Chapter XIX: Part 19

From the rude pillar-stone marked with the symbol of our faith, enclosed within a circle, the emblem of Eternity, the finely-proportioned and elaborately-sculptured crosses of a later period are derived. In the latter, the circle, instead of being simply cut on the face of the stone, is represented by a ring, binding, as it were, the shaft, arms, and upper portion of the cross together. There are two beautiful specimens of this style of cross at Monasterboice, near Drogheda, about thirty-five miles from Dublin. The smaller, more beautiful, and more perfect of these we here engrave. The figures and ornaments with which its various sides are enriched appear to have been executed with an unusual degree of artistic skill. It is now almost as perfect as it was when, nearly nine centuries ago, the artist, we may suppose, pronounced his work finished, and chiefs and abbots, bards, shanachies, warriors, and ecclesiastics, and, perhaps, many a rival sculptor, crowded round this very spot full of wonder and admiration for what they must have considered a truly glorious, and, perhaps, unequalled work. An inscription in Irish upon the lower part of the shaft, desires "A prayer for Muiredach, by whom was made this cross," and there is reason for assigning it to an abbot of that name who died in the year 924. Its total height is exactly fifteen feet, and it is six in breadth at the arms. The shaft, which at the base measures in breadth two feet six inches, and in thickness one foot nine inches, diminishes slightly in its ascent, and is divided upon its various sides by twisted bands into compartments, each of which contains either sculptured figures, or tracery of very intricate design, or animals, probably symbolical.

CHINESE THERAPEUTICS.

In the treatment of disease, the Chinese, so fond of classification, divide the medicinal substances they employ into heating, cooling, refreshing, and temperate: their _materia medica_ is contained in the work called the _Pen-tsaocang-mou_ in fifty-two large volumes, with an atlas of plates; most of our medicines are known to them and prescribed; the mineral waters, with which their country abounds, are also much resorted to; and their emperor, Kang-Hi, has given an accurate account of several thermal springs. Fire is a great agent, and the _moxa_ recommended in almost every aliment, while acupuncture is in general use both in China and Japan; bathing and _champooing_ are also frequently recommended, and bloodletting is seldom resorted to.

China has also her animal magnetisers, practising the _Cong fou_, a mysterious manipulation taught by the bonzes, in which the adepts produce violent convulsions.

The Chinese divide their prescriptions into seven categories:

1. The great prescription.

2. The little prescription.

3. The slow prescription.

4. The prompt prescription.

5. The odd prescription.

6. The even prescription.

7. The double prescription.

Each of these receipts being applied to particular cases, and the ingredients that compose them being weighed with the most scrupulous accuracy.

Medicine was taught in the imperial colleges of Pekin; but in every district, a physician, who had studied six years, is appointed to instruct the candidate for the profession, who was afterwards allowed to practise, without any further studies or examination; and it is said, that, in general, the physician only receives his fee when the patient is cured. This assertion, however, is very doubtful, as the country abounds in quacks, who, under such restrictions as to remuneration, would scarcely earn a livelihood. Another singular, but economical practice prevails amongst them--a physician never pays a second visit to a patient unless he is sent for. Whatever may be the merits of Chinese practitioners both in medicine and surgery, or their mode of receiving remuneration, it appears that they are as much subject to animadversion as in other countries:--A missionary having observed to a Chinese, that their medical men had constantly recourse to fire in the shape of moxa, red-hot iron, and burning needles; he replied, "Alas! you Europeans are carved with steel, while we are martyrized with hot iron; and I fear that in neither country will the fashion subside, since the operators do not feel the anguish they inflict, and are equally paid to torment us or to cure us!"

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS TO SIR FRANCIS KNOLLYS, FROM BOLTON, SEPT. 1ST, 1568: HER FIRST LETTER IN ENGLISH.

(MS. Cotton. Calig. C. I. fol. 161 b. _Orig._)

Mester Knoleis, y heuv har (I have heard) sum neus from Scotland; y send zou the double off them y vreit (wrote) to the quin (queen) my gud Sister, and pres (pray) zou to du the lyk, conforme to that y spak zesternicht vnto zou, and sut hesti ansur y refer all to zour discretion, and wil lipne beter in zour gud delin (dealing) for mi, (me) nor y kan persuad zou, nemli in this langasg (language) excus my ivil vreitin (writing) for y neuver vsed it afor, and am hestit (hasted). Ze schal si my bel (bill) vhuilk (which) is opne, it is sed Seterday my unfrinds wil be vth (with) zou, y sey nething bot trests weil, and ze send oni to zour wiff ze mey asur schu (she) wald a bin weilcom to apur (poor) strenger hua (who) nocht bien (not being) aquentet vth her, wil nocht bi ouuer bald (bold) to vreit bot for the aquentans betuix ous (us: _i_. _e_. herself and Sir Francis Knolles). Y wil send zou letle tokne (token) to rember (remember) zou off the gud hop y heuu (have) in zou guef (gif--if) ze fend (find) a mit (meet) mesager y wald wish ze bestouded (bestowed) it reder (rather) apon her non (than) ani vder; thus effter my commendations y prey God heuu zou in his kipin.

"Zour asured gud frind.

"MARIE R.

"Excus my ivel vreitin thes furst tym."

PHILOSOPHY OF THE BRAMINS.

The order of creation, which is described in the Institutes of Menu (c. 1, pp. 75-8), is remarkable. "First emerges the subtle ether, to which philosophers ascribe the quality of conveying sound: from ether, effecting a transmutation in form, springs the pure and potent air, a vehicle of all scents; and air is held endued with the quality of touch: then from air, operating a change, rises light, or fire, making objects visible, dispelling gloom, spreading bright rays; and it is declared to have the quality of figure: but from light, a change being effected, comes water, with the quality of taste: and from water is deposited earth, with the quality of smell; such were they created in the beginning." This passage bears at least as strong a resemblance to the chemical philosophy of our days, as certain parts of the Hindoo fables bear to the mysteries of the Christian religion. But it is more difficult to account for the philosophy, (if, indeed, it be any thing more than mere theory,) than to explain how the distorted traces of Christianity found their way into the fables of Hindostan.

FOREIGNERS IN LONDON IN 1567.

"We learn from the Bishop of London's certificate, that, in December, 1567, there were then in London and its immediate vicinity, or places which are now included in the word 'London,' 3838 Dutchmen; 720 Frenchmen; 137 Italians; 14 Venetians; 56 Spaniards; 25 Portuguese; 2 Grecians; 2 Blackamores; 1 Dane; and but 58 Scots! making a total of 4851 foreigners."

CHANGES OF FORTUNE.

In 1454, Sir Stephen Forster was Lord Mayor of London. He had been long in prison and penury, on account of his inordinate profuseness. It chanced that a most fantastical widow, who knew not how to get rid of her immense wealth, saw him begging at the gate; she admired his fine person, learnt his history, paid his debts, and married him; asking of him only this one favour, that he would lavish away her fortune as fast as he could. Forster, probably from perverseness, became a sober husband and a prudent manager, and only expended large sums in adding a chapel and other advantageous appendages to Ludgate, where he had suffered so many hardships.

ROMAN VASES IN BLACK WARE.

The principal subjects represented on vases of ancient Roman pottery of black ware are hunting scenes--such as dogs chasing stags, deer, hares,--also, dolphins, ivy wreaths, and engrailed lines; and engine-turned patterns. In a few instances men with spears are represented, but in a rude and debased style of art. The principal form is the cup of a jar shape, sometimes with deep oval flutings, as on one found at Castor; but dishes, cups, plates, and mortars are not found in this ware.

Roman Vase in Black Ware.]

Some of the vases of this ware have ornaments, and sometimes letters painted on them in white slip upon their black ground, as represented in our engraving. They are generally of a small size, and of the nature of bottles or cups, with inscriptions, such as AVE, hail! VIVAS, may you live! IMPLE, fill; BIBE, drink; VINVM, wine; VIVA, life; VIVE BIBE MVLTIS; showing that they were used for purposes purely convivial. Such are the vases found at Etaples, near Boulogne, the ancient Gessoriacum, and at Mesnil.

Some rarer and finer specimens from Bredene, in the department of Lis, have a moulding round the foot. Great quantities are found in England, Holland, Belgium, and France. It is found on the right bank of the Rhine. A variety of this ware has been lately found at a spot called Crockhill, in the New Forest, together with the kilns in which it was made, and a heap of potter's sherds, or pieces spoilt in the baking. The paste was made of the blue clay of the neighbourhood, covered with an alkaline glaze of a maroon colour, perhaps the result of imperfect baking; for the pieces when submitted again to the action of the fire, decrepitated and split. They were so much vitrified as to resemble modern stone ware, yet as all of them have proofs of having been rejected by the potters, it is probable that this was not the proper colour of the ware. Almost all were of the pinched up fluted shape, and had no bas-reliefs, having been ornamented with patterns laid on in white colour. The kilns are supposed to be of the third century of our era, and the ware was in local use, for some of it was found at Bittern.

FRENCH BIBLE.

There was a French Bible, printed at Paris in 1538, by Anthony Bonnemere, wherein is related "that the ashes of the golden calf which Moses caused to be burnt, and mixed with the water that was drank by the Israelites, stuck to the beards of such as has had fallen down before it; by which they appeared with gilt beards, as a peculiar mark to distinguish those which had worshipped the calf." This idle story is actually interwoven with the 32nd chapter of Exodus. And Bonnemere says, in his preface, this French Bible was printed in 1495, at the request of his most Christian Majesty Charles VIII.; and declares further that the French translator "has added nothing but the genuine truths, according to the express terms of the Latin Bible; nor omitted anything but what was improper to be translated!" So that we are to look upon this fiction of the gilded beards as matter of fact; and another of the same stamp, inserted in the chapter above mentioned, viz., that, "Upon Aaron's refusing to make gods for the Israelites, they spat upon him with so much fury and violence that they quite suffocated him."

SARDONYX RING WITH CAMEO HEAD OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, IN THE POSSESSION OF REV. LORD THYNNE.

Sardonyx Ring.]

This is said to be the identical ring given by Queen Elizabeth to Essex, and so fatally retained by Lady Nottingham. It has descended from Lady Frances Devereux, Essex's daughter, in unbroken succession from mother and daughter to the present possessor. The ring is gold, the sides engraved, and the inside of blue enamel; the execution of the head of Elizabeth is of a high order, and whether this be _the_ ring or not, it is valuable as a work of art.

CURIOUS WAGERS.

There have been travelling wagers, and none of the least singular of such was that of Mr. Whalley, an Irish gentleman (and who we believe edited Ben Johnson's works), who, for a very considerable wager (twenty thousand pounds, it was said,) set out on Monday the 22nd of September, 1788, to walk to Constantinople and back again in one year. This wager, however whimsical, is not without a precedent. Some years ago a baronet of good fortune (Sir Henry Liddel) laid a considerable wager that he would go to Lapland, bring home two females of that country, and two rein-deer, in a given time. He performed the journey, and effected his purpose in every respect. The Lapland women lived with him about a year, but desiring to go back to their own country, the baronet furnished them with means and money.

CONFECTIONERY ART IN 1660.

The following is extracted from a work on Cookery, by Robert May, published in 1660. It is entitled the "_Accomplisht Cook, &c., &c._

"Triumphs and Trophies in Cookery, to be used in Festival Times, as Twelfth Day, &c.:--Make the likeness of a ship in pasteboard with flags and streamers, the guns belonging to it of kickses, bind them about with pack-thread and cover them with paste proportionable to the fashion of a cannon with carriages; lay them in places convenient, as you see them in ships of war, with such holes and trains of powder that they may all take fire. Place your ships firm in a great charger; then make a salt round about it, and stick therein egg-shells full of sweet water; you may by a great pin take out all the meat out of the egg by blowing, and then fill it with rose-water. Then in another charger have the proportion of a stag made of coarse paste, with a broad arrow in the side of him, and his body filled up with claret wine. In another charger at the end of the stag have the proportion of a castle with battlements, percullices, gates, and drawbridges, made of pasteboard, the guns of kickses, and covered with coarse paste as the former; place it at a distance from the ship to fire at each other. The stag being placed betwixt them, with egg-shells full of sweet water (as before) placed in salt. At each side of the charger wherein is the stag, place a pie made of coarse paste, in one of which let there be some live frogs, in the other live birds; make these pies of coarse paste, filled with bran, and yellowed over saffron, or yolks of eggs: gild them over in spots, as also the stag, the ship and castle; bake them, and place them with gilt bay leaves on the turrets and tunnels of the castle and pies; being baked make a hole in the bottom of your pies, take out the bran, put in your frogs and birds, and close up the holes with the same coarse paste; then cut the lids neatly up to be taken off by the tunnels. Being all placed in order upon the table, before you fire the trains of powder, order it so that some of the ladies may be persuaded to pluck the arrow out of the stag; then will the claret wine follow, as blood running out of a wound. This being done with admiration to the beholders, after some short pause, fire the train of the castle, that the pieces all of one side may go off; then fire the trains of one side of the ship as in a battle; next turn the chargers, and by degrees fire the trains of each other side, as before. This done, to sweeten the stink of the powder, the ladies take the egg-shells full of sweet waters, and throw them at each other, all dangers being seemed over, and by this time you may suppose they will desire to see what is in the pies; when lifting first the lid off one pie, out skip some frogs, which makes the ladies to skip and shriek; next after the other pie, whence comes out the birds; who by a natural instinct flying at the light, will put out the candles; so that what with the flying birds and skipping frogs, the one above, the other beneath, will cause much delight and pleasure to the whole company: at length the candles are lighted and a banquet brought in, the music sounds, and every one with much delight and content rehearses their actions in the former passages. These were formerly the delights of the nobility, before good house-keeping had left England, and the sword really acted that which was only counterfeited in such honest and laudable exercises as these."

SUSPENDED ANIMATION.

David Beck, the celebrated portrait painter, and pupil of Vandyke, travelling through Germany, was suddenly taken ill, and to all appearance died, and was laid out as a corpse. His servants, sitting round the bed, grieved heartily for the loss of so good a master; and, as grief is thirsty, drank as heartily at the same time. One of them, becoming more fuddled than the rest, then addressed his companions thus: "Our master when alive was fond of his glass, let us now, out of gratitude, then give him one now he is dead." Assent was given, the head of the dead painter was raised up, and some wine poured down or spilt about, the fragrance or spirit of which caused Beck to open his eyes; upon which the servant, who, being drunk, half forgetting his master was dead, forced down the remainder of the glass. The painter gradually revived, and thus escaped a living interment.

FUNERAL OF MARAT.

The funeral of Marat was celebrated at Paris, July 17th, 1793, with the greatest pomp and solemnity. All the sections joined the procession. An immense crowd of people attended it. Four women bore the bathing machine in which Marat was standing when he was assassinated; his shirt, stained with blood, was carried by a fury, in the shape of a woman, at the top of a pike. After this followed a wooden bedstead, on which the corpse of Marat was carried by citizens. His head was uncovered, and the gash he had received could be easily distinguished. The procession was paraded through several streets, and was saluted on its march by several discharges of artillery.

EXECUTION OF ANNE BOLEYN.

In Houssaie's "Memoirs," Vol. I. p. 435, a little circumstance is recorded concerning the decapitation of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, which illustrates an observation of Hume. Our historian notices that her executioner was a Frenchman of Calais, who was supposed to have uncommon skill; it is probable that the following incident might have been preserved by tradition in France, from the account of the executioner himself. Anne Boleyn being on the scaffold, would not consent to have her eyes covered with a bandage, saying that she had no fear of death. All that the divine who assisted at her execution could obtain from her was, that she would shut her eyes. But as she was opening them at every moment, the executioner could not bear their tender and mild glances. Fearful of missing his aim, he was obliged to invent an expedient to behead the queen. He drew off his shoes, and approached her silently; while he was at her left hand, another person advanced at her right, who made a great noise in walking, so that this circumstance drawing the attention of Anne, she turned, her face from the executioner, who was enabled by this artifice to strike the fatal blow without being disarmed by that pride of affecting resignation which shone in the eyes of the lovely Anne Boleyn.

MEXICAN TENNIS.

The Mexicans had one singular law in their play with the ball. In the walls of the court where they played certain stones, like mill-stones were fixed, with a hole in the middle, just large enough to let the ball pass through; and whoever drove it through, which required great skill, and was, of course, rarely effected, won the cloaks of the lookers-on. They, therefore, took to their heels to save their cloaks, and others pursued to catch them, which was a new source of amusement.

CURIOUSLY-SHAPED VESSEL.

Vessel in the Shape of a Lion.]

There is a singular class of Northern relics, of the Christian Period, of which analogous types have been found in Scotland, which well deserve our attention. The relics of which we speak consist of a curious variety of vessels, presumed to have been designed for holding liquors, but invariably made in the form of some animal or monstrous hybrid. The annexed figure represents one of these, in the collection of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharp, Esq., and found by him among a hoard of long-forgotten family heirlooms, in a vault of his paternal mansion of Hoddam Castle, Dumfriesshire. Of its previous history nothing is known. It is made of bronze. The principal figure is a lion, without a tail, measuring fourteen inches in length, and nearly fourteen inches in greatest height. On the back is perched a nondescript animal, half greyhound, half fish, apparently intended for a handle to the whole, while from the breast projects a stag's head with large antlers. This has a perforation in the back of the neck, as if for the insertion of a stop-cock, and it appears probable was designed for running off the liquid contained within the singular vessel to which it is attached. A small square lid on the top of the lion's head, opening with a hinge, supplies the requisite aperture for whatever liquor it was designed to hold. A similar relic, possessed by Sir John Maxwell, Bart., was dug up a few years since on the Pollock estate; and another, in the collection of the late E. W. A. Drummond Hay, Esq., was also in the form of a lion.

A SENSIBLE DOG.

Professor Owen was walking with a friend, the master of the dog, by the side of a river, near its mouth, on the coast of Cornwall, and picked up a small piece of seaweed. It was covered with minute animals, and Mr. Owen observed to his companion, throwing the weed into the water,--"If this small piece afforded so many treasures, how microscopically rich the whole plant would be! I should much like to have one!" The gentleman walked on; but hearing a splashing in the water, turned round and saw it violently agitated. "It is Lion!" both exclaimed. "What can he be about? He was walking quietly enough by our side a minute ago." At one moment they saw his tail above the water, then his head raised for a breath of air, then the surrounding element shook again, and at last he came ashore, panting from his exertions, and laid a whole plant of the identical weed at Mr. Owen's feet. After this proof of intelligence, it will not be wondered at, that when Lion was joyfully expecting to accompany his master and his guest on an excursion, and was told to go and take care of and comfort Mrs. Owen, who was ill, that he should immediately return to the drawing-room, and lay himself by her side, which he never left during the absence of his owner; his countenance alone betraying his disappointment, and that only for a few minutes.

THE CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE.

As the emblem of sovereignty which once adorned the brows of one of earth's mightiest men, and as a unique specimen of the state at which the goldsmith's art had arrived as early as the ninth century, we here present our readers with an engraving of the crown of Charlemagne.

Crown of Charlemagne.]

This great man was the eldest son of Pepin the Short, and grandson of Charles Martel, and was born at the castle of Ingelheim, near Metz, in the year 742. His father dying in 768 he succeeded to the crown in conjunction with his brother Carloman, whose death in 771 left him sole monarch of the Franks. By his alliances, negociations, and principally by his numerous and glorious wars, he so enlarged his dominions, that at length they extended from the Ebro to the mouth of the Elbe, from the Atlantic to the mountains of Bohemia and the Saal, and from the British Channel to the Volturno. In the year 800 he was crowned at Rome, as Emperor of the West, by Pope Leo III., and died of a pleurisy in 814, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the cathedral of which city he was buried with extraordinary magnificence. Equally illustrious in the cabinet and in the field, a wise legislator, and a great warrior, the patron of men of letters, and the restorer of learning, Charlemagne has united in his favour the suffrages of statesmen and soldiers, and of ecclesiastics, lawyers, and men of letters, who have all vied with one another in bestowing the homage of their praise on the celebrated founder of the Western Empire.

The crown of this illustrious man, of which our engraving is a correct representation, is now preserved at Vienna in the Imperial Treasury. It is composed of eight plates of gold, four large and four small, connected by hinges. The large ones, studded with precious stones, form the front, the back, and the intermediate points of the crown; the small ones, placed alternately with these, are ornamented with enamels representing Solomon, David, King Hezekiah seated on his throne, and Christ seated between two flaming seraphim, such as the Greeks usually represent them. The costume of the figures resembles that of the Emperors of the Lower Empire, and although the inscriptions which accompany the figures are in Latin, the whole bears the impress of Greek workmanship. The ground of the figures is formed by the metal itself, which has been hollowed out to receive the enamel; but all the details of the design are traced out with fine fillets of gold. The flesh-tints are in rose-coloured enamel; the colours employed in the draperies and accessories are deep and light blue, red, and white. The crown has unquestionably been retouched at various periods, but yet there is nothing to invalidate the tradition which assigns the more ancient portions to the time of Charlemagne. The enamels must belong to the same early period.

SPENT BY THE CORPORATION OF COVENTRY AT THE ENTERTAINMENT OF KING JAMES II. IN HIS PROGRESS THROUGH COVENTRY, 1687.

(Mr. Richard Haywood, Treasurer.)

L s. d.
Gave a gold cup 171 17 6
Mr. Septimus Butt, mayor, for sweetmeats 27 17 0
Meat 13 14 0
Wine 21 12 6
Homage fee 41 6 8
King's cook 10 0 0
City cook 9 8 6
Steward Fielding, for making a speech to his Majesty 5 7 6
For linen spoiled, borrowed of Mrs. Smith, Spon-street 2 12 6
The aldermen that went to Worcester to invite him 3 18 9
Several companies for waiting on the King 27 9 4
Alderman Webster, for meat 3 6 0
Alderman Bradney for corn 3 5 6
His Majesty's clerk of the market 1 1 6
The King's trumpeters 2 0 0
Richard Howcott, for carrying the city streamer 0 7 0
The city bailiff's bill for fish, fowl, and wine 88 18 2
-------------
L434 2 9

TRAVELLING EXPENSES IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

Of travelling expenses in the thirteenth century, a roll is in existence, and is too interesting to be passed over. It contains a steward's accompts of the daily expenses of a person of rank in the reign of Edward I, on a journey from Oxford to Canterbury, and during his sojourn in London, about the year 1289; while the record throws much light upon the mode of our ancestors' living, at a period concerning which we have very few similar memorials. One day's expenses are as follow: "In bread, sixpence. Two gallons of wine, a gift of hospitality from the rector of Berton. Item in bread, sixpence. Two gallons of wine, a gift of hospitality from the rector of Mistern. Beer, sixpence. Herrings, threepence. Stockfish, fourpence. Porpoise and fish, fourpence. Perch and roach, seven-pence. Large eels, seven-pence. Vegetables, threepence farthing. Figs and raisins, twopence. Fuel, five-pence. A bed for two nights, twopence. Hay for seven horses, seven-pence. A bushel of oats, twenty-pence. Apples, a halfpenny. Sum, six shillings and eight-pence halfpenny." The most expensive day in the roll is on a Sunday, "in expenses of my lord at Westminster, when he held a breakfast there for knights, clerks, and squires. Bread, two shillings. Beer, twelve-pence. Wine, three shillings and eight-pence. Half a salmon, for the standard, with the chine, three shillings and eight-pence. A fresh conger eel, three shillings. Three fat pikes, five fat eels, and twenty-seven fat roaches, twelve shillings and fourpence. Half a hundred lamprorns, twelve-pence. Oysters, threepence. Vegetables, twopence. The hire of a boy to prepare the breakfast, one penny. Fare to Westminster, one penny. A basket, one penny farthing. On the same day at the inn: bread, five-pence farthing. Beer from the store. Two gallons of beer for the boys, twopence. Fish from the store. Candles, a halfpenny. Fuel, a halfpenny. Hay bought, five-pence three farthings. Straw, sixpence. Two bushels of oats, eight-pence. Two pair of shoes for my lord, twelve-pence. Sum, thirty shillings and threepence farthing."

DUNS IN THE MAHRATTA COUNTRY.

The Mahratta mode of recovering debts is curious. When the creditor cannot get his money, and begins to see the debt as rather desperate, he sits _dhurna_ upon his debtor; that is, he squats down at the door of the tent, and becomes, in a certain mysterious degree, the master of it. No one goes in or out without his approbation. He neither eats himself, nor suffers his debtor to eat; and this famishing contest is carried on till the debt is paid, or till the creditor begins to _feel_ that want of food is a greater punishment than the want of money. This curious mode of enforcing a demand is in universal practice among the Mahrattas; Scindiah himself, the chieftain, not being exempt from it. The man who sits the _dhurna_, goes to the house, or tent, of him whom he wishes to bring to terms, and remains there till the affair is settled; during which time, the one under restraint is confined to his apartment, and not suffered to communicate with any persons but those whom the other may approve of. The laws by which the _dhurna_ is regulated are as well defined and understood as those of any other custom whatever. When it is meant to be very strict, the claimant carries a number of his followers, who surround the tent, sometimes even the bed of his adversary, and deprive him altogether of food; in which case, however, etiquette prescribes the same abstinence to himself: the strongest stomach, of course, carries the day. A custom of this kind was once so prevalent in the province and city of Benares, that Brahmins were _trained_ to remain a long time without food. They were then sent to the door of some rich individual, where they made a vow to remain without eating, till they should obtain a certain sum of money. To preserve the life of a Brahmin is so absolutely a duty, that the money was generally paid; but never till a good struggle had taken place, to ascertain whether the man was staunch or not; for money is the life and soul of all Hindoos.

VAUXHALL.

Vauxhall.]

The trees seen above the houses at the foot of the Surrey side of Westminster Bridge are those of Vauxhall Gardens, the site of which will soon be covered with buildings. These grounds were once the glory of English pleasure-gardens, frequented by the highest in the land from the gay days of Charles II. to those of "the Regency," and were celebrated in musical history for talent of the highest kind here introduced. In the old orchestra, whose towering summit may be seen from the Thames, the greatest musical celebrities have sung. Handel, Dr. Arne, and Hook superintended its concerts; and Hogarth decorated its walls with paintings. It obtained its name from a very old mansion that once stood near it. This old manor-house of Fawkes Hall, as it existed in the reign of Charles I., is shown in our engraving; at that time it was described as a "fair dwelling-house, strongly built, of three stories high, and a pier staircase breaking out from it nineteen feet square." This staircase occupied one of the towers, in accordance with the ancient plan, and the house was a curious specimen of the old timber houses of the gentry in the sixteenth century.

It appears to have obtained its name from Foukes de Breut, who married the heiress of the manor, the Countess of Albemarle, sister to Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury; and it was granted by the name of the manor of Foukeshall, by Edward III. to his favourite Hugh le Despenser. In 1615 the records of the Duchy of Cornwall prove the premises known as Vauxhall Gardens to have been the leasehold property of Jane Vaux, widow of John Vaux, citizen and vintner of London, and a benefactor to the parish of Lambeth. It has always remained, with the manor of Kennington, as the property of the crown, and belongs to the Prince of Wales as part of his Duchy of Cornwall. Vauxhall Gardens closed for ever on July 25th, 1859, with an _al fresco fete_.

EGYPTIAN TOILET BOXES.

Egyptian Toilet Boxes.]

The ladies of ancient Egypt were very fond of having their apartments set off with a profusion of knick-knacks, and among other articles of that sort, they usually had several different kinds of toilet-boxes on their dressing-tables. The above engraving represents a group of them. They have been found in considerable numbers among the ruins of the palaces, and they form interesting objects among the Egyptian curiosities in many of our museums. They were made of wood, or of ivory, often inlaid, and always elaborately carved. Sometimes they partook of the nature of spoons, the containing part being shallow, at the end of a long solid handle; the handle was carved into the most fanciful forms--a grotesque human figure, a woman, a fox, or a fish--and the spoon part was generally covered with a lid, which turned on a pivot. In one of those in the engraving, the spoon takes the form of a fish, the cover being carved to resemble its scales, while another, also in the form of a fish, has two cavities, the one covered, the other permanently open. Sometimes the body of a goose formed the box, either trussed for the table, or in the posture of life, and other forms were devised from the fancy of the artist. Some of these shallow boxes are supposed to have been used for holding small quantities of ointments and cosmetics upon the toilet-table.

SPACIOUS KITCHEN.

One of the most spacious kitchens in England is that of Raby Castle, the magnificent seat of the Duke of Cleveland. It is a square of thirty feet, having three chimneys, one for the grate, a second for stoves, and the third, (now stopped up,) for the great cauldron. The roof is arched, with a small cupola in the centre: it has likewise five windows, from each of which steps descend, but only in one instance to the floor; and a gallery runs round the whole interior of the building. The ancient oven is said to have allowed a tall person to stand upright in it, its diameter being fifteen feet. It has since been converted into a wine cellar, the sides being divided into ten parts, and each holding a hogshead of wine in bottles. Vast as is this kitchen, it must have been but suitable to the hospitality of former ages: for, in one of the apartments of Raby Castle, seven hundred knights are stated to have been entertained at one time.

THE HAWTHORNDEN CAVES.

In almost every country on the earth there are natural or artificial caves, which have supplied hiding-places, retreats for anchorites, and even permanent native dwellings. Such caves abound in Scotland, and especially along the coast, but in general their interest arises rather from the associations of popular traditions, than from any intrinsic peculiarity of character pertaining to them. Few such retreats are more remarkable, either for constructive art, or historic associations, than the well-known caves beneath the old tower of Hawthornden, near Edinburgh. They have been hewn, with great labour and ingenuity, in the rocky cliff which overhangs the river Esk. No tradition preserves the history or date of their execution, but concealment was evidently the chief design of the excavators. The original entrance is most ingeniously made in the shaft of a very deep draw-well, sunk in the court-yard of the castle, and from its manifest utility as the ordinary and indispensable appendage of the fortress, it most effectually conceals its adaptation as a means of ingress and communication with the rock chambers beneath. These are of various forms and sizes, and one in particular is pierced with a series of square recesses, somewhat resembling the columbaria of a Roman tomb, but assigned by popular tradition as the library of its later owner, Drummond, the Scottish poet. Whatever was the purpose for which these were thus laboriously cut, the example is not singular. A large cave in Roxburghshire, hewn out in the lofty cliff which overhangs the Teviot, has in its sides similar recesses, and from their supposed resemblance to the interior of a pigeon-house, the cavern has received the name of the _Doo-cave_. Authentic notices of the Hawthornden caves occur so early as the reign of David II., when a daring band of Scottish adventurers made good their head-quarters there, while Edward held the newly-fortified castle of Edinburgh, and the whole surrounding district. In the glen of the little river Ale, which falls into the Teviot at Ancrum, extensive groups of caves occur, all indicating, more or less, artificial adaptation as human dwellings; and in many other districts similar evidences may be seen of temporary or permanent habitation, at some remote period, in these rude recesses. Along the coast of Arran there are several caves of various dimensions, one of which, at Drumandruin, or Drumidoon, is noted in the older traditions of the island as the lodging of Fin M'Coul, the Fingal of Ossian, during his residence in Arran. Though low in the roof, it is sufficiently capacious for a hundred men to sit or lie in it. In this, as in other examples, we find evidences of artificial operations, proving its connexion with races long posterior to those with whose works we have chiefly to do in this section of archaeological inquiry. In the further end a large detached column of rock has a two-handed sword engraved on it, surmounted by a deer, and on the southern side of the cave a lunar figure is cut, similar in character to those frequently found on the sculptured pillars and crosses which abound in Scotland. It is now more frequently styled the king's cave, and described as the retreat of Robert the Bruce, while he lurked as a fugitive in the Western Isles; but, like many other traditions of the Bruce, this seems to be of very recent origin. Other caves in the same island are also of large dimensions, and variously associated with popular traditions, as, indeed, is generally the case where subterranean retreats of any considerable extent occur. Some are the supposed dwellings of old mythic chiefs, whose names still live in the traditional songs of the Gael. Others are the retreats which the primitive confessors of Scotland excavated or enlarged for their oratories or cells. Of the latter class are the caves of St. Molio, on the little island of Lamlash, or the Holy Isle, on the east coast of Arran; of St. Columba and St. Cormac, on the Argyleshire coast; of St. Ninian, in Wigtonshire; of St. Serf, at Dysart, on the Fifeshire coast; and the celebrated "ocean cave of St. Rule, in Saint Andrew's Bay." This last oratory consists of two chambers hewn out of the sandstone cliffs of that exposed coast. The inner apartment is a plain cell, entered from the supposed oratory of the Greek saint. The latter is nearly circular, measuring about ten feet in diameter, and has a stone altar hewn in the solid rock on its eastern side.

MONKISH PRAYERS.

The Monks used to pray heartily, or rather say their prayers no less than seven times in the twenty-four hours. We will give their names:--

1st.--Nocturnal, at cock-crowing, or two o'clock in the morning.
2nd.--Matins, at six o'clock in the morning.
3rd.--Tierce, at nine o'clock in the morning.
4th.--Sext, at twelve o'clock at noon.
5th.--None, at three o'clock in the afternoon.
6th.--Vespers, at six o'clock in the afternoon.
7th.--Compline, soon after seven.

Quarles has a neat epigram on the subject:--

For all our prayers th' Almighty does regard
The judgment of the _balance_, not the _yard_;
He loves not words, but matter; 'tis his pleasure
To buy his wares by _weight_, and not by _measure_.

THE TRAP-DOOR SPIDER.

There are few insects of such extraordinary habits as the Trap-door Spider, and the following account of it by Professor Jones is so interesting, that we are glad to extract it from his excellent work on insect Architecture:--

In the Ionian islands, and also in the West Indies [as well as in the south of France, and in Corsica], there are found certain spiders (_Cteniza_) commonly known as Trap-door Spiders, which make a cylindrical nest in the earth, and cover the entrance with a door of their own construction, framed of alternate layers of silk and earth, and fastened to the opening by a hinge of stout silk. These spiders also line their nests throughout with numerous layers of silken web to the thickness of stout cartridge paper, and finish it with the greatest care. This beautiful lining is yet further strengthened in particular parts, where the nest is likely to be exposed to danger. But the greatest amount of skill and care is bestowed upon the trap-door and its silken hinge. The door is about the eighth of an inch thick, rough on the outside, not much unlike an oyster-shell, which it also resembles in being thick and strong near the hinge, but thinner towards the circumference. The breadth of this hinge is various, but sometimes it is very considerable, as shown in the figure accompanying. It also possesses great elastic force, so that, on being opened, it closes again of itself. This is principally accomplished by a fold or doubling of the web, at each end of the hinge, which permits the door to be opened nearly to a right angle with the aperture, but no further, unless violence be used. The underside of the door is perfectly smooth and firm, being shaped so as to fit accurately, and yet to offer no resistance when pushed open by the insect.

As might be expected, there are varieties in the shape and size of these nests. Some specimens found in the island of Zante had the silken layers of the lid extended into a sort of handle, or lever, just above the hinge, on pressing which, in ever so slight a degree, the trap-door opened. From this it would appear, that the entrance to such a nest could be effected as easily by the enemies of the spider as by the spider itself; this, however, is not the case; for repeated observation has shown that the spider keeps guard at the entrance, and actually holds the door with her fore-feet and palpi, while the hind-feet are extended down the side of the nest, and the mandibles are thrust into the opposite side near the door. By this means the insects gets such power as to resist with considerable force the opening of the door. If it be asked how this is known, we are able to refer to the experiments of careful observers, who extracted a number of nests from the ground, and opening them at the lower end, looked up, and saw the spider so occupied. A section view of the nest will show that the curved form of the cover, and the shape of the side walls, must favour this method of keeping the door shut. In some cases, small hollows were formed round the interior edge of the lid, into which the spider thrust its feet when keeping guard. It is a curious fact, that when several of these spiders enclosed in their nests were kept as a matter of curiosity in a box of earth, and the doors frequently opened to examine their proceedings, one or two of them, as if wearied at these repeated interruptions, effectually closed their doors by weaving a piece of silken tapestry, which was spread over the interior of the opening, and rounded like the inside of a thimble. This was so strongly attached to the door and to the side walls, that no opening could be made without destroying the nest.

PRICES OF GREEK VASES.

In the ancient times of Rome the vases of Greek pottery bore a high value, and sold for enormous sums to connoisseurs, which has also been the case in modern times. Cleopatra spent daily, on the fragrant or flowery ware of Rhossus, a Syrian town, six minae. Of the actual prices paid for painted vases, no positive mention occurs in classical authorities, yet it is most probable that vases of the best class, the products of eminent painters, obtained considerable prices. Among the Greeks, works of merit were at all times handsomely remunerated, and it is probable that vases of excellence shared the general favour shown to the fine arts. For works of inferior merit only small sums were paid, as will be seen by referring to the chapter on inscriptions, which were incised on their feet, and which mentioned their contemporary value. In modern times little is known about the prices paid for these works of art till quite a recent period, when their fragile remains have realised considerable sums. In this country the collections of Mr. Townley, Sir W. Hamilton, Lord Elgin, and Mr. Payne Knight, all contained painted vases. A sum of L500 was paid in consideration of the Athenian vases in Lord Elgin's collection, which is by no means large when the extraordinary nature of these vases is considered, as they are the finest in the world of the old primitive vases of Athens. L8,400 were paid for the vases of the Hamilton collection, one of the most remarkable of the time, and consisting of many beautiful specimens from southern Italy. The great discoveries of the Prince of Canino, in 1827, and the subsequent sale of numerous vases, gave them, however, a definite market value, to which the sale of the collection of Baron Durand, which consisted almost entirely of vases, affords some clue. His collection sold in 1836 for 313,160 francs, or about L12,524. The most valuable specimen in the collection was the vase representing the death of Croesus, which was purchased for the Louvre at the price of 6,600 francs, or L264. The vase with the subject of Arcesilaus brought 1,050 francs. Another magnificent vase, now in the Louvre, having the subject of the youthful Hercules strangling the serpents, was only secured for France after reaching the price of 6,000 francs, or L240: another, with the subject of Hercules, Dejanira, and Hyllus, was purchased for the sum of 3,550 francs, or L142. A _crater_, with the subject of Acamas and Demophoon bringing back AEthra, was obtained by M. Magnoncourt for 4,250 francs, or L170. A Bacchic amphora, of the maker Execias, of the archaic style, was bought by the British Museum for 3,600 francs, or L142 in round numbers. Enough has, however, been said to show the high price attained by the most remarkable of these works of art. The inferior vases of course realised much smaller sums, varying from a few francs to a few pounds; but high prices continued to be obtained, and the sale by the Prince of Canino in 1837, of some of his finest vases, contributed to enrich the museums of Europe, although, as many of the vases were bought in, it does not afford a good criterion as to price. An _oenochoe_, with Apollo and the Muses, and a _hydria_, with the same subject, were bought for 2,000 francs, or L80 each. A _cylix_, with a love scene, and another with Priam redeeming Hector's corpse, brought 6,600 francs, or L264. An amphora with the subject of Dionysius, and a cup with that of Hercules, sold for 8,000 francs, or L320 each. Another brought 7,000 francs, or L280. A vase with the subject of Theseus seizing Helen, another with the arming of Paris, and a third with Peleus and Thetis, sold for 6,000 francs, or L240. Nor can the value of the finest specimens of the art be considered to have deteriorated since. The late Mr. Steuart was offered 7,500 francs for a large _crater_, found in southern Italy, ornamented with the subject of Cadmus and the dragon; 3,000 francs, or L120, were paid by the British Museum for a fine _crater_ ornamented with the exploits of Achilles: 2,500 francs, or L100, for an amphora of Apulian style, with the subject of Pelops and OEnomaus at the altar of the Olympian Zeus. For another vase, with the subject of Musaeus, 3,000 francs, or L120 were paid, and 2,500 francs, or L100, for the Athenian prize vase, the celebrated Vas Burgonianum, exhumed by Mr. Burgon. At Mr. Beckford's sale, the late Duke of Hamilton gave L200 for a small vase, with the subject of the Indian Bacchus.

The passion for possessing fine vases has outstripped these prices at Naples; 2,400 ducats, or L500, was given for the vase with gilded figures discovered at Cumae. Still more incredible, half a century back, 8,000 ducats, L1,500, was paid to Vivenzio for the vase in the Museo Borbonico representing the last night of Troy; 6,000 ducats, or L1,000, for the one with a Dionysiac feast; and 4,000 ducats, or L800, for the vase with the grand battle of the Amazons, published by Shultz. But such sums will not be hereafter realised, not that taste is less, but that fine vases are more common. No sepulchre has been spared when detected, and no vase neglected when discovered; and vases have been exhumed with more activity than the most of precious relics.

OLD WALKING STICKS.

It would seem that at the present time the fashion of carrying walking-sticks has to a considerable extent "gone out." So great is the bustle in our city thoroughfares, that the use of a staff, except by those who are lame, is seldom adopted by business people. Professional men still affect the custom, however; and your City man, although he may repudiate the use of a walking-stick in town, straps a good sapling to his portmanteau whenever he has a chance of getting amongst the woods and green fields. About a century and a-half ago everybody carried a cane. Dr. Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, and a host of others, considered a good stick as necessary as a coat; and a collection of these staves would, if they could be had at the present day, be valuable, not only as relics, but also as an indication of the characters of the owners, perhaps.

In former times, a golden-mounted stick or staff was commonly used by both the male and female heads of families. Queen Elizabeth carried one of these towards the end of her life. They were then more frequently used, however, as a sign of authority than for any other purpose.

The staff was a weapon long before flint-headed arrows and such-like instruments were invented. Sheriffs, and others high in authority, have wands or staffs borne before them on important occasions; the bishops' pastoral staff is as old as episcopal authority.

In former times the running footmen, who, in a body of half-a-dozen, on each side of a carriage ran to alarm robbers and to assist the lumbering vehicle out of the ruts, were well armed with stout staves. At the present time they are still carried by the Plush family, although the use of them is not so clear. In the royal state processions, the footmen with their staves walk as in former days, and we should be sorry were these little bits of ceremony dispensed with, inasmuch as they bring to recollection a former condition of things, which makes us feel comfortable by comparison.

The monstrous sticks shown in the engraving are drawn from specimens which have been preserved by dealers in London, and put as a sort of sign at the doors of umbrella and walking-stick dealers. These were, however, a century ago, common enough, and might have been seen by the hundred together, borne by tall footmen behind ladies dressed in the old hooped dresses which we are trying now to imitate. At that time there was also a taste for various kinds of monsters, in China, wood, and other materials. Monkeys and pug-dogs were made pets of, and the sticks of the footmen fashioned into such ugly forms as no modern bogey ever dreamed of.