Chapter XV: Part 15

The watch is of silver, in the form of a skull. On the forehead of the skull is the figure of Death, with his scythe and sand-glass; he stands between a palace on the one hand, and a cottage on the other, with his toes applied equally to the door of each, and around this is the legend from Horace "_Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres_." On the opposite, or posterior part of the skull, is a representation of Time, devouring all things. He also has a scythe, and near him is the serpent with its tail in its mouth, being an emblem of eternity; this is surrounded by another legend from Horace, "_Tempus edax rerum tuque invidiosa vetustas_." The upper part of the skull is divided into two compartments: on one is represented our first parents in the garden of Eden, attended by some of the animals, with the motto, "_Peccando perditionem miseriam aeternam posteris meruere_." The opposite compartment is filled with the subject of the salvation of lost man by the crucifixion of our Saviour, who is represented as suffering between the two thieves, whilst the Mary's are in adoration below; the motto to this is "_Sic justitiae satisfecit, mortem superavit salutem comparavit_." Running below these compartments on both sides, there is an open work of about an inch in width, to permit the sound to come more freely out when the watch strikes. This is formed of emblems belonging to the crucifixion, scourges of various kinds, swords, the flagon and cup of the Eucharist, the cross, pincers, lantern used in the garden, spears of different kinds, and one with the sponge on its point, thongs, ladder, the coat without seam, and the dice that were thrown for it, the hammer and nails, and the crown of thorns. Under all these is the motto, "_Scala caeli ad gloriam via_."

The watch is opened by reversing the skull, and placing the upper part of it in the hollow of the hand, and then lifting the under jaw which rises on a hinge. Inside, on the plate, which thus may be called the lid, is a representation of the Holy Family in the stable, with the infant Jesus laid in the manger, and angels ministering to him; in the upper part an angel is seen descending with a scroll on which is written, "_Gloria excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae volu----_" In the distance are the shepherds with their flocks, and one of the men is in the act of performing on a cornemuse. The works of the watch occupy the position of the brains in the skull itself, the dial plate being on a flat where the roof of the mouth and the parts behind it under the base of the brain, are to be found in the real subject. The dial plate is of silver, and it is fixed within a golden circle richly carved in a scroll pattern. The hours are marked in large Roman letters, and within them is the figure of Saturn devouring his children, with this relative legend round the outer rim of the flat, "_Sicut meis sic et omnibus idem_."

Lifting up the body of the works on the hinges by which they are attached, they are found to be wonderfully entire. There is no date, but the maker's name, with the place of manufacture, "Moyse, Blois," are distinctly engraven. Blois was the place where it is believed watches were first made, and this suggests the probability of the opinion that the watch was expressly ordered by Queen Mary at Blois, when she went there with her husband, the Dauphin, previous to his death. The watch appears to have been originally constructed with catgut, instead of the chain which it now has, which must have been a more modern addition. It is now in perfect order, and performs wonderfully well, though it requires to be wound up within twenty-six hours to keep it going with tolerable accuracy. A large silver bell, of very musical sound, fills the entire hollow of the skull, and receives the works within it when the watch is shut; a small hammer set in motion by a separate escapement, strikes the hours on it.

This very curious relic must have been intended to occupy a stationary place on a _prie-dieu_, or small altar in a private oratory, for its weight is much too great to have admitted of its having been carried in any way attached to the person.

A MONSTER.

It is almost incredible that such a monster, as the one we are about to describe should have been allowed to continue his wicked career for some years, in a civilized country like France, little more than a hundred years ago, but the following paragraph is copied from a Paris journal of that period--1755, January the 17th--and there is every reason to believe that it is strictly correct. "What was his fate we do not know, but can hardly doubt.--The Marquis de Plumartin, whose execrable crimes are known over all France, has at last been taken in his castle, by 300 men of the King's Own regiment of foot, and carried to Poitiers, loaded with irons. The king is going to appoint a commission to try him. This monster turned away his wife some years ago, and became the terror of Poitou. Neither woman nor man durst appear in the neighbourhood. Having one day lost a cause in one of the king's courts, he caused the usher and his man, who came to intimate the sentence to him, to be burnt alive. Some days after, having drawn six of his creditors into his castle, where he had shut himself up with several of his crew, he ordered some of his people to drag them into a pond, tied to the tails of horses, and afterwards fastened them to a stake near a great fire, where three expired, and the other three died a few days after. Thirty of the Marshalsea guards, who were sent to apprehend him, having beset his castle, he barricaded the doors and fired on them from the garret window, killing the commanding officer and five others. After which he left the kingdom, but absurdly imagining that his crimes were forgot, he lately returned."

PERSEVERANCE REWARDED BY FORTUNE.

We have copied the following paragraph from the pages of a local historian, because it gives us a striking instance of what perseverance and good fortune will accomplish, in raising a man to comparative distinction from the humblest walks of life.

August 26, 1691--Sir John Duck, bart., departed this life, being Wednesday at night, and was buried upon the Monday after, being the 31st of August. The wealthiest burgess on the civic annals of Durham. Of Sir John's birth, parentage, and education, the two first have hitherto remained veiled in impenetrable obscurity; as to the third, he was bred a butcher under John Heslop, in defiance of the trade and mystery of butchers, in whose books a record still exists, warning John Heslop that he forbear to sett John Ducke on worke in the trade of a butcher. John Duck however grew rich, married the daughter of his benefactor, and was created a baronet by James II. He built a splendid mansion in Silver-street, where a panel still exists recording his happy rise to fortune. The baronet, then humble Duck, cast out by the butchers, stands near a bridge in an attitude of despondency; in the air is seen a raven bearing in his bill a piece of silver, which according to tradition fell at the feet of the lucky John, and was naturally calculated to make a strong impression on his mind. He bought a calf, which calf became a cow, and which cow being sold enabled John to make further purchases in cattle, and from such slender beginnings, to realise a splendid fortune. On the right of the picture is a view of his mansion in Silver-street, and he seems to point at another, which is presumed to be the hospital he endowed at Lumley. He died without issue, and was buried at St. Margaret's, where his wife, Pia---- Prudens---- Felix, lies buried beside him.

On Duck the Butchers shut the door;
But Heslop's Daughter Johnny wed:
In mortgage rich, in offspring poor,
Nor son nor daughter crown'd his bed.

TRAVELLING IN THE UNITED STATES EXACTLY ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

The American advertisement, of which we here give a literal copy, is deserving of preservation on account of the quaintness of the inn-signs, the peculiarity of the spelling and diction, the "shifting" of the passengers which it announces, and the general idea it gives us of the way in which travelling was performed in America at the time when it was issued.

Philadelphia STAGE-WAGGON, and New-York STAGE BOAT
performs their Stages twice a Week.

JOHN BUTLER, with his waggon, sets out on Mondays from his House, at the Sign of the Death of the Fox, in Strawberry ally, and drives the same day to Trenton Ferry, when Francis Holman meets him, and proceeds on Tuesday to Brunswick, and the passengers and goods being shifted into the waggon of Isaac Fitzrandolph, he takes them to the New Blazing-Star to Jacob Fitzrandolph's the same day, where Rubin Fitzrandolph, with a boat well suted, will receive them, and take them to New-York that night. John Butler returning to Philadelphia on Tuesday with the passengers and goods delivered to him by Francis Holman, will again set out for Trenton Ferry on Thursday, and Francis Holman, &c. will carry his passengers and goods, with the same expedition as above to New-York.

_Weekly Mercury._

March 8, 1759.

FETE OF THE FEDERATION. PARIS 1790.

Fete of the Federation.]

The leading events of the great Revolution in France, may be fairly classed with the marvellous, and among our "Ten Thousand Wonderful Things" there will be found few more wonderful than the civic festival of the general federation of the National Guards of France, which took place on the 14th of July, 1790, and of which the above is a correct representation, taken from a view by Duplessis Bertaux. The proceedings of that memorable day had in them a mixture of religious celebration apparently singular among a people who had lately so much trampled on religion; but as this celebration was more pagan than Christian in its character, the singularity becomes less marked. On the preceding evening, a _Hierodrame_ was performed at the cathedral of Notre Dame--a kind of sacred drama, made up by M. Desaugiers of scraps from the Bible mixed with other matter, and set to music; it professed to tell the story of the taking of the Bastille, and to typify the sadness, trouble, confusion, joy, and alarm of the Parisians. Then succeeded a _Te Deum_, chanted in presence of some of the principal federal and municipal bodies. Early in the morning of the 14th, amid dense clouds and heavy rain, the National Guards from all the eighty-three departments of France, together with deputations from the state army and navy, began to assemble, and speedily formed an immense line from the Porte St. Antoine to the Porte St. Martin; whence they marched, with bands playing and colours flying, to the Champ de Mars, regaled and cheered by the Parisians on the route. On reaching the great square of the Tuileries, the procession was headed by the municipality of Paris and the members of the National Assembly, and followed by a body of gray-headed veterans. The procession traversed the Seine by one of the bridges, greeted by salvos of artillery drawn up on the quays, and entered the Champ de Mars under a triumphal arch almost hidden by flags and patriotic inscriptions. One o'clock had arrived before the various bodies forming the procession had taken their destined places in the enclosed parallelogram, surrounded by nearly 300,000 spectators on the raised terraces, most of whom were by this time drenched by the continuous rain. In the centre of the area was a lofty altar, half pagan, half Catholic in its adornments; and around this altar the provincial National Guards danced and sang in very excited fashion. The royal family appeared at three o'clock. In an immense gallery near the altar, the National Assembly were seated, with the king and the president on two chairs of state exactly equal in height and richness, and the queen and the rest of the court seated behind--a significant interpretation of the decree just announced. At the instant of the king taking his seat, the air was rent with cries of _Vive le Roi! Vive la Nation!_ The banners were unfurled; 1,800 musicians burst forth with jubilant strains; cannon poured out continuous volleys; Talleyrand, as bishop of Autun, assisted by sixty chaplains of the Paris National Guards, performed mass at the altar; and the banners were blessed by sprinkling with holy-water. Then Lafayette, dismounting from his white charger, received from the hands of the king a written form of oath; he swore to this oath at the altar, and with his raised arm gave a signal for the countless host to do likewise--every one raising his right hand, and saying _Je le jure!_ The king took the oath prescribed to him; and the queen held up the dauphin in her arms, as if to denote that he also, poor child, had sworn to defend the national liberties. At five o'clock the royal family retired, and the crowd began to leave the Champ de Mars. Twenty-five thousand federates or provincial deputies went to a royal chateau about a mile distant, where a dinner had been prepared for them by order of the municipality of Paris, with Lafayette as chairman of the banquet. At night all Paris was illuminated; and for three or four days the feastings, reviews, and celebrations were numerous, including a grand dance on the site of the demolished Bastille. On the 18th, Lafayette reviewed the provincial or federate National Guards, and on the 19th they were reviewed by the king. Paris was intoxicated for an entire week, each man displaying at once his delight and his vanity.

A MAN CARRIES HIS HOUSE ON HIS HEAD.

Simeon Ellerton, of Craike, Durham, died 1799, aged 104. This man, in his day, was a noted pedestrian, and before the establishment of regular "Posts," was frequently employed in walking commissions, from the northern counties to London and other places, which he executed with singular fidelity and despatch. He lived in a neat stone cottage of his own erecting; and what is remarkable, he had literally carried his house on his head; it being his constant practice to bring back with him from every journey which he undertook, some suitable stone, or other material for his purpose, and which, not unfrequently, he carried 40 or 50 miles on his head.

IGNORANCE AND FEAR.

In the year 1712, Whiston predicted that the comet would appear on Wednesday, 14th October, at five minutes after five in the morning, and that the world would be destroyed by fire on the Friday following. His reputation was high, and the comet appeared. A number of persons got into boats and barges on the Thames, thinking the water the safest place. South Sea and India stock fell. A captain of a Dutch ship threw all his powder into the river, that the ship might not be endangered. At noon, after the comet had appeared, it is said that more than one hundred clergymen were ferried over to Lambeth, to request that proper prayers might be prepared, there being none in the church service. People believed that the day of judgment was at hand, and acted some on this belief, more as if some temporary evil was to be expected. There was a prodigious run on the bank, and Sir Gilbert Heathcote, at that time the head director, issued orders to all the fire offices in London, requiring them to keep a good look out, and have a particular eye upon the Bank of England.

ARABIAN HORSES.

It is a singular circumstance, that it is to the Arabian that England is indebted for her improved, and now unrivalled, breed of horses for the turf, the field, and the road.

The Arabian horses are divided into two great branches; the Kadischi whose descent is unknown, and the Kochlani, of whom a written genealogy has been kept for 2000 years. These last are reserved for riding solely, they are highly esteemed and consequently very dear. They are said to derive their origin from King Solomon's studs. However this may be they are fit to bear the greatest fatigues, and can pass whole days without food. They are also said to show uncommon courage against an enemy. It is even asserted, that when a horse of this race finds himself wounded and unable to bear his rider much longer, he retires from the fray, and conveys him to a place of security. If the rider falls upon the ground, his horse remains beside him, and neighs till assistance is brought. The Kochlani are neither large nor handsome but amazingly swift. The whole race is divided into several families, each of which has its proper name. Some of these have a higher reputation than others on account of their more ancient and uncontaminated nobility.

We may not believe, perhaps, all that is told us of the Arabian. It has been remarked that there are, on the deserts which his horse traverses, no milestones to mark the distance, or watch to calculate the time; and the Bedouin is naturally given to exaggeration, and most of all when relating the prowess of the animal which he loves as dearly as his children; yet it cannot be denied that at the introduction of the Arabian into the European stables, there was no other horse comparable to him.

HEAD-QUARTERS OF PRINCE RUPERT AT EVERTON, DURING THE SIEGE OF LIVERPOOL, IN 1644.

Prince Rupert, assisted by the Earl of Derby, having taken Bolton by storm, and refreshed his army there for some days, advanced on Liverpool, where the Parliament had a strong garrison under the command of Colonel More, of Bank-hall; and finding on his approach to the town, the high ground near it favourable to his design, compared it to a crow's nest, probably imagining it would be taken with as little difficulty; but the resistance he met with, induced him to declare it was more like an eagle's nest, or a den of lions.

Head-Quarters of Prince Rupert.]

The siege began about the 2nd of June, and the view exhibits his head-quarters from that time till the reduction of the place. His main camp was established round the beacon, about a mile from the town, and his officers were placed in the adjoining villages, from whence a detachment marched every day, being relieved every twenty-four hours, to open trenches and erect batteries. From these advances Prince Rupert frequently attacked the besieged and their works in the way of storm, but was constantly repulsed with great slaughter of his men. At length, Colonel More, finding the town must of necessity surrender, and desirous of ingratiating himself with the Prince, for the preservation of his house and effects at Bank Hall, gave such orders for his soldiers to retire, that the works on the enemy's side were abandoned, and the royalists entered the town at three o'clock in the morning of June 26, putting to the sword all they met with, till they arrived at the High Cross, which then stood on the site where the Exchange now stands. Here the soldiers of the Castle, drawn up in line, beat a parley, and demanded quarter, which, on their submitting as prisoners of war, and surrendering the Castle to the Prince, was granted. The soldiers were then sent to the tower, St. Nicholas's Church, and other places of security; but the Parliament-army, soon after the siege, repossessed themselves of the Castle, and appointed Col. Birch, as governor.

FIRE AT BURWELL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 1727.

Some strollers brought down a puppet-show, which was exhibited in a large thatched barn. Just as the show was about to begin, an idle fellow attempted to thrust himself in without paying, which the people of the show preventing, a quarrel ensued. After some altercation, the fellow went away, and the door being made fast, all was quiet; but the same man, to gain admittance privately, got over a heap of hay and straw, which stood near to the barn, and accidentally set it on fire. The spectators of the show, alarmed by the flames, which had communicated to the barn, rushed to the door; but it happened unfortunately that it opened inwards, and the crowd pressing violently against the door, there could be no escape. Thus the whole company, consisting of more than 160 persons, were kept confined till the roof fell in, and covered them with fire and smoke: six only escaped with life; the rest, among whom were several young ladies of fortune, were reduced to one undistinguishable heap of mangled bodies, totally disfigured. The friends of the dead, not knowing which were the remains they sought, caused a large hole to be dug in the churchyard, and all the bodies were promiscuously interred together, and a tablet erected in the church to perpetuate this most melancholy event.

AN APPARENT SINGULARITY ACCOUNTED FOR.

It is generally well known that birds are very active agents in the extension of vegetation, and that fruit and flowers are, to a great extent, rendered prolific by the insects which visit their blossoms; but few people are aware of the means through which fish are formed in lakes and ponds, which are not connected with other waters. Here, also, an insect is the principal agent. The large water-beetle, which is in the habit of feeding upon the spawn of fish, occasionally in the evening climbs up the stems of rushes, &c. out of the water, sufficiently high to enable it to take wing; in these circumstances it has been caught, and, putting it into water, has been found to give out the spawn with which it had gorged itself previous to taking flight, both in a digested and undigested state; so that, on trial, it has been found that it produced fish of various kinds.

EUROPEAN BALANCING EQUAL TO THE INDIAN JUGGLERS.

The astonishing dexterity of the Indian jugglers is known to all, but many years ago a Spaniard named Cadenas made himself equal, if not superior to them. He may be truly said to be superior to them, inasmuch as several of his feats have never been attempted by them. Don Cadenas extended himself flat on his back on a large table. He then elevated his legs until they were at right angles with his body; he was assisted in keeping this position by a sort of pyramidal cushion, which was placed under him, a little below the lower end of his back. His feet and ankles were covered with boots, on which were many small castanets and little bells. The tranca, which is a round piece of wood, about 8 feet long and five inches in diameter, handsomely painted, was then laid horizontally on the soles of his feet, his legs being perpendicular. Having exactly balanced the tranca, he alternately struck his feet against it, the castanets, &c., keeping time with the music. In proportion to the strength with which he struck the tranca, with one foot or both feet, was the height to which he elevated it, always catching it, in its descent, with great accuracy, on the soles of his feet. Sometimes by bending his knees and then striking out with his limbs, he threw the tranca several feet into the air, catching it, in its descent, on his feet, with as much neatness and more certainty than the Indian jugglers used to catch the brass balls in their hands. He concluded the performance with the tranca, by exactly balancing it on the sole of his left foot, and then by repeated strokes of his right foot set it rapidly in motion like a horizontal fly-wheel.

MOB-WISDOM.

A singular instance of a mob cheating themselves by their own headlong impetuosity, is to be found in the life of Woodward, the comedian. On one occasion, when he was in Dublin, and lodged opposite the Parliament House, a mob who were making the members swear to oppose an unpopular bill, called out to his family to throw them a Bible out of the window. Mr. W. was frightened, for they had no such book in the house, but he threw out a volume of Shakespere, telling the mob they were welcome to it. They gave him three cheers, swore the members upon this book, and afterwards returned it without discovering its contents.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ANIMALS.

The means by which animals contrive to communicate their ideas to each other is a phenomenon which has never been satisfactorily explained. The two following instances of it are very curious. A gentleman who was in the habit of occasionally visiting London from a distant county performed the journey on horseback, accompanied by a favourite little terrier dog, which he left at an inn at some distance from London till his return. On one occasion on calling for his dog the landlady told him that it was lost; it had had a quarrel with the great house dog, and had been so worried and bit that it was thought he would never recover, but at the end of a few days he crawled out of the yard, and no one saw him for almost a week, when he returned with another dog bigger than his enemy, on whom they both fell and nearly destroyed him. This dog had actually travelled to its own home at Whitmore in Staffordshire, had coaxed away the great dog in question, which followed him to St. Alban's to assist in resenting the injury of his friend. The following story is related of a little spaniel which had been found lame by a surgeon at Leeds. He carried the poor animal home, bandaged up his leg, and after two or three days turned him out. The dog returned to the surgeon's house every morning till his leg was perfectly well. At the end of several months, the spaniel again presented himself in company with another dog, which had also been lamed; and he intimated, as well as piteous and intelligent looks could intimate, that he desired the same assistance to be rendered to his friend as had been bestowed upon himself. The combination of ideas in this case, growing out of the recollection of his own injury, and referring that to the cure which had been performed; the compassion he had for his friend to whom he communicated the occurrence, and induced to seek relief under his guidance, together with the appeal to the humane surgeon, is as extraordinary a piece of sagacity as can be found in all the annals of animals.

STRANGE CUSTOM ABOUT NAMES.

The following anecdote forcibly illustrates the absurd custom which prevailed many years ago in America, of giving children names, made up of Scripture sentences. We record the anecdote as being descriptive of a curious local custom. About the beginning of the present century a New England sea captain having some business at a public office, which required him to sign his name, was rather tedious in performing the operation, which did not escape the observation of the officer, who was a little impatient at the delay, and curious withal to see what sort of a name it could be that required so long a time to spread it upon paper. Perhaps the captain had a long string of titles to grace it, such as honorable, esquire, colonel of militia, selectman of the town of ----, &c., which he chose to make an ostentatious parade of; or perhaps it was his whim to subscribe the place of his nativity and that of his residence, together with his age, height, and complexion. He was mistaken; for the captain had subscribed nothing but simply his name, which, when he had done, the officer, after some trouble in decyphering, found to read thus:--Through-Much-Tribulation-We-Enter-Into-the-Kingdom-of-Heaven Clapp. "Will you please to tell me, Captain Clapp," said he, with as demure a face as his violent inclination to indulge in a hearty laugh would allow him to put on, "what might your mother have called you in your infancy, to save herself the trouble of repeating a sermon whenever she had occasion to name her darling?" "Why, sir," replied Captain Clapp, with laughable simplicity, "when I was little they used to call me Tribby, for shortness."

DRESS IN LONDON DURING THE LAST CENTURY.

The seven illustrations which accompany this article represent the progress of dress in London from 1690 to 1779. They speak for themselves, and tell their own tale far better than any description in words could tell it for them. The scale in society to which the persons depicted in the engravings belong, is what may be called the upper middle class, and we thus obtain a more correct idea of the general style of dress, than we should have done had we confined our observations solely to the higher ranks.

It is, however, very curious to notice the value placed upon dress during the period indicated; and how frequently its loss is recorded. Thus we find it mentioned that Lady Anderson, whose house was robbed at a fire in Red Lion Square in 1700, lost a gown of orange damask, lined with, striped silk. The family of George Heneage, Esq., at the same time, and by the same casualty, lost "_a head_, with very fine looped lace of very great value, a Flanders' laced hood, a pair of double ruffles and tuckers, two laced aprons, one edged with point lace, and a large black scarf embroidered with gold." At the same period the ladies wore Holland petticoats, embroidered in figures with different coloured silks and gold, with broad orrice at the bottom. In 1702 diamond stomachers adorned the ladies; they were composed of that valuable stone set in silver, and sewed in a variety of figures upon black silk. The men imported the Champaign wig from France. They were made very full, curled, and eighteen inches in length to the point, with drop locks. In the _Post Boy_, of November 15, 1709, there were advertised as stolen, "A black silk petticoat, with red and white calico border, cherry-coloured stays, trimmed with blue and silver, a red and dove-coloured damask gown, flowered with large trees; a yellow satin apron, trimmed with white Persian, and muslin head-clothes, with crow-foot edging; a black silk furbelowed scarf, and a spotted hood." Black and beaver hats for ladies were advertised in 1719, faced with coloured silks, and trimmed with gold and silver lace. A man of fashion in 1720 wore the full flowing curled wig, which fell in ringlets half-way down his arms and back, a laced coat, straight, formal, with buttons to the very bottom, and several on the pockets and sleeves; his shoes were square at the toes, had diminutive buckles, a monstrous flap on the instep, and high heels, a belt secured the coat and supported the sword. Perukes were a highly important article of dress in 1734. Fans were much used, ladies seldom appeared without this useful ornament in their hands. The hoop underwent many important changes; sometimes it projected at the sides only, or, like its ancestor, the fardingale, it spread itself all round in imposing majesty. High-heeled shoes maintained their place. In 1740 tight sleeves with full ruffles, small pointed waists, enclosed in whalebone, loose gowns, called sacques, and cloaks with hoods, named cardinals, were _la grande monde_. Among the gentlemen's costumes, the most striking was the _Ramilies_ tail, which was a plaited tail to the wig, with an immense bow at the top and one at the bottom. Claret coloured clothes were considered as handsome; and light blue with silver button-holes, and silver garters to the knees, was very fashionable between 1740 and 1751. The change to wearing the natural hair instead of wigs took place about 1765. From that date the female dress altered by degrees: the cap was enlarged to an enormous size, and the bonnet swelled in proportion. Hoops were entirely discontinued. Hats and bonnets of straw, chip, and beaver, became well proportioned, and velvet pelisses, shawls and silk spencers were contrived to improve rather than injure the form. The male dress also insensibly changed from formality to ease, and thus, by degrees, the fashion became what our illustrations represent it to have been in 1779.

ATTAR OF ROSES.

Lieutenant Colonel Polier gives a full history of extracting this essential oil, in vol i. p. 332, of the _Asiatic Researches_. The roses grow, cultivated near Lucknow, in fields of eleven acres each. The oil is procured by distillation; the petals of the flowers only are used; and in that country no more than a quantity of about two drachms can be procured from an hundred-weight of rose leaves, and even that in a favourable season, and by the process being performed with the utmost care. The oil is by accident of different colours; of a bright yellow, of a reddish hue, and a fine emerald. It is to the mother of Mebrul Nessa Begum, afterwards called Nourjehan Begum, or, _Light of the World_, that the fair sex is indebted for this discovery. On this occasion the emperor of Hindostan rewarded the inventress with a string of valuable pearls. Nourjehan Begum was the favourite wife of Jehangir, and her game the fiercest of India. In a hunting party she killed four tigers with a matchlock, from her elephant, and her spouse was so delighted at her skill, that he made her a present of a pair of emerald bracelets, valued at a lack of rupees, and bestowed in charity a thousand mohurs.

FLEET MARRIAGES ABOUT 1740.

Many of the early Fleet weddings were _really_ performed at the chapel of the Fleet; but as the practice extended, it was found more convenient to have other places within the Rules of the Fleet, (added to which the Warden was compelled by act of parliament not to suffer them,) and thereupon many of the Fleet parsons and tavern-keepers in the neighbourhood fitted up a room in their respective lodgings or houses as a chapel. The parsons took the fees, allowing a portion to the plyers, &c., and the tavern-keepers, besides sharing in the fees, derived a profit from the sale of liquors which the wedding party drank. In some instances the tavern-keepers kept a parson on their establishment at a weekly salary of twenty shillings; while others, upon a wedding-party arriving, sent for any clergyman they might please to employ, and divided the fee with him. Most of the taverns near the Fleet kept their own registers, in which (as well as in their own books,) the parsons entered the weddings.

EFFECTS OF THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.

The earthquake happened on November the 1st, 1755, and its sphere of action embraced many cities and states. St. Ubes was totally destroyed. At Cadiz the sea broke down the outer wall, flooded the town, and drowned some hundreds of persons. The Cathedral of Seville was seriously damaged, several houses overthrown, and many persons injured. The shock was felt, indeed, throughout the whole of Spain, except in Catalonia, and also in Germany. In many parts of Great Britain the water in lakes and ponds was violently upheaved, and ebbed and flowed over the banks. A solemn Fast was consequently commanded to be observed on the 6th of February next ensuing, in the hope to avert, by prayer and penitence, a similar calamity from this country. A ship at sea, 100 leagues to the westward of Lisbon, had her cabin windows shattered to fragments, and many vessels in deep water quivered as if they had struck against a rock. In Morocco the effects of the shock were most disastrous. In Mequinez two-thirds of the houses were destroyed, and above 300 in Fez. A caravan of 200 persons going along the coast from Sallee to Morocco were overwhelmed by the sea, and a still more numerous caravan was swept away by the sudden rise of the inland rivers. In France and Holland earthquakes were repeatedly felt during the entire month of November, and occasionally even in December.

SNAKE-CHARMERS.

In the East Indies, the Pambatees, or snake-charmers, come from the mountains called the Ghauts. They make a trade of catching serpents, training them and exhibiting them for money. These reptiles are commonly the _cobra-di-capello_, the hooded or spectacle serpent, and of other similar species. A Pambatee will sometimes carry eight or more of them in a low round basket, in which the serpents lie coiled round one another.

As soon as the lid is removed from the basket, the serpent creeps out of it. The master plays on an instrument somewhat resembling the bagpipe, and the snakes are taught to mark the cadence by the motion of their heads, till at length they fall asleep. In order to rouse them, the Pambatee suspends his music and shakes a ring round his arm to which a piece of red cloth is fastened. The irritated serpent darts at the ring; but as the master has taken care to extract the pouch containing the poison, and to file his teeth, he can do no harm.

Snake-Charmer.]

The musical instrument just mentioned is called _magootee_. It is composed of a hollow calebash, to one end of which is fitted a mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. To the other extremity is adapted a tube perforated with several holes, which are successively stopped by the fingers, like those of the flute, while the player blows into the mouthpiece. In the middle of the instrument is a small mirror, on which the serpents fix their eyes while dancing. The above engraving will convey a correct idea of the Pambatee and his instrument.

WONDERFUL ESCAPE.

In 1785, at Winster, in Derbyshire, a show being exhibited at a public-house, some gunpowder being scattered on the floor of an upper chamber, took fire, and communicated to the remainder of a barrel, by which the whole upper part of the house was blown up; about sixty persons were below, and not one hurt.

FAC-SIMILE OF THE FIRST STEAM BOAT.

First Steam Boat.]

The triumph of steam navigation is one of the wonders of science; and, traversed in all directions as the navigable waters of the earth now are, by vessels propelled by steam, it is not a little curious to look at the first rude effort, and to examine the attempt which has been followed by such extraordinary success.

The world stands indebted, not for the discovery, but for the successful application of steam power to navigation, to Robert Fulton, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1765, being the son of a poor Irish labourer who had emigrated to America. He came to London in 1786, and subsequently, in the character of an inventor and projector, proceeded to Paris, where, however, he did not meet with much success or encouragement. It is evident, from the following letter to a friend, that while residing in the French capital, that his attention was even then turned to the subject of propelling vessels by mechanical power:--

Paris, the 20th of September, 1802.

TO MR. FULNER SKIPWITH.

Sir,--The expence of a patent in France is 300 livers for three years, 800 ditto for ten years, and 1500 ditto for fifteen years; there can be no difficulty in obtaining a patent for the mode of propelling a boat which you have shewn me; but if the author of the model wishes to be assured of the mirits of his invention before he goes to the expence of a patent, I advise him to make the model of a boat, in which he can place a clock spring which will give about eight revolutions; he can then combine the movements so as to try oars, paddles, and the leaves which he proposes; if he finds that the leaves drive the boat a greater distance in the same time than either oars or paddles, they consequently are a better application of power. About eight years ago the Earl of Stanhope tried an experiment on similar leaves in Greenland Dock, London, but without success. I have also tried experiments on similar leaves, wheels, oars, paddles, and flyars similar to those of a smoak jack, and found oars to be the best. The velocity with which a boat moves, is in proportion as the sum of the surfaces of the oars, paddles, leaves, or other machine is to the bow of the boat presented to the water, and in proportion to the power with which such machinery is put in motion; hence, if the sum of the surfaces of the oars is equal to the sum of the surfaces of the leaves, and they pass through similar curves in the same time, the effect must be the same; but oars have this advantage, they return through air to make a second stroke, and hence create very little resistance; whereas the leaves return through water, and add considerably to the resistance, which resistance is increased as the velocity of the boat is augmented: no kind of machinery can create power; all that can be done is to apply the manuel or other power to the best advantage. If the author of the model is fond of mechanics, he will be much amused, and not lose his time, by trying the experiments in the manner I propose, and this perhaps is the most prudent measure, before a patent is taken.

I am, Sir, with much respect, yours,

ROBT. FULTON.

In the following year, 1803, he appears to have made an experiment in France of propelling a vessel by mechanism, and though it failed in consequence of the timbers of the boat being too weak, it served to convince him so completely of ultimate success, that he immediately gave instructions to Watt and Boulton to prepare a suitable steam engine for him, and send it to New York. Having returned to that city in 1806, he set about building a boat, and having received the engines he had ordered, he successfully started the first steam-boat in the world on her trial trip to Albany from New York in August, 1807. Her name was the "_Clermont_," and the above engraving is a correct representation of her. She was in length 133 feet, in depth 7, and in breadth 18.

SEVERE ENACTMENT AGAINST BEGGARS.

At the commencement of the reign of Edward VI., a most severe and extraordinary statute was made for the punishment of vagabonds and relief of poor persons. It does not appear who were the contrivers of this instrument, the preamble and general spirit of which were more in accordance with the tyrannical and arbitrary measures of the preceding reign, than with the mild and merciful character of the infant sovereign, who is well known to have taken a very active part in the affairs of government. It repeals all the former statutes on this subject, and enacts, that if any beggar or other person, not being lame or impotent, and after loitering or idly wandering for the space of three days or more, shall not offer himself to labour, or being engaged in any person's service, shall run away or leave his work, it shall be lawful for the master to carry him before a justice of peace, who, on proof of the offence, shall cause the party to be marked with a hot iron with the letter V on the breast, and adjudge him to be his master's slave for the space of two years, who shall feed him "on bread and water, or at his discretion, on refuse of meat, and cause the said slave to work by beating, chaining, or otherwise in such work or labour (how vile soever it be) as he shall put him unto." If the slave should run away or absent himself for a fortnight without leave, the master may pursue and punish him by chaining or beating, and have his action of damage against any one who shall harbour or detain him. On proof before the justice of the slave's escape, he is to be sentenced to be marked on the forehead or ball of the cheek with a hot iron with the letter S, and adjudged to be his master's slave for ever; and for the second offence of running away, he is to be regarded as a felon and suffer death. The children of beggars to be taken from them, and, with other vagrant children, to be apprenticed by the magistrate to whoever will take them; and if such children so apprenticed run away, they are to be retaken, and become slaves till the age of twenty in females, and twenty-four in males, with punishment by chains, &c., and power to the master to let, sell, or bequeath them, as goods and chattels, for the term aforesaid. If any slave should maim or wound the master, in resisting correction, or conspire to wound or murder him, or burn his house or other property, he is to suffer death as a felon, unless the master will consent to retain him as a slave for ever; and if any parent, nurse, or bearer about of children, so become slaves, shall steal, or entice them away from the master, such person shall be liable to become a slave to the said master for ever, and the party so stolen or enticed away restored. If any vagrant be brought to a place, where he shall state himself to have been born, and it shall be manifest that he was not so born there, for such lie he shall be marked in the face with an S, and become a slave to the inhabitants or corporation of the city for ever. Any master of a slave may put a ring of iron about his neck, arm, or leg, for safe custody, and any person taking or helping to take off such ring, without consent of the master, shall forfeit the sum of ten pounds.

This diabolical statute, after remaining for two years, was repealed, on the ground that, from its extreme severity, it had not been enforced.

JUDGES IN THEIR ROBES ATTENDING PUBLIC BALLS.

That the ideas of good taste and propriety which now prevail are greatly in advance of those which our ancestors entertained, is strikingly manifested by the fact, that the dreadful scenes which followed the last business of a county assize did not prevent a festive beginning of the same. On the commission day at each county town was held an assize ball. The judges attended in black silk gowns with band and two-curl bob-wig. They did not dance, but usually played at whist. What would be thought now-a-days of judges who went to a public ball room on commission day, and played at whist in their robes?

ST. WINIFRED'S WELL.

The most copious spring in Great Britain is St. Winifred's Well, near the town of Holywell, in Flintshire. The well is an oblong square, about twelve feet by seven. The water passes into a small square court through an arch; it has never been known to freeze, and scarcely ever varies in quantity either in drought or after the greatest rains. The water thrown up is not less than eighty-four hogsheads every minute.

This sacred well is the object of many pilgrimages, even in the present day, and several modern miracles are related of the influence of its waters. Pope Martin V. especially enjoined such pilgrimages, and the monks of Basingwerk were furnished with pardons and indulgences to sell to the devotees. James the 2nd visited the well in 1686, and Leopold, King of the Belgians, in 1819. Apart from all superstitious notions, its waters doubtless possess many curative properties.

Over the well, Queen Margaret, the mother of Henry VII., erected a beautiful chapel, whose elegantly fretted roof, and graceful columns and arches, are generally admired as examples of good architecture. Our engraving is a correct representation of the interior.

INSTANCE OF ASSIDUITY AND PERSEVERANCE.

The Rev. Wm. Davy, a Devonshire curate, in the year 1795, begun a most desperate undertaking, viz., that of printing himself twenty-six volumes of sermons, which he actually did, working off page by page, for fourteen copies; and continuing this almost hopeless task for twelve years, in the midst of poverty! Such wonderful perseverance almost amounts to a ruling passion.

PHENOMENON AT THE POWERSCOURT FALL.

Powerscourt Fall.]

The Powerscourt Fall, of which the annexed is an engraving, is formed by the river Dargle, and is situated in the county of Wicklow. When the river is full, it presents a very grand appearance. The stream precipitates itself over a nearly perpendicular cliff, 300 feet in height, and falls into a natural basin or reservoir, encircled by rocky masses of considerable magnitude, whilst the whole scene is backed by mountains. This fall exhibits rather a singular phenomenon, in the different degrees of velocity with which the water descends in different parts of the cascade. Thus, on one side, the water may be observed to pour down with considerable velocity; while, on the other side, the fall, in the upper part, presents the appearance of a continued stream of frothy foam, gliding slowly down the face of the cliff, though the lower part moves with greater velocity. This circumstance is, however, readily accounted for; being, in fact, mainly attributable to the comparatively small body of water which forms the cascade. The water, on the one side, that which descends with the greater velocity (and this forms by far the larger portion of the cascade) meets with no interruption in its descent, but falls, almost from the top, to the bottom in an unbroken sheet. On the other side, however, the cliff in the upper part deviates from the perpendicular, and the consequence is, that, owing to the slope or inclination of the rock over which it flows, the progress of the water is checked in that particular part, though lower down, where the cliff is again perpendicular, it regains its velocity. If the body of water in this cascade were greater, this phenomenon would not occur.

HOW CHESS ORIGINATED IN INDIA.

By the unanimous consent of all nations, chess holds the first place among social amusements. The history of this game has exercised many able pens. According to Sir William Jones, it is decidedly of Hindoo invention. "If," says he, in a learned memoir on this subject inserted in the second volume of the _Asiatic Researches_, "evidence were required to prove this fact, we may be satisfied with the testimony of the Persians, who, though as much inclined as other nations to appropriate the ingenious inventions of a foreign people, unanimously agree that the game was imported from the west of India in the sixth century of our era. It seems to have been immemorially known in Hindoostan by the name of _Cheturanga_, the four _angas_, or members of an army, which are _elephants_, _horses_, _chariots_, and _foot-soldiers_; and in this sense, the word is frequently used by epic poets in their description of real armies. By a natural corruption of the pure Sanscrit word, it was changed by the old Persians into _chetrang_; but the Arabs, who soon after took possession of their country, had neither the initial nor the final letter of that word in their alphabet, and consequently altered it farther into _shetranj_, which presently found its way into the modern Persian, and at length into the dialects of India, where the true derivation of the name is known only to the learned. Thus has a very significant word in the sacred language of the Brahmins been transformed by successive changes into _axedrez_, _scacchi_, _echecs_, chess, and by a whimsical concurrence of circumstances given birth to the English word _check_, and even a name to the _exchequer_ of Great Britain."

Of the origin of this game various accounts are given. Some Hindoo legends relate, that it was invented by the wife of Ravanen, king of Lanca, or Ceylon, to amuse her husband with an image of war, when Rama, in the second age of the world, was besieging his capital. The high degree of civilization which the court of Ravanen had attained at so remote a period is worthy of notice. An ancient Hindoo painting represents his capital regularly fortified with embattled towers. He there defended himself with equal skill and valour, whence he and his subjects were denominated magicians and giants. Ravanen seems to have been the Archimedes of Lanca; and his science must have appeared supernatural to the invader, Rama, and his wild horde of mountaineers, who were termed in derision satyrs or apes, whence the fable of the divine Hanooman.

According to another account, the occasion of this invention was as follows:--Behub, a young and dissolute Indian prince, oppressed his people in the most cruel manner. Nassir, a Brahmin, deeply afflicted by his excesses, and the lamentations of his subjects, undertook to recal the tyrant to reason. With this view he invented a game, in which the king, impotent by himself, is protected only by his subjects, even of the lowest class, and frequently ruined by the loss of a single individual.