loading 
 is just 73,000 pounds, she will swim very deep in the water 
 upon the very point of sinking ; so that she cannot sail safe 
 and easy, unless her loading be considerably short of 73,000 
 pounds weight; if the loading come near to 73,000 pounds, as 
 being, for example, just 36 tons, she will swim at sea, but 
 v/ill sink when she comes into the mouth of a fresh water 
 river; for this water being lighter than sea-water will be 
 surmounted by the weight of the vessel, especially if that 
 weight is greater than the weight of an equal bulk of the same 
 water. 
 
 To Measure the Depth of the Sea, 
 
 Tie a great weight to a very long cord, or rope, and let il 
 fall into the sea till you find it can descend no further, which 
 will happen when the weight touches the bottom of the sea ; 
 if the quantity or bulk of water, the room of which is taken 
 up by the weight, and the rope, weighs less than the weight 
 and rope themselves ; for if they weigh more, the weight w^ould 
 cease to descend, though it did not touch the bottom of the 
 sea. 
 
 Thus one may be deceived in measuring the length of a rope 
 let down into the water, in order to determine the depth of 
 the sea; and therefore, to prevent mistakes, you had best tie 
 to the end of the same rope another w'eight heavier than the 
 former, and if this weight does not sink the rope deeper than 
 
830 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the other did, you may rest assured that the length of the 
 rope is the true depth of the sea; if it does sink the rope 
 deeper, you must tie a third weight, yet heavier, and so on, 
 till you find two weights of unequal gravitation, that run just 
 the same length of the rope, upon which you may conclude, 
 that the length of the wet rope is certainly the same with the 
 depth of the sea. 
 
 Method of Melting Steel, and causing it to Liquefy. 
 
 Heat a piece of steel in the fire, almost to a state of fusion, 
 then holding it with a pair of pincers or tongs, take in the 
 other hand a stick of brimstone, and touch the piece of steel 
 with it: immediately after the contact, you will see the steel 
 melt and drop like a liquid. 
 
 How to dispose two little Figures, so that one shall light a Candle, 
 and the other put it out. 
 
 Take two little figures of wood or clay, or any other mate- 
 rials you please, only taking care that there is a little hole at 
 the mouth of each : put in the mouth of one a few grains of 
 bruised gunpowder, and a little bit of phosphorus in the mouth 
 of the other, taking care that these preparations are made 
 beforehand. 
 
 Then take a lighted wax candle, and present it to the mouth 
 of the figure with the gunpowder, which, taking fire, will put 
 the candle out; then present your candle, having the snuflP 
 still hot, to the other figure; it will immediately light again 
 by means of the phosphorus. 
 
 You may propose the same effects to be produced by two 
 figures drawn on a wall with a pencil or coal, by applying 
 with a little starch, or water, a few grains of bruised gunpow- 
 der to the mouth of one, and a bit of phosphorus to the mouth 
 of the other. 
 
 The Camera Obscura, or Dark Chamber. 
 
 We shall here give a short description of this optical inven 
 tion ; for though it is very common, it is also very pleasing; 
 but every one knows not how to construct it. 
 
 Make a circular hole in the shutter of a window, from whence 
 there is a prospect of the fields, or any other object not too 
 near: and in this hole place a convex glass, either double or 
 single, whose focus is at the distance of five or six feet: the 
 distance should not be less than three feet; if it be, the 
 images will be too small, and there will not be sufficient room 
 for the spectators to stand conveniently ; on the other hand, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 831 
 
 the focus should never be more than fifteen or twenty feet, for 
 then the images would be obscure, and the colouring faint; 
 the best distance is from six to twelve feet: — take care that 
 no light enfers the room but by this glass : at a distance from 
 it, equal to that of its focus, place a pasteboard, covered with 
 the whitest paper; this paper should have a black border, to 
 prevent any of the side rays from disturbing the picture , let 
 it be two feet and a half long, and eighteen or twenty inches 
 high ; bend the length of it inwards to the form of part of a 
 circle, whose diameter is equal to double the focal distance of 
 the glass ; then fix it on a frame of the same figure, and put 
 it on a moveable foot, that it may be easily fixed at that exact 
 distance from the glass where the objects paint themselves to 
 the greatest perfection : when it is thus placed, all the objects 
 that are in the front of the window will be painted on the 
 paper in an inverted position ; this inverted position of the 
 images may be deemed an imperfection, but it is easily reme- 
 died; for if you stand above the board on which they are 
 received, and look down on it, they will appear in their natu- 
 ral position ; or if you stand before it, and, placing a common 
 mirror against your breast in an oblique direction, look down 
 in it, you will there see the images erect, and they will receive 
 an additional lustre from the reflection of the glass : or place 
 two lenses in a tube that-draws out: or, lastly, if you place a 
 laroe concave mirror at a proper distance before the picture, 
 it will appear before the mirror in the air, and in an erect 
 position, with the greatest regularity, and in the most natural 
 colours. 
 
 If you place a moveable mirror w’lthout the window, by 
 turning it more or less, yon will have on the paper all the 
 objects that are on each side of the window. 
 
 There is another method of making the dark chamber, which 
 is by a scioptric ball, that is, a ball of w'ood, through which a 
 hole is made, in which hole a lens is fixed ; this ball is placed 
 in a wooden frame, in w hich it turns freely round : the frame 
 is fixed to the hole in the shutter, and the ball by turning 
 about answers, in great part, the use of the mirror on the 
 outside of the window : if the hole in the window be no 
 bigger than a pea, the objects will be represented without any 
 lens. 
 
 If instead of placing the mirror without the window, you 
 place it in the room, and above the hole, (which must then be 
 made near the top of the shutter,) you may receive the repre- 
 sentation on a paper placed horizontally on a table ; and draw 
 at your leisure all the objects that are there painted. 
 
 Nothing can be more pleasing than this recreation, espe- 
 cially when the objects are strongly enlightened by the sun; 
 and not only land prospects, but a sea-port, when the water 
 
832 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 is, somewhat agitated, or at the setting of the sun, presents a 
 rery delightful appearance. 
 
 This representation affords the most perfect model for 
 painters, as well for the tone of colours, as that gradation 
 of shades occasioned by the interposition of the air, which 
 has been so justly expressed by some modern painters. 
 
 It is necessary that the paper have a circular form, for 
 otherwise, when the centre of it was in the focus ol the glass, 
 the two sides would be beyond it, and consequently the 
 images would be confused: if the frame were contrived of 
 a spherical figure, and the glass were in its centre, the repre- 
 sentation would be still more accurate. If the object without 
 be at the distance of twice the focal length of the glass, the 
 image in the room will be of the same magnitude with the 
 object. 
 
 The lights, shades, and colours in the camera obscura, 
 appear not only just, but, by the images being reduced to a 
 smaller compass, much stronger t’han in nature; add to this, 
 that these pictures exceed all others, by representing the 
 moti:n of the several objects: thus we see the animals walk, 
 run, or fly, the clouds float in the air, the leaves quiver, the 
 waves roll, &c. and all in strict conformity to the laws of 
 nature. The best situation for a dark chamber is directly 
 north, and the best time of the day is noon. 
 
 To shew the Spots in the Suns Disk, by its image in the Camera 
 
 Obscura. 
 
 Put the object-glass of a ten or twelve feet telescope into the 
 scioptric ball, and turn it about till it be directly opposite the 
 sun: when the sun is directly opposite the hole, the lens will 
 itself be sufficient;, or by means of the mirror on the outside 
 of the window', as in the last recreation, in the focus of the 
 lens, and you will see a clear bright image of the sun, of 
 about an inch diameter, in which the spots on the sun's 
 surface will be exactly described. 
 
 As this image is too bright to be seen with pleasure by 
 naked eye, you may view it through a lens, whose focus i c 
 or eight inches diameter, which, at the same time that it 
 prevents the light from being offensive, will, by magnifying 
 both the image and the spots, make them appear to greater 
 advantage. 
 
 To magnify small Objects by means of the Sun's Rays let into 
 a dark Chamber. 
 
 Let the rays of light that pass through the lens in the 
 •butter be thrown on a large concave mirror, properly fixed 
 
Appendix. 
 
 833 
 
 in a frame; then take a slip, or thin plate of glass, and 
 sticking any small object on it, hold it in the incident rays, 
 at a little more than the focal distance from the mirror, and 
 you will see, on the opposite wall, amidst the reflected rays, 
 the image of that object, very large, and extremely clear and 
 bright. This experiment never fails to give the spectator the 
 highest satisfaction. 
 
 To cut a Looking-glass, or piece oj Crystal, let it be ever so 
 thick, without the help of a Diamond, in the same shape as the 
 Mark of the Drawing made on it with Ink. 
 
 This remarkable operation unites utility with amusement ; 
 for being in the country, or in a place where there is no glazier 
 to be had, the following means will answer the purpose 
 without their help. 
 
 Take a bit of walnut-tree, about the thickness of a candle, 
 and cut one of its ends to a point; put that end in the fire, 
 and let it burn till it is quite red: w'hile the stick is burning, 
 draw on the glass or crystal, with ink, the design or outline 
 of the form in which you mean to cut it out: then take a file, 
 or bit of glass, and scratch a little the place where you mean 
 to begin your section; then take the wood red-hot from the 
 fire, and lay the point of it about the twentieth part of an 
 inch, or thickness of a guinea, from the marked place, taking 
 care to blow always on that point, in order to keep it red ; 
 following the drawing traced on the glass, leaving, as before, 
 about the twentieth part of an inch interval every time that 
 you present your piece of wood, which you must take care to 
 blow often. 
 
 After having followed exactly the outlines of your drawing, 
 to separate the two pieces thus cut, you need only pull them 
 up and down, and they will divide. 
 
 By the means of two plain Looking-glasses, to make a Face appear 
 under different forms. 
 
 Having placed one of the two glasses horizontally, raise the 
 other to about right angles over the first; and while the two 
 glasses continue in this posture, if you come up to the per- 
 pendicular glass, you will set your face quite deformed and 
 imperfect; for it will appear without forehead, eyes, nose, 
 or ears, and nothing will be seen but a mouth and a ciiin 
 boldly raised: do but incline the glass ever so little from the 
 perpendicular, and your face will appear with all its parts, 
 excepting the eyes and the forehead; stoop a little more, and 
 you will see two noses and four eyes; and then a little further, 
 and you will see three noses and six eyes; — continue to incline 
 
 5N 
 
834 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 it still a little more, and you will see nothing but two noses, 
 two mouths, and two chins; and then a little further again, 
 and you will see one nose and one mouth; at last incline 
 a little further, that is, till the angle of inclination comes to 
 be 44 degrees, and your face will quite disappear. 
 
 If you incline the tw'o glasses, the one towards the other, 
 you will see your face perfect and entire; and by the different 
 inclinations, you will see the representation of your face, 
 upright and inverted, alternately. 
 
 7u know which of two different Waters is the lightest^ without 
 
 any Scales. 
 
 Take a solid body, the specific gravity of which is less than 
 that of water, deal, or fir-wood, for instance, and put it into 
 each of the two waters, and rest assured that it will sink 
 deeper in the lighter than in the heavier water; and. so, by 
 observing the difference of the sinking, you will know which 
 is the lightest water, and consequently the wholesomest for 
 drinking. 
 
 To knoio if a suspicious Piece of Money is good or bad. 
 
 If it be a piece of silver that is not very thick, as a crown, 
 or half a crown, the goodness of which you want to try; take 
 another piece of good silver, of equal balance with it, and tie 
 both pieces with thread or horse hair to the scales of an exact 
 balance, (to avoid the wetting of the scales themselves,) and 
 dip the two pieces thus tied, in water; for then, if they are of 
 equal goodness, that is, of equal purity, they will hang in 
 equilibrio in the w'ater as well as in the air: but if the piece 
 in question is lighter in the water than the other, it is cer-. 
 tainly false, that is, there is some other metal mixed with it, 
 that has less specific gravity than silver, such as copper; if it 
 .is heavier than the other, it is likewise bad, as being mixed 
 with a metal of greater specific gravity than silver, such as 
 lead. 
 
 If the piece proposed is very thick, such as that crown of 
 gold which Hiero, king of Syracuse, sent to Archimedes, to 
 know if the goldsmith had put into it all the eighteen pounds 
 of gold that he had given him for that end; take a piece of 
 pure gold of equal weight with the crown proposed, viz. 
 eighteen pounds; and without taking the trouble of weighing 
 them in water, put them into a vessel full of water, one 
 after another, and that whi^'h drives out most water, must 
 necessarily be mixed with another metal of less specific 
 gravity than gold, as taking up more space, though of equal 
 weight. 
 
APPEN DIX. 
 
 835 
 
 To hold a Glass full of Water with the Mouth downwards, so 
 that the Water shall not run out. 
 
 Take a glass full of water, cover it with a cup that is a little 
 hollow, inverting the cup upon the glass; hold the cup firm 
 in this position with one hand, and the glass with the other; 
 then with a jerk turn the glass and the cup upside down, and 
 so the cup will stand upright, and the glass will be inverted, 
 resting its mouth upon the interior bottom of the cup: this 
 done, you will find that part of the water contained in the 
 glass will run out by the void space between the bottom of 
 the cup, and the brim of the glass; and when that space is 
 filled, so that the water in it reaches the brim of the glass, all 
 passage being then denied to the air, so that it cannot enter 
 the glass, nor succeed in the room of the w'ater, the water 
 remaining in the glass will not fall lower, but continue 
 suspended in the glass. 
 
 If you would have a little more water descend into the cup, 
 you must, with a pipe or otherwise, draw the water out of the 
 cup, to give passage to the air in the glass ; upon which, 
 part of the water will fall into the glass till it has stopped up 
 the passage of the air afresh, in which case no more will come 
 down ; or, without sucking out the water in the cup, you may 
 incline the cup and glass so that the water in the cup shall 
 quit one side of the brim of the glass, and so give passage to 
 the air, which will then suffer the water in the glass to 
 descend till the passage is stopped again. 
 
 This may likewise be resolved by covering the brim of the 
 glass that is full of water, with a leaf of strong paper, and 
 then turn the glass as above; and without holding your hand 
 any longer upon the paper, you will find it as it were glued 
 for some time to the brim of the glass, and during that time 
 the water will be kept in the glass. 
 
 The Mysterious Watch. 
 
 Desire any person to lend you his watch, and ask if he 
 thinks it will or will not go when it is.laid on the table: if he 
 says it will, place it over the end of a magnet, and it will 
 presently stop ; then mark with chalk, or a pencil, the precise 
 point w here you placed the watch, and, moving the position of 
 the magnet, give the watch to another person, and desire him 
 to make the experiment ; in which he not succeeding, give it 
 to a third person, at the same time replacing the magnet, and 
 he will immediately perform the experiment. 
 
 To make a Glass of Water appear to hoil and sparkle* 
 
 Take a glass nearly full of water, or other liquor, and 
 eelting one hand upon the foot of it to hold it fast, turn 
 
836 
 
 APPEN DIX. 
 
 slightly one of the fingers of your other hand upon the brim 
 or edge of the glass, (having before privately vret your finger,) 
 and so passing softly on, with your finger pressing a little, 
 then the glass will begin to make a noise, the parts of the 
 glass will sensibly appear to tremble with notable rarefaction 
 and condensation, the water will shake, seem to boil, cast 
 itself out of the glass, and leap out- by small drops, to the 
 great astonishment of the observers, if they are ignorant of 
 the cause, which is onl}'^ the rarefaction of the parts of the 
 glass, occasioned by the motion and pressure of the finger. 
 
 How to make a Cork Jiy out of a Bottle. 
 
 Put a little chalk or pounded marble into a phial, and pour 
 on some water, with about a third part of sulphuric acid, and 
 put in a cork: in a few seconds, the cork will be sent off with 
 great violence. 
 
 To produce Gas Light, on a small Scale. 
 
 Take an ordinary tobacco pipe, and nearly fill the bowl 
 with small coals, and stop the mouth of the bowl with any 
 suitable luting, as pipe-clay, or the mixture of sand and com- 
 mon clay, or, as clay is apt to shrink, of sand and beer, and 
 place the bowl in a fire between the bars of a grate, so that 
 the pipe may stand nearly perpendicular. In a few minutes, 
 if the luting be good, the gas will begin to escape from the 
 stem of the pipe, when, if a piece of lighted paper or candle 
 be applied, it will take fire and burn for several minutes with 
 an intense light. When the light goes out, a residuum of 
 useful products will be found in the bowl. 
 
 Thunder Powder, 
 
 Take separately, three parts of good dry saltpetre, two 
 parts of dry salt of tartar, and pound them well together in a 
 mortar; then add thereto one- part, or rather more, of flour 
 of brimstone, and take care to pound and mix the w hole per- 
 fectly together: put this composition into a bottle with a 
 glass stopper, for use. 
 
 Put about two drams of this mixture in an iron spoon, over 
 a moderate fire, but not in the flame; in a short time it will 
 melt, and go off with an explosion like thunder or a loaded 
 cannon. 
 
 To tell, by the Dial of a Watch, at what hour any Person intends to rise, 
 
 ^ Let the person set the hand of the dial to any hour he 
 pleases, and tell you what hour that is, and to the number of 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 837 
 
 that hour you add, in your mind, 12. After this, tell him to 
 call the hour the index stands at that which he has fixed 
 upon; and by reckoning backwards from this number to the 
 former, it will biing him to the hour required. 
 
 Example. 
 
 Suppose the hour at which he intends to rise be 8, and that 
 he has placed the hand at 5. 
 
 Then, adding 12 to 5, you bid him call the hour at which 
 the index stands, the number on which he thought; and by 
 reckoning back from this number to 17, it will bring him to 
 8, the hour required. 
 
 The following Experiment shews the Power of Attraction. 
 
 If we take two pieces of lead, as two musket or pistol balls, 
 and with a knife smooth two plane surfaces, and press them 
 together, they will firmly adhere. 
 
 Two plates of metal made very smooth, when rubbed with oil 
 and put together, will so firmly adhere, that it will require 
 a great force to separate then). 
 
 If two pieces of wood, or of glass, be wetted with water, 
 and placed together, the one may be lifted up by means of 
 the other. Boys often have a piece of leather on the end of 
 a string, which they wet and put on a stone, and thereby lift 
 it up. 
 
 If we take a small tube of glass with a narrow bore, and put 
 it in water, the fluid will rise higher within the tube than in 
 the vessel. The narrower the tube is, the higher the water 
 rises. This is called Capillary Attraction. If we put two 
 pieces of glass together, and place the lower edge in water, it 
 will rise between them, as it does in the capillary tubes. This 
 experiment may be made more pleasing, by putting a shilling 
 or a piece of paper between the two pieces of glass at one 
 end. The water will then rise in a curve line, called an 
 hyperbola, higher and higher as it recedes from the shilling 
 or piece of paper, and the pieces of glass get nearer to each 
 other. 
 
 Place a balance equally poised, so that one scale may be 
 made to touch water in a vessel ; considerable weight must be 
 put in the other scale, to make it rise up. Put three or four 
 bits of cork to float in a basin of water; they will gradually 
 draw nearer to each other, and the more rapidly as the dis- 
 tance diminishes. 
 
 Experiments to shew the Power of Repulsion. 
 
 Dip a ball in oil and put it in water; a ditch will be formed 
 all round it. Pour water on oiled paper, and it will run off. 
 
838 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sprinkle water on a dusty floor, it rolls over it in globules. 
 Sprinkle it upon a floor that has been swept, and this will not 
 be the case, as it then comes in contact with the wood, and 
 is diffused over it. 
 
 We may observe that rain water stands in globules on 
 the leaves of cabbages. If we blow up soap-bubbles, and 
 let them fall on the carpet, they will not for some time burst. 
 Let them fall on the table, or any smooth surface, and they 
 will burst instantly. 
 
 If we pour as much water into a cup as it will possibly 
 hold, we shall see the water above the level of the sides, if the 
 edge be dry, but otherwise we shall not. 
 
 Lay a very fine needle, or a piece of tinfoil, on the surface 
 of water, and it will float, until it become wet, when it 
 sinks. 
 
 Lay a piece of gold on mercury, and it will float on the 
 surface; but if depressed below the surface, it will sink to the 
 bottom, like the needle on water. 
 
 Experiments respecting the Centre of Gravity, 
 
 The centre of gravity is that part of a body, round which 
 all its parts are so equally balanced, that, if it be supported, 
 the whole body will be so too. 
 
 Take a book, and find, by trial, under what part the finger 
 must be placed to keep the book from falling; that point is 
 the centre of gravity. 
 
 Take a rod, or stick, and find that place about the middle 
 of it, under which the finger being placed, it will be balanced ; 
 that is the centre of gravity. The moment the centre of 
 gravity ceases to be supported, the whole body falls. 
 
 Move a piece of board to the edge of a table, and gradually 
 farther and farther ofl’ it ; the instant the centre of gravity get.s 
 bevond the edge of the table, the board falls. 
 
 Run the point of a knife much slanting into the same board, 
 it may then be brought much farther over the edge of the 
 table than it could before, as the knife, leaning the way of the 
 table, brings the centre of gravity that way. 
 
 Take a bottle, with a cork in it; stick in the middle of the 
 cork a needle, with the point upwards; then take another cork, 
 and with a knife make a slit in one of its ends, in which place 
 a shilling so far as to make it fast; then take two forks, or 
 penknives, and stick one on each side the cork, slanting a 
 little downwards; then place the edge of the shilling on the 
 point of the needle, and it will rest secure. It may be made 
 to revolve, with great rapidity, on the point of the needle, 
 without falling off’. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 839 
 
 The following Experiment shews the Power of Steam, 
 
 Put a little water in a bottle, and cork it securely, covering 
 it with sealing wax; then put the bottle into a kettle of water, 
 and let it boil a short time, and the steam will force out the 
 cork. 
 
 Diminution of Heat by Evaporation, 
 
 Pour water on a piece of writing-paper, and hold it over a 
 candle; it will boil without burning the paper. 
 
 Water may be boiled in an egg-shell on the fire. 
 
 Experiment to ascertain the Strength of Spirits of Wine, 
 
 It is a common practice for apothecaries, in order to ascer- 
 tain if spirit of wine be sufficiently strong, to pour some into 
 a cup upon some gunpowder, and then to set fire to it. If 
 the spirit be sufficiently strong, after burning down to the 
 gunpowder, it will make it go off ; but if too much water has 
 been poured in, that will not take place, as, after the spirit 
 is consumed, there will still be water enough to keep the 
 powder wet. 
 
 To ascertain the Strength of Brine, 
 
 To ascertain the strength of brine for salting meat, it is 
 usual to put an egg in the boiling water, and gradually put in 
 salt until the egg be made to swim. 
 
 The following Experiments shew the Pressure and Elasticity 
 
 of Air, 
 
 Put an empty bottle with a cork in it near the fire; the cork 
 will be driven out. 
 
 Get a vessel of hot water, and put a phial into it, with the 
 mouth downwards; the expanded air will bubble out. Let 
 the water cool, or pour cold water on the phial, of which the 
 mouth has not been drawn above the surface of the water, and 
 as the air is now cooled, and occupies less space, a consider- 
 able part of the bottle will be filled with water. 
 
 Boil a little water in a glass phial over a candle for a few 
 minutes; then invert the mouth of the phial in water, and, as 
 it cools, the air will contract, and water will be forced up the 
 bottle, b} the external air, to occupy the vacant space. 
 
 Lay a weighty book on a bladder, and blow into it with a pipe, 
 and the book will be raised. Increase the weight on the bladder 
 Tery much indeed, and you may still raise it as before. 
 
840 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A bladder filled with air may be compressed, and the mo- 
 ment the force is removed, it will recover its size. If thrown 
 on the ground it will rise like a ball. 
 
 Take a cup, and burn a few pieces of paper 'n it, the heat 
 will expand the air in it. Invert the cup now in a saucer of 
 water, and, as the enclosed air cools, it will return to its 
 former density, and leave a vacuum, and the pressure of the 
 external air will force a great deal of water up into the cup. 
 If this experiment be performed with a large drinking-glass, 
 the water may be seen to rise in the glass. 
 
 The pressure of the air may be very sensibly felt, by putting 
 the hole of a common bellows over the knee, and then at- 
 tempting to raise the upper part of it. 
 
 Boil water in a glass phial over a candle for a few minutes, 
 then suddenly removing it, tie a piece of wetted bladder over 
 the mouth, making it fast with a string; the pressure of the 
 air will stretch the bladder, if it do not burst it. 
 
 Get a glass vessel, as a common tumbler, if no better be at 
 hand, and put a piece of wetted bladder over the mouth, press- 
 ing it down in the middle, and then tie it firm with a string'; 
 then lay hold of the bladder in the middle, and try to pull it 
 straight, or level with the rest, and the pressure of the external 
 air will not permit it. 
 
 Do exactly the same as before, except that the vessel must 
 be nearly full of water. Turn the vessel upside-down, and 
 the bladder will still continue as it w^as placed, the pressure 
 of the air overcoming the weight of the water. 
 
 Though air be capable of compression, it makes a resistance, 
 and that very considerable. The ball of an air-gun has been 
 burst asunder by overcharging it. If bottles are filled too 
 much, they may be burst in attempting to cork them, from 
 the air between the cork and the liquor being too much con- 
 densed. 
 
 Put a common wine-glass, with the mouth downwards, into 
 water; and to whatever depth it may be plunged, the air wdll 
 not allow much water to rise into it, as may be seen by the 
 inside of the glass not being wet. If a bit of cork float inside 
 of the glass, it will point out to the eye still more clearly hov\ 
 high the water rises. This experiment, though so very simple, 
 will illustrate the nature of the diving-bell. 
 
 Experiments respecting Sound, 
 
 Hold a tunibler sideways, and sprinkle a little dust, oi 
 powder of any sort, on it; then strike the glass, and make it 
 sound : — the dust keeps dancing about whilst the sound con- 
 tinues; stop the sound, and the dust is at rest. 
 
 The sound of a watch laid upon a long table, or upon ? 
 
APPENDIX. 841 
 
 plank of wo( d, will be heard much farther than it otherwise 
 would. 
 
 When a vessel on the fire begins to boil, let a communica- 
 tion be made between it and the ear, by means of the poker, 
 and the sound is more distinctly heard. 
 
 Tie a string round the end of a poker, and then, winding 
 one end of the string round the fore-finger of the one hand, 
 and the other end of the string round the fore-finger of the 
 other; put the fingers into the ears, and make the poker strike 
 against a table, or any other object, and it will sound like the 
 bell of a church. 
 
 Tie a string round the end of a poker, as before, and hold 
 the string with your teeth ; when the poker is made to strike 
 against any object, as in the last experiment, the same kind 
 of sound will be transmitted through the teeth. 
 
 Make a watch touch your teeth, and you will hear its beat- 
 ing more distinctly. 
 
 When a pitchfork is struck, in order to pitch a tune, its end 
 is put on the table, and a greater sound is produced. If 
 the pitchfork, after being struck, be held to the teeth, its 
 •sound is still more distinct. 
 
 Having shut up both ears with cotton very closely, put 
 your fingers on the teeth of a person who speaks to you, and 
 YOU will hear his voice. 
 
 Electrical Experiments, 
 
 If a piece of sealing-wax be rubbed briskly against the 
 sleeve of your coat, or any other woollen substance, for some 
 time, and then held within an inch or less of hair, feathers, 
 bits of paper, or other light bodies; they will be attracted, 
 that is, they will jump up, and adhere to the wax. If a tube 
 of glass, or small phial, be rubbed in a similar manner, it will 
 answer much better. The bottle thus rubbed becomes elec- 
 tric; and when the operation is performed in a dark room, 
 small flashes of divergent flame, ramified somewhat like trees 
 bare of leaves, will dart into the air, from many parts of the 
 surface of the tube, to the distance of six or eight inches, at- 
 tended with a crackling noise; and sometimes sparks will fly 
 along the tube to the rubber at more than a foot distant. 
 
 Cut two bits of cork into the shape and size of a common 
 pea. With a needle, draw a thread through each of the corks, 
 so that they may be made to hang at the ends of the threads 
 with a knot below them. Let the other ends of the threads 
 be inserted in th.e notch of a small piece of wood, about a 
 foot long, and an inch broad, and the thickness of a common 
 match. Lay the piece of wood over two wine-glasses, a few 
 inches asunder, so that the end of it, in which the threads 
 
 50 
 
842 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 are, may project over the edge of the glass nearest it, and the 
 corks may be in contact one with another”. Take another 
 wine-glass, and, having rubbed it briskly with a piece of 
 flannel, or upon the skirt or sleeve of a woollen coat, hold its 
 mouth to within about an inch of the corks, and they will 
 suddenly start asunder, and continue so for some time. 
 
 Lay a pocket-watch upon a table, and take a common 
 tobacco-pipe, and place it on the face of the watch so that it 
 may balance thereon ; then, after rubbing a wine-glass, as 
 described in the former experiment, bring it to within an inch 
 of the smaller end of the tobacco-pipe, and by moving the 
 glass gently round in an horizontal circular track, you will 
 cause the pipe to turn round on the watch-glass, as the needle 
 turns on its centre in a mariner’s compass. 
 
 A curious Experiment made by Mr. Symmer, on the Electricity 
 of Silk Stockings. 
 
 This gentleman having frequently observed, that on putting 
 oflf his stockings in the evening, they made a crackling or 
 snapping noise, and that in the dark they emitted sparks of 
 fire, was induced to examine on what circumstances these 
 electrical appearances depended. After a considerable num- 
 ber of observations, directed to this point, he found that it 
 was the combination of white and black which produced 
 the electricity, and that the appearances were the strongest 
 when he wore a white and a black stocking upon the same 
 leg. These, however, discovered no signs of electricity while 
 they were upon the leg, though they were drawn backwards 
 and forwards upon it several times; but the moment they 
 were separated, they were both of them found to be highly 
 electrified, the white positively, and the black negatively; 
 and when they were held at a distance from each other, they 
 appeared inflated to such a degree, that they exhibited the 
 entire shape of the leg. 
 
 When two black or two white stockings were held togethei, 
 they would repel one another to a considerable distance ; and 
 when a white and black stocking were presented to each 
 other, they would be mutually attracted, and rush together 
 with great violence, joining as close as if they had been so 
 many folds of silk ; and in this case their electricity did not 
 seem to have been in the least impaired by the shock of 
 meeting, for they would be again inflated, attract, repel, and 
 rush together, as before. 
 
 When this experiment was , -iformed with two black stock- 
 ings in one hand, and two white ones in the other, it exhibited 
 a still more curious spectacle. The repulsion of those of the 
 same colour, and the attraction of those of different colours, 
 
APPENDIX. 843 
 
 threw them into an agitation, and made each of them catch 
 at the opposite colour in a way that was very amusing. 
 
 What was also very remarkable in these experiments with 
 a white and black stocking, was, the power of electrical cohe- 
 sion which they exhibited ; Mr. Symmer having found, that 
 when they were electrified, and allowed to come together, they 
 frequently stuck so close to each other, that it required a 
 weight of sixteen or seventeen ounces to separate them, and 
 this in a direction parallel to their surfaces. 
 
 When one of the stockings was turned inside-out, it required 
 tw^enty ounces to separate them ; and by having the black 
 stockings new dyed, and the w'hite ones washed, and w'hitened 
 in the fumes of sulphur, and then putting them one within 
 the other, it required three pounds three ounces to separate 
 them. 
 
 Trying this experiment with stockings of a more substan- 
 tial make, he found that, when the white stocking was put 
 within the black one, so that its outside was contiguous to 
 the inside of the other, they raised near nine pounds; and 
 when the white stocking was turned inside-out, and put 
 w'ithin the black one, so that their rough surfaces were con- 
 tiguous, they raised fifteen pounds, which was ninety-two 
 times the weight of the stockings. And, in all these cases, 
 he found that pressing them together with his hands contri- 
 buted much to strengthen the cohesion. 
 
 Wh en the white and black stockings were in cohesion, and 
 another pair, more highly electrified, were separated from 
 each other, and presented to the former, their cohesion would 
 be dissolved, and each stocking of the second pair would 
 catch hold of, and carry away with it, that of its opposite co- 
 lour; but if the degree of electricity of both pairs were equal, 
 the cohesion of the former would be weakened, but not dis- 
 solved, and all the four would cohere together in one mass. 
 
 Mr. Symmer also observed, that white and black silk, when 
 electrified, not only cohered with each other, but they would 
 also adhere to bodies with broad, and even polished, surfaces, 
 though those bodies were not electrified. This he discovered, 
 by throwing accidentally a stocking out of his hand, which 
 stuck to the paper-hangings of the room, and which, in 
 
 Having stuck up the black and w’hite stockings in this 
 manner, he came with another pair of stockings, highly elec- 
 trified, and applying the white to the black, and the black to 
 the white, he carried them off from the wall, each of them 
 hanging to that which had been brought to it. The same 
 experiment also held with the painted boards of the room, 
 and likewise with the looking-glass, to the smooth surface of 
 
844 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 which, the white and black stockings appeared to adhere more 
 tenaciously than to either of the former. 
 
 To suspend a Ring by a Thread that has been burnt. 
 
 The thread having been previously soaked in chamber Ive, 
 or common salt and water, tie it to a ring, not larger than a 
 wedding-ring. When you apply the flame of a candle to it, 
 though the thread burn to ashes, it will yet sustain the ring. 
 
 Chemical Illuminations. 
 
 Put into a middling-sized bottle, with a short wide neck, 
 three ounces of oil or spirit of vitriol, with twelve ounces of 
 common water, and throw into it, at different times, an ounce 
 or two of iron filings. A violent commotion will then take 
 place, and white vapours will arise from the mixture. If a taper 
 be held to the mouth of the bottle, these vapours will inflame, 
 and produce a violent explosion ; which may be repeated as 
 long as the vapours continue. 
 
 To make the Appearance of a Flash of Lightning when any ont 
 enters a Room ivith a lighted Candle. 
 
 Dissolve camphor in spirit of wine, and deposit the vessel 
 containing the solution in a very close room, w'here the spirit 
 of wine must be made to evaporate by strong and speedy 
 boiling. If any one then enters the room with a lighted 
 candle, the air will inflame; but the combustion will be so 
 sudden, and of so short duration, as to occasion no danger. 
 
 The Fiery Fountain. 
 
 If twenty grains of phosphorus, cut very small, and mixed 
 with forty grains of powdered zinc, be put into four drachms 
 of water, and two drachms of concentrated sulphuric acid 
 be added thereto, bubbles of inflamed phosphuretted hydrogen 
 ■gas will quickly cover the whole surface of the fluid in suc- 
 .cession, forming a real fountain of fire. 
 
 A Lamp that will burn Twelve Months without replenishing 
 
 Take a stick of phosphorus, and put it into a large dry 
 ?phial, not corked, and it wdll afford a li^ht sufficient to dis- 
 cern any object in a room, when held near it. The phial 
 should be kept in a cool place, where there is no great current 
 of air, and it will continue its luminous appearance for more 
 than twelve months. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 84f 
 
 The Magic Oracle. 
 
 Get six blank cards, and write on them figures, or numbers, 
 exactly according to the following patterns. 
 
 No. I 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 29 
 
 
 47 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 31 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 33 
 
 
 43 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 41 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 39 
 
 
 53 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 No. II. 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 47 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 31 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 43 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 42 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 39 
 
 
 54 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 No. III. 
 
 14 
 
 13 7 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 36 
 
 
 47 
 
 20 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 31 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 
 29 
 
 
 44 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 
 39 
 
 
 54 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 60 
 
 55 
 
 0 
 
m 
 
 25 
 
 27 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 41 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 47 
 
 
 27 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 45 
 
 46 
 
 0 
 
 60 
 
 12 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 43 
 
 44 
 
 67 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 58 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 No. V. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 48 
 
 
 55 
 
 
 26 
 
 21 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 53 
 
 54 
 
 0 
 
 60 
 
 19 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 57 
 
 58 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 56 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No. VI 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 
 32 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 48 
 
 \ 
 
 55 
 
 
 43 
 
 33 
 
 37 
 
 46 
 
 
 53 
 
 54 
 
 0 
 
 60 
 
 36 
 
 44 
 
 45 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 57 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 56 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 59 
 
 59 
 
 You deliver the cards to a person, and desire him to think 
 of any number from one to sixty ; he is then to look at the 
 cards, and say in which cards the number he thought of 
 is to be found; and you immediately tell him the number 
 thought of. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 847 
 
 Explanation. 
 
 This surprising and ingenious recreation is done by means 
 of a key number. There is a key number in every card, viz. 
 the last but one in the second row from the top. From this 
 explanation the reader will perceive that the key numbers are 
 ], 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. Now whatever number is fixed on, from 
 1 to 60, will be readily found by privately adding together 
 the key numbers of the cards that contain the number thought 
 on. For instance, suppose a person thinks of number 43 ; he 
 looks at the cards, and gives you No. 1, 2, 4, 6, as cards 
 
 whi.''h contain the number thought on : you expertly perceive 
 that the key numbers are 1, 2, 8, 32; which numbers added 
 together make 43, the number thought on. Suppose he 
 thinks of No. 15, he gives you No. 1, 2, 3, 4 : the key num- 
 bers are 1, 2, 4, 8; which added, make just 15; and so of all 
 numbers from 1 to 60. 
 
 This recreation may be varied many ways ; as, telling the 
 age of a person, &c.; but this is left to the ingenious reader’s 
 taste and application. 
 
 Cheap and Easy Method of constructing a Voltaic File. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell, in his useful little work on natural philosophy, 
 proposes the following cheap and easy method of construct- 
 ing a Voltaic Pile. Zinc is one of the cheapest of metals, and 
 may be easily melted, like lead. Let the student cast twenty 
 or thirty pieces, of the size of a penny-piece, which may 
 easily be done in moulds made in clay. Let him then get as 
 many penny-pieces, and as many pieces of paper, or cloth cut 
 in the same shape, and these he must dip in a solution of salt 
 and water. In building the pile, let him place a piece of zinc, 
 wet paper, (the superabundant water being squeezed out,) after 
 w’hich the copper; then zinc, paper, copper, &.c. until the 
 whole be finished. The sides of the pile may be supported 
 with rods of glass, or varnished wood, fixed in the board on 
 which it is built. The following experiment may then be 
 performed : — 
 
 Having wetted both hands, touch the lower part of the pile 
 with one hand, and the upper part with the other, conslant 
 little shocks of electricity will be felt until one hand be 
 removed. If the hand be brought back, a similar repetition ol 
 shocks will be felt. Put a basin of water near the pile, and 
 put the left hand into it, holding a wire, one end of which 
 touches the top of the battery or pile; then put the end of a 
 silver spoon between the lip and the gum, and with the other 
 end of the spoon touch the lower part of the pile ; a strong 
 shock is felt in the gum and in the hand. Take the left hand 
 from the water, but still keep hold of the wire, and then 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 848 
 
 perform the last experiment in the same manner, and a shock 
 will be felt in the gum only. Hold a silver spoon in one 
 hand, and touch with it the battery at the lower part, then 
 touch the upper part with the tongue ; the bitter taste will be 
 extreme. 
 
 In performing the above experiments, if, instead of the two 
 ends of the pile, the one end and the middle of it be touched, 
 the sensations will not be nearly so strong. If the student 
 be desirous of having still more sensible proofs of the effect 
 of galvanism, let him hold a wire to the top of the battery, 
 and let him place one end of a silver spoon to the lower part, 
 and the other end within his mouth, so as to touch the gums; 
 a severe set of shocks will be felt. In performing this expe- 
 riment, move the spoon to the roof of the mouth, and a strong 
 sensation will be felt. Let the end of the spoon be run up 
 the nose so as to touch the cartilaginous bone; shocks like 
 the stabs of a needle will be felt. Let the end of the spoon 
 be put under the eye-brow, close to the ball of the eye ; a 
 sensation will be felt like the burning of red-hot iron, but 
 which ceases the instant the spoon is removed. 
 
 Magnetical Experiments. 
 
 The magnetic attraction will not be destroyed by interpos- 
 ing; obstacles between the magnet and the iron. 
 
 Lay a small needle on a piece of paper, and put a magnet 
 under the paper; the needle may be moved backwards and 
 forwards. 
 
 Lay the needle on a piece of glass, and put the magnet 
 under the glass; it will still attract the needle. The same 
 effects will take place if a board be interposed between the 
 magnet and the iron. This property of the magnet has afforded 
 the means of some very amusing deceptions. 
 
 A little figure of a man has been made to spell a person’s 
 name. The hand, in which w'as a piece of iron, rested on a 
 board, under which a person, concealed from view, with a 
 powerful magnet, contrived to carry it from letter to letter, 
 until the word was made up. 
 
 The figure of a goose or swan, with a piece of iron concealed 
 about the head, is set to float in water. A rod, with a con- 
 cealed magnet at the end, is presented to the bird, and it 
 swims after it. The effect is still more amusing, when some 
 food is put on the end of the rod. 
 
 The figure of a fish is thrown into the w'ater, with a small 
 magnet concealed in its mouth. Of course, if a baited hook 
 be suspended near it, the magnet and iron, by mutual attrac- 
 tion, will bring the fish to the bait. 
 
 Put a piece of iron in one scale of a balance, and an equal 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 849 
 
 weight in the other scale ; bring a magnet under the scale 
 which contains the iron, and it will draw it down. Reverse 
 this experiment, and put the magnet in the scale, and balance 
 it; bring the iron under it, and it will draw down the 
 magnet. Suspend a magnet by a string, and bring a piece of 
 iron near it, and it will attract. 
 
 If a magnet suspended by one string, and a piece of iron 
 suspended by another, be brought near one another, they 
 will mutually attract each other, and be drawn to a, point 
 between. 
 
 Suspend a magnet nicely poised by a thread, and it will 
 point north and south, the same end pointing invariably the 
 same way. 
 
 Rub a fine needle with a magnet, and lay it gently on the 
 surface of the water; it will point north and south. Rub 
 various needles with the magnet, and run them through small 
 pieces of cork, and put them to swim in w'ater; they will all 
 point north and south, and the same end will invariably 
 point the same way. This mode of finding the north is some- 
 times of the utmost service at sea, when the compass is 
 destroyed. 
 
 Opposite poles attract ; poles of the same name repel. Take 
 two magnets, or two needles rubbed with the magnet, and 
 bring the north and south poles together, and they attract. 
 
 Bring the north poles near each other, and they repel. 
 Bring the south poles near each other, and they repel. Rub 
 a needle with a magnet, and run it through a piece of cork, 
 and put it to float in water. Hold a north pole of a magnet 
 near its north pole, and it will keep flying away to avoid it. 
 It may be chased from side to side of a basin. On the other 
 hand, an opposite pole will immediately attract. 
 
 Rub four or five needles, and you may lift them up as in a 
 string, the north pole of one needle adhering to the south pole 
 of another. 
 
 Put a niagnet under a piece of glass, and sprinkle iron- 
 filings on it; they will arrange themselves in a manner that 
 will be very surprising. At each pole will be a vast abundance 
 standing erect, and there will be fewer and fewer as they 
 recede, until there are scarcely any in the middle. If the 
 iron-filings are sprinkled on the magnet itself, they will arrange 
 themselves in a manner very striking. 
 
 Lay a needle exactly between the north and south pole, it 
 will move towards neither. 
 
 Artificial Coruscations, 
 
 There is a method of producing artificial coruscations or 
 sparkling fiery meteors, which will be visible not only in the 
 
 5 P 
 
850 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 dark but at noon-day, and that from two liquors actually cold. 
 Fifteen grains of solid phosphorus are to be melted in about 
 a drachm of water: when this is cold, pour upon it about two 
 ounces of oil of vitriol ; let these be shaken together, and 
 they will at first heat, and afterw’ards they will throw up fiery 
 balls in great numbers, which will adhere like so many stars 
 to the sides of the glass, and continue burning for a consider- 
 able time; after tl'.is, if a small quantity of oil of tuipentine 
 is poured in, without shaking the phial, the mixture will of 
 itself take fire, and burn very furiously. The vessel should 
 be large, and open at the top. Artificial coruscations may 
 also be produced by means of oil of vitiiol and iron, in the 
 following manner: — Take a glass body capable of holding 
 three quarts; put into it three ounces of oil of vitriol and 
 twelve ounces of water; then warming the mixture a little, 
 throw in, at several times, two ounces or more of clean iron- 
 filings ; upon this, an ebullition and white vapours will arise ; 
 then present a lighted candle to the mouth of the vessel, and 
 the vapour will take fire, and will afford a bright illumination, 
 or flash like lightning. Applying the candle in this manner 
 several times, the effect will always be the same; and some- 
 times the fire w ill fill the whole body of the glass, and even 
 circulate to tbe bottom of the liquor; at others, it will only 
 reach a little way down its neck. The great caution to be 
 used in this experiment is, in making the vapour of a proper 
 heat; for, if too cold, few vapours will arise; and, if made 
 too hot, they w ill come too fast, and only take fire in the neck 
 of the glass, without any remarkable coruscation. 
 
 To make an Egg enter a Phial vnthout breaking. 
 
 Let the neck of a phial be ever so strait, an egg will go 
 into it without breaking, if it be first steeped in very strong 
 vinegar, for in process of time the vinegar does so soften it, 
 that the shell will bend and extend lengthways without break- 
 ing : and when it is in, cold water thrown upon it will recover 
 its primitive hardness, and, as Cardan says, its primitive 
 figure. 
 
 Light produced by Friction, even under Water, 
 
 Hub two pieces of fine lump sugar together in the dark; 
 the effect is produced, but in a much greater degree, by two 
 pieces of silex, or quartz: but that which affords the strongest 
 light of any thing, is a white quartz* from the Land’s End. 
 
 * The white pebbles found on the banks of the Mersey, althoutjh not a 
 pure quartz, answer the purpose perfectly well. It is singular, that the 
 friction is invariably accompanied by a strong sulphureous smell. 
 
DIAGRAMS OF EXPERIMENTS. 
 
\ 
 
 iHt mmi 
 
 OF THE 
 
 awvEft^Tir OF iUiMis 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 851 
 
 considerable qiiaotities of which are brought to Bristol, and 
 enter into the composition of china ware. By means of two 
 pieces of such quartz, pretty forcibly rubbed together, you 
 may distinguish the time of the night by a watch : but, what 
 is more surprising, the same effect is produced equally strong 
 by rubbing the pieces of quartz together under water. 
 
 Rosin Bubbles. 
 
 The following account of a simple and curious experiment 
 is extracted from a letter written by Mr. Morey, of Oxford, 
 New Hampshire, to Dr. Siiliman, the editor of the American 
 Journal of Science and Arts. 
 
 “ If the end of a copper tube, or of a tobacco-pipe stem, be 
 dipped in melted rosin, at a temperature a little above that of 
 boiling water, taken out and held nearly in a vertical position, 
 and blown through, bubbles will be formed of all possible 
 sizes, fronis that of a hen’s egg down to sizes which can 
 hardly be discerned by the naked eye; and from their silvery 
 lustre, and reflection of the different rays of light, they have 
 a pleasing appearance. Some that have been formed these 
 eight months, are as perfect as when first made. They gene- 
 rally assume the form of a string of beads, many of them 
 perfectly regular, and connected by a very fine fibre ; but the 
 production is never twice alike. If expanded by hydrogen 
 gas, they would probably occupy the upper part of the room. 
 
 “ The formation of these bubbles is ascribed to a common 
 cause, viz. the distention of a viscous fluid by one that is 
 aeriform; and their permanency, to the sudden congelation 
 of the rosin thus imprisoning the air by a thin film of solid 
 matter, and preventing its escape.” 
 
 A curious Hydraulic Experiment^ called the Magical Bottle. 
 
 Take a small bottle, (see Plate) AB, Fig. 9, the neck of which 
 must be very narrow, and provide a glass vessel, CD, the 
 height of which exceeds that of the bottle about two inches; 
 fill the bottle, by means of a small funnel, with red wine, and 
 place it in the vessel CD, which is to be previously filled with 
 water. Then, if the bottle be uncorked, the wine will pre- 
 sently come out of it, and rise in form of a small column, to 
 the surface of the water; and at the same time the water 
 entering the bottle, will supply the ])lace of wine; for water 
 being specifically heavier than wine, it will consequently sub- 
 side to the lowest place, while the other naturally rises to the 
 top. 
 
 A similar effect will be produced, if the bottle be filled with 
 water, and the vessel with wine, for the bottle being placed 
 
852 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the vessel, in an inverted position, the water will descend 
 to the bottom of the vessel, and the wine will rise in the bot- 
 tle The same effect may also be produced by any other 
 liquors, the specific gravities of which are considerably 
 different. 
 
 Another Hydraulic Experiment, called the Miraculous Vessel. 
 
 Take a tin vessel of about six inches in height, and three 
 in diameter, having a mouth of only a quarter of an inch 
 wide, and in the bottom of the vessel make a number of small 
 holes, of a size sufficient to admit a common sewing needle. 
 
 Plunge the vessel into water, with its mouth open, and 
 when it is full, cork it, and take it out again; then, as long 
 as the vessel remains corked, no water will come out of it; 
 but as soon as it is uncorked, the water will immediately issue 
 from the small holes at the bottom. It must be observed, how- 
 ever, that if’ the holes at the bottom of the vessel be more 
 than one-sixth of an inch in diameter, or if they be too 
 numerous, the experiment will not succeed ; for, in this case, 
 the pressure of the air against the bottom of the vessel will 
 not be sufficient to confine the water. 
 
 A curious HtydrauUc Experiment , called Tantalus's Cup. 
 
 Take a glass, or any other vessel, (see Plate) ABCD, fig. 10. 
 which has a small bent pipe, EFG, open at each end, running 
 through the middle of it; then, if water or wine be poured into 
 the glass, it will continue in it till the tube is full up to the bend 
 F, which should be a little lower than the upper edge of the 
 glass; but if, after this, you continue to pour more liquor 
 into it, it will endeavour, as usual, to rise higher in the glass, 
 but not finding room for a farther ascent in the tube, it will 
 descend through the part EG, and run out at the end G, as 
 long as you continue to put it in. To those who are unac- 
 quainted with the nature of the syphon, the effect may perhaps 
 appear something more extraordinary, if the longest branch 
 of the tube be concealed in the handle of the cup. 
 
 This is called the cup of Tantalus, from its resemblance to 
 an experiment of the same kind, by placing an upright image 
 in the cup, and disposing the syphon in such a manner 
 that, as soon as the water rises to the chin of the image, it 
 will begin to run out through the longest leg, in the same 
 manner as from the cup above-mentioned. 
 
 A curious Chemical Experiment , called the Tree of Diana. 
 Make an amalgam, without heat, of two drachms of leaf 
 silver with one drachm of quicksilver. Dissolve this amalgam 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 853 
 
 of two ounces, or a sufficient quantity, of pure nitrous acid 
 of X moderate strength : dilute the solution in about a pound 
 and a half of distilled water, agitate the mixture, and preserve 
 it for use in a glass bottle with a ground stopper. When you 
 would make your tree, put into a phial the quantity of an 
 ounce of the above preparation, and add to it about the size of 
 a pea of amalgam of gold or silver, as soft as butter: the 
 vessel must then be left at rest, and soon afterwards small 
 filaments will appear to issue out of the ball of amalgam, which 
 quickly increase, and shoot out branches in the form of 
 shrubs. 
 
 A metallic arborisation, somewhat similar, may be produced 
 in the following manner: — Dissolve a little sugar of lead in 
 water, and fill a phial with the solution. Pass a wire through 
 the cork, and affix to the upper part of the wire a small bit of 
 silver, or zinc, in such a manner that it may be immersed in 
 the solution not far from its surface. Set the phial in some 
 place where it may remain undisturbed, and in about twenty- 
 four hours you will perceive the lead beginning to shoot round 
 the wire: this process wdll continue going on slowly, till you 
 have a beautiful metallic tree. If you have a wide-mouthed 
 phial, or glass jar, the experiment may be pleasingly diversi- 
 fied, by arranging the wire in various forms. 
 
 A remarkable Experiment^ called Prince Rupert's Drops. 
 
 Take up a small quantity of the melted matter of glass with 
 a tube, and let a drop of it fall into a vessel of water. This 
 drop will have a small tail, which, being broken, the whole 
 substance of the drop will burst, with great violence, into a fine 
 powder, and give a little pain to the hand, but do no hurt to it. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance in this experiment, that the 
 bulb, or body, will bear the stroke of a hammer, without 
 breaking; but when the tail is broken, the above-mentioned 
 effect IS produced. If the drop be cooled in the air, the same 
 effect will not take place ; and if it be ground away on a 
 stone, nothing extraordinary appears; but if it be put into 
 the receiver of an air-pump, and then broken, the effect will 
 be so violent as to produce light. 
 
 How to make Sympathetic Inks of various Kinds. 
 
 By sympathetic inks, are meant those kinds of liquors, with 
 which if any characters be written, they will remain invisible, 
 till some method is used to give them a colour. 
 
 The first class of these inks consists of such as become 
 visible by passing another liquor over them, or by exposing 
 them to the vapour of that liquor. 
 
854 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The second, of those which do not appear so long as they 
 are kept close, but soon become visible on being exposed to 
 the air. 
 
 The third, of such as become apparent by strewing or sift- 
 ing some very fine powder over them. 
 
 The fourth, of those which do not become visible till they 
 are exposed to the fire, or heated. 
 
 The fifth, like the fourth, of such as appear by heat, but 
 disappear again when the paper becomes cold, or has had a 
 sufficient time to imbibe the moisture of the air. 
 
 Sijnipathetic Inks of the First C/ass. — Put some litharge into 
 strong distilled vinegar, and let it stand for twenty-four hours; 
 then strain it oflT, and, after it is quite settled, put it into a 
 bottle closely corked, and preserve it for use. Having done 
 this, put into a pint bottle two ounces of quicklime, one 
 ounce of orpiment in powder, and as much water as will rise 
 two or three fingers’ breadth above them ; and when the 
 solution is made, pour the liquid gently off, and let it stand in 
 the sun for two or three days, observing to turn it five or six 
 times each day. 
 
 When these liquors are ready for use, any letters written 
 by the first, being exposed to the vapours of the second, will 
 quickly become visible; and if you would have them disap- 
 pear again, you must draw a sponge, or pencil, dipt in aqua- 
 fortis, or spirit of nitre, over them : and if, after this, you would 
 have them appear again, stay till the paper is quite dry, and 
 then pass the vivifying liquor, made of the solution of orpi- 
 ment, over them, as before. 
 
 Another Ink of this Class. — Dissolve bismuth in the nitrous 
 acid, and any letters written with this ink will become quite 
 black, by being exposed to the vapour of liver of sulphur, 
 which is of so penetrating a nature, that it will act upon 
 the ink through a quire of paper, or even the slight partition 
 of a room 4 
 
 A Sifmpathetic Gold Ink of the Second Class. — Put as much 
 gold into a small quantity of aqua-regia as will dissolve it, 
 and then dilute it with two or three times as much distilled 
 water. 
 
 Also dissolve, in a separate vessel, fine pewter in aqua- 
 regia; and when it is well saturated, add to it an equal quan- 
 tity of distilled water. 
 
 Then, if any characters be written with the solution of gold, 
 put them in the shade till they become quite dry, and they 
 will not appear for the first seven or eight hours, but if you 
 dip a pencil, or small fine sponge, in the solution of pewter, 
 and draw it lightly over the invisible characters, they will pre- 
 sently appear of a purple colour. 
 
 The purple colour of these letters may be effaced again, by 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 855 
 
 wetting them with aqua-regia, and may be produced a second 
 time, by passing the solution of pewter over them as before. 
 
 A Sympathetic Ink of the Second Class. — Dissolve fine silver 
 in aqua-fortis, and add some distilled water to the solution, 
 in the same manner as in the gold ink ; then, whatever is 
 written with this ink, will remain invisible for three or four 
 months, if it be kept close from the air; but if it be expq|K'd 
 to the sun, it will appear in about an hour, of a gray cob^r, 
 like that of a slate. 
 
 Sympathetic Inks of the Third Class, — or such as become 
 visible by having any fine pow'der strewed over them, — may 
 be composed of the glutinous and colourless juice of any 
 vegetable, the milk of animals, and several other sub- 
 stances. 
 
 Sympathetic Inks of the Fourth Class, — are made by diluting 
 acid of vitriol with about three times its weight of common 
 water, or as much as will prevent it from corroding the paper. 
 The juice of lemons, or onions, will answer the same purpose; 
 but either of them requires more heat than the first, and will 
 not keep so long. 
 
 A Green Ink of the Fifth Class. — Take zafFre in pow der, and 
 let it remain dissolved in aqua-regia for twenty-four hours; 
 after which pour the liquor off’ clear, and, adding to it as much 
 common water, keep it in a bottle well corked. Then, if any 
 characters be written with this ink, and exposed to the fire, 
 or strong rays of the sun, they w'ill appear of a lively green. 
 
 It is the peculiar property of this ink, that as soon as the 
 paper becomes cold again, the letters will disappear; and this 
 alternate appearance and disappearance may be repeated a 
 great number of times, provided the heat be not too great. 
 
 Other Sympathetic Inks. 
 
 A Yellow Ink of this kind may be made, by steeping the 
 flowers of marigolds seven or eight days in clear distilled 
 vinegar, and then pressing them out, and keeping the liquor 
 well corked in a bottle for use. 
 
 For a Red invisible Ink, — takt ..e pure spirit of vitriol, or 
 that of nitre, and add to it eight or ten times as much water, 
 according as you would have it more or less red. 
 
 For a Green Ink of this sort, — dissolve salt of tartar, the 
 clearest and driest you can procure, in a sufficient quantity of 
 river water; and for a Violet sympathetic Ink, express the juice 
 of lemons, and keep it in a bottle well corked. 
 
 Then, if any characters be written with one of these inks, 
 they will appear in their proper colours, the paper having been 
 dipped in the following liquor. 
 
 Take a sufficient quantity of the flowers of pansies, 
 
656 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 common violets, and after adding* some water to them, strain 
 the liquor through a cloth, and keep it in a bottle for use. 
 
 A Sympathetic Ink which appears by being wetted Whth Water, 
 
 Mix alum with a sufficient quantity of lemon juice; then, 
 if any letters or characters be written with this mixture, they 
 will be invisible till they are wetted with water, which will 
 make them appear of a grayish colour, and quite transparent. 
 
 Or, you may write with a strong solution of roch-alum only, 
 and when the writing is dry, pour a small quantity of water 
 over it, and it will appear of a white colour, like that of the 
 paper before it was wetted. 
 
 Also all saline liquors, such as vitriolic, nitrous, and marine 
 acids, diluted with w ater, the liquor of fixed vegetable alkalis, 
 and even vinegar, will produce the same effect. 
 
 If a little aqua-fortis be mixed with the water, the writing 
 will dry well, and not run out of its form when the paper is 
 wetted. 
 
 A curious Recreation with Sympathetic Ink, called the Book oj 
 
 Fate, 
 
 Make a book, consisting of seventy or eighty leaves, and 
 in the cover at the end of it, let there be a case which opens 
 next to the back, that it may not be perceived. At the top 
 of each right-hand page, write any question you please ; and 
 at the beginning of the book, let there be a table of those 
 questions, with the number of the pages in which each is to 
 be found. Then write with common ink on separate papers, 
 each about half the size of the pages, the same questions that 
 are in the book; and under each of them, w'rite the answer 
 with the ink made with the litharge of lead, or the solution 
 of bismuth. , 
 
 Soak a double paper in the vivifying ink, made of quick- 
 lime and orpiment, or the liver of sulphur; and just before 
 you make the experiment, place it in the case that is in the 
 cover of the book. 
 
 Having done this, deliver some of the papers on which the 
 questions are written, to the company ; and after they have 
 chosen such as they wish to have answered, let them put 
 them into those leaves where the same questions are con- 
 tained; then shutting the book fora few minutes, the sulphu- 
 reous spirit, with which the paper in the cover of the book 
 is impregnated, w'ill penetrate the leaves, and make the 
 answer visible, which will be of a brown colour, and more 
 or less deep, in proportion to the time the book has been 
 closed. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 867 
 
 A curious Recreation, called the Transcolorated Writing. 
 
 Write on a paper, with a violet-coloured liquor, as many 
 letters or words as you please, and ask any person which he 
 will choose to have the writing, — yellow, green, or red. When 
 he has made his choice, have a sponge ready with three sides, 
 which you can easily distinguish, and dip each of its sides 
 in one of the three sympathetic inks; then draw the side of 
 the sponge which corresponds to the colour the person has 
 chosen, over the writing, once only, and it will directly 
 change to the colour required. 
 
 An Experiment with Sympathetic Ink, called the Oracular Letters. 
 
 Write on several slips of paper different questions, and 
 such as may be answered by the name of some person : for 
 example. Who is the merriest man in company? — Ansiver, 
 Mr. ***. To whom will Miss *** be married? — Answer, To 
 Mr. ***. These questions are to be written in the sympa- 
 thetic ink of the fourth class, and exposed to the fire, and the 
 answers written in the same ink, and left invisible. The 
 pa[)ers are then to be folded in the form of letters, and in 
 such a manner, that the part where the name is written shall 
 be directly under the seal; in which case, the heat of the 
 wax will make it visible. Then, if the letter be given to the 
 person who requires the answer, he will find it plainly 
 written. 
 
 An Experiment with Sympathetic Ink, called Winter changed to 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Take a print which represents winter, and trace over the 
 trees, plants, and ground, with the green sympathetic ink ; 
 observing to make some parts deeper than others, according 
 to their distance. When those parts are dry, paint the other 
 objects in their natural colours; then put" the print into a 
 glazed frame, and cover the back of it with a paper, pasted 
 over its border only. When this print is exposed to the heat 
 of a moderate fire, or to the warm rays of the sun, all the 
 grass and foliage will turn to a pleasing green ; and if a yellow 
 tint be given to some parts of the print, before the sympathetic 
 ink be drawn over it, the green will be of different shades, 
 and the scei>e, that a minute before represented Winter, will 
 now be changed into Spring. When this print is placed in 
 the cold. Winter will appear again, and be again driven away 
 by the warm rays of the sun ; and this alternate change of 
 seasons may be repeated as often as you please, provided the 
 print bg not made too hot. 
 
 5Q 
 
858 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A remarkable Experiment, called the Revivified Rose, 
 
 Take a rose that is quite faded, and throw in some common 
 sulphur in a chafing- dish of hot coal. Hold the rose over the 
 fumes, and it will become quite white; then dip it into a 
 basin of water, and giving it to any one, tell him to put it 
 into his box or drawer, and after locking it, to give you the 
 key. About five or six hours afterwards, return him the key, 
 and when he unlocks his drawer, instead of the white rose he 
 put into it, he will find one perfectly red. 
 
 How to Write on Glass by means ofi the Rays of the Sun, 
 
 Dissolve chalk in aqua-fortis, to the consistence of milk, 
 and add to it a strong solution of silver; keep this liquor in a 
 glass decanter, w'ell stopped, and cutting out from a paper 
 the letters you wish to appear, paste it on the decanter, and 
 place it in the sun, in such a manner, that its rays may pass 
 through the spaces cut out of the paper, and fall on the sur- 
 face of the liquor; then will that part of the glass through 
 which the rays pass be turned black, while that under the 
 paper will remain white; but particular care must be taken 
 that the bottle be not moved during the time of the opera- 
 tion. 
 
 To produce different Colours, by pouring a colourless Liquor 
 into a clean Glass, 
 
 Take a strong solution of quicksilver, made with spirit of 
 nitre; dilute it with water, and pour it into a hot glass, rinsed 
 in strong spirit of sea-salt, and it will instantly become co- 
 loured. Or, if a solution of silver, made with spirit of nitre, 
 considerably diluted, be poured into a glass, prepared in the 
 manner above-mentioned, it will produce the same effect. 
 And if you pour hot water upon new-made crocus metallorum, 
 and put it into a clean glass, rinsed with any acid, it will pro- 
 duce an orange colour. 
 
 To p'^'oduce a Colour which appears and disappears by the 
 Influence of the Air, , 
 
 Put into a decanter some volatile spirit, in which you have 
 dissolved copper filings, and you will have a fine blue tinc- 
 ture ; and if the bottle be stopped, the colour will soon return 
 again; and this experiment may be repeated a considerable 
 !iiumber of times. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 859 
 
 To turn a colourless Liquor Black, by adding a White Powder 
 
 to it. 
 
 Put a hot weak pellucid infusion of galls int a glass, and 
 throw into it a grain of the vitriol of iron, calcined to white- 
 ness, and considerably heated ; then, as it falls to the bottom, 
 it will make a black cloud, which w'ill uniformly diffuse itself 
 through the transparent liquor, and gradually turn it black. 
 
 The same effect may also be produced by the addition of a 
 little vitriol of iron calcined to a yellow colour, or by the col- 
 cothar of vitriol calcined to redness. 
 
 The black liquor, produced as above, may be rendered 
 pellucid again, by pouring the liquor hot into a glass rinsed 
 with the pure acid of vitriol. And to make this transparent 
 liquor black again, pour to it as much hot oil of tartar per 
 deliquiiim as will saturate the acid, which has attracted the 
 metallic matter. 
 
 Freezing Mixture, 
 
 In the time of snow', a freezing mixture may easily be made, 
 by mixing a little snow and common salt in a basin near the 
 fire. If water in an iron cup or phial be put into this mixture, 
 it will immediately be frozen ; and if pounded ice and common 
 salt be added, it will have a still more powerful effect. 
 
 Experiments ivith the Microscope. 
 
 They w'ho possess this amusing instrument, may easily per- 
 form with It a variety of pleasing experiments ; among others, 
 the following : — Leave some vinegar exposed in a saucer, for a 
 few days, to the open air ; then place a drop of it, »by means of 
 a clean pen, or a camel’s hair brush, on the transparent object- 
 plate of the microscope; and if the object-plate be properly 
 illuminated from below, you will observe in this drop of 
 liquor animals resembling some small eels, which are in con- 
 tinual motion. 
 
 If you slightly bruise some pepper-corns, and infuse them 
 in water for a few days, and then expose a drop of it to the 
 micrDscope, a number of animals of a different kind will be 
 visible. These are of an oblong shape, and, like the others, 
 in continual motion, going backwards and forwards in all di- 
 rections, turning aside when they meet each other, or when 
 their passage is stopped by some obstacle 
 
 In otiier infusions, as in that of new hay, differently shaped 
 animalcules will be found. When the drop in which they 
 swim, and which to them is like a pond, becomes diminished 
 Dy evaporation, they gradually retire towards the middle. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 R60 
 
 where they accumulate, and at length perish when entirely 
 de|)rived of moisture. Previously to this, they appear in great 
 distress, writhe their bodies, and endeavour to escape from 
 that state of uneasiness v<hich they evidently feel. 
 
 If the smallest quantity or drop of sulphuric acid be put 
 into a drop of the infusion which swarms with these insects, 
 they immediately throw themselves on their backs, and expire ; 
 sometimes losing their skin, which bursts, and suffers small 
 particles of air to escape. 
 
 Those who wish to be furnished with microscopic eels, at 
 all seasons, may have them in common paste, such as the 
 bookbinders commonly use. It should neither be too stiff, 
 nor too watery. Expose it to the air, and prevent its harden- 
 ing or becoming mouldy on the surface, by beating it well 
 together, when it has that tendency. After some days it will 
 become sour; and then, if examined attentively by a micro- 
 scope, multitudes of exceedingly small, long, and slender 
 animalcules will be visible ; these will grow larger, till they 
 are of sufficient size to be seen by the naked eye. A drop or 
 two of vinegar should now and then be poured on the paste ; 
 and sometimes, to prevent its being dry, a little vinegar and 
 water. By this means microscopic eels may be had all the 
 year. They must be applied to the microscope upon any flat 
 surface, after having first put on it a very small drop of water 
 for them tO' swim in. These are very entertaining objects 
 when examined by any kind of microscope, but particularly 
 the solar one, by which the motions of their intestines may 
 very plainly be distinguished ; and when the water is nearly 
 dried away, and they are on the point of expiring, their 
 mouths may be seen opening to a considerable width. 
 
 If some of the dust of the puff-ball be examined with the 
 microscope, it appears to consist of perfectly round globules, 
 of an orange colour, the diameter of which is only about the 
 one-fiftieth part of the thickness of a hair, so that each of 
 this giain is but the of a globule, equal in dia- 
 
 meter to the breadth of a hair. 
 
 The farina of flowers is found to be regularly or uniformly 
 organized in each kind of plant. In the mallow', for example, 
 each grain is an opaque ball, covered over with small points. 
 The farina of the tulip, and of most of the liliaceous kind of 
 flowers, bears a striking resemblance to the seeds of the 
 cucumber : that of the poppy is like grains of barley. 
 
 There are certain plants, the leaves of which seem to be 
 pierced with a multitude of small holes. Of this kind is the 
 St. John^s Wort. If a fragment of this be viewed with a good 
 jnicroscope, the supposed holes are found to be vesicles, 
 contained in the thickness of the leaf, and covered with an 
 exceedingly thin membrane; and these are thought to be the 
 
APPEN DIX. 
 
 361 
 
 receptacles which contain the essential -ind aromatic oil pecu- 
 liar to the plant. The view exhibited by those plants which 
 have down, such as borage, nettles, &c. is exceedingly curious. 
 When examined by a microscope, they appear to be covered 
 with spikes. Those of boiage are, for the most part, bent so 
 as to form an elbow ; and though really so close, they appeal* 
 by the microscope, to be at a considerable distance from each 
 other. The entire appearance is very similar to that of the 
 skin of a porcupine. 
 
 There are two kinds of sand, viz. the calcareous and the 
 vitreous : the former, examined with a microscope, resembles 
 large irregular fragments of rock ; but the latter appears like 
 so many rough dianionds. In some instances, the particles 
 of sand seem to be highly polished and brilliant, like an 
 assemblage of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. 
 
 Charcoal is a fine object for the microscope : it is found to 
 be full of pores, regularly arranged, and passing through its 
 whole length. 
 
 O ^ 
 
 Those who wish to observe the circulation of the blood, by 
 means of the microscope, may readily obtain the desired sa- 
 tisfaction. An object employed chiefly for this purpose is the 
 delicate transparent membrane which unites the toes of the 
 frog; another object is the tail of the tadpole. If this mem- 
 brane he extended, and fixed on a piece of glass illuminated 
 below, the motion of the blood in the vessels will be distinctly 
 visible; the ap|)earance resembles a number of small islands, 
 with a lapid current flowing between them. 
 
 d'ake a small tadpole, and, having wrapped its body in a 
 j)iece of moist cloth, place its tail on the object-plate of the 
 micioscope, and enlighten it below, and you will see very 
 distinctly the circulation of the blood; which in some of the 
 vessels proceeds by a kind of undulation, and in others with 
 a uniform motion. The former are thought to be the arteries 
 in which the blood moves, in consequence of the alternate 
 pulsation of the heart; the latter are said to be the veins. 
 The circulation of the blood may be seen also in the legs and 
 tails of shrimps. The transparent legs of small spiders, and 
 those of bugs, will also aftord the means of observing the 
 circulation of the blood to very great advantage. The latter 
 are said, by Mr. Baker, to exhibit an extraordinary vibration 
 of the vessels, which he never saw any where else. Very 
 snmll fish are good objects for this purpose ; but the most 
 curious of all spectacles of this kind, is that exhibited by the 
 inosenter.y of a living frog, applied in particular to the solar 
 microscope. 
 
 If you take ofl’ a small piece of the epidermis, or scarf skin, 
 of the hand, by means of a sharp razor, and place it on the 
 object-plate of the mfcroscope, you will see it covered with a 
 
862 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 multitude of small scales, so exceedingly minute, that, accord 
 ing to Leuwenhoek, a grain of sand would cover two hundred 
 of them. These scales are arranged like those on the back of 
 fishes, like the tiles of a house, each in part covering the 
 other. To ascertain the form of these little scales, scrape the 
 skin with a penknife, and put this dust into a drop of water, and 
 it will be seen that these scales, small as they are, have, in gene- 
 ral, five planes, and that each consists of several strata. Under- 
 neath these scales are the pores of the epidermis, which, when 
 the former are removed, may be distinctly seen, apparently 
 like small holes, pierced with an exceedingly fine needle. In 
 the length of an inch, twelve hundred have been counted, so 
 that, in a surface equal to a square inch, there are fourteen 
 thousand ; and as there are one hundred and forty-four inches 
 in a square foot, the number of pores in a square foot of sur- 
 face would be more than two millions ; and as the surface of 
 the human body is reckoned at fourteen feet, the number of 
 pores in its surface, through which there is a perpetual perspi- 
 ration going on, must be more than twenty-eight millions. 
 
 The hairs of animals, seen through a microscope, appear 
 to be organized bodies : they are composed of long, slender, 
 hollow tubes; some seem to be composed of several small 
 hairs, covered with a common bark; others are hollow 
 throughout. The bristles of a cat’s whisker, when cut trans- 
 versely, exhibit the appearance of a medullary part, which 
 occupies the middle, like the pith in the twig of the elder- 
 tree. A human hair, cut in the same manner, shews a variety 
 Df vessels in very regular figures. Hair taken from the head, 
 the eyebrows, the nostrils, the beard, the hand, &c. appear 
 unlike, as well in the roots as in the hairs themselves, and 
 vary as plants do of the same genus, but of different species. 
 Those of the hedgehog contain a kind of real marrow, which 
 is whitish, and formed of radii meeting in a centre. A split 
 hair appears like a stick shivered with beating. 
 
 Nothing can be more curious than the appearance exhibited 
 by mouldiness, when viewed through a microscope. If looked 
 at by the naked eye, it seems nothing but an irregular tissue 
 of filaments; but the magnifying-glass shews it to be a forest 
 of small plants, which derive their nourishment from the moist 
 substance which serves them as a base. The stems of these 
 plants may be plainly distinguished, and sometimes the' 
 buds, some shut, and some open. They have much similarity 
 to mushrooms, the tops of which, when they come to matu- 
 rity, emit an exceedingly fine dust, which is their seed. 
 
 Upon examining the edge of a very keen razor with a mi- 
 croscope, it will appear as broad as the back of a thick knife, 
 rough, uneven, full of notches and furrows. An exceedingly 
 small need e resembles a rough iron bar. But the sting of a bee, 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 863 
 
 seen through the same instrument, exhibits every . where a 
 polish exceedingly beautiful, without the least flaw, blemish, 
 or inequality, and ends in a point too fine to be discerned. 
 
 A small piece of exceedingly fine lawn, appears, through a 
 microscope, like a hurdle or lattice, and the threads them- 
 selves seem coarser than the yarn with which ropes are made 
 for anchors. But a silkworm’s web appears perfectly smooth 
 and shining, and every where equal. 
 
 The smallest dot that can be made wdth a pen, appears, 
 W'hen viewed by the microscope, an irregular spot, rough, 
 jagged, and uneven. But the little specks on the wings or 
 bodies of insects, are found to be most accurately circular. 
 
 A microscope will prove the most boasted performances of 
 art to be ill-shaped, rugged, and uneven. The finest minia- 
 ture paintings appear before this instrument as mere daubings, 
 plastered on with a trowel, entirely void of beauty, either in 
 the drawing or the colouring. The most even and beautiful 
 varnishes and j)olishings will be found to be mere roughness, 
 full of gaps and flaws. Thus sink the works of art, before the 
 microscopic eye. But the nearer we examine the works of 
 God, even in the least of his productions, the more sensible 
 shall we be of his wisdom and power. Apply the microscope 
 to any, the most minute of his works, nothing is to be found 
 but beauty and perfection. If we examine the numberless 
 species of insects that swim, creep, or fly around us, w'hat 
 proportion, exactness, uniformity, and symmetry, shall we 
 perceive in all their organs! what a profusion of colouring! 
 azure, green, and vermilion, gold, silver, pearls, rubies, and 
 diamonds ; fringe and embroidery on their bodies, wings, 
 heads, and every other part! how high the finishing, how 
 inimitable the polish, we every where behold! 
 
 Their wings, all glorious to behold! 
 
 Bedeck’d W'ith azure, jet, and gold. 
 
 Wide they display ; the spangled dew 
 Relleots their eyes and various hue. 
 
 The most perfect works of art betray a meanness, a poverty, 
 an inability in the workman; but the works of nature plainly 
 prove, that “ the hand which formed them was divine.’* 
 
 Amusing Experiments with the Thermometer, 
 
 A thermometer is amusing in a room, to enable us to know 
 with accuracy the real degree of heat, as our own feelings are 
 so very deceptive. According to their state of health at the 
 time, different persons will give a different judgment on the 
 subject. After hot weather, a day which is not very cold, 
 will yet feel so to us, and after cold weather we shall be ready 
 to think a day warm, which is not so severe as the preceding. 
 
86‘4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 In winter, a thermometer in a sitting-room enables us to regu- 
 late hr, heat. Too great warmth produced by a fire is injuri- 
 ous to health, as it relaxes the strength, and consumes the 
 pure oxygenous air, so necessary for respiration. 
 
 Experiments will shew how differently the feelings of dif- 
 ferent individuals may be affected by the same degree of 
 heat. 
 
 Let one person go out into the cold air in winter for a few 
 minutes, and let another sit by a warm fire; then introduce 
 boih into a room without a fire : the person from the cold will 
 I el it warm, and the other will feel it cold. 
 
 A much more entertaining experiment will shew', that what 
 will be cold to the one hand, will be warm to the other. Pour 
 vvarir) water into one basin, cold water into a second, and a 
 mixture of hot and cold water into a third ; then put the one 
 hand into the cold water, and the other into the warm, for 
 two minutes, and after that put both hands into the luke- 
 warm water, and to the one hand it will feel cold, and to the , 
 other hot. 
 
 THE BAROMETER. 
 
 Rules for judging of and predicting the State of the Weather 
 by the Barometer. 
 
 The rising of the mercury presages, in general, fair weather, 
 and its falling, foul weather, as rain, snow, high winds, and 
 storms. 
 
 When the surface of the mercury is convex, or stands 
 hioher in the middle than at the sides, it is a sign the mercury 
 is then in a rising state ; but if the surface be concave, or 
 hollow in the middle, it is then sinking. 
 
 In very hot weather, the falling of the mercury indicates 
 thunder. 
 
 In winter, the rising presages frost; and in frosty weather, 
 if the mercury falls three or four divisions, there will be a 
 thaw. But in a continued frost, if the mercury rises, it will 
 certainly snow. 
 
 When wet weather happens soon after the depression of the 
 mercury, expect but little of it; on the contrary, expect but 
 little fair weather, when it proves fair shortly after the mercury 
 has risen. 
 
 In wet weather, when the mercury rises mucn and high, 
 and so continues for two or three days before the bad weather 
 is entirely over, then a continuance of fair weather may be 
 expected. 
 
 In fair weather, when the mercury falls much and low, and 
 tlius continues for two or three days before the rain comes, 
 then a deal of wet may be expected, and probably high winds. 
 
APPENDIX. 865 
 
 The unsettled motion of the mercury denotes unsettled 
 weather. 
 
 The words engraved on the scale are not so much to be 
 attended to, as the rising and falling of the mercury ; for if it 
 stands at much rain, and then rises to changeable, it denotes 
 fair weather, though not to continue so long as if the mercury 
 had risen higher. 
 
 If the mercury stands at fair, and falls to changeable, bad 
 weather may be expected. 
 
 In winter, spring, and autumn, the sudden falling of the 
 mercury, and that for a large space, denotes high winds and 
 storms; but in summer it presages heavy showers, and often 
 thunder. It always sinks very low for great winds, though 
 not accompanied with rain ; but it falls more for wind and 
 rain together, than for either of them alone. 
 
 If, after rain, the wind change into any part of the north, 
 with a clear and dry sky, and the mercury rise, it is a certain 
 sign of fair weather. 
 
 After very great storms of wind, when the mercury has been 
 low, it commonly rises again very fast. 
 
 In settled fair weather, except the mercury sink much, 
 expect but little rain. 
 
 In a wet season, the smallest depression must be attended 
 to; for when the air is much inclined to showers, a little 
 sinking in the barometer denotes more rain. And in such a 
 season, if it rise suddenly fast and high, fair weather cannot 
 be expected to last more than a day or two. 
 
 The greatest heights of the mercury are found upon easterly 
 and north-easterly winds; and it may often rain or snow, the 
 wind beirg in these points, while the barometer is in a rising 
 state, the etiects of the wind counteracting its influence. But 
 the mercury sinks for wind as well as rain in all other points 
 of the compass. 
 
 New Method of Preserving Birds. — ( From the Annual llegister.) 
 
 When I receive a bird fresh taken, (says the author,) I open 
 the venter, from the lower part of the breast-bone down to 
 the anus, with a pair of scissars, and extract all the contents. 
 This (’avitv I immediately fill up with the following mixture, 
 and then bring the wound together by a suture, so as to pre- 
 vent the stuffing from coming out. The gullet or passage I 
 fill, from the beak down to where the stomach lies, with the 
 mixture finer ground, which must be forced down a little 
 at a time, by the help of a quill or wire : the head 1 open 
 near the root of the tongue, with the scissars., and, after hav- 
 ing turned out the brains, I fill the cavity with the same 
 mixture. 
 
 5 R 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 866 
 
 The bird being thus filled, must now be hung* up by the leers 
 to dry for two days, to let the spice settle ; after which it may 
 be placed in a frame to dry, in the same attitude as we 
 usually see it when alive. In this frame it must be held up 
 by two threads, the one passing from the anus to the lower 
 part of the back, and the other through the eyes : the ends 
 of these threads are to brace the bird up to its proper attitude, 
 fasten them to the side of the frame, and place it on a chip 
 pill-box. It will now require no other support than a pin 
 through each foot, fastened into the box: it must remain a 
 month or two to dry. The eyes must be supplied by propor- 
 tional glass beads, fixed in with strong gum-water. 
 
 The mixture is: common salt, one pound ; alum, powdered, 
 four ounces ; ground popper, two ounces; all blended toge- 
 ther. 
 
 To take the Impression of the Wings of a Butterfy in all their 
 
 Colours, 
 
 Kill it without spoiling; cut off the body close to the 
 wings, uhich contrive to spread in a flyino* position; then 
 take a piece of white paper, wash part of it wiili thick gum- 
 water ; when dry, lay it on a smooth board, with the wings 
 on the gum-water; lay another paper over this, press both 
 very hard, let them remain under prer>sure for an liuur; after- 
 wards take off the wings of the butterfly, and you will find a 
 perfect impression of them, with all their various colours, 
 remaining on the paper. Draw, between the wings of the im- 
 pression, the body of the butterfly, and colour it after life. 
 
 To take the Impression of a Leaf of any Tree, Plant, or Shrub, 
 with all its Vehis. 
 
 Having put the intended leaf into a book for a few minutes, 
 W'bich will cause it to lie very flat, you must have a pair of 
 balls, somewhat of the shape of those used by printers; have 
 them covered w'ith kid-skin, that being the best leather for 
 the purpose. These balls may be made to any size. You 
 must then procure some lamp-black, ground or mixed wdth 
 drying oil, and having put a small quantity on one of t he i)alls, 
 spread it all over with the other till they are botli Idack ; then 
 laying the leaf on one of them, place the ot’ner over it, and 
 press both very hard together. When the leaf is sufliciently 
 black, take it off the ball, and place it between a sheet of 
 white paper. Press it gently with your hand, the heat and 
 pressure of which will cause it to receive an accurate delinea- 
 tion of all its veins. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 867 
 
 Instead of black, any other colour may be used. Verdigris 
 makes a pleasant green; and by adding yellow ochre, or 
 Prussian blue, you may approach the original tint of the leaf, 
 and your impression will almost equal that of nature. 
 
 Curious Experiments respecting Colours, 
 
 The following curious and useful remarks on the different 
 degrees of heat imbibed from the sun’s rays, &c. by cloths of 
 different colours, were extracted from “ Experiments and Ob- 
 servations,” by that famous American philosopher and politi- 
 cian, Dr. B. Franklin. 
 
 ‘‘‘ First, let me mention an experiment you may easily make 
 yourself. Walk but a quarter of an hour in your garden when 
 the sun shines, with a part of your dress white, and a part 
 black; then apply your hand to them alternately, and you 
 will find a very great difference in their warmth. The black 
 will be quite hot to the touch, the white still cool. 
 
 “Another. Try to fire paper with a burning-glass. If it 
 be white, you will not easily burn it; but if you bring the 
 focus to a black spot, or upon letters written or printed, the 
 paper will immediately be on fire under the letters. 
 
 “Thus fullers and dyers find thatblack cloths, of equal thick- 
 ness with white ones, and hung out equally wet, dry in the 
 sun much sooner than the white, being more readily heated by 
 the sun’s rays. It is the same before a fire ; the heat of 
 which sooner penetrates black stockings than white ones, and 
 is apt sooner to burn a man’s shins. Also beer much 
 sooner warms in a black mug set before the fire, than in a 
 white one, or in a bright silver tankard. 
 
 “ My experiment was this : I took a number of little square 
 pieces of broad (doth from a tailor’s pattern-card, of various co- 
 lours. There was black, deep blue, lighter blue, green, purple, 
 red, yellow, white, andother colours, or shades of colours. I laid 
 them all out upon the snow in a bright sunshiny morning. In. 
 a few hours, (I cannot now be exact as to the time,) the black 
 being warmed most by the sun, was sunk so low as to be 
 below the stroke of the sun’s rays; the dark blue almost as 
 low', the lighter blue not quite so low as the dark, the other 
 colours less as they were lighter ; and the quite white remained 
 on the surface of the snow, not having entered it at all. 
 
 “What signifies philosophy that does not apply to some 
 use? May we not learn from her'ce, that black cloths are not 
 so fit to wear in a hot sunny climate, or season, as white ones ; 
 because, in such clothes the body is more heated by the sun 
 when we walk abroad, and are at the same time heated by the 
 exercise, which double heat is apt to bring on putrid dan- 
 gerous fevers? — that soldiers and seamen, who must march 
 
ms 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and la jOur /n the sun, should, in t*he East or West Indies, 
 have a uniform of white? — that summer hats for men or 
 women, should be white, as repelling that heat wdiich gives 
 head-achs to many, and to some the fatal stroke that the 
 French call the coup de solid? — that the ladies* summer 
 hats, how^ever, should be lined with black, as not reverberat- 
 ing on their faces those rays which are reflected upwards from 
 the earth or water'? — that the ])utting a white cap of paper or 
 linen, within the crown of a black hat, as some do, will not 
 keep out the heat, though it would if placed without? — that 
 fruit-walls being blackened, may receive so much heat from the 
 sun in the day-time, as to continue warm, in some degree, 
 through the night, and thereby preserve the fruit from frosts, 
 or forward its growth? — with sundry other particulars, of less 
 cr greater importance, that will occur from time to time to 
 attentive minds?’* 
 
 Thirty Soldiers having deserted, so to place them in a Ring, that 
 you may save any Fifteen you please, and it shall seem the 
 Fjffect of Chance. 
 
 This recreation is usually proposed thus: Fifteen Christians 
 and fifteen Turks being in a ship at sea, in a violent tempest, 
 it w as deemed necessary to throw' half the number of persons 
 overboard, in order to disburden the ship, and save the rest; 
 to effect this, it was agreed to be done by lot, in such a man- 
 ner, that the persons being placed in a ring, every ninth man 
 should be cast into the sea, till one half of them were throw'n 
 overboard. Now, the pilot, being a Christian, was desirous 
 of saving those of his own persuasion : how ought he there- 
 fore to dispose the crew, so that the lot might always fall 
 upon the Turks ? 
 
 This question may be resolved by placing the men accord- 
 ins; to the numbers annexed to the vowels in the w'ords of 
 the follow'ing verse : — 
 
 Po-pu-le-am Jir-gam Ma-ter Re-gi-na f e-re-bat, 
 
 4521 3 1 12 231221 
 
 from which it appears, that you must place four of those you 
 would save first; then five of those you would punish. After 
 this, two of those to be saved, and one to be punished ; and 
 so on. When this is done, you must enter the rrng, and 
 beginning with the first of the" four men you intend to save, 
 count on to nine ; and turn this man out to be punished ; then 
 count on, in like manner, to the next ninth man, and turn 
 him out to be punished ; and so on for the rest. 
 
 It is reported that Josephus, the author of the Jewish His- 
 tory, escaped the danger of death by means of this problem ; 
 
APPEN UIX. 
 
 869 
 
 for being governor of Joppa, at the time that it was taken by 
 Vespasian, he was obliged to secrete himself with thirty or 
 forty of his soldiers in a cave, where they made a firm reso- 
 lution to perish by famine rather than fall into the hands of 
 the conqueror ; but being at length driven to great distress, 
 they would have destroyed each other for sustenance, had not 
 Josephus persuaded them to die by lot, which he so ordered, 
 that all of them were killed except himself and another, whom 
 he might easily destroy, or persuade to yield to the Romans. 
 
 Three Persons having each chosen, privately, one out of three 
 Things, — to tell them which they have chosen. 
 
 Let the three things, for instance, be a ring, a guinea, and 
 a shilling, and let them be known privately to yourself by the 
 vowels a, e, i, of which the first, a, signifies one, the second, 
 e, two, and the third, i, three. 
 
 Then take 24 counters, and give the first person 1, which 
 signifies a, the second 2, which represents e, and the third 3, 
 which stands fori: then, leavingthe other counters upon the 
 table, retire into another room, and bid him who has the 
 ring take as many counters from the table as you gave him ; 
 he that has the guinea, twice as many, and he that has the 
 shilling four times as many. 
 
 This being done, consider to whom you gave one counter, 
 to whom two, and to whom three ; and as there were only 
 twenty-four counters at first, there must necessarily remain 
 either 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7, on the table,^ or otherwise they 
 must have failed in observing the directions you gave them. 
 
 But if either of these numbers remain, as they ought, the 
 question may be resolved by retaining in your memory the 
 six following; words ; — 
 
 Salve certa anima semita vita quies, 
 
 1 2 3 5 6 7 
 
 As, for instance, suppose the number that remained was 5; 
 then the word belonging to it is semita; and as the vowels in 
 the first two syllables of this word are e and i, it shews, ac- 
 cording to the former directions, that he to whom you gave 
 two counters has the ring; he to whom you gave three coun 
 ters, the gold; and the other person, of course, the silver, it 
 being the second vowel which represents 2, and the third 
 which represents 3. 
 
 How to part an Eight Gallon Bottle of Wine equally between twt 
 Persons, using only two other Bottles, one of Five Gallons, 
 and the other of Three. 
 
 This question is usually proposed in the following manner: 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 870 
 
 A certain person having an eight-gallon bottle filled with ex 
 cellent wine, is desirous of making a present of half of it to 
 one of his friends ; but as he has nothing to measure it out 
 with, but two other bottles, one of which contains five gallons, 
 and the other three, it is required to find how this may be 
 accomplished ? 
 
 In order to answer the question, let the eight-gallon bottle 
 be called A, the five-gallon bottle B, and the three-gallon 
 bottle C; then, if the liquor be poured out of one bottle into 
 another, according to the manner denoted in either of the 
 two following examples, the proposed conditions will be an- 
 swered. 
 
 8 5 3 
 ABC 
 8 0 0 
 3 5 0 
 
 3 2 3 
 6 2 0 
 6 0 2 
 1 5 2 
 1 4 3 
 
 4 4 0 
 
 8 5 3 
 ABC 
 8 0 0 
 5 0 3 
 5 3 0 
 2 3 3 
 2 5 1 
 7 0 1 
 7 1 0 
 4 ] 3 
 
 A Quantity of Eggs being broken, to find how many there utit 
 without remembering the Number, 
 
 An old woman, carrying eggs to market in a basket, mei 
 an unruly fellow, who broke them. Being taken before a 
 magistrate, he was ordered to pay for them, provided the 
 woman could tell how many she had ; but she could only 
 remember, that in counting them into the basket by twos, 
 by threes, by fours, by fives, and by sixes, there always re- 
 mained one ; but in counting them in by sevens, there were 
 none remaining. Now, in this case, how was the number to 
 be ascertained ? 
 
 This is the same thing as to find a number, which being 
 divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, there shall remain 1, but being 
 divided by 7 there shall remain nothing; and the least num- 
 ber, which will answ'er the conditions of the question, is found 
 to be 301, which was therefore the number of eggs the old 
 woman had in her basket. 
 
 To find the least Number of Weights, that will weigh from One 
 Found to Forty, 
 
 This problem may be resolved by the means of the geome- 
 trical progression, 1,3,9, 27, 81, &c. the property of which 
 is such, that the last sum is twice the number of all the rest^ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 87 
 
 and one more; so that the number of pounds being forty, 
 which is also the sum of 1, 3, 9, 27, these four weights will 
 answer the purpose required. Suppose it was required, for 
 example, to weigh eleven pounds by them : you must put 
 into one scale the one-pound weight, and into the other the 
 three and nine-pound weights, which, in this case, will weigh 
 only eleven pounds, in consequence of the one-pound weight 
 being in the otherscale ; and therefore, if you put any substance 
 into the first scale, along with the one-pound weight, and it 
 stands in equilibrio with the three and nine in the other scale, 
 you may conclude it weighs eleven pounds. 
 
 In like manner, to find a fourteen-pound weight, put into 
 one of the scales the one, three, and nine-pound weights, and 
 into the other that of twenty-seven pounds, and it will evi- 
 dently outweigh the other three by fourteen pounds; and so 
 on for any other weight. 
 
 2b break a Stick which rests upon two Wine Glasses, without 
 injuring the Glasses. 
 
 Take a stick, (see Plate,) AB. fig. 1, of about the size of a 
 common broomstick, and lay its two ends, AB, which ought 
 to be pointed, upon the edges of two glasses placed upon two 
 tables of equal height, so that it may rest lightly on the edge 
 of each glass. Then take a kitchen poker, or a large stick, 
 and give the other a smart blow, near the middle point c, and 
 the stick AB will be broken, w’ithout in the least injuring the 
 glasses : and even if the glasses be filled with wine, not a 
 drop of it will be spilt, if the operation be properly performed. 
 But on the contrary, if the stick were struck on the under- 
 side, so as to drive it up into the air, the glasses woul J be 
 infallibly broken. 
 
 A Number of Metals being mixed together in one Mass, to fnd 
 the Quajilitn of each of them. 
 
 Vitruvius, in his Architecture, reports, that Hiero, king 
 of Sicily, having employed an artist to make a crown of pure 
 gold, which was designed to be dedicated to the gods, sus- 
 pected that the goldsmith had stolen part of the gold, and 
 substituted silver in its place: being desirous of discovering 
 the cheat, he proposed the question to Archimedes, desiring 
 to know if he could, by his art, discover wdiether any other 
 metal were mixed with the gold. This celebrated mathema- 
 tician being soon afterwards bathing himself, observed, that 
 as he entered the bath, the water ascended, and flowed out of 
 it; and as he came out of it, the water descended in like man- 
 ner: from which he inferred that if a mass of pure gold, 
 
872 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 silver, or any other metal, were thrown into a vessel of water, 
 the water would ascend in proportion to the bulk of the 
 metal. Being intensely occupied with the invention, he 
 leaped out of the bath, and ran naked through the streets, 
 crying, “ I have found it, I have found it!” 
 
 The way in which he applied this circumstance to the solu- 
 tion of the question proposed was this: he procured two 
 masses, the one of pure gold, and the other of pure silver, 
 each equal in weight to the crown, and consequently of une- 
 qual magnitudes; then immersing the three bodies separately 
 in a vessel of water, and collecting the quantity of water 
 expelled by each, he was presently enabled to detect the 
 fraud, it being obvious, that if the crown expelled more water 
 than the mass of gold, it must be mixed with silver or some 
 baser metal. Suppose, for instance, in order to apply it to 
 the question, that each of the three masses weighed eighteen 
 pounds; and that the mass of gold displaced one pound of 
 water, that of silver a pound and a half, and the crown one 
 pound and a quarter only : then, since the mass of silver dis- 
 placed half a pound of water more than the same weight of 
 gold, and the crown a quarter of a pound more than the gold, 
 it appears, from the rule of proportion, that half a pound is 
 to eighteen pounds, as a quarter is to nine pounds; which was, 
 therefore, the quantity of silver mixed in the crown. 
 
 Since the time of Archimedes, several other methods have 
 been devised for solving this problem; but the most natural 
 and easy is, that of weighing the crown both in air and water, 
 and observing the difference. 
 
 To make a mutual Exchange of the Liquor in two Bottles, without 
 . using any other Vessel, 
 
 Take two bottles, which are as nearly equal as possible, 
 both in neck and belly, and let one be filled with oil, 
 and the other with water; then clap the one that is full 
 of water dexterously upon the other, so that the two necks 
 shall exactly fit each other; and as the water is heavier than 
 the oil, it will naturally descend into the lower bottle, and 
 make the oil ascend into its place. In order to invert the 
 bottle of water without spilling the contents, place a bit of 
 thin writing paper over the mouth of the bottle ; and when 
 you have placed the bottle in the proper position, draw out 
 the paper quickly and steadily. 
 
 How to make a Beg that will exactly fit Three different Holes. 
 Let one of the holes be circular, the other square, and the 
 third an oval ; then it is evident, thabany cylindrical body, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 873 
 
 of a proper size, may be made to pass through ihe first hole 
 perpendicularly; and if its length be just equal to its diame- 
 ter, it may be passed horizontally through the second, or 
 square hole; also, if the breadth of the oval be made equal 
 to the diameter of the base of the cylinder, and its longest 
 diameter equal to the diagonal of it, the cylinder, being put 
 in obliquely, will till it as exactly as any of the former. 
 
 To place Three Sticks, or Tobacco Pipes, upon a Table, in such 
 a manner that they may appear to be unsupported bij any 
 thins, but themselves. 
 
 Take one of the sticks, or pipes, (see Plate,) AB, fig. 2, and 
 place it in an oblique position, with one of its ends, B, resting 
 on the table; then put one of the other sticks, as CD, across 
 this in such a manner that one end of it, D, may be raised, and 
 the other touch the table at C. Having done this, take the 
 third stick E, and complete the triangle with it, making one 
 of’its ends E rest on the table, and running it under the 
 second, CD, in such a manner that it may rest upon the first, 
 AB; then will the three sticks, thus placed, mutually support 
 each other; and even if a small weight be laid upon them, it 
 will not make them fall, but strengthen, and keep them firmer 
 in their position. 
 
 How to prevent a heavy Body from falling, by adding another 
 heavier Body to it on that side toicards which it inclines. 
 
 On the edge of a shelf, or table, or any other horizontal 
 surface, lay a key, (see Plate,) CD, fig. 3, in such a manner, 
 that, being left to itself, it would fall to the ground ; then, in 
 order to prevent this, take a crooked stick DEG, with a weight, 
 H, at the end of it; and having inserted one end of the stick 
 in the open part of the key, at D, let it be so placed, that the 
 weight H may fall perpendicularly under the edge of the tabic, 
 and the body by these means will be effectually prevented 
 from falling. 
 
 The same thing may be done by hanging a weight at the 
 end of a tobacco-pipe, a stick, or any other body ; the best 
 means of accomplishing which will be easily known by a few 
 trials. 
 
 To make a false Balance, that shall appear perfectly just when 
 empty, or when loaded with unequal Weights. 
 
 Take a balance, (see Plate,) DCE, fig. 4, the scales and 
 arms of which are of such unequal weights and lengths, that 
 the scale A may be in proportion to the scale B, as the length 
 37 5 S 
 
874 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 of the arm CE is to the length of the arm CD ; then will the 
 two scales be exactly in equilibrio about the point C; and the 
 same will be the case, if the two arms CD, CE, are of equal 
 length, but of unequal thickness, provided the thickness of 
 CD is to that of CE, as the weight of the scale B is to that 
 of A. 
 
 For example; suppose the arm CD is equal to three ounces, 
 and the arm CE to two, and that the scale B weighs three 
 ounces, and the scale A two ; then the balance, in this case, 
 will be exactly true when empty; and if a weight of two 
 pounds be put into the scale A, and one of three pounds into 
 B, they will still continue in equilibrio. But the fallacy in 
 this, and all other cases of the same kind, may be easily 
 detected, in shifting the weights from one scale to the other. 
 
 up a Bottle with a Straw, or any other 
 Substance. 
 
 Take a straw, (see Plate,) AB, fig. 5, w'hich is not broken or 
 bruised, and bend one end of it into a sharp angle ABC ; then 
 if this end of the straw be put into the bottle, so that the 
 bent part of it may rest against either of its sides, you may 
 take the other end in your hand, and lift up the bottle by it 
 witliout breaking the straw ; and this will be the more easily 
 done, according as the angular part of the straw approaches 
 nearer to that which comes out of the bottle. 
 
 How to make a Cone, or Pyramid, move upon a Table without 
 Springs, or any other artificial Means. 
 
 Take a cone, or pyramid, of paper, or any other light sub- 
 stance, and put a beetle, or some such small insect, privately 
 under it; then, as the animal will naturally endeavour to free 
 itgelf from its captivity, it will move the cone towards the 
 edge of the table, and as soon as it comes there, will imme- 
 diately return for fear of falling; and by moving backwards 
 and forwards in this manner, will occasion much diversion to 
 those who are ignorant of the cause. 
 
 To make a Pen, which holds One Hundred Sheep, hold double the 
 Number, by only adding two Hurdles more. 
 
 In the first pen, or that which holds one hundred sheep, 
 the hurdles must be so disposed, that there shall be only one 
 at the top and bottom, and the rest in equal numbers on each 
 side ; then it is obvious, that if one hurdle more be placed 
 at each end, the space enclosed must necessarily be double 
 the former, and consequently will hold twice the number of 
 sheep. 
 
 How to lift 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 875 
 
 An ingenious Recreation, called the 2 wo Communicative Busts. 
 
 Take two heads of plaster of Paris, and place them on 
 pedestals on the opposite sides of a room. Then take a tin 
 tube, of an inch in diameter, and let it pass from the ear of 
 one head thiouoh the pedestal, and under the floor, to the 
 mouih of the other, observing, that the end of the tube which 
 is next the ear of one head, should be considerably larger 
 than that which comes to the mouth of the other. 
 
 The whole being so disposed that there maybe no suspicion 
 of a communication, let any person speak with a low voice 
 into the ear of one bust, and the sound will be distinctly heard 
 by anyone who shall place his ear to the mouth of the other; 
 and if there be two tubes, one going to the ear, and the other 
 to the mouth of each head, two persons may converse toge- 
 ther, by applying their mouth and ear reciprocally to the 
 mouth and ear of the busts, without being heard by any other 
 persons in the room. 
 
 Another Recreation of the same kind, called the Oracular Head. 
 
 Place a bust on a pedestal in the corner of a room, and let 
 there be two tubes, one of which goes from the mouth, and 
 the other from the ear of the bust, through the pedestal and 
 floor, to an under apartment. 
 
 Then if a person be placed in the under room, by applying 
 his e;ir to one of the tubes as soon as a proper signal is given, 
 be will hear any question that is asked, and can immediately 
 return an answer; and if wires be contrived to go from the 
 under jaw and eyes of the bust, they may be made to move 
 at the same time, and by these means appear to deliver the 
 answer. 
 
 It was by a contrivance of this kind, that Don Antonio de 
 Moreno so much astonished the celebrated Knight of the Woe- 
 ful Countenance, and his facetious squire Sancho Panza, by 
 resolving certain doubts proposed by the former concerning 
 his adventures in the cave of Montesinos, and the disenchant- 
 ment of my lady Dulcinea. 
 
 [low to make a Piece of Metal, or any other heavy Body, swim 
 upon the Surface of Water, like a Cork 
 
 The specific gravity of water is inferior to tha of metals, 
 and consequently water, absolutely speaking, cannot support 
 a ball of iron or lead ; but if this ball be flattened, and beat 
 out to a very thin plate, it will, if put softly upon still water, 
 be prevented from sinking, and will swim upon its surface 
 like any light substance. In like manner, if a fine steel needle, 
 
876 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 which IS perfectly dry, be placed gently upon some still water 
 ill a vessel, it will Hoat upon the surface without sinking. 
 
 But if you would have a metallic body of large dimensions 
 to swim upon water, you must reduce it into a thin concave 
 plate, like a kettle; in which case, as the air it contains, to- 
 gether with the body itself, weighs less than the same bulk 
 of water, it cannot possibly sink; as is evident from large 
 copper boats, or pontoons, by which whole armies have fre- 
 quently passed over rivers without danger. 
 
 If this concave metallic vessel be placed upon the water 
 with its mouth downwards, it will swim as before, and the 
 contained air will keep the bottom of it from being wet; for 
 that the water will not rise into any hollow vessel which is 
 immersed into it, may be made evident thus: — Take a glass 
 tumbler, and plunge it into water with its mouth downwards, 
 and you will find, w hen you take it out, that the inside of the 
 vessel is perfectly dry, so that if a live coal were put there, 
 it would not be extinguished. 
 
 A curious Experiment, to prove that Tivo and Two do not make 
 
 Four. 
 
 Take a glass vessel with a long narrow neck, which, being 
 filled with water, will hold exactly a quart; then put into this 
 vessel a pint of water, and a pint of acid of vitriol, and you 
 w ill presently perceive, that the mixture will not fill the vessel, 
 as it did when a quart of water only was put into it. The 
 acid of vitriol must be put in gradually, by little and little at 
 a time, mixing each portion with the water before you add 
 more, by shaking the bottle, and leaving its mouth open, 
 otherwise the bottle will burst. The mixture in this case also 
 possesses a considerable degree of heat, though the two ingre- 
 dients of themselves are perfectly cold ; and this phenomenon 
 is not to be accounted for, by supposing that the acid of 
 vitriol is received into the pores of the water, for then a small 
 portion of it might be absorbed by the water, without aug- 
 menting its bulk, which is knowm not to be the case; but the 
 very form of the bodies in this experiment is changed, there 
 being, as Dr. Hooke, who first noticed the fact, observes, an 
 actual penetration of dimensions. Chemistry also furnishes a 
 number of other instances, which shew that two bodies, 
 when mixed together, possess less space than when they are 
 separate. 
 
 An ingenious Method of Secret Writing, bp means of corre- 
 sponding Spaces. 
 
 Take tw o pieces of pasteboard, or stiff paper, out of which 
 cut a number of oblong figures, at different distances from 
 
APTEN niX. 
 
 877 
 
 aach otlier, as in the following example. Keep one of these 
 pieces for yourself, and give one to your correspondent; and 
 when you are desirous of sending him any secret intelligence, 
 lav the pasteboard upon a sheet of paper of the same size, 
 and in the spaces which are cut out, write what you would 
 have him only to understand, and fill up the intermediate 
 parts of the paper with something which makes with these 
 words a different sense. Then, when your correspondent 
 receives this letter, by applying it to his pasteboard, he will 
 be able to comprehend your meaning. 
 
 Example. 
 
 I 1 shall be | much obliged to you, as reading | alone | 
 engages my attention | at | present, if you will send me any 
 of the I eight | volumes of the Spectator; I hope you will 
 excuse | this [ freedom, but for a winter’s |_evening | I 
 I don’t I know a better entertainment. If I | fail ) to return 
 it soon, never trust me for the time ] to come. | 
 
 A curiotis Experiment, which depends on an Optical Illusion. 
 
 On the bottom of the vessel, (see Plate,) AIBD, fig. 6, place 
 three pieces of money, as a half-crown, a shilling, and a six- 
 pence ; the first at E, the second at F, and the third at G, 
 Then let a person be placed with his eye at H, so that he can 
 see no farther into the vessel than I ; and tell him, that by 
 pouring water into the vessel, you will make him see three 
 different pieces of money, which he may observe are not 
 poured in with the water. 
 
 For this purpose, desire him to keep himself steady in the 
 same position, and, pouring the water in gently, that the 
 pieces of money may not be moved out of their places, when 
 it comes up to K, the piece G will become visible to him.; 
 when it comes up to L, he will see the two pieces G and F; 
 and when it rises to M, all the three pieces will become visi- 
 ble : the cause of which is owing to the refraction of the rays 
 of light, in their passage through the water; for while the 
 vessel is empty, the ray 111 will proceed in a straight line; 
 but in proportion as it is filled with water, the ray will be bent 
 into the several directions NG, OF, PE, and by these means 
 the pieces are rendered visible. 
 
 .4 curious Experiment, of nearly the same hind as the last, called 
 Optical Augmentation. 
 
 Take a large drinking-glass, of a conical figure, and having 
 put a s tilling into it, fill the glass about half full with water'* 
 
878 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 then place a plate on the top of it, and turn it quickly over, 
 so that the water may not get out. This being done, look 
 through the glass, and you will now perceive a piece of money 
 of the size of half-a-crovvn ; and somewhat higher up, another 
 piece of the size of a shilling. But if the glass be entirely 
 filled with water, the large piece at the bottom only will be 
 visible. 
 
 This phenomenon is occasioned by your seeing the piece 
 through the conical surface of the water, at the side of the 
 glass, and through the flat surface at the top of the water, at 
 the same time; for the conical surface dilates the rays, and 
 makes the piece appear larger, while the flat surface only 
 refracts them, and occasions the piece to be seen higher up 
 in the glass, but still of its natural si^^e. 
 
 Another curious Experiment, called Optical Subtraction. 
 
 Against the wainscot of a room fix three small pieces of 
 paper, as A, B, C, fig. 7, (see Plate,) about a foot and a half or 
 two feet asunder, at the height of your eye; and placing your- 
 self directly before them, about five times the distance from 
 them that the papers are from each other, shut one of your 
 eyes, and look at them with the other, and you will then see 
 only two of those papers, suppose A and B; but altering the 
 position of your eye, you will now see the third, and one of 
 the first, suppose A ; and by altering its position a second 
 time, you will see B and C, but in neither case all three of 
 them together. 
 
 The cause of this phenomenon is, that one of the three 
 pencils of rays, which come from these objects, falls on the 
 optic nerve at D, whereas, to produce distinct vision, it is 
 necessary that the rays of light fall on some part of the retina 
 E, F, G, H. 
 
 From this experiment, the use of having tw'o eyes may be 
 easily perceived; for he that has only one can never see three 
 objects placed in this position ; or all the parts of one object, 
 of the same extent, without altering the situation of his eye. 
 
 An Optical Experiment, shewing how to produce an Artificial 
 
 Rainbow. 
 
 In any room which has a window facing the sun, suspend z. 
 glass globe, filled with water, by a string which runs over a 
 pulley, so that the sun’s rays may fall directly upon it; then 
 'drawing the globe gradually up, when it comes to the height 
 of about forty degrees above the horizon, you will see, by 
 placing yourself in a proper situation, the glass tinged with 
 a purple colour; and by drawing it gradually higher up, the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 879 
 
 other prismatic colours, blue, green, yellow, and red, will 
 successively appear; but after this they will all vanish, till 
 the globe is raised to about fifty degrees, when they will again 
 be seen, but in an inverted order, the red appearing first, and 
 the blue, or violet, last; and when the globe comes up to 
 little more than fifty-four degrees, they will entirely vanish. 
 
 These appearances serve to illustrate the phenomena of 
 natural rainbows, of which there are generally two, the one 
 being about eight degrees above the other, and the order of 
 their colours inverted, as in this experiment; the red being 
 the uppermost colour in the lower bow, and the violet in the 
 other. 
 
 An artijicial Rainbow may also be produced as folloivs. 
 
 Take some water in your mouth, and turn your back to the 
 sun ; then if it be blown forcibly out against some dark or 
 s.iady place, you will see the drops formed by the beams of 
 the sun into an apparent rainbow, which, however, soon 
 vanishes. 
 
 A curious Optical Illusion, produced by means of a Concave 
 
 Mirror. 
 
 Take a glass bottle, (see Plate,) ABC, fig. 8, and fill it with 
 water to the point B ; leave the upper part, BC, empty, and 
 cork it in the common manner; place this bottle opposite a 
 concave mirror, and beyond its focus, so that it may appear 
 reversed ; then if you place yourself still farther from the 
 mirror, the bottle will appear to you in the situation a b c. 
 
 And in this apparent bottle it is remarkable, that the water, 
 which, according to the laws of catoptrics, and all other ex- 
 periments of this kind, should appear at a b, appears, on the 
 contrary, at b c, the part a b seeming to be entirely empty. 
 
 And if the bottle be inverted, and placed before the mirror, 
 as in the under part of the figure, its image will appear in its 
 natural erect position, but the water, which is in reality at b c, 
 will appear at a b. 
 
 And if, while the bottle is inverted, it be uncorked, and the 
 water suffered to run gently out, it will appear, that while the 
 part BC is emptying, the part a b \x\ the image is filling; and 
 if, when the bottle is partly empty, some drops of water fall 
 from the bottom A, towards BC, it seems in the image as if 
 there were formed at the bottom of the part a b bubbles of air . 
 arising from a to b, which is the part that seems full. 
 
 The circumstances most remarkable in this experiment, are, 
 first, not only to see an object where it is no*, but also where 
 its image is not; and, secondly, that of two objects, vhich 
 
880 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 are really in the same place, as the surface of the bottle and 
 the water it contains, the one should be seen at one place, 
 and the other at another; and also that the bottle should be 
 seen in the place of its image, and the water where neither it 
 nor its images are. 
 
 It is, however, to be noted, that if any coloured liquor be 
 put into the bottle instead of water, no such illusion will take 
 place. 
 
 There is one phenomenon more of this kind, which ought 
 not to be omitted ; for though it be common enough, it is also 
 extremely pleasing, and easy to be performed. 
 
 If you place yourself before a concave mirror, at a proper 
 distance, your figure will appear inverted ; and if you stretch 
 out your hand towards the mirror, you will perceive another 
 hand, which seems to meet and join it, though imperceptible 
 to the touch. 
 
 And if, instead of your hand, you make use of a drawn 
 sword, and present it in such a manner that its point may be 
 directed towards the focus of the rays reflected by the mirror, 
 another sword will appear, and seem to encounter that in your 
 hand. But it is to be observed, that to make this experiment 
 succeed well, you must have a mirror of at least a foot in 
 diameter, that you may see yourself in part; and if yon have 
 a mirror large. enough to see your whole person, the illusion 
 will be still more striking. 
 
 How to make a violent Tempest, by means of artificial Ram 
 
 and Hail. 
 
 Make a hollow cylinder of wood, very thin at the sides, 
 about eight or ten inches long, and two or three feet in dia- 
 meter. Divide its inside into five equal partitions, by means 
 of boards of about six inches wide; and let there be a space 
 between them and the wooden circle, of about one-sixth ol 
 an inch ; observing, that the boards are to be placed obliquely 
 to each other. 
 
 This being done, put into the cylinder four or five pounds 
 of leaden shot, of a size that will easily pass through the 
 opening left for this purpose ; then turn the cylinder on its 
 axis, and the sound of the machine, when in motion, wik 
 represent that of rain, which will increase with the velocity 
 of the motion ; and if a larger sort of shot be used, it will 
 .produce the sound of hail. 
 
 Magic Square. 
 
 This, in arithmetic, is a square figure made up of numbers 
 in aiithmetical proportion, so disposed in parallel and equal 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 m 
 
 ranks, that the sums ot each row, taken either perpendicu- 
 larly, horizontally, or diagonally, are equal: inus — 
 
 Natural Square. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 ’ 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 Magic Square. 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 Magic squares seem to have been so called, from their being 
 used in the construction of talismans. 
 
 Take another instance - 
 
 Natural Square. 
 
 !i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 je 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 |21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 Magic Square. 
 
 16 
 
 r 
 
 14 
 
 8 2 
 
 25| 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 20jll 
 
 9 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 4|23 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 12jl0 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 21 19 
 
 13 
 
 where every row and diagonal in the magic square, makes just 
 the sum 65, being the same as the two diagonals of the 
 natural square. 
 
 It is probable that these magic squares were so called, both 
 because of this property in them, viz. that the ranks in every 
 direction make the same sum, which appeared extremely surpris- 
 ing, especially in the more ignorant ages, when mathematics 
 passed for magic; and because also of the superstitious opera- 
 tions they were employed in, as, the construction of talis- 
 mans. &.C.; for, according to the childish philosophy of those 
 days, which ascribed virtues to numbers, what might not be 
 expected from numbers so seemingly wonderful ? The magic 
 square was held in great veneration among the Egyptians, and 
 the Pythagoreans their disciples, who, to add more efficacy 
 and virtue to this square, dedicated it to the then known 
 seven planets, divers ways, and engraved it upon a plate of the 
 metal that was esteemed in sympathy with the planet. The 
 square, thus dedicated, was enclosed by a regular polygon, 
 inscribed into a circle, which was divided into as many equal 
 parts as there were units in the side of the square ; with the 
 names of the angels of the planet, and the signs of the zodiac 
 written upon the void spaces between the polygon and the 
 circumference of the circumscribed circle. Such a talisman, 
 
 5 T 
 
882 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 or metal, they vainly imagined would, upon occasion, befriend 
 the person who carried it about him. To Saturn, they attri- 
 buted the square of 9 places, or cells, the side being 3, and 
 the sum of the number in every row 15 : to Jupiter, the square 
 of 16 places, the side being 4, and the amount of each row 34: 
 to Mars, the square of 25 places, the side being 5, and the 
 amount of each row 65 : to the Sun, the square with 36 places, 
 the side being 6, and the sum of each row 111: to Venus, the 
 square of 49 places, the side being 7, and the amount of each 
 row 175: to Mercury, the square with 64 places, the side 
 being 8, and the sum of each row 260 : and to the Moon, the 
 square of 81 places, the side being 9, and the amount of each 
 row 369. Finally, they attributed to imperfect matter, the 
 squaie with 4 divisions, having 2 for its side: and to God, the 
 square of only one cell, the side of which is also an unit» 
 which, multiplied by itself, undergoes no change. 
 
ADDENDA 
 
 TO THE 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 It never was the intention of the compiler of this work to 
 give an account of all the curious and remarkable persons 
 that have figured on this mortal stage, but only such as have 
 not been usually incorporated in works of this kind ; it has 
 been thought advisable, however, to make the following 
 additions to this department, with which, it is hoped, the 
 reader will be amused and instructed. 
 
 All account of that celebrated extraordinary Ge- 
 nius, John Henderson, B. A. — Of this much celebrated 
 young man, whose extraordinary acquirements attracted the 
 notice, and even commanded the respect, of Dr. Johnson, 
 several accounts have been published, and much eulogium 
 has been pronounced. By many he has been supposed to 
 emulate the variety and extent of knowledge possessed by the 
 admirable Crichton ; and, like that eccentric character, he 
 has left little for posterity to form a judgment of the truth of 
 those praises which have been bestowed upon him. 
 
 He was born at Bellegarance, near Limerick, in the king- 
 dom of Ireland, on the 27th of March, 1757, of very pious 
 and respectable parents. He received his education among 
 the Methodists ; and at eight years of age he under- 
 stood Latin so well, as to be able to teach it at Kingswood 
 school. At twelve, he taught the Greek language, in the 
 school of Trevecka, in Wales, to men, several of whom were 
 double his age. The governor of the college, at that time, 
 was the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, late Vicar of Madeley, a clergyman 
 highly distinguished for the fervour of his’ piety and the live- 
 liness of his imagination. Some disagreement taking place 
 with this gentleman and those who had the superintendence 
 of the college, he was dismissed, together with young Hen- 
 derson, who soon after, at the age of twenty-four years, went 
 to Oxford, was entered of Pembroke college, and, in due 
 time, took the degree of Bachelor of Arts. From the time 
 of his entrance into the college, his life passed with little 
 variety, and no adventure.. His thirst after knowledge ap- 
 
884 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 pears to have been unabated and unobtruded ; he was admired, 
 and generally respected; and he acquired habits, some of 
 which brought him into the notice ot‘ the world, almost as 
 much as his talents. Some of these traits of character having 
 been depicted by one who appears to have known him well, 
 we shall give nearly in the words of their author, wiio was 
 also of Pembroke college, and thus describes Mr. Henderson’s 
 appearance when he was first introduced to him. 
 
 His clothes were made in a fashion peculiar to himself ; he 
 wore no stock nor neckcloth ; his buckles were so small as 
 not to exceed the dimensions of an ordinary knee-buckle, at 
 a time when very large buckles were in vogue. Though he 
 was then twenty-four years of age, he wore his hair like a 
 schoolboy of six. 
 
 Mr H.’s temper was mild, placable, and humane. He pro- 
 fessed that he was ready to serve any individual as far as la:’ 
 in his power. His benevolence knew no bounds ; and Ir-' 
 liberality was so diffusive, that it submitted with difficulty f j 
 the circumscription of a narrow income. He was fond c " 
 society, and well qualified to shine in it. He was frank, open, 
 and communicative, averse to suspicion, and untinctured with 
 pride and moroseness. His mode of life was singular. He 
 generally retired to rest about daybreak, and rose in the 
 afternoon ; a practice, however, that was frequently inter- 
 rupted by the occasional attendance he was obliged to give 
 to the morning service of the college chapel. He spent a great 
 part of the day in smoking; and, except when in company, 
 he usually read while he smoked. 
 
 With regard to his moral and religious character, he was a 
 pattern highly worthy of imitation. He shewed a constant 
 regard to the obligations of honour and justice; and com 
 mended, both by precept and example, an attention to moral 
 rectitude in all its ramifications. He had the courage to 
 reprove vice and immorality wherever they appeared; and 
 though he was sometimes treated on these occasions with 
 contumely and insult, he bore with a moderation truly chris 
 tian, so ill a return for his well-meant endeavours. He was 
 perfectly acquainted with the religious dogmas of every 
 different sect, and could readily detect the respective fallacies 
 of each. 
 
 His abilities and understanding were eminently -conspicu- 
 ous. His penetration was so great, as to have the appearance 
 of intuition. So retentive was his memory, that he remem- 
 bered whatever he heard ; and this faculty of recollection, 
 combined with a pregnancy of imagination and solidity of 
 judgment, enabled him to acquire an amazing fund of erudi- 
 tion and argument, a fund ready at every call, and adequate 
 to every emergency. 
 
JOHN HENDERSON. 
 
 885 
 
 His learning was deep and multifarious. He was admirably 
 skilled in logic, ethics, metaphysics, and scholastical theology. 
 He had studied the healing art with particular attention, 
 and added to a sound theoretic knowledge of it, some degree 
 of practice. His skill in this art he rendered subservient to 
 his philanthropy ; for he gratuitously attended the valetudi- 
 narian poor wherever he resided, and favoured them with 
 medical advice, as well as pecuniary assistance. He had a 
 competent knowledge of geometry, astronomy, and every 
 branch of natural and experimental philosophy. He was well 
 acquainted with the civil and canon laws, and the law of 
 nature and nations. In classical learning and the belles let- 
 tres, he was by no means deficient. He was master of the 
 Greek and l.atin, as well as of several modern languao-es. 
 
 He spoke of physiognomy as a science with all the confi- 
 dence of a Lavater. He pretended to a knowledge of the 
 occult sciences of magic and astrology. Whether this was 
 or was not a mere pretence, we leave to the judgment of the 
 enlightened reader. Suffice it to remark, that his library 
 was well stored with the magical and astrological books of 
 the last century. 
 
 His talents of conversation were so attractive, so various 
 and multiform, that he was a companion equally acceptable 
 to the philosopher and the man of the world, to the grave 
 and the gay, the learned and the illiterate, the young and the 
 old of both sexes. 
 
 Henderson, like many other great characters, had his little 
 peculiarities. lire following remarkable custom was fre- 
 quently observed bv him before he retired to repose: — He 
 used to stiip himself naked as low as the waist, and taking 
 his station at a pump near his rooms, would completely sluice 
 his head and the upper part of his body ; after which he would 
 pump over his shirt so as to make it perfectly wet, and put- 
 ting it on in that condition, would immediately go to bed. 
 This he jocularly termed “ an excellent cold bath.’’ The latter 
 pait of this ceremony, however, he did not practise with 
 such frequency as the former. 
 
 There is great reason to think that he materially injured a 
 good natural constitution by the capriciousness of his con- 
 duct, and particularly by the bold and strange experiments 
 which he was accustomed to be always making upon himself. 
 He used to swallow large quantities of noxious drugs, and 
 quicksilver ; and what seemed very rash, such doses of opium, 
 like the famous Psalmanazar, as were apparently sufficient to 
 send a dozen men to the grave. 
 
 His external appearance was as singular as his habits of 
 life. He would never suffer his hair to be strewed with white 
 dust, (to use his own expression,) daubed with pomatum, or 
 
886 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 distorted by the curling-irons of the friseur. Though under 
 two-and-thirty years of age at his death, he walked, when he 
 appeared in public, with as much apparent caution and so- 
 lemnity as if he had been enfeebled by the co-operation of 
 age and disease. 
 
 His learning was truly astonishing: scarcely a book, how- 
 ever obscure, could be mentioned, but he could give some 
 account of it; nor any subject started, but he could engage 
 in the discussion of it. He had a very deep and extensive 
 knowledge of the learned languages ; the Arabic and Persian 
 were familiar to him. He delighted much in parodoxes, and 
 his intimate acquaintance with the schoolmen brought him 
 much into the habit of disputation. At one time he was 
 profoundly plunged in the study of the writings of the illu- 
 mined Jacob Behmen; and he then, and afterwards, warmly 
 vindicated the system, if system it may be called, of that 
 wonderful man. 
 
 Many surprising cures, accomplished by means of his pre- 
 scriptions, might be produced : one upon a very ingenious 
 and valuable youth in the neighbourhood of Taunton, deserves 
 notice, as the patient had been in au alarming decline for the 
 long space of four years, and seemed just verging to the 
 house appointed for all living. Mr. Henderson attended him 
 with the utmost assiduity and tenderness, and saw, at last, 
 his patient in a state of perfect health. The benevolent man 
 had then a presentiment of his own approaching change, and 
 addressed himself to his young friend to this effect : “ My 
 young and beloved friend, your cure, in all human probability, 
 is now certain, and you will live, but I shall die. Remember, 
 to be pious, is to be happy ; to be sober, is to live long ; and 
 to practise the moral virtues, is to become great. — Mr. Hen- 
 derson died a few months after, November 2, 1788. His con- 
 nections with the Methodists continued till the last. The late 
 venerable and truly great John Wesley had a very great re- 
 gard for him. The father of Mr. Henderson was for some 
 time one of Mr. Wesley’s itinerant preachers in Ireland, from 
 whence he came over to Bristol, and soon after settled at 
 Hanham, a village about four miles from that city, where he 
 set up a very respectable boarding-school, for the instruction 
 of youth in classical learning. A few years previous to his 
 death, he left off keeping school, and opened his house for 
 the reception of insane persons. The death of his favourite 
 and only child, made a deep and lasting impression on him ; 
 and so strongly was he afi'ected by his loss, that he caused 
 the corpse to be taken up again some days after the interment, 
 to be satisfied whether he was really dead. The following is 
 taken from the sermon that was preached by his friend, Mr 
 Agutter : — “When we consider the strength of his mind, the 
 
DANIEL LAMBERT. 
 
 GEORGE MORLAND, 
 
OF TH£ 
 
 JSIVEa^iy OF ILUHOIS 
 
JOHN HENDERSON. DANIEL LAMBERT. 
 
 8cS7 
 
 variety of his knowledge, and the excellencies of his soul, we 
 may justly declare, that he was a truly great character, and 
 an original genius. The partiality of friendship must give 
 place to the sacredness of truth ; and I do not mean to describe 
 him as a perfect man: his friends lamented his failings and 
 he himself sincerely repented of them. The God of heaven 
 does not require more of his fallen creatures ; and let us 
 remember to be extreme to mark all that is done amiss, seeing 
 we have much cause for shame and repentance. He was a 
 meek sufferer through this world of misery; a sincere and 
 contrite penitent for time rnispent and talents misapplied ; an 
 humble believer in Christ his Saviour. I saw- him in Ids last 
 sufferings; I heard his last words; he languished under 
 extreme weakness; he laboured under most grievous pains. 
 He was wonderfully patient and resigned ; for he knew in whom 
 he believed, and his hope was full of immortality . He prayed 
 with uncommon fervour to his good God, even to Jesus Christ, 
 in whom all his hopes were placed ; and “ without whom,’" 
 says he, *'* heaven would be no heaven to me.” Death was the 
 wished-for messenger, whom he earnestly expected. Three days 
 before that awful event, his pulse ceased to beat, and the sight 
 of his eyes went from him — the last struggle is over; the bitter- 
 ness oj death is past. There was an humble dignity and com- 
 posure in that hour of trial, worthy the man and Christian. 
 Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end, or 
 more properly, niy hereafter, be tike his.^' 
 
 The next character we shall introduce is a contrast to the 
 former; he being famous for comprehension of mind, this 
 for bulk of body. 
 
 Daniel Lambert, the Fat Man. — This prodigy of corpu- 
 lence, or obesity, was born at Leicester, March 13, 1770. 
 He became keeper of the prison in his native town. He first 
 went to London for exhibition, in 1806, and was visited by 
 persons of all ranks, and was considered the then wonder of 
 the world. After this he travelled over England, and aston- 
 ished every beholder by his immense bulk. He was very 
 polite, shrewd, and well informed. This extraordinary man 
 died at Stamford, on the 21st of June, 1809. He had tra- 
 velled from Huntingdon to that town ; and on the Tuesday 
 before his death, he sent a message to the office of the Stam- 
 ford newspaper, requesting, that “ as the mountain could not 
 wait upon Mahomet, Mahomet would go to the mountain ;” 
 or, in other words, that the printer would call upon him, and 
 receive an order for executing some handbills, announcing 
 Mr. Lambert’s arrival, and his desire to see company in that 
 town. The orders he gave upon that occasion were delivered 
 without any presentiment that they were tc 6e his last, and 
 
888 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 with his usual cheerfulness ; he was then in bed, only fatigued 
 from his journey, and anxious to be able to see company 
 early in the morning. However, before nine o’clock, the day 
 following, he was a corpse. His corpulency had been gradu- 
 ally increasing-, until nature could no longer support it. He 
 was in his 40th year; and upon being weighed within a few 
 days, by the famous Caledonian balance, in the possession of 
 Mr. King, of Ipswich, was found to be 52 stone, 11 lbs. in 
 weight, (14 lb. to the stone,) which Is 10 stone 11 lb. more 
 than the great Mr. Bright, of Essex, weighed, — or, 6 cvvt. 
 2 qrs. 1 1 lb. 
 
 He had apartments at Mr.Berridge’s,theWaggon-and-Horses, 
 in St. Martin’s, on the ground floor, for he had long been incapa- 
 ble of walking up stairs. His coffin, in which there was great 
 difficulty of placing him, w'as six feet four inches long, four feet 
 four inches w ide, and two feet four inches deep. The immense 
 substance of his legs made it necessarily almost a square case. 
 The celebrated Sarcophagus of Alexander, viewed with so 
 much admiration at the British Museum, would not contain 
 this immense sheer hulk. The coffin, which consisted of 112 
 superticial feet of elm, was built upon two axle-trees and 
 four wheels, and upon them the remains of poor Lambert 
 were rolled into his grave, w'hich was in the new burial ground 
 at the back of St. Martin’s church. A regular descent was 
 made by cutting away the earth slopingly, for some distance. 
 The window and wail of the room in which he lay was taken 
 down, to allow of his exit. 
 
 Edward Nokes. — This was an extraordinary character, at 
 Hornchurch, in Essex. He was by trade a tinker, which he 
 followed zealously till about six weeks before his death. His 
 apartments pourtrayed symptoms of the most abject poverty, 
 though at his death he was found to be possessed of between 
 five and six thousand pounds. He had a wife ar^d several 
 children, which he brought up in the most parsimonious 
 manner, often feeding them on grains and offals of meat, 
 which he purchased at reduced prices. He was no less re- 
 markable in his person and dress; for, in order to save the 
 expense of shaving, he would encourage the dirt to gather on 
 his face, to hide in some measure this defect. He never 
 suffered his shirt to be washed in water, but after wearing it 
 till it became intolerably black, be used to wash it in urine, 
 to save the expense of soap. His coat, which time had trans- 
 formed into a jacket, would have puzzled the wisest philoso- 
 pher to make out its original colour, so covered was it witti 
 shreds and patches of different colours, and those so diversified, 
 as to resemble the trophies of the different nations of Europe, 
 and it seemed to vie with Joseph’s coat of many colours. 
 
EDWARD NOKES. CHARLES PRICE. 
 
 889 
 
 The interest of his money, together with all he could heap 
 up from his penurious mode of living, he used to deposit in a 
 bag, which bag was covered up in a tin pot, and then con- 
 veyed to a brick kitchen, where one of the bricks was taken 
 up, and a hole made just large enough to hold the pot; the 
 brick was then carefully marked, and a tally kept behrnd the 
 door, of the sum deposited. One day his wife discovered this 
 hoard, and, resolving to profit by the opportunity, took from 
 the pot one, of sixteen guineas that were then placed therein. 
 Her husband soon discovered the trick, for when he came to 
 count his money, on finding it not to agree with the tally 
 behind the door, which his wife did not know of, he taxed her 
 with the theft; and to the day of his death, even on his death- 
 bed, he never spoke to her without adding the epithet ‘thief' 
 to every expression. 
 
 In his younger days, he used, at the death of any of his 
 children, to have a deal box made to put them in; and with 
 out undergoing the solemn requisites of a regular funeral, he 
 would take them upon his shoulder to the place appropriated 
 for their reception ; where, once interred, he seemingly coin- 
 cided with the old adage, “ Out of sight, out of mind," and 
 appeared as unconcerned as if nothing had happened. 
 
 A short time before his death, which he evidently hastened 
 by the daily use of nearly a quart of spirits, he gave strict 
 charge that his cofliu sliould not have a nail in it; which was 
 actually the case, the lid being fastened with hinges made of 
 cords: there was no plate on the coffin, but barely the initials 
 “ E. N." cut out of the lid. His shroud was made of a pound of 
 wool ; the coffin was covered with a sheet instead of a pall, 
 and was carried by six men, to each of whom he left half-a- 
 crovvn : and, at his particular desire, not one who followed him 
 to the grave wore mourning; but, on the contrary, each of 
 the mourners seemed to try whose dress should be the most 
 striking, even the undertaker being habited in a blue coat 
 and scarlet waistcoat. He died without a will, and his fortune 
 was equally divided between his wife and family. His death 
 took place in 1802. 
 
 A Sketch of the Memoirs of the celebrated Swin- 
 dler, Charles Price. 
 
 Even-handed justice returns the in<rrcdients 
 
 Of our poison’d chalice to our own lips. Shakspeare. 
 
 In the following sketch we shall detail a series of singular 
 facts, scarcely ever before equalled in the annals of depra- 
 vity. By bringing forward such particulars, we may learn 
 the progress of iniquity, teach the rising generation to guard 
 against its first approaches, and warn our readers againat 
 
 5U 
 
CURtOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 890 
 
 those depredations which are daily infesting society. Such 
 examples of wickedness are indeed humiliating to our nature, 
 but they hold forth instructive lessons ; in this point of view, 
 they are well deserving of our contemplation. 
 
 Charles Price was born about the year 1730, in London ; 
 his father lived in Monmouth-street, and carried on the trade 
 of a salesman in old clothes; here he died in the year 1750, 
 of a broken heart, occasioned, it is said, by the bad conduct 
 of his children. 
 
 In early life, Charles manifested those traits of duplicity for 
 which he was afterwards so greatly distinguished. One in- 
 stance shall be mentioned : he ripped olf some gold lace from 
 a suit of old clothes in his father’s shop, and putting on his 
 elder brother’s coat, went to sell it to a Jew. The Jew, most 
 unfortunately, came and offered it to the father for sale; — he 
 instantly knew it, and insisted on the Jew declaring whence 
 he received it. The boys passing by, he pointed to the elder 
 one, on account of his coat, as the person of whom he bought 
 it; and he was directly seized, and severely flogged : his pro- 
 testations of innocence were in vain — the father was inflexi- 
 ble; whilst Charles, with an abominable relish for hypocrisy, 
 secretly rejoiced in the castigation. 
 
 His father, tired of the tricks and knaveries of his son 
 Charles, put him an apprentice to a hosier in St. James’s- 
 street. Here he continued but for a short time. He robbed 
 his father of an elegant suit of clothes, in which he dressed 
 himself, went to his master in this disguise, purchased about 
 ten pounds’ worth of silk stockings, left his address, “ Benjamin 
 Bolingbroke, Esq. Hanover-square,” and ordered them to be 
 sent to him in an hour’s time, when he would pay the person 
 who brought them. His master did not know him ; and, to 
 complete the cheat, our hero, cqming back in half an hour in 
 his usual dress, was ordered to take the goods home, which 
 he actually pretended to do; and thus were both master and 
 father robbed. He was, however, afterwards found out, and 
 discarded : henceforward, therefore, we are to regard him in 
 society, where he, for a series of years, practised the most 
 outrageous arts of duplicity. 
 
 Soon after this period he set off’ for Holland, under the 
 assumed name of Johnson. Forging a recommendation to a 
 Dutch merchant, he became his clerk, — debauched his master’s 
 daughter, — was offered her in marriage, robbed his employer, 
 and returned to England. He conducted this business with 
 the most consummate villany. 
 
 He now contrived to become clerk in his Majesty’s small- 
 beer bi iwhouse, near Gosport. At this place he behaved 
 himself with so much propriety, that he was on the point oi 
 %>rming a matrimonial connection with his master’s daughter 
 
CHARLES PRICE, 
 
 mi 
 
 every thing, however, was soon laid aside by an accidental 
 discovery: the Jew to whom he had fori, erly sold the g dd 
 lace happened to live at Portsmoutli, by #vhorn his charac- 
 ter was soon disclosed, and spread abroad. Thus w’ere his 
 hopes put to flight, and he was again thrown upon the wide 
 world. 
 
 As his wits were never long unemployed for some deceptive 
 ends, he thought of advertising for a partner in the brewery 
 line; and actually issued the following curious advertisement, 
 ill the year 1755 : — 
 
 “Wanted, — A partner of character, probity, and extensive 
 acquaintance, upon a plan permanent and productive,— 
 fer cent, without risk, may be obtained. It is not necessary 
 he should have any knowledge of the business, which the 
 advertiser possesses in its fullest extent; but he must possess 
 a capital of between 500 and 1000 pounds, to purchase mate- 
 rials, wdth which, to the knowledge of the advertiser, a large 
 fortune must be made in a very short time. 
 
 “ Address to P. C. Cardigan Head, Charing Cross.” 
 
 “ P. S. None but principals, and those of liberal ideas, will 
 be treated with.” 
 
 To this advertisement, the famous comedian, Samuel Foote, 
 Esq. paid attention. Eager to seize what he thought a golden 
 opportunity, he advanced the sum of £500 for a brewery: we 
 need not add, that the sum soon disappeared, and Foote was 
 wrung with the anguish of disappointment. Price, however, 
 had the impudence to apply to him again, wishing him to 
 unite in the baking trade : the comedian archly replied, “ As 
 you have brewed, so you may bake ; but I’ll be bang’d if ever 
 you bake as you have brewed!” 
 
 After this unfortunate business, Mr. Price turned Methodist 
 preacher, and in this character defrauded several persons of 
 large sums of money. 
 
 Advertising, in order to get gentlemen wives, he swindled 
 a person of the name of Wigmore, of fifty guineas, for which 
 he was indicted ; but having refunded a part, effected his 
 escape. These and other fraudulent practices w'ere long the 
 objects of his ambition, though they are all sure and certain 
 roads to infamy : such was his strange propensity. 
 
 With astonishing impudence, he again set up a brewery in 
 Gray’s-inn-lane ; and, after various frauds, he became a bank- 
 rupt in 1776. Ever fruitful in resources, he set out for Ger- 
 many; but in Holland he got into prison for being concerned 
 in a smuggling scheme, by which three hundred pounds were 
 obtained. By his artful defence he escaped, and returned to 
 his native country. Here he once more engaged his atten- 
 tion by a sham brewery, at Lambeth, where he was married. 
 Continuing, however, to practise his deceptions, he was 
 
692 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 obliged to decamp, went actually to Copenhagen, and, after 
 some time, came back to England, wnere he was doomed to 
 close his days. 
 
 His breweries having failed, he now proceeded to study 
 how in other ways he miglit most effectually ravage society. 
 Under the pretence of charity, he obtained money, for which 
 he was imprisoned; and having been liberated, he succeeded 
 in various impositions as a clergyman. This eventually 
 brought him to the King^s Bench prison, from whose walls 
 he dexterously extricated himself. 
 
 A lottery-office-keeper was the next subject of his atten- 
 tion; but decamping with a ticket of very large value, this 
 scheme speedily came to a termination. To recount all his 
 tricks, would form the contents of a well-sized volume. Alas 
 for human depravity! 
 
 But we now arrive at that period of our hero’s life, when 
 he commenced his ravages upon the Bank of England, which 
 ended in hjs destruction. Such a series of iniquitous devices 
 were never before practised on mankind. 
 
 Ill the year 1780, under the assumed name of “ Brank,” Mr. 
 Price engaged a servant, a plain, simple, honest fellow, by 
 vvhom he passed his notes without detection. He advertised 
 for him, and their meeting was truly curious. Having re- 
 ceived a reply to the advertisement, one evening, just as it was 
 dark, he, driving to the person’s residence, sent the coachman 
 to inquire for the man who had answered the advertisement, 
 saying, “ There was a gentleman over the way, in a coach, who 
 wanted to speak with him.” On this, the young fellow' was 
 called, and w'ent to the coach, where he w'as desired to step in. 
 There he saw an apparently old man, affecting the foreigner, 
 seemingly very gouty, wrapped up with five or six yards of 
 flannel about his legs, a camblet surtout buttoned over his 
 chin, close to his mouth, a large patch over his left eye, and 
 every part of his face so hid, that the young fellow could not 
 see any part of it, except his nose, his right eye, and a small 
 part of that cheek. To carry on the deception still better, 
 Mr. Price thought proper to place the man on his left side, 
 on which the patch was, so that the old gentleman could 
 take an askance look at the young man with his right eye, 
 and by that means discover only a small portion of his own 
 face. He appeared, by this disguise, to be between sixty and 
 seventy years of age ; and afterwards, wffien the man saw him 
 standing, not much under six feet high, owing to boots or 
 shoes with heels very little less than three inches high. 
 Added to this deception, he was so buttoned up and straight- 
 ened, as to appear perfectly lank. 
 
 The writer of his life, to whom we are indebted for these 
 particulars, then subjoins : — “ It may not be ill-timed, to 
 
CHARLES PRICE. 
 
 893 
 
 those who did not know him, to give the true description of 
 his person. He was about five feet six inches high ; a com- 
 pact neat-made man, square shouldered, inclined to corpu- 
 lency ; his legs were firm and well set; but by nature his 
 features made him look much older than he really was, which, 
 at that time, was nearly fifty ; his nose was aquiline, and his 
 eyes small and gray ; his mouth stood very much inwards, 
 with very thin lips; his chin pointed and prominent; with a 
 pale complexion : but what contributed as much as any thing 
 to favour his disguise of speech was, his loss of teeth. He 
 walked exceedingly upright, was very active and quick in his 
 walk, and was something above what we describe a man to 
 be, when we call him “ a dapper-made man.” 
 
 This simple and honest fellow (Samuel) Mr. Price employed 
 to negociate his forged bills, principally in the purchase of 
 lottery tickets, at the same time never fully disclosing to him 
 his name, person, or history. Indeed, the plan was devised 
 and executed with uncommon ability. However, at last 
 Samuel was detected, having passed bills to the amount of 
 fourteen hundred pounds! ! but his agent eluded discovery, and 
 retired with his booty into the shades of the deepest obscu- 
 rity. The poor servant was imprisoned for nearly a twelve- 
 month, terrified out of his wits, being the innocent instrument 
 of such complicated villany. 
 
 Mr. Price, having most probably exhausted his former 
 acquisitions, sallied forth, in the year 1782, after new game, 
 with the most unparalleled audacity. For this purpose, he 
 obtained his second servant, from a register-office, a smart 
 active boy, of the name of Power : his father was a Scotch 
 presbyterian ; and, to ingratiate himself with him, Mr. Price 
 made great pretensions to religion, expressing a hope that his 
 son was well acquainted with the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten 
 Commandments. Our hero began his ravages upon Mr. Spils- 
 bury, of Soho-square, ordering large quantities of his drops. 
 Wilmot was his present assumed name, and he introduced 
 himself to him as possessing all the symptoms of age and infir- 
 mity. He was wrapped up in a large camblet great coat; he 
 had a slouched baton, the brim of which was large, and bent 
 downw'aid on each side of his head ; a piece of red flannel 
 covered his chin, and came up on each side of his face almost 
 as high as his cheek-bones; he had a large bush wdg on, and^ 
 legs wrapped over with flannel ; he had also a pair of green, 
 spectacles on his nose, with a green silk shade hanging dow'n- 
 from his hat, but no patch on his eye. 
 
 It is remarkable that Mr. Spilsbury knew Mr. Price, but not 
 Mr. Wilmot ; nay, so complete was the deception, that as they 
 sat ogether \n a coffee-house, Mr. S. complained to his coffee- 
 house acquaintance, of the notes which Wilmot had imposed 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 894 
 
 upon him. Price crying out now and then, Lack-a-day ! 
 Good God! who could conceive such knavery to exist? What, 
 and did the Bank refuse payment. Sir?” staring through his 
 spectacles with as much seeming surprise as an honest man 
 would have done. “ O yes,” (said Mr. S.) with some degree 
 of acrimony, “ for it was on the faith of the Bank of England, 
 that I and a great many others have taken them ; and they 
 were so inimitably well done, that the nicest judges could 
 notdistinguish them.” — “Good God! Lack-a-day! (said Price,) 
 he must have been an ingenious villain ! What a complete 
 old scoundrel !” 
 
 Upon Mr. Watt a hosier, Mr. Reeves a colourman, and a 
 great many other individuals, he practised frauds equally 
 ingenious and successful, for in one day he negociated sixty ten- 
 pound-notes, and changed fourteen fifty-pound notes for seven 
 one-hundred-pound notes; indeed, so multiplied were his tricks 
 at this period, that the mind sickens at the recital of them. 
 
 In his last attempt on the Bank, wliich ended in his detec- 
 tion, he assumed the name of Palton, pretended he was an 
 irish linen factor, and employed two young men to circulate 
 his notes, whilst he still, greatly disguised, kept back in 
 obscurity. By means of a pawnbroker, he was found out 
 with great difficulty. On his seizure, he solemnly declared 
 his innocence, and before the magistrate behaved with inso- 
 lence. This detection took place on the 14th of January, 1786: 
 he was soon sworn to by more persons than one ; and seeing 
 no way of escape, he pretended, to his wife in particular, great 
 penitence; but there appeared no ground for its reality. The 
 Bank w^as fully intent on the prosecution of him, and there 
 was no doubt of his dying by the hands of the executioner. 
 He, however, was found one evening hanging against the post 
 ■of his door, in his apartments, Tothill-fields bridewell. Thus 
 was the earth freed from as great a monster as ever disgraced 
 society. 
 
 It may appear strange to the reader that this depraved im- 
 postor could have so long escaped discovery. But it must 
 be added, that besides the multifarious disguises of his person, 
 Re had taken care to prevent almost the possibility of detec- 
 tion. To use the words of the writer of his life — “ Had Mr. 
 •Price permitted a partner in his proceedings, had he employed 
 an engraver, had he procured paper to be made for him with 
 ■water-marks put into it, he must have been soon discovered ; 
 but Price was without a confidant : he engraved his own plates, 
 made his own paper, with the water-marks, and his negociator 
 never knew him, thereby confining a secret to his owm breast, 
 which he wisely deemed not safe in the breast of another; even 
 Mrs. I'rice had not the least knowdedge or suspicion of his 
 proceedings. Having practised engraving till he had made 
 
CHARLES PRICE. — STEPHENSON. 
 
 895 
 
 nirnself sufficiently master of it, he then made his owT ink, to 
 prove his own works; having purchased implements, and 
 manufactured the w'ater-marks, he next set himself to counter- 
 feit hand-writings, and succeeded so far, as even to puzzle 
 a part of the first body of men in the world. The abilities 
 of the unhappy Ryland were exerted in his profession, and 
 therefore the imposition was to be less wondered at; but here 
 was a novice in the art, capable of equal ingenuity in every 
 department of the dangerous undertaking, from the engraving 
 down to the publication. 
 
 Whoever reads this narrative with attention, must feel rising 
 within his breast a series of useful reflections. That such 
 talents should be appropriated to such a use, must be deeply 
 regretted ; but that any individual should, throughout life, 
 thus prey on luis fellow-creatures, excites the strongest detes- 
 tation. Society also may learn lessons of caution and vigilance 
 from the contemplation of the extraordinary character we 
 have delineated. Vice here appears in its most odious features, 
 that of meditated imposition upon the honest and industrious 
 part of the community. Mark, however, its serpentine pro- 
 gress and its wretched termination. 
 
 The eccentric Stephenson. — A person of the name of 
 Stephenson, who died at Kilmarnock, in Scotland, in 1817, 
 came originally from Dunlop, and was brought up as a mason, 
 but during many of the latter years of his life he had wan- 
 dered about as a beggar. His wife and himself had been 
 separated thiity years, upon these strange conditions, — that 
 the first who pioposed an agreement should forfeit £100. 
 This singular pair never met again. Stephenson was much 
 afflicted, during the last two years of his life, with the stone. 
 As his disease increased, he was fully aware of his approach- 
 ing dissolution ; and for this event he made the following 
 extraordinary preparation : — He sent for a baker, and ordered 
 twelve dozen of burial cakes, and a great profusion of sugar 
 biscuit, together with a corresponding quantity of wine and 
 spirituous liquors. He next sent for a joiner, and ordered 
 a coffin decently mounted, with instructions that the wood 
 should be quite dry, and the joints firm, and impervious to the 
 water, 'fhe grave-digger was next sent for, and asked if he 
 thought he could find a place to put him in after he was dead, 
 'fhe spot fixed u.pon was in the church-yard of Riccarton, a 
 village about half a mile di;;tant. He enjoined the sexton to 
 be sure and make his grave roomy, and in a dry comfortable 
 corner; and he would be well rewarded for his care and trou- 
 ble. Having made these arrangements, he ordered the old 
 woman that attended him, to go to a certain nook, and bring 
 out £9, to be appropriated defray the funeral charges. 
 
896 
 
 CiJRIOSlTJ £S RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 He told her, at the same time, not to be grieved, — that he had 
 not forgotten her in his will. In a few hours afterwards, in 
 the full exercise of his mental powers, but in the most excru- 
 ciating agonies, he expired. 
 
 A neighbour and a professional man were immediately sent 
 for, to examine and seal up his effects. The first thing they 
 found was a bag, containing large silver pieces, such as crowns, 
 half-crowns, and dollars, to a large amount: in a corner was 
 secreted, amongst a vast quantity of musty rags, a great 
 number of guineas and seven-shilling pieces. In his trunk 
 was a bond for £300, and other bonds and securities to the 
 amount of £900. By his will, £20 were left to his house- 
 keeper, and the rest of his property to be divided among his 
 distant relations. As it required some time to give his rela- 
 tives intimation of his death, and to make preparations for 
 his funeral, he lay in state four days, during which the place 
 resembled more an Irish wake than a deserted room where 
 the Scots lock up their dead. The invitations to his funeral 
 were most singular. Persons were not asked individually, 
 but whole families; so that, except a few relatives dressed in 
 black, his obsequies were attended by tradesmen in their 
 working clothes, barefooted boys and girls, and an immense 
 crowd of tattered beggars; to the aged among whom he left 
 six-pence, and to the younger three-pence. After the inter- 
 ment, this motley group retired to a large barn, fitted up for 
 the purpose, where a scene of profusion and inebriety was 
 exhibited almost without a parallel. 
 
 Whimsical Character. — The Rev. Mr. Hagamore, of 
 Catshoge, Leicestershire, was a very singular character. He 
 died the 1st of January, 1776, possessed of the following 
 effects, viz. — £700 per annum, and £1000 in money, which, 
 as he died intestate, fell to a ticket-porter in London. He 
 kept one s-ervant of each sex, whom he locked up every night. 
 His last employment of an evening was to go round his pre- 
 mises, let loose his dogs, and fire his gun. He lost his life 
 as follows ; Going one morning to let out his servants, the 
 dogs fawned upon him suddenly, and threw him into a 
 pond, where he was found dead. His servants heard his 
 call for assistance, but being locked up, they could not lend 
 him any He had 30 gowns and cassocks, 100 pair of 
 breeches, 100 pair of boots, 400 pair of shoes, 80 wigs, 
 yet always wore his own hair, 58 dogs, 80 waggons and carts, 
 80 ploughs, and used none, 50 saddles, and furniture for the 
 menage, 30 wheelbarrows, so many walking-sticks, that a 
 toyman in Leicester-fields offered £8 for them, 60 horses 
 and mares, 200 pickaxes, 200 spades and shovels, 74 ladders, 
 and 249 razors. 
 
THE LIVING SKELETON 
 
 PETER, THE WILD BOY. 
 
iHt LiijfUSy 
 DF THE 
 
 &F iLueois 
 
ECCENTRIC CHARACTER. — INDIAN JUGGLERS. 
 
 897 
 
 Exi raordinaryCharacter. — In July, 1818, A. M. Crom- 
 well, of Hammersmith, died suddenly in Tottenham-court- 
 road : he was returning from the corn-market, when he was 
 taken ill, and carried, in a dying state, into the house of a 
 corn-chandler, in Tottenham-court-road. The master of the 
 shop, who knew him, was from home, and in the country. 
 The mistress did not know him, and he was therefore treated 
 with no more attention from her than humanity dictated. 
 
 He remained in the shop, and a crowd was collected in con- 
 sequence. His dress not bespeaking him a man of wealth or 
 respectability, he was about to be removed to the parish 
 workhouse. However, some gentlemen passing by chance, 
 recognized him; and, knowing him to be a wealthy man, 
 thought it right to search his person in the presence of several 
 witnesses, when they found bank-notes to the amount of 
 £1500. A surgeon w’as sent for, who attended, and examined 
 him; and declared, that, in his opinion, he had been dying 
 during the last two hours, in consequence of the breaking of 
 a blood-vessel, supposed to be near his heart. It is said he 
 was worth two millions and a half. He was 75 years old, and 
 had been accumulating property for a great number of years, 
 living at the most trifling expense. He frequently bought his 
 clothes in Monmouth-street, and w'ore them as long as they 
 would hang together: his breeches were very greasy and 
 ragged; his stockings usually contained many holes; in fact, 
 he could not be distinguished by his dress from his men. In 
 the summer season he was frequently up at three o’clock, 
 attending to and assisting in loading the brick carts, 8cc. &c. 
 His wealth did not improve or alter his conduct, manners, 
 or mode of living. He provided plenty of food for the house, 
 but it was in a very rough style; — fat pork, fat bacon, &c. 
 and sometimes poultry. His hog- feeders and other men sat at 
 table with him in their working-dress; and, if a friend hap- 
 pened to dine with him, his men were made company for them, 
 and he did not deviate from his daily plan of helping them 
 first. 
 
 Indian Jugglers; (see pages 62 and 63.) — The Indian 
 jugglers, who exhibited in London from 1810 to 1815, per- 
 formed such astonishing feats, that it would appear to require 
 a long life, spent in incessant practice, to acquire facility in 
 any cne of them ; such proficiency is so common, however, 
 in India, that it probably excites no extraordinary interest 
 there. The following is a description of their pertormances, 
 which were witnessed by the editor of this work. 
 
 The exhibition takes place upon a raised platform, on 
 which, having performed his salaam, or eastern obeisance, 
 the chief performer takes his seat; and behind liini sits the 
 
 5X 
 
CURIOSITIES kESPECTING MAN 
 
 898 
 
 second juggler, and an attendant boy, whose occupation is to 
 beat together two metallic plates, somewhat resembling cym- 
 bals, which emit an unremitting sound, like the clucking of 
 a hen. 
 
 The first tricks are performed with cups and balls. These 
 are similar in their mode to the deceptions of our own conju- 
 rers, and only remarkable for the superiority of their evolu- 
 tions in the hands of this celebrated Asiatic. The cups 
 seem enchanted ; the balls fly; they increase in number ; they 
 diminish ; now one, now two, now none under the cup ; and 
 now the serpent, the cobra de capella, usurps the place of a 
 small globule of cork, and winds its snaky folds as if from 
 under the puny vessel. The facility with which this dexterous 
 feat is accomplished, gives life and animation to the sable 
 countenance of the artist, whose arm is bared to the elbow, 
 to shew that the whole is done by sleight of hand. During 
 his performances, the juggler keeps up an unremitting noise, 
 striking his tongue against his teeth, like the clack of ma- 
 chinery, and uttering sounds, as if he were repeating, with 
 inconceivable rapidity, the words “ Crickery-tick, crickery^ 
 tick, crickery-tick, a-tow, geret-tow, crickery-tick, a-tow, geret- 
 tow, 
 
 The next feat is that of breaking a cotton thread into the 
 consistency of scraped lint, as used by surgeons, and repro- 
 ducing it continued and entire; after which he lays upon the 
 palm of his hand a small quantity of common sand ; this he 
 rubs with the fingers of his other hand, and it changes its 
 hue — the colourless grains become yellow; he rubs them 
 again, they are white ; again, and they are black. 
 
 A series of evolutions then succeeds, with four hollow brass 
 balls, about the size of oranges. His power over these is al- 
 most miraculous. He causes them to describe every possible 
 circle — horizontally, perpendicularly, obliquely, transversely, 
 round his legs, under his arms, about his head, in small and 
 in large circumferences — with wondrous rapidity, and keeping 
 the whole number in motion at the same time. This being 
 the sole fruit of effort, activity, quickness of eye, and rapi- 
 dity of action, no one who has not witnessed it can form an 
 idea of its excellence. He then exhibits his astonishing power 
 of balancing. He places on his two great toes (over which 
 he seems to have the same command that less favoured whites 
 enjoy over their fingers only) a couple of thin rings, of about 
 four inches in diameter; a pair of similar rings he places on 
 his fore fingers, and then he sets the whole into rotation, and 
 round they all whirl, and continue describing their orbits 
 without cessation, as if set to work by machinery, endowed 
 with the principle of perpetual motion. Throwing himself 
 back, the performer then balances a sword upon his forehead. 
 
BLACK BUFFALO. 
 
iHk liisiyaif 
 
 OF THE 
 
 aiUVEKiETIf OF iULUOIS 
 
INDIAN JUGGLERS 
 
 899 
 
 and with his mouth strings a number of very small beads 
 upon a hog's bristle, which he holds between his lips. All 
 the wheels are kept in regular movement; the sword is nicely 
 poised; and arts and manufactures, under the emblem of bead- 
 stringing, carried on in peacefulness : during this part of the 
 show, the performer is compelled, from the nature of his em 
 ployment, to be still and quiet. 
 
 Having concluded this, the juggler executes the following 
 exploit. — Upon the tip of his nose he balances a small wooden 
 parasol, from the circumference of which about a dozen of 
 cork tassels are pendent. With his mouth he inserts into 
 each of these tassels a quill of about the length of twelve 
 inches, and the thickness of that of the porcupine. The bases 
 of these he places with his tongue between his upper lip and 
 nose, the rings on his toes all the while performing their cir- 
 cuits. Having succeeded in putting a quill in-to every tassel, 
 he takes out the centre stick on which the parasol was origi- 
 nally supported from the top of his nose, and it then remains 
 })a lanced on the quills. Thus far the work is difficult enough ; 
 !)ut this is nothing; to its conclusion. He undermines his 
 structure by a quill at a time, till only three remain. Of these 
 he takes one away; and the top, which resembles the roof of 
 a pagoda, swings down, and hangs by two, the Indian preserv- 
 ing the astonishing balance even throughout this motion, 
 which might be deemed sufficient to disconcert any human 
 ingenuity: but even here he does not stop; the last prop 
 but one is removed, and on that one the erect balance of the 
 machine rests. 
 
 After a variety of other extraordinary performances, the 
 Indian places a stone of fourteen pounds weight, about the 
 size and shape of a Dutch cheese, between his feet. With an 
 apparently slight exertion, he kicks up his heels, and the 
 stone, performing a parabola over his head from behind, alights 
 upon the bend of his arm, where it rests. He then tosses it 
 to the same part of the other arm, where it rests, as if held 
 by the hand, or caught by magic; thence he throws it to 
 various parts of his frame, to his wrist, and the back of his 
 neck. At this latter point it might be supposed it would be 
 stationary, as one feels very little capacity of twisting any 
 weighty body from the neck in a direction different from what 
 it would take on being shaken off’. But even here our jug- 
 gler commands its obedience. He again tosses it to his arm; 
 back again to his neck ; and after a few gambols of this sort, 
 he finally, by a masterly jerk, throws the stone of fourteen 
 pounds weight round his head. 
 
 The famous feat of swallowing the sword closes this won- 
 derful exhibition ; for a description of which, the reader is 
 referred to page 63. 
 
m 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 John Metcalf, or Blind Jack of Knaresborough. — Thi* 
 sxtraordinary character was born in 1717, and died in 1798 
 When four years old, his parents, who were working people, 
 put him to school, soon after which he was seized with the 
 small-pox, by which he became totally blind, though all pos- 
 sible means were used to preserve his sight. Recovering 
 from the small-pox, he found that he was able to go from his 
 father’s house to the end of the stre-et, and return, without a 
 guide ; and, in the space of three years, he could find his 
 way to any part of the town, which gave him much satisfac- 
 tion. In [)rocess of time, he began to associate with the 
 neighbouring boys, of his own age, and went with them to 
 take birds’ nests. For his share of the eggs and young birds, 
 he was to climb the trees, whilst his companions waited at 
 the bottom to receive what he should throw down. After 
 that, be could ramble into the fields alone, frequently to the 
 distance of two or three miles ; and, bis father keeping horses, 
 he in time became an able horseman, and a gallop was his 
 favourite pace. At the age of thirteen, being taught music, 
 he became very expert, though he had more taste for the cry 
 of the hounds than for any instrument. A Mr. Woodburn, of 
 Knaresborough, master of a pack of hounds, used to take 
 young Metcalf to hunt with him ; and he having a couple and 
 a half of good ones of his owm, used to go out at a night 
 when the hares were feeding; but one of his young dogs hap- 
 pening to worry a couple of lambs, Metcalf was obliged to 
 discontinue this practice. At about fourteen years of age he 
 learned to swim in the river Nidd; but few of his companions 
 liked to come near him in the water, it being his custom to 
 seize them, send them to the bottom, and swim over them by 
 way of diversion. 
 
 Having practised on the violin till he could play country 
 dances, he attended several assemblies, and to his fondness 
 for hunting, added that of cock-fighting; and, if at any time 
 he heard of a better game-cock than his own, he would be 
 sure to get him by some means or other, though at ever so 
 great a distance. In fact, his fame began to spread to such 
 a degree, that when any arch trick was done, inquiry was 
 .«ure to be made, wdiere^Blind Jack w^as at the time. In 1732, 
 Metcalf succeeded the fiddler at Harrovvgate, who died in the 
 102d year of his age ; after this he bought a horse, and often 
 •ran him for small plates; and for some time, hunting by day, 
 ,and fiddling by night, were his principal occupations. Soon 
 after this, as Metcalf had learned to walk and ride very rea- 
 dily through most of the streets in York, he one evening 
 offered himself as a guide to a gentleman who wanted to go 
 to Knaresborough that night, and absolutely performed it, 
 the gentleman not even suspecting that he was blind till they 
 
JOHN METCALF. 
 
 90 
 
 came to their journey’s end. This the gentleman was told at 
 the sign of the Granby, just as he had entered the pajlour. 
 Expressing some doubt of this to the landlord’s question, 
 “ Do you not know that he is blind?” he exclaimed, *• What 
 do you mean by that?” — “ I mean sir, that he cannot see.”— 
 “Blind! gracious God!” — “Yes sir, as blind as a stone.” 
 Metcalf was then called in, and the gentleman’s doubts were 
 immediately dissipated. 
 
 In 1745, during the rebellion, as Captain Thornton under- 
 took to raise a company at his own expense, and knowing 
 Metcalf’s turn of mind, engaged him as a musician to hi« 
 corps. As Metcalf was then nearly six feet two inches high, 
 and being, like his companions, dressed in blue and buff, with 
 a large gold-laced hat, the captain was so well [)leased with 
 him, that he said he would give one hundred guineas for only 
 one eye to be put into the head of his dark companion. Dur- 
 ing the rebellion, after seeing much service, and being parti- 
 cularly noticed by the duke of Cumberland, he was discharged, 
 and being at liberty to choose his occupation, he attended 
 Harrowgate as before ; but having, in the course of his Scotch 
 expedition, become acquainted with the various articles manu- 
 factured in that country, he provided himself with several 
 in the cotton and wors4;ed way, especially Aberdeen stockings, 
 for all which he found a ready sale in the extensive county of 
 Y^ork. Among a thousand articles, he never was at a loss to 
 know what each had cost him, from a particular mode of 
 marking. It was also customary with him to buy horses for 
 sale in Scotland, bringing back galloways in return. In this 
 traffic he depended on feeling the animals to direct his choice. 
 In 1754, Metcalf set up a stage w'aggon between York and 
 Knaresborougfi, beino- the first of the kind known on that 
 road. This lie constantly conducted himself, going twice a 
 W’eek in summer, and once in the winter; but at length, turn 
 ing his attention to the making of roads, he disposed of his 
 waggon, &,c. His first undertaking of this kind was three 
 miles of the new turnpike road from Harrowgate to Borough- 
 bridge; and for this he was actually appointed foreman to the 
 surveyor. 
 
 He often w'alked from Knaresborough in the morning, wdth 
 four or five stone of meat on his shoulders, and joined his 
 men by six o’clock. By the means he used, he completed the 
 work much sooner than was expected, to the entire satisfac- 
 tion of the surveyor and the trustees. During his leisure 
 hours he studied measurement in a way of his own ; and, when 
 certain of the girth and length of any piece of timber, he was 
 able to reduce its true contents to feet and inches, and could 
 bring the dimensions of any building into yards or feet. In 
 fact, h'-j contracted for and constructed several roads, in a 
 
902 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 manner superior to the method of making them at that time. 
 He built various bridges in difficult situations, in a manner 
 that ast'inished those that employed him, and afterwards un- 
 dertook the erection of houses. One of his bridges, it was 
 remarked, had stood thirty years, and the foundation never 
 cost one penny in repairs. 
 
 In 1792, having been some time absent, he returned to 
 Yorkshire, and, having no engagement, he bought hay to sell 
 again : he used to measure the stacks with his arms, and 
 knowing the height, could readily tell what number of square 
 yards were contained in hay, from five to one hundred pounds 
 value; with equal facility he could calculate the solid contents 
 of standing wood. Having known the streets of York very 
 accurately in the earlier part of his life, he determined to visit 
 that ancient city, where he had not been for the space of 
 thirty-two years. He found alterations for the better in 
 Spurrier-gate, Blake-street, the Pavement, 8cc. and so reten- 
 tive was his memory, that, though so many years had elapsed 
 since he had been that way before, he discovered an altera- 
 tion in the hanging of two gates by a w'ail-side near the house 
 of a Mr. Barlow. His wife died in 1778, in her 61st year, 
 eaving him four children, after 39 years of conjugal affec- 
 tion and felicity. 
 
 Mrs. Van Butchell. — In 1775, died the wife of an eccen- 
 tric empiric. Dr. Martin Van Butchell; and the singular mode 
 employed for the preservation of her body merits notice. On 
 her death taking place, he applied to Dr. Hunter, to exert 
 his skill in preventing, if possible, the changes of form usual 
 after the cessation of life. Accordingly, the doctor, assisted 
 by the late Mr. Cruikshank, injected the blood-vessels with 
 a coloured fluid, so that the minute red vessels of the cheeks 
 and lips were filled, and exhibited their native hue; and the 
 body in general, having all the cavities filled with antiseptic 
 substances, remained perfectly free from corruption, or any 
 unpleasant smell, and as if it was merely in a state of sleep. 
 But to resemble the appearance of life, glass eyes were also 
 inserted. The corpse was then deposited in a bed of thin 
 uaste of plaster of Paris, in a box of sufficient dimensions, 
 which subsequently crystallized, and produced a pleasing 
 effect. A curtain covered the glass lid of the box, which 
 could be withdrawn at pleasure; and which box being kept 
 in the common parlour, Mr. Van Butchell had the satisfaction 
 of retaining his departed wife for many years, frequently dis- 
 playing the beautiful corpse to his friends and visitors. A 
 second marriage, some years afterwards, is said to have occa- 
 sioned some family difference, and it was found expedient to 
 remove the preserved bodv. 
 
HARRISON. — BLIND CLERGYMAN. . 
 
 903 
 
 Harrison, a Penurious Character. — This person died in 
 November, 1821, in Bennett-street, Rathbone-place, Oxford- 
 road, London, where he had lodged 20 years. The furniture 
 of his room consisted of one old chair, a table, a trunk or two, 
 an old stump bedstead, and a bed of straw ; in one corner 
 was a heap of ashes; and the cupboard, the day after his 
 decease, contained a few potato-peelings and a stale rolL 
 His body presented a picture of the most extreme misery 
 and starvation, though he had no family, and had property 
 in the funds to the amount of £1500. A female friend who 
 lived at Putney, and was in the habit of calling on him when 
 she came to town, deposed, that he would let no person but 
 her enter his room, which he always kept padlocked inside, 
 for fear of being robbed ; he lay on his bed in the day-lime, 
 and sat up at night without any fire, always burning a lamp. 
 A few evenings before his death, he told the female before- 
 mentioned, that many persons wanted to finger his cash, but 
 they should not. He then desired her to lock him in, and 
 take the key with her, which she did; but, on going again 
 next day, she found him lying on his bed with his clothes on, 
 quite dead. He had made his will several months before, 
 and left her executrix of his property, which was to be divided 
 between herself, his nephew, and niece. He had been mar- 
 ried, and had a daughter, who, with his wife, were both dead. 
 He carried large sums of money sewed up in different parts 
 of his clothes, for which reason he never pulled them off 
 Up wards of £100 was found upon him at the time of his 
 death, on the night previous to which he sent for one oyster, 
 half a pint of beer, and a pennyworth of figs, which he ate. 
 For nearly four years previous to his decease, he appeared 
 almost childish. The jury that sat upon the body, brought 
 in their verdict , — Died by the visitation of God. 
 
 The Blind Clergyman. — The following very interesting 
 account was published in the Morning Chronicle of Jan. 21, 
 1791. It bears all the marks of authenticity. 
 
 ** In my rambles (says the writer) last summer, on the 
 borders of Wales, I found myself one morning on the banks 
 of the beautiful river Wye, alone, without a servant or guide. 
 I had to ford the river at a place where, according to the 
 insti uctions given me at the nearest liamlet, if I diverged ever 
 BO little from the marks which the ripling of the current made 
 as it passed over a ledge of rock, 1 should sink twice the 
 depth of myself and horse. While I stood hesitating on the 
 margin, viewing attentively the course of the ford, a person 
 passed me on the canter, and the next instant 1 saw him 
 plunge into the river. Presuming on his acquaintance with the 
 passage, I imm? diately and closely followed his steps. As soon 
 
904 eURIOSlTIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 as we had gained the opposite bank, I accosted him with 
 thanks for the benefit of his guidance ; but what was my 
 astonishment, w hen, bursting into a hearty laugh, he observed, 
 that “ my confidence would have been less, had I known that 
 1 had been following a blind guide.” The manner of the 
 man, as well as the fact, attracted my curiosity. To my ex- 
 pressions of surprise at his venturing to cross the river alone, 
 he answered, that he and the horse he rode had done the 
 same every Sunday morning for the last five years ; but that 
 in reality, this was not the most perilous part of his hebdo- 
 madal peregrination, as 1 should be convinced, if my way led 
 over the mountain before us. My way was ad libitum^ at plea- 
 sure ; I therefore resolved to attach myself to my extraordinary 
 companion, and soon learned in our chat, as we wound up 
 the steep mountain's side, that he was a clergyman, and of 
 that class which is the disgrace of our ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment; I mean the country curates, who exist upon the liberal 
 stipend of thirty, twenty, and sometimes fifteen pounds a year! 
 This gentleman, of the age of sixty, had about thirty years 
 before been engaged in the curacy to which he was now tra- 
 velling; and though at the distance of eight long Welsh miles 
 from the place of his residence, such was the respect of his 
 Sunday flock tow'ards him, that at the commencement of his 
 calamity, rather than part with him, they sent regularly, every 
 Sunday morning, a deputation to guide their old pastor along 
 a road, w'hich, besides the river w'e had just passed, led over 
 a craggy mountain, on whose top innumerable and uncertain 
 bogs were constantly forming, and which, nevertheless, by 
 the instinct of his Welsh pony, this blind man has actually 
 crossed alone for the last five years, having so long dismissed 
 the assistance of guides. 
 
 “ While our talk beguiled our road, we insensibly arrived 
 within sight of his village church. It was seated in a deep 
 and narrow vale. As I looked down upon it, the bright ver- 
 dure of the meadows, which were here and there chequered 
 with patches of yellow corn, the moving herds of cattle, the 
 rich foliage of the groves of oak, hanging irregularly over its 
 sides, the white houses of the inhabitants, which sprinkled 
 every corner of this peaceful retreat; and above all, the inha^ 
 bitants themselves, assembled in their best attire round their 
 place of weekly worship; all this gay scene rushing at once 
 on the view, struck my senses and imagination more forcibly 
 than I can express. As we entered the church-yard, the re- 
 spectful “ How do you do?” of the young, the hearty shakes 
 by the hand of the old, and the familiar gambols of the chil- 
 dren, shewed how their old pastor reigned in the hearts of 
 all. After some refreshment at the nearest house, we went to 
 church, in which my veteran priest read the prayers, the 
 
CLARA FISHER > 
 
 905 
 
 pialras, and chapters of the day, and then preached a sermon 
 in a manner that would have made no one advert to his defect 
 of sioht. At dinner, which it seems four of the most substan- 
 tial farmers of the vale provided in turn, he related the pro- 
 gress of his memory. For the first year he attempted only 
 the prayers and sermons, the best readers of the parish 
 making it a pride to officiate for him in the psalms and chap- 
 ters. He next endured the labour of getting these by heart j 
 and at present, by continual repetition, there is not a psalm 
 or chapter of the more than two hundred appointed for the 
 Sunday service, that he is not perfect in. He told me also, 
 that having in his little school two sons of his own, intended 
 for the university, he has, by hearing them continually, com- 
 mitted the greatest part of Homer and Virgil to his memory. ’’ 
 
 We shall now introduce to the notice of the reader, a living 
 character, — a child, a little girl, — the most extraordinary that 
 ever appeared in the world. 
 
 Miss Clara Fish er. — This little lady, the youngest daugh- 
 ter of Mr. G. F. Fisher, a respectable auctioneer, of London, 
 was born in Covent-garden, on the 14th of July, 1811. At 
 a very early age, she evinced powers of intellect and genius 
 very unusual in infants. A passionate fondness for music 
 was a first characteristic ; and while yet in the arms of a nurse, 
 she was excited to pleasurable emotions, when tunes which 
 she liked were played, but shewed the most determined oppo- 
 sition in her power, to the continuance of those to which she 
 had conceived an aversion. This fact is recorded in the writ- 
 ings of Anthony Pasquin, in his Dramatic Censor, as an 
 instance of wonderfully premature infantine endowment. 
 
 The fame which Miss O’Neil had acquired soon after her 
 appearance in London, induced Mr. Fisher to take his family 
 to Covent-g'arden theatre, to witness her performance of Jane 
 Shore; and to the impression made that night on the mind 
 of little Clara, may he ascribed the wonderful turn for theatri- 
 cal exhibition, which has ever since characterized this juvenile 
 candidate for histrionic fame. On the same evening, after 
 returning from the theatre, Clara retired to a corner of the 
 room, and, as she thought, unseen, went through, in dumb 
 show, a great part of the performances she had witnessed at 
 the theatre. These evident symptoms of dramatic genius in 
 a child, then under four years of age, excited much surprise 
 and pleasure amongst the family circle. A few evenings 
 afterwards, she was persuaded to repeat this primary exhibi- 
 tion before some private friends, and the applause which she 
 elicited seemed to implant in her young mind that ardent love 
 for the stage, which thenceforward has guided all her thoughts 
 and actions. 
 
 Y 
 
906 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 In the autumn of 1817, Dr. D. Corrie, the celebrated mu- 
 sician, and composer of the music of the Travellers, solicited 
 and received permission for little Clara to appear in a private 
 performance with his juvenile pupils in music. A short cha- 
 racter was assigned to little Clara toJ[earn ; and she performed 
 it with an edect which excited the admonishment and admira- 
 tion of a select and fashionable company, who had met to 
 witness the efforts of the juvenile performers. From the 
 success of this evening’s amusement, may be dated Miss 
 Clara’s introduction to public notice. On the 10th of Decem- 
 ber following, she appeared in Drury-lane theatre, in Garrick’s 
 romance of Lilliput; revived and altered, witli songs, pro- 
 logue, epilogue, and a masque, written by Mr. Fisher; and 
 in which was introduced the last act of Shakspeare’s Richard 
 III. in order to bring forward the little Clara in the character 
 of the crookbacked tyrant. Her success in this arduous 
 character was beyond all anticipation ; for seventeen nights 
 the house was crowded in every part, and the applause be- 
 stowed on the extraordinary infant, then only six years and a 
 half old, was enthusiastic and incessant. The public jour- 
 nals published in London during the run of the piece, bear 
 ample testimony of the high estimation in which the best 
 critics of the day held the talents of the young actress. Im- 
 mediately after the close of her engagement at Drury-lane, 
 she was applied for by Mr. Harris, of Covent-garden theatre, 
 where she performed with equal success and approbation. 
 On one occasion, his present Majesty, then Prince of Wales, 
 honoured the theatre with his presence, and was pleased cor- 
 dially to join in the general plaudits of the audience. After 
 the part of Richard III. was concluded, she appeared in her 
 own infantine character, and delivered the following epilogue, 
 written by her father, with a pathos and feeling which power- 
 fully affected the auditors; — 
 
 Well, Sirs, vi'hat say you to our little play — 
 Must it expire, or live another day? 
 
 Will you permit once more our g:roup to try 
 To raise your lau{;hter, or to make you cry? 
 My spangled robes laid by, and waving plume. 
 In muslin frock my sex 1 re-assume; 
 
 And though in simple dress I’m now array’d, 
 
 I hope you’ll not reject a little maid. 
 
 Who sues for favour, for herself, and those. 
 Who, like herself, are now in common clothes. 
 And 1 assure you, ladies, from my heart, 
 
 1 like my robes much better than my part; 
 
 The shining spangles are to me so dear, 
 
 I’m come to ask — may I again appear? 
 
 O! pray indulge me in this one request. 
 
 And I will strive to please you, — and be drest! 
 
CLARA FISHER. 
 
 907 
 
 On leaving Covent-garden, she was engaged byMr.EIliston to 
 perform at the Birmingham theatre, as a star, for some nights; 
 after which she appeared in Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, 
 Aberdeen, York, Doncaster, Hull, Brighton, and every thea- 
 tre of consequence, in the kingdom. 
 
 Miss Clara Fisher has at this time, 1822, been on the boards 
 more than four years, and has already performed in about 
 one hundred theatres. She has travelled through various 
 parts of Great Britain, a distance of upwards of ten thousand 
 miles ; and she has performed in Shakspeare^s character of 
 Richard III. more than two hundred and fifty times, besides 
 other arduous parts in the various departments of the English 
 drama. Her singing and dancing are equal to her other 
 accomplishments, and yield delight to all who witness them. 
 Being vet but eleven years of age, she will furnish for the 
 future historian a rare instance of precocity of intellect. She 
 is gracefully formed, but not tall of her age ; her face is oval, 
 and full of expression; her eyes blue, large, and animated; 
 her mouth particularly well moulded ; and her hand and arm 
 are considered by artists as uncommonly beautiful for her 
 years. The general opinion of critics is, that she resembles 
 in voice, and manner of acting, the late celebrated Mrs. 
 Jordan. 
 
 An authentic anecdote is related of our heroine, which 
 places, in a strong point of view, her felicitous conception of 
 character, and her extraordinary collectedness and presence 
 of mind, under circumstances, which, in all probability, would 
 confuse and Hotter even a long-experienced actor. Immedi- 
 ately after leaving Drury-lane, she performed for Mr. Elliston, 
 at Birmingham. A new and elegant crown was there made 
 for her, that she might appear to advantage in the character 
 of Richard HI. The crown was accidentally made too small, 
 and was with difficulty kept on the head. When Richard 
 (personated by this little lady) descended from the throne, 
 in the presence of his nobles, and was delivering one of 
 his most impassioned speeches, the crown fell oft’ upon the 
 stage. Contrary to the natural expectation of all, little 
 Clara took no notice of the circumstance, but concluded her 
 speech with the same energy and commanding deportment 
 with which it commenced ; and then beckoning to Catesby 
 to approacl), “Catesby!” said she, pointing to the fallen 
 diadem, and stood erect and motionless, with the haughty 
 dignity of monarchy, until, the brief’ mandate understood, he 
 lifted it, and solemnly re|)laced it upon her brows. Thus, 
 when a less-gifted performer would have found it difficult to 
 save the whole scene from derision, did she sternly maintain 
 the regal c.l'.aracter she had assumed ; and commanded the 
 lespect, surprise, and admiration of the audience. 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 9C8 
 
 Earth Eaters; from Humboldt’s Personal Narrative. — 
 “ The inhabitants of Umana belong to those nations of the 
 savannas, \^Iudios andantes^ who, more difficult to civilize 
 than the nations of the forest, \^liidios del moutei] have a decided 
 c version to cultivate the land, and live almost exclusively on 
 hunting and fishing. They are men of a very robust consti- 
 tution ; but ugly, savage, vindictive, and passionately fond 
 of fermented liquors. They are omnivorous animals in the 
 highest degree ; and therefore the other Indians, who consi- 
 der them as barbarians, have a common saying, ‘ Nothing is 
 so disgusting, that an Otomac will not eat it.’ While the 
 waters of the Oroonoko and its tributary streams are low, the 
 Otomacs subsist on fish and turtles ; the former they kill 
 with surprising dexterity, by shooting them with an arrow, 
 when they appear at the surface of the water. When the 
 rivers swell, which in South America, as well as in Egypt 
 and in Nubia, is erroneously attributed to the melting of the 
 snows, and which occurs periodically in every part of the 
 torrid zone, fishing almost entirely ceases. It is then as diffi- 
 cult to procure fish in the rivers, which are become deeper, as 
 when you are sailing on the open sea. It often fails the poor 
 missionaries, on fast-days as well as flesh days, though all 
 the young Indians are under the obligation of ‘ fishing for the 
 convent.’ At the period of these inundations, which last two 
 or three months, the Otomacs swallow a prodigious quantity 
 of earth. We found heaps of balls in their huts, piled up in 
 pyramids, three or four feet high. These balls were five or 
 six inches in diameter. The earth which the Otomacs eat is 
 a very fine and unctuous clay, of a yellowish gray colour; 
 and, being slightly baked in the fire, the hardened crust has 
 a tint inclining to red, owing to the oxide which is mingled 
 with it. We brought away some of this earth, which we took 
 from the winter provision of the Indians; and it is absolutely 
 false that it is steatitic, and contains magnesia. Mr. Van- 
 quelin did not discover any traces of this earth in it ; but he 
 found that it contained more silex than alumine, and three or 
 four per cent, of lime. 
 
 “ The Otomacs do not eat every kind of clay indifferently ; 
 they choose the alluvial beds or strata that contain the most 
 unctuous earth, and is the smoothest to the feeling. I in- 
 quired of the missionary, whether the moistened clay were 
 made to undergo, as Father Gumilla asserts, the peculiar 
 decomposition w'hich is indicated by a disengagement of 
 carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, and whicli is 
 designated in every language by the term putrefaction ; but he 
 assured me, that the natives neither cause the clay to rot, 
 nor do they mingle it with flour of maize, oil of turtles’ eggs, 
 or fat of the crocodile. We ourselves examined, both at the 
 
JAMES GKAHAM. . 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUTCHELL, 
 

 
 
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 . . . 
 
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 w mm 
 
 OF THE 
 
 jsfvEB jiTY Of mmols 
 
 
EARTH-EATERS. — DR. GRAHAM. 
 
 909 
 
 Oroonoko, and after our return to Paris, the balla of earth 
 which we brought away with us, and found no trace of the 
 mixture of any organic substance, whether oily or farinaceous. 
 The savage regards every thing as nourishing that appeases 
 hunger ; when, therefore, you inquire of an Otomac on what 
 he subsists during the two months when the river is the 
 highest, he shews you his balls of clay. This he calls his 
 principal food ; for at this period he can seldom procure a 
 lizard, a root of fern, or a dead fish swimming at the surface 
 of the water. 
 
 “ If the Indian eats earth through want during two months, 
 and from three-quarters to five-quarters of a pound in twenty- 
 four hours, he does not the less regale himself with it during 
 the rest of the year. Every day, in the season of drought, 
 when fishing is most abundant, he scrapes his balls of poya, 
 and mingles a little clay with his other aliment. What is 
 most surprising, is, that the Otomacs do not become lean by 
 swallowing such quantities of earth ; they are, on the contrary, 
 extremely robust, and far from having the belly tense and 
 puffed up. The missionary. Fray Ramon Bueno, asserts, that 
 he never remarked any alteration in the health of the natives 
 at the period of the great risings of the Oroonoko. 
 
 ** The following are the facts, in all their simplicity, which 
 we were able to verify. The Otomacs, during some months, 
 eat daily three-quarters of a pound of clay slightly hardened 
 by fire, without their health being sensibly affected by it. 
 They moisten the earth afresh when they are going to swallow it. 
 It has not been possible to verify hitherto with precision how 
 much nutritious vegetable or animal matter the Indians take 
 in a week at the same time ; but it is certain that they attri- 
 bute the sensation of satiety which they feel to the clay, and 
 not to the wretched aliment which they take with it occa- 
 sionally. 
 
 “ I observed every where within the torrid zone, in a great 
 number of individuals, children, women, and sometimes even 
 full-grown men, an inordinate and almost irresistible desire 
 of swallowing earth ; not an alkaline or calcareous earth, to 
 neutralize, as it is vulgarly said, acid juices, but a fat clay, 
 unctuous, and exhalintj a strong smell. It is often found 
 'necessary to tie the children’s hands, or to confine them, to 
 prevent their eating earth, when the rain ceases to fall. At 
 the village of Banco, on the bank of the river Magdalena, 
 I saw the Indian women who make pottery, continually swal- 
 lowing great pieces of clay.” 
 
 The celebrated Dr. Graham. — About the year 1782, 
 there appeared in London one of the most extraordinary 
 empirics cf modern times. His name was Graham. He was 
 
910 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 a graduate of Edinburgh, wrote in a bombastic style, and 
 possessed a great fluency of elocution. He opened in Pall- 
 Mall, a mansion, which he called the “ Temple of Health.’^ 
 The front was ornamented with an enormous gilt sun, a sta- 
 tue of Hygenia, and other attractive emblems; the suit of 
 rooms, in the interior, was superbly furnished ; and the walls 
 were decorated with mirrors, so as to confer on the place an 
 eflPect like that from an enchanted palace. Here he delivered 
 lectures on health, 8cc. at the extravagant price of two guineas 
 per lecture ; and the price, together with the novelty of his 
 subjects, drew considerable audiences of the w'ealthy and 
 dissipated. He entertained a female, of beautiful figure, whom 
 he called the Goddess of Health, and it was her business to 
 deliver a concluding discourse after the Doctor himself 
 had finished his lecture. As a further means of attraction, 
 he hired two men of extraordinary stature, provided with 
 enormous cocked hats, and with showy and bulky liveries, 
 whose business it was to distribute bills from house to house 
 through the town. Graham became, therefore, an object of 
 universal curiosity. But, as his two-guinea auditors were 
 soon exhausted, he dropped his lectures successively to one 
 guinea, half-a-guinea, five shillings, and (as he said, “ for 
 the benefit of all,’^) to half-a-crown ; and, when he could no 
 longer draw this price, he exhibited the temple itself for 
 one shilling, to daily crowds, for several months. 
 
 Among his furniture was a Celestial Bed, as he called it, 
 standing on glass legs, provided with the richest hangings, 
 and possessing properties peculiar to itself. For sleeping in 
 this bed, he demanded one hundred pounds per night; and 
 such is the folly of wealth, that heirless persons, of high rank, 
 were named, who acceded to his terms. He also pretended 
 to have discovered the “Elixir of Life,” by taking which, a 
 person might live as long as he pleased, and he modestly 
 demanded one thousand pounds for a supply of it; and more 
 than one noble person was reported to have paid this enor- 
 mous price to be cured of folly. 
 
 Having worn out his character in these various projects, he 
 then recommended Earth-bathing, and undertook to sanction 
 it by his own practice. During one hour every day, he, there- 
 fore, admitted spectators, at first at a guinea, and then de- 
 scended, as in a former instance, to a shilling, to view him 
 and the goddess of health immersed naked in the ground to 
 their chins; the Doctor having his hair full-dressed and pow- 
 dered, and the lady’s head being dressed also in the best 
 fashion of the times. When no more money w-as to be drained 
 from the population of London, the Doctor visited the great 
 provincial towns, and lectured and exhibited in the same 
 manner wnenever he could obtain permission of the magi- 
 
THE ADMIRABLE CRlCHTON. 
 
 911 
 
 strates. In the end, the goddess of health nearly fell a victim 
 to the practice; and the Doctor retired from public notice, 
 and died in poor circumstances a few years afterwards, in 
 spite of his “ Elixir of Life,^’ at the early age of fifty-two. 
 His brother married the celebrated Mrs. Macauley Graham, 
 and his sister was married to Dr. Arnold, of Leicester, the 
 respectable author of a very able treatise on insanity. 
 
 It is generally understood, that the lady who performed the 
 singular part of the goddess of health, was Emma, afterwards 
 wife of Sir W. H. and a personal favourite of a late celebrated 
 naval character. 
 
 The Admirable Crichton. — Mr. James Crichton, ac- 
 cording to the generality of his biographers, was born in the 
 year 1551 ; but Lord Buchan fixes the time of his nativity in 
 the mo-nth of August, 1560. It is admitted by all, that this 
 celebrated man was a native of Scotland ; but although Perth 
 has in general been considered as his birth-place, even this 
 circumstance has been perplexed with conflicting opinions. 
 Of his ancestors, the accounts are equally diversified. Some 
 assert that his father, Robert Crichton, commanded the army 
 of Queen Mary at tlie battle of Langside : others state, with 
 equal confidence, that he was Lord Advocate of Scotland 
 from 1560 to 1573. His mother’s name w-as Elizabeth Stevvai t, 
 the only daughter of Sir James Stewart, of Death, a descend- 
 ant of Robert, duke of Albany, the third son of king Robert 
 the Second. Relying on his pedigree, he was accustomed to 
 boast, when he displayed his astonishing acquirements in 
 foreign countries, of his lineal descent from the Scottish 
 kings. 
 
 At w'hat time Mr. James Crichton began his studies, we are 
 not informed ; neither have we any satisfactory accounts when 
 those diversified powers of his mind, on vvliich all Europe 
 gazed with admiration, first appeared to excite attention. 
 J'he primary rudiments of his grammatical education w'ere 
 received at Perth ; after which he studied philosopliy in the 
 University of St. Andrew'. In that University, his tutor was 
 the celebrated John Rutherford, a professor, famous for his 
 learning, and distinguished by four books, which he had 
 written on Aristotle’s Logic, and a commentary on his Poet- 
 cs. But it is not to this professor alone, that the honour of 
 forming this extraordinary character is to be ascribed. Ma- 
 nutius, who calls Crichton first cousin to the king, says, 
 that he was educated wdth James 1. under Buchanan, Hepburn, 
 and Robertson, as well as under Raitherford. We cannot 
 doubt, from the favourable circumstances under which Crich- 
 ton entered life, that the best masters were assigned him that 
 could be pi ocured in every department of learning. 
 
912 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 Under their tuition, and through the native vigour of his 
 understanding, he had acquired a knowledge of ten different 
 languages, and had run through the whole circle of the 
 sciences, by the time he had attained the twentieth year of 
 his age. Arduous, however, as these varied pursuits may 
 seem to common minds, they occupied a part only of Crich- 
 ton’s attention. A portion of his time was devoted to music, 
 in the knowledge of which he made an astonishing proficiency. 
 He learnt to play on various instruments; and improved him- 
 self, to the highest degree, in dancing, fencing, singing, and 
 horsemanship. 
 
 Having made himself master of these various acquirements, 
 he left his native land, and, proceeding to Paris, introduced 
 himself to the literati of that city in the following manner. 
 On his arrival, he caused six placards to be fixed on the gates 
 of the schools, halls, and colleges, belonging to the Univer- 
 sity, and on all the pillars and posts of the houses inhabited 
 by men most renowned for literature and science, inviting all 
 who thought themselves well versed in any art, tc meet and 
 dispute with him in the college of Navarre, on that day six 
 weeks, by nine in the morning. In this challenge, vvhich 
 was according to the practice of the age, he declared himself 
 ready to answer any question which should be proposed to 
 him, on any art or science, in any of the twelve followin.g 
 languages, viz. Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Span- 
 ish, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Flemish, and Sclavo 
 nian ; and this either in prose or verse, at the choice of his 
 antagonist. 
 
 Bold as this challenge may appear, instead of devoting 
 himself to the minute examination of the various articles 
 contained in its comprehensive embrace, upon the issues of 
 which he had risked his reputation, his time was chiefly spent 
 in hunting, hawking, tilting, vaulting, riding, tossing the 
 pike, handling the musket, and such military feats and ath- 
 letic exercises; and, when tired with these, the interim was 
 filled up in domestic engagements, such as balls, concerts of 
 music, vocal and instrumental, cards, dice, and tennis, toge- 
 ther with such diversions as frequently occupy the mind of 
 youth. A mode of conduct, apparently so inconsistent with 
 the character he had assumed in his placards, the students of 
 the University were at a loss how to interpret. And so pro- 
 voked were they at the insolence of this daring foreigner, 
 that, beneath the placard which was fixed on the gate at 
 Navarre, they caused the following words to be written; — “ If 
 you would meet with this monster of perfection, to make 
 search for him either in the tavern or the brothel is the 
 readiest way to find him.” 
 
 But notwithstanding this dissipation, when the appointed 
 
THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON. 
 
 9K^ 
 
 day arrived, Crichton appeared in the college of Navarre, 
 and engaged in a disputation, which lasted from nine in the 
 morning until .^ix in the evening. And so well did he acquit 
 himself, that the President, after expatiating on the many 
 rare and excellent endowments which God had bestowed upon 
 him, rose from his chair, and, accompanied by four of the 
 most eminent professors of the University, presented him 
 with a diamond ling, and a purse full of gold, as a testimony 
 of their high approbation. On what subjects these antago- 
 nists disputed, we have not been informed; neither is it 
 known with certainty in what languages they addressed each 
 other. We are only told, that the interview ended amidst 
 the reiterated acclamations and huzzas of the spectators ; and 
 that this coiiquest obtained for him the appellation of “ The 
 Admirable Crichton.’' It. has been added, to the preced- 
 ing account, that so little was he fatigued with the dispute, 
 that he went to the Louvre, on the ensuing day, and engaging 
 in a tilting match, an exercise then much in use, carried oif 
 the ring fifteen times successively, and broke as many lances, 
 in the presence of some princes of the French court, and of a 
 great many la. lies, whose applauses were deemed a glorious 
 reward, by all the heroes of chivalry. 
 
 Of Crichton’s exploits in Paris, the following account has 
 been given by Mackenzie, and translated by Pennant, from 
 the testimony of an author w’hom they consider as an eye- 
 witness. 
 
 “ There came to the college of Navarre, a young man of 
 twenty years of age, who was perfectly well seen in all the 
 sciences, as the most learned masters of the University ac- 
 knowledged. In vocal and instrumental music, none could 
 excel him ; in painting and drawing in colours, none could 
 equal him. In military feats he was most expert; and could 
 play with the sword so dexterously with both his hands, that 
 no man could fight him. When he saw his enemy or antago- 
 nist, he would throw himself upon him at one jump of twenty 
 or twenty-four feet distance. He was master of arts, and 
 disputed with us in the schools of the college, on medicine, 
 the civil and canon law, and theology. And, although we 
 were above fifty in number, besides about three thousand 
 who were present, so pointedly and learnedly he answered to 
 all the questions which were proposed to him, that none but 
 they who were present can believe it. He spoke Latin, Greek, 
 and Hebrew, and other languages, most politely. He was 
 likewise a most excellent horseman; and, truly, if a man 
 should live a hundred years, without eating, drinking, or 
 sleeping, he could not attain to this man’s knowledge, which 
 struck us with a panic fear, for he knew more than human 
 nature can well bear. He overcame four of the doctors of 
 
 5 Z 
 
914 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 the church ; for in learning none could contest with him ; and 
 he was thought to be Antichrist/’ 
 
 Having thus obtained in Paris the victory for which he 
 contended, Crichton next repaiied to Rome, where he affixed 
 a placard upon all the eminent places of the city, in the fol- 
 lowing terms: — “ Nos Jaco/ms Crictouus Scotus, cukunqne lie’ 
 proposita ex improviso respouclebimus.'* In a city which abound- 
 ed with scholastic learning and wit, this challenge, bearing 
 all the marks of presumption, soon became the subject of a 
 pasquinade. Rome, it has been said, was at this time much 
 infested with mountebanks, jugglers, and other empirics ; and 
 those who felt indignant at the placard of Crichton, endea- 
 voured to ridicule him, by classifying him with the quacks. 
 Designating him by the neuter gender, their pasquinade was 
 to the following effect: — “And he that will see it, let him 
 repair to the sign of the Falcon, and it shall be shewn.” Boc- 
 calini, who was then at Rome, says, that the appearance of 
 this paper had such an effect upon him, that, with indignant 
 feelings, he almost immediately left the city, where he had 
 been so grossly insulted, in being compared to the impostors 
 who could only amuse the vulgar. Mackenzie, however, 
 asserts, that instead of being discouraged, he appeared at the 
 time and place appointed ; and, in the presence of the Pope, 
 many Cardinals, Bishops, and Doctors of Divinity, and Pro- 
 fessors of all the Sciences, displayed such wonderful proofs 
 of his universal knowledge, that he excited a degree of 
 astonishment equal to that which had marked his career in 
 Paris. 
 
 From Rome, Crichton proceeded to Venice, in wdiich place 
 be appears to have been reduced to much distress ; but whe- 
 ther this arose from any mental depression, from bodily indi-s- 
 , position, or from embarrassment of circumstances, is not 
 clearly expressed. The reality of his distress he has stated 
 in a poem, the principal design of which was, to obtain a 
 favourable reception in the city ; and more particularly so, 
 with Aldus Manutius, a celebrated critic. On presenting his 
 verses, Manutius was struck with an agreeable surprise, at 
 the comprehensiveness of thought, the display of intellect, 
 and the brilliancy of genius, which they exhibited. A;^d, 
 upon conversing with the author, he was so filled with admi- 
 ration on finding him intimately acquainted with almost every 
 subject, that he introduced him to the acquaintance of the 
 principal men of learning and note in Venice. 
 
 Thus recommended, he contracted an intimate friendship 
 with Manutius, Massa, Speronius, Donatus, and various others, 
 to whom he presented several poems, in commendation of the 
 university and city. Three of these odes are still preserved 
 Aft^r some time he was introduced to the Doge and S<^nate, 
 
THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON. 
 
 915 
 
 in wliose presence he delivered a speech, fraught with so 
 much beauty and eloquence, and accompanied with such 
 gracefulness of person and manners, that he received the 
 thanks of that illustrious body; and nothing w'as talked about 
 for some time, through the city, but this rara avis in tertis , — 
 this prodigy in nature. In this city, also, he held various 
 disputations, on theology, philosophy, and mathematics, with 
 the most eminent professors, and before vast concourses or 
 people. The talents which he displayed on these occasions, 
 gave such publicity to his reputation, that multitudes repaired 
 to Venice from distant parts, that they might have an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing and hearing a man, whose abilities were con- 
 sidered as almost super-human. 
 
 Adorned with all the laurels of literature which Venice could 
 bestow, Crichton next removed to Padua, the university of 
 which was, at this time, in high repute. On the day after 
 his arrival, there was a general meeting of all the learned men 
 which this place could boast ; but on what occasion they were 
 convened, we are not informed. The fame of Crichton, how- 
 ever, gained him an admission into this learned assembly, 
 whom he immediately addressed in an extemporary poem, in 
 praise of the city, of the university, and of the company that 
 had honoured him wi h their presence. Having finished this 
 introductory address to the admiration of all present, he 
 disputed during six hours with the most celebrated professors, 
 on various subjects of learning. It was during this debate, 
 that he exposed the errors of Aristotle and his commentators, 
 with so much solidity, acuteness, and modesty, that the ad- 
 mirers of this philosopher were astonished at his acquirements, 
 and even filled with profound admiration. Before they sepa- 
 rated, he delivered, extempore, an oration in praise of Igno- 
 rance, which he conducted with so much ingenuity, ma- 
 naged with such exquisite skill, and expressed with so mud 
 elegance, that his hearers were almost overwhelmed with 
 amazement. This display of his learning and talents took 
 place on the 14th of March, 1581, in the house of Jacobus 
 Aloysius Cornelius. 
 
 As several persons of considerable rank, who were absent 
 on the above memorable day, expressed their regret on this 
 occasion, Crichton appointed another, to meet any opponents 
 who might be disposed to encounter him ; merely to comply 
 with their earnest solicitations, and to afford them gratifica- 
 tion. Whether this meeting ever took place, seems rather 
 uncertain. Manutius asserts, that some circumstances oc- 
 curred which prevented it; but Imperialis observes, from 
 information communicated by his father, who was present on 
 the occasion, that Crichton was formidably opposed by Arch- 
 Rngelus Mercenarii’.s, a famous philosopher, but that the youn^ 
 
916 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN- 
 
 foreigner was finally victorious, and obtained the plaudits of 
 the auditors, and the approbation even of his antagonist. 
 
 But this tide of popular applause was not without its cor- 
 responding eddy. Mortified at being foiled by this youthful 
 stranger, many, even among the learned, envied both his 
 fame and merit, and did not hesitate to resort to artifices, 
 which, they imagined, would lessen his reputation. Crichton 
 was not ignorant of these contrivances; and, conscious of 
 his own transcendent abilities and attainments, he resolved 
 to give all who were inclined to detract from his merit, a 
 convincing proof of his decided superiority. He therefore 
 caused a paper to be fixed on the gates of St. John^s and St. 
 Paul’s churches, in which he offered to prove, before the 
 University, that both Aristotle and his followers had fallen 
 into almost innumerable errors: and that the latter had failed 
 in explaining the philosophy of their master, and had erred 
 in their application of his principles to theological subjects. 
 He engaged, likewise, to refute the theories of several mathe- 
 matical professors ; offered to dispute with any one on all the 
 sciences; and promised to answer whatever might be pro- 
 posed to him, or objected against what he should advance. 
 All this he engaged to do, either in the common logical way, 
 or by numbers and mathematical figures ; or, in case his 
 antagonists should prefer it, in no less than one hundred sorts 
 of verses. 
 
 The men who had been secretly contriving how to under- 
 mine his reputation, beheld this challenge with strange emo- 
 tions. From the presumption which it displayed, they flat- 
 tered themselves with an easy conquest; but from the talents 
 which Crichton had on all former occasions manifested, and 
 his being constantly victorious, they became intimidated, and 
 hesitated to accept the summons they had provoked. They 
 had, however, proceeded too far to retreat; and therefore 
 nothin^: remained but for them to collect their forces, and 
 meet him, agreeably to his proposal. Manutius informs us, 
 that the meeting took place at the time appointed ; that the 
 disputations continned for three days; and that Crichton, 
 during the whole contest, supported his credit, and main- 
 tained his propositions with so much spirit and energy, and 
 apparently with so little fatigue, that he obtained, from an 
 unusual concourse of people, such acclamations and praises 
 as were scarcely ever before received by man. 
 
 Nor Vv'ere the bodily powers, activity, and skill, of this 
 astonishing man less conspicuous, than those energies by 
 which his mind was distinguished. Of these, also, he has 
 given some surprising proofs in his various exploits. 
 
 It happened much about this time, that a famous gladiator 
 who, in his travels, had foiled the most able fencers in Europe 
 
THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON. 
 
 91 ^ 
 
 and lately killed three men who had entered the lists against 
 him, took up his rc;sidence in Mantua. The duke, under 
 whose promised protection he had taken shelter, on finding 
 that he had afforded an asylum to a troublesome inmate, by 
 whom the inhabitants were much annoyed, did not hesitate to 
 manifest his regret: but having pledged his word, which he 
 could neither recall nor violate, no way remained to release 
 the public from this sanctioned pest, but that of finding some 
 person who would dare to meet him in single combat. 
 
 Crichton having been informed of the fact, in connection 
 with its various circumstances, voluntarily oflTered his services, 
 not only to drive the murderer from Mantua, but to prevent 
 his remaining in any part of Italy. He therefore made a pro- 
 posal to fight him for fifteen hundred pistoles. The duke, 
 though anxious to be delivered from his troublesome intruderj 
 was unwilling that the valuable life of Crichton should be 
 placed in competition with that of such a barbarous adven- 
 turer. But having been informed that he was as capable of 
 appearing in feats of arms, as in scientific disquisitions,’ he 
 gave his consent, that he should undertake to meet the com- 
 batant. Affairs being arranged, and the day appointed, the 
 whole court assembled to uitness the issue of this singular 
 conflict. In the commencement of this encounter, Crichton 
 stood wholly on the defensive ; while his antagonist assailed 
 him with such eagerness and fury, that in a short time he 
 became exhausted. This Crichton soon perceived; and avail- 
 ing himself of the opportunity, attacked him in return, with 
 so much skill and resolution, that he was unable to withstand 
 the assault. The weapons with which they fought were 
 ra|)iers, then but newly brought into use; but so far had 
 Crichton made himself master of this instrument of death, 
 that he ran his antagonist through the body three times, and 
 saw him fall dead at his feet. The spectators, on perceiving 
 this victory, uttered thunders of applause, making the earth 
 resound with their united acclamations. And although many 
 present were much skilled in the use of arms, they united in 
 declaring, that they had never seen art grace nature, or nature 
 second the precepts of art, in so lively a manner as the events 
 of this day had exhibited before their eyes. Crichton in the 
 meanwhile, to prove that his generosity was equal to his skill 
 and courage, distributed the fifteen Inindred pistoles which 
 he had won by his valour, among the widow's of the three 
 men who had lost their lives in fighting with the gladiator 
 whom lie had slain. 
 
 Pleased with this bloody performance, the duke of Mantua 
 is said immediately to have chosen Crichton as preceptor to 
 his son Vincentio di Gonzaga, who is represented as a youth 
 3f a turbulent disjjosition, and a dissolute life. This appoint- 
 
018 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 ment was pleasing to the court, and highly flattering to the 
 ▼anity of the victor; who, to testify his eratitude, and to 
 contribute to their diversion, is said to have framed a comedy, 
 in wliich he exposed to ridicule, the foibles, weaknesses, and 
 defects of the several employments in which men were engaged. 
 The composition w'as regarded as one of the most ingenious 
 satires that was ever made upon mankind. In the perform- 
 ance of this comedy, Crichton is represented as sustaining no 
 less than fifteen characters in his own person. Among the 
 rest, he acted the divine, the philosopher, the lawyer, the 
 mathematician, the physician, and the soldier, with such an 
 inimitable grace, that every time he appeared on the theatre, 
 he seemed to be a difl’erent person. 
 
 But it was not long after he had sustained these various 
 characters, in the comedy which he had composed for public 
 entertainment, before he became the subject of a dreadful 
 tragedy, which furnished a melancholy occasion for lamenta- 
 tion. 
 
 It happened one night, during the time of carnival, as he 
 was walking along the streets of Mantua, playing upon his 
 guitar, that he was attacked by six persons in masks. He 
 immediately drew his weapon to defend himself; and soon 
 convinced his assailants, that they had something more than 
 an ordinary person with whom to contend. In this conflict, 
 when they found they were unable to stand their ground, their 
 leader, being disarmed, pulled off his mask, and begged his 
 life, telling him that he was prince Gonzaga his pupil. Crich- 
 ton, on making this discovery, fell upon his knees, and 
 expressed much concern for his mistake; alleging that what 
 he had done was only in his own defence, and that if Gonzaga 
 had any design upon his life, he was always master of it. 
 Having said this, he took his sword, and holding it by the 
 point, presented the handle to the prince, who instantly 
 received it, and,, with a degree of barbarous meanness, that 
 will always be associated with his name, immediately stabbed 
 Crichton to the heart. 
 
 On the causes which led to this brutal action, various con- 
 jectures have been started. Some have imagined, that it 
 arose from the mortification of being foiled, disarmed, and 
 discovered, and being obliged to beg for his life. Others 
 have supposed, that it was nothing more than the effect of a 
 drunken frolic, in which the passions assumed the dominion 
 over reason. And others have intimated, that it was the 
 efl'ect of jealousy, Gonzaga being suspicious that Crichton 
 was more in favour than himself, with a lady whom he pas- 
 sionately loved. In one point, however, all who have recorded 
 these transactions mutually agree, namely, that Crichton lost 
 bis life in this rencontre; but whether the meeting was preme 
 
THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON. — MISS M*AVOY 
 
 919 
 
 ditated on the part of the prince and his associates, ir purely 
 as accidental as it was on that of Crichton, we have no means 
 of ascertaining. The time when this disastrous event took 
 place, is said, by the generality of his biographers, to have 
 been early in July 1583; but Lord Buchan thinks it to have 
 happened one year earlier. The difference is still greater 
 with reoard to his age, when he was thus assassinated. The 
 common accounts declare, that he was killed in his thirty- 
 second year; but Imperialis asserts, that he was only in his 
 twenty-second ; and in this he is confirmed by the testimony 
 of Lord Buchan. His death was universally lamented, the 
 people of Mantua mourned for him three-quarters of a year, 
 and his picture appeared in the chambers and houses of every 
 Italian. 
 
 The fame of Crichton, like that of an actor, was chiefly 
 confined to those who had witnessed his achievements. He 
 wrote little, but he performed much. The latter was soon 
 forgotten ; or so blended with fiction, that it became doubt- 
 ful. He blazed like a meteor for a moment; his coruscations 
 dazzled the eyes of the beholder; but when he vanished, the 
 injpression which he had made was no where to be found. Yet. 
 we must again repeat, he was certainly one of the most accom- 
 plished men, who, in that age, had ever appeared. 
 
 To those who feel the aspirings of genius, he furnishes an 
 example of the heights to which it can ascend. And to those 
 who are less gifted by nature, his unsettled life, and his me- 
 lancholy end, may at least teach acquiescence in the humbler 
 gifts which Providence has assigned them . — See British Nepos, 
 
 p. 101. 
 
 In favour of Crichton’s moral character, we fear that little 
 can be said. His warmest admirers have furnished us with 
 the means of making this reflection. They have occasionally 
 palliated dissipation ; but unfortunately, while softening his 
 vices into youthful foibles, they have recorded facts, to which 
 posterity have given names. On the vanity, which in too 
 many instances marked his life, and the unhappy manner in 
 which it was terminated, no comment can be deemed neces- 
 sary. In his whole history, all tliose, “ who. in the confidence 
 of superior capacities or attainments disregard the common 
 naxims of life, shall be reminded, that nothing will supply 
 he want of prudence ; and that negligence and irregularity, 
 .mg continued, will make knowledge useless, wit ridiculous, 
 i nd genius contemptible.” — Johnson’s Life of Savage. 
 
 M iss Margaret M‘Avoy. — Some time in the year 1815, 
 an extraordinary phenomenon appeared at Liverpool, in the 
 person of Miss M‘Avoy, a young lady about fifteen years of 
 age, rejruted to be totally blind ; but whose exquisite nervous 
 
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 m 
 
 sensibility enabled her to distinguish, by the power of touch, 
 a variety of objects, which, to all other persons, were percep- 
 tible only through the medium of vision. The circumstances 
 connected with this case, taken in all their bearings, are such, 
 that it may be justly doubted if any thing more extraordi- 
 nary has ever occurred in the physiological history of our 
 species. 
 
 The following interesting narrative is an abridged copy of 
 what appeared in the Liverpool Mercury, at the time when 
 her astonishing pow’ers excited a considerable degree of pub- 
 lic attention. The article is signed by Mr. Egerton Smith, 
 the proprietor of the above paper, and his relation is founded 
 on personal observations. 
 
 “ Some time in September, 1816, I accompanied Dr. Ren- 
 wick, on a professional visit he paid to Miss M‘Avoy, at her 
 residence in St. PauTs-square, on the east side. She was then 
 between sixteen and seventeen years of age, of a pleasing 
 and ingenuous countenance, and apparently of an amiable and 
 artless disposition. Her mother informed n>e, that in the 
 preceding June, her daughter had been attacked with hydro- 
 cephalus, or water in the head, together with paralytic affec- 
 tion on one side, and a complication of other disorders, which 
 I forbear to enumerate, because I am whollv ignorant of that 
 part of the subject. According to her own statement, corro- 
 borated by that of her mother, the hydrocephalus preceded, 
 and in their opinion produced, the blindness of gutta serena, 
 under which she is supposed to labour, but which has been 
 called in question, I understand, by some of the professional 
 men who have visited her. 
 
 “ Her mother, how'ever, declared, that the light of the sun 
 produced not the slightest sensible effect upon her eyes; and 
 some of the professional gentlemen who happened to be pre- 
 sent at one of my repeated visits, declared, that though some 
 slight contraction of the pupil was perceptible upon the 
 approach of a lighted candle to the eye, it was by no means 
 such as uniformly occurs when the visual organs perform their 
 regular functions. 
 
 “At my first interview, I learned from herself, what I had 
 indeed previously been told by others, that she had recently 
 acquired the faculty of distinguishing not only the colours of 
 cloth and stained glass, but that she could actually decipher 
 the forms of words in a printed book ; and, indeed, could read, 
 if the phrase may be permitted, with tolerable facility. To 
 put these pretensions to the test, she permitted a shawl to be 
 passed across the eyes in double folds, in such a way that all 
 present were convinced they could not under similar circum- 
 stances discern day from night. In this state a book was 
 placed before her, and opened indiscriminately ; when, to our 
 
MISS M'AVOY. 
 
 921 
 
 extreme surprise, she began to trace the words with her finger, 
 and to repeat them correctly. She appeared to recognize 
 a short monosyllable by the simple contact of one finger; but 
 in ascertaining a long word, she placed the fore-finger of her 
 left hand on the beginnirg, whilst with that of her right hand 
 she proceeded from the other extremity of the word ; and 
 when the two fingers, by having traversed over all the letters, 
 came in contact with each other, she invariably and precisely 
 ascertained the word. By my watch I found that she -read 
 about thirty words in half a minute ; and it very naturally 
 occurred to us, that if, notwithstanding her supposed blind- 
 ness, and the double bandage over her eyes, she could still 
 see, she would have read much more rapidly, if her motive 
 had been to excite our astonishment. And here it may not 
 be amiss to state, that there does not appear to be any ade- 
 quate motive for practising a delusion upon the public. Her 
 situation in life is respectable ; and her mother disavows any 
 intention of ever exhibiting her daughter as a means of pecu- 
 niary remuneration. Fifteen months have now elapsed since 
 the period at which she laid claim to the extraordinary faculty 
 which has given rise to so much curiosity, astonishment, and 
 perplexity ; during which time the reputation of so wonderful 
 a circumstance has subjected her to the fatigue and inconve- 
 nience of daily and almost hourly visits. 
 
 “ According to her own statement, her powers of touch vary 
 very materially with circumstances; when her hands are cold, 
 she declares that the faculty is altogether lost; and that it is 
 exhausted, also, by long and unremitting efforts; that she 
 considers the hours of from ten till twelve, of each alternate 
 day, the most favourable for her performance. Her pulse, 
 during the experiments, has varied from 110 to 130 degrees. 
 
 “ One circumstance, which has created much doubt and sus- 
 picion, must not be concealed ; which is, that if any substance, 
 for instance, a book or a shawl, be interposed between her 
 eyes and the object she is investigating, she is much embar- 
 rassed, and frequently entirely baffled. She explains this by 
 saying, that it is necessary there should be an uninterrupted 
 communication between her finger and her breath. I leave it 
 to others to draw their own conclusions ujmn this point; as 
 my object is not to establish any theory, or give currency to 
 any mystery, but to relate the simple facts, I am, therefore, 
 compelled to express my conviction, that she can neither 
 ascertain colours, nor the words of a book, in total dark- 
 ness; and, as many persons very naturally will ask, why 
 has not such a test been proposed ? the reply must be, that 
 as the young lady is not the subject of a public exhibition, 
 and as an introduction to her is merely a matter of favour, it 
 niigiit not be very courteous or delicate, under such circum 
 39 6 A 
 
922 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 stances, lo make any proposal which seemed to imply a sus- 
 picion tliat she was an impostor. 
 
 ** There are persons, however, who, giving her implicit credit 
 for the reality of the extraordinary powers to whicli she lays 
 claim, will contend that it is altogether unfair to propose the 
 test of total darkness. Proceeding upon their belief that she 
 actually ascertains colour, &.c. by the finger, or that the 
 visual organ is traniiferred to the touch, still they say that 
 light Is essentially necessary to produce that effect upon the 
 surface of the body felt, which enables her to distinguish one 
 shade from another; they add, that as there is no such thing 
 as colour in total darkness, it is perfectly ridiculous lo expect 
 that she should ascertain the various shades without the pre- 
 sence of that light which alone produces those shades. It is, 
 according to their mode of considering the subject, as absurd 
 as to expect an effect without a cause. 
 
 “ It has already been stated, that, with the double bandage 
 over her eyes, she read several lines of a book indiscrimi- 
 nately opened ; as it was possible that the letters of a printed 
 book might leave some slight impression sensible to an 
 exquisite touch, I took from my pocket-book an engraved 
 French assignat, which was hot-pressed, and smooth as’glass; 
 she read the smallest lines contained in this with the same 
 facility as the printed book. A letter received by that day’s 
 post was produced, the direction and post-mark of which she 
 immediately and correctly deciphered. She also named the 
 colour of the separate parts of the dresses of the persons in 
 company, as well as various shades of stained glass which 
 were purposely brought. 
 
 “ What I had seen at my first interview was so extremely 
 astonishing, and so far surpassed anything I had ever known 
 or read of the powers ascribed to persons deprived of sight, 
 that I could only account for it on the supposition that she 
 was not blind, and that she had some secret mode of discern- 
 ing an object, notwithstanding the bandage, through which 
 I myself could not distinguish night from day, when it was 
 applied to my own eyes. I therefore made the best apology 
 I could for visiting her house again the same evening, liaving 
 previously prepared myself with several tests, which 1 begged 
 permission to submit to her examination, when the candle 
 was w'ithdrawn. Not the slightest objection was olfered to 
 my proposal, and the candle was extinguished : her mother 
 stationed herself before the fire, which was extremely low, 
 and afforded so little light that I could not have read one 
 word of moderate-sized print, if it had been brought alnmst 
 in contact with the bars of the grate. 1 then took from my 
 pocket a small book, the type of which was veiy little larger 
 than that of an ordinary new'spaper ; observing at the time, 
 
MISS M*AVOY. 
 
 923 
 
 that I was afraid the print was too minute ; to which she 
 replied, that her fingers were in excellent order, and that 
 she had no doubt she could be able to make it out. 
 
 “ The candle, as was beforeobserved, had been extinguisheo ; 
 and her mother and myself were so stationed, that had there 
 been any light aftbrded by the fire, w'e must have completely 
 intercepted it. Miss M‘Avoy sat in the furthest part of the 
 room, with her back towards the grate, in such a situation 
 that 1 could barely dUcern even the leaves of the book which 
 lay open before her; the title of which she proceeded to read 
 with complete succes*s, with the exception of one very minute 
 word. 1 then presented to her a small piece of smooth writ- 
 ing paper, which was ruled with horizontal faint blue lines, 
 with a pen and black ink ; there were also perpendicular red 
 lines, between which were scored black lines; all these, with 
 their direction and order, she determined without any appa- 
 rent difficulty. She also told correctly the colour of a variety 
 of species of cloth, procured immediately before at a draper’s 
 shop. All the experiments hitherto described, as well as 
 those which follow, were performed by Miss M. with the 
 bandage before her eyes ; and as the shawl, which w’as usually 
 applied to this purpose, produced considerable warmth and 
 inconvenience, a pair of what, in the optician’s shops, are 
 called goggles, had been provided, which so cornjdetely ex- 
 cluded ilie light, that no person who tried them could discern 
 the difierence between day and night, when they were fitted 
 to the face. As these goggles have been generally used when 
 Miss M. has exhibited her surprising talent, it is necessary 
 that the reader should have a correct idea of them. They 
 are intended to be worn by travellers, to guard the eyes 
 against the wind or the dust, and consist of two glasses, 
 sometimes green, fitted into a bandage of leather, which is 
 passed horizontally across the face, and is tied w'ith ribands 
 round the back of the head. The goggles provided for Miss 
 M. instead of glasses, were fitted up with opake pasteboard, 
 lined with paper, and not an aperture was left through which 
 a single ray of light could penetrate. 
 
 “ Mr. Nichol, a scientific gentleman, who was delivering a 
 course of philosophical lectures in Liverpool, having heard of 
 this extraordinary property, applied to me to obtain an intro- 
 duction to Miss IVTAvoy, and I accompanied him to her 
 house, along with Mr. James Smith, printer, of Liverpool. 
 At this interview, the experiments I have already detailed 
 were repeated with complete success, whilst the goggles 
 were applied. One part of the performance was so truly 
 astonishing, that I should almost hesitate to relate, it, if those 
 two gentlemen had not been present to vouch for the truth. 
 I had furnished myself with a set of stained landscape glasses. 
 
924 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 usually termed Claude Lorrain glasses. They were seven in 
 number, contained in a frame. She ascertained the precise 
 shade of each correctly ; one glass, however, appeared to 
 embarrass her, and after considerable scrutiny, she said it 
 was not black, nor dark blue, nor dark brown, but she thought 
 it was R very deep crimson. We did not know whether her 
 conjecture was correct or not, as we could not ourselves 
 ascertain the shade. By reflected light it appeared to us to 
 be perfectly black ; nor was the flame of the fire, which was 
 stirred for the occasion, visible through it in the faintest de- 
 gree. We had abandoned all expectation of determining this 
 point, when the sun suddenly emerged from behind the 
 clouds ; and by that test, and that alone, were we enabled to 
 discover that she was correct, as we could just discern the 
 solar image of a very deep crimson. It has been said, and 
 with some plausibility, that this must ha\e been a bold guess 
 on her part; if not, it will puzzle our physiologists to explain 
 how a person reputed to be blind, with an opake bandage also 
 over her eyes, could declare the colour of a glass, which 
 persons in full enjoyment of their eyesight, and without any 
 such obstacles, could not discern by any other light than that 
 of the meridian sun ! At this meeting, we w'ere informed that 
 Miss M‘Avoy had recently found out that this extraordinary 
 faculty was not confined to her fingers; and that she could 
 also distinguish the colour of an object which was brought 
 into contact with the back of her hands. This was immedi- 
 ately made the subject of experiment by Mr. Nichol, who 
 successively applied several objects which he had wdth him 
 to that part of the hand ; in placing which he used so much 
 precaution, that I could not see them myself, although my 
 eyes were fixed upon his hands. She was completely success- 
 ful also upon this occasion.” 
 
 The paragraph which follows is from the Liverpool Adver- 
 tiser : — 
 
 “ As the extraordinary powers attributed to Miss Mar- 
 garet M'Avoy, of this town, have lately attracted the atten- 
 tion of the public in an uncommon degree, permit me to 
 send you a fact, which has lately occurred, and which must 
 silence the scepticism of the most incredulous : — Two ladies 
 of this town, whose habits of rigid veracity and cautious 
 inquiry are well known, and wiiose names are left with the 
 publishers, in order to satisfy any doubts which may arise, 
 went to the house of this phenomenon, impelled by that curi 
 osity which has now become general. Fortunately, Miss 
 M‘Avoy’s marvellous powers, which are known to be some 
 times fluctuating and capricious, were that day in the highest 
 perfection, and the following expc^riment was actually tried ; — 
 One of these visitors stood behind the young lady’s chair, and 
 
925 
 
 MISS M'AVOY. — OLD ENGLISH ’sQUIRE. 
 
 pressed down her eyelids with both hands so closely, that it 
 was a physical impossibility for a single ray of light to enter. 
 I may here remark, that no method of closing the eyes, by 
 anv sort of covering that can be devised, is half so efiectual 
 as "this, for obvious reasons. The other lady then took up a 
 printed book of sermons, which was lying in the apartment, 
 and vvhich appeared to have just come from the bookseller’s, 
 as the leaves were not yet cut open ; she opened it in a place 
 where the leaves were united, and placed it before Miss 
 M‘Avoy, (her eyes still closed as above described,) who read 
 several lines in it, without hesitation. The lady then took a 
 written note out of her pocket, w'hich had been received that 
 morning, and Miss M. also read that, without any other diffi- 
 culty than what arose from the badness of the hand-writing. 
 This experiment, which can be ascertained on oath, seems so 
 decisive as to the power possessed by Miss M. of reading by 
 the touch alone, that 1 am not aware of any possible way in 
 which it can be controverted.” 
 
 At the time when the case of this young lady came before 
 the public, her claims to extraordinary powers were examined 
 w’ith the utmost scrutiny, both by those who admitted, and 
 those who doubted her abilities. In every experiment that 
 was made, the former were confirmed in their opinion ; and 
 the latter, while they withheld their assent, were constrained 
 to acknowledge themselves overwhelmed with an accumula- 
 tion of facts, for which they were unable to account. 
 
 An old English ’Squire. — The following character of 
 the Honourable William Hastings, of the Woodlands, in 
 Hampshire, was copied in the year 1737, from a manuscript 
 of Anthony Ashley Cooper, the first earl of Shaftsbury, by 
 W. Cowper, Esq. then clerk of parliament. 
 
 In the year lfj38, lived Mr. Hastings, by his quality, son, 
 brother, and uncle, to the earls of Huntingdon. He was, per- 
 adventure, an original in our age, or rather the copy of our 
 ancient nobility in hunting, not in warlike times. 
 
 He was low, very strong, and very active ; of a reddish flaxen 
 hair. His clothes always of green cloth, and never all worth, 
 when new, five pounds. 
 
 His house was perfectly of the old fashion : in the midst of 
 a large park well stocked with deer, and near the house, rab- 
 bits to serve his kitchen; many fishponds; great store of 
 wc^>d and timber; a bowling-green in it, long, but narrow, 
 full of high ridges, it being never levelled since it was 
 ploughed; they used round sand-bowls; and it had a large 
 banqueting-house like a stand, built in a tree. 
 
 He kept all manner of sport hounds, that ran buck, fox, 
 hare, otter, and badger ; and hawks, long and short winged 
 
926 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 He had all sorts of nets for fish. He had a walk in the New 
 Forest and the manor of Christ Church ; this last supplied 
 him with red deer, sea and river fish ; and indeed all his 
 neighbours’ lands and royalties were free to him, who be- 
 stowed all his time on these sports, but what he borrowed to 
 caress his neiohbours’ wives and daughters. This made him 
 very popular, always speaking kindly to the husband, brother, 
 or father, who was, besides, always welcome to his house. 
 There he would find beef, pudding, and small beer in great 
 plenty; a house not so neatly kept as to shame him, or his 
 dusty shoes ; the great hall strewed w ith marrow-bones, and full 
 of hawks’ perches, hounds, spaniels, and terriers ; the upper 
 side of the hall hung with the fox-skins of this and the last 
 year’s killing, with here and there a pole-cat intermixed ; and 
 gamekeepers’ and hunters’ poles in great abundance. 
 
 The parlour was a large long room, curiously furnished: — 
 on a great hearth paved with bricks lay some terriers, and the 
 choicest hounds and spaniels ; usually two of the great chairs 
 had litters of young cats in them, which were not to be 
 disturbed, he having always three or four attending him at 
 dinner, and a little round w'hite stick of fourteen inches long 
 lying by his trencher, that he might defend such meat as he 
 had no mind to part with to them. The windows, which were 
 very large, served for places to lay his arrows, cross-bows, 
 stone-bows, and other such like accoutrements : the corners 
 of the room were full of the best-chosen hunting and hawking 
 poles. An oyster table stood at the lower end, of constant 
 use twice a day, all the year round, for he never failed to eat 
 oysters before dinner and supper through all seasons; with 
 these the neighbouring town of Poole supplied him. 
 
 The upper part of the room had two small tables and a 
 desk, on the one side of which was a Church Bible, and on 
 the other the Book of Martyrs. On the tables were hawks’ 
 hoops, bells, and such like, tw'o or three old green hats, with 
 their crowns thrust in so as to hold ten or a dozen eggs; 
 which were of a pheasant kind of poultry he took much care 
 of and fed himself. Tables, dice, cards, and boxes, were not 
 w'anting. In the holes of the desk were store of tobacco- 
 pipes that had been used. 
 
 On one side of this end of the room was a door of the 
 closet, wherein stood the strong beer and the wine, which 
 never came thence but in single glasses, that being the rule 
 of the house exactly observed, for he never exceeded in drink, 
 or permitted others to transgress. 
 
 On the other side was a door into an old chapel, not used 
 for devotion; the pulpit, as the safest place, was never want- 
 ing of a cold chine of beef, venison pasty, gammon of bacon, 
 or great apple pie, with thick crust extremely baked. 
 
JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 927 
 
 His table cost him not much, though it was well provided. 
 His sports supplied all but beef and mutton, except Fridays, 
 when he had the best salt fish, as well as other fish, he could 
 get. This was the day his neighbours of first quality most 
 visited him. He never wanted a London pudding, and always 
 sung it in with My pert eyes therein a.” He drank a glass 
 or two of wine at meals ; very often syrup of gillyflowers in 
 his sack ; and had always a tun glass, without feet, standing 
 by him, holding a pint of small beer, which he often stirred 
 with rosemary. 
 
 He was good-natured, but soon angry, calling his servants 
 bastards, and cuckoldy knaves; in one of which he often 
 spoke truth to his own knowledge, and sometimes in both, 
 though of the same man. He lived to be an hundred, never 
 lost his eyesight, but always wrote and read without specta* 
 cles, and got on horseback without help. Until past foui 
 score, he rode to the death of a stag as well as any one. 
 
 Joan of Arc, commonly called the Maid of Orleans. — 
 This celebrated heroine was the daughter of a peasant of 
 Domreini, near Vaucouleurs, on the borders of Lorrain, and 
 born about the beginning of the fifteenth century. At the 
 age of twenty-seven yea/i’s, she was servant in a small inn, 
 where she was accustomed to tend horses, and to perform 
 other menial offices which commonly fall to the share of men- 
 servants. About this time, king Charles VII. was reduced to 
 the most distressed condition by the English ; but the siege 
 of Orleans, which was bravely defended by the garrison and 
 inhabitants, in some measure retarded their progress. Joan 
 partook of the feelings of sympathy with the besieged, that 
 very generally prevailed, and deteiniined to make some effort 
 for relieving lier sovereign in his present distresses. Whilst 
 she was indulging these feelings, her enthusiasm led her to 
 fancy that she saw' visions and heard voices exhorting her to 
 re-establish the throne of France, and to expel the foreign 
 invaders. Under the st;ong impulse of passion and imagined 
 ins[)iralion, she obtained admission to Baudricourt, the 
 governor of Vaucouleurs, who after being informed of her 
 inspiration and intentions, treated her for some time with 
 neulect; but, in consequence of her renewed and importunatf 
 solicitations, he gave orders that she should be conducted tc 
 the French court, which then resided at Chinon. It is pre- 
 tended that Joan, immediately on her admission, knew the 
 king, though she had never seen his face before, and though 
 he purposely kept himself in the crowd of courtiers, and laic 
 aside e\ery thing in his apparel that might seem to distinguish 
 him; and that she offered, in the name of the supreme Crea- 
 tor, to raise the siege of Orleans, and to conduct him to 
 
928 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 Rheims, to be there crowned and anointed. In order to re» 
 move his doubts of her mission, it is said, that she disclosed 
 a secret, known only to himself, and wdiich she must have 
 derived from heavenly inspiration. She also demanded, as 
 the instrument of her future victories, a particular sword 
 which was kept in the church of St. Catharine of Fierbois, 
 and which, though shi; had never seen it, she described by 
 all its marks, and by the place in which it had long lain neg- 
 lected. Her intrepid and determined mode of address excited 
 attention, and gained confidence ; and she was referred to 
 matrons for proofs of her virginity, and to doctors of the 
 church for evidence of her inspiration : their report being 
 favourable, she was sent to the parliament at Poictiers; but 
 they, considering her as insane, demanded from her a mira- 
 cle. Her reply w'as, that she would soon exhibit one at 
 Orleans. 
 
 Accordingly, she w'as at length completely armed, mounted 
 on horseback in the presence of the multitude, and sent, amidst 
 the loudest acclamations, to join the army destined to the 
 relief of Orleans. Upon joining the army, consisting of 10,000 
 men, she ordered all the soldiers to confess themselves before 
 they set out on the enterprise; she banished from the camp 
 all women of bad fame ; she displayed in her hands a conse- 
 crated banner, representing the Supreme Being as grasping 
 the globe of earth, and surrounded with flower-de-luces; and 
 after thus communicating to the soldiers a great degree of 
 that enthusiasm by which she herself was actuated, she 
 advanced towards Orleans. The English besiegers w^re over- 
 awed by her orders and menaces, dictated in the name of the 
 Almighty Creator ; and she entered Orleans arrayed in her 
 military garb, and displaying her consecrated standard, and 
 was received by all the inhabitants as a celestial deliverer. 
 The convoy approached without finding any resistance on the 
 part of the besiegers ; the waggons and troops passed without 
 interruption between the redoubts of the English ; and a 
 dead silence and astonishment reigned among those troops, 
 forii::?rly so elated with victory, and so fierce for the com- 
 bat. 
 
 Joan, having thus far succeeded, ordered the garrison, at 
 the same time encouraging them w ith the promise of heavenly 
 assistance, first, to attack the English redoubts, in whicli 
 measure they were successful ; and then to fall upon the main 
 body of the English in their entrenchments. In one of these 
 latter attacks the French were repulsed, but the intrepid 
 maid led them back to the charge, and overpowered the Eng- 
 lish. In one of these attacks, she was wounded in the 
 neck w'ith an arrow ; but retreating behind the assailants, she 
 pulled it out with her owm hands, had the wound quickly 
 
JOAN OF ARC. 
 
 929 
 
 dressed, and hastened back to head the troops, and to plant 
 her victorious banner on the ramparts of the enemy. In con- 
 sequence of thes^e successes, attended with a loss to the 
 English of more than 6000 men, their courage and confidence 
 gave way to amazement and despair. The French, in order 
 to magnify the wonder of all these prosperous events, repre- 
 sent the maid as not only active in combat, but as performing 
 the office of general ; directing the troops, conducting the 
 military operations, and swaying the deliberations in all the 
 councils of war. But whatever the policy of the French 
 court might suggest for maintaining this opinion among the 
 multitude, it is much more probable, that this inexperienced 
 country girl was prompted in all her measures by the wiser 
 commanders. 
 
 Having raised the siege of Orleans, Joan now insisted that 
 she should proceed to the accomplishment of the second part 
 of her promise, wliich was that of crowning the king at 
 Rheims. The king, accompanied by the victorious maid, 
 marched at the head of 12,000 men towards Rheims, receiv- 
 ing the submission of the towns^ through which he passed ; till 
 at length aniving near Rheims, a deputation met him with 
 the keys of the city, and he was admitted into it with trans- 
 port. Here the ceremony of his coronation was performed 
 with the holy oil of Clovis; and the maid stood by his side 
 in complete armour, and displayed her sacred banner. When 
 the cerenjony was finished, she threw herself at the king’s 
 feet, embraced his knees, and with a flood of tears she con- 
 gratulated him on this singular and marvellous event. Charles 
 testified his gratitude by ennobling the family of Joan, giving 
 it the name of du Lys, probably in allusion to the lilies of 
 her banner, and assigning to her a suitable estate in land. 
 Having accomplished both the objects which she had pro 
 posed, the maid of Orleans expressed her wish to return to 
 her former condition, and to the occupation and course of 
 life which became her sex : but the French general Dunois, 
 urged her continuance with the army, till the English should 
 be completely expelled, and her predictions fully accom- 
 plished. 
 
 Overpowered by his advice, she threw herself into the town 
 of Compeigne, which was then besieged by the duke of Bur- 
 gundy and the English,; where, on a sally, having twice 
 driven the enemy from their entrenchments, and finding their 
 number increasing, she ordered a retreat ; but w as deserted 
 by her friends, surrounded by the enemy, and taken prisoner 
 by the Burgundians. Instead of treating Joan as a prisoner 
 of war, with the courtesy and good usage, to which, as such, 
 she was entitled, and 'vhich civilized nations practise towards 
 enemies on occasions of this kind, she was purchased from 
 
 6B 
 
930 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 the captors by the regent duke of Bedford, and a criminal 
 prosecution was instituted against her on the charges of sor- 
 cery, impiety, idolatry, and magic. The clergy in his interest, 
 and even the university of Paris, concurred in the accusation. 
 An ecclesiastical commission was held at Rouen for her trial, 
 and the maid, clothed in her former military apparel, but 
 loaded with irons, was produced before this tribunal. Her 
 trial lasted four months ; and in the course of that time, many 
 captious interrogatories were put to her, which she answeied 
 with firmness and dignity. 
 
 Upon being asked, whether she would submit to the church 
 the truth of her pretended visions, revelations, and intercourse 
 with departed saints? she replied, that she would submit 
 them to God, the fountain of truth : and when she was charged 
 with being a heretic, and denying the authority of the church, 
 she appealed to the pope; but her appeal was rejected. 
 When she was asked, why she put her trust in her standard, 
 which had been consecrated by magical incantations? she 
 answered, that she put her trust in the Supreme Being alone, 
 whose image was impressed upon it. When it was demanded, 
 why she carried in her hand that standard at the unction and 
 coronation of Charles atRheims? she replied, that the person 
 who had shared the danger was entitled to share the glory. 
 When she was accused of going to war, she scrupled not to 
 declare, that her sole purpose was to defeat the English, and 
 to expel them the kingdom. In the issue, however, she was 
 condemned for all the crimes of which she had been accused, 
 aggravated by heresy ; her revelations were declared to be 
 inventions of the devil to delude the people ; and she was 
 sentenced to be delivered over to the secular arm. At length 
 .her resolution failed her; and through dread of the punish- 
 ment to which she was sentenced, she declared that she was 
 willing to recant; and, accordingly, she acknowledged the 
 'illusion of those revelations which the church had rejected ; 
 and she promised never more to maintain them. Upon this, 
 her sentence was mitigated ; and she was condemned to per- 
 ipetual imprisonment, and to be fed during life on bread and 
 water. But with this vengeance her enemies were not satis- 
 ifi-ed. In order to justify the severest measures against her, 
 ■they insidiously placed in her apartment a suit of men’s appa- 
 Tel ; upon the sight of this garb, in which she had acquired 
 60 much renown, and assumed, as she once believed, by the 
 appointment of heaven, her former ideas and passions revived, 
 and she ventured in her solitude to put on the forbidden dress. 
 In this apparel she was detected ; it was regarded as a relapse 
 into heresy ; her recantation became void ; her partial pardon 
 was revoked ; and she was to be burned in the market-place 
 of Rouen. In June, 1431, this barbarous sentence, much 
 
JOAN OF ARC. POPE JOAN.' 931 
 
 more ignominious to those who inflicted it than to her who 
 was the object of it, was executed. 
 
 “ This admirable heroine, to whom the more generous su- 
 perstition of the ancients would have erected altars, was, on 
 pretence of heresy and magic, delivered over alive to the 
 flames, and 'expiated, by that dreadful punishment, the signal 
 services which she had rendered to her prince and to her 
 native country.” » She met her fate with resolution, and the 
 English themselves beheld the scene with tears. The king 
 made no effort for avenging her cause ; he merely procured a 
 revision of the process, and a restoration of her memory ten 
 years afterwards by the pope, in an act which styled her a 
 “ Martyr to her religion, her country, and her king.’^ Her 
 countrymen, more prompt in the tribute of their respect, pro- 
 pagated many tales relating to her execution ; and some of 
 them would not even allow her to be dead, but professed to 
 expect her speedy return to conduct them again to victory. 
 
 Of the character and conduct of this singular heroine, the 
 most probable opinion is, that of her being an honest and 
 deluded enthusiast, of whose fancies and passions the princi- 
 pal persons in the interest of Charles availed themselves for 
 deluding and rousing into exertion the passions of the people, 
 at a crisis of peculiar importance ; in which the maid of 
 Orleans was instrumental in giving a decisive turn to the 
 contest between the French and English. The exploits o( 
 Joan of Arc have been celebrated both in prose and verse 
 Of the latter, the serious poem of Chapelain has been much 
 less successful than the burlesque and licentious one of Vol- 
 taire ; but the injury done by it to her memory has been in 
 some degree repaired in England, by Southey’s sublime and 
 spirited poem of “Joan of Arc,” which exhibits her in the 
 briohtest colours of virtue and heroism. 
 
 o 
 
 Pope Joan. — Among the numerous individuals who have 
 figured on the great theatre of public life, few characters 
 have ever been more distinguished than this celebrated lady, 
 who, by a singular compound of dexterity, secrecy, and 
 address, contrived to reach the pontificate. Many doubts 
 have, indeed, been entertained of the authenticity of the tale ; 
 but it is well known, that prior to the Reformation it was 
 sanctioned by universal belief. 
 
 It is said, that about the middle of the ninth century, a 
 woman named Joan, born at Mentz, and who had received an 
 excellent education, conceiving a violent passion for a young 
 monk named Fulda, resolved to desert her family and friends, 
 to assume the male habit, and gain admittance into the mo- 
 nastery. The plan succeeded ; and having long indulged in 
 theif amours un Jisturbed and unsuspected, they eloped toge- 
 
932 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 ther, and travelled into most of the countries of Europe^ 
 availing themselves of evej-y opportunity for increasing their 
 knowledge, by engaging the assistance of the best masters in 
 the different cities through which they passed. On the death 
 of her lover, Joan repaired to Rome, still in the dress of a man ; 
 where her address and engaping manners raising her into no- 
 tice, she commenced the duties of professor, and persons of 
 the highest rank and most considerable talents enlisted in the 
 number of her disciples. At length, on the death of pope 
 Leo X. in 855, she was unanimously elected his successor 
 to the pontifical throne. So prudently did she conduct her- 
 self, and with so much ability did she perform the duties of 
 her station, that the people had reason to congratulate them- 
 selves on their choice. At length she confided her secret to 
 a domestic whom she took to her bed, the consequence of 
 which was her pregnancy, and she was taken in labour at one 
 of the most solemn processions, delivered of a child in the 
 street, and died on the spot. It is likewise said, that to 
 perpetuate the memory of such an extraordinary adventure, a 
 statue was erected on the place where it happened ; that in 
 abhorrence of the crime, the pope and clergy, in their subse- 
 quent annual processions from the Vatican to the Lateran, 
 have turned off from that street ; and that, to prevent a similar 
 imposition, a custom was introduced of examining each pope 
 previously to his consecration, in order to ascertain his sex. 
 Such are the particulars of a story that seems not to have been 
 called in question till the time of Luther, but which the best 
 informed historians usually abandon as fictitious. “ Till the 
 Reformation, (says Gibbon,) the tale was repeated and be- 
 lieved without offence, and Joan’s female statue long occupied 
 her place among the popes in the cathedral of Sienna. She 
 has been annihilated by two learned Protestants, Blondel and 
 Bayle, but their brethren were scandalized by this equitable 
 and generous criticism. Spanheim and L’Enfant attempted 
 to save this poor engine of controversy ; and even Mosheim 
 condescends to cherish some doubt and suspicion.” 
 
 History of the memorable Sir Richard Whittington, 
 three times Lord Mayor of London ; in the years 1397, 1406. 
 1419.— 
 
 The obscurity of the origin of this remarkable character, 
 has giver, occasion to many fabulous accounts, but our readers 
 may rely upon the following being the result of careful re- 
 search, from the best authorities. Whittington came to Lon- 
 don, from Shropshire, about the year 1368, in the reign of king 
 Edward III. and in his way he chiefly lived upon the charily 
 of well-disposed persons. On- his arrival in town, he made 
 an application to the prior of the hospital of St. John’s, Clerkcn- 
 
SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON. 
 
 933 
 
 well, where he wag kindly relieved ; and being handy and will- 
 ing, was soon put into an inferior post in the house. How 
 long he remained here, is, I believe, no where mentioned; 
 but to the piety of this charitable foundation he was certainly 
 indebted for his first support in London. His next reception 
 was in the family of Mr. Fitzwarren, a rich merchant, whose 
 house was in the Minories, near the Tower. Here he un- 
 doubtedly acted as under scullion, for his keep only. 
 
 In this situation he met with many crosses and difficulties; 
 for the servants made sport of him; and particularly the ill- 
 natured cook, who was of a. morose temper, used him very 
 ill, and not unfrequently, with a sturdy arm, laid the ladle 
 across his shoulders: so that, to keep in the family, he had 
 many a sore bout to put up with ; but his patience carried 
 it off, and at last he became accustomed to her choleric dis- 
 position. 
 
 This was not the only misfortune he laboured under; for 
 lying in a place fora long time unfrequented, such abundance 
 of rats and mice had bred there, that they were almost ready 
 at times to dispute the possession of the place with him, and 
 full as troublesome by night as the cook was by day, so that 
 he knew not what to think of his condition, or how to mend 
 it. After many disquieting thoughts, he at last comforted 
 himself with the hopes that the cook might soon marry, or 
 die, or quit her service ; and as for the rats and mice, a cat 
 would be an effectual remedy against them. 
 
 Soon after, a merchant came to dinner, and it raining ex- 
 ceedingly, he staid all night; whose shoes Whittington having 
 cleaned, and presented at his chamber door, he gave him a 
 penny. This stock he improved, for going along the street 
 of an errand, he saw a woman with a cat under her arm, and 
 desired to know the price of it; the woman praised it for a 
 good mouser, and told him, sixpence; but he declaring that a 
 • penny was all his stock, she let him have it. 
 
 He took the cat home, and kept her in a box all day, lest 
 the cook should kill her if she came into the kitchen, and 
 at night he set her to work for her living. Puss delivered 
 him from one plague; but the other remained, though not for 
 many years. 
 
 It was the custom with the worthy merchant, Mr. Hugh 
 Fitzwarren, that God might give him a greater blessing for 
 his endeavours, to call all his servants together when he sent 
 out a ship, and cause every one to venture something in it, 
 to try their fortunes. 
 
 Now all but Whittington appeared, and brought things 
 according to their abilities; but his young mistress being by, 
 and sipposing that poverty made him decline coming, she 
 ordered him to be called, on which he made several excuses 
 
934 
 
 CVRIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 however, being constrained to come, he hoped they would 
 not jeer a poor simpleton for being in expectation of turning 
 merchant, since all that he could lay claim to as his own, 
 was but a poor cat, which he had bought for one penny, 
 which he had given to him for cleaning shoes, and had much 
 befriended him in keeping the rats and mice from him. Upon 
 this, the young lady proffered to lay something down for him, 
 but her father told her the custom ; it must be his own which 
 must be ventured ; and then ordered him to bring his cut, 
 which he did, but with great reluctance, fancying nothing 
 would come of it; and with tears delivered it to the master 
 of the ship, which was called the Unicorn, and had fallen 
 down to Biackw'all, in order to proceed on her voyage. 
 
 On their arrival in the Mole of Algiers, they heard that 
 the plague was raging in the country, having been but a few 
 years before brought from China, viz. in 1346, at which period 
 it was first noticed to rage in Africa, from whence it soon 
 proceeded to Europe, overspreading the northern countries. 
 This news did not deter the captain from sending to trade on 
 shore, where, at first, they found but little encouragement, 
 the people of the country appearing very shy to every offer. 
 The news of the arrival of a vessel soon reached the notice of 
 the Uey, w ho immediately ordered the captain and officers to 
 wait upon his highness with presents; for then, as well as 
 now, nothing could be done without first bribing him. After 
 this ceremony was over, trade went on pretty briskly, at the 
 conclusion of which, his Moorish majesty gave a grand enter- 
 tainment, which, according to custom, was served upon car- 
 pets, interwoven with gold, silver, and purple silk. This 
 feast was no sooner served up with the various dishes, but the 
 scent brought together a number of rats and mice, who un- 
 mercifully fell on all that came in their way. 
 
 These audacious and destructive vermin did not shew' any 
 symptoms of fear upon the approach of the company, but, on 
 the contrary, kept to it as if they only were invited. This 
 made the captain and his people very much wonder, who, 
 interrogating the Algerines, were informed, a very great price 
 would be given by his highness, the Dey, for a cure, and a 
 riddance of these vermin, which were grown so numerously 
 offensive, that not only his table, but his private apartments, 
 and bed, were so infested, that he was forced to be constantly 
 watched for fear of being devoured. 
 
 This information put the English company immediately in 
 mind of poor Dick Whittington’s cat, which had done them 
 such notable service on the passage ; and wishing to serve 
 the youth, they thought this the best time to come forward 
 with the industrious animal. Accordingly, she was brought 
 on shore the next day, when her presence suddenly kept off 
 
SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON. 
 
 935 
 
 most of the vermin ; a few only of the boldest daring- to ven- 
 ture forward, all of whom she dispatched with wcnderlul 
 celerity. This pleased his Algerine highness so much, th.it 
 he immediately made very advantageous proposals lu tlie 
 factor of the ship for the possession of this surprising and 
 useful animal. At first our people seemed very reluctant to j)ai t 
 with it; but his liberality soon overcame every objection; 
 and her purchase amounted, in various commodities, to seve- 
 ral thousands of pounds. During the time the English re- 
 mained here, her industry in destroying those noxious vermin 
 so completely pleased the Moorish chief, that, at our people's 
 departure, he again loaded them with rich presents. 
 
 The cook, who little thought how advantageous Whitting- 
 ton’s cat would prove, had kept up such a continual alarm of 
 noise and reproach at the poor youth’s unfortunate penury, 
 that he grew weary of enduring it, and not the least expecling 
 what followed, he resolved rather to try his fortune again in 
 the wide world, than lead any longer such a disagreeable life. 
 For this step he might be blamed, as, had he cunplained to 
 his master, who was a kind gentleman, the difference would 
 have been set to rights, and he, not like a Jonas, cast out 
 With this resolution, however, he set out early on Allhallows 
 morning, resolving to go into the country, and get into a more 
 agreeable service. 
 
 As he went over Finsbury Moor, since called Moor-fields, 
 his mind began to fail; he hesitated, and halted several times: 
 he grew pensive, and his resolution left him. In this solitary 
 manner he wandered on until he reached Holloway, where he 
 sat down upon a large stone, which remains there to be seen 
 to this day. Here he began to ruminate in earnest upon his 
 ill-luck in not pleasing the cook ; and in the depth of his 
 meditation, he suddenly heard Bow' bells strike out fora peal. 
 I'his changed his attention ; for, as he listened, on a sudden, 
 he fancied they called him back again to his master. The 
 more he hearkened, the more he became confirmed in this 
 notion of his recall, conceiting the bells expressed the fol- 
 lowing distich : — 
 
 “ RETURN AGAIN, WHITTINGTON, 
 
 “ THRICE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON.” 
 
 This proved a happy thought for him; and it made so great 
 an impression on his fancy, that, finding it early, and thinking 
 he might yet get back before the family were stirring, he 
 instantly turned upon his heel, and reaching home in less 
 time than hi; went out, he got in unperceived to his usual 
 daily drudgery. 
 
 Things were in this situation when the news arrived of the 
 success of the voyage ; and that night he was installed with 
 
936 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 the appellation of Mr. by his master, who informed him, that 
 his ship had just arrived at Blackwall, being the richest ves 
 sel of her burden that had ever floated into an English port. 
 His master concluded his discourse with a pious admonrtion 
 to all his servants, after which they all joined in a thanksgiv- 
 ing to the Almighty for such a prosperous voyage. 
 
 The cook was among the first to change her demeanor to- 
 wards Whittington, calling him Sir, and inviting him to such 
 and such relishes as the kitchen afforded. 
 
 When the bill of lading was presented to the merchant, the 
 principal part was found to belong to Mr. Whittington, 
 amongst which was a cabinet of rich jewels, the last present 
 of the Dey. 'fhis was the first thing brought to Mr. Fitz- 
 warreii’s house, it being deemed too valuable to remain on 
 board. 
 
 When the servants* goods for their ventures were all brought 
 up to be divided, Mr. Whittington*s was too bulky to be un- 
 packed before them ; but the pearls and jewels alone w'ere 
 estimated at several thousand pounds. 
 
 The humility of Mr. Whittington*s mind arising from a 
 strong sense of his duty to society in general, prevented his 
 temper from exhilarating into arrogance, petulance, or super- 
 ciliousness : though suddenly grown rich, and become equal 
 to the first merchants in the city, pride had no share in the 
 change of his circumstances. On the contrary, at first, he 
 could hardly be prevailed upon to let the scullery alone ; but 
 Mr. Fitzwarren took much pains with him, and introduced 
 him to the first characters in town, not omitting the court, as 
 well as the clergy and military, who at that time w-ere reckoned 
 the most agreeable connections. 
 
 King Edward the Third being then at war with the French, 
 and preparing for the siege of Rochelle, solicited all the pri- 
 vileged orders in the kingdom for a subsidy to carry on his 
 expedition. The loyalty of the city of London induced them 
 to offer a large gift in their corporate capacity. In this scheme 
 Mr. Whittington joined, and paid in £10,000, an astonishing 
 sum in those days from an individual ; but the military ardour 
 of the country has always been remarkable ; hence it is not 
 wonderful that an enterprising and fortunate young man should 
 come forward with so large a sum, when it is considered that 
 history has almost left us in the dark as to the remuneration 
 expected. Be this as it may, history places it in the 46th 
 year of the king’s reign, A. D. 1372. 
 
 What contributed much at this time in favour of Whitting- 
 ton, was the absence of the Lombard merchants, who withdrew 
 themselves from London, on account of the oppression of the 
 king, which became excessive towards the latter end of his 
 reign, fo* continual draughts to support his ambition in France. 
 
SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON. 
 
 937 
 
 These, and the Jews abroad, conducted at that time the 
 whole financial commerce of’ the city of London; but Mr. 
 Whittington, upon their departure, came in for a considerable 
 share of it. 
 
 We are now regularly come to the last year of king Ed ward’s 
 reign, the fifty-second, when the Lords and Commons granted 
 the king a poll-tax, at four-pence a head, for every man and 
 woman passing the age of fourteen years, beggars excepted. 
 The clergy at the same time granted twelve-pence for every 
 person beneficed ; and of all other religious persons, four- 
 pence by the poll, the four orders of Friars Mendicants only 
 excepted. Here it is worth observing, that the king demand- 
 ing of the city of London to advance him £4000, upon this 
 poll, and the Mayor, Adam Staple, proving backward in per- 
 forming the same, he was by the king turned out of that 
 office, and Sir Richard Whittington put into his place, to 
 finish the year; and this is the first mention of his being 
 knighted, and of his great importance in the city at that time, 
 being only about ten years after his arrival there, in circum- 
 stances so widely different. 
 
 According to Stow, Sir Richard Whittington was a great 
 dealer in wool, leather, cloth, and pearls, which were univer- 
 sally worn at that time by the ladies. In 1377, the first year 
 of king Richard II. he was called by summons to the parlia- 
 ment that met at London, which commenced at Michaelmas, 
 and lasted till the feast of St. Andrew, when it was dissolved 
 by the mutinous conduct of the Londoners, and adjourned to 
 Northampton the following year, where was passed the noted 
 poll-tax, the collecting of which occasioned and created the 
 rebellion of Wat Tyler and Jack Straw\ 
 
 In 1395, the eighteenth of this king’s reign, Edmund, duke 
 of York, the king’s uncle, held a parliament at London, the 
 king being absent in Ireland ; and relating to the citizens the 
 great streights the king was reduced to in Ireland, they 
 granted him a tenth upon their personal estates; first pro- 
 testing that they were not in rigour of right obliged to it, 
 but that they did it out of affection. The mission to this 
 parliament, we are particularly informed by Sir Robert Cotton, 
 from Leland’s papers, was managed by the uprightness and 
 good judgment of Sir Richard Whittington. 
 
 Tljus he grew in riches and fame the most considerable 
 of the citizens, greatly beloved by all, especially the poor, 
 several hundreds of whom he publicly or secretly assisted or 
 supplied. 
 
 About this time it was that he married his master’s daugh- 
 ter, Miss Fitzwarren ; and at their wedding were present, 
 among other lu ble characters, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen 
 &c. 
 
938 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN 
 
 According to the pretorian banner, once existing in Guild* 
 hall, but since destroyed by the fire which consumed the city- 
 archives, Whittington served his first mayoralty in 1397. He 
 was now near forty years of age, of a goodly form, and chosen 
 into the office by his fellow citizens, whose approbation of his 
 conduct, after his having once before filled the office, when 
 king Edward put him in, is a sound and substantial proof that 
 he was a good, loyal, and patriotic man. 
 
 Sir Richard’s second mayoralty occurred in 1406, in the 
 reign of Henry IV. His third and last service of mayor hap- 
 pened in 1419, in Henry the Fifth’s time, in which situation 
 he behaved with his usual prudence. Though age had now 
 taken ofl’ much of his activity, yet he was the most vigilant 
 magistrate of his time. Soon after Henry’s conquest of 
 France, Sir Richard entertained him and his queen at Guild- 
 hall, in such grand style, that he was pleased to say, “ Never 
 prince had such a subject;” and conferred upon some of the 
 
 aldermen the honour of kniohthood. 
 
 ® • • 
 
 At this entertainment, the king particularly praised the fire, 
 which was made of choice wood, mixed with mace, cloves, 
 and all other spices; on which Sir Richard said, he would 
 endeavour to make one still more agreeable to his majesty, 
 and immediately tore, and threw into the fire, the king’s bond 
 for 10,000 marks, due to the company of Mercers ; 12,500, to 
 the Chamber of London; 21,000 to the Mercers, Staplers, 
 Goldsmiths, Haberdashers, Vintners, Breweis, and Bakers ; 
 3,000 marks each. “ All these, (said Sir Richard,) with divers 
 others sent for the payment of your soldiers in France, 1 have 
 taken in and discharged, to the amount of £60,000 sterling. 
 Can your majesty desire to see such ani.ther sight?” The 
 king and nobles were struck dumb with surprise at his wealth 
 and liberality. 
 
 Sir Richard spent the remainder of his days in honourable 
 retirement at home, in his house in Grub-street, beloved by 
 the rich and the poor. By his wife he left two sons, some of 
 whose posterity are still worthy citizens. He built many cha- 
 ritable houses, founded a church in Vintry ward, and dedicated 
 it to St. Michael. Here he built a handsome vault, for the 
 sepulchre of his father and mother-in-law, and the remainder 
 of the Fitzwarren family, and where himself and wife lay 
 afterwards. 
 
 This Richard Whittington was (in this church) three times 
 buried; first by his executors, under a fair monument; then 
 in the reign of Edward VI. the parson of that church, thinking 
 some great riches (as he said) to be buried with him, caused 
 his monument to be broken, his body to be spoiled of his 
 leaden sheet, and again the second time to be buried ; and in 
 the reign of queen Mary, the parishioners were forced to take 
 
SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON. 
 
 939 
 
 him up to wrap him in lead, as afore, to bury him a tuird time, 
 and to place his monument, or the like, over him again; 
 which remained, and so he rested, till the great fire of Lon- 
 don violated his resting-place again. 
 
 . Th is church of St. Michael Pater-noster in the Vintry, the 
 Capital House, and site thereof, called Whittington College, 
 alias Whittington, and one garden belonging to the same, of 
 the yearly value of four pounds, six-shillings, and eight-pence, 
 was sold to Armagill Waad, clerk of the council, in the second 
 of Edward VI. for ninety-two pounds two shillings. 
 
 In 1413* he founded an alms-house and college in the Vin- 
 try, which was afterwards suppressed by order of council in 
 king Edward the Sixth’s time : but his alms-houses on Col- 
 lege-hill remain ; these are under the direction of the Mercer’s 
 company, who allow' each pensioner 3s. lOd. per week. 
 
 Sir Richard built the gate and prison of New gate as it for- 
 merly stood ; gave large sums to Bartholomew’s Hospital ; 
 founded a Library in Grey Friars; endowed Christ’s Hospital 
 with a considerable sum; built Guildhall chapel, and the east 
 end of the Hall. 
 
 Dame Alice, his wife, died in the 63d year of her age ; 
 after which he never re-married, though he outlived her near 
 twenty years. At last he died like the patriarch, full of age 
 and honour, leaving a good name to posterity ; and the follow- 
 ing epitaph was cut on the upper stone of his vault, and con- 
 tinued perfect till destroyed by the fire of London : — 
 
 M. S. 
 
 Beneath this stone lies Whittington, 
 
 Sir Richard rightly nam'd ; 
 
 Who three times Lord Mayor serv’d in London, 
 
 In which he ne’er was blam'd. 
 
 He rose from Indigence to Wealth, 
 
 By Industry and that. 
 
 For lo! he scorn’d to gain by stealth, 
 
 What he got by a Cat. 
 
 Let none who reads this verse despair 
 Of Providence's ways ; 
 
 Who trust in him, lie’ll make his care» 
 
 Au i prosper all their days 
 
940 
 
 CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 THE TRAVELLING FAQUIRS. 
 
 The following curious circumstance in natural history 
 is related by a gentleman of veracity, learning, and abilities, 
 who filled a considerable post in the Company’s Service in 
 India. — 
 
 The Travelling Faquirs in this country are a kind of su- 
 perstitious devotees, who pretend to great zeal in religion, but 
 are, in fact, the most vicious and profligate wretches in the 
 world. They w'ande.r about the country here, as the gipsies 
 do with you ; and having some little smattering of physic, 
 music, or other arts, they introduce themselves by these 
 means wherever they go. One of them called a few days ago 
 at my house, who had a beautiful large snake in a basket, 
 which he made rise up and dance about to the tune of a pipe 
 on which he played. 
 
 It happened that my out-house and farm-yard had for some 
 time been infested with snakes, which had killed me several 
 turkeys, geese, ducks, fowls, and even a cow and a bullock. 
 My servants asked this man whether he could pipe these 
 snakes out of their holes, and catch them? He answered them 
 in the affirmative, and they carried him instantly to the place 
 where one of the snakes had been seen. He began piping, 
 and in a short time the snake came dancing to him : the fel- 
 low caught him by the nape of the neck, and brought him 
 to me. As 1 was incredulous, I did not go to see this first 
 operation; but as he took this beast so expeditiously, and I 
 still suspected some trick, I desired him to go and catch an- 
 other, and went with him myself to observe his motions. He 
 began by abusing the snake, and ordering him to come out 
 of his hole instantly, and not be angry, otherwise he would 
 cut his throat and suck his blood. I cannot swear that the 
 snake heard and understood this elegant invocation. He 
 then began piping with all his might, lest the snake should 
 be deaf; he had not piped above five minutes, when an amaz- 
 ing large cobra capella (the most venomous kind of serpent) 
 popped his head out of a hole in the room. When the man 
 saw his nose, he approached nearer to him, and piped more 
 vehemently, till the snake was more than half out, and ready 
 to make a dart at him; he then piped only with one hand, 
 and advanced the other under the snake as it was raising 
 itself to make the spring. When the snake darted at his 
 body, he made a snatch at his tail, which he caught very 
 dexterously, and held the creature very fast, without the least 
 apprehension of being bit, until my servants dispatched it. 
 I had often heard this story of snakes being charmed out of 
 their holes by music; but never believed it, till I had this 
 
INCUBUS, OR NIGHTMARE. 
 
 941 
 
 ocular demonstration of the fact. In the space of an hour 
 the Faquir caught five very venomous snakes close about my 
 house.* 
 
 INCUBUS, OR NIGHTMARE. 
 
 This strange affection or complaint, which is more gene- 
 rally known by the term 'Nightmare, than by that of Incubus, 
 has obtained a considerable degree of notice in the world, 
 from the singular manner in which it seizes its victims. The 
 term Incubus is derived from the Latin incubare, signifying 
 to sit or lie upon, which very forcibly expresses the nature of 
 the disease. Hence, many have thought, and they even con- 
 tinue to think, that some incomprehensible creature, being, 
 or agent, actually sits or lies upon them while sleeping, from 
 which they suffer acute torment and oppression, bordering on 
 suffocation. Many also have even affirmed, that while they 
 have been lying perfectly awake, they have perceived this 
 nightly tormentor creeping slowly over their feet, and have 
 watched its advances until it has taken its seat on the breast, 
 and inflicted those severe sufi’erings which no language can 
 fully describe. But we shall consider the nightmare rather 
 as a disease, than the creature of imagination. 
 
 This disorder seizes persons while sleeping, who imagine 
 that they feel an extraordinary compression or weight about 
 the breast and stomach, which they cannot by any effort 
 shake off. In this agony they sigh, groan, and utter indis- 
 tinct sounds ; sometimes they cry out, but more frequently 
 they attempt to speak, or to move in vain. These feelings 
 give rise to various frightful suggestions of the imagination : 
 the patient fancies himself to be struggling with strong men 
 or devils, or to be in a house on fire, or in danger of being 
 drowned in the sea or some river; and in attempting to run 
 away from danger, or climb up a hill, he fancies he falls back 
 as much after every step as he had advanced before. At length 
 the sensations of oppression become intolerable, and the 
 patient awakes ; but the terror excited by the frightful ideas 
 attending the nightmare, leaves often a palpitation of the 
 heart, with great anxiety and languor, and sometimes a tin- 
 gling of the ears, and a tremor over the whole body. 
 
 It is altogether unnecessary to attempt an enumeration of 
 the numerous hypothetical explanations which have been 
 attempted to be given of the phenomenon of incubus, and 
 which have been detailed by Awen, Bond, and other writers. 
 The disorder has commonly been supposed to pioceed from a 
 
 * That this method of charming the serpentine race was practised at 
 a very early period of antiquity, appears from the allusion of the holy 
 Psalmist, in tlu 4th and 5th verses of the 58th Psalm. 
 
942 
 
 INCUBUS, OR NIGHTMARE.. 
 
 stagnation of the blood in the sinuses of the brain, or in the 
 vessels of the lungs, or from too great a quantity of blood 
 being sent to the head. The horizontal posture, in time of 
 sleep, and the pressure of the stomach upon the aorta, in a 
 supine situation, have been thought sufficient to occasion a 
 more than usaal distention of the sinuses and other vessels of 
 the brain ; and the weight of the heart, pressing on the left 
 auricle and large trunks of the pulmonary veins, may, it is 
 supposed, prevent the easy return of the blood from the lungs, 
 and thus produce an oppression and sense of weight and suf- 
 focation in the breast. But without entering into a particular 
 examination of these opinions, which are far from being satis- 
 factory, we may observe, with Dr. Whytt, that, if they were 
 true, some degree of the nightmare ought to happen to every 
 body that lies upon his back, especially after eating a full 
 meal. Further, if a horizontal situation could overcharge the 
 brain with blood, so as to occasion the incubus, how comes 
 it that people, who remain for some time in an inverted 
 posture, do not feel this disease beginning to attack them? 
 And why does a slighter degree of the nightmare sometimes 
 seize people who sleep in an erect situation in a chair? a cir- 
 cumstance which sometimes occurs, not only after eating, but 
 when the stomach is out of order, and troubled with wind. 
 As the weight of the stomach, even when filled with food, 
 can have scarcely any effect upon the motion of the blood in 
 the aorta, so the pressure of the heart is by much too small 
 to be able sensibly to retard the motion of that fluid in the 
 pulmonary veins; otherwise, people exhausted by tedious 
 diseases, who generally lie on their back, would be constantly 
 affected with the incubus. 
 
 We know that certain medicines or poisons, worms, and 
 even corrupted bile, or other humours, by disagreeably affect- 
 ing the nerves of the stomach, produce an oppression about 
 the breast, wild imaginations, frightful dreams, raving, and 
 insensibility ; and there is no doubt that low spirits, melan- 
 choly, and disturbed sleep, often proceed from a disordered 
 state of the stomach. It seems, therefore, more probable 
 that the seat of nightmare is principally in that organ. It is 
 w'ell ascertained, that some forms of epilepsy, and of hyste- 
 rical fits, originate from disorder in that viscus ; and Galen 
 considered the incubus as a nocturnal or slighter epilepsy. 
 People troubled with nervous and hypochondriac affections, 
 and who have delicate or flatulent stomachs, are more pecu- 
 liarly subject to this disorder ; and it is observed, that a heavy 
 or flatulent supper greatly aggravates the nightmare, in those 
 who are predisposed to it. The sympathy of the stomach 
 with the head, heart, lungs, and diaphragm, is so remarkable, 
 that there can be no difficulty in referring the several symp- 
 
INCUBUS, OR NIGHTMARE. 943 
 
 toms of the incubus to a disagreeable irritation of the nerves 
 of the stomach. 
 
 The incubus is most apt to seize persons when lying on their 
 back, because, in this position, on account of the stomach 
 and other abdominal viscera pressing more upon the dia- 
 phragm, we cannot inspire with the same ease as when we sit 
 up or lie on one side. Further, in that situation of the body 
 the food seems to lie heavier on the stomach, and wind in it 
 does not separate so readily by the aesophagus and pylorus, as 
 n an erect posture, when these orifices are higher than the 
 other parts of the stomach. The nightmare only occurs in 
 the time of sleep, because the strange ideas excited in the 
 mind, in consequence of the disordered feelings of the sto- 
 mach, are not then corrected by the external senses, as they 
 are when wc are awake ; nor do we, by an increased respira- 
 tion or other motions of the body, endeavour to shake oft’ any • 
 beginning uneasy sensation about the stomach or breast. The 
 incubus generally occurs in the first sleep, and seldom towards 
 morning, because at the earlier period the stomach is more 
 loaded with food, and that in a more crude and indigested 
 state than in the morning. A lesser degree, amounti ng only 
 to frightlul dreams, is almost a constant concomitant of over- 
 loaded stomach in some habits. 
 
 In fact, if the nightmare were owing to a stagnation of the 
 blood in the luno;s from the weight of the heart, or in tlie 
 sinuses and other vessels of the brain, from the horizontal 
 posture of the body, it would become greater the longer it 
 continued, and would scarcely ever go oft' spontaneously. 
 But we know that this disease, after affecting people for some 
 time, often gradually ceases, and is succeeded by refreshing 
 sleep: for as soon as the load of meat, or wind, or other 
 cause disagreeably affecting the nerves of the stomach, is 
 removed, the oppression and weight on the breast, wild ima- 
 ginations, frightful dreams, &c. vanish ; as all these proceed 
 originally from the disorder of the stomach. It may be re- 
 marked, however, that, as neither flatulency, phlegm, noi 
 crudities in the stomach, ever produce the symptoms of hypo- 
 chondriasis, unless the nerves of that organ be indisposed; so 
 neither a horizontal posture, sleep, nor heavy suppers, ever 
 produce the nightmare, at least in any considerable degree, 
 unless the person be already predisposed to the complaint 
 from the particular condition of the nerves of the stomach. 
 
 But although the stomach is the part commonly affected 
 primarily in the case of incubus; yet symptoms like those oi 
 the nightmare may sometimes arise without any fault of th( 
 stomach, when tlie lung:;, or even the brasii, are affected 
 rh us Dr. Whytt observes, that asthmatic patients, whose 
 ungs are much obstructed, are sometimes disturbed, n time 
 
CARIOSITIES RESPECTING MAN. 
 
 944 
 
 of sleep, with distressing dreams, and oppressed with a sensft 
 of suffocation. Startings and oppressions about the praecordia, 
 with painful dreams, are indeed common occurrences from 
 hydrothorax, chronic coughs, and other pulmonary obstruc- 
 tions ; but they are not strictly analogous to the common 
 nightmare. Dr. Lower mentions a patient, who, though he 
 could sleep pretty easily with his head inclined forward ; yet, 
 in the opposite situation, he was always soon awaked with 
 horrid dreams and tremors; the cause of which appeared, 
 after his death, to have been a great quantity of water in the 
 ventricles of the brain. At all events, a plethoric state of 
 habit, by rendering the circulation through the lungs less free, 
 may help to produce, or at least increase, the oppression of 
 the breast in the nightmare. 
 
 The Cure. — As incubus, then, is only a symptom of disor- 
 dered or loaded stomach, and arises out of the irritation and 
 morbid feelings which are thus produced during sleep, the 
 relief of the disease, generally speaking, lies within a narrow 
 compass. Temperance in eating and drinking, especially at 
 late hours; taking, in fact, either extremely light suppers or 
 none at all ; and when the dinner is so late as to be only a 
 supper with another name, being cautious that that also should 
 be moderate in quantity, and easily digestible and unstimu- 
 lating in its nature ; drinking thin, sub-acid liquors, where 
 these are agreeable to the constitution, — these are the princi- 
 pal remedies required. Brisk active exercise, by which the 
 digestive pow ers may be aided and the stomach strengthened, 
 is also advisable. It were useful, too, to sleep with high 
 pillows, and to lie on the side as much as possible, in prefer- 
 ence to the back. If the functions of the stomach are much 
 disordered with flatulency, heartburn, acidity, or oppression, 
 with pain, or nausea, after taking food, the usual remedies 
 recommended for indigestion must be resorted to. The 
 bowels should be kept open. See Whytt on Nervous Disor- 
 ders, chap. vi. § 18 . 
 
 CELEBRATED SPEECH ON RELIGION. 
 
 The Editor of this work well recollects, many years ago, 
 reading in a newspaper a most interesting speech on religion, 
 delivered by a French priest; it made a great impression on 
 his mind at the time, and he frequently regretted he had not 
 transcribed it. He made all inquiry possible, but could not 
 meet with the interesting article till seventeen years had 
 elapsed, when it was published by a person who had preserved 
 the paper in question. It is now presented to the reader as a 
 curiosity worthy of his notice. — This speech was delivered at 
 
CELEBRATED SPEECH ON RELIGION. 945 
 
 the Bar of the French Convention, and is copied from the 
 Cambridge Intelligencer of March 24th, 1798. 
 
 A few days after the archbishop of Paris and his vicars 
 had set the example of renouncing their clerical character, a 
 rector from a village on the banks of the Rhone, followed by 
 some of his parishioners, with an ottering of gold and silve** 
 saints and chalices, rich vestments, &c. presented himself at 
 the bar of the convention. The rector, a thin venerable-look* 
 ingman, with gray hairs, was ordered to speak. 
 
 “ 1 come (said he) from the village of , where the 
 
 only good building standing is a very fine church : my parish- 
 ioners beg you will take it, to make an hospital for the sick 
 and wounded ;‘f both parties, they being both equally our 
 countrymen. The gold and silver, part of which we have 
 brought to you, they entreat you will devote to the service of 
 the state, and that you will cast the bells into cannon, to 
 drive away its foreign invaders. For myself, 1 came with 
 great pleasure to resign my letters of ordination, of induction, 
 and every deed and title by which I have been constituted a 
 member of your ecclesiastical polity. Here are the papers ; 
 you may burn them, if you please, in the same fire with genealo- 
 gical trees and patents of nobility. I desire, likewise, that 
 you will discontinue my salary ; I am still able to su))port 
 myself by the labour of my hands, and I beg you to believe, 
 that I never felt sincerer joy than I now do in making this 
 renunciation. I have longed to see this day! 1 see it, and am 
 glad.” 
 
 When the old man had thus far spoken, the applauses were 
 immoderate. The rector did not seem greatly elated with 
 these tokens of approbation : he retired back a few steps, and 
 thus resumed his discourse : — 
 
 “ Before you applaud my sentiments, it is fit you should 
 understand them ; perhaps they may not entirely coincide with 
 your own. I rejoice in this day, not because I wish to see 
 religion degraded, but because I wish to see it exalted and 
 purified. By dissolving its alliance with the state, you have 
 given it dignity and independence. You have done it a piece 
 of service ; a service which its well-wishers would perhaps 
 never have had courage to render it, but which is the only 
 thing wanted to make it appear in its genuine beauty and 
 lustre. Nobody will now’ say of me, when I am performing 
 the offices of religion, ‘ It is a trade; he is paid for telling the 
 people such and such things ; he is hired to keep up a useless 
 piece of mummery.’ They cannot say ihis, and therefore I 
 feel myself raised in my own esteem, and shall speak to them 
 with a confidence and a frankness, which before this I never 
 durst venture to assume. W'^e resign without reluctance our 
 gold and silver images, and embroidered vestments, because 
 
 6D 
 
946 
 
 CELEBRATED SPEECH ON RELIGION. 
 
 we never have found that looking upon gold and silver made 
 the heart more pure, or the affections more heavenly ; we can 
 also spare our churches, for the heart that wishes to lift itself up 
 to God, will never be at a loss for a place to do it in : but we 
 cannot spare religion, because, to tell you the truth, we never 
 had so much occasion for it. I understand that you accuse 
 us priests of having told the people a great many falsehoods. 
 1 suspect this may have been the case, but till this day we 
 have never been allowed to inquire whether the things which 
 we taught them were true or not. I cannot but hope, how- 
 ever, that the errors we have fallen into have not been very 
 mateiial, since the village has in general been sober and good; 
 the peasants honest, docile, and laborious; the husbands love 
 their wives, and the wives their husbands; they are fortu- 
 nately not too rich to be compassionate, and they have con- 
 stantly relieved the sick and fugitives of all parties, whenever 
 it has lain in their way. 1 think, therefore, what I have 
 taught them cannot be so much amiss. 
 
 “ You want to extirpate priests: but will you hinder the 
 ignorant from applying for instruction, the unhappy for com- 
 fort and hope, the unlearned from looking up to the learned? 
 If you do not, you will have priests, by whatever name you 
 may order them to be called; but it is certainly not necessary 
 they should wear a particular dress, or be appointed by state 
 letters of ordination. My letters of ordination are my zeal, 
 charity, and my ardent love for the children of the village; 
 if 1 were more learned, I would add knowledge ; but, alas! we 
 all know very little: to a man every error is pardonable, but 
 want of humanity. We have a public walk, with a spreading 
 elm-tree at one end of it, and a circle of green around it, with 
 a convenient bench. Here 1 shall draw together the children 
 that are playing round me: I shall point to the vines laden 
 with fruit, to the orchard, to the herds of cattle low ing round 
 us, tu the distant hills stretching one behind another; and 
 they will ask me, how came all these things? 1 shall tell 
 them all 1 know ; what 1 have heard from the wise men who 
 have lived before me; they will be penetrated with love and 
 adoration! They will kneel; 1 shall kneel with them; they 
 will not be at my feet, but all of us at the feet of that good 
 Being, whom we shall worship together, and thus they will 
 receive within their tender minds a religion. 
 
 “The old men will come sometimes, from having deposited 
 under tlu green sod one of their companions, and place them- 
 selves by my side : they will look wistfully at the turf, and 
 anxiously inquire, — Is he gone for ever? Shall we soon be 
 like him? Will no morning break over the tomb? When the 
 wicked cease from troubling, will the good cease from doing 
 good/ We will talk of these things: 1 will comfort them; I 
 
VESUVIUS 
 
 947 
 
 will tell them of the goodness of Goc ; I will speak to them 
 of a life to come ; 1 will bid them hope for a state of retri- 
 bution. 
 
 “ You have changed our holidays ; you have an undoubted 
 right, as our civil oovernors, so to do : it is very immaterial 
 whether they are kept once in seven days, or once in ten ; 
 some, liovvever, vou will leave us, and when they occur, I 
 shall tell those who choose to hear me, of the beauty and 
 utility of virtue, and of the dignity of right conduct. There is 
 a book out of which I have sometimes taught my people; it 
 says we are to love those who do us hurt, and to pour oil and 
 wine into the wounds of the stranger. In this book we read 
 of Christ Jesus; some worship him as a God; others, as I 
 am told, say it is wrong to do so ; some teach that he existed 
 before the beginning of ages; others, that he was born of 
 Joseph and Mary. 1 cannot tell whether these controversies 
 will ever be decided ; but, in the mean time, I think we can- 
 not do otherwise than well in imitating him — for I learn that 
 he loved the poor, and went about doing good.” 
 
 Addenda to Vesuvius. — See page 441. 
 
 A grand eruption of Vesuvius took place on Sunday night, 
 Feb. 24, 1822. It continued for several days. The following 
 is an extract from a private letter, dated Naples, March 8, 
 1822.— 
 
 “ Towards the evening of Tuesday, February tlie 26th, as 
 appearances promised a good night’s work, we set off from 
 Naples to view the operations nearer; the road to Resina was 
 covered with people going and returning, as if a fair had been 
 in the vicinity. When we reached the spot where strangers 
 are on common occasions surrounded by guides, and asses, 
 and mules, to conduct them up to the mountain, we found 
 that no animals were to be procured, and it was with difficulty 
 we could get a stupid old man for a cicerone, who rendered 
 us no other service than carrying a torch. The ascent was 
 thronged with people, some pushing on eagerly to the object 
 of their curiosities, and others returning, and discussing what 
 they had seen. Far below San Salvator we saw the stream of 
 fire rolling along a wide hollow, and approaching the path by 
 which we were going up: it was then, however, at a consider- 
 able distance, and its course was very slow. On reaching 
 the hermitage, we refreshed ourselves as well as the crowd 
 there assembled would permit ; we then continued our journey, 
 and ap[)roached the lava, which was chiefly formed by the 
 eruption of January, 1821. We found it about thirty feet 
 wide; it was not liquid lava, but consisted of ashes, ignited 
 
VESUVIUS. 
 
 yi8 
 
 stones, and old masses of volcanic ejections, swept away by 
 the present eruption, and heated again. These lumps, rolling 
 over each other, produced a strange clinking noise. Some of 
 them were of a very great size; and the whole stream, though 
 descending a steep cone, moved but slowly. 
 
 Beyond this principal stream, midway up the cone, was an 
 opening, whence very large stones and other burning matters 
 were continually thrust out. This mouth fed a scattered 
 stream, beyond which was another narrow stream, proceeding 
 like the principal one from the crater. They both united with 
 the niain body in the deep hollow below, and rolled on to- 
 wards the road which leads from Resina up to the hermitage. 
 The multitude of the spectators standing by the sides of the burn- 
 ing river being seized with astonishment, we, with a great many 
 of the more adventurous, determined to ascend the cone; we 
 therefore passed a little to the left of the great stream, and 
 began to scramble to the deep loose cinders and ashes which 
 cover this part of the mountain, and render it at all times a 
 most fatiguing climb. A little path or track formerly existed, 
 in which the guides laid masses of lava to facilitate the mount- 
 ing, but it was just in that line that the present eruption 
 descended, and we were in consequence obliged to go up 
 over the sand and cinders, in which we frequently stuck up 
 to our knees, and, at every three steps, lost one on an average. 
 Alter a most fatiguing toil of an hour and a half, we found 
 ourselves, with a few others, on the edge of the grand crater: 
 hence the coup (rail was terrifically sublime ; the flames rushed 
 out of the mouth, and threw themselves in the air in a broad 
 body to the elevation of at least a hundred feet, whilst many 
 of the fiery stones flew up twice that height. Sometimes the 
 flames fell back into the mouth of the crater, and then burst 
 out again, as though impelled by a fresh impulse, like the 
 blast of a bellows. In their descent, some of the stones and 
 lumps of cinder returned into the mouth, but the greater part 
 fell outside of the flames, like the jets of a fountain. 
 
 “ While we were standing on the exposed side of the crater, 
 very intent in observation, all of a sudden the volcano gave 
 a tremendous roar. It was like the crash of a long line of 
 artillery, and was instantly succeeded by such a discharge of 
 stones as we had never before seen. At the same moment, 
 the wind, which was very high, gave an irregular gust, which 
 directed a great part of the stones towards the place where 
 w'e were posted. Hence our situation was for a minute or 
 tw o very perilous ; but there was no shelter near, and we 
 stood still, looking at the descending shower which fell around 
 us. We, however, happily sustained no other injury than a 
 short ilarm, and having some ashes dashed in our faces by 
 stones which fell near us. Two or three gentlemen who ^ere 
 
VESUVIUS. 
 
 949 
 
 ascending the cone after us, were not quite so fortunate , for 
 many of the stones falling outside of the ridge, rolled down 
 the side with great velocity, loosening and carrying with them 
 lumps of cold lava, &c. some of which struck those persons 
 on the legs with great violence, and nearly precipitated one 
 of them headlong to the foot of the cone. 
 
 “ After this, we thought we had seen enough, and turned 
 to go down. The descent is as easy as the ascent is difficult; 
 the cinders and ashes sliding away beneath the feet, nothing 
 further is necessary than to step out, the quicker the better, 
 to keep one’s equilibrium, and to avoid the fixed or large 
 stones and pieces of lava. We were not more than ten minutes 
 in reaching the point whence it had taken us an hour and a 
 half to mount. In coming down, we were struck with the 
 strange appearance of the torches of companies ascending 
 and descending; they formed a pale wavering line from 
 Resina to the hermitage ; and thence to the cone, they were 
 scattered about in thick and fantastic groups. On reaching 
 the hermitage, we found it so crowded, that we could not 
 enter. The large fiat around was covered like a crowded fair, 
 by people of all nations, and of all ranks, from the beautiful 
 and accomplished countess of Fiquelmont, wife of the Aus- 
 trian ambassador, to the Austrian sergeant and his wife, who 
 had come to see the blazing mountain. Numbers of people 
 had come from towns and villages below, with bread and wine, 
 and fruit and aqua-vitae, all of which articles seemed in very 
 great demand. The motley scene was illuminated by the bright 
 silvery moon, and the red towering fiames at the summit of 
 the volcano. We took some slight refreshments, and repaired 
 homewards in the midst of as merry groups as ever returned 
 from scenes of festivity and joy. 
 
 “ When we got lower down, we found that the lava had 
 approached very near to the road, and had already seized 
 upon a fine vineyard, which was blazing very brilliantly. 
 After our retreat, we learned that the lava traversed the road. 
 On Wednesday, the 27th, the eruption was in a great measure 
 tranquillized ; still, however, crowds of people continued 
 going up the mountain; and an Austrian officer, who had 
 come from Caspua to see it, was unfortunately killed on the 
 ridge of the cone, by a large stone striking him on the head. 
 On Thursday scarcely any thing but smoke issued from the 
 crater, and it has continued from that time in the same peace- 
 fill state.” 
 
ANAGRAMS. — MODERN DICTIONARY. 
 
 950 
 
 ANAGRAMS. 
 
 In “ The Book of Curiosities,’’ even that mechanical, yel 
 curiously fortuitous species of wit, called the Anagrarriy must 
 not escape notice. It can scarcely be necessary to premise, 
 that anagram, or metagrara, is the dissolution of a word into 
 its letters, as its elements; and then, by a new connection of 
 them, making some perfect sense, applicable to the person or 
 thing named. As there are some modern ones of this sort, 
 exhibiting astonishing coincidences, we shall here subjoin a 
 selection of the best : — 
 
 Lo I DRESS, Soldiers. — ’Tis ye govern. Sovereignty . — 
 Spare him not, Misanthro'pe. — Great Helps, Telegraphs . — 
 No MORE Stars, Astronomers . — No Charm, Monarch . — 
 March on. Monarch. — Comical Trade, Democrat ical . — 
 Best in Prayer, Presbyterian . — A just Master, James 
 Stuart. — To love Ruin, Revolution . — Oh poison Pitt, Th' 
 Opposition. — Honor est a Nilo, Horatio Nelson . — A Bear 
 UPON ’t, Buonaparte. 
 
 The unhappy Sir Edmundburie Godfry, having dared, as a 
 magistrate, to take some legal depositions against the Papists, 
 was, by three of those fellow-subjects. Green, Berry, and 
 Hill, waylaid, and shockingly murdered, in 1678, upon which 
 was then written, 
 
 I FIND murder’d by ROGUES 
 Sir Edmundburie Godfry. 
 
 MODERN DICTIONARY. 
 
 To illustrate life at the present day, we insert the follow- 
 ing whimsical Encycloptedia of Manners at the Commence- 
 ment of the Nineteenth Century! 
 
 Age... An infirmity nobody owns. 
 
 At //owe.. .The domestic amusement of three hundred visi- 
 tors in a small room, to yawn at each other. 
 
 Bore... Every thing one dislikes; it also means any person 
 who talks of religion. 
 
 BMj/5/g.. . Ordering goods without purpose of paying. 
 
 Chariot.. . A vehicle for one’s servants, the dickey being the 
 seat for the ladies, and the coach-box for the gentleman. 
 
 Charity ... A golden ticket to Catalani, or any other favour- 
 ite performer. 
 
 Coachman.. . A gentleman or accomplished nobleman. 
 
 Common Sense. ..A vulgar quality. 
 
 Co«sc/er/ce.. .Something to swear by. 
 
RECIPE FOR TRUE FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 951 
 
 Dfly... Night; or, strictly speaking, from ten in the even 
 ing to six in the morning. 
 
 Debt.., A necessary evil. 
 
 . Keeping up an appearance. 
 
 Dress.. . Half naked. 
 
 .. Doing as other people do. 
 
 Economy. . . Obsolete. 
 
 Fasbion.. .The Je He seal quoi of excellence. 
 
 Fori line. , .The Summum Bonum. 
 
 Friend. . .Meixmn^y not known. 
 
 Iiigblj/-accomjdis/ied.. .Reading music at sight, painting 
 flowers for the borders of a screen, and a talent for guessing 
 charades. 
 
 Horne.. .Every one’s house but your own. 
 
 Honour.. .Standing fire well. 
 
 Hospitality.. . Obsolete. 
 
 Husband.. . \ person to pay your debts. 
 
 /.ore. ..The meaning not known, now that the ossification 
 of the heart lias become a fashionable disease ; but the word 
 is still to be found in novels and romances. 
 
 Matrimony . , . A bargain. 
 
 Modest.. . Sheepish. 
 
 Morning. . .From noon to sunset. 
 
 JMnsic.. . Execution. 
 
 Neic.. . Delightful. 
 
 Nonsense.. .Polite conversation. 
 
 Not at Home.. .Sitting in your own drawing-room. 
 Fay...On\y applied to visits. 
 
 Piety.. . Hypocrisy. 
 
 Prodigality.. .Generosity. 
 
 Prudence. . . Parsimony. 
 
 Quiz.. . Any inoffensive person, out of your owm circle. 
 Religion.. .Occupying a seat in some genteel chapel. 
 Spirit., .Contempt of decorum and morality. 
 
 Style. . . Splendid extravagance. 
 
 Time.. .On\y regarded in music. 
 
 Truth.. . Meaning uncertain. 
 
 Vice.. . Any fault in horses, dogs, and servants. 
 
 Wicked., . Irresistibly agreeable. 
 
 World. ,, The circle of fashionable people when in town. 
 
 RECIPE FOR ESTABLISHING TRUE FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 In Pliny’s Natural History, we find a curious recipe for 
 making the Roman Friendship, a cordial that was univer- 
 sally esteemed in those days, and very few families of any 
 credit were without it. In the same place (he says) they 
 
RECIPE FOR TRUE FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 952 
 
 were indebted to the Greeks for this recipe, who had it in 
 the greatest perfection. The old Roman Friendship was a 
 composition of several ingredients, of which the principal 
 were : 
 
 Union of hearts, (a fine flower, that grew in several parts 
 of the empire,) sincerity, frankness, disinterestedness, pity, 
 and tenderness, (of each an equal quantity.) These were all 
 mixed with two rich oils, which ll>ey called perpetual kind 
 wishes, and. serenity of temper; and the whole was strongly 
 perfumed with the desire of pleasing, which gave it a most 
 grateful smell, and was a sure restorative in all sorts of va- 
 pours. This cordial was of so durable a nature, that no length 
 of time could waste it: and what is very remarkable, (says 
 our author,) it increased in weight and value the longer you 
 kept it. — The moderns have most grossly adulterated this fine 
 cordial ; some of the ingredients indeed are not to be found, 
 but what they impose upon you as friendship, is as follows: 
 
 Outward professions, (a common weed that grows every 
 where,) instead of the flower of union ; the desire of being 
 pleased ; a large quantity of self-interest, conveniency, and 
 reservedness (many handfuls;) a little pity and tenderness. 
 But some pretend to make it up with these two last, and the 
 common oil of inconstancy (which, like our linseed oil, is cold- 
 drawn every hour) serves to mix them together. Most of 
 these ingredients being of a perishable nature, it will not keep, 
 and it shews itself to be counterfeit, by lessening continually 
 in weight and value. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 AbderiteSj or inhabitants of Abdera, carioas 
 account of, 45 
 Abstinence, wonders of, 67 
 Act of faith, C38 
 
 Adansonia; or, African calabash tree, 378 
 Agnesi, Maria Gaetana, account of, 120 
 Agrigentum, in Sicil)', ruins of, 540 
 Air, its pressure and elasticity, 839 
 Alarm bird, 243 
 
 Alexandria, buildings and library of, 549 
 Alhambra, 559 
 Alligators, 164 
 
 American natural history, 182 
 Anagrams, 450 
 Andes, 415 
 Androides, 701 
 
 Anger, surprising effects of, 82 
 Animalcules, 357 
 
 Animal generation, curiosities respecting, 
 139 
 
 Animals, formation of, 142 
 Animals, preservation of, 144 
 Animals, destruction of. 150 
 Animal reproductions, 154 
 Animals and plants, winter sleep of, 808 
 Animals, remarkable strength of affection 
 in, 184 
 
 Animals, surprising instances of sociality 
 in, 185 
 
 Animals, unaccountable faculties possessed 
 by some, 187 
 
 Animals, remarkable instances of fasting 
 in, 189 
 
 Animal llower, 392 
 
 Anthropophagi, or men-eaters, account of,75 
 Ants, curiosities of, 290 
 Ants, green, 31 I 
 Ants, while, or termites, 301 
 Ant, lion. 312 
 Ants, visiting, 312 
 Aphis, curiosities respecting, 33 
 Arpieducts, remarkable, 795 
 A re, .loan of. 927 
 Aik of Noah, 582 
 .Ai tilicer, unfortunate, 745 
 Artilicial figure to light a candle, 830 
 Ash.-stos, 402 
 Atlios, mount, 423 
 Attraction, examples of, 837 
 Augsburg, curiosities of, 576 
 Aurora boi . is, 084 
 Automaton, description of, 700 
 B 
 
 Babylon, 557 
 
 Bacon (litch, cuftom at Dunmow, Essex, 
 605 
 
 Balbeck, ancient ruins of, 538 
 Bannian tree, 374 
 
 Baptism, a curious one, 642 
 Baraiier, John Philip, premature genius of, 
 125 
 
 Barometer, rules for predicting the wea- 
 ther by it, 804 
 
 Beards, remarks concerning, 31 
 Beaver, description of, 156 
 Beavers, habitations of the, 158 
 Bee, the honey. 265 
 
 Bees, wild, curiosities of. Clothier Bee, 
 Carpenter Bee, Mason Bee, Uphol- 
 sterer Bee, Leaf-cutter Bee, 277, 
 278, 279, 280 
 
 Bees, account of an idiot-boy and, 283 
 Bees, Mr. Wildman’s curious exhibitions 
 of, explained, 283 
 Bells, baptism of, 639 
 Benefit of clergy, origin and history of, 623 
 Bird of Paradise, 230 
 Bird, singul-ar account of one inhabiting a 
 volcano in Guadalope, 246 
 Bird-catching fish, 196 
 Bird-catching, curious method of, 260 
 Birds, method of preserving, 865 
 Birds, hydraulic, 713 
 Birds, song of, 261 
 Birds’ nests, 251 
 
 Bisset, Samuel, the noted animal instruc- 
 tor, 124 
 Bletonism. 95 
 
 Blind clergyman of Wales, 903 
 Blind persons, astonishing acquisitions made 
 by some, 46 
 
 Blind Jack of Knaresborough, 900 
 Blood, circulation of, 24 
 Blunders, book of, 761 
 Boa Constrictor, 217 
 Boat-fly, 342 
 
 Body, human, curiosities of the, 13 
 Bolea, Mowte, 418 
 
 Books, curious account of the scarcity of, 
 757 
 
 Borrow dale, 458 
 Bottles, to uncork, 836 
 Boverick’s curiosities, 713 
 Bowthorpe oak, 382 
 Bread-fruit tree, 372 
 Bread, old, curious account of, 807 
 Brine, to ascertain the strength of, 839 
 Brown, Simon, and his curious dedication 
 to queen Caroline, 108 
 Bunzlau curiosities, 714 
 Buonaparte, principal events in the life of, 
 126 
 
 Burning spring in Kentucky, 493 
 Burning and hot springs, 491, 49 ), 496, 497 
 Burning, extraordinary cures by, 792 
 Burning-glasses, 717 
 
 ( 958 ) 
 
954 
 
 IKDEX. 
 
 Bustard the great, 243 
 Butterflies, btauty and diversities of, 344 
 Butterflies, to lake an impression of their 
 wings, 8G0 
 
 C 
 
 Camera obscura, to make. 830 
 Candiac, Jolm Lewis, account of, 113 
 Candlemas-dav, 032 
 Cannon, exlraordinar^r, 807 
 Cards, origin of, 707 
 Carrier, or courier pigeon, 244 
 Carthage, ancient grandeur of, 542 
 Case, John, celebrated quack doctor, 113 
 Catching a hare, curious custom respect- 
 ing, 001 
 
 Caterpillar, 219 
 Caterpillar-eaters, 220 
 Cave of Fingal, 452 
 Cave near Mexico, 457 
 Centaurs and Lapithoe, 785 
 Chameleon, particulars respecting, 175 
 Changeable flower, 387 
 Cheese-mite, curiosities respecting, 358 
 Chemical illuminations, 844 
 Chick, formation of in the egg, 249 
 Child, extraordinary arithmetical powers 
 of a, 88 
 
 Chiltern hundreds, 634 
 China, great wall of, 579 
 Chinese, funeral ceremonies of the, 610 
 Christmas-boxes, origin of, 633 
 Cinchona, or Peruvian bark, curious effects 
 of, 390 
 
 Clepsydra, 706 
 
 Clock-work, extraordinary pieces of, 704 
 
 Clouds, electrified, terrible effects of, 656 
 
 Coal-pit, visit to one, 469 
 
 Cocoa-nut tree, 371 
 
 Coins of the kings of England, 814 
 
 Cold, surprising effects of extreme, 659 
 
 Colossus, 570 
 
 Colours, experiments on, 867 
 Colours, incapacity of distinguishing, 56 
 Combustion of the human body by the 
 immoderate use of spirits, 97 
 Common house-fly, curiosities of the, 337 
 Company of Stationers, singular custom 
 annually observed by the, 766 
 Conscience, instances of the power of, 84 
 Cormorant, 242 
 Coruscations, artificial, 849 
 Cotton wool, curious particulars of a pound 
 weight of, 391 
 
 Countenance, human, curiosities of the, 18 
 Cromwell, A. 31. of Hammersmith, a rich 
 miser, 897 
 
 Creeds of the Jews, 775 
 Crichton, the admirable, 911 
 Crichup Linn, 797 
 Crocodile, 163 
 
 Crocodile, fossil, curiosity of, 165 
 Cuckoo, curiosities respecting, 240 
 Curfew bell, why so called, 635 
 Curious historu al fact, 744 
 
 D 
 
 Dancer, Daniel, account of, 104 
 Dajak, inhabitants of Borneo, curious fu- 
 neral ceremonies of, 012 
 Deaf, to make the, perceive sounds, 828 
 Deaths, poetical, grammatical, and scien- 
 tific, 73 
 
 Death-watch, 347 
 
 Diamond mine, on the river Tigitonhonha. 
 
 in the Bra/ilian territory, 460 
 Diamond, wonderlul, 405 
 Diana, temple of, at Ephesus, 554 
 Dictionary, modern, 950 
 Dimensions, See. of some of the largest 
 trees growing in England, 882 
 Diseases peculiar to particular countries, 
 789 
 
 Dismal swamp, 798 
 Dog, remai kable, 194 
 Dog, curious anecdotes of a, 195 
 Dogs, sagacity of, 193 
 Dreams, instances of extraordinary, 70 
 Dwarfs, extraordinary, 40 
 E 
 
 Eagle, the golden, 237 
 Ear, curious structure of the, 22 
 Earl of Pembroke, curious extracts from 
 the will of an, 773 • 
 
 Earth-eaters, 908 
 
 Earthquakes, and their causes, 499 
 Eating, singularities of different nalione in, 
 595 
 
 Eclipses, 676 
 Eddystone rocks, 797 
 Egg, to soften an, 851 
 Electricity, illumination by, 793 
 Electrical experiments, 841 
 Elephant, account of an, 168 
 Elephant, docility of the, 170 
 Elwes, John, account of, 104 
 English ladies turned Hottentots, 744 
 Ephemeral flies, 343 
 Ephesus, temple of Diana at, 554 
 Esciirial, 577 
 Etna, 443 
 
 Extraordinary custom, 601 
 Eye, curious formation of the, 20 
 F 
 
 Fact, the most extraordinary on record, 744 
 
 Fairy rings, 667 
 
 Falling stars, 681 
 
 Faquirs, travelling, 940 
 
 Fasting, extraordinary instances of, 66 
 
 Fata 3Iorgana, 665 
 
 Feasts, among the ancients of various na- 
 tions, 614 
 
 Female beauty and ornaments, 596 
 Fiery fountain, 844 
 Fire-balls, 655 
 Fire of London, 748 
 Fire, perpetual, 806 
 Fisher, Miss Clara, 905 
 Fishes, air bladder in, 201 
 Fishes, respiration in, 202 
 
mDEX. 
 
 955 
 
 Fisbe», shower of, 203 
 Flea, account of a, 325 
 Flea, on the duration of the life of a, 328 
 Florence statues, 579 
 Fly, the coniinon house, 337 
 Fly, the Hessian, 336 
 Fly, the iMay, 340 
 Fly, the vegetable, 341 
 Fly, the boat, 342 
 Flying, artiHcial, 716 
 Fountain trees, 375 
 Freezing mixture, to form, 859 
 Freezing, astonishing expansive force of, 
 661 
 
 Friburg, curiosities of, 575 
 Friendship, curious demonstrations of, 594 
 Friendship, true Roman, recipe for estab- 
 lishing, t)5l 
 
 Fright, or terror, remarkable effects of, 82 
 Frog, the common, 160 
 Frog-fish, 190 
 Frosts, remarkable, 533 
 Flower, the animal, 392 
 Fruits^ injuries from swallowing the stones 
 of, 791 
 
 Funeral ceremonies of the ancient Ethio- 
 pians, 009 
 Fungi, 395 
 
 6 
 
 Galley of Hiero, 584 
 Galvanism, 089 
 Gardens, floating, 580 
 Gardens, hanging, 558 
 Garter, origin of the order of the, 623 
 Gas lights, miniature, 836 
 Gauts, or Indian Ap|>enines, 421 
 Giants, curious account of, 39 
 Giant’s causeway, 590 
 Gipsies, 732 
 Glaciers, 529 
 Glass, ductility of, 720 
 Glass, to cut, without a diamond. 833 
 Glass, to write on, by the sun’s rays, 858 
 Gluttony, instances of extraordinary, 64 
 Gold, remarkable ductility and extensibi- 
 lity of, 721 
 
 Graham, the celebrated Dr. 909 
 Gravity, experiments respecting the, 838 
 Great events from little causes, 746 
 Grosbeak, the social, 234 
 Grosbeak, the Bengal, 235 
 Grotto in South America, 445 
 Grotto del Cani, 446 
 Grotto of Antiparos, 447 
 Grotto of Guacliaro, 450 
 Growth, extraordinary instances of rapid, 37 
 Guinea, explanation of all the letters on a, 
 708 
 
 Gulf stream, 490 
 
 H 
 
 Hagamore, Rev. Mr. a most singular cha- 
 racter, 890 
 
 Hail, gur|)rising showers of, 518 
 Hair o' the head, account of, 28 
 
 Hair, instances of the ii tcrnal growth rf, 30 
 Hair, ancient and modem opinions respect- 
 ing the, 29 
 
 Halo, or corona, and similar appjarances, 
 080 
 
 Hand-fasting, 609 
 Harmattan, 511 
 
 Harrison, a singular instance of parsimony 
 903 
 
 Heat, diminished by evaporation, 839 
 Hecla, 442 
 
 Heidelberg clock, 705 
 Heinecken. ChristianHenry. account of, 1 14 
 Hell, opinions respecting, 812 
 Henderson, John, the I rish Crichton, 883 
 Henry, John, singular character of, 107 
 Herculaneum and Fompeii, 536 
 Herschel’s grand telescope, 713 
 Hessian fly, 339 
 
 Hobnails, origin of the sheriff’s counting, 
 622 
 
 Holland, North, curious practice in, 630 
 Honour, extraordinary instances of, 80 
 Horse, remarkable instances of sagacity in 
 a, 192 
 
 Human heart, structure of the, 24 
 Humming bird, 236 
 
 Huntingdon, William, eccentric character 
 of, 134 
 
 Hurricane, curious particulars respecting 
 a, 5 1 1 
 
 Husband long absent, returned, 741 
 Hydra, or polypes, account of, 359 
 
 Ice, Greenland or polar, 525 
 Ice, tremendous concussions of fields of, 528 
 Ice, showers of, 533 
 Ignis Fatuus, 644 
 Improvement of llie learned, 765 
 Incubus, or nightmare, 941 
 Indian jugglers, 897 
 Individuation, 780 
 Indulgences, Romish, 636 
 Ingratitude, shocking instances of, 78 
 Ink'S, various sympatlietic, 853 to 857 
 Insects, melamorphoses of: the butterfly, 
 the common tly, the grey-coated gnat, 
 the shardhorn beetle, 345 
 Insects blown from the nose, — 
 
 Integrity, sli iking instances of, 77 
 Inverlochy castle, 574 
 Island, new, starting from the sea, 491 
 J 
 
 Jew’s harp, 795 
 
 John Bull, origin of the term of, 634 
 
 K 
 
 Killarney, tlie lake of, 487 
 Kimos, singular nation of dwarfs, 43 
 Knout, 804 
 Kraken, 210 
 
 L 
 
 Labrador stone, 402 
 Lady of ihe Lamb, 601 
 Lama, 810 
 
 \ 
 
956 
 
 HTDEX. 
 
 l^ambert, Daniel, account of, 887 
 Lamps, rcinarkahle, 805 
 Lamp, pliosptioric, 844 
 Lanterns, feast of, 02 1 
 Laocoon, monument of, 556 
 Leaves, to take an impression of tliem, 806 
 Letter, curious, from Pomare, kingofOla- 
 lieite, to tlie Missfonarv Society, 773 
 Libraries, celebrated, 700 
 Liglit produced under water, 850 
 Liglitiiing, extraordinary properties and 
 eliects of, 051 
 
 Liglitning, to pro uce artificial, 844 
 Liquids, to produce changeable-coloured, 
 858 
 
 Liquids, to exchange two in difierent bot- 
 tles. 872 
 
 Literary labour and perseverance, 756 
 Li/.ard, imbedded in coal, 225 
 Locusts, and their uses in the creation, 349 
 London, compendious description of, 813 
 [jondon, intellectual improvement in, 701 
 Longevity, extraordinary instances of, 110 
 Louse, 328 
 
 Love-letter, and answer, curious 774 
 Luminous insects, 319 
 M 
 
 M‘Avoy, 3Iiss 3Iargaret, 919 
 Maelstrom, 489 
 Magdalen’s hermitage, 575 
 Magic oracle, 845 
 Magical bottle, 851 
 Magical drum, 800 
 Magnetism, 093 
 Magnetic experiments, 848 
 IMagnify, to, stnall objects, 881 
 Mahoni(*tan paradise, 811 
 Maiden, 599 
 
 Mammoth, or Fossil Elephant, found in 
 Siberia, 170 
 
 Man with the iron mask, 727 
 Mandrake, 387 
 
 Marmot, or the Mountain Rat of Switzer- 
 land, 107 
 
 Marriage custom of the Japanese, 004 
 Marriage ceremonies, curious, in dill’erent 
 nations, 002 
 
 Masons, free and accepted, 737 
 Mathematical talent, curious instance of, 93 
 Matrimonial ring, 008 
 Matter, divisibility of, 793 
 May-lly, 340 
 
 Mav poles and garlands, the origin of, 029 
 M emnon, palace; of, 552 
 Memory, remarkable instance of, 80 
 Metals, difierent, to discover, 828 
 Metals, mixed, to detect, 871 
 Metcalf, Jolm, alias Blind Jack of Knarcs- 
 borougb, 900 
 
 Microscopic experiments 859 
 Migration of birds, 253 
 Mills, remarkable, 799 
 Mint of Segovia, 799 
 Miraculous vessel, 852 
 
 Mirage, account of, 521 
 
 Miners, curious effects of, 833 
 
 Mite, the cheese, curiosities respecting, 3S8 
 
 Mock suns, 073 
 
 Mocking l)ird of America, 233 
 
 Mole, the common, 159 
 
 Money, test of good or bad, 834 
 
 Monkey, sagacity of a, 192 
 
 Monsoons, or trade winds, .512 
 
 Monster, 777 
 
 ftlontagne, Edward Wortley, 110 
 Mont Blanc, in .Switz.erland, 427 
 Moon, account of three volcanoes in the, 082 
 Morland, George, account of, 114 
 Moscow, gieat hell of, 720 
 Mosquitoes, and their uses, 355 
 Mourning, ancient modes of, 013 
 Mountains, natural descriptions of, 4UG 
 Mountains Written, Mountains of Inscrip- 
 lion, or Jil)l)el El Mokatteb, 422 
 Mount Snowden, excursion to the top of, 412 
 Mud and Salt, volcanic eruptions of, in the 
 island of Java, 407 
 Murdering statue, 801 
 jMuseum, 500 
 Mushroom, 395 
 Mushroom-stone, 402 
 N 
 
 Names, curious, adopted in the civil war, 772 
 Naphtha springs, 492 
 
 National debt, singular calculation respect- 
 ing, 810 
 
 Natural productions, resembling artificial 
 compositions, 804 
 
 Natural history, curious facts in, 247 
 Nautilus, 197 
 
 Navigation, perfection of, 481 
 
 Needles, 722 
 
 Needle’s eye, 459 
 
 News, origin of the word, 702 
 
 Newspapers, origin of, 702 
 
 New studies in old age, instances of, 763 
 
 New year’s gifts, origin of, 033 
 
 Niagara, and its falls, 485 
 
 Nicholas Pesce, 117 
 
 Nitre caves' of Missouri, 457 
 
 Nokes, Edward, a miser, 888 
 
 N umbers, remarkable instance of skill in, 86 
 
 N umbers, curious arrangements of, 808, 871 
 
 Nuns, particulars respecting, 811 
 
 Nuovo, Monte, 419 
 
 O 
 
 Oak-tree, remarkable account of, 380 
 Oakham, cii>tom at, 630 
 Obelisk, remarkable, near Forres, in Scot 
 land, 573 
 Okey Hole, 458. 
 
 Orang-Outang, 178 
 Origin of ‘ That’s a Bull,’ 035 
 Origin of the old adage respecting St Swi« 
 thin, and rainy weather, 035 
 Ornithorbyiiclius paradoxus, 166 
 Ostrich, curiosities of the, 231 
 Owl, adventure of an, 217 
 
INDEX. 
 
 957 
 
 p 
 
 Paasilippo, 419 
 Peacock, the common, 226 
 r*eak in Derbyshire, deacription of, 409 
 Peeping Tom of Coventry, 740 
 Peg, to make a, to fit three differently shaped 
 holes, 872 
 
 Pelican, the great, 229 
 Penance, curious account of a, 643 
 Performances of a female, blind almost 
 from her infancy, 53 
 
 Persons hern defective in their limbs, won- 
 derful instances of adroitness of, 54 
 Peruke, 783 
 Peru, mines of, 465 
 
 Pesce, Nicholas, extraordinary character 
 of, 117 
 
 Pharos of Alexandria, 549 
 Phosphoric fire, sheet of, 669 
 Phospliorns, 670 
 Pichinca, 415 
 Pico, 422 
 
 Pigeon, wild, its multiplying power, 245 
 Pigeon, carrier, or courier, 244 
 Pin-making, 721 
 Pitch-wells, 468 
 
 Plague, dreadful instances of the, in Eu- 
 rope, 747 
 
 Plant, curious, 386 
 Plants, curious dissemination of, 366 
 Plants upon the earth, prodigious number 
 of, 367 
 
 Plough-Monday, origin of, 632 
 Poison-eater, remarkable account of, 94 
 Pompey’s pillar, ^47 
 Pope Joan, 931 ‘ 
 
 Portland vase, 800 
 Praxiteles’ Venus, 712 
 Praying machines of Kalmuck, 642 
 Price, Charles, the renowned swindler, 
 889 
 
 Prince Rupert’s drops, 853 
 Prolificness, extraordinary instances of, 37 
 Psalmanazar, Geori’e, noted impostor, 112 
 Pulpit, ’curious, 801 
 Pyramids of Egypt, 544 
 
 Q 
 
 Quaint lines. 772 
 
 Queen Charlotte, curious address to, 769 
 Queen, a blacksmith’s wife become a, 749 
 Queen Ell/aheth’s dinner, curious account 
 of the c.eremonies at, 749 
 Queen Eli/ab;th, quaint lines on, 772 
 R 
 
 Recreations, amusing, in optics, &c. 873 to 
 882 
 
 Recieations, amusing, with numbers, 820 
 to 827 
 
 Religion, celebrated speech on, 944 
 Reproduction, 781 
 Repulsion, examples of, 837 
 Respiration, interesting facts couucraing,2G 
 Revivified rose, 858 
 Rhinoceros, 162 
 
 Rings, on the origin of, 606 
 Rosin bubbles, 851 
 Royal progenitors, 744 
 Ruin at Siwa in Egypt, 534 
 S 
 
 Salutation, various modes of, 598 
 Sand-floods, account of, 521 
 Savage, Richard, extraordinary charaotor 
 of, 128 
 
 Scaliot’s lock, 712 
 
 Scarron, Paul, account of, 119 
 
 Schurrman, Anna Maria, 123 
 
 Scorpion, 213 
 
 Sea, curiosities of the, 471 
 
 Sea, on the saltness of, 476 
 
 Sea, to measure the depth of the, 829 
 
 Sea serpent, American, 218 
 
 Seal, common account of, 180 
 
 Seal, ursine, 181 
 
 Seeds, germination of, 365 
 
 Sensibility of plants, 368 
 
 Sensitive plant, 369 
 
 Seraglio, 564 
 
 Serpents, fascinating power of, 219 
 Sexes, difTerence between the, 34 
 Sexes at birth, comparative number ofthe, 36 
 Shark, 198 
 
 Sheep, extraordinarv adventures of ono, 
 190 
 
 Shelton oak, description of, 382 
 Ship worm, 224 
 
 Ship at sea, to find the burden of a, 829 
 Shoes, curiosities resjiccting, 724 
 Shoe-makers, literary, 764 
 Shower of gossamers, curious phenomenon 
 of a, 523 
 Shrovetide, 630 
 Silk-mill at Derby, 800 
 Silk stockings, electricity of, 842 
 Silkworm, 220 
 Singular curiosity, 405 
 Skiddaw, 414 
 Sleep-walker, 69 * 
 
 Sleeping woman of Dunninald, 70 
 Smeaton, John, 113 
 Sneezing, curious observations on, 33 
 Snow grotto, 45 1 
 Solfatara, the lake of, 488 
 Sound, experiments on, 840 
 Spectacle of a sea-fight at Rome, 711 
 Spectacles, a substitute for, 807 
 Spectre of the Broken, 420 
 Spider, curiosities of the, 314 
 Spider, tamed. 316 
 Spider, ingenuity of a, 316 
 Spider, curious anecdote of a, 318 
 Spirit.H of wine, to ascertain the strength oC, 
 839 
 
 S|>ontaneous inflammations, 786 
 .Sport.s, book of, 7()6 
 ’Squire, old English, 925 
 Stalk, animated, 392 
 .Star, frdling or shooting, 401 
 Stephenson, the eccentric. 895 
 
958 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Steel, to melt, 830 
 
 Stick, to break a, on two wine-glasses, 871 
 
 Stone, tlie meteoric, 401 
 
 Stone, the Labrador, 402 
 
 Stone, the changeable, 404 
 
 Stone-eater, rtinarkable account of, 94 
 
 Stonehenge, 592 
 
 Storks, 229 
 
 Storm, singular effects of a, 519 
 Strasburg clock, 705 
 Sugar, antiquity of, 390 
 Sulphur mountains, 424 
 Sun, diminution of the, 673 
 Sun, spots in the, 671 — to shew ditto, 852 
 Surgical operation, extraordinarjr, 791 
 Swine’s concert, 750 
 Sword-swallowing, 62 
 Sympathetic inks, 853 to 857 
 T 
 
 Tallow-tree, 378 
 Tantalus’ cup, 852 
 Tape-worm, 222 
 
 Tea, Chinese method of preparing, 388 
 Telegraph, 7 08 
 
 Temple of Tentira, in Egypt, 550 
 
 Tenures, curious, 628 
 
 Thermometrical ex|)eriments, 863 
 
 Thermometer, moral and physical, 817 
 
 Thread burnt, tiot broken, 844 
 
 Thunder powder, 836 
 
 Thunder rod, 654 
 
 Tides, 479 
 
 Titles of books, 755 
 
 Toad, common, description of, 161 
 
 Topham, Thomas, character of, 115 
 
 Tornado, description of a, 510 
 
 Torpedo, 200 
 
 Tortoise, the common, 176 
 
 Tree of Diana, 852 
 
 Trees, account of a country, in which the 
 inhabitants reside in, 45 
 U 
 
 Unbeliever’s creed, 776 
 Unfortunate artificer, 745 
 Unicorn, 179 
 Upas, or poison free, 383 
 
 V 
 
 Valentine’s-day, origin of, 632 
 
 Van Butchell, Ulrs. preservation of her 
 corpse, 902 
 
 Vegetable kingdom, curiosities in the, 363 
 Vegetables, number of known, 367 
 Vegetable fly, 341 
 Velocity of the wind, 517 
 Ventriloquism, 58 
 Vesuvius, 434, 947 
 Vicar of Bray, 748 
 Voltaic pile, to make « cheap, 847 
 Vulture, Egyptian, 228 
 Vulture, secretary, 228 
 W 
 
 Wasp, curiosities respecting the, 285 
 
 Watch, the mysterious, 835 
 
 Watches, invention of, 707 
 
 Water, to boil without heat, 835 
 
 Water, to weigh, 834 
 
 Water, to retain, in an inverted glass, 835 
 
 Waterspout, 663 
 
 Waves stilled by oil, 480 
 
 Weaving engine, 712 
 
 Whale, great northern, oi Greenland, 204 
 
 Whale fishery, 208 
 
 Whig and Tory, explanation of the terms, 
 776 
 
 Whirlpool near Sudero, 489 
 Whirlwinds of Egypt, 509 
 Whis{^ring places, and extraordinary 
 echoes, 802 
 Whitehead’s ship, 712 
 Whittington, Sir Richard, 932 
 Wild man, account of a, 76 
 Wind, velocity of, 517 
 Winds, remarkable, in Egypt, 507 
 Wine cellar, curious, 799 
 Winter in Russia, 524 
 Wolbv, Henry, extraordinary character of, 
 105 
 
 Women with beards, curious account of, 32 
 Wooden eagle, and iron fly, 711 
 Writing, origin of the materials of, 751 
 Writing, minute, 753 
 X 
 
 Xerxes’ bridge of boats over the Hellos^ 
 pont, 586 
 
 Z 
 
 Zeoxis, celebrated painter, 116