Chapter II: Part 2

"Macklin called for a nightcap, and threw off his wig. This, it was whispered to me, was a signal of his intention to be entertaining. Plays, play-wrights, enunciation, action, every thing belonging to eloquence of every species, was discussed. Angelo, the graceful fencing-master, and Bensley, the actor, were of the party.--Angelo was consulted by Bensley, on what he ought to do with his hands while he was speaking. Angelo told him, that it was impossible to prescribe what he should always do with them; but that it was easy to tell him what should _not_ be done--"he should not put them into his breeches' pockets"--a custom to which poor Bensley was much addicted. Pronunciation was discussed; the faults in our language in this particular were copiously enumerated. "For instance," said Macklin, "_Pare_ me a _pair_ of _pears_." You may take three words out of this sentence, of the same sound, but of different meanings, and I defy any man to pronounce them in such a manner as to discriminate the sounds, or to mark to any ear by his pronunciation the difference between the verb _to pare_, the noun of number, _a pair_, and the fruit, _pear_. The pompous Bensley undertook that Powel, who was remarkable for a good ear, should do this. Bensley, who mouthed prodigiously whilst he spoke, was put behind a curtain, that the motion of his lips might not assist Powel in judging what meaning he intended to express by each of the words as he pronounced them. One of the company was placed behind the curtain, and to him Bensley was previously to communicate, whether he proposed to pronounce the word denoting the action, the noun of number, or the fruit. Bensley failed so often, and so ridiculously, that he became quite angry, and charged Powel with wilful misapprehension. To defend himself, Powel proposed that Holland should try his skill; but Holland had no better success. During these trials, I concerted by signs with Sir Francis, a method of pointing out my meaning, and I offered to try my skill. The audience with difficulty restrained their contempt: but I took my place behind the curtain, and they were soon compelled to acknowledge, that I had a more distinct pronunciation, or that Sir Francis had more acute hearing, than the rest of the company. Out of twenty experiments, I never failed more than two or three times, and in these I failed on purpose, to prevent suspicion. I had made my confederate understand, that when I turned my right foot outward, as it appeared from beneath the curtain, I meant to say _pare_, to cut; when I turned inward, _pair_, a couple; and when it was straight forward, _pear_, the fruit. We kept our own counsel, and won unmerited applause. Amidst such trifling as this, much sound criticism was mixed, which improved my literary taste, and a number of entertaining anecdotes were related, which informed my inexperienced mind with knowledge of the world."

One of the many excellent anecdotes which Mr. Edgeworth introduces relative to the extraordinary man of the town with whom he was now passing his time, we shall give as a sample. Sir Francis had contrived to represent the borough of Andover, in several Parliaments, by practising a series of tricks on his constituents:--but at length, he sustained a reverse of fortune, and his electioneering success terminated.

His attorney's bill was yet to be discharged. It had been running on for many years; and though large sums had been paid on account, a prodigious balance still remained to be adjusted. The affair came before the King's Bench. Among a variety of exorbitant and monstrous charges, there appeared the following article.

"To being thrown out of the window at the George Inn, Andover--to my leg being thereby broken--to surgeon's bill, and loss of time and business--all in the service of Sir F. B. Delaval.--Five hundred pounds.

"When this curious _item_ came to be explained, it appeared, that the attorney had, by way of promoting Sir Francis' interest in the borough, sent cards of invitation to the officers of a regiment in the town, in the name of the mayor and corporation, inviting them to dine and drink his Majesty's health on his birthday. He, at the same time, wrote a similar invitation to the mayor and corporation, in the name of the officers of the regiment. The two companies met, complimented each other, eat a good dinner, drank a hearty bottle of wine to his Majesty's health, and prepared to break up.--The commanding officer of the regiment, being the politest man in company, made a handsome speech to Mr. Mayor, thanking him for his hospitable invitation and entertainment. "No, Colonel," replied the mayor, "it is to you that thanks are due by me and by my brother aldermen for your generous treat to us." The colonel replied with as much warmth as good breeding would allow: the mayor retorted with downright anger, swearing that he would not be choused by the bravest colonel in his Majesty's service.--"Mr. Mayor," said the colonel, "there is no necessity for displaying any vulgar passion on this occasion. Permit me to show you, that I have here your obliging card of invitation."--"Nay, Mr. Colonel, here is no opportunity for bantering, there is your card."

Upon examining the cards, it was observed, that notwithstanding an attempt to disguise it, both cards were written in the same hand by some person, who had designed to make fools of them all. Every eye of the corporation turned spontaneously upon the attorney, who, of course, attended all public meetings. His impudence suddenly gave way, he faltered and betrayed himself so fully by his confusion, that the colonel, in a fit of summary justice, threw him out of the window. For this Sir Francis Delaval was charged five hundred pounds.--Whether he paid the money of not, I forget."

THE PROMPTER.

_It will do for the present._

This common saying does as much mischief in society, as _rum_ or a _pestilence_. If I hear a man, whether a farmer, a mechanic, or any other person, often repeat that saying, and appear to act from the opinion, that _it will do for the present_, I rely on it he is a sloven, a drone, or something worse. I never knew such a man thrive.

A young man setting out in life, is in haste to be married. He wants a house to live in, but is not fully able to build one. Yet his pride requires a large showy house. At last, between poverty and pride, he determines to build a large house, but not to finish it till he is _more able_. He sets up a large two story house, with four rooms in a story--he covers it and paints it: this is a showy house--his pride exults to see passengers stare at his elegant house: but though _pride_ governs the _outside_, _poverty_ reigns _within_--he can finish but two rooms, half finish one or two more--and lay a loose floor above, to spread his corn upon: this elegant mansion house then is a granary--a corn house: the man and a litter of children below--and rats and mice above: but the man says, _it will do for the present_. True, but the man has but twenty or thirty acres of land, or an indifferent trade--his family grows faster than his income--he is not able to finish his house--the covering soon decays and admits water--the house falls to pieces--the man is forced _poor_ into the wilderness, or he and his children loiter about, dependant on the neighbours for subsistence by day labour.

I know one of these _do-for-the-present-farmers_, who never effectually repairs his fences; but when a breach is made, he fills it with a bush that a sheep may remove: if a rail is broke, and another is not at hand, he takes the next billet of wood, inserts one end into the post, and ties up the other with elm or hickory bark--he says, _this will do for the present_. His cattle learn to be unruly--to remedy the evil, fetters, shackles, clogs, yokes, and what he calls _pokes_, are invented--and his cattle and horses are doomed to hobble about their pasture with a hundred weight of wood or iron machines upon their feet and necks. The man himself, in two years, spends time enough in patching up his fences and making fetters, to make a good effectual fence round his whole farm, which would want very little repair in twenty years.

In family affairs, these _do-for-the-present folks_ double their necessary labour. They labour hard to put things _out of order_, and then it requires nearly the same work to put them into order again. A man uses an axe, a hoe, a spade, and throws it down where he uses it; instead of putting it in its proper place, under cover. Exposed to the weather, tools do not last more than half so long, as when kept housed; but this is not all: a sloven leaves the tool where he last used it--or throws it down any where at random: in a few days he wants it again--he has forgot where he left it--he goes to look for it--he spends perhaps half an hour in search of it, or walks a distance to get it: this time is lost, for it breaks in upon some other business--the loss of this small portion of time appears trifling; but slovens and sluts incur such losses every day; and the loss of these little scraps of time determine a man's fortune. Let the Prompter make a little calculation: a farmer, whose family expends one hundred pounds a year, if he can clear ten pounds a year is a thriving man. In order to get his one hundred and ten pounds, suppose he labours ten hours a day: in this case, if he loses an _hour_ every day, in repairing the carelessness of the day before (and every sloven and slut loses more time than this, every day, for want of care and order) he loses a _tenth_ part of his time--a _tenth_ part of his income--this is _eleven pounds_. Such a man cannot thrive--he must grow poorer, for want of _care_, of _order_, of _method_.

So it is with a woman. A neat woman who does business thoroughly, keeps things _in order_, with about _half the labour_ that a slut employs who keeps things for ever _out of order_. If a pail or kettle be used, it is directly made clean, fit for other uses, and put in its place. When it is wanted, it is ready. But a slut uses an article and leaves it _any where_, dirty, unfit for use another time: by and by it is wanted, and cannot be found--"Moll, where did you leave the kettle?" "I han't had the kettle, Nab had it last"--"Nab, did you have the kettle?" "Yes, but it is dirty." So the kettle is found, but it is a half hour's work to fit it for the purpose required; in the mean time, the necessary business must lie by. Yet this woman says, when she does any thing, _it will do for the present_.

I have only to add, that I went to church, on a late cold Sunday, when a neighbouring clergyman officiated. He had spoken to his _fifteenthly_, when the clock struck _one_. Every man was shivering with the cold, and shuffling his feet--the parson took the hint, and broke off with "_this will do for the present_."

STAPLES OF MISSOURI.

1. _Lead._--MISSOURI is famed throughout Europe and America, for the extent and value of her lead mines. She would be able to furnish all the U. States, the West Indies, Mexico, and South America, with that article. In the meantime, the U. States are purchasing lead from England! About $500,000 per annum is usually paid by Americans to Englishmen for lead; last year, however, it was about $300,000. The difference of the policy pursued by the two nations, is the cause of this state of things. In England, foreign lead pays a duty of 26_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._ sterling on every quantity of 100_l._ worth imported; and the lead mines are private property. In America, foreign lead pays but little duty, and the mines are monopolized by the government.

2. _Iron._--Missouri has a great interest in the production of domestic iron. She possesses immense beds of ore, exceedingly rich, and well situated to be worked, and conveniently transported to all parts of the valley of the Mississippi. The waters of the Merrimac, and of the Gasconade are the chief seats of this ore, although it is found in many other parts of the territory, and in such amazing quantities, that it may be considered to be for ever inexhaustible. Missouri could furnish not only herself and immediate neighbours, but the whole valley of the Mississippi with iron and its manufactures, yet she is purchasing these articles from England, Sweden and Russia!

3. _Salt._---The state of Missouri abounds with salt springs. In many places they are almost as common as fresh water springs. They are found in every section of the country, but especially in the Boon's-lick district, and on the waters of Salt River, a branch of the Mississippi. Missouri would be able to furnish an empire with salt, but heretofore she has purchased that article from the Illinois and Kenawha, from Liverpool, St. Ubes, and Turk's Island!--The government monopoly was one cause of this. Since the purchase of Louisiana the government had reserved the salt springs; but in the bill for admitting Missouri into the Union, 12 springs, to be chosen by the Legislature, with four sections of land around each, are to be given to the state; and the remainder will probably be sold out, and become private property. These springs will be a source of wealth to the people, and of revenue to the state. With a judicious system of management, the whole expenses of the state government may possibly be defrayed from the rents and profits accruing from 12 selected springs.

4. _Hemp._--The soil and the climate of Missouri, announce it to be the true country for the production of hemp. Experience establishes the fact. Many farmers have raised it, as well under the Spanish as under the American government. The quantity obtained from an acre is prodigious, and by experiments made at New Orleans, under the auspices of the Governor General, the Baron de Carondelet, it was proved to be equal (the account says superior) in strength and fineness of fibre, to the boasted hemp of Russia. Persons who have looked to the resources of Missouri have always considered hemp as one of its staples, and the encouragement of its growth one of the first objects of our farmers and statesmen.

SPEECH NATURAL TO MAN.

In your paper some time past I saw an account of "a wild woman found in the interior of Java." History furnishes many instances of these "unfortunate commoners of nature," who have been exposed by design or accident. Comparatively few, we fear, have been brought to the domestic hearth; fewer still have been completely civilized. A book of travels, now almost obsolete, states instances of this kind. A race of marauding Tartars, subjects of Russia, frequently attacked Polish villages, and carried off whole families: in conveying their captives home they had to pass the wild and intricate forest of Minsk, in Russian Lithuania, and there these unfortunate mothers lost, and were separated from, their children. In after days, when this stupendous region was traversed for other purposes than the nefarious one above mentioned, several human males were found, in almost as barbarous a state as the native burghers of the forest, to whose ferocious instinct many of these innocents had doubtless fallen a prey.

Peter, the Wild Boy, excited much interest in his day. George the 2d, of England, found him whilst hunting in the woods near Hamelin, in the electorate of Hanover. Peter, when found, ran on all fours, like the quadrupeds amongst whom he had been raised. We might ask, why did the brutes of prey in this as well as other instances, deviate from the voracious instinct planted in their nature? To accident we cannot refer it; and, after wearying our minds with conjecture, we can only end the difficulty by attributing it to that providential care which preserved Daniel in the lion's den. Peter never could be taught to articulate more than two words--his own name and George; but he learned, with facility and correctness, the notes of several tunes.

Lord Monboddo, of eccentric memory, mentions in his narrative respecting Peter, that two children had been found in the same wild state--one in the island of Diego Garcia, and one in the Pyrenees. He also states that two wild children were found in the Dismal Swamp of Virginia.[2] This immense morass is yet, in its inmost recesses, the refuge of wild animals of prey, particularly bears, panthers, and wild cats. During a fire in these swamps, 10 or 12 years ago, numbers were hunted down, who had fled before the rapid flames. A resident in that neighbourhood informed me that he had seen 17 of these animals, some half-burned, hung upon a single tree. In respect to the children noticed by Lord Monboddo, I cannot, in any history of either Virginia or North Carolina, find the least hint of such a circumstance having occurred; nor does the writer specify the period when they were found. Is it not probable that these outcasts from society (admitting the noble author to be rightly informed) were the offspring of aboriginal females, compelled to seek shelter in these swamps from the invading colonist, or from some hostile tribe?--Amongst the innumerable tribes of Indians in Virginia and North Carolina, the _Tuskaroras_ were perhaps most powerful, and most immediately in the vicinity of this large tract. These aborigines were not all dispersed or destroyed until 1803, some of them living peaceably on the reserved lands. The main body of this tribe of Indians had migrated to New York state, and joined the Senecas, (one of the Six Nations,) many years preceding. Is it not probable, I again ask, that the young savages of lord Monboddo did, in fact, inherit the name from their birth? I would ask, as a matter of curiosity, of yourselves, Messrs. Editors, or any of your correspondents, answers to the following questions: When were these children found? Of what age when discovered? By whom found? What became of them? Could they be taught the use of speech?

[2] This great swamp, containing nearly 150,000 acres, lies more in
North Carolina than Virginia. It is a marshy region, covered with
a thick growth of cypress or juniper, many of which trees are of a
prodigious growth. These trees are occasionally intermingled with
oak, poplar, and maple. The annual fall of leaves, and the decay
of trees, raise the surface above the original soil some feet,
this part being completely saturated with water. The improvements
in agriculture have done much to drain this vast surface, and many
parts are sufficiently dry for the shingle-cutters and stave-makers
to pursue their avocations in spots of this dreary region.

Lord Monboddo maintains that speech is not natural to man, and that the want of it is no proof that the Ourang-Outang is not of the same species, as that animal only wants the _artificial_ use of it. King John, of England,[3] held the same hypothesis upwards of five centuries before. Tradition (for such records are beneath the dignity of history) asserts, that this monarch imprisoned two children (a male and female) in separate cells.[4] When, at a certain age, they were brought before him, each of these little victims repeated a sarcasm on his folly in thus confining them. He considered his hypothesis as confirmed, but punished the keepers. The legend is here torn, and we do not learn (supposing it true) what became of the children, or what further progress they made in language. That man has the power, as well as the organs of speech, it appears an absurdity to deny; for, what country has ever been discovered where the natives had not the means of communicating verbally with each other? In the earliest records of the world we find no sanction for such an opinion; for the Antediluvians were certainly not defective in the power or use of speech to convey their ideas. If we deny this we virtually acknowledge our belief that the Mosaic account of the creation is "a cunningly devised fable." After the Flood we cannot doubt that Noah and his descendants still spoke the language of Adam. "All the nations spoke one language." Lord Kames contends that, after the building of Babel, "men again degenerated into a savage state," which he attributes to the confusion of tongues, and the dispersion of the tribes. We are no where told that they lost or forgot the use of speech, which lord Monboddo considers incidental to the savage state.

[3] The Prince John of Ivanhoe, whom Hume characterises as replete
"with cowardice, inactivity, folly, levity, licentiousness,
ingratitude, treachery, tyranny, and cruelty." What a tissue of
crimes! And this was a King!

[4] In Newark Castle, where John died in 1216.

Lord Kames appears to take it for granted that _all_ the men then in existence were engaged in this stupendous and impious attempt to scale Heaven, and "make themselves a name."--This idea is not conveyed by the sacred historian; it therefore appears probable that the tribes which continued together still spoke the _original language_, and remained in one place, and as one people. I fear I have trespassed on your limits, but the subject arose from the preceding remarks. I conclude with reiterating my request respecting the children found in the Dismal Swamp.

[_Nat. Int._

ARTIFICIAL STONE FLOORS _and coverings for houses as made in some parts of Russia_.

The floors and coverings of houses in some parts of South Russia are made in the following manner:--For a floor let the ground be made even, and some stones of any shape be put on, and with a heavy wooden rammer force or break the stones into the ground, continuing to beat the floor until it becomes quite even, and incapable of receiving any further impression. Then run lime, immediately after it has been slacked, through a fine sieve as expeditiously as possible, because exposure to the air weakens the lime. Mix two parts of coarse sand or washed gravel, for there must be no earth in it, with one part of lime powder, and wet them with bullock's blood; so little moist however, as merely to prevent the lime blowing away in powder--in short, the less moist the better: spread it on the floor, and without a moment's loss of time, let several men be ready with large beetles to beat the mixture, which will become more and more moist by the excessive beating requisite. Then put on it some of the dry sand and lime mixed, and beat it till like a stone. If required to be very fine, take for the next layer finely sifted lime, with about a tenth part of rye flour, and a little ox blood; beat it with a trowel. The next day again smooth it with a trowel, and so continue to do daily till it be entirely dry. When it is quite dry and hard, rub it over with fresh ox blood, taking off all which it will not imbibe. No wet will penetrate this composition, which, however, after some time is often painted with oil colours. The whole floor appears as a single stone, and nothing will affect it.--The drier it is used the better, provided that with much beating it becomes like a very stiff mortar, and evidently forms a compact body.

On flat tops of houses, the beetles or rammers' ends must be smaller, to prevent the rebounding of the boards and timber, which would crack the cement; but, when the thickness of a foot is laid on, it will beat more firmly. A thick coating of ox blood, flour and lime, being beat in large, strong wooden troughs, or mortar, till it can be spread with a trowel, may be used without beating it again on the floor or house-top: but it must be very stiff, and used most expeditiously. Even frost will not affect it. With this composition, artificial stone may be made, rammed very hard into strong wooden frames of the required shape, particularly to turn arches for buildings of rammed earth. It is well known that earth which is not too argillaceous, with only the moisture it has when fresh dug, on being rammed between frames of wood till the rammer will no longer impress it, makes eternal walls; but a mass as hard as stone may be made with a little lime added to sand, horse-dung, or ox blood. The more the lime is beaten, the moister it becomes, and it must contain so much moisture as to become by beating a solid mass, adhering in all its parts, and not remain crumbling, that will properly set as a mortar. If there be too little moisture at first, it will remain a powder; if there be too much it will become a soft mortar. Lime is of no use mixed with clay or vegetable earths, which, if well beaten, are stronger without it.

FROM A LATE ENGLISH PAPER.

ATTACK BY BEES.

Some days ago the following singular narrative appeared in the Berlin Gazette: it was furnished to that paper by M. Eulert, a merchant of that city, who was himself the party principally concerned:--

"I was travelling," says M. Eulert, "on the 20th of July, at 7 o'clock in the morning, in my carriage, accompanied by my wife, on my way from Wirtemberg to Berlin, between Kroppstadt and the town of Schmogelsdorf, which is contiguous to the high road; I observed one of my horses rub himself with uneasiness against the other. I remarked to my wife that the animal no doubt was stung by a horse-fly. Whilst we were talking upon the subject, we were suddenly surrounded by a swarm of bees, so thick, that our carriage horses, coachman, my wife, and myself, were completely covered. The furious insects attached themselves immediately to the nose, mouth, eyes and ears of each horse; the two animals seemed to be deprived of every sense, and as if overcome with stupor, they lay down, and stretched themselves out an unresisting prey to the bees.

"As soon as we perceived this cloud of insects to lessen around us, my wife threw over her hat the hood of her night cloak, got out of the carriage, went back a little way on the road, and instinctively fled into the ditch, where she lay down with her face to the earth. I exerted myself in the meantime in endeavouring to get over this disaster; I went also out of the carriage, and covering my face and neck with my handkerchief, I re-ascended the carriage, and with all my strength cried out for help.--Three peasants, a short distance off, had all the while calmly observed my situation; but neither by the offer of reward, nor by the most urgent entreaty, could I prevail upon them to render us any assistance; they turned their backs upon us, and pursued their way to the village. In this unhappy plight I walked on for half an hour, when I met the road-keeper, named Daniel Arndt, and a carrier, named David Henry, accompanied by some labourers, and driving a cart with three horses.--Still tormented by the bees, and pursued by them with inconceivable bitterness, I breathed at last, and was relieved by this rencontre, as these good people had lighted tobacco pipes, and the smoke dispersed my disagreeable guests.

"The carrier being informed of the danger, in order not to expose himself to it, would not stir one pace further; and as the bees began to surround us on all sides, he unharnessed his team, left his cart laden with goods on the road, and took a by-way in order to place his horses under shelter in the village. Soon after the other people accompanied me to where my horses were, and they brought with them an abundance of hay and straw. There we found my unfortunate coachman stretched in the ditch, his head and hands all covered with bees, so that the road-keeper was obliged to use a brush to get them off his face; his hair was matted with blood, and as the insects could not be extricated, they were crushed to death.--Whilst this operation was going on, we set fire to the straw, and succeeded in driving away the bees.

"As soon as the carrier had placed his horses in safety, he came back to us having fortified himself in every way against the bees, and showed himself anxious to give all the assistance in his power to my horses.--But one of them was so severely injured, that he died the same day. The other was conducted to Schmogelsdorf; but though the veterinary surgeon exhausted all his skill, the animal perished in twenty-four hours after.

"My coachman had brought his misfortune on himself, because, in endeavouring to succour the horses, he had lost his hat. The bees fastened on his naked head, and deprived him of his senses, and for forty-eight hours he remained in a state of suffering that threatened to terminate in his death. We were supplied with horses, and had him conveyed to Treuenbrietzen, where he recovered. He had at first cried out so vehemently for assistance, that the bees got into his mouth and throat. I myself passed twenty-four hours in extreme pain at the same place, and was compelled to apply several poultices, to my head, neck, and ears, to appease the inflammation.

"My wife, who, as if by inspiration, threw herself down into the ditch, came out again perfectly safe--and in a few days after, the coachman and I were at length entirely recovered.

"I attribute this accident to two causes. In the first place, I now believe it was not a horse fly that stung the horse, as I at first supposed, but rather the queen bee, which must have been killed when the animal rubbed against his companion. I conjecture this to have been the case, from the natural history of these insects; it is very common to see a swarm of bees, when deprived of their leading queen, unite with other swarms, and fall with a species of madness, upon the first objects they encounter.

"In the next place, I attribute the circumstance to the fact, that, contrary to express prohibition of the magistrates, the Commune of Schmogelsdorf, besides its proper number of 900 hives, takes in an equal number from the neighbouring communes to tend during the time of swarming, because the flowers, fields and gardens which it contains, present a singularly rich pasture for such insects. Hence it happens, that in a small space nearly two thousand hives are crowded together, so that in the season of swarming it is dangerous to pass that way.

ZOOLOGY Of THE SPITZBERGEN WHALE.

Extracted from Scoresby's valuable work, "Arctic Voyages," &c. just published.

Erroneous opinions have been entertained respecting the Whale (the Balæna Mysticetus) having been of a much larger size in former times than now: from a comparison of the preceding accounts of all credible witnesses, the author says--

"Hence I conceive we may satisfactorily conclude, that whales of as large size are found now, as at any former period since the Spitzbergen fishery was discovered; and I may also remark, that where any respectable authority affords actual measurements exceeding 70 feet, it will always be found that the specimen referred to, was not one of the Mysticetus kind, but of the B. Physalis, or the B. Musculus, animals which considerably exceed in length any of the common whales that I have either heard of, or met with. When fully grown, therefore, the length of the whale may be stated as varying from 50 to 65, and rarely, if ever, reaching 70 feet; and its greatest circumference from 30 to 40 feet. It is thickest a little behind the fins, or in the middle, between the anterior and posterior extremes of the animal; from whence it gradually tapers in a conical form, towards the tail, and slightly towards the head. Its form is cylindrical from the neck, to within ten feet of the tail, beyond which it becomes somewhat quadrangular, the greatest ridge being upward, or on the back, and running backward nearly across the middle of the tail. The head has somewhat of a triangular shape. The under-part, the arched outline of which is given by the jaw-bones, is flat, and measures 16 to 20 feet in length, and 10 to 12 in breadth. The lips, extending 15 to 20 feet in length, and 5 or 6 in height, and forming the cavity of the mouth, are attached to the under-jaw, and rise from the jaw-bones, at an angle of about 80 degrees, having the appearance, when viewed in front, of the letter U. The upper jaw, including the 'crown-bone,' or skull, is bent down at the extremity, so as to shut the front and upper parts of the cavity of the mouth, and is overlapped by the lips in a squamous manner at the sides. When the mouth is open, it presents a cavity as large as a room, and capable of containing a merchant-ship's jolly-boat, full of men, being 6 or 8 feet wide, 10 or 12 feet high (in front), and 15 or 16 feet long. The fins, two in number, are placed between one-third and two-fifths of the length of the animal, from the snout, and about two feet behind the angle of the mouth. They are 7 to 9 feet in length, and 4 or 5 in breadth. The part by which they are attached to the body, is somewhat elliptical, and about 2 feet in diameter; the side which strikes the water is nearly flat. The articulation being perfectly spherical, the fins are capable of motion in any direction; but, from the tension of the flesh and skin below, they cannot be raised above the horizontal position. Hence the account given by some naturalists, that the whale supports its young by its fins, on its back, must be erroneous. The fins, after death, are always hard and stiff; but, in the living animal, it is presumed, from the nature of the internal structure, that they are capable of considerable flexion. The whale has no dorsal fin. The tail, comprising, in a single surface, 80 or 100 square feet, is a formidable instrument of motion and defence. Its length is only 5 or 6 feet; but its width is 18 to 24 or 26 feet. Its position is horizontal. In its form it is flat and semi-lunar; indented in the middle; the two lobes somewhat pointed, and turned a little backward. Its motions are rapid and universal; its strength immense. The eyes are situated in the sides of the head, about a foot obliquely above and behind the angle of the mouth. They are remarkably small in proportion to the bulk of the animal's body, being little larger than those of an ox. The whale has no external ear; not can any orifice for the admission of sound be discovered until the skin is removed.

On the most elevated part of the head, about 16 feet from the anterior extremity of the jaw, are situated the blow-holes, or spiracles; consisting of two longitudinal apertures 6 or eight inches in length. These are the proper nostrils of the whale. A moist vapour, mixed with mucus, is discharged from them, when the animal breathes; but no water accompanies it, unless an expiration of the breath be made under the surface.

The mouth, in place of teeth, contains two extensive rows of "fins," or whalebone, which are suspended from the sides of the crown-bone. These series of fins are generally curved longitudinally, although they are sometimes straight, and give an arched form to the roof of the mouth.--They are covered immediately by the lips attached to the lower jaw, and enclose the tongue between their lower extremities. Each series or "side of bone," as the whalefishers term it, consists of upwards of 300 laminæ; the longest are near the middle, from whence they gradually diminish away to nothing at each extremity. Fifteen feet is the greatest length of the whalebone; but 10 or 11 feet is the average size, and 13 feet is a magnitude seldom met with. The greatest breadth, which is at the gum, is 10 or 12 inches. The laminæ, composing the two series of bone, are ranged side by side, two thirds of an inch apart, (thickness of the blade included,) and resemble a frame of saws, in a saw-mill. The interior edges are covered with a fringe of hair, and the exterior edge of every blade, excepting a few at each extremity of the series, is curved and flattened down, so as to present a smooth surface to the lips. In some whales, a curious hollow on one side, and ridge on the other, occurs in many of the central blades of whalebone, at regular intervals of 6 or 7 inches.--May not this irregularity, like the rings in the horns of the ox, which they resemble, afford an intimation of the age of the whale? If so, twice the number of running feet in the longest laminæ of whalebone in the head of a whale not full grown, would represent its age in years. In the youngest whales, called _suckers_, the whalebone is only a few inches long; when the length reaches 6 feet or upwards, the whale is said to be _size_. The colour of the whalebone is brownish-black, or bluish-black. In some animals, it is striped longitudinally with white. When newly cleaned, the surface exhibits a fine play of colour. A large whale sometimes affords a ton and a half of whalebone. If the "sample blade," that is, the largest lamina in the series, weigh 7 pounds, the whole produce may be estimated at a ton; and so on in proportion. The whalebone is inserted into the crown-bone, in a sort of rabbet. All the blades in the same series are connected together by the gum, in which the thick ends are inserted. This substance, (the gum,) is white, fibrous, tender, and tasteless. It cuts like cheese. It has the appearance of the interior or kernel of the cocoa-nut.

The tongue occupies a large proportion of the cavity of the mouth, and the arch formed by the whalebone. It is incapable of protrusion, being fixed from root to tip, to the fat extending between the jaw-bones.--A slight beard, consisting of a short scattered white hair, surmounts the anterior extremity of both jaws. The throat is remarkably strait.

Two paps in the female, afford the means of rearing its young. The milk of the whale resembles that of quadrupeds in its appearance. It is said to be rich and well-flavoured.

Immediately beneath the skin lies the _blubber_ or fat, encompassing the whole body of the animal, together with the fins and tail. Its colour is yellowish-white, yellow, or red. In the very young animal it is always yellowish-white. In some old animals, it resembles in colour the substance of the salmon. It swims in water. Its thickness all round the body, is 8 or 10 to 20 inches, varying in different parts as well as in different individuals. The lips are composed almost entirely of blubber, and yield from one to two tons of pure oil each. The tongue is chiefly composed of a soft kind of fat, that affords less oil than any other blubber; in the centre of the tongue, and towards the root, this fat is intermixed with fibres of a muscular substance. The under jaw, excepting the two jaw-bones, consists almost wholly of fat; and the crown-bone possesses a considerable coating of it. The fins are principally blubber, tendons, and bones; and the tail possesses a thin stratum of blubber. The oil appears to be retained in the blubber in minute cells, connected together by a strong reticulated combination of tendinous fibres. The blubber, in its fresh state, is without any unpleasant smell; and it is not until after the termination of the voyage, when the cargo is unstowed, that a Greenland ship becomes disagreeable.

Four tons of blubber by measure, generally afford three tons of oil; but the blubber of a sucker contains a very small proportion. Whales have been caught that afforded nearly thirty tons of pure oil; and whales yielding twenty tons of oil, are by no means uncommon. The quantity of oil yielded by a whale, generally bears a certain proportion to the length of its longest blade of whalebone.

A stout whale of sixty feet in length, is of the enormous weight of seventy tons; the blubber weighs about thirty tons, the bones of the head, whalebone, fins and tail, eight or ten; carcase thirty or thirty-two.

The flesh of the young whale is of a red colour; and when cleared of fat, broiled, and seasoned with pepper and salt, does not eat unlike coarse beef; that of the old whale approaches to black, and is exceedingly coarse.--An immense bed of muscles surrounding the body, is appropriated chiefly to the movements of the tail.

The number of ribs, according to Sir Charles Giesecké, is thirteen on each side. The bones of the fins are analogous, both in proportion and number, to those of the fingers of the human hand. From this peculiarity of structure, the fins have been denominated by Dr. Flemming, "swimming paws." The posterior extremity of the whale, however, is a real tail; the termination of the spine or coccygis, running through the middle of it almost to the edge.

The whale seems dull of hearing. A noise in the air, such as that produced by a person shouting, is not noticed by it, though at the distance only of a ship's length; but a very slight splashing in the water, in calm weather, excites its attention, and alarms it. Its sense of seeing is acute. Whales are observed to discover one another, in clear water, when under the surface, at an amazing distance. When at the surface, however, they do not see far. They have no voice; but in breathing or _blowing_, they make a very loud noise. The vapour they discharge, is ejected to the height of some yards, and appears at a distance, like a puff of smoke. When the animals are wounded, it is often stained with blood; and, on the approach of death, jets of blood are sometimes discharged alone. They blow strongest, densest, and loudest, when, "running," when in a state of alarm, or when they first appear at the surface, after being a long time down. They respire or blow about four or five times a-minute.

The usual rate at which whales swim, even when they are on their passage from one situation to another, seldom exceeds four miles an hour; and though when urged by the sight of any enemy, or alarmed by the stroke of a harpoon, their extreme velocity may be at the rate of eight or nine miles an hour: yet we find this speed never continues longer than for a few minutes, before it relaxes almost to one-half. Hence, for the space of a few minutes, they are capable of darting through the water, with the velocity almost of the fastest ship under sail, and of ascending with such rapidity as to leap entirely out of the water. This feat they sometimes perform as an amusement apparently, to the high admiration of the distant spectator; but to the no small terror of the unexperienced fishers who, even under such circumstances, are often ordered, by the foolhardy harpooner, to "pull away" to the attack. Sometimes the whales throw themselves into a perpendicular posture, with their heads downward, and, rearing their tails on high in the air, beat the water with awful violence.--In both these cases, the sea is thrown into foam, and the air filled with vapours; the noise, in calm weather, is heard to a great distance; and the concentric waves produced by the concussions on the water, are communicated abroad to a considerable extent. Sometimes the whale shakes its tremendous tail in the air, which, cracking like a whip, resounds to the distance of two or three miles.

When it retires from the surface, it first lifts its head, then plunging it under water, elevates its back like the segment of a sphere, deliberately rounds it away towards the extremity, throws its tail out of the water, and then disappears.

In their usual conduct, whales remain at the surface to breathe, about two minutes, seldom longer; during which time, they "blow" eight or nine times, and then descend for an interval usually of five or ten minutes; but sometimes, when feeding, fifteen or twenty. The depth to which they commonly descend, is not known, though from the "eddy" occasionally observed on the water, it is evidently, at times, only trifling. But, when struck, the quantity of line they sometimes take out of the boats, in a perpendicular descent, affords a good measure of the depth. By this rule, they have been known to descend to the depth of an English mile; and with such velocity, that instances have occurred, in which whales have been drawn up by the line attached, from a depth of 700 or 800 fathoms, and have been found to have broken their jaw-bones, and sometimes crown-bone, by the blow struck against the bottom. Some persons are of opinion, that whales can remain under a field of ice, or at the bottom of the sea, in shallow water, when undisturbed, for many hours at a time.--Whales are seldom found sleeping: yet, in calm weather, among ice, instances occasionally occur.

The food of the whale consists of various species of actiniæ, cliones, sepiæ, medusæ, cancri, and helices; or at least some of these genera are always to be seen whenever any tribe of whales is found stationary and feeding. In the dead animals, however, in the very few instances in which I have been enabled to open their stomachs, squillæ or shrimps were the only substances discovered. In the mouth of a whale just killed, I once found a quantity of the same kind of insect.

When the whale feeds, it swims with considerable velocity below the surface of the sea, with its jaws widely extended. A stream of water consequently enters its capacious mouth, and along with it, large quantities of water insects; the water escapes again at the sides; but the food is entangled and sifted as it were, by the whalebone, which, from its compact arrangement, and the thick internal covering of hair, does not allow a particle the size of the smallest grain to escape.

SIR JOSEPH BANKS.

On Monday morning, June 19, 1820, at 8 o'clock, died, at his house, Spring Grove, near Hounslow, the venerable President of the Royal Society, the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, G. C. B. &c. &c. &c. The loss to science by the demise of this excellent man and liberal patron will be long and severely felt. It will be recollected, that when it was determined to send Captain Cook on his first voyage round the globe, Sir Joseph Banks, then a young man, whose ardent mind glowed with a love of science and of ingenious enterprise, determined to accompany him. His liberal spirit and generous curiosity were regarded with admiration, and every convenience from the government was readily supplied to render the circumstances of the voyage as comfortable as possible. Far, however, from soliciting any accommodation that might occasion expense to government, Mr. Banks was ready to contribute largely out of his own private fortune towards the general purposes of the expedition. He engaged as his director in natural history during the voyage, and as the companion of his researches, Dr. Solander, of the British museum, a Swede by birth, and one of the most eminent pupils of Linnæus, whose scientific merits had been his chief recommendation to patronage in England. He also took with him two draughtsmen, one to delineate views and figures, the other to paint subjects of natural history. A secretary and four servants formed the rest of his suite. He took care to provide likewise the necessary instruments for his intended observations, with convenience for preserving such specimens as he might collect of natural or artificial objects, and with stores to be distributed in the remote isles he was going to visit, for the improvement of the condition of savage life. In the course of the voyage dangers were encountered of no ordinary magnitude. On the coast of Terra del Fuego in an excursion to view the natural productions of the country, Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander had nearly perished in a storm of snow. After passing a night on land, amid the storm, they at last, and with much difficulty, made their way back to the beach, and were received on board the ship; but three of the persons who accompanied them were lost. Shortly after his return from this voyage, Sir Joseph, in company with his friend Dr. Solander, visited Iceland. A rich harvest of new knowledge and of specimens compensated for the toils and expense of this scientific adventure. They afterwards visited the Western Islands of Scotland: and among other things worthy of notice, they discovered the columna stratification of the rocks surrounding the caves of Staffa; a phenomenon till then unobserved by naturalists, but was no sooner made known in a description by Sir J. Banks, than it became famous among men of science throughout Europe. In 1777, when Sir John Pringle retired from the presidency of the Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks was elected to fill the vacant chair; and never perhaps has it been filled with more honour to the individual, or more advantage to the interests of science. His time, his wealth, (which was a princely fortune,) his influence, his talents, an incomparable library of science and art; knowledge and judgment to advise; affability to conciliate and encourage; generosity to assist; all in short of which he possessed, and it was all something either of goodness or greatness, he made the patrimony of the studious and learned, not of his own country alone, but of the whole world.

CURIOUS FACTS IN NATURAL HISTORY.