,transcribers ,note3 ,an effort has been
 made to keep the project as  authentic 
as possible4 ,two printers errors have  
been corrected3  toothach has been      
changed to toothache1 and recals has    
been  changed to recalls4 ,hyphenated   
words have been standardized as well4   
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,illustration                           
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,illustration                           
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,,invention ,,and ,,discovery3          
,curious ,facts and ,characteristic     
,sketches4          ,illustration       
,w,m4 ,w4 ,,swayne1                     
,,brooklyn ,,and ,,new ,,york4          
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--------------------------------        
,,murray ,,and ,,gibb1 ,,edinburgh1     
,,printers ,,to ,,her ,,majesty',s      
,,stationery ,,office4                  

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,,contents4                             
--------------                          
,,page     ,alchemists1 ,the ,last of   
the                                     
#aaj     ,alpine ,perils--,professor    
,forbes on                              
#cj     ,amber an ,article of           
,international ,trade                   
#ff     ,amsterdam ,pile1 ,the          
#aej     ,antiquity of ,lightning       
,conductors                             
#fg     ,antiquity of ,refined ,sugar   
#hg     ,arkwright's ,spinning ,frame   
#abh     ,art of ,stereotype1 ,the      
#aje     ,artesian ,well of ,grenelle1  
,the                                    
#acb     ,ascent of the ,jungfrau ,alp1 
by ,forbes1 c4                      #dd 
,astronomical ,shoemaker1 ,an           
#ea     ,babbage's ,calculating ,machine
                                   #ei  
,balloon ,travelling1 ,rate of          
#ajc     ,balloon ,voyage from ,london  

to ,nassau                              
#hf     ,banks'1 ,sir ,joseph1 ,balance 
#cg     ,benefit of a ,wife to an       
,author                                 
#dj     ,black1 ,dr41 ,the ,death of    
#acc     ,brindley the ,engineer        
#dc     ,brongniart's ,early ,life      
#cc     ,brougham's1 ,lord1 ,scientific 
,blunders                           #ij 
,buckingham ,palace ,gates              
#cg     ,burning ,mirrors of            
,archimedes1 ,the                       
#adj     ,carnot when a ,child          
#bc     ,catching ,electric ,eels       
#gd     ,character of ,engineers in     
their ,works                            
#dc     ,clearness of the ,sky at the   
,cape of ,good ,hope                    
#hh     ,coal ,gas in ,balloons1 ,use of
                                    #ba 
,cocoa-,nut ,crab1 ,the                 
#ej     ,coffee-,tree1 ,transportation  
of the                             #abg 
,columbus' own ,ship-,journal           
#gj     ,crawshays of ,merthyr ,tydvil1 

,the                                #ae 
,cuvier and ,napoleon                   
#ba     ,cuvier1 ,childhood of          
#be     ,cuvier1 ,homage to             
#ad     ,cuvier in ,london              
#ci     ,davy1 ,sir ,humphry1 ,death of 
#ac     ,davy1 ,sir ,humphry1 as an     
,angler                                 
#ic     ,deaf1 ,the1 ,how they may ,hear
                                    #fh 
,decline of ,science1 ,the              
#eb     ,dee1 ,dr41 ,the ,necromancer   
#aag     ,descartes' ,wooden ,daughter  
#ea     ,descent in a ,diving-,bell1 ,a 
#ib     ,diamonds1 ,celebrated          
#aad     ,discoveries ,anticipated      
#ed     ,diving-,bell1 ,first ,use of   
the                                     
#ajc     ,drummond ,light1 ,the         
#fb     ,drying ,wood for ,violins      
#fi     ,drymaking in ,holland1 ,a      
#acg     ,early ,incitements            
7,humboldt's7 to ,study of ,nature      
#gb     ,earthquakes1 in ,chile         
#ch     ,earthquakes1 ,how to ,measure  

#fb     ,electricity1 ,the ,velocity of 
#aee     ,electrifying ,machine in      
,persia1 ,an                            
#fj     ,el ,dorado of ,sir ,walter     
,raleigh                                
#fe     ,elgin ,marbles1 ,the           
#eh     ,experiments with an ,electric  
,eel                                #gi 
,false ,anticipations of ,railway ,speed
                            #ad         
,faraday as a ,lecturer                 
#hh     ,female ,mathematician1 ,a      
,french                                 
#ef     ,ferguson1 ,the ,wife of ,james 
#ib     ,fire-proof ,house on ,putney   
,heath                                  
#aji     ,fossil ,rain                  
#ajd     ,fourdrinier's ,paper-making   
,machinery                              
#dh     ,fourier's ,independence        
#ef     ,franklin's ,discoveries        
#bb     ,gold in ,siberia               
#hc     ,gutta-percha1 ,discovery of    
#bj     ,herschel's ,love of ,music     
#ei     ,herschel1 his ,first ,telescope

                                   #ge  
,herschel1 his ,sister                  
#id     ,holding a ,craw's ,court       
#cj     ,hyena1 ,a ,tame                
#ajg     ,india ,rubber #aej ,years     
,since                                  
#he     ,indian ,jugglers' ,secret1 ,the
                                   #aje 
,invention of ,gun ,cotton              
#ce     ,invention of the ,diving-,bell 
#gh     ,invention of the ,hand ,gear   
#acj     ,invisible ,despatch1 ,the     
#ajg     ,jesuit's ,bark1 ,the ,first   
,use of                                 
#ea     ,kaleidoscope1 ,combinations of 
the                               #hd   
,kaleidoscope1 ,sir ,d4 ,brewster's     
#abj     ,kaleidoscope1 ,the ,first     
#ia     ,leaning ,tower of ,pisa1 ,the  
#bi     ,leibnitz's ,last ,moments      
#ba     ,lifting ,heavy ,persons        
#abd     ,lighthouses1 ,reflecting1 ,the
 ,origin of                         #abc
     ,lion ,eaten as ,food1 ,the        
#aja     ,lithography1 ,the ,discovery  

of                                  #aei
     ,london as a ,port                 
#dh     ,longevity of the ,beetle       
#ajb     ,magnetic ,correspondence in   
the #agth ,century                      
#adb     ,mariner's ,compass1 ,the      
#aef     ,marvels of the ,alchemists    
#abi     ,means to the ,end1 ,the       
#hd     ,mechanical ,triumphs           
#eg     ,monochromatic ,painting        
#aef     ,moon ,seen through ,lord      
,rosse's ,telescope1 ,the               
#aja     ,mythology of ,science1 ,the   
#fd     ,navigation before the ,compass 
#add     ,necessity the ,mother of      
,invention                              
#acf     ,newton's ,finger-,magnet      
#bj     ,nice ,robbery1 ,a              
#ee     ,observatory1 ,ancient1 in      
,persia                                 
#dg     ,old ,st4 ,paul's1 ,a ,wrench to
                                    #adf
     ,origin of ,post ,paid ,envelopes  
#db     ,ostrich1 ,enemies of the       
#ajh     ,parachute ,descent1 ,a ,safe  

#ajd     ,pascal's ,childhood           
#ah     ,pascal1 ,how ,he ,weighed the  
,atmosphere                             
#bh     ,perils of ,chemical ,experiment
                                  #aea  
,philosophical ,enthusiasm              
#ca     ,poetic ,prophecies of ,darwin  
and ,milton                           #i
     ,poker across the ,fire1 ,the      
#acj     ,potato1 ,introduction of the1 
into ,france                        #hh 
,power of the ,lever                    
#ei     ,railway ,system ,suggested1    
,the                                    
#hi     ,raining ,trees at the ,cape    
#ajf     ,raleigh1 ,sir ,walter1 a      
,chemist                                
#eh     ,rapid ,manufacture of a ,coat  
#ed     ,reason for ,silence1           
,fontaine's                             
#dd     ,rosse's1 ,lord1 ,telescope     
#aba     ,rust1 ,protection by          
#ajj     ,st4 ,pierre's ,paul and       
,virginia                               
#fb     ,scientific ,pilgrim1 ,a        

#aci     ,self-taught ,mechanist1 ,a    
#adi     ,semaphore v4 ,electric        
,telegraph                              
#adf     ,shepherd to the ,king of      
,england for ,scotland                  
#cb     ,siberian ,mammoth ,remains1    
,the                                    
#aeb     ,smeaton's ,independence1      
#bc     ,smeaton1 his ,reproof of       
,gaming                                 
#cd     ,snow ,spectacles of the        
,esquimaux                              
#adh     ,society of ,arts1 ,origin of  
the                                 #abe
     ,spinning ,feats                   
#abh     ,steam-,gun in the #aeth       
,century                                
#df     ,strychnine a ,remedy for       
,paralysis                              
#ed     ,sun1 ,total ,eclipse of the1 at
 ,cuba1                            #ajb 
,sun1 ,vast ,spot on the                
#ab     ,talent and ,opportunity        
#hj     ,tea1 ,identity of ,black and   
,green1                                 

#ii     ,tea1 ,the ,first ,cup of1      
,drunk in ,england                      
#dj     ,tebreez1 ,variable ,climate of 
#eb     ,telegraph1 ,origin of the      
,electric                               
#acd     ,telescope1 ,invention of the  
#ig     ,thames ,tunnel1 ,construction  
of the                              #aj 
,travelling ,carriage1 ,a ,novel        
#ajh     ,travelling in the ,himalaya   
,mountains                              
#hb     ,travels of ,volcanic ,dust     
#cc     ,tropical ,delights1 ,sydney    
,smith's                                
#gi     ,tycho ,brahe1 ,credulity of    
#ig     ,vast ,mirrors ,made in ,russia 
#abg     ,vicissitudes of ,mining in    
,mexico                                 
#gi     ,voyages of ,manufactures       
#aai     ,waste of ,human ,life         
#abc     ,watch ,melted by ,lightning1  
,a                                      
#aje     ,watt's ,discovery of the      
,composition of ,water                  
#bf     ,weighing-,machine at the ,bank 

of ,england                         #ag 
,wet the ,ropes6                        
#aca     ,whitebait1 ,the ,rights of    
#gc     ,who ,first ,doubled the ,cape8 
#ia     ,wonders of ,australia1 ,sydney 
,smith on the                       #gf 
,world in a ,drop of ,water1 ,the       
#db                                     
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--------------------------------        
,,note4    ,in the annals of ,,invention
 and ,,discovery1 it may be said without
 undue  boasting1 no nation of modern   
times can lay claim to such an eminent  
position as ,great ,britain2 and her    
many ingenious and intrepid  adventurers
 into what they found unknown regions of
 the arts1 the  sciences1 and the       
earth's surface1 have so largely        
contributed to raise  her to her great  
place and power1 that it is mere justice
 and  self-interest to bestow on them   
grateful rewards in life1 and renown    
after death4 ,in this little volume are 
brought together a number of  sketches  

and memoranda1 illustrating the history 
of discovery1 and the  lives and labours
 of inventors and explorers1 not of our 
own country  alone1 but of others--for  
knowledge is of no country1 but of all4 
,the  object of the collector has been  
rather to present the popular than the  
strictly scientific side of his         
subject--to furnish materials of        
interest and amusement1 as well as      
instruction2 and if now and then he  has
 been tempted to stray into bye-paths of
 anecdote and gossip1 excuse  may       
readily be found in the fact that the   
private life of our men of  science1    
often singularly noble and full of      
character1 is apt to be  altogether     
obscured by the brilliancy of the       
results of their secret and  silent     
toil4 ,this volume will have served its 
purpose1 if it excites an  appetite for 
fuller and deeper inquisition into the  
sources of ,british  greatness and of   
modern civilisation4                    
----------------------------------------

--------------------------------        
,,invention ,,and ,,discovery4          
,,curious ,,facts ,,and ,,illustrative  
,,sketches4                             
------------------                      
,,poetic ,,prophecies4      ,in ,dr4    
,darwin's ,botanic ,garden1 first       
published in #aghi1 but written1  it is 
well known1 at least twenty years before
 the date of its  publication1 occurs   
the following prediction respecting     
,steam3--              ,soon shall thy  
arm1 unconquer'd ,steam1 afar           
,drag the slow barge1 or drive the rapid
 car2            ,or1 on wide-waving    
wings expanded bear            ,the     
flying chariot through the fields of    
air1#a            ,fair crews triumphant
 leaning from above1            ,shall  
wave their fluttering 'kerchiefs as they
 move2            ,or warrior bands     
alarm the gaping crowd1            ,and 
armies shrink beneath the shadowy cloud3
            ,so mighty ,hercules o'er   
many a clime            ,waved his huge 

mace in virtue's cause sublime2         
,unmeasured strength with early art     
combined1            ,awed1 served1     
protected1 and amazed mankind4    ,a    
distinguished photographer imagines that
 he has traced the  foreshadowing of his
 delightful science in the following    
passage from  our great epic poet3      
,with one touch virtuous                
,th' arch-chemic sun1 so far from us    
remote1                ,produces4       
,paradise ,lost1 b4 iii4 v4 #fjh4       
-----    ,footnote #a3      ,darwin     
projected an arial steam-carriage1 in   
which he proposed to    use wings       
similar to those of a bird1 to which    
motion was to be given    by a gigantic 
power worked by high-pressure steam1    
though the details    of his plan were  
not bodied forth4                       
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,construction ,,of ,,the ,,thames      
,,tunnel4      ,when the ingenious ,miss
 ,pardoe visited ,constantinople in     

#ahcf1 she was  not less surprised than 
gratified by the inquiry of an ,albanian
 chief1  as to the probable completion  
of the ,thames tunnel4 ,this1 however1  
is  but one of the many instances of the
 anxiety with which the great work  was 
watched throughout continental ,europe4 
,in ,egypt1 too1 where a new  country is
 rising1 phoenix-like1 upon the ashes of
 the old world1 the  progress of the    
tunnel was regarded with like curiosity2
 participated1  indeed1 throughout the  
civilised world4 ,this interest is fully
 attested  by the visitors' book at the 
,tunnel1 wherein are inscribed the names
 of  scientific men belonging to nearly 
every city of importance4 ,the  engineer
 of this great work1 ,mr4 7afterwards   
,sir7 ,mark ,isambard ,brunel1          
completed his design in #ahbc2 and      
amongst those who then regarded it as   
practicable were the ,duke of           
,wellington and the late ,dr4           
,wollaston4 ,the  works were commenced  
in #ahbe1 and the ,tunnel itself in     

#ahbf2 and by  ,march1 #ahbg1 it had    
advanced about one-third of the whole   
length4 ,all  proceeded well till ,may  
#ah1 when the river burst into the      
,tunnel with  such velocity and volume1 
as to fill it in fifteen minutes2 but1  
although the men were at work1 no lives 
were lost4 ,the hole1  thirty-eight feet
 deep1 was closed with bags of clay and 
hazel-rods1 the  water pumped out1 and  
the works resumed in ,september4 ,on    
,jan4 #ab1 #ahbh1  the river broke in a 
second time1 and filled the ,tunnel in  
less than ten  minutes2 when the rush of
 water brought with it a strong current 
of air  that put out the lights2 six of 
the workmen were lost4 ,for some        
distance1 ,mr4 ,brunel1 junior1         
struggled in total darkness1 and the    
rush  of the water carried him up the   
shaft4 ,the ,tunnel was again cleared1  
and  the part completed found to be     
sound4 ,hundreds of plans were proposed 
for its completion2 the funds of the    
company were too low to proceed1  and   

above #ejjjl4 was raised by public      
subscription4    ,for seven years the   
work was suspended2 but1 by advances    
from  ,government1 it was resumed in    
#ahce4 ,on ,april #bc1 #ahcg1 there was 
a third  irruption of the river2 a      
fourth on ,nov4 #b1 #ahcg1 with the loss
 of one  life2 and1 on ,march #f1 #ahch1
 the fifth and last irruption took      
place4  ,thus1 of the tunnel there were 
completed--                         ,in 
#ahcf         #aag feet4                
-- #ahcg           #bh                  
-- #ahch           #hj                  
-- #ahci          #aid                  
-- #ahdj           #gf       ,leaving   
only #fj feet to complete4              
,meanwhile1 the tunnel works proved a   
very attractive exhibition4 ,in  #ahch1 
they were visited by #bc1jjj persons1   
and1 in #ahci1 by #cd1jjj4 ,by  ,jan4   
#ahda1 the tunnel was completed from    
shore to shore--#aadj feet1 and  ,sir   
,i4 ,brunel1 on ,aug4 #ac1 was the first
 to pass through4 ,on ,march #be1       

#ahdc1 the tunnel was opened to the     
public1 with a demonstration of         
triumph4    ,the cost of the work has   
been nearly four times the sum at first 
contemplated2 the actual expense being  
upwards of #fjj1jjjl4 ,these1 of        
course1 are but a few data of the great 
work1 the progress of which1 for  twenty
 years1 interested every admirer of     
scientific enterprize4 ,the  engineering
 details present marvels of ingenuity4  
,the building of the  vast brick shaft1 
#ej feet in diameter1 #db feet in       
height1 and #c feet  thick1 with1 set   
over it1 the steam-engine for pumping   
out the water and  raising the          
earth--and the sinking of the whole1 en 
masse1 into the  ,rotherhithe bank1 were
 master-works of genius4 ,thus far the  
vertical  shaft3 the tunnel itself      
commenced with an excavation larger than
 the  interior of the old ,house of     
,commons4 ,but the great invention was  
the  shield apparatus--the series of    
cells1 in which1 as the miners worked   

at one end1 the bricklayers formed at   
the other the top1 sides1 and  bottom of
 the tunnel4 ,the dangers1 too1 were    
many3 sometimes1 portions  of the frame 
would break1 with the noise of a        
cannon-shot2 then alarming  cries were  
heard1 as some irruption of earth or    
water poured in2 the  excavators were1  
however1 much more inconvenienced by    
fire than  water--gas explosions        
frequently wrapping the place with a    
sheet of  flame1 and strangely mingling 
with the water1 and rendering the       
workmen  insensible4 ,yet1 with all     
these perils1 but seven lives were lost 
in  making the tunnel under the ,thames2
 whereas1 nearly forty men were  killed 
in building the new ,london             
,bridge4--,note-book of #ahdh4          
------------------                      
,,vast ,,spot ,,on ,,the ,,sun4         
,sir ,john ,herschel1 when at the ,cape 
of ,good ,hope1 observed1 on ,may #be1  
#ahcg1 a spot upon the sun1 the black   
centre of which would have allowed  the 

globe of our earth to drop through it1  
leaving a thousand miles  clear of      
contact on all sides of that tremendous 
gulf4                                   
------------------                      
,,death ,,of ,,sir ,,humphry ,,davy4    
,it was at ,rome1 on the #bjth day of   
,february1 #ahbi1 when he was finishing 
his eloquent work1 ,the ,last ,days of a
 ,philosopher1 that ,sir ,humphry  ,davy
 received the final warning to prepare4 
,by dictation1 he wrote to  his brother1
 who was at ,malta with the ,british    
troops--,i am dying from  a severe      
attack of palsy1 which has seized the   
whole of the body1 with  the exception  
of the intellectual organ4 ,i shall     
leave my bones in the  ,eternal ,city4  
,but he was to die neither then nor     
there4 ,within three  weeks1 his brother
 was by his bedside1 and found him as   
much interested  in the anatomy and     
electricity of the torpedo as ever1     
though he bade  ,dr4 ,davy not to be    
grieved by his approaching dissolution4 

,yet1 after  a day of #aej pulse-beats1 
and only five breathings in a minute1   
and of  the most distressing particular 
symptoms1 he again revived4 ,shortly    
after this1 ,lady ,davy arrived at ,rome
 from ,england1 with a copy of the      
second edition of ,salmonia1 which ,sir 
,humphry received with peculiar         
pleasure4 ,after some weeks of          
melancholy dalliance with the balmy     
spring  air of the ,campagna1 the       
,albula ,lake1 the hills of ,tivoli1 and
 the banks  of the ,tiber1 they         
travelled quietly round by ,florence1   
,genoa1 ,turin1  slowly threading the   
flowery1 sweet-scented ,alpine valleys1 
to ,geneva1  where he suddenly expired4 
,it was three hours beyond midnight2 his
  servant called his brother2 his       
brother was in time to close his eyes4  
,it was the #bith of ,may1 in #ahbi4    
,they buried him at ,geneva4 ,in truth1 
,geneva buried him herself1 with        
serious and respectful ceremonial4 ,a   
simple monument stands at the head  of  

the hospitable grave4 ,there is a tablet
 to his memory on the walls of          
,westminster ,abbey4 ,there is a        
monument also1 at ,penzance1 his        
birth-place4                            
------------------                      
,,homage ,,to ,,cuvier4      ,when the  
,count de ,seze replied to an eloquent  
discourse of ,cuvier1 he  stated that1  
since the ,restoration1 ,cuvier was the 
second example of  fortunate combination
 of literature and science1 and that he 
had been  preceded only by that         
illustrious geometer1 7the ,marquis de  
,laplace71  whom we may call the ,newton
 of ,france4 ,in referring to the       
,european  reputation of ,cuvier1 and to
 the vast extent and variety of his     
knowledge1 he applied to him the happy  
observation which ,fontenelle made      
respecting ,leibnitz--that while the    
ancients made one ,hercules out of      
several1 we might1 out of one ,cuvier1  
make several philosophers4              
------------------                      

,,false ,,estimate ,,of ,,railway       
,,speed4      ,the ordinary speed of    
,george ,stephenson's ,killingworth     
engine1 in #ahad1  was four miles an    
hour4 ,in #ahbe1 ,mr4 ,wood1 in his work
 on ,railways1 took  the standard at six
 miles an hour1 drawing #dj tons on a   
level2 and so  confident was he that he 
gauged the power of the locomotive1 that
 he  asserted--nothing could do more    
harm towards the adoption of railways   
than the promulgation of such nonsense  
as that we shall see locomotive  engines
 travelling at the rate of #ab1 #af1    
#ah1 and #bj miles an hour4 ,the        
promulgator of such nonsense was ,george
 ,stephenson4 ,in #ahbi1 it was         
estimated that1 at #ae miles an hour1   
the gross load was #i-a_/b tons1 and    
the net load very little2 and that1     
therefore1 high speed1 if  attainable1  
was perfectly useless4 ,before the end  
of that year1 ,george  ,stephenson got  
with the ,rocket a speed of #bi-a_/b    
miles an hour1  carrying a net load of  

#i-a_/b tons4 ,in #ahca1 his engines    
were to draw #ij  tons on a level1 at   
#bj miles an hour4    ,when the speed of
 the locomotive was set beyond question1
 prejudice then  took the alarm about   
safety1 and a very strong stand was from
 time to  time made for a limitation of 
speed4 ,even after the year #ahdi1 the  
,london and ,birmingham ,directors      
considered that #bj miles an hour was   
enough2 but the vigour of the broad     
gauge advocates has tripled the  working
 power of the locomotive1 and given us  
#fj miles an hour where we  might have  
been lingering at #bj4                  
------------------                      
,,the ,,crawshays ,,of ,,merthyr        
,,tydvil4      ,mr4 ,crawshay1 of the   
,cyfarthfa ,works1 at a dinner given to 
him in #ahdg1  by the people of         
,merthyr1 related the following account 
of the rise of  his family of ,iron     
,kings1 as they are called4    ,my      
grandfather was the son of a most       
respectable farmer in ,normanton1       

,yorkshire4 ,at the age of #ae1 father  
and son differed4 ,my grandfather1 an   
enterprising boy1 rode his own pony to  
,london1 then an arduous task of  some  
fifteen or twenty days' travelling4 ,on 
getting there1 he found  himself        
perfectly destitute of friends4 ,he sold
 his pony for #ael42 and  during the    
time that the proceeds of the pony kept 
him1 he found  employment in an iron    
warehouse of ,london1 kept by ,mr4      
,bicklewith4 ,he  hired himself for     
three years for #ael41 the price of his 
pony4 ,his  occupation was to clean the 
counting-house1 to put the desks in     
order1  and to do anything else that he 
was told4 ,by industry1 integrity1 and  
perseverance1 he gained his master's    
favour1 and was termed 'the  ,yorkshire 
,boy4' ,he had a very amiable and good  
master2 and1 before he  had been two    
years in his place1 he stood high in    
this just man's  confidence4 ,the trade 
in which he was engaged was only a      
cast-iron  warehouse1 and his master    

assigned to him1 'the ,yorkshire ,boy1' 
the  privilege of selling flat          
irons--the things with which our shirts 
and  clothes are flattened4 ,the        
washerwomen of ,london were sharp folks2
 and  when they bought one flat iron1   
they stole two4 ,mr4 ,bicklewith thought
  that the best person to cope with them
 would be a man working for his  own    
interest--and a ,yorkshireman at the    
same time4 ,that was the first  matter  
of trading that ever my grandfather     
embarked in4 ,by honesty and            
perseverance1 he continued to grow in   
favour4 ,his master retired in a  few   
years1 and left my grandfather in       
possession of his cast-iron  business in
 ,london1 which was carried on on the   
very site where ,i now  spend my        
days--in ,york ,yard4 ,my grandfather   
left his business in ,london1  and came 
down here2 and my father1 who carried it
 on1 supplied him with  money almost as 
fast as he spent it here2 but not quite 
so fast4 ,what  occurred subsequently1  

this company knows perfectly well4 ,who 
started  with humbler prospects in life 
than my grandfather8 ,no man in this    
room  is so poor but that he can command
 #ael4 ,depend upon it1 any man who is  
industrious1 honest1 and persevering1   
will be respected in any class of  life 
he may move in4 ,do you1 think1         
gentlemen1 there is a man in ,england   
prouder than ,i am at this moment8 ,what
 is all the world to me1 unless  they   
know me8                                
------------------                      
,,weighing ,,machine ,,at ,,the ,,bank  
,,of ,,england4      ,the most          
interesting place connected with the    
machinery of the ,bank of  ,england is  
the ,weighing-,office1 which was        
established about #ahdj4 ,in            
consequence of a proclamation concerning
 the gold circulation1 it became  very  
desirable to obtain the most minute     
accuracy1 as coins of different  weight 
were plentifully offered4 ,many         
complaints were made1 that  sovereigns  

which had been issued from one office   
were refused at  another2 and though    
these assertions were not1 perhaps1     
always founded  on truth1 yet it is     
indisputable that the evil occasionally 
occurred4  ,every effort was made by the
 ,directors to remedy this1 some        
millions of  sovereigns being weighed   
separately1 and the light coins divided 
from  those which were full weight4     
,fortunately1 the ,governor for the time
  being1 7,mr4 ,w4 ,cotton71 before whom
 the complaints principally came1 was   
attached to scientific pursuits2 and he 
at once turned his attention to         
discover the causes which operated to   
prevent the attainment of a just        
weight4 ,in this he was successful1 and 
the result of his inquiry was1 a        
machine1 remarkable for an almost       
elegant simplicity4 ,about #hj or #ajj  
light and heavy sovereigns are placed   
indiscriminately in a round tube2  as   
they descend on the machinery beneath1  
those which are light receive  a slight 

touch1 which moves them into their      
proper receptacle2 while  those which   
are the legitimate weight1 pass into    
their appointed place4  ,the light coins
 are then defaced by a sovereign-cutting
 machine1  remarkable alike for its     
accuracy and rapidity4 ,by this1 #bjj   
may be  defaced in one minute2 and1 by  
the weighing machinery1 #ce1jjj may be  
weighed in one day4    ,an eminent      
member of the ,royal ,society mentioned 
to the writer1 that1  amongst scientific
 men1 it is a question whether the      
,weighing-,machine of  ,mr4 ,cotton is  
not the finest thing in ,mechanics2 and 
that there is only  one other           
invention--the envelope-machine of ,de  
la ,rue--to be named with               
it4--,francis's ,history of the ,bank of
 ,england4                              
------------------                      
,,childhood ,,of ,,pascal4      ,pascal1
 the celebrated ,french philosopher and 
divine1 7whose life1 ,bayle  affirms1 is
 worth a hundred sermons71 evinced such 

early ardour for  knowledge1 that1 at   
the age of eleven1 he was ambitious of  
teaching as  well as learning2 and he   
then composed a little treatise on the  
refractions of the sounds of vibrating  
bodies when touched by the  finger4 ,one
 day he was found alone in his chamber1 
tracing1 in lines of  coal1 geometrical 
figures on the wall2 and1 on another    
occasion1 he was  surprised by his      
father1 just when he had succeeded in   
obtaining a  demonstration of the #cbnd 
proposition of the first book of        
,euclid--that  the three angles of a    
triangle are equal to two right angles4 
,astonished  and overjoyed1 his father  
rushed to his friend1 ,m4 ,pailleur1 to 
announce  the extraordinary fact2 and   
the young geometer was instantly        
permitted  to study1 unrestrained1 the  
,elements of ,euclid1 of which he soon  
made  himself master1 without any       
extrinsic aid4 ,from the geometry of    
planes  and solids he passed to the     
higher branches of the science2 and1    

before  he was sixteen years of age1 he 
composed a treatise on the ,conic       
,sections1 which evinced the most       
extraordinary sagacity4 ,when scarcely  
#ai years of age1 too1 ,pascal contrived
 a machine to assist his father in      
making the numerical calculations which 
his official duties in ,upper  ,normandy
 required4    ,in later life1 ,pascal   
found researches in geometry an         
occupation well  fitted to give serenity
 to a heart bleeding from the wounds of 
his  beloved associates4 ,he had long   
before renounced the study of the       
sciences2 but during a violent attack of
 toothache1 which deprived him  of      
sleep1 the subject of the cycloid forced
 itself upon his thoughts4  ,fermat1    
,roberval1 and others1 had trodden the  
same ground before him2  but1 in less   
than eight days1 and under severe       
suffering1 he discovered  a general     
method of solving this class of         
problems1 by the summation of  certain  
series2 and as there was only one step  

from this discovery to  that of         
,fluxions1 ,pascal might1 with more     
leisure and better health1  have won    
from ,newton and from ,leibnitz the     
glory of that great  invention4         
------------------                      
,,the ,,discoverer ,,of ,,gutta         
,,percha4      ,the ,gutta ,percha      
,tree1 or ,gutta ,tuban1 as it ought    
more properly to be  called--the ,percha
 being a spurious article--abounds in   
the indigenous  forests of ,singapore1  
although it was only about the year     
#ahdj that it  was discovered by        
,europeans4 ,the first notice taken of  
it appears to  have been by ,dr4 ,w4    
,montgomerie1 in a letter to the ,bengal
 ,medical  ,board1 in the beginning of  
#ahdc1 wherein he commends the substance
 as  likely to prove useful for some    
surgical purposes2 and supposes it to   
belong to the ,fig tribe4 ,in ,april1   
#ahdc1 the substance was taken to       
,europe by ,dr4 ,d4 ,almeida1 who       
presented it to the ,royal ,society of  

,arts  of ,london2 but it did not at    
first attract much attention1 as the    
,society simply acknowledged the receipt
 of the gift4 ,its uses would  rather   
appear to have been found out by the    
,malays1 who first  manufactured some of
 the ,gutta ,percha into whips1 and     
brought them into  the town at          
,singapore for sale1 where they were    
seen by ,europeans4                     
------------------                      
,,sir ,,isaac ,,newton',s ,,magnet4     
,the smallest natural ,magnets generally
 possess the greatest proportion  of    
attractive power4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton   
wore in his ring a magnet which  weighed
 only three grains2 yet it was able to  
take up #gdf grains1 or  nearly #bej    
times its own weight--whereas magnets   
weighing above two  pounds seldom lift  
more than five or six times their own   
weight4                                 
------------------                      
,,coal ,,gas in ,,balloons4      ,mr4   
,green has the merit of being the first 

person who made experiments  on the     
buoyant properties of ,coal ,gas4 ,in   
some of his preliminary  trials1 he     
ascertained that the ascensive force of 
a small balloon1  three feet in         
diameter1 was equal to eleven ounces2   
but1 when filled in  the old way1 with  
hydrogen gas1 not more than fifteen     
ounces4                                 
------------------                      
,,cuvier ,,and ,,napoleon4      ,after  
,cuvier had presented to ,buonaparte1 in
 a ,council of ,state1 his  ,report of  
the ,progress of the ,mathematical and  
,natural ,sciences since  the year      
#aghi1 the ,emperor expressed1 in a very
 happy manner1 the  satisfaction which  
he had received from the document4 ,he  
has praised  me1 said ,napoleon1 as ,i  
like to be praised4 ,cuvier1 however1 as
 he  himself said1 had only invited the 
,emperor to imitate ,alexander1 and to  
employ his power in promoting the       
advancement of the natural sciences4    
------------------                      

,,last ,,moments ,,of ,,leibnitz4       
,the passing of the mighty spirit of    
,leibnitz from this scene of  existence 
was a deeply impressive scene4 ,he had  
suffered from occasional  illness during
 several preceding years4 ,these        
attacks1 however1 passed  away1 and the 
philosopher resumed his speculations    
with renewed energy4  ,in ,november1    
#agaf1 his complaint returned with great
 violence4    ,the closing scene        
suggests gloomy reflections1 as the     
lurid glare1  which1 during his         
extraordinary life1 had attracted the   
eyes of the  world1 disappears2 while we
 have not the record we could desire1   
indicating that the moral sensibilities 
of the ,philosopher were rightly  alive 
to the decisive nature of the awful     
change4 ,his seventy years are  ended1  
and the lightning seems lost among dark 
clouds4 ,during the last  day of his    
life1 we are told1 he was buried in     
conversation with his  physician on the 
nature of his disease1 and on the       

doctrines of alchymy4  ,towards evening1
 his servant asked him if he would      
receive the  ,eucharist4 ',let me       
alone1' said he1 ',i have done ill to no
 one4 ,i have  nothing to confess4 ,all 
must die4' ,he raised himself on his    
bed1 and  tried to write4 ,the darkness 
of death was gathering around him4 ,he  
found  himself unable to read what he   
had written4 ,he tore the paper1 and1   
lying down1 covered his face1 and a few 
minutes after #i o'clock1 on the        
evening of the #adth of ,november1      
#agaf1 he ceased to breathe6 ,it is most
  solemn to contemplate a human spirit1 
whose course of thought throughout  life
 was unsurpassed for power of           
speculation1 and daring range of mind   
among the higher objects of knowledge1  
and which1 at the period of its         
departure1 was in the depths of a       
controversy about the mysteries of a    
supersensible world--thus summoned into 
that world1 to become conversant  in its
 final relations with that ,being who   

had entrusted it with such  mental      
power1 and whose nature and attributes  
had so often tasked its  speculative    
energies4--,north ,british ,review4     
------------------                      
,,franklin',s ,,discoveries4      ,of   
all this great man's scientific         
excellencies1 the most remarkable is    
the smallness1 the simplicity1 the      
apparent inadequacy of the means  which 
he employed in his experimental         
researches4 ,his discoveries were  all  
made with hardly any apparatus at all2  
and if1 at any time1 he had  been led to
 employ instruments of a somewhat less  
ordinary description1  he never rested  
satisfied until he had1 as it were1     
afterwards  translated the process1     
resolving the problem with such simple  
machinery1 that you might say he had    
done it wholly unaided by  apparatus4   
,the experiments by which the identity  
of lightning and  electricity was       
demonstrated1 were made with a sheet of 
brown paper1 a  bit of twine or silk    

thread1 and an iron key6--,lord         
,brougham4                              
------------------                      
,,carn,t1 ,,when ,a ,,child4      ,the  
aptitude and taste for military affairs 
of ,carnt1 destined  afterwards to      
perform so important a part in the      
history of ,europe1  displayed itself in
 a singular manner while he was yet a   
child4 ,being  taken for the first time 
to a theatre1 where some siege or other 
warlike  operation was represented1 he  
astonished the audience by interrupting 
the piece to complain of the manner in  
which the general had disposed  his men 
and his guns1 crying out to him that his
 men were in fire1 and  loudly calling  
upon him to change his position4 ,in    
fact1 the men were so  placed as to be  
commanded by a battery4                 
------------------                      
,,smeaton',s ,,independence4            
,smeaton1 the engineer1 often evinced a 
high feeling of independence in  respect
 to pecuniary matters1 and would never  

allow motives of emolument  to interfere
 with plans laid on other               
considerations4 ,the ,empress           
,catherine of ,russia was exceedingly   
anxious to have his services in the     
formation of great engineering works in 
her dominions1 and she  commissioned the
 ,princess ,dackshaw to offer him his   
own terms1 if he  would accede to her   
proposal4 ,but his plans and his heart  
were bent upon  the exercise of his     
skill in his own country1 and he        
steadily refused  all the offers made to
 him4 ,it is reported that when the     
,princess found  her attempts           
unavailing1 she said to him1 ,sir1 you  
are a great man1 and  ,i honour you4    
,you may have an equal in abilities1    
perhaps1 but in  character you stand    
single4 ,the ,english minister1 ,sir    
,robert ,walpole1  was mistaken2 and my 
sovereign1 to her loss1 finds one who   
has not his  price4    ,after ,smeaton  
had retired from his profession1 he was 
often pressed to  superintend certain   

works2 when these entreaties were backed
 by personal  offers of emolument1 he   
used to send for an old woman who took  
care of  his chambers in ,gray's ,inn1  
and say1 ,her attendance suffices for   
all my  wants6 a reply which conveyed   
the intimation that a man whose personal
  wants were so simple1 was not likely  
to break through a pre-arranged  line of
 conduct for mere pecuniary             
considerations4    ,smeaton's magnum    
opus is the ,eddystone lighthouse1 which
 has withstood  the storms of more than 
a century4 ,one of its severest perils  
was in a  terrific hurricane in         
,november1 #ahbd1 when the men in the   
lighthouse  appear to have been in a    
most critical situation2 alive to their 
danger1  and conscious of being beyond  
the hope of human aid4 ,the report made 
by  one of the light-keepers states1    
that on the morning of the #bcrd1 the   
sea was tremendous1 and broke with such 
violence on the top and round  the      
building1 as to demolish in an instant  

five panes of the lantern  glass1 and   
sixteen cylinder glasses1 the former of 
unusual thickness4  ,the house shook    
with so much violence as to occasion    
considerable motion  of the cylinder    
glasses fixed in the lamps2 and at times
 the whole  building appeared to sway as
 if resting on an elastic body4 ,the    
water  came from the top of the edifice 
in such quantities that we were         
overwhelmed1 and the sea made a breach  
from the top of the house to the        
bottom4                                 
------------------                      
,,childhood ,,of ,,cuvier4      ,cuvier1
 like ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 was born with
 such a feeble and sickly  constitution1
 that he was scarcely expected to reach 
the years of  manhood4 ,his affectionate
 mother watched over his varying health1
  instilled into his mind the first     
lessons of religion1 and had taught  him
 to read fluently before he had         
completed his fourth year4 ,she made    
him repeat to her his ,latin lessons1   

though ignorant herself of the          
language2 she conducted him every       
morning to school2 made him practise    
drawing under her own superintendence1  
and supplied him with the best  works on
 history and literature4 ,his father had
 destined him for the  army4 ,in the    
library of the ,gymnasium1 where he     
stood at the head of the  classes of    
history1 geography1 and mathematics1 he 
lighted upon a copy  of ,gesner's       
,history of ,animals and ,serpents1 with
 coloured plates2 and1  about the same  
time1 he had discovered a complete copy 
of ,buffon among  the books of one of   
his relatives4 ,his taste for ,natural  
,history now  became a passion4 ,he     
copied the figures which these works    
contained1 and  coloured them in        
conformity with the descriptions2 whilst
 he did not  overlook the intellectual  
beauties of his author4    ,in the      
fourteenth year of his age he was       
appointed president of a  society of his
 schoolfellows1 which he was the means  

of organising1 and  of which he drew up 
the rules2 and seated on the foot of his
 bed1 which  was the president's chair1 
he first showed his oratorical powers in
 the  discussion of various questions1  
suggested by the reading of books of    
natural history and travels1 which was  
the principal object of the  society4   
,when at the age of nineteen1 the casual
 dissection of a colmar1 a  species of  
cuttle-fish1 induced ,cuvier to study   
the anatomy of the  mollusca2 and the   
examination of some fossil terebratul1  
which had been  dug up near ,fcamp1 in  
,june1 #agia1 suggested to him the idea 
of  comparing fossil with living        
animals2 and thus1 as he himself said1  
the  germ of his two most important     
labours--the comparison of fossil with  
living species1 and the reform of the   
classification of the animal            
kingdom--had their origin at this epoch4
                                        
------------------                      
,,watt',s ,,discovery ,,of ,,the        

,,composition                           
,,of ,,water4      ,a controversy a good
 many years ago agitated the            
philosophical world1 as  to the         
discovery of the ,composition of        
,water--whether the merit was due  to   
,watt or ,cavendish4 ,one of ,watt's    
letters1 dated ,may #aeth1 #aghd1 seems 
to compress the matter into a nutshell4 
,writing to his friend1 ,mr4 ,fry  of   
,bristol1 ,mr4 ,watt says1 that he has  
had the honour of having had his  ideas 
pirated2 that ,dr4 ,blagden explained   
his theory to ,lavoisier1 at  ,paris2   
that ,m4 ,lavoisier soon after invented 
it himself2 and that since  that1 ,mr4  
,cavendish has read a paper to the      
,royal ,society on the same  idea1      
without making the least mention of me4 
,the one1 he continues1  is a ,french   
financier1 and the other a member of the
 illustrious house  of ,cavendish1 worth
 above #ajj1jjjl4 7#a1jjj1jjjl47 and    
does not spend  #ajjjl4 a year4 ,rich   
men may do mean actions2 may you and ,i 

always  persevere in our integrity1 and 
despise such doings4    ,another        
important point is1 that ,watt and      
,cavendish's papers on the  discovery   
were printed under the sole             
superintendence of ,dr4 ,blagden1       
secretary to the ,royal ,society2 that  
,mr4 ,watt's paper is printed with  the 
erroneous date of #aghd1 in place of    
#aghc1 and that the separate  copies of 
,mr4 ,cavendish's papers have the       
erroneous date of #aghc1 in  place of   
#aghd4 ,the obvious effect of these two 
errors was to give  ,cavendish the      
priority over ,watt2 whereas1 by written
 testimony1 ,watt's  theory is proved to
 have been known to ,priestley in #aghb4
    ,it is ,dr4 ,blagden's conduct in   
the matter that has disturbed the       
current  of scientific history4 ,it is  
his testimony1 says an able writer in   
the  ,north ,british ,review1 not       
appealed to by ,cavendish1 but          
gratuitously  offered by himself1 that  
contains the allegation that ,cavendish 

mentioned to him and others his         
conclusions4 ,it is his testimony1      
gratuitously sent to ,crell1 that       
deprives the ,french chemists1          
,lavoisier1 ,laplace1 and ,monge1 of    
their due share of honour2 and it was   
by his acts that erroneous dates and    
claims were propagated throughout       
,europe4 ,let us impanel1 then1 a       
,british jury--not of chemists1 for     
their  verdict is given--not of the     
improvers or manufacturers of           
steam-engines1 for they might be        
partial--but of the highest             
functionaries of the law1 the members of
 the peerage--let us lay before  them   
these facts1 and then tell them that    
,blagden received an annuity of  #ejjl4 
from ,cavendish2 that1 at his death1 he 
left him a legacy of  #ae1jjjl42 and we 
will answer for it1 that the testimony  
of ,blagden  will be rejected1 and the  
priority of ,watt affirmed4             
------------------                      
,,how ,,pascal ,,weighed ,,the          

,,atmosphere4      ,pascal's ,treatise  
on the weight of the whole mass of air  
forms the basis  of the modern science  
of ,pneumatics4 ,in order to prove that 
the mass of  air presses by its weight  
on all the bodies which it surrounds1   
and also  that it is elastic and        
compressible1 he carried a balloon1 half
 filled  with air1 to the top of the    
,puy de ,dome1 a mountain about #ejj    
toises  above ,clermont1 in ,auvergne4  
,it gradually inflated itself as it     
ascended1 and when it reached the       
summit1 it was quite full1 and swollen  
as if fresh air had been blown into it2 
or1 what is the same thing1 it  swelled 
in proportion as the weight of the      
column of air which pressed  upon it was
 diminished4 ,when again brought down1  
it became more and more  flaccid1 and   
when it reached the bottom1 it resumed  
its original  condition4 ,in the nine   
chapters of which the ,treatise         
consists1 ,pascal  shows that all the   
phenomena and effects hitherto ascribed 

to the horror  of a vacuum arise from   
the weight of the mass of air2 and after
  explaining the variable pressure of   
the atmosphere in different  localities1
 and in its different states1 and the   
rise of water in  pumps1 he calculates  
that the whole mass of air round our    
globe weighs  #h1ihc1hhi1ddj1jjj1jjj1jjj
 ,french pounds4                        
------------------                      
,,the ,,leaning ,,tower ,,of ,,pisa4#b  
,sir ,john ,leslie used to attribute the
 stability of this tower to the         
cohesion of the mortar it is built with 
being sufficient to maintain it  erect1 
in spite of its being out of the        
condition required by  physics--to wit1 
that in order that a column shall stand1
 a  perpendicular let fall from the     
centre of gravity must fall within the  
base4 ,sir ,john describes the column of
 ,pisa to be in violation of this       
principle2 but1 according to designs    
shown to ,dr4 ,cumming1 at ,pisa1 in    
#ahcf1 the perpendicular does fall      

within the base4    -----    ,footnote  
#b3      ,when at ,pisa1 many years     
since1 ,captain ,basil ,hall            
investigated the    origin and          
divergence of the tower from the        
perpendicular1 and    established       
completely to his own satisfaction that 
it had been built    from top to bottom1
 originally1 just as it now stands4 ,his
 reasons for    thinking so are1 that   
the line of the tower1 on that side     
towards    which it leans1 has not the  
same curvature as the line on the       
opposite1 or what may be called the     
upper side4 ,if the tower had been      
built upright1 and then been made to    
incline over1 the line of the    wall on
 that side towards which the inclination
 was given1 would be    more or less    
concave in that direction1 owing to the 
nodding or    swagging over of the top1 
by the simple action of gravity acting  
on    a very tall mass of masonry1 which
 is more or less elastic when placed    
in a sloping position4 ,but the contrary

 is the fact2 for the line of    wall on
 the side towards which the tower leans1
 is decidedly more    convex than the   
opposite side4 ,captain ,hall has1      
therefore1 no doubt    whatever that the
 architect1 in rearing his successive   
courses of    stones1 gained or stole a 
little at each layer1 so as to render   
his    work less and less overhanging as
 he went up2 and thus1 without          
betraying what he was about1 really     
gained stability4                       
------------------                      
,,holding ,a ,,craws' ,,court4      ,dr4
 ,edmonston in his interesting ,view of 
the ,zetland ,islands1  relates that the
 hooded ,crow sometimes engages in merry
 meetings1 but1  savage-like1 concludes 
by a sanguinary sacrifice4 ,the crows   
generally  appear in pairs1 even during 
winter1 except when attracted to a spot 
in  search of food1 or when they        
assemble for the purpose of holding what
 is  called a ,craws' ,court4 ,this     
latter institution exhibits a curious   

fact  in their history4 ,numbers are    
seen to assemble on a particular hill or
  field1 from many different parts4 ,on 
some occasions1 the meeting does  not   
appear complete before the expiration of
 a day or two4 ,as soon as  all the     
deputies have arrived1 a very general   
noise and croaking ensue2  and shortly  
after1 the whole fall upon one or two   
individuals1 whom they  persecute and   
beat until they kill them4 ,when this   
has been  accomplished1 they quietly    
disperse4                               
------------------                      
,,alpine ,,perils4      ,strange        
incidents befel ,professor ,forbes1 and 
his companions1 in their  travels       
through the ,alps of ,savoy4 ,on one    
occasion1 they got so near a            
thundercloud1 as to be highly           
electrified by induction1 with all the  
angular stones round them hissing like  
points near a powerful electrical       
machine2 on another1 whilst crossing one
 of the loftiest passes1 the ,col  de   

,collon1 they discovered a dark object  
lying on the snow1 which proved  to be  
the body of a man1 with the clothes     
hard-frozen and uninjured4  ,the effect 
on us all1 says the ,professor1 was     
electric2 and had not  the sun shone    
forth in its full glory1 and the very   
wilderness of  eternal snow seemed      
gladdened under the serenity of such a  
summer's day1  as is rare at these      
heights1 we should certainly have felt a
 deeper  thrill1 arising from the sense 
of personal danger4 ,as it was1 when we 
had recovered our first surprise1 and   
interchanged our expression of  sympathy
 for the poor traveller1 and gazed with 
awe on the disfigured  relics of one who
 had so lately been in the same plight  
with ourselves1  we turned and surveyed1
 with a stronger sense of sublimity than
 before1  the desolation by which we    
were surrounded2 and became still more  
sensible of our isolation from human    
dwellings1 human help1 and human        
sympathy1 our loneliness with nature1   

and as it were1 the more immediate      
presence of ,god4                       
------------------                      
,,philosophical ,,enthusiasm4           
,never shall ,i forget1 says ,agassiz1  
the impression which the sight of  the  
,pterichthys1 provided with appendages  
resembling wings1 produced  upon me1    
when ,i assured myself that it belonged 
to the class of fishes4  ,it was an     
entirely new type1 which was about to   
figure1 for the first  time since it had
 ceased to exist1 in the series of      
beings--again to  form a link which     
nothing of all that had been revealed up
 to the time  with regard to extinct    
creations1 would have led us ever to    
suspect the  existence of--showing      
forcibly that observation alone can lead
 us to the  recognition of the laws of  
development of organized beings2 and how
 much  we should guard against all those
 systems of transformation of species1  
which the imagination invents with as   
much facility as reason refutes  them4  

------------------                      
,,shepherd ,,to ,,the ,,king ,,of       
,,england ,,for ,,scotland4             
,lalande1 the celebrated astronomer1    
committed a ludicrous mistake in        
styling ,james ,ferguson1 ,berger du    
,roi d',angleterre en ,ecosse1 the ,king
  of ,england's ,shepherd for ,scotland4
 ,the matter has1 however1 been thus    
explained3--,daubenton1 as a naturalist1
 had the charge of the royal  flocks of 
sheep in ,france4 ,in order to retain   
his situation under the  republic1 he   
required a certificate of civism from   
the ,section of the  ,sans ,culottes4   
,in this curious document1 he is called 
the ,shepherd  ,daubenton4 ,lalande1    
whose great work on astronomy was       
published at this  period1 had seen     
,james ,ferguson 7the astronomer7       
designated the  ,shepherd1 probably to  
distinguish him from ,adam ,ferguson the
  ,philosopher1 and hence he placed     
,ferguson the ,shepherd in the same     
category with the ,shepherd ,daubenton1 

and made him ,shepherd to the  ,king of 
,england for ,scotland6                 
------------------                      
,,travels ,,of ,,volcanic ,,dust4       
,on the #bnd of ,september1 #ahde1 a    
quantity of volcanic dust fell in the   
,orkney ,islands1 which was supposed to 
have originated in an eruption of       
,hecla in ,iceland4 ,it was subsequently
 ascertained that an eruption of  ,hecla
 took place on the morning of the       
above-named day1 so as to leave  no     
doubt of the justness of the conclusion4
 ,the dust had thus travelled  about    
#fjj miles6                             
------------------                      
,,early ,,life ,,of ,,alexander         
,,brongniart4      ,this celebrated     
chemist and mineralogist1 upwards of    
forty years  director of the porcelain  
manufactory of ,svres1 was born at      
,paris in  #aggj4 ,his father was justly
 celebrated for his attainments in the  
fine  arts4 ,his mind developed itself  
in the midst of that brilliant society  

belonging to the end of the eighteenth  
century1 which his father was           
accustomed to draw around him4 ,he there
 derived1 from conversations with       
,franklin1 the germ of that mild and    
practical philosophy which he never     
abandoned2 and from those of ,lavoisier 
his earliest notions of  chemistry1     
which formed one of the foundations of  
his scientific career4  ,he gave early  
indications of that clearness of        
elocution which formed  one of his      
merits as a professor2 and it is related
 that ,lavoisier  himself took pleasure 
in listening to a lecture on chemistry  
delivered  by ,brongniart even when he  
was scarcely fifteen years of age4 ,he  
studied  in the ,ecole de ,medcine1     
where he was thrice enrolled2 and when  
every  ,frenchman was called to the     
frontier1 he was connected to the army  
of  the ,pyrenees in the capacity of an 
apothecary4 ,a stay of fifteen months   
among these mountains gave him the      
opportunity of studying a rich and      

varied field of nature1 as a zoologist  
and botanist4 ,he likewise made         
geological observations1 which1 at a    
later period1 took their place in  the  
science1 and which he often took        
pleasure in recalling2 but there he     
encountered dangers which his youth did 
not suspect1 and he was  imprisoned     
under suspicion of having favoured the  
escape of the skilful  naturalist1      
,broussonnet1 who avoided certain death 
by fleeing by the  breach of ,rolland4  
,restored to liberty after the #ith     
,thermidor1  ,brongniart returned to    
,paris1 and1 in #ahjj1 was nominated    
director of  the porcelain manufactory  
of ,svres1 on the recommendation of     
,berthollet4 ,at nineteen years of age1 
,brongniart was one of the founders  of 
the ,societ ,philomatique1 which1 at the
 period of proscription for  all of a   
higher class1 kept alive the sacred fame
 of science4 ,he died in  #ahdg1 and at 
his funeral1 on ,october #ith1 ,m4 ,elie
 de ,beaumont delivered  an loge1 whence

 these details have been derived4       
------------------                      
,,smeaton',s ,,reproof ,,of ,,gaming4   
,smeaton1 the engineer1 was on intimate 
terms of acquaintance with the  ,duke   
and ,duchess of ,queensbury1 and often  
spent a leisure hour in the  evening at 
their house4 ,on a few occasions1 he    
played at cards with  them1 and on one  
such evening1 he effected the abolition 
of that  inconsiderate1 indiscriminate  
play amongst people of superior rank or 
fortune1 which compels every one to     
join1 and at their own stake too4       
,smeaton detested cards1 and his        
attention never following the game he   
played like a boy4 ,the game was ,pope  
,joan2 and the general run of it was    
high2 and the stake in ,pope had        
accumulated to a serious sum4 ,it was   
,smeaton's turn by the deal to double   
it2 when1 regardless of his  cards1 he  
busily made minutes on a slip of paper1 
and put it on the  board4 ,the ,duchess 
eagerly inquired what it was2 and he as 

coolly  replied1 ,your grace will       
recollect the field in which my house   
stands  may be about five acres1 three  
roods1 and seven perches2 which1 at     
thirty years' purchase1 will be just my 
stake2 and if your grace will  make a   
duke of me1 ,i presume the winner will  
not dislike my mortgage4  ,the joke and 
the lesson had alike their weight2 and  
the party never  after played but for   
the merest trifle4                      
------------------                      
,,invention ,,of ,,gun-,,cotton4        
,cotton1 having largely contributed to  
our national prosperity in times  of    
peace1 promised1 not long since1 to play
 a very important part in the           
strategies of war2 and this by its use  
in place of gunpowder2 wherefore  the   
new substance was termed ,gun-cotton4   
,the merit of the invention is believed 
to be due to ,professor ,schonbein1  of 
,basle4 ,in #ahdj1 the novelty was first
 announced as an explosive  compound1   
possessing many apparent advantages over

 gunpowder4 ,it was  described as a     
cotton prepared by a secret process2    
which1 on the  application of a spark1  
became at once converted into a gaseous 
state4  ,in an experiment performed in  
the laboratory of ,professor ,schonbein1
 a  certain weight of gunpowder1 when   
fired1 filled the apartment with  smoke2
 whilst an equal weight of gun-cotton   
exploded without producing  any smoke1  
leaving only a few atoms of carbonaceous
 matter behind4  ,cannon-balls and      
shells were then experimentally         
projected by this  prepared cotton1 with
 nearly double the projectile force of  
gunpowder4    ,professor ,schonbein made
 an interesting experiment upon the wall
 of an  old castle3 it had been         
calculated that from three to four      
pounds of  gunpowder would be requisite 
to destroy this wall1 and a hole capable
 of  containing that quantity was       
prepared4 ,in this aperture were put    
four  ounces of the prepared cotton1    
which1 when fired1 blew the massive wall

  to pieces4    ,again1 the sixteenth   
part of an ounce of the prepared cotton1
 placed in  a gun1 carried a ball with  
such force1 that it perforated two      
planks at  the distance of twenty-eight 
paces2 and1 at another time1 with the   
same  charge1 drove a bullet into a     
wall1 to the depth of three inches and  
three-quarters4    ,professor ,schonbein
 attended the meeting of the ,british   
,association for  the ,advancement of   
,science1 held at ,southampton1 in      
#ahdf1 when the  operation of this new  
power was explained and experimented    
with4  ,subsequently1 the professor     
attended at ,osborne ,house1 to exhibit 
the  properties of his gun-cotton to    
,prince ,albert1 when ,schonbein offered
 to  explode a portion on the hand of   
,colonel ,b----3 who would1 however1    
have  nothing to do with the novel      
power4 ,prince ,albert himself submitted
 to  the test1 and off went the cotton1 
without smoke1 stain1 or burning of  the
 skin4 ,thus encouraged1 the colonel    

took his turn2 but whether the  material
 was changed or not for the coarser     
preparation1 it gave him  such a        
singeing that he leaped up with a cry of
 pain4 ,a hearty laugh was  all the     
commiseration he received4 ,after this1 
,professor ,schonbein  loaded a         
fowling-piece with cotton in the place  
of powder1 and the  prince fired both   
ball and shot from it with the usual    
effect1 and  perfect impunity4          
------------------                      
,,sir ,,joseph ,,banks',s ,,balance4    
,at the death of ,sir ,joseph ,banks1   
there was left at the apartments of  the
 ,royal ,society1 at ,somerset ,house1 a
 very delicate balance1  constructed by 
,ramsden1 the property of ,sir ,joseph4 
,the secretaries  accordingly wrote to  
his widow1 requesting to know her wishes
 respecting  the instrument4 ,pay it    
into ,coutts's1 was her ladyship's      
reply4                                  
------------------                      
,,buckingham ,,palace ,,gates4      ,the

 central gates of the marble arch1      
facing ,buckingham ,palace1 were put  up
 in the summer of #ahcg3 they were      
designed and cast by ,samuel ,parker1   
then of ,argyll-place--they are the     
largest and most superb in ,europe1  not
 excepting the gates of the ,ducal      
,palace at ,venice1 or of the ,louvre   
at ,paris4 ,their material is a         
beautiful alloy1 the base of which is   
refined copper4 ,although cast1 their   
enriched foliage and scroll-work  bear  
the elaborate finish of the finest      
chasing3 the height of each gate  is    
twenty-five feet2 width1 seventeen feet1
 six inches2 extreme  thickness1 three  
inches2 weight of each1 two tons1       
thirteen cwt42 yet1  they are so        
beautifully hung1 that a child might    
open and shut them4  ,they now terminate
 at the springing of the arch2 but ,mr4 
,parker had cast  for the heading a     
chaste frieze1 and a design of the royal
 arms in the  central circle1 flanked by
 state crowns3 this portion was1        

however1  irretrievably mutilated by the
 ,government removing the gates from the
  foundry in a common stage-waggon1     
without due care to prevent their       
breakage2 yet the work cost1 altogether1
 #cjjj guineas6                         
------------------                      
,,earthquakes ,,in ,,chile4      ,mr4   
,darwin1 in his very interesting        
,journal of a ,voyage round the  ,world1
 relates that he was one day dining with
 a gentleman at ,coquimbo1  when a sharp
 earthquake happened4 ,he heard the     
forthcoming rumble1 but  from the       
screams of the ladies1 the running of   
servants1 and the rush of  several of   
the gentlemen to the doorway1 he could  
not distinguish the  motion4 ,some of   
the women afterwards were crying with   
terror1 and one  gentleman said he      
should not be able to sleep all night1  
or if he did1  it would only be to dream
 of falling houses4 ,the father of this 
person  had lately lost all his property
 at ,talcahuano1 and he himself had only

  just escaped a falling roof at        
,valparaiso1 in #ahbb4 ,he mentioned a  
curious coincidence which then happened3
 he was playing at cards1 when a        
,german1 one of the party1 got up1 and  
said he would never sit in a room  in   
these countries with the door shut1 as1 
owing to his having done so1  he had    
nearly lost his life at ,copiapo4       
,accordingly1 he opened the door2  and  
no sooner had he done this1 than he     
cried out1 ,here it comes  again6 and   
the famous shock commenced4 ,the whole  
party escaped4 ,the  danger in an       
earthquake is not from the time lost in 
opening a door1 but  from the chance of 
its becoming jammed by the movement of  
the walls4                              
------------------                      
,,cuvier ,,in ,,london4      ,when      
,cuvier visited ,england1 in #ahah1 in  
conversing with the ,prince  ,regent on 
the subject of our ,natural ,history    
,collections1 he suggested  the union of
 all the private collections in one     

great national museum1  which1 from the 
extent of our colonial possessions1 he  
conceived would  surpass every other    
collection in ,europe4    ,during the   
great naturalist's stay in ,london1 he  
was gratified with the  sight of a      
,westminster election1 in which he saw  
the practical working  of one of our    
most important political institutions4  
,at this period1  says his biographer1  
,mrs4 ,lee1 the election for            
,westminster was going  forward1 and he 
frequently dwelt upon the amusement he  
had received from  being on the hustings
 every day4 ,these orgies of liberty    
were then  unknown in ,france2 and it   
was a curious spectacle for a man who   
reflected so deeply on everything which 
passed before him1 to see and  hear our 
orators crying out at the top of their  
voices to the mob1 who  pelted them with
 mud1 cabbages1 eggs1 c4 c42 and ,sir   
,murray ,maxwell1  in his splendid      
uniform1 and decorated with orders1     
flattering the crowd  who resisted him1 

and sent at his head all the varieties  
of the  vegetable kingdom4 ,nothing ever
 effaced this impression from ,cuvier's 
memory1 who frequently described the    
scene with great animation4             
------------------                      
,,the ,,first ,,cup ,,of ,,tea ,,drunk  
,,in ,,england4      ,in all            
probability1 the first cup of ,tea made 
in ,england was drunk upon  the site of 
,buckingham ,palace1 ,st4 ,james's      
,park2 for the ,earl of  ,arlington took
 the first pound of tea to ,england1    
having bought it in  ,holland for sixty 
shillings2 and at this time the ,earl   
resided at  ,arlington ,house1 which was
 taken down to make room for ,buckingham
 ,house1  since altered to the ,queen's 
,palace4                                
------------------                      
,,benefit ,,of ,a ,,wife ,,to ,,an      
,,author4      ,the wife of ,nathaniel  
,bowditch was a woman of singular       
sweetness of  disposition and cheerful  
piety1 who1 by her entire sympathy with 

her  husband in all his studies and     
pursuits1 lightened and cheered his     
labours2 and by relieving him from all  
domestic cares1 enabled him to go  on   
with undivided mind and undistracted    
attention1 in the execution of  his     
great work--the translation of          
,laplace's ,mcanique ,celeste1 on  which
 his fame as a man of science rests4 ,he
 had been heard to say that  he never   
should have accomplished the task1 and  
published the book in  its present      
extended form1 had he not been          
stimulated and encouraged by  her4 ,when
 the serious question was under         
consideration as to the  expediency of  
,bowditch's publishing it at his own    
expense1 at the  estimated cost of      
#aj1jjj dollars1 7which it actually     
exceeded17 with the  noble spirit of her
 sex1 his wife conjured and urged him to
 go on and do  it1 saying that she would
 find the means1 and gladly make any    
sacrifice1  and submit to any           
self-denial that might be involved in   

it4 ,in grateful  acknowledgment of her 
sympathy and aid1 he proposed1 in the   
concluding  volume1 to dedicate the work
 to her memory1 7she died in #ahcd7--;a 
design  than which nothing could be more
 beautiful or touching4#c    ,in the    
course of his labour1 ,dr4 ,bowditch    
used to say1 ,i never come  across one  
of ,laplace's ,thus it plainly appears1 
without feeling sure  that ,i have got  
hours of hard study before me to fill up
 the chasm1 and  find out and show how  
it plainly appears4    -----            
,footnote #c3      ,it is highly        
honourable to the sex1 that the only    
exposition of    ,laplace's work that   
has 7#ahdh7 appeared in ,england1 is    
from the pen of    a female--the        
accomplished ,mary ,somerville1 wife of 
,dr4 ,somerville1 of    ,chelsea        
,hospital4 ,this was published under the
 title of the ,mechanism    of the      
,heavens1 of which1 it is observed1 in  
the ,edinburgh ,review1    this1        
unquestionably1 is one of the most      

remarkable works that female            
intellect ever produced in any age or   
country2 and with respect to the        
present day1 we hazard little in saying 
that ,mrs4 ,somerville is the    only   
individual of her sex in the world who  
could have written it4    ,for this     
signal service to science1 there was    
conferred upon the lady    a pension of 
#cjjl4 per annum1 at the recommendation 
of ,sir ,robert    ,peel4               
------------------                      
,,the ,,world ,,in ,a ,,drop ,,of       
,,water4      ,the microscope has shown 
that a drop of water though it may      
appear to  the naked eye to be perfectly
 clear1 is swarming with living beings4 
,according to ,ehrenberg1 a cubic inch  
of water may contain more than  #hjj1jjj
 millions of these beings1 estimating   
them only to occupy one  fourth of its  
space2 and a single drop1 placed under  
the microscope1  will be seen to hold   
#ejj millions2 an amount1 perhaps1 not  
so very far  from equal to the whole    

number of human beings on the surface of
 our  globe6                            
------------------                      
,,origin ,,of ,,post-,,paid ,,envelopes4
      ,m4 ,piron tells us1 that the idea
 of a ,post-paid ,envelope originated1  
early in the reign of ,louis ,,xiv41    
with ,m4 de ,velayer1 who1 in #afec1    
established1 with royal approbation1 a  
private penny post1 placing boxes  at   
the corners of the streets for the      
reception of letters1 wrapped up  in    
envelopes1 which were to be bought at   
offices established for that  purpose4  
,m4 de ,velayer also caused to be       
printed certain forms of billets1 or    
notes applicable to the ordinary        
business among the inhabitants of great 
towns1 with blanks1 which were to be    
filled up by the pen with such  special 
matter as might complete the writer's   
object4 ,one of these  billets has been 
preserved to our times by a pleasant    
misapplication  of it4 ,pelisson1 ,mde4 
de ,sevign's friend1 and the object of  

the bon  mot1 that he abused the        
privilege which men have of being ugly1 
was  amused at this kind of skeleton    
correspondence2 and under the affected  
name of ,pisandre1 7according to the    
pedantic fashion of the day17 he  filled
 up and addressed one of these forms to 
the celebrated  ,mademoiselle de        
,scuderi1 in her pseudonyme of ,sappho4 
,this strange  billet-doux has happened1
 from the celebrity of the parties1 to  
be  preserved1 and is still extant3 one 
of the oldest1 we presume1 of           
penny-post letters1 and a curious       
example of a pre-paying envelope--as    
well as a new proof of the adage1 that  
there is nothing new under the  sun4    
------------------                      
,,character ,,in ,,works4      ,telford1
 the engineer1 relates that he came to  
,london in #aghb1 and got  employed at  
the quadrangle of ,somerset             
house-buildings2 he soon became  known  
to ,sir ,william ,chambers and ,mr4 ,r4 
,adam1 the two most  distinguished      

architects of that day2 the former      
haughty and reserved1  the latter       
affable and communicative2 and a similar
 distinction of  character pervades     
their works1 ,sir ,william's being stiff
 and formal1  and those of ,mr4 ,adam1  
playful and gay4                        
------------------                      
,,brindley1 ,,the ,,engineer4           
,though one of the most successful      
engineers of his age1 ,brindley was so  
illiterate as to be scarcely able to    
read or to write4 ,by his unrivalled    
powers of abstraction and memory1 he    
often executed his plans without        
committing them to paper2 and when he   
was engaged in any difficult or  complex
 undertaking1 he was in the habit of    
retiring to bed1 where he  often        
remained for two or three days1 till he 
had thoroughly completed  his design4   
,so singular1 indeed1 was the structure 
of his mind1 that the  spectacle of a   
play in ,london1 disturbed to such a    
degree the balance of  its mechanism1   

that he could not1 for some time1 resume
 his usual  pursuits4                   
------------------                      
,,reason ,,for ,,silence4      ,some one
 asked ,fontaine1 the celebrated        
geometrician1 what he did in  society   
where he remained almost perfectly      
silent4 ,i study1 replied  he1 the      
vanity of men1 in order to mortify it   
occasionally4                           
------------------                      
,,ascent ,,of ,,the ,,jungfrau ,,alp4   
,in #ahda1 ,professor ,forbes1 along    
with ,m4 ,agassiz1 and others1 made a   
successful ascent of the great ,swiss   
mountain1 the ,jungfrau1 whose  summit  
is #ac1gbj feet above the level of the  
sea4    ,of six travellers and seven    
guides who formed the party1 four of    
each  reached the top--viz41 of the     
former1 ,,mm4 ,forbes1 ,agassiz1 ,desor1
 and  ,duchatelies2 of the latter1      
,jacob ,leutvold 7who ascended the      
,finster  ,aarhorn17 ,johan ,jannon1    
,melchior1 ,baucholzer1 and ,andreas    

,aplanalp4 ,they  left the ,grimsel on  
the morning of the #bgth of ,august1    
#ahda1 ascended  the whole height of the
 ,ober-,aar ,glacier1 and descended the 
greater part  of that of ,viesch4       
,crossing a col to the right1 they slept
 at the chalet  of ,aletsch1 near the   
lake of that name4 ,this was twelve     
hours' hard  walking1 the descent of the
 glaciers being difficult and fatiguing4
 ,next  day1 the party started at six   
a4m41 having been unable sooner to      
procure  a ladder1 to cross the         
crevices2 they then traversed the upper 
part of  the glacier of ,aletsch in its 
whole extent for four hours and a half1 
until the ascent of the ,jungfrau began4
    ,the party crossed with great       
caution extensive and steep fields of   
fresh  snow1 concealing crevices1 till  
they came to one which opened           
vertically1 and behind which rose an    
excessively steep wall of hardened      
snow4 ,having crossed the crevices with 
the ladder1 they ascended the  snow     

without much danger1 owing to its       
consistency4 ,after some similar        
walking they gained the col1 which      
separates the ,aletsch ,glacier from    
the ,rothal1 on the side of             
,lauterbrunnen1 by which the ascent has 
usually been attempted4 ,thus1 the      
travellers1 although now at a height  of
 between #ab1jjj and #ac1jjj feet1 had  
by far the hardest and most  perilous   
part of the ascent to accomplish4 ,the  
whole upper part of the  mountain       
presented a steep1 inclined surface of  
what at first seemed  snow1 but which   
soon appeared to be hard ice4 ,this     
slope was not less  than #hjj or #ijj   
feet in perpendicular height1 and its   
surface 7which  ,professor ,forbes      
measured several times with a           
clinometer17 in many  places rose at #de
 degrees1 and in few much less2 and all 
,alpine  travellers know well what an   
inclined surface of #de degrees is to   
walk  up4 ,of course1 every step taken  
was cut with the hatchet1 whilst the    

slope terminated below1 on both sides in
 precipices some thousand feet  high4   
,after very severe exertion1 they       
reached the top of this great  mountain1
 at four p4m4 ,the summit was so small  
that but one person could  stand upon it
 at once1 and that not until the snow   
had been flattened4  ,the party returned
 as they came up1 step by step1 and     
backwards1 and  arrived at the chalets  
of ,aletsch1 and by beautiful moonlight1
 at  half-past eleven at night4         
------------------                      
,,the ,,steam-,,gun ,,in ,,the          
,,fifteenth                             
,,century4      ,in #ahda1 ,m4          
,delectuze discovered1 among the        
manuscripts of ,leonardo da  ,vinci1 an 
entry carrying a knowledge of the       
steam-engine1 applied to  warfare1 to at
 least as far back as the fifteenth     
century4 ,he has  published in the      
,artiste1 a notice of the life of       
,leonardo1 to which  he adds a          
fac-simile of a page of one of his      

manuscripts1 containing  five           
pen-and-ink sketches of details of the  
apparatus of a ,steam ,gun1  with an    
explanatory note on what he designates  
the ,architonnere4 ,the  entry is as    
follows3--    ,invention of ,archimedes4
 ,the architonnere is a machine of fine 
copper1  which throws balls with a loud 
report and great force4 ,it is used in  
the  following manner3--,one-third of   
the instrument contains a large quantity
  of charcoal fire4 ,when the water is  
well heated1 a screw at the top of  the 
vessel which contains the water must be 
made quite tight4 ,on closing  the screw
 above1 all the water will escape below1
 will descend into the  heated portion  
of the instrument1 and be immediately   
converted into a  vapour so abundant and
 powerful1 that it is wonderful to see  
its force1  and hear the noise it       
produces4 ,this machine will carry a    
ball a talent  in weight4    ,it is     
worthy of remark that ,leonardo da      
,vinci1 far from claiming the  merit of 

this invention for himself or the men of
 his time1 attributes  it to            
,archimedes4 ,the ,steam ,gun of our    
time has been an exhibition-room        
wonder2 and the prediction of the ,duke 
of ,wellington that it would fail  in   
warfare1 has never been1 and is never   
likely to be1 tested4                   
------------------                      
,,ancient ,,observatory ,,in ,,persia4  
,when ,sir ,john ,malcolm visited       
,maraga1 he traced distinctly the       
foundations of the ,observatory1        
constructed in the #acth century1 for   
,naser-ood-,deen1 the favourite         
philosopher of the ,tartar prince1      
,hoolakoo1 the grandson of ,ghenghiz1   
who1 in this locality relaxed from  his 
warlike toils1 and assembled round him  
men of the first genius of  the age1 who
 have commemorated his love of science1 
and given him more  fame as its         
munificent patron1 than he acquired by  
all his conquests4    ,in this          
observatory there was1 according to one 

of the best ,mahomedan  works1 a species
 of apparatus to represent the celestial
 sphere1 with  the signs of the zodiac1 
the conjunctions1 transits1 and         
revolutions of  the heavenly bodies4    
,through a perforation in the dome1 the 
rays of the  sun were admitted1 so as to
 strike upon certain lines on the       
pavement in  a way to indicate1 in      
degrees and minutes1 the altitude and   
declination  of that luminary during    
every season1 and to mark the time and  
hour of  the day throughout the year4   
,the ,observatory was further supplied  
with a  map of the terrestrial globe1 in
 all its climates or zones1 exhibiting  
the several regions of the habitable    
world1 as well as a general outline  of 
the ocean1 with the numerous islands    
contained in its bosom2 and1  according 
to the ,mahomedan author1 all these were
 so perspicuously  arranged and         
delineated1 as at once to remove1 by the
 clearest  demonstration1 every doubt   
from the mind of the student4           

------------------                      
,,london ,,as ,a ,,port4      ,sir ,john
 ,herschel1 who possesses in an eminent 
degree1 the peculiar  talent of         
felicitously illustrating every subject 
that he approaches1 in  his valuable    
,treatise on ,astronomy1 thus refers to 
the situation of  ,london as a          
,port3--,it is a fact1 not a little     
interesting to  ,englishmen1 and        
combined with our insular station in    
that highway of  nations1 the ,atlantic1
 not a little explanatory of our        
commercial  eminence1 that ,,london     
occupies nearly the centre of the       
terrestrial  hemisphere4                
------------------                      
,,fourdrinier',s ,,paper-,,making       
,,machinery4      ,on ,april #be1 #ahci1
 some very interesting details of       
,fourdrinier's  ,machinery for making   
,paper of endless length1 were elicited 
during a  debate in the ,house of       
,commons1 upon the presentation of a    
petition from  these ingenious          

manufacturers4 ,it appears that #ajjj   
yards1 or any given  quantity of yards1 
of paper could be continuously made by  
it4 ,many years  since1 the invention   
was patented2 but1 owing to a mistake in
 the  patent--the word machine being    
written instead of machines--the        
property was pirated1 and that led to   
litigations1 in which the  patentees'   
funds were exhausted before they could  
establish their  rights4 ,they then     
became bankrupts1 and thus all the      
fruits of their  invention1 on which    
they had spent #dj1jjjl41 were entirely 
lost to  them4    ,the evidence of ,mr4 
,brunel1 and of ,mr4 ,lawson1 the       
printer of ,the  ,times1 proved the     
invention of the ,fourdriniers to be one
 of the most  splendid discoveries of   
the age4 ,mr4 ,lawson stated that the   
conductors  of the metropolitan         
newspapers could never have presented to
 the world  such an immense mass of news
 and advertisements as was now contained
 in  them1 had not this invention       

enabled them to make use of any size    
required4 ,by the revolution of the     
great cylinder employed in the  process1
 an extraordinary degree both of        
rapidity and convenience in the         
production is secured4 ,one of its chief
 advantages is the prevention of  all   
risk of combination among the workmen1  
the machine being so easily  managed    
that the least skilful person can attend
 to it4 ,it was added  that the         
invention had caused a remarkable       
increase in the revenue3 in  the year   
#ahjj1 when this machine was not in     
existence1 the amount of the  paper duty
 was #aie1fdal42 in #ahba1 when the     
machinery was in full  operation1 the   
amount of duty was #egi1hfgl42 in #ahce1
 it was  #hcc1hbbl4 ,no doubt1 part of  
this increase must be set down to other 
causes2 still1 it was impossible but for
 this discovery1 that such a  quantity  
of paper could have been made and       
consumed4 ,the positive saving  to the  
country effected by it1 had not been    

less than #h1jjj1jjjl42 the  increase in
 the revenue not less than #ejj1jjjl4   
a-year4 ,at length1 in  ,may1 #ahdj1 the
 sum of #g1jjjl4 was voted by           
,parliament to ,messrs4  ,fourdrinier1  
as some compensation for their loss by  
the defective state  of the patent law4 
,there has been made by this machinery  
at ,colinton mills1 a single sheet  of  
paper weighing #ecc lbs41 and measuring 
upwards of a mile and a half  in length1
 the breadth being only #ej inches4     
,were a ream of paper of  similar sheets
 made1 it would weigh #bff1ejjlbs4 or   
upwards of #abc tons4                   
------------------                      
,,the ,,cocoa-,,nut ,,crab4      ,m4    
,darwin in his ,voyage round the ,world1
 thus describes a ,crab which  lives    
upon ,cocoa-nuts1 and which he found on 
,keeling ,island1 in the  ,south ,seas3 
,it is very common on all parts of the  
dry land1 and grows  to a monstrous     
size2 it has a front pair of legs1      
terminated by very  strong and heavy    

pincers1 and the least pair by others   
which are narrow  and weak4 ,it would at
 first be thought quite impossible for a
 crab to  open a strong cocoa-nut       
covered with the husk2 but ,m4 ,liesk   
assures me  he has repeatedly seen the  
operation effected4 ,the crab begins by 
tearing the husk1 fibre by fibre1 and   
always from that end under which  the   
three eye-holes are situated2 when this 
is completed1 the crab  commences       
hammering with its heavy claws on one of
 these eye-holes till  an opening is    
made4 ,then1 turning round its body1 by 
the aid of its  posterior and narrow    
pair of pincers1 it extracts the white  
albuminous  substance4 ,i think this is 
as curious a case of instinct as ever ,i
 heard  of1 and likewise of adaptation  
in structure between two objects        
apparently so remote from each other in 
the scheme of nature1 as a crab  and a  
cocoa-nut4                              
------------------                      
,,descartes' ,,wooden ,,daughter4       

,when ,descartes resided in ,holland1 he
 made with great labour and  industry a 
female automaton1 which gave some wicked
 wits occasion to  report that he had an
 illegitimate daughter1 named           
,franchine4 ,the object  of ,descartes  
was1 to demonstrate that beasts have no 
souls1 and are but  machines nicely     
composed1 that move whenever another    
body strikes them  and communicates to  
them a portion of its motions4 ,having  
carried this  singular machine on board 
of a ,dutch vessel1 the captain1 who    
sometimes  heard it move1 had the       
curiosity to open the box4 ,astonished  
to see a  little human form uncommonly  
animated1 yet when touched appearing to 
be  nothing but wood--and being little  
versed in science1 but very             
superstitious--he took the ingenious    
labour of the philosopher for a  little 
devil1 and terminated the experiment of 
,descartes1 by throwing  his wooden     
daughter into the sea4                  
------------------                      

,,astronomical ,,shoemaker4      ,when  
,halley's comet was expected in #ahce1 a
 shoemaker of ,leicester1  named ,joseph
 ,mills1 set about tracing the path of  
the heavenly visitor  through the       
heavens4 ,this he did by drawing its    
orbit upon his house  floor1 from which 
he made a diagram that more accurately  
represented the  course of the comet    
than any that had been previously       
published4 ,on  being questioned how he 
had calculated the disturbing forces1 so
 as to  come so near the truth2 he      
replied that he could not tell1 further 
than  he had performed it by the common 
rules of arithmetic4                    
------------------                      
,,decline ,,of ,,science4      ,in      
,january1 #ahdb1 a poor fellow was taken
 before the authorities of  ,paris for  
begging in the streets4 ,he had studied 
the science of  cookery under the       
celebrated ,carme1 and was the inventor 
of the  delicious ,saumon truff  la     
broche4 ,he was in the last garb of     

want1  and attributed his poverty to the
 decline of cookery from a science to a 
low art6 ,it has been observed that     
cooks1 in nine cases out of ten1  after 
ministering to the luxury of the        
opulent1 creep into holes and  corners1 
and pass neglected out of the world4    
------------------                      
,,variable ,,climate ,,of ,,tebreez4    
,tebreez is celebrated as one of the    
most healthy cities in ,persia1 and  it 
is on this ground alone that we can     
account for its being so often  rebuilt 
after its repeated demolition by        
earthquakes4 ,it is seldom free  even   
for a twelvemonth from slight shocks2   
and it is not yet so much as  a century 
since it was levelled to the ground by  
one of those terrible  convulsions of   
nature4    ,sir ,john ,malcolm1 when he 
visited this place1 was more surprised  
at its  salubrity1 from knowing the     
great extremes of heat and cold to which
 it  is subject2 having obtained from a 
friend who had resided there during  the

 whole of the preceding year1 a most    
accurate diary of the various  changes  
of its climate4    ,from this1 it       
appeared that on the #bjth of ,october  
there was a heavy  fall of snow1 which  
did not1 however1 remain long upon the  
ground3 the  weather again became mild1 
and there was no excessive cold until   
the  middle of ,december1 from which    
period1 until the end of ,january1      
,fahrenheit's thermometer1 when exposed 
to the air at night1 never rose  above  
zero2 and in the house at mid-day it was
 seldom above #ah4    ,january was by   
far the coldest month4 ,during it1 the  
water is described  as becoming almost  
instantaneously solid in the tumblers   
upon the  dining-table1 and the ink     
often freezing in the ink-stand1        
although the  table was close to the    
fire4 ,for at least a fortnight1 not an 
egg was to  be had1 all being split by  
the cold4 ,some bottles of wine froze1  
although covered with straw1 and many of
 the copper ewers were split by  the    

expansion of the water when frozen in   
them4    ,according to this diary1 the  
weather became comparatively mild       
towards  the end of ,february2 but it   
appears that here1 as in ,england1      
',a lingering winter chills the lap of  
,may2'    for1 on the first of that     
month1 there was a heavy fall of snow1  
with  such cold that all promise of the 
spring was destroyed4 ,of the heat that 
ensued1 and the sudden and great changes
 to which ,tebreez is subject1 we  had  
abundant proof2 in the month of ,june1  
the range of the thermometer  being     
usually1 within the twenty-four hours1  
from #ef to #id1--;a  difference of #ch4
    ,the extreme heat of the summer     
causes most of the houses in ,tebreez to
  be built so as to admit the air during
 that season2 but the architects  of    
,persia fall short of their brethren in 
,europe1 in forming places by  which the
 cool air can be admitted in summer1 and
 excluded in winter4  ,this partly      
accounts for the above effects of cold2 

but the city of  ,tebreez1 and many more
 parts of ,aderbejan1 and still more of 
the  neighbouring province of ,krdistan1
 though nowhere beyond the #djth  degree
 of latitude1 are1 from their great     
elevation1 subject to extreme  cold4 ,in
 the latter country 7says ,sir ,john    
,malcolm7 ,i found1 on the  morning of  
the #agth of ,august1 ice half an inch  
thick on a basin of  water standing in  
my tent4#d    -----    ,footnote #d3    
,sketches of ,persia4                   
------------------                      
,,strychnine ,a ,,remedy ,,for          
,,paralysis4      ,strychnine 7obtained 
in the greatest purity from the ,upas   
,tiente7 has  been used successfully for
 this purpose4 ,one of ,dr4 ,bardesley's
 patients  in ,lincolnshire1 who was    
experiencing the return of sensation in 
his  paralyzed limbs1 under the use of  
strychnine1 asked if there was not      
something quick in the pills2 quick for 
alive being still in use  in that part  
of ,england4                            

------------------                      
,,rapid ,,manufacture4      ,many years 
ago1 the late ,sir ,john ,throckmorton  
sat down to dinner1  dressed in a coat  
which1 the same morning1 had been wool  
on the back of  the sheep4 ,the animals 
were sheared2 the wool washed1 carded1  
spun1 and  woven2 the cloth was scoured1
 fulled1 sheared1 dyed1 and dressed2 and
  then1 by the tailor's aid1 made into a
 coat1 between sunrise and the  hour of 
seven1 when a party sat down to dinner1 
with ,sir ,john1 as their  chairman1    
wearing the product of the active day6  
------------------                      
,,discoveries ,,anticipated4      ,from 
time immemorial1 the inhabitants of some
 distant regions have  carried on their 
nocturnal or underground manufactures by
 natural gas1  obtained through a hollow
 reed thrust into the earth4 ,arriving  
at modern  times1 navigation by the     
,archimedes screw1 as a propeller1      
through the  means of steam1 attracted  
the notice of the ,scottish ,society of 

,arts in  #ahdj2 but1 above twenty years
 previously1 an experiment with similar 
screws1 adapted to a boat1 on the lake  
,lochend1 by ,mr4 ,whytock1 a member  of
 the ,society1 proved the efficiency of 
the invention1 though on a  small scale4
 ,in ,scotland1 an ,agricultural        
,society was established in  #agbc2 a   
thrashing-machine appeared in #agce2 and
 a reaping-machine in  #agfe4           
------------------                      
,,the ,,first ,,use ,,of ,,jesuit',s    
,,bark4      ,a casual circumstance1 it 
is said1 discovered that excellent      
febrifuge1  the ,jesuit's ,bark4 ,an    
,indian in a delirious fever was left by
 his  companions1 as incurable1 by the  
side of a river1 to quench his burning  
thirst while dying4 ,he naturally drank 
copious draughts of the water1  which1  
having long imbibed the virtues of the  
bark1 that floated  abundantly on the   
stream1 quickly dispersed the fever of  
the ,indian4 ,he  returned to his       
friends1 and explained the nature of his

 remedy2 and the  sick crowded about the
 margin of the holy stream 7as they     
imagined it7  till they had quite       
exhausted its virtues4 ,the sages of the
 tribe found  out at length1 however1   
whence the efficacy of the stream arose4
 ,the  ,indians discovered it first1 in 
#afdj1 to the lady of a ,viceroy of     
,peru1  who by its use recovered of a   
dangerous fever2 and in #afdc it was    
known  at ,rome4                        
------------------                      
,,nice ,,robbery4      ,m4 ,bachalier1 a
 ,french florist1 kept some beautiful   
species of the  anemone to himself1     
which he had procured from the ,east    
,indies2 and he  succeeded in           
withholding them1 for ten years1 from   
all who wished to  possess them         
likewise4 ,a counsellor of the          
parliament1 however1 one day  paid him a
 visit1 while the anemones were in seed1
 and in walking with  him round the     
garden contrived to let his gown fall   
upon them4 ,by this  means he swept off 

a good number of the seeds2 and his     
servant1 who had  been apprised of the  
scheme1 dexterously wrapt up the gown   
and secured  them4 ,any one must have   
been a sour moralist who should have    
considered  this to be a breach of the  
eighth commandment4                     
------------------                      
,,female ,,mathematician4      ,in the  
year #agcf1 the ,french ,academy of     
,sciences proposed1 as a subject  for a 
prize1 the ,propagation of ,heat1 when  
the ,marchioness of ,chtelet  entered   
the list of competitors4 ,her work was  
not only an elegant  account of all the 
properties of heat at that time known to
 natural  philosophers1 but it was also 
remarkable for various proposals for    
experiments2 one1 among others1 which   
was afterwards followed up by           
,herschel1 and from which he derived one
 of the chief gems in his  brilliant    
scientific crown4                       
------------------                      
,,fourier',s ,,independence4      ,it   

was only occasionally that the real     
character of ,fourier1 the ,french      
philosopher1 showed itself4 ,it is      
strange1 said1 one day1 a certain  very 
influential person belonging to the     
court of ,charles ,x41 whom the         
servant1 ,joseph1 would not allow to get
 further than ,fourier's                
ante-chamber--it is really strange that 
your master should be more  difficult of
 access than a minister4 ,fourier1      
overhearing this remark1  jumped out of 
bed1 to which he had been confined by   
indisposition1  opened the room door1   
and facing the courtier1 exclaimed1     
,joseph1 tell  the gentleman1 that if ,i
 were a minister1 ,i should receive     
everybody1  because such would be my    
duty3 as a private individual1 ,i       
receive whom ,i  think fit1 and when ,i 
think fit4 ,the grandee1 disconcerted by
 the  liveliness of the sally1 did not  
answer a word4 ,we must even suppose    
that from that instant he determined to 
visit nobody but ministers1 for  the    

simple savant heard no more of him4     
------------------                      
,,mechanical ,,triumphs4      ,the      
direct and almost instant benefits of   
,mechanical ,inventions to their        
originators have been thus eloquently   
illustrated in the ,edinburgh           
,review3--,contributing1 as they do1 to 
our most immediate and pressing         
wants--appealing to the eye by their    
magnitude1 and often by their  grandeur1
 and associated1 in many cases1 with the
 warmer impulses of  humanity and       
personal safety--the labours of the     
mechanist and engineer  acquire a       
contemporary celebrity1 which is not    
vouchsafed to the results  of scientific
 research1 or to the productions of     
literature and the fine  arts4 ,the     
gigantic steam-vessel1 which expedites  
and facilitates the  intercourse of     
nations--the canal1 which unites two    
distant seas--the  bridge and the       
aqueduct1 which span an impassable      
valley--the harbour  and the            

break-water1 which shelter our vessels  
of peace and of war--the  railway1 which
 hurries us along on the wings of       
mechanism1 and the light  beacon which  
throws its directing beams over the     
deep--address  themselves to the secular
 interests of every individual1 and     
obtain for  the engineer who invented or
 who planned them1 a high and a         
well-merited  popular reputation4       
------------------                      
,,the ,,elgin ,,marbles4      ,these    
beautiful relics of ,grecian antiquity  
cost the ,earl of ,elgin  #gd1jjjl41 of 
which sum he barely received one-half   
from ,government2 so  that ,lord        
,byron's imputation to the ,earl of a   
mercantile spirit in the  transaction is
 notoriously unjust4                    
------------------                      
,,raleigh ,a ,,chemist4      ,during his
 confinement in the ,tower of ,london1  
,sir ,walter ,raleigh  devoted a        
considerable portion of his time to     
chemical and  pharmaceutical            

investigations2 and interesting it is to
 see how his  unsubdued spirit enabled  
him to make the most of his misfortunes1
 to  surmount difficulties1 and to turn 
ordinary things to extraordinary        
purposes1--greatly1 no doubt1 to the    
amazement of those about him1 who       
marvelled much to behold the splendid   
courtier1 and the captain of a  happier 
day1 earnestly employing himself with   
chemical stills and  crucibles in a     
vacant hen-house6 ,he has converted1    
says ,sir ,w4 ,wade1  the lieutenant of 
the ,tower1 in a letter to ,cecil1 a    
little hen-house  in the garden into a  
still-house1 and here he doth spend his 
time all  day in distillations4         
------------------                      
,,mr4 ,,babbage',s ,,calculating        
,,machine4      ,a calculating machine  
is a fair subject for a joke4 ,in ,may1 
#ahci1 when  an additional grant was    
applied for in the ,house of ,commons1  
in order to  complete ,mr4 ,babbage's   
machine1 ,mr4 ,wakley inquired whether  

it was  likely to be of any use to the  
public8 ,upon this1 ,sir ,robert ,peel  
felicitously replied1 that the machine  
should be put to calculate the  time at 
which it would be of any use4 ,the      
calculating machine has  certainly not  
yet been put to any more practical      
purpose4                                
------------------                      
,,herschel',s ,,love ,,of ,,music4      
,sir ,william ,herschel was a good      
musician1 yet such was his ardour for   
astronomical discovery1 that at some    
benefit concert which he gave1 he  had  
his telescope fixed in a window1 and    
made his observations between  the acts4
                                        
------------------                      
,,power ,,of ,,the ,,lever4             
,archimedes said1 ,give me a lever long 
enough1 and a prop strong enough1  and  
with my own weight ,i will move the     
world4 ,but1 says ,dr4 ,arnott1  he     
would have required to move with the    
velocity of a cannon-ball for  millions 

of years1 to alter the position of the  
earth a small part of an  inch4 ,this   
feat of ,archimedes is1 in mathematical 
truth1 performed by  every man who leaps
 from the ground2 for he kicks the world
 away from  him whenever he rises1 and  
attracts it again when he falls4        
------------------                      
,,an ,,electrifying ,,machine ,,in      
,,persia4      ,when ,sir ,james        
,malcolm was in ,persia1 on his first   
expedition1 an  electrifying machine    
which he took with him was one of the   
chief means  of astonishing his ,persian
 friends2 and with its effects he       
surprised  and alarmed all1 from majesty
 itself to the lowest peasant4    ,at   
,isfahan1 all were delighted with the   
electric machine1 except one  renowned  
doctor and lecturer of the college1 who1
 envious of the  popularity gained by   
this display of superior science1       
contended  publicly that the effects    
produced were moral1 not physical2 that 
it was  the mummery the ,europeans      

practised1 and the state of the nervous 
agitation they excited1 which produced  
an ideal shock2 but he expressed  his   
conviction that a man of true firmness  
of mind would stand unmoved  by all that
 could be produced out of the glass     
bottle1 as he  scoffingly termed the    
machine4 ,he was invited to the next    
experiment1  the day arrived1 and he    
came accordingly4    ,this doctor was   
called ,red-stockings1 from his usually 
wearing scarlet  hose4 ,he was1         
notwithstanding his learning and reputed
 science1 often  made an object of mirth
 in the circles of the great and wealthy
 at  ,isfahan1 to whom he furnished     
constant amusement1 from the pertinacity
  with which he maintained his dogmas4  
,hence1 ,red-stockings1 with all his    
philosophy1 was not overwise4           
,nevertheless1 he maintained his ground 
in the first society1 by means  common  
in ,persia1 as in other countries3 he   
was1 in fact1 a little of  the fool1#e  
and not too much of the honest4 ,this   

impression of his  character1 combined  
with his presumption1 made ,sir ,john   
,malcolm and his  party less scrupulous 
in their preparations to render him an  
example for  all who might hereafter    
doubt the effects of their boasted      
electricity2  indeed1 their ,persian    
visitors seemed anxious that the effect 
should be  such as to satisfy the man   
that had dared them to the trial--that  
it was  physical1 not moral4    ,the    
philosopher1 notwithstanding various    
warnings1 came boldly up1 and  took hold
 of the chain with both hands1 planted  
his feet firmly1 shut  his teeth1 and   
evidently called forth all his          
resolution to resist the  shock4 ,it was
 given2 and poor ,red-stockings dropped 
on the floor1 as  if he had been shot4  
,there was a momentary alarm2 but1 on   
his almost  instant recovery1 and it    
being explained that the effect had been
  increased by the determination to     
resist it1 all gave way to one burst  of
 laughter4 ,the good-natured philosopher

 took no offence4 ,he muttered          
something about the reaction of the     
feelings after being overstrained1  but 
admitted there was more in the glass    
bottle than he had anticipated4    -----
    ,footnote #e3      ,poco di matto is
 deemed by the ,italians an essential   
quality in a    great man's companion4  
------------------                      
,,how ,,to ,,measure ,,the ,,shock ,,of 
,,an                                    
,,earthquake4      ,dr4 ,buckland       
relates that in certain places liable to
 earthquakes1 their  extent has been    
measured by bowls of treacle1 the       
inclination of the  treacle in the bowl 
showing the quantum of shock2 and       
elsewhere 7by a  watchmaker7 in         
,scotland1 by placing a clock against   
each of the four  walls of an apartment1
 and marking the centre of the disk of  
the  pendulum with chalk3 when the shock
 took place1 the derangement caused  the
 pendulum to strike against the back and
 front of the clock-case1  when1 of     

course1 a mark would be left indicative 
of the phenomenon1  though not of its   
amount4                                 
------------------                      
,,the ,,drummond ,,light4      ,the     
importance of simplicity in inventions  
for popular use1 has been  shown in the 
late ,lieutenant ,drummond's apparatus  
for illuminating  lighthouses with his  
oxyhydrogen light2 that is1 a stream of 
oxygen and  another of hydrogen1        
directed upon a ball of lime4           
,experimentally1 the  light has         
succeeded beyond the expectation of the 
inventor2 but the  machinery or         
apparatus remains to be simplified      
before it can be worked  by the keepers 
of lighthouses4                         
------------------                      
,,st4 ,,pierre',s ,,paul ,,and          
,,virginia4      ,baron ,humboldt1 in   
his ,cosmos1 vol4 ii41 pays the         
following eloquent  tribute to that     
small production of the creative        
imagination to which  ,bernardin de ,st4

 ,pierre owes the fairest portion of his
 literary  fame--,paul and ,virginia--a 
work such as scarcely any other         
literature  can show4    ,it is1 says   
,humboldt1 a simple1 but living picture 
of an island in  the midst of the tropic
 seas1 in which1 sometimes smiled on by 
serene  and favouring skies1 sometimes  
threatened by the violent conflict of   
the  elements1 two young and graceful   
forms stand out picturesquely from the  
wild luxuriance of the vegetation of the
 forest1 as from a flowery  tapestry4   
,here the aspect of the sea1 the        
grouping of the clouds1 the  rustling of
 the breeze in the bushes of the bamboo1
 and the waving of  the lofty palmo1 are
 painted with inimitable truth4         
,bernardin de ,st4 ,pierre's            
master-work1 ,paul and ,virginia1       
accompanied  me into the zone to which  
it owes its origin4 ,it was there read  
for many  years by my dear companion and
 friend1 ,bonpland1 and myself2 and     
there  7let this appeal to personal     

feelings be forgiven7 under the silent  
brightness of the tropical sky1 or when1
 in the rainy season1 on the  shores of 
the ,orinoco1 the thunder crashed1 and  
the flashing lightnings  illuminated the
 forest1 we were deeply impressed and   
penetrated with the  wonderful truth    
with which this little work paints the  
power of nature  in the tropical zone in
 all its peculiarity of character4    ,a
 similar firm grasp of special features1
 without impairing the general          
impression1 or depriving the external   
materials of the free and  animating    
breath of poetic imagination1           
characterises in an even higher  degree 
the ingenious and tender author of      
,atala1 ,ren1 the ,martyr1  and the     
,journey to ,greece and ,palestine4 ,the
 contrasted landscapes of  the most     
varied portions of the earth's surface  
are brought together1  and made to pass 
before the mind's eye with wonderful    
distinctness of  vision3 the serious    
grandeur of historic remembrances could 

alone have  given so much depth and     
repose to the impressions of a rapid    
journey4                                
------------------                      
,,mythology ,,of ,,science4      ,m4    
,arago1 in his brilliant eloge on       
,fourier1 observes3--,the ancients  had 
a taste1 or rather a passion1 for the   
marvellous1 which made them  forget the 
sacred ties of gratitude4 ,look at them1
 for instance1  collecting into one     
single group the high deeds of a great  
number of  heroes1 whose names they have
 not even deigned to preserve1 and      
attributing them all to ,hercules4 ,the 
lapse of centuries has not made us      
wiser4 ,the public in our time also     
delight in mingling fiction with        
history4 ,in all careers1 particularly  
in that of the sciences1 there is  a    
design to create ,herculeses4 ,according
 to the vulgar opinion1 every           
astronomical discovery is attributable  
to ,herschel4 ,the theory of the        
motions of the planets is identified    

with the name of ,laplace1 and  scarcely
 any credit is allowed to the important 
labours of ,d',alembert1  ,clairaut1    
,euler1 and ,lagrange4 ,watt is the sole
 inventor of the  steam-engine1 whilst  
,chaptal has enriched the chemical arts 
with all  those ingenious and productive
 processes which secure their           
prosperity4  ,to countervail this error1
 ,arago continues3 ,let us hold up to   
legitimate admiration those chosen men  
whom nature has endowed with the        
valuable faculty of grouping together   
isolated facts1 and deducing  beautiful 
theories from them2 but do not let us   
forget that the sickle  of the reaper   
must cut down the stalks of corn1 before
 any one can think  of collecting them  
into sheaves4                           
------------------                      
,,el ,,dorado ,,of ,,sir ,,walter       
,,raleigh4      ,the term ,el ,dorado is
 commonly considered to have reference  
to the  sovereignty teeming with        
precious metals1 which had long been    

sought for  in vain by ,spanish         
adventurers4 ,their expeditions in quest
 of it were  directed to the interior of
 the vast region lying between the      
,orinoco  and the ,amazon1 or ,guiana4  
,the rocks were represented as          
impregnated  with gold1 the veins of    
which lay so near the surface as to make
 it  shine with a dazzling resplendency4
 ,the capital1 ,manoa1 was said to      
consist of houses covered with plates of
 gold1 and to be built upon a  vast     
lake1 named ,parima1 the sands of which 
were auriferous4    ,we abridge the     
following new version of this romance of
 history1 from  a brilliant paper on the
 life and works of ,raleigh1 in the     
,edinburgh  ,review4    ,the term ,el   
,dorado was not originally used to      
designate any particular  place2 it     
signified generally 'the gilded1' or    
'golden1' and was  variously applied4   
,according to some1 it was first used to
 denote a  religious ceremony of the    
natives1 in covering the anointed body  

with  gold-dust4 ,the whole of ,guiana  
was1 on account of the above usages1    
sometimes designated ,el ,dorado2 but   
the locality of the fable varied4       
,the question1 however1 to be solved is1
 whence arose the belief that a         
district so marvellously abundant with  
the precious metals existed in  the     
interior of ,guiana2 and the solution   
appears to have been left to  ,humboldt4
 ,while exploring the countries upon the
 ,upper ,orinoco1 he was  informed that 
the portion of ,eastern ,guiana1 lying  
between the rivers  ,essequibo and      
,branca is 'the classical soil of the   
,dorado of ,parima4' ,in  the islets and
 rocks of mica1 slate1 and talc1 which  
rise up within and  around a lake       
adjoining the ,parima river1 reflecting 
from their shining  surfaces the rays of
 an ardent sun1 we have materials out of
 which to  form that gorgeous capital1  
the temples and houses of which were    
overlaid with plates of beaten gold4    
,with such elements to work upon1 heated

 fancies1 aided by the imperfect  vision
 of distant and dubious objects1 might  
easily create that fabulous             
superstructure4 ,we may judge of the    
brilliancy of these deceptive           
appearances1 from learning that the     
natives ascribed the lustre of the      
,magellanic clouds1 or nebula of the    
southern hemisphere1 to the bright      
reflections produced by them4 ,there    
could not well be a more poetical       
exaggeration of the lustrous effects    
produced by the metallic hues of  rocks 
of talc4 ,these details1 in which ,m4 de
 ,pons1 a somewhat later  traveller1 who
 long resided in an official capacity in
 the neighbouring  countries1 fully     
concurs1 in all probability point to the
 true origin of  this remarkable fable4 
,the well-known failure of ,raleigh did 
not  discourage other adventurers1 who  
were found in quick succession2 the     
last always flattering themselves with  
the hope that the discovery of  ,el     
,dorado would ultimately be realized4   

------------------                      
,,amber1 ,a ,,source ,,of               
,,international ,,trade4      ,the amber
 trade1 which was probably first        
directed to the west ,cimbrian  coasts1 
and only subsequently to the ,baltic and
 the country of the  ,esthonians1 owes  
its first origin to the boldness and    
perseverance of  ,phoenician coast      
navigators4 ,in its subsequent          
extension1 it offers a  remarkable      
instance of the influence which may be  
exerted by a  predilection for even a   
single foreign production1 in opening an
 inland  trade between nations1 and in  
making known large tracts of country4   
,in  the same way that the ,phocan      
,massilians brought the ,british tin    
across  ,france to the ,rhone1 the amber
 was conveyed from people to people     
through ,germany1 and by the ,celts on  
either declivity of the ,alps to the    
,padus1 and through ,pannonia to the    
,borysthenes4 ,it was this inland       
traffic which first brought the coasts  

of the ,northern ocean into  connexion  
with the ,euxine and the                
,adriatic4--,humboldt's ,cosmos4        
------------------                      
,,antiquity ,,of ,,lightning            
,,conductors4      ,a story was formerly
 repeated in ,germany1 after ,father    
,angelo  ,cortenoria1 that the tomb of  
the hero of ,clusium1 ,lars ,porsena1   
described by ,varro1 ornamented with a  
bronze head and bronze pendent  chains1 
was an apparatus for atmospheric        
electricity1 or for conducting          
lightning1 7as were1 according to       
,michaelis1 the metal points on         
,solomon's temple72 but the tale        
obtained currency at a time when men    
were much inclined to attribute to      
ancient nations the remains of a        
supernaturally revealed primitive       
knowledge1 which was soon after         
obscured4    ,the most important notice 
of the relation between lightning and   
conducting metals 7a fact not difficult 
of discovery7 still appears to  be that 

of ,ctesias3 he possessed two iron      
swords1 presents from the ,king         
,artaxerxes ,mnemon1 and from his mother
 ,parysatis1 which1 when planted in  the
 earth1 averted clouds1 hail1 and       
strokes of lightning4 ,he had  himself  
seen the operation1 for the king had    
twice made the experiment  before his   
eyes4 ,the exact attention paid by the  
,etruscans to the  meteorological       
processes of the atmosphere in all that 
deviated from the  ordinary course of   
phenomena1 makes it to be lamented that 
nothing has  come down to us from their 
,fulgur red books4 ,the epochs of the   
appearance of great comets1 of the fall 
of meteoric stones1 and of  showers of  
falling stars1 would no doubt have been 
found recorded in  them1 as in the more 
ancient ,chinese annals1 of which       
,edward ,biot has  made use4 ,creuzer   
has attempted to show1 that the natural 
features of  ,etruria may have          
influenced the peculiar turn of mind of 
its  inhabitants4 ,a calling forth of   

the lightning1 which is ascribed to     
,prometheus1 reminds us of the pretended
 drawing down of lightning by  the      
,fulguratores4 ,this operation consisted
 in a mere conjuration1 and  may well   
have been of no more efficacy than the  
skinned ass' head1  which1 in the       
,etruscan rites1 was considered a       
preservative from danger  in their      
thunder-storms4--7,see ,notes to        
,humboldt's ,cosmos1 vol4 ii47          
------------------                      
,,how ,,the ,,deaf ,,may ,,hear4        
,about #agch1 a merchant of ,cleves1    
named ,jorissen1 who had become almost  
totally deaf1 sitting one day near a    
harpsichord1 while some one was         
playing--and having a tobacco-pipe in   
his mouth1 the bowl of which  rested    
accidentally against the body of the    
instrument--was surprised to  hear all  
the notes most distinctly4 ,by a little 
reflection and practice1  he again      
attained the use of this valuable sense2
 for he soon  learned--by means of a    

piece of hard wood1 one end of which he 
placed  against his teeth1 while another
 person placed the other end on his     
teeth--to keep up a conversation1 and to
 be able to understand the least        
whisper4 ,the effect thus described is  
the same1 if the person who speaks      
rests his stick against his throat or   
his breast2 or when one rests the  stick
 which he holds in his teeth against    
some vessel into which the  other       
speaks4                                 
------------------                      
,,drying ,,wood ,,for ,,violins4        
,some amusing instances are related of  
the efficiency of the ,application  of  
,heated ,currents to ,manufacturing and 
other ,purposes1 once patented  by      
,davison and ,symington4 ,thus1 a violin
 had been in the owner's  possession for
 upwards of sixteen years1 how old it   
was when he first  had it is not known4 
,upon being exposed to this process1 it 
lost in  eight hours no less than       
five-sixths 7nearly five and two-thirds7

 per  cent4 of its weight4 ,this there  
is every reason to believe was owing to 
the blocks glued inside1 for the purpose
 of holding the more slender  parts     
together4 ,instrument makers would do   
well to see that all parts1  however    
mean their position in the instrument1  
are properly seasoned1 or  divested of  
moisture2 for surely water cannot       
improve sound4    ,a violin-maker of    
high reputation1 having an order to make
 an instrument  for one of the first    
violinists of the day1 was requested to 
have the  wood seasoned by the new      
process2 only three days were allowed   
for the  experiment1 in which the wood  
was seasoned and sent home4 ,the two    
heaviest pieces were reduced in weight  
#b-a_/blbs41 which is equal to two      
pints of water4    ,it is ascertained   
that1 by this means of drying1 the      
effect of age has  been given to the    
instrument made from the above wood2 and
 it became  first fiddle in the         
orchestra of ,her ,majesty's ,theatre4  

,the wood had  been in the possession of
 its owners for eight years2 and it was 
sent  from ,switzerland1 in the first   
instance1 as dry wood4#f    -----       
,footnote #f3      ,in proof of the     
economy of ,messrs4 ,davison and        
,symington's invention    applied to the
 manufacture and cleansing of brewers'  
casks1 it is    stated that through its 
adoption at ,truman's brewery1          
,spitalfields1 a    saving of #cjj tons 
of coals was effected annually4         
------------------                      
,,columbus',s ,,own ,,ship ,,journal4   
,columbus has left us some charming     
descriptions of his own discoveries2    
though it is only recently that we have 
obtained the knowledge of his  own      
ship's journal1 of his letters to the   
treasurer ,sanchez1 to ,donna  ,juana de
 la ,torre1 governess of the infant ,don
 ,juan1 and to ,queen  ,isabella4       
,humboldt has sought to show with how   
deep a feeling and  perception of the   
forms and the beauty of nature the great

 discoverer  was endowed1 and how he    
described the face of the earth1 and the
 new  heaven which opened to his view1  
with a beauty and simplicity of         
expression which can only be fully      
appreciated by those who are familiar   
with the ancient force of the language  
as it existed at the period4    ,the    
aspect and the physiognomy of the       
vegetation1 the impenetrable  thickets  
of the forest1 in which one can hardly  
distinguish which are  the flowers and  
leaves belonging to each stem2 the wild 
luxuriance  which clothed the humid     
shores2 the rose-coloured flamingoes    
fishing at  the mouth of the rivers in  
the early morning1 and giving animation 
to  the landscape1 attract the attention
 of the old navigator while sailing     
along the coast of ,cuba1 between the   
small ,lucayan islands and the          
,jardinillos4 ,each newly-discovered    
land appears to him still more          
beautiful than those he had before      
described2 he complains that he  cannot 

find words in which to record the sweet 
impressions which he has  received4     
,the loveliness of this new land1 says  
the discoverer1 far surpasses  that of  
the ,campina de ,cordoba4 ,the trees are
 all bright with  ever-verdant foliage1 
and perpetually laden with fruits4 ,the 
plants on  the ground are tall and full 
of blossoms4 ,the breezes are mild like 
those in ,april in ,castille2 the       
nightingales sing more sweetly than ,i  
can describe4 ,at night1 other small    
birds sing sweetly1 and ,i also hear    
our grasshoppers and frogs4 ,once ,i    
came into a deeply-enclosed harbour1    
and saw high mountains which no human   
eye had seen before1 from which  lovely 
waters streamed down4 ,the mountain was 
covered with firs1 pines1  and other    
trees of very various form1 and adorned 
with beautiful  flowers4 ,ascending the 
river1 which poured itself into the bay1
 ,i was  astonished at the cool shade1  
the crystal clear water1 and the number 
of  singing birds4 ,it seemed as if ,i  

could never quit a spot so              
delightful--as if a thousand tongues    
would fail to describe it1 as if  the   
spell-bound hand would refuse to write4 
,we have here1 from the journal of an   
unlettered seaman1 the power which  the 
beauty of nature1 manifested in her     
individual forms1 may exert on a        
susceptible mind4 ,feelings ennoble     
language2 for the prose of the  admiral1
 especially when1 on his fourth voyage1 
at the age of #fg1 he  relates his      
wonderful dream on the coast of         
,veragua1 is1 if not more  eloquent1 yet
 far more moving1 than the allegorical  
pastoral romance of  ,boccacio and the  
two ,arcadias of ,sannazaro and ,sydney2
 than ,garcilasso's  ,salicio y         
,nemoroso2 or than the ,diana of ,jorge 
de ,montemayor4                         
------------------                      
,,early ,,incitements ,,to ,a           
,,scientific ,,study                    
,,of ,,nature4      ,baron ,humboldt1 in
 the opening of his ,cosmos1 vol4 ii41  

recalls the  lessons of experience1     
which tell us how often impressions     
received by  the senses from            
circumstances1 seemingly accidental1    
have so acted on  the youthful mind as  
to determine the whole direction of the 
man's  course through life4 ,childish   
pleasure1 in the form of countries and  
of  seas1 as delineated in maps2 the    
desire to behold those southern         
constellations which have never risen in
 our horizon2 the sight of palms  and of
 the cedars of ,lebanon1 figured in a   
pictorial ,bible1 may have  implanted in
 the spirit the first impulse to travel 
in distant lands4    ,if ,i might 7says 
,humboldt7 have recourse to my own      
experience1 and say  what awakened in me
 the first beginnings of an             
inextinguishable longing  to visit the  
tropics1 ,i should name ,george         
,forster's descriptions of the  islands 
of the ,pacific--paintings1 by ,hodge1  
in the house of ,warren  ,hastings1 in  
,london1 representing the banks of the  

,ganges--and a  colossal dragon-tree in 
an old tower of the ,botanic ,gardens at
 ,berlin4                               
------------------                      
,,the ,,rights ,,of ,,whitebait4        
,formerly1 whitebait were considered to 
be the young of the shad2 and  only of  
late years has the misnamed fish taken  
its proper position4 ,it  appears that  
,mr4 ,yarrell1 the able naturalist1 was 
one morning in ,march  struck with the  
early appearance of whitebait in a      
fishmonger's shop in  ,st4 ,james's2 and
 knowing that shads1 which they were    
supposed to be1 did  not make their     
appearance till much later 7,may71 he   
took up the matter1  and persevered in a
 course of investigation1 which lasted  
from ,march to  ,august1 #ahbh4 ,the    
specific distinction between the two    
fishes1 on which  ,mr4 ,yarrell relies  
as of the greatest value1 is the        
difference of their  anatomical         
character2 and especially in the number 
of vertebr1 or small  bones1 extending  

from the back-bone4 ,the number of      
vertebr in the  shad1 he states1 of     
whatever size the specimen may be1 is   
invariably  fifty-five1 while the number
 in the whitebait is uniformly          
fifty-six2  even in a fish of two       
inches1 with the assistance of a lens1  
their exact  number may be distinctly   
made out4                               
------------------                      
,,catching ,,electric ,,eels4           
,humboldt gives a very interesting      
narrative of the mode of the capture  of
 the gymnoti employed by the ,indians of
 ,south ,america4 ,this is done by      
rousing the eels by driving horses and  
mules into the ponds which those  fish  
inhabit1 and harpooning them when they  
have exhausted their  electricity upon  
the unhappy quadrupeds4    ,i wished1   
says ,humboldt1 that a clever artist    
could have depicted the  most animated  
period of the attack2 the groups of     
,indians surrounding  the pond1 the     
horses1 with their manes erect1 and     

eye-balls wild with  pain and fright1   
striving to escape from the electric    
storm which they  had roused1 and driven
 back by the shouts and long whips of   
the excited  ,indians1 the livid yellow 
eels1 like great water-snakes1 swimming 
near  the surface1 and pursuing their   
enemy3 all these objects presented a    
most picturesque and exciting ensemble4 
,in less than five minutes1 two  horses 
were killed3 the eel1 being more than   
five feet in length1 glides  beneath the
 body of the horse1 and discharges the  
whole strength of its  electric organ2  
it attacks at the same time the heart1  
the digestive  viscera1 and above all1  
the gastric plexus of nerves4 ,i thought
 the  scene would have had a tragic     
termination1 and expected to see most of
  the quadrupeds killed2 but the        
,indians assured me that the fishing    
would  soon be finished1 and that only  
the first attack of the gymnoti was     
really formidable4 ,in fact1 after the  
conflict had lasted a quarter of  an    

hour1 the mules and horses appeared less
 alarmed2 they no longer  erected their 
manes1 and their eyes expressed less    
pain and terror4 ,one  no longer saw    
them struck down in the water2 the eels1
 instead of  swimming to the attack1    
retreated from their assailants1 and    
approached  the shore4    ,the ,indians 
now began to use their missiles2 and by 
means of the long  cord attached to the 
harpoon1 jerked the fish out of the     
water without  receiving any shock so   
long as the cord was dry4 ,all the      
circumstances  narrated by ,humboldt    
establish the close analogy between the 
gymnotus  and torpedo in the vital      
phenomenon attending the exercise of    
their  extraordinary means of offence4  
,the exercise is voluntary and          
exhaustive  of the nervous energy2 and1 
like voluntary muscular effort1 it needs
  repose and nourishment to produce a   
fresh accumulation4                     
------------------                      
,,sir ,,william ,,herschel',s ,,first   

,,telescope4      ,sir ,william         
,herschel arrived in ,england from      
,hanover1 his birth-place1  about the   
end of the year #agei1 when he was in   
his #bast year4 ,he was  bred a         
professor of music1 and went to live at 
,halifax1 where he  acquired1 by his own
 application1 a considerable knowledge  
of  mathematics2 and1 having studied    
astronomy and optics in the popular     
writings of ,ferguson1 he was anxious to
 witness with his own eyes the  wonders 
of the planetary system4 ,he accordingly
 borrowed of a friend a  telescope1 two 
feet in focal length2 and1 having       
directed it to the  heavens1 he was so  
delighted with the actual sight of      
phenomena1 which  he had previously     
known only from books1 that he          
commissioned a friend  to purchase for  
him in ,london a telescope1 with a high 
magnifying power4  ,fortunately for     
science1 the price of such an instrument
 greatly  exceeded his means1 and he    
immediately resolved to construct a     

telescope  with his own hands4 ,after   
encountering the difficulties which     
every  amateur at first experiences1 in 
the casting1 grinding1 and polishing1   
of metallic specula for reflecting      
telescopes1 he completed1 in #aggf1 a   
reflecting instrument1 five feet in     
focal length1 with which he was  able to
 observe the ring of ,saturn1 and the   
satellites and belts of  ,jupiter4 ,this
 telescope was completed when he resided
 at ,bath1 where he  acquired by        
degrees1 and in his leisure hours1 that 
practical knowledge  of optics and      
mechanics which was necessary for such a
 task4    ,his experience in this       
scientific art was of the most          
remarkable kind2  and1 by #agha1 he had 
constructed so many telescopes1 as to be
 better  furnished with the means of    
surveying the heavens than were         
possessed by  any other astronomer1 in  
either of the fixed observatories in    
,europe4                                
------------------                      

,,wonders ,,of ,,australia4      ,sydney
 ,smith has thus sketched a few of the  
natural wonders of this new  world3--,in
 this remote part of the earth1 ,nature 
7having made horses1  oxen1 ducks1      
geese1 oaks1 elms1 and all regular and  
useful productions1  for the rest of the
 world7 seems determined to have a bit  
of play1 and  to amuse herself as she   
pleases4 ,accordingly1 she makes        
cherries with  the stone outside2 and a 
monstrous animal1 as tall as a          
grenadier1 with  the head of a rabbit1 a
 tail as big as a bedpost1 hopping along
 at the  rate of five hops to a mile1   
with three or four young kangaroos      
looking  out of its false uterus1 to see
 what is passing4 ,then comes a         
quadruped1  as big as a large cat1 with 
the eyes1 colour1 and skin of a mole1   
and  the bill and web-feet of a duck1   
puzzling ,dr4 ,shaw1 and rendering the  
latter half of his life miserable1 from 
his utter inability to determine        
whether it was a bird or a beast4 ,add  

to this1 a parrot with the legs of  a   
sea-gull2 a skate with the head of a    
shark2 and a bird of such  monstrous    
dimensions1 that a side-bone of it will 
dine three real  carnivorous            
,englishmen2--together with many other  
productions that1 on  the discovery of  
the country1 agitated ,sir ,joseph      
,banks1 and filled him  with emotions of
 distress and delight4                  
------------------                      
,,vicissitudes ,,of ,,mining4           
,humboldt relates of a ,frenchman1      
,joseph ,laborde1 that he went to       
,mexico  very poor in #agdc1 and        
acquired a large fortune in a very short
 time by  the mine of ,la ,canada4      
,after building a church at ,tasco1     
which cost him  #hd1jjjl41 he was       
reduced to the lowest poverty by the    
rapid decline of  those very mines1 from
 which he had annually drawn from       
#acj1jjj to  #aij1jjj pounds' weight of 
silver4 ,with a sum of #bj1jjjl41 raised
 by  selling a sun of solid gold1 which1

 in his prosperity1 he had  presented to
 the church1 and which he was allowed by
 the archbishop to  withdraw1 he        
undertook to clear out an old mine1 in  
doing which he lost  the greatest part  
of the produce of this golden sun1 and  
then abandoned  the work4 ,with the     
small sum remaining1 he once more       
ventured on another  undertaking1 which 
was1 for a short time1 highly           
productive2 and he left  behind him1 at 
his death1 a fortune of #abj1jjjl4      
------------------                      
,,tropical ,,delights4      ,what a     
ludicrous picture has ,sydney ,smith    
drawn of the animal annoyance  of       
tropical climates4 ,insects1 he says1   
are their curse4 ,the bete  rouge lays  
the foundation of a tremendous ulcer4   
,in a moment1 you are  covered with     
ticks4 ,chigoes bury themselves in your 
flesh1 and hatch a  large colony of     
young chigoes in a few hours4 ,they will
 not live  together1 but every chigoe   
sets up a separate ulcer1 and has his   

own  private portion of pus4 ,flies get 
into your mouth1 into your eyes1 into   
your nose2 you eat flies1 drink flies1  
and breathe flies4 ,lizards1            
cockroaches1 and snakes get into your   
bed2 ants eat up the books2  scorpions  
sting you on the foot4 ,everything      
bites1 stings1 or bruises4  ,every      
second of your existence1 you are       
wounded by some piece of animal  life1  
that nobody has ever seen before1 except
 ,swammerdam and ,merian4 ,an  insect   
with eleven legs is swimming in your    
tea-cup2 a nondescript1 with  nine      
wings1 is struggling in the small-beer2 
or a caterpillar1 with  several dozen of
 eyes in his belly1 is hastening over   
the bread and  butter4 ,all nature is   
alive1 and seems to be gathering all her
  entomological hosts to eat you up1 as 
you are standing1 out of your  coat1    
waistcoat1 and breeches4 ,such are the  
tropics4 ,all this reconciles  us to our
 dews1 fogs1 vapours1 and drizzle2 to   
our apothecaries rushing  about with    

gargles and tinctures2 to our old       
,british constitutional  coughs1 sore   
throats1 and swelled faces4             
------------------                      
,,invention ,,of ,,the ,,diving-,,bell4 
,in the ,united ,states of ,america1    
generally1 and to some extent in        
,england1 the invention of the          
diving-bell has been attributed to ,sir 
,william ,phipps2 who was1 however1 one 
of the first persons who used the  bell 
advantageously1 in recovering nearly    
#cjj1jjjl4 treasure from a  ,spanish    
wreck1 near the ,bahamas4 ,the          
invention1 or the earliest use of  the  
diving-bell1 dates from upwards of a    
century before the birth of  ,phipps2   
the first instance of its use being at  
,cadiz1 in the presence of  ,charles    
,v41 in #aech2 whereas ,phipps was born 
at ,pemaguid1 in ,america1 in  #afej4   
,there is1 likewise1 another popular    
error1 that the ,mulgrave  family1 of   
which the present head is the ,marquess 
of ,normanby1 descended  from ,sir      

,william ,phipps2 the founder of the    
,mulgrave family being  ,phipps1 one of 
the earliest explorers of the ,arctic   
regions4                                
------------------                      
,,experiments ,,with ,,an ,,electric    
,,eel4      ,in #ahch there was brought 
to ,london1 and exhibited at the        
,adelaide  ,gallery1 in the ,strand1 a  
living specimen of the electric eel1 or 
gymnotus1 being the first received in   
this country alive within the  present  
century4 ,it was fed upon fish1 and     
occasionally with bullock's  blood1 and 
was kept warm by water1 artificially    
heated4 ,with this eel  several         
interesting experiments were made1      
allowing periods of rest from  a week to
 a month between each set4 ,one of these
 is thus described3--    ,i was so      
fortunate 7says ,professor ,owen7 as to 
witness the experiments  performed by   
,professor ,faraday on the large        
gymnotus which was so long  preserved at
 the ,adelaide ,gallery1 in ,london4    

,that the most powerful  shocks were    
received when the one hand grasped the  
head1 and the other  hand the tail of   
the gymnotus1 ,i had painful experience1
 especially at  the wrists1 the elbow1  
and across the back4 ,but our           
distinguished  experimenter showed us   
that the nearer the hands were together1
 within  certain limits1 the less       
powerful was the shock4 ,he demonstrated
 by the  galvanometer that the direction
 of the electric current was always from
  the anterior parts of the animal to   
the posterior parts1 and that the       
person touching the fish with both hands
 received only the discharge of  the    
parts of the organs included between the
 points of contact4 ,needles  were      
converted into magnets2 iodine was      
obtained by polar decomposition  of     
iodide of potassium2 and availing       
himself of this test1 ,professor        
,faraday showed that any given part of  
the organ is negative to other  parts   
before it1 and positive to such as are  

behind it4 ,finally1 heat  was evolved1 
and the electric spark obtained4        
------------------                      
,,talent ,,and ,,opportunity4           
,previous to the year #agjf1 the brass  
ordnance for the ,british ,government   
was cast at the foundry in ,moorfields2 
but an accident which occurred  there at
 the above date1 led to the removal of  
the foundry to ,woolwich4  ,the         
circumstances connected with this change
 are interesting1 as well as            
instructive4    ,it appears that a great
 number of persons had assembled to     
witness the  re-casting of the cannon   
taken by the ,duke of ,marlborough from 
the  ,french2 and there happened to be  
among them1 a young ,german artisan in  
metal1 named ,schalch4 ,observing some  
moisture in the moulds1 he pointed  out 
to the spectators around him the danger 
likely to ensue from an  explosion of   
steam1 when the moulds were filled with 
the heated metal2  and at the           
instigation of his friends1 this        

apprehension was conveyed  through      
,colonel ,armstrong1 major-general of   
the ,ordnance1 to the ,duke of          
,richmond1 then in attendance1 as the   
head of the department4 ,this  warning  
was1 however1 disregarded2 but ,schalch 
retired from the spot  with as many of  
the bystanders as he could persuade to  
accompany him4  ,they had not proceeded 
far before the furnaces were opened1    
and1 as  ,schalch had foretold1 a       
dreadful explosion ensued4 ,the water in
 the  moulds was converted into steam1  
which from its expansive force caused a 
fiery stream of liquid metal to dart out
 in every direction4 ,part of the  roof 
of the building was blown off1 and the  
galleries that had been  erected for the
 company were swept to the ground4 ,most
 of the foundrymen  were terribly burnt2
 some were killed2 and many of the      
spectators were  severely injured4    ,a
 few days afterwards1 in answer to an   
advertisement in the newspapers1        
,schalch waited upon ,colonel           

,armstrong1 and was informed by him that
 the  ,board of ,ordnance contemplated  
building a new foundry1 and had         
determined1 from the representations    
made to them of ,schalch's ability1  to 
offer him the superintendence of its    
erection1 and the management of  the    
entire establishment1 when completed4   
,schalch readily accepted the           
appointment3 he fixed upon the ,warren  
at ,woolwich1 as the most eligible  site
 for the new building2 and the ordnance 
which were cast here under  his         
direction were highly approved of4      
,thus1 almost by mere chance1 was  the  
young ,german appointed to a situation  
of great trust and emolument1  which he 
filled so ably1 that during the many    
years he was  superintendent of the     
,royal ,arsenal1 not a single accident  
occurred1  amidst all the dangerous     
operations of gun-casting4 ,he retired1 
after  sixty years service1 to          
,charlton1 where he died2 and his tomb  
may be  seen in ,woolwich church-yard4  

------------------                      
,,travelling ,,in ,,the ,,himaleh       
,,mountains4      ,the perils of the    
heights and passes of the ,himleh are   
truly frightful4  ,at ,boorendo1 #ae1aga
 feet in height1 one of the safest and  
most  frequented of the passes1 the     
guides point out a spot where upwards of
  twenty persons1 returning from        
,koonacour with salt1 a few years since1
  perished at once3 they were overtaken 
by a fall of snow when on the  other    
side1 but they preferred trying the pass
 to making a circuit of  six or seven   
days' journey2 the wind got up1 and they
 were so benumbed  with cold by the time
 they reached the trees1 that they were 
unable to  strike a light1 and slept to 
wake no more4    ,the road to ,ludak is 
passable in the middle of winter1 and is
 never shut  by snow2 but there are     
frightful accounts of frosts on this    
route4 ,as  protection against these    
perils1 travellers clothe themselves in 
their  journeys with a winter-dress1    

which is so heavy that it scarcely seems
  possible for them to walk4 ,putee     
,ram1 a traveller1 is described as      
wearing a garment of lambskin1 called   
,lapka1 with sleeves2 the fleecy  side  
was inward1 and the exterior covered    
with sooklat1 a kind of warm  blanket1  
dyed blue4 ,there were trousers of the  
same1 long woollen  stockings1 and over 
them the usual kind of boots1 the foot  
part stuffed  with two inches of wool2  
and gloves of thick flannel reaching    
above the  elbows2 in addition to this1 
he had a blanket round his waist1       
another  thrown on his shoulders1 and a 
shawl wrapt over his cap and part of his
  face2 such1 he said1 was the usual    
garb of a traveller in the winter       
season2 adding1 that he was always      
accompanied by a mule-load of  blankets 
and another ,lapka1 all of which were   
required at night1 when he  was obliged 
to sleep under the snow4                
------------------                      
,,gold ,,in ,,siberia4      ,the reign  

of the ,emperor ,nicholas has been      
distinguished by the  important         
discovery1 that portions of the great   
eastern regions of  ,siberia are highly 
auriferous2 viz41 the government of     
,tomsk and  ,teniseik1 where low ridges1
 similarly constructed to those on the  
eastern flank of the ,ural1 and like    
them1 trending from north to south1     
appear as offsets from the great east   
and west chain of the ,altai1 which     
separates ,siberia from ,china4 ,and    
here1 it is curious to remark1 that a   
very few years ago1 this distant region 
did not afford a third part of  the gold
 which the ,ural produced2 but by recent
 researches1 an  augmentation so rapid  
and extraordinary has taken place1 that 
in #ahdc  the eastern ,siberian tract   
yielded considerably upwards of         
two-and-a-quarter millions sterling1    
raising the total gold produce of  the  
,russian empire to nearly three millions
 sterling6--,sir ,r4 ,i4  ,murchison4   
------------------                      

,,combinations ,,of ,,the               
,,kaleidoscope4      ,the system of     
endless changes is one of the most      
astonishing properties  of the          
,kaleidoscope4 ,with a number of loose  
objects--pieces of glass1  for          
example1--it is possible to reproduce   
any figure we have admired1  when it is 
once lost4 ,centuries may elapse before 
the same combination  returns2 if the   
objects1 however1 are placed in the cell
 so as to have  very little motion1 the 
same figure may be recalled1 and if     
actually  fixed1 the same pattern will  
return in every evolution of the        
object-plate4 ,a calculation of the     
number of forms is given upon the       
ordinary principles of combination2     
namely1 that twenty-four pieces of      
glass may be combined                   
#ac1iag1bdb1hhh1hgb1eeb1iii1dbe1abh1dic1
djb1bjj  times--an operation the        
performance of which would take         
hundreds of thousands of millions of    
years1 even upon the supposition  that  

twenty combinations were effected every 
minute6                                 
------------------                      
,,the ,,means ,,to ,,the ,,end4         
,from the abundance of clay upon its    
site1 ,london is1 as might be  expected1
 a brick-built city2 although the       
ingenuity of our age has  cased miles of
 streets with cement1 to imitate stone4 
,this prevalence of  clay is1 in great  
measure1 explanatory of the vastness of 
the  metropolis4 ,it is nowhere better  
illustrated than in the fact of the     
,five ,fields1 7between ,pimlico and    
,chelsea17 formerly a clayey swamp1     
being now the site of some of the finest
 mansions in ,london4 ,a few years  ago1
 the clay retained so much water that no
 one would build there1 and  the ,fields
 were the terror of foot-passengers     
proceeding from  ,westminster to        
,chelsea after nightfall4 ,at length1   
,mr4 ,cubitt1 on  examining the strata1 
found them to consist of clay and       
gravel1 of  inconsiderable depth4 ,the  

clay he removed1 and burned into bricks2
 and  by building upon the substratum of
 gravel1 he converted this spot from    
the most unhealthy to one of the most   
healthy1 to the immense advantage  of   
the ground landlord and the whole       
metropolis4 ,this is one of the most    
perfect adaptations of the means to the 
end1 to be found in the records  of the 
building art4                           
------------------                      
,,india ,,rubber1 ,a ,,century ,,and ,a 
,,half                                  
,,since4      ,every generation is      
wisest in its own conceit1 and the      
present is  continually overrated at the
 expense of the past4 ,who would have   
thought  that ,india rubber cloaks were 
worn in ,south ,america upwards of a    
century  since8 yet such1 forsooth1 is  
the plain fact of history2 and          
disinclined  as we are to rob ,mr4      
,macintosh of the merit of his          
adaptation1 the  invention must be      
awarded to another age2 indeed1 it is   

almost one of  the antiquities of the   
,new ,world4 ,in a work entitled ,la    
,monarchia  ,indiana1 printed at ,madrid
 in #agbc1 we find a chapter devoted to 
,very  profitable trees in ,new ,spain1 
from which there distil various liquors 
and resins4 ,among them is described a  
tree called ulquahuill1 which  the      
natives cut with a hatchet1 to obtain   
the white1 thick1 and adhesive  milk4   
,this when coagulated1 they made into   
balls1 called ulli1 which  rebounded    
very high1 when struck to the ground1   
and were used in various  games4 ,it was
 also made into shoes and sandals4 ,the 
author  continues3--,our people 7the    
,spaniards7 make use of their ulli to   
varnish their cloaks1 made of hempen    
cloth1 for wet weather1 which  are good 
to resist water1 but not against the    
sun1 by whose heat and  rays the ulli is
 dissolved4    ,india rubber is not     
known in ,mexico at the present day by  
any other name  than that of ulli4 ,and 
the oiled silk covering of hats very    

generally  worn throughout the country  
by travellers is always called ulli4    
------------------                      
,,balloon ,,voyage ,,from ,,london ,,to 
,,nassau4      ,on ,monday1 ,november   
#g1 #ahcf1 ,mr4 ,monck ,mason and ,mr4  
,robert ,holland  accompanied ,mr4      
,green in his large balloon from ,london
 to ,weilburg1 in  the grand duchy of   
,nassau1 in ,germany1 an extent of #ejj 
,british miles1  achieved in the short  
space of eighteen hours4 ,the route lay 
through a  considerable portion of the  
five kingdoms of ,england1 ,france1     
,belgium1  ,prussia1 ,germany1 and the  
,archduchy of ,nassau2 whilst a long    
succession  of cities1 including        
,london1 ,rochester1 ,canterbury1       
,dover1 ,calais1  ,cassel1 ,ypres1      
,courtray1 ,lille1 ,oudenarde1 ,ath1 and
 ,brussels1 7with the  renowned fields  
of ,waterloo and ,genappe17 ,namur1     
,liege1 ,spa1 ,malmedy1  ,coblentz1 and 
a whole host of intermediate villages1  
were all brought  within the compass of 

the aeronauts' horizon2 their superior  
elevation  and various aberrations      
enabling them to extend far beyond what 
might be  expected from a hasty         
consideration of the line connecting the
 two  extremities of the route4 ,the    
voyagers returned to ,london by steam1  
and  ,mr4 ,monck ,mason afterwards      
published an interesting narrative of   
the  ronautical voyage4    ,the         
appearance which the balloon exhibited  
previous to the ascent was  very        
strange4 ,provisions calculated for a   
fortnight's consumption1 in  case of    
emergency2 ballast to the amount of     
upwards of a ton in weight1  disposed in
 bags of different sizes1 duly          
registered and marked2  together with an
 unusual supply of cordage1 implements1 
and other  accessories to an arial      
excursion1 occupied the bottom of the   
car3  while1 all around the hoop1 and   
elsewhere appended1 hung cloaks1        
carpet-bags1 barrels of wood and copper1
 a coffee-warmer by means of  slaked    

lime1 barometers1 telescopes1 lamps1    
wine and spirit flasks1 with  many other
 articles designed to serve the purposes
 of a voyage to  regions where1 once    
forgotten1 nothing could be supplied4   
------------------                      
,,antiquity ,,of ,,refined ,,sugar4     
,it appears from the accounts of the    
,chamberlain of ,scotland1 published    
from the originals in the ,exchequer1   
that in the year #acbi1 loaves of  sugar
 were sold in ,scotland at the price of 
#as4 #i-a_/b;d4 7more than an  ounce of 
standard silver7 per lb4 ,stow's ,survey
 of ,london states sugar  refining to   
have been commenced in ,england about   
#aedd2 and upwards of  four centuries   
since we find ,margaret ,paston writing 
to her husband from  ,norwich thus3--,i 
pray1 that ye will vouchsafe to send me 
another  sugar-loaf1 for my old one is  
done4                                   
------------------                      
,,clearness ,,of ,,the ,,sky ,,at ,,the 
,,cape ,,of                             

,,good ,,hope4      ,an observer states 
that in forty-two successive days at the
 ,cape1 there  were only three in which 
he could not see ,venus in broad        
daylight4 ,sir  ,john ,herschel assures 
us that he has written a letter by the  
light of an  eclipse of the moon4 ,under
 these circumstances1 the starry heavens
  presented a brilliance1 of which the  
inhabitants of the northern  hemisphere 
can have no conception2 the line from   
,orion to ,antinous being  remarkably   
rich and brilliant1 and appearing as a  
continuous blaze of  light2 with1       
however1 a few patches of the sky       
destitute of stars4                     
------------------                      
,,introduction ,,of ,,the ,,potato4     
,the history of the potato affords a    
strong illustration of the influence  of
 authority4 ,for more than two          
centuries1 the use of this invaluable   
plant was vehemently opposed3 at last1  
,louis ,,xv4 wore a bunch of its        
blossoms in the midst of his courtiers1 

and the consumption of the root  became 
universal in ,france4                   
------------------                      
,,faraday1 ,,as ,a ,,lecturer4      ,von
 ,raumer acutely observes3--,mr4        
,faraday is not only a man of profound  
chemical and physical science1 7which   
all ,europe knows71 but a very          
remarkable lecturer4 ,he speaks with    
ease and freedom1 but not with a        
gossiping unequal tone1 alternately     
inaudible and bawling1 as some very     
learned professors do2 he delivers      
himself with clearness1 precision1  and 
ability4 ,moreover1 he speaks his       
language in a manner which  confirmed me
 in a secret suspicion ,i had1 that a   
great number of  ,englishmen speak it   
very badly4 ,why is it that ,french in  
the mouth of  ,mdlle4 ,mars1 ,german in 
that of ,tieck1 and ,english in that of 
,faraday1  seems a totally different    
language8 ,because they articulate what 
other  people swallow or chew4 ,it is a 
shame that the power and harmony of     

simple speech 7,i am not talking of     
eloquence1 but of vowels and            
consonants71 that the tones and         
inflexions which ,god has given to the  
human voice1 should be so neglected and 
abused4 ,and those who think they  do   
them full justice--preachers--generally 
give us only the long straw  of         
pretended connoisseurs1 instead of the  
chopped straw of the  dilettanti4       
------------------                      
,,the ,,railway ,,system ,,suggested4   
,a striking suggestion of the extension 
of railway communication into a  system1
 as connecting lines are now called1    
will be found in ,sir  ,richard         
,phillips's ,morning's ,walk from       
,london to ,kew1 published in  #ahac4   
,on reaching the ,surrey ,iron ,railway 
at ,wandsworth1 ,sir ,richard  records3 
,i found renewed delight on witnessing1 
at this place1 the  economy of horse    
labour on the ,iron ,railway4 ,yet a    
heavy sigh escaped  me1 as ,i thought of
 the inconceivable millions which have  

been spent  about ,malta1 four or five  
of which might have been the means of   
extending double lines of iron railway  
from ,london to ,edinburgh1  ,glasgow1  
,holyhead1 ,milford1 ,falmouth1         
,yarmouth1 ,dover1 and ,portsmouth6 ,a  
reward of a single thousand would have  
supplied coaches and other  vehicles1 of
 various degrees of speed1 with the best
 tackle for readily  turning out2 and we
 might1 ere this1 have witnessed our    
mail coaches  running at the rate of #aj
 miles an hour1 drawn by a single horse1
 or  impelled #ae miles an hour by      
,blenkinsop's steam-engine4 ,such would 
have been a legitimate motive for       
overstepping the income of a nation2    
and the completion of so great and      
useful a work would have afforded       
rational ground for public triumph in   
general jubilees6    ,the writer of     
these penetrative remarks lived until   
#ahdj1 so that he had  the gratification
 of witnessing a triumph akin to his    
long-cherished  hope4                   

------------------                      
,,lord ,,brougham',s ,,blunders4        
,dr4 ,young's theory of light was       
treated with the most sovereign contempt
  by ,lord ,brougham1 in the earlier    
numbers of the ,edinburgh ,review2 and  
,dr4 ,young died without reaping the    
honour of his discovery4 ,the theory  is
 now recognised as true2 and ,m4 ,arago 
has formally vindicated ,dr4  ,young    
from the noble critic's animadversions1 
in a discourse delivered  at the ,french
 ,institute4    ,in #ahji1 when the     
first application was made to           
,parliament on  gas-lighting1 the movers
 in the project were much opposed2 a    
committee  of the ,house of ,commons was
 granted1 but the application terminated
  unsuccessfully2 and the testimony of  
,mr4 ,accum to the practicability of    
gas-lighting exposed him to the severe  
animadversions and ridicule of  ,mr4    
,brougham4                              
------------------                      
,,who ,,first ,,doubled ,,the ,,cape    

,,of ,,good                             
,,hope8      ,why1 ,vasco de ,gama1 to  
be sure--perhaps1 the reader will reply4
 ,in  ,portugal1 however1 a much more   
ancient navigator has been mentioned4   
,vieyra1 an old preacher of great renown
 at ,lisbon1 said in one of his         
sermons3--,one man only passed the ,cape
 of ,good ,hope before the  ,portuguese4
 ,and who was he8 and how8 ,it was      
,jonah1 in the whale's belly4  ,the     
whale 7or rather great fish7 went out of
 the ,mediterranean because  he had no  
other course2 he kept the coast of      
,africa on the left1 scoured  along     
,ethiopia1 passed by ,arabia1 took post 
in the ,euphrates1 on the  shores of    
,nineveh1 and1 making his tongue serve  
as a plank1 landed the  prophet there4  
------------------                      
,,the ,,first ,,kaleidoscope4           
,when1 by a happy accident1 ,sir ,david 
,brewster had discovered the leading    
principles of the kaleidoscope while    
repeating ,biot's experiments on the    

action of fluids upon light1 he         
constructed an instrument in which he   
fixed permanently1 across the ends of   
the reflectors1 pieces of coloured      
glass1 and other irregular objects4 ,but
 it was not till some time  afterwards  
that the great step towards the         
completion of the instrument  was made1 
in the idea of giving motion to these   
objects1 which were  placed loosely in a
 cell at the end of the instrument4     
,when this idea  was carried into       
execution1 the kaleidoscope in its      
simple form was  completed4 ,the next   
and by far the most important step of   
the invention  was1 to employ a draw    
tube and lens1 by means of which        
beautiful forms  could be created from  
objects of all sizes1 and at all        
distances from  the observer4 ,in this  
way1 the power of the kaleidoscope was  
indefinitely extended1 and every object 
in nature could be introduced  into the 
picture1 in the same manner as if these 
objects had been  reduced in size1 and  

actually placed at the end of the       
reflector4                              
------------------                      
,,ferguson ,,and ,,his ,,wife4          
,james ,ferguson and his wife led a     
cat-and-dog life1 and she is not once   
alluded to in the philosopher's         
autobiography4 ,about the year #agej1   
one  evening1 while he was delivering to
 a ,london audience a lecture on        
astronomy1 his wife entered the room in 
a passion1 and maliciously  overturned  
several pieces of the apparatus2 when   
all the notice ,ferguson  took of the   
catastrophe was the observation to the  
audience--,ladies and  gentlemen1 ,i    
have the misfortune to be married to    
this woman4                             
------------------                      
,a ,,descent ,,in ,a ,,diving-,,bell4   
,sir ,george ,head1 in his shrewdly     
humorous ,home ,tour1 gives an amusing  
picture of a pair of operative divers   
whom he saw in the ,hull docks4 ,sir    
,george was passing as the workmen were 

raising the diving-bell1 when he        
stepped into the lighter to observe the 
state of the labourers on their  return 
from below4 ,he had a remarkably good   
view of their features1 at a  time when 
they had no reason to expect any one was
 looking at them2 for1  as the bell was 
raised very slowly1 he had an           
opportunity of seeing  within it1 by    
stooping1 the moment its side was above 
the gunwale of the  lighter4 ,but1 ,sir 
,george shall relate what he saw3--     
,a pair of easy-going1 careless fellows1
 each with a red nightcap on his  head1 
sat opposite one another1 by no means   
over-heated or exhausted1  and          
apparently with no other want in the    
world than that of 'summut to  drink2'  
they had been under water exactly two   
hours4 ,i asked them what  were their   
sensations on going down8 ,they said    
that1 before a man was  used to it1 it  
produced a feeling as if the ears were  
bursting2 that1 on  the bell first      
dipping1 they were in the habit of      

holding their noses2  at the same time  
of breathing as gently as possible1 and 
that thus they  prevented any           
disagreeable effect3 they added1 the air
 below was hot1  and made a man         
thirsty2--the latter observation1 though
 in duty bound ,i  received as a hint1  
,i believe to be true2 nevertheless1 the
 service  cannot be formidable1 as the  
extra pay is only one shilling per day4 
,had  there been any thing extraordinary
 to see below1 ,i should have asked     
permission to go down2 but the water was
 by no means clear1 and the  muddy      
bottom of the docks was not a sufficient
 recompence for the  disagreeable       
sensation4 ,two men descend at a time1  
and four pump the air  into the bell    
through the leathern hose2 the bell is  
nearly a square1 or  rather an oblong1  
vessel of cast-iron1 with ten bull's-eye
 lights at the  top1 which lights are   
fortified within by a lattice of strong 
iron wire1  sufficient to resist an     
accidental blow of a crowbar1 or other  

casualty4--,notwithstanding the great   
improvements made in diving-bells  since
 their invention1 after all precautions1
 a man in a diving-bell is1  certainly1 
in a state of awful dependence upon     
human aid3 in case of the  slightest    
accident to the air-pump1 or even a     
single stitch of the  leathern hose     
giving way1 long before the ponderous   
vessel could be  raised to the surface1 
life must be extinct4                   
------------------                      
,,sir ,,humphry ,,davy ,,an ,,angler4   
,laybach1 in ,styria1 is interesting1   
for having been the retreat of ,sir     
,humphry ,davy not long before his      
death3 he resided in an hotel here1 and 
the pretty daughter of the hostess      
relates several anecdotes of him4 ,he   
was a most indefatigable angler3 his    
extraordinary success in  transferring  
the trout to his basket procured for him
 the title of the  ,english wizard2 and 
the scared peasants1 who could never    
understand by  what artificial means he 

caught the fish1 shunned him as if he   
had been  his ,satanic majesty4 ,he     
spent the greater part of the day in    
angling1 or  in geologizing among the   
mountains2 he generally passed his      
evenings in  the company of his hostess'
 pretty daughter1 who made his tea1 and 
was  his antagonist at cart1 or some    
other light game2 and the maid of the   
inn played her cards so well1 that she  
secured a handsome legacy from  the     
philosopher in his will4                
------------------                      
,,miss ,,caroline ,,lucretia ,,herschel4
      ,this very interesting lady died  
at ,hanover on the #ith of ,january1    
#ahdh1  in the #ihth year of her age4   
,she was the sister of ,sir ,william    
,herschel2  and consequently1 aunt to   
,sir ,john ,herschel1 the present       
representative  of this truly scientific
 family4    ,miss ,herschel was the     
constant companion of her brother1 and  
sole  assistant of his astronomical     
labours1 to the success of which her    

indefatigable zeal1 diligence1 and      
singular accuracy of calculation1 not  a
 little contributed4 ,from the first    
commencement of his astronomical        
pursuits1 her attendance on both his    
daily labours and nightly watches  was  
put in requisition2 and was found so    
useful1 that on ,herschel's  removal    
from ,bath to ,datchet1 and subsequently
 to ,slough1 he being then  occupied    
with the review of the heavens and other
 researches1 she  performed the whole of
 the arduous duties of his astronomical 
assistant2  not only reading the clocks 
and noting down all the observations    
from  dictation as an amanuensis1 but   
subsequently executing the extensive and
  laborious numerical calculations      
necessary to render them available to   
science4 ,for the performance of these  
duties1 his majesty ,king ,george  the  
,third was pleased to place her in the  
receipt of a salary sufficient  for her 
singularly moderate wants and retired   
habits4    ,arduous1 however1 as these  

occupations must appear1 especially when
 it  is considered that her brother's   
observations were always carried on     
7circumstances permitting7 till         
daybreak1 without regard to season1 and 
indeed chiefly in winter1 they proved   
insufficient to exhaust her  activity4  
,in the intervals1 she found time both  
for astronomical  observations of her   
own1 and for the execution of more than 
one work of  great extent and utility4  
,the observations she made with a small 
,newtonian sweeper1 constructed for her 
by her brother1 with which she  found no
 less than eight comets2 and on five of 
these occasions her  claim to the first 
discovery is admitted4 ,these sweeps    
also proved  productive of the detection
 of several remarkable nebul and        
clusters of  stars1 previously          
unobserved4    ,on her brother's death1 
in #ahbb1 ,miss ,herschel returned to   
,hanover1  which she never again        
quitted2 passing the last twenty-six    
years of her  life in repose--enjoying  

the society1 and cherished by the regard
 of1  her remaining relatives and       
friends2 gratified by the occasional    
visits  of eminent astronomers1 and     
honoured with many marks of favour and  
distinction on the part of the ,king of 
,hanover1 the ,crown ,prince1 and  his  
amiable and illustrious consort4 ,to    
within a very short period of  her      
death1 her health continued             
uninterrupted1 her faculties perfect1   
and her memory 7especially of the scenes
 and circumstances of former  days7     
remarkably clear and distinct4 ,her end 
was tranquil and free from  suffering--a
 simple cessation of life4    ,we append
 the following just and eloquent tribute
 to the merits of ,miss  ,herschel1 from
 ,dr4 ,nichol's ,views of the           
,architecture of the  ,heavens3--       
,the astronomer 7,sir ,william          
,herschel71 during these engrossing     
nights1  was constantly assisted in his 
labours by a devoted maiden sister1 who 
braved with him the inclemency of the   

weather--who heroically shared his      
privations that she might participate in
 his delights--whose pen1 we are  told1 
committed to paper his notes of         
observations as they issued from  his   
lips2 'she it was1' says the best of    
authorities1 'who1 having  passed the   
nights near the telescope1 took the     
rough manuscripts to her  cottage at the
 dawn of day1 and produced a fair copy  
of the night's work  on the ensuing     
morning2 she it was who planned the     
labour of each  succeeding night1 who   
reduced every observation1 made every   
calculation1  and kept everything in    
systematic order2' she it was--,miss    
,caroline  ,herschel--who helped our    
astronomer to gather an imperishable    
name4 ,this  venerable lady has in one  
respect been more fortunate than her    
brother2  she has lived to reap the full
 harvest of their joint glory4 ,some    
years  ago1 the gold medal of our       
,astronomical ,society was transmitted  
to her  at her native ,hanover1 whither 

she removed after ,sir ,william's death2
  and the same learned ,society has     
recently inscribed her name upon its    
roll3 but she has been rewarded by yet  
more1 by what she will value  beyond all
 earthly pleasures2 she has lived to see
 her favourite nephew1  him who grew up 
under her eye unto an astronomer1 gather
 around him the  highest hopes of       
scientific ,europe1 and prove himself   
fully equal to  tread in the footsteps  
of his father4                          
------------------                      
,,tycho ,,brahe',s ,,credulity4         
,this great astronomer strongly--and    
weakly--believed in the predictions  of 
astrology4 ,if1 when he went abroad1 he 
met an old woman1 or a hare  crossed his
 path1 he would turn back1 being        
persuaded that evil was  threatened him4
                                        
------------------                      
,,invention ,,of ,,the ,,telescope1     
,,and ,,early ,,discoveries ,,with ,,it4
      ,it is singular that the epoch of 

the most extensive discoveries upon the 
surface of our planet was immediately   
succeeded by man's first taking         
possession of a considerable part of the
 celestial spaces by the  telescope4    
,the powers of this instrument have not 
yet reached their  limit4 ,the feeble   
commencement1 however hardly magnifying 
as much as  thirty-two times in linear  
dimension1 enabled astronomers to       
penetrate  into cosmical depths1 before 
unknown4 ,the accidental discovery of   
the  space-penetrating power of the     
telescope was first made in ,holland1   
probably as early as the close of #afjh4
 ,according to the latest  documentary  
investigations1 this great invention may
 be claimed by ,hans  ,lippershey1 a    
native of ,wesel and a spectacle-maker  
at ,middelburg1 who1  on the #bnd of    
,october1 #afjh1 offered to the         
,states-,general certain  instruments   
with which one can see to a distance4   
,two other persons1  ,adrienz and       
,jansen1 made a similar offer1 nearly at

 the same time4    ,when the news of the
 ,dutch invention reached ,venice1      
,galileo was  accidentally present2 he  
at once divined what were the essential 
conditions of the construction1 and     
immediately completed a telescope at    
,padua for his own use4 ,he directed it 
first to the mountains in the  moon2    
then examined with small magnifying     
powers the group of the  ,pleiades1 the 
cluster of stars in ,cancer1 the ,milky 
,way1 and the group  of stars in the    
head of ,orion4 ,then followed in quick 
succession the  great discovery of the  
four satellites of ,jupiter1 the two    
handles of  ,saturn1 or his surrounding 
ring imperfectly seen1 so that its true 
character was not at once recognised2   
the solar spots1 and the crescent  form 
of ,venus4 ,the occultations of the     
satellites1 or their entrance  into the 
shadow of ,jupiter1 led to the knowledge
 of the velocity of  light2 and led     
,galileo to perceive their importance in
 the determination  of the longitude of 

places on land4    ,galileo carried his 
first telescope to ,venice1 where his   
time for more  than a month was employed
 in showing and explaining its nature to
 the  different inhabitants4 ,a         
ludicrous instance is related of the    
insatiable  telescope mania which had   
seized on the people4 ,galileo went one 
day to  the tower of ,st4 ,mark1 in     
order to make observations on its       
summit1 but  the people espied him1 and 
compelled him to hand a telescope which 
he  had made for himself1 from one to   
another1 until all had gratified their  
curiosity by having a peep2 and1 after  
he had been detained several  hours1 he 
was not a little glad to regain his     
telescope1 and return  home4 ,but this  
was not all3 he heard them inquiring at 
what inn he  lodged2 and foreseeing the 
inconvenience of the celebrity which was
  beginning to attach to him1 he left   
,venice early the next morning1 to      
pursue his observations with greater    
privacy4    ,melancholy is it to relate 

that these brilliant disclosures brought
  temporary disgrace and positive       
suffering upon their author4 ,galileo1  
at  the age of seventy-seven1 after     
having devoted his life to useful and   
valuable labours1 was forced to abjure  
his philosophical opinions1 and  to     
declare1 on his knees1 that he believed 
his doctrines concerning the  motion of 
the earth round the sun1 the existence  
of solar spots1 c41 to  be false and    
pernicious4 ,the moral firmness of the  
old man was not  sufficient to make him 
brave the terrors of the ,inquisition1  
and we must  therefore look with a      
lenient eye at this abjuration of       
doctrines which  at the very moment he  
firmly believed to be true3 but what    
shall we say  of those men1 who1 under  
the plea of religion1 could subject so  
noble a  mind to such humiliating       
degradation6                            
------------------                      
,,identity ,,of ,,black ,,and ,,green   
,,tea4      ,green and ,black ,tea are  

produced from the same plant1 though the
  botanists were long at issue about    
this matter4 ,the idea of green tea     
being dried upon copper is proved to be 
a popular fallacy1 for the tea  would be
 flavoured and spoiled in the process2  
besides1 the bloom can be  given by     
harmless means4 ,dr4 ,lettsom1 by the   
way1 thought it was given  by a         
vegetable process4    ,mr4 ,ball1 who   
has written a practical volume on the   
,cultivation and  ,manufacture of ,tea1 
describes an experiment made by him1    
proving that  tea may be dried black and
 green1 at once1 in the same vessel and 
over  the same fire3 he divided the pan1
 and the leaves on one side he kept in  
motion1 and the other quiet--when the   
latter became black1 and the  former    
green2 thus proving the difference of   
colour to be not derived  from any      
management of heat1 but from            
manipulation1 the heat being the  same  
in both cases4    ,at the same time1    
certain ,chinese rogues glaze our hysons

 most  unscrupulously2 and it has been  
proved by chemical analysis1 that the   
,chinese green teas are artificially    
coloured1 though not with indigo1 as    
represented by the green tea merchants4 
,we may add1 that gunpowder tea  is     
dried at the highest temperature1 and   
pekoe at the lowest2 and the  chemical  
cause of black tea is its loss of tannin
 in its drying1  previous to roasting1  
an opinion that is supported by the     
testimony of  ,liebig4 ,again1 ,mr4     
,ball thinks there may be one species of
 tea plant1  but several varieties1 and 
that all botanical difference is        
destroyed in  the course of packing4    
------------------                      
,,protection ,,by ,,rust4      ,rust is 
usually associated with decay4          
,professor ,faraday1 however1  observes 
that1 in some cases1 it is curious to   
see how tin1 a metal  having a slight   
attraction for oxygen1 protects other   
metals from  oxidation or rust4 ,in     
,canada1 tin-plate is used for the roofs

 of houses1  and you are dazzled by the 
lustre of the setting sun upon the      
roofs2  whilst there1 although it is    
exposed to the atmosphere year after    
year1  it does not decay1 because the   
superficial coat of oxide protects the  
tin and iron beneath4                   
------------------                      
,,the ,,lion ,,eaten ,,as ,,food4       
,captain ,c4 ,kennedy1 in his ,journey  
through ,algeria and ,tunis1            
notes3--,we were anxious to know if     
there was any chance of another lion    
being found in the neighbourhood1 and   
were informed that doubtless there  were
 plenty2 but such was the nature of the 
ground1 that1 unless their  exact haunts
 were known 7in which case they were    
generally killed71 we  might go out for 
a fortnight1 and never encounter a      
single beast4 ,the  skins of all lions  
killed throughout the regency are sent  
to the ,bey1  who pays a handsome       
premium upon each4 ,the flesh is eaten3 
contrary to  our expectation1 we found  

it excellent1 and made a capital supper 
upon  the ends of the ribs1 stewed with 
a little salt and red pepper2 it  tasted
 like very young beef1 and was neither  
tough nor strong  flavoured4            
------------------                      
,,the ,,moon ,,seen ,,through ,,lord    
,,rosse',s                              
,,telescope4      ,in #ahdf1 the ,rev4  
,dr4 ,scoresby had the gratification of 
observing the  moon through the         
stupendous telescope constructed by     
,lord ,rosse1 at  ,parsonstown4 ,it     
appeared like a globe of molten silver1 
and every object  of the extent of one  
hundred yards was quite visible4        
,edifices1  therefore1 of the size of   
,york ,minster1 or even of the ruins of 
,whitby  ,abbey1 might be easily        
perceived1 if they had existed4 ,but    
there was no  appearance of anything of 
that nature2 neither was there any      
indication  of the existence of water1  
or of an atmosphere4 ,there were a great
  number of extinct volcanoes1 several  

miles in breadth2 through one of  them  
there was a line of continuance about   
#aej miles in length1 which  ran in a   
straight direction1 like a railway4 ,the
 general appearance1  however1 was like 
one vast ruin of nature2 and many of the
 pieces of  rock driven out of the      
volcanoes1 appeared to lie at various   
distances4                              
------------------                      
,,longevity ,,of ,,the ,,beetle4        
,some facts recently stated to the      
,british ,association may1 perhaps1     
shake faith in the corporal sufferance  
of the beetle1 whose cause has  been so 
eloquently pleaded by ,shakspeare4 ,sir 
,g4 ,richardson has  exhibited a beetle 
found imbedded in some artificial       
concrete1 where it  must have been at   
least sixteen years2 yet1 when the      
animal was brought  to him1 it was      
alive1 and lived for six weeks          
after--the ordinary  duration of the    
life of this species of beetle being but
 two or three  years4 ,mr4 ,darwin left 

one of the same kind of beetles in a    
covered  vessel for a year1 without its 
being killed2 he also dropped upon one  
hydrocyanic acid1 but it walked off1    
quite unaffected by the poison4         
------------------                      
,,total ,,eclipse ,,of ,,the ,,sun4     
,sagua ,la ,grande1 on the island of    
,cuba1 was the only place where total   
darkness was produced by the eclipse of 
the sun1 on the #beth of ,july1  #ahdf4 
,the eclipse phenomenon commenced at    
#i;h4 #dam4 #cbs4 a4m41 sky clear4  ,as 
the time of the total darkness          
approached1 all animated nature gave    
signs of approaching night1 man only    
excepted4 ,still1 the mirth of the  gay 
donnas and senoras soon ceased2 the     
slaves abandoned their  occupations1 and
 many fell on their knees4 ,the darkness
 came on  gradually1 and at #ag minutes 
past #aa1 the sun was totally obscured4 
,there stood the moon1 covering the     
whole face of the sun1 and presenting   
the appearance of a great black ball in 

the heavens1 with rays of light         
diverging from behind it4 ,the rays gave
 out a pale1 aurora-like  reflection    
upon the earth1 resembling that cast by 
the moon when  half-full4 ,this lasted  
only fifty seconds2 and1 at a little    
past #ab1 the  eclipse ended4           
------------------                      
,,the ,,diving-,,bell4      ,was first  
used in ,europe at ,toledo1 in ,spain1  
in #aech1 before ,charles ,v4  and      
#aj1jjj spectators4 ,the experiment was 
made by two ,greeks1 who1  taking a very
 large kettle suspended by ropes with   
the mouth downward1  fixed planks in it1
 on which they placed themselves1 and   
with a lighted  candle gradually        
descended to a considerable depth4      
------------------                      
,,rate ,,of ,,balloon ,,travelling4     
,mr4 ,green relates some singular       
experiences of the variety of currents  
in our atmosphere1 influencing the rate 
of his arial travelling4 ,he has  found 
that at a great elevation1 the          

north-west current generally  prevails  
throughout the year1 without reference  
to the direction of the  wind near the  
earth2 this constant current being at an
 elevation of from  #ac1jjj to #ad1jjj  
feet4 ,this upper current carries his   
balloon at the  rate of six miles an    
hour2 whilst the lower current wafts it 
at the rate  of thirty miles an hour4   
,he states1 that in one of his ascents  
from  ,liverpool1 he entered the        
constant current at an elevation of     
#ad1jjj  feet1 and descended into a     
lower south-east current at the height  
of  #ab1jjj feet2 the former carrying   
his balloon at the rate of five miles1  
and the latter at the rate of eighty    
miles an hour4 ,he has travelled        
ninety-seven miles in fifty-eight       
minutes1 and his speed has often been   
from sixty to eighty miles an hour4     
------------------                      
,,safe ,,descent ,,in ,a ,,parachute4   
,this feat1 of very rare occurrence1 was
 accomplished in ,september1 #ahch1     

when ,mr4 ,hampton ascended with a      
parachute attached to a gas balloon1    
from ,cheltenham1 to the height of #ijjj
 feet4 ,at this altitude1 he cut  the   
connecting-cord1 when the balloon rose  
for some hundred feet1 and  burst2 ,mr4 
,hampton safely descending in the       
parachute1 within thirteen  minutes2 the
 collapsed balloon having reached the   
earth before him4                       
------------------                      
,,fossil ,,rain4      ,in #ahch1 there  
was discovered at ,liverpool1 the       
impression of a fossil  shower of rain  
upon sandstone4 ,dr4 ,buckland observes 
of the  phenomenon3--,it could not be   
mistaken for ripple of the water1 that  
was  common enough3 it had all the      
small-pox character1 the pitted         
appearance1 which a heavy shower of rain
 would leave1 and which would be        
covered up by the next tide1 and so     
preserved to future generations4        
------------------                      
,,melting ,,of ,a ,,watch ,,by          

,,lightning4      ,during a violent     
thunder-storm in #ahdd1 a fishing-boat1 
belonging to one  of the ,shetland      
,islands1 was struck by lightning4 ,the 
electric fluid  came down the mast1     
which it tore into shivers2 and melted a
 watch in  the pocket of a man who was  
sitting close by the side of the mast1  
without injuring him4 ,not only was the 
man altogether unhurt1 but his  clothes 
also were uninjured2 and he was not     
aware of what had taken  place until1 on
 taking out his watch1 he found it was  
fused into a mass6                      
------------------                      
,,the ,,indian ,,jugglers' ,,secret4    
,lieutenant ,hutton states1 that the    
snakes which the ,indian jugglers       
handle with impunity are drugged with   
opium1 which renders them quiet  and    
harmless4 ,the effects of the drug will 
not wear off for a fortnight  or three  
weeks2 but a drugged snake which        
,lieutenant ,hutton purchased1  after   
the lapse of three weeks1 flew at him   

unexpectedly1 and nearly  strangled him4
                                        
------------------                      
,,the ,,art ,,of ,,stereotype4      ,the
 first person mentioned as practising   
the modern art of stereotype1  was a    
,dutchman1 ,van der ,mey1 who resided at
 ,leyden about the end of the  sixteenth
 century4 ,he printed four books from   
solid plates2 but at his  death the art 
of preparing solid blocks was lost1 or  
wholly neglected4  ,in #agbe1 however1  
,mr4 ,ged1 a jeweller of ,edinburgh1    
apparently without  knowledge of ,van   
der ,mey's performances1 devised the    
plan of printing  from plates2 and in   
#agbi he entered into partnership with  
three other  persons1 for the purpose of
 prosecuting the art4 ,a privilege was  
obtained by the company1 from the       
,university of ,cambridge1 to print     
,bibles and ,prayer-books2 but one of   
,ged's partners was so averse to the    
success of the plan1 that he engaged    
such people for the work as he  thought 

most likely to spoil it4 ,the           
compositors wilfully made errors in     
correcting1 and the pressmen battered   
the plates when the masters were        
absent4 ,in consequence1 the books were 
suppressed by authority1 and the  plates
 melted4 ,mr4 ,ged1 with the help of his
 son1 whom he had  apprenticed to the   
printing trade1 actually produced1 in   
#agcf1 an #ahmo  edition of ,sallust2   
and in #agdb another book was printed in
 ,newcastle4  ,but after the death of   
,ged and his son1 the art again fell    
into disuse1  till in #aghj it was      
revived by ,mr4 ,tulloch of ,glasgow1   
who practised it  in partnership with   
,mr4 ,foulis1 the ,university printer4  
------------------                      
,,raining ,,trees4      ,during ,sir    
,john ,herschel's residence at the ,cape
 of ,good ,hope1 he often  observed that
 on the windward side of the ,table     
,mountain the clouds were  spread out   
and descended very low1 but frequently  
without any rain  falling2 while1 on the

 lee-side they poured over the          
precipitous face of  the mountain1      
producing as they rolled out1 the       
well-known phenomenon of  the           
table-cloth4 ,sir ,john1 however1 found 
that as he walked under  fir-trees in   
the neighbourhood1 while the clouds were
 closely overhead1  he was subjected to 
a copious shower2 but on coming from    
beneath the  trees it was fair4 ,on     
inquiring into the cause of this1 he    
ascertained  that the cloud was         
condensed on the trees1 and thus the    
umbrella-shaped  tops of the firs acted 
a part quite the reverse of our         
umbrellas in this  country1 for they    
wetted the person beneath them1 instead 
of keeping him  dry4                    
------------------                      
,,the ,,invisible ,,dispatch4      ,the 
plan of writing with rice-water1 to be  
rendered visible by the  application of 
iodine1 was practised with great success
 in the  correspondence during the war  
in ,affghanistan4 ,the first letter of  

this  kind was received from            
,jellalabad1 concealed in a quill4 ,on  
opening it1  a small paper was unfolded1
 on which appeared only a single word1  
iodine4 ,the magic liquid was applied1  
and an important dispatch from  ,sir    
,robert ,sale stood forth4              
------------------                      
,,tame ,,hy,,na4      ,when the         
traveller1 ,ignatius ,pallme1 was at    
,kordofan1 he saw in the  court of a    
house at ,lobeid1 a hyna running about  
quite domesticated4  ,the children of   
the proprietor tamed it1 took the meat  
thrown to it for  food out of its jaws1 
and put their hands even to its throat  
without  receiving the slightest injury4
 ,when the family sat down to dinner in 
the open air1 the animal approached the 
table1 and snapped up the pieces  that  
were thrown to it1 like a dog4 ,a       
full-grown hyna and her two cubs1  on   
another occasion1 were brought to our   
traveller for sale2 the latter  were    
carried in arms1 as you might carry a   

lamb1 and were not even  muzzled4 ,the  
old one1 it is true1 had a rope round   
her snout1 but she  had been led a      
distance of twelve miles by one man     
without offering the  least resistance4 
,the ,africans do not even reckon the   
hyna among the  wild beasts of their    
country1 for they are not afraid of it4 
------------------                      
,,novel ,,travelling ,,carriage4        
,in #ahch1 a carriage was built for a   
gentleman at ,kensington1 which1 for    
completeness1 equalled ,sir ,samuel     
,morland's celebrated cooking-carriage1 
of the seventeenth century4 ,it was     
divided into two apartments1 an         
anti-room1 and a drawing-room and       
bed-chamber with every comfort4 ,the    
anti-room contained a table1 drawers1   
and culinary utensils2 and the          
drawing-room was furnished with sofas1  
sofa-bedstead1 six chairs1 table1       
cupboards1 and a chandelier for nine    
lights2 a stove and fuel4 ,the  length  
of the carriage was twenty-nine feet1   

and the breadth nine feet2  and the     
length of the drawing-room twenty-feet4 
,the whole weighed two  tons and a half4
                                        
------------------                      
,,enemies ,,of ,,the ,,ostrich4         
,the ostrich would appear to be a bird  
of many enemies1 from the  following    
statement in ,sir ,j4 ,e4 ,alexander's  
narrative of his ,expedition  of        
,discovery in ,south ,africa3           
,according to native testimony1 the male
 ostrich sits on the nest 7which  is    
merely a hollow place scooped out in the
 sand7 during the night1 the  better to 
defend the eggs from jackals and other  
nocturnal plunderers4  ,towards morning1
 he brummels1 or utters a grumbling     
sound1 for the  female to come and take 
his place2 and she sits on the eggs     
during the  cool of the morning and     
evening4 ,in the middle of the day1 the 
pair1  leaving the eggs in charge of the
 sun1 and 'forgetting that the foot may 
crush them1 or the wild beast break     

them1' employ themselves in feeding  off
 the tops of bushes in the plain near   
the nest4 ,looking aloft at this  time  
of day1 a white ,egyptian vulture may be
 seen1 soaring in mid-air1  with a large
 stone between his talons4 ,having      
carefully surveyed the  ground below    
him1 he suddenly lets fall the stone1   
and then follows it  in rapid descent4  
,let the hunter run to the spot1 and he 
will find a  nest of1 probably1 a score 
of eggs1 7each equal in size to         
twenty-four  hen's eggs17 some of them  
broken by the vulture4 ,the jackal1 too1
 is  said to roll the eggs together to  
break them2 and the hyna pushes them    
off with his nose1 to bury them at a    
distance4                               
------------------                      
,,fire-,,proof ,,house ,,on ,,putney    
,,heath4      ,upon ,putney ,heath1 by  
the road-side1 stands an obelisk1 to    
record the  success of a discovery made 
in the last century1 of the means of    
building a house which no ordinary      

application of ignited combustibles     
could be made to consume4 ,the inventor 
was ,mr4 ,david ,hartley1 to whom  the  
,house of ,commons voted #b1ejjl41 to   
defray the expenses of the  experimental
 building1 which stood about one hundred
 yards from the  obelisk4 ,in #aggd1    
,king ,george the ,third and ,queen     
,charlotte took their  breakfast in one 
of the rooms2 while in the apartment    
beneath1 fires  were lighted on the     
floor1 and various inflammable materials
 were  ignited1 to attest that the rooms
 above were fire-proof4 ,hartley's      
secret lay in the floors being double1  
and there being interposed  between the 
two boards sheets of laminated iron and 
copper1 not thicker  than tinfoil or    
stout paper1 which rendered the floor   
air-tight1 and  thereby intercepted the 
ascent of the heated air2 so that1      
although the  inferior boards were      
actually charred1 the metal prevented   
the  combustion taking place in the     
upper flooring4    ,another experiment  

took place on the #aajth anniversary of 
the great fire  of ,london1 when a      
patriotic lord mayor and the corporation
 of ,london  witnessed the              
indestructible property of the          
structure4 ,yet1 the  invention was     
never carried into further practice4    
,the house was1 many  years after1      
converted into a tasteful villa1        
although the obelisk  records the       
success of the experiment4              
------------------                      
,,the ,,last ,,of ,,the ,,alchemists4   
,the last true believer in alchemy was1 
according to ,mr4 ,brande1 one  ,peter  
,woulfe1 who occupied chambers in       
,barnard's ,inn1 ,holborn1 while in     
,london1 and usually spent the summer in
 ,paris4 ,he died in #ahje4 ,about  the 
year #ahja1 another solitary adept      
lived1 or rather starved1 in  ,london1  
in the person of an editor of an evening
 newspaper1 who expected  to compound   
the alkahest1 if he could keep his      
materials digested in a  lamp-furnace   

for the space of seven years4 ,the lamp 
burnt brightly  during six years eleven 
months1 and some odd days besides2 and  
then1  unluckily1 it went out4 ,why it  
went out1 the adept could never guess2  
but he was certain that if the name     
could only have burnt to the end of  the
 septenary cycle1 his experiment must   
have succeeded4    ,in #ahbh1 ,sir      
,richard ,phillips visited an alchemist1
 named ,kellerman1  at the village of   
,lilley1 midway between ,luton and      
,hitchen2 he was  believed by some of   
his neighbours to have succeeded in     
discovering the  ,philosopher's ,stone1 
and also the universal solvent4 ,he had 
been a man  of fashion1 and an          
adventurer on the turf2 but had for many
 years shut  himself up at ,lilley1 and 
been inaccessible and invisible to the  
world2  his house being barricaded1 and 
the walls of his grounds protected by   
hurdles1 with spring-guns1 so planted as
 to resist intrusion in every           
direction4 ,sir ,richard1 however1      

obtained an interview with this strange 
being1 and the account of his visit is  
very graphic3--    ,the front-door was  
opened1 and ,mr4 ,kellerman presented   
himself4 ,i  lament that ,i have not the
 pencil of ,hogarth1 for a more original
 figure  never was seen4 ,he was about  
six feet high1 and of athletic make4 ,on
 his  head was a white nightcap1 and his
 dress consisted of a long great-coat1  
once green1 and a sort of jockey        
waistcoat1 with three tiers of pockets4 
,his manner was extremely polite and    
graceful2 but my attention was  chiefly 
absorbed by his singular physiognomy4   
,his complexion was deeply  sallow1 and 
his eyes large1 black1 and rolling4 ,he 
conducted me into a  very large parlour1
 with a window looking backward1 and    
having locked  the door and put the key 
into his pocket1 he desired me to be    
seated in  one of two large armchairs1  
covered with sheepskins4 ,the room was a
  realization of the well-known picture 
of ,teniers's ,alchemist4 ,the floor    

was strewed with retorts1 crucibles1    
alembics1 jars1 and bottles of  various 
shapes1 intermingled with old books1 the
 whole covered with dust  and cobwebs4  
,different shelves were filled in the   
same manner2 and on  one side stood the 
,alchemist's bed4 ,in a corner1 somewhat
 shaded from  the light1 ,i beheld two  
heads1 white1 with dark wigs on them2 ,i
  entertained no doubt1 therefore1 that1
 among other fancies1 he was  engaged in
 re making the brazen speaking head of  
,roger ,bacon and  ,albertus4    ,he    
then gave me a history of his studies1  
mentioned some men in ,london  whom ,i  
happened to know1 and who1 he alleged1  
had assured him that they  had made     
gold4 ,that having1 in consequence1     
examined the works of the  ancient      
alchemists1 and discovered the key which
 they had studiously  concealed from the
 multitude1 he had pursued their system 
under the  influence of new lights2 and1
 after suffering numerous               
disappointments1  owing to the ambiguity

 with which they describe their         
processes1 he had  at length happily    
succeeded2 had made gold1 and could make
 as much more  as he pleased1 even to   
the extent of paying off the national   
debt in the  coin of the realm4    ,i   
yielded to the declaration1 expressed my
 satisfaction at so  extraordinary a    
discovery1 and asked him to show me some
 of the precious  metal which he had    
made4    ',not so1' said he1 ',i will   
show it to no one4 ,i made ,lord        
,liverpool the  offer that1 if he would 
introduce me to the ,king1 ,i would show
 it to his  ,majesty2 but ,lord         
,liverpool insolently declined1 on the  
ground that  there was no precedent2 and
 ,i am therefore determined that the    
secret  shall die with me4 ,it is true  
that1 in order to avenge myself of such 
contempt1 ,i made a communication to the
 ,french ambassador1 ,prince  ,polignac1
 and offered to go to ,france1 and      
transfer to the ,french  government the 
entire advantages of the discovery2 but1

 after deluding  me1 and shuffling for  
some time1 ,i found it necessary to     
treat him with  the same contempt as the
 others4 ,every court in ,europe1' he   
added1  'knows that ,i have made the    
discovery1 and they are all in a        
confederacy  against me2 lest1 by giving
 it to any one1 ,i should make that     
country  master of all the rest--the    
world1 ,sir1' he exclaimed with great   
emotion1 'is in my hands1 and my power4'
                      99       99       
99       99       99    ,i now inquired 
whether he had been alarmed by the      
ignorance of the  people in the country1
 so as to shut himself up in this       
unusual manner8    ',no1' he replied1   
'not on their account wholly4 ,they are 
ignorant and  insolent enough2 but it   
was to protect myself against the       
governments of  ,europe1 who are        
determined to get possession of my      
secret by force4 ,i  have been1' he     
exclaimed1 'twice fired at through that 
window1 and three  times attempted to be

 poisoned4 ,they believed ,i had written
 a book  containing my secrets1 and to  
get possession of this book has been    
their  object4 ,to baffle them1 ,i burnt
 all that ,i had ever written2 and ,i   
have  so guarded the windows with       
spring-guns1 and have such a collection 
of  combustibles in the range of bottles
 which stand at your elbow1 that ,i     
could destroy a whole regiment of       
soldiers if sent against me4' ,he then  
related that1 as a further protection1  
he lived entirely in that room1  and    
permitted no one to come into the house2
 while he had locked up  every room     
except that with patent padlocks1 and   
sealed the keyholes4    ,in a           
conversation of two or three hours with 
the narrator1 ,kellerman  enlarged upon 
the merits of the ancient alchemists1   
and on the blunders  and impertinent    
assumptions of modern chemists4 ,he     
quoted ,roger and ,lord  ,bacon1        
,paracelsus1 ,boyle1 ,boerhaave1        
,woolfe1 and others1 to justify his     

pursuits4 ,as to the term philosopher's 
stone1 he alleged that it was a  mere   
figure to deceive the vulgar4 ,he       
appeared to give full credit to  the    
silly story of ,dee's assistant1 ,kelly1
 finding some of the powder of          
projection in the tomb of ,roger ,bacon1
 at ,glastonbury1 by means of  which1 as
 he said1 ,kelly for a length of time   
supported himself in  princely          
splendour4 ,kellerman added1 that he had
 discovered the blacker  than black of  
,appolonius ,tyanus3 it was itself the  
powder of projection  for producing     
gold4    ,it further appeared he had    
lived in the premises at ,lilley for    
twenty-three years1 during fourteen of  
which he had pursued his  alchemical    
studies with unremitting ardour2 keeping
 eight assistants for  the purpose of   
superintending his crucibles1 two at a  
time1 relieving  each other every six   
hours3 that he had exposed some         
preparations to  intense heat for many  
months at a time1 but that all except   

one crucible  had burst--and that1      
,kellerman said1 contained the true     
blacker than  black4 ,one of his        
assistants1 however1 protested that no  
gold had ever  been found1 and that no  
mercury had ever been fixed1 for he was 
quite  sure ,kellerman could not have   
concealed it from his assistants2 while1
  on the contrary1 they witnessed his   
severe disappointment at the result  of 
his most elaborate experiments4    ,by  
the way1 in the introduction to ,zanoni1
 ,sir ,e4 ,bulwer ,lytton has  given a  
clever sketch of an eccentric           
antiquarian bookseller1 in the          
neighbourhood of ,covent ,garden1 who is
 said to have assembled the most        
notable collection ever amassed by an   
enthusiast1 of the works of  alchemist1 
cabalist1 and astrologer4 ,the          
vindictive glare and uneasy  vigilance1 
and the frowning and groaning of the    
anti-bookseller 7for it  absolutely went
 to his heart when a customer entered   
his shop71 are all  very characteristic 

and life-like in this sketch4 ,when free
 from such  annoyance1 he might be seen 
gloating over his musty1 unsaleable     
treasures1 on which he had1 it was said1
 spent a fortune4                       
------------------                      
,,celebrated ,,diamonds4      ,we read  
marvellous records1 7in modern books1   
too17 of the high prices  realized for  
diamonds2 but according to ,dr4 ,ure1 it
 does not appear  that any sum exceeding
 one hundred and fifty thousand pounds  
has ever  been given for a diamond4     
,this statement1 made in the year #ahbj1
 has  since received signal             
confirmation4 ,on ,july #bj1 #ahcg1 the 
,nassuck  diamond was sold by auction in
 ,london1 and realised only #g1bjjl41   
though  it was estimated by the ,east   
,india ,company to be worth #cj1jjjl4   
,this  diamond was among the spoils     
which were captured by the combined     
armies1  under the command of the       
,marquis of ,hastings1 in the ,british  
conquest of  ,india1 and formed part of 

the ,deccan booty4 ,this magnificent gem
 is as  large as a good-sized walnut1   
weighs #ceg-a_/b grains1 is of dazzling 
whiteness1 and is as pure as a drop of  
dew4 ,after the above sale1 it was      
purchased by the ,marquis of            
,westminster1 who more than once wore it
 on  the hilt of his court sword2 it was
 presented by his lordship to the       
,marchioness of ,westminster1 on her    
birth-day1 along with the ,arcot        
diamond ear-rings1 once belonging to    
,queen ,charlotte1 and disposed of at   
the above sale for #aa1jjjl4    ,the    
,great ,mogul's diamond1 about the size 
of half a hen's egg1 and the  ,pitt     
diamond1 are well known4 ,among the     
crown jewels of ,russia is a            
magnificent diamond1 weighing #aie      
carats3 it is the size of a small       
pigeon's egg1 and was formerly the eye  
of a ,brahminical idol1 whence it  was  
purloined by a ,french soldier2 it      
passed through several hands1 and  was  
ultimately purchased by the ,empress    

,catherine1 for #ij1jjjl4 in ready      
money1 and an annuity of #d1jjjl4       
,one of the largest diamonds in the     
world was found in the river ,abaite1   
about #ib miles ,n4 ,w4 of the diamond  
district of ,serro do ,frio1 in         
,brazil3 it is of nearly an ounce in    
weight1 and has been estimated by  ,roma
 de l',isle at the enormous sum of #cjj 
millions4 ,it is uncut2 but the  king of
 ,portugal1 to whom it belonged1 had a  
hole bored through it1 in  order to wear
 it suspended about his neck on gala    
days4 ,no sovereign  possessed so fine a
 collection of diamonds as this prince4 
,in #ahdf1 the ,brazilian journals      
announced that a negro had found1 in the
  diamond district of ,bahia1 a rough   
diamond weighing nearly an ounce4 ,the  
approximative value was stated at       
#de1jjjl41 but it was sold by the       
finder for #cel4    ,the most celebrated
 diamond of our times we1 however1      
suspect to be that  called ,the         
,mountain of ,light1 7,koh-i-noor17     

which belonged to  ,runjeet ,sing1 and  
now belongs to ,queen ,victoria4 ,it was
 once valued at  #c1jjj1jjj1 is very    
brilliant1 and without a flaw of any    
kind4 ,runjeet's  string of pearls was1 
it is thought1 if possible1 even        
handsomer than  the diamond2 they were  
about three hundred in number1 literally
 the size  of small marbles1 all picked 
pearls1 and round1 and perfect both in  
shape and colour4 ,two hours before he  
died1 he sent for all his jewels1  and  
gave the above diamond1 said to be the  
largest in the world1 to a  ,hindoo     
temple2 his celebrated string of pearls 
to another2 and his  favourite fine     
horses1 with all their jewelled         
trappings1 worth  #cjj1jjjl41 to a      
third4 ,the ,nizam's ,diamond is another
 wonderful gem3  it was first seen in   
the hands of a native child in ,india1  
who was  playing with it1 ignorant of   
its value2 and a considerable sum being 
offered for it1 led to the discovery of 
its being a real diamond4 ,in its  rough

 state1 it weighs #bgg carats2 and as   
the rough stones are usually  taken to  
give but half of their weight when cut  
or polished1 it would  allow #ach       
carats4                                 
------------------                      
,,dr4 ,,dee1 ,,the ,,necromancer4       
,dr4 ,john ,dee was a man who made a    
conspicuous figure in the #afth         
century4 ,he was born in ,london in     
#aebg3 he was an eminent scholar and an 
indefatigable mathematician2 when at    
,cambridge1 he was mostly occupied      
eighteen hours out of the twenty-four in
 study4 ,while here he  superintended   
the exhibition of a ,greek play of      
,aristophanes1 among the  machinery of  
which he introduced an artificial       
scarabus1 or beetle1  which flew up to  
the palace of ,jupiter with a man on his
 back1 and a  basket of provisions4 ,the
 astonished spectators ascribed this    
feat to  the arts of the magician2 and  
,dee1 annoyed by these suspicions1 found
 it  convenient to withdraw to the      

,continent4    ,dee's principal study in
 early life lay in astrology2 and       
accordingly1  upon the accession of     
,elizabeth1 ,robert ,dudley1 her chief  
favourite1 was  sent to consult the     
doctor as to the aspect of the stars1   
that they  might fix on an auspicious   
day for celebrating her coronation4     
,some  years after1 we find him again on
 the ,continent2 and in #aega1 being    
taken ill at ,louvaine1 the queen sent  
over two physicians to attend him4      
,elizabeth afterwards visited him at his
 house at ,mortlake1 to view his        
collection of mathematical instruments  
and curiosities2 and about this  time   
employed him to defend her title to     
countries discovered in  different parts
 of the globe4 ,he says of himself1 that
 he received the  most advantageous     
offers from ,charles ,v41 ,ferdinand1   
,maximilian ,,ii41 and  ,rodolph1       
emperor of ,germany2 and from the czar  
of ,muscovy an offer of  #bjjjl4 per    
annum1 on condition that he would reside

 in his dominions4  ,had ,dee gone no   
further than this1 all would have been  
well2 but he was  ruined by his         
enthusiasm2 he dreamed perpetually of   
the philosopher's  stone1 and was       
haunted with the belief of intercourse  
with spirits4    ,one day in ,november1 
#aehb1 he tells us that as he was at    
prayer1 there  appeared to him the angel
 ,uriel at the west window of his       
museum1 who  gave him a translucent     
stone1 or crystal1 of a convex form1    
that  presented apparitions1 and even   
emitted sounds2 so that the observer    
could hold conversations1 ask questions1
 and receive answers from the  figures  
he saw in this mirror4    ,with this    
speculum1 black-stone1 or show-stone1   
,dee used to call his  spirits1 and     
,kelly1 his associate1 did all his feats
 upon4 ,kelly1 who  acted as seer1      
reported what spirits he saw1 and what  
they said2 whilst  ,dee1 who sat at a   
table1 recorded the spiritual           
intelligence4 ,a folio  volume of their 

notes was published by ,casaubon2 and   
many more1  containing the most         
unintelligible jargon1 remain in ,,ms4  
in the ,british  ,museum1 together with 
the consecrated cakes of wax1 marked    
with  mathematical figures and          
hieroglyphics1 used in their mummeries4 
,at length1 ,dee fell into disrepute2   
his chemical apparatus1 and other  stock
 in trade1 were destroyed by the mob1   
who made an attack upon his  house2 but 
the mirror is stated to have been saved4
 ,it subsequently  passed into the      
collection of the ,mordaunts1 ,earls of 
,peterborough1 in  whose catalogue it is
 called the black stone1 into which ,dr4
 ,dee used  to call his spirits4 ,from  
the ,mordaunts it passed to ,lady       
,elizabeth  ,germaine1 and from her to  
,john1 ,duke of ,argyle1 whose son1     
,lord  ,frederick ,campbell1 presented  
it to ,horace ,walpole2 and on the      
breaking  up of the collection at       
,strawberry ,hill in #ahdb1 this        
precious relic was  sold3 it was        

described in the catalogue as a         
singularly interesting and  curious     
relic of the superstition of our        
ancestors on the celebrated  speculum of
 ,kennel coal1 highly polished1 in a    
leathern case4    ,bulwer1 in his       
romance of ,zanoni1 introduces a mirror 
of this kind2  and every tale of        
superstition has its magic glass4 ,it is
 worth while to  compare ,dee's speculum
 with the celebrated ink mirror         
described in  ,lane's work on the       
,modern ,egyptians2 it may1 at least1   
illustrate the  curious inquiry upon    
coincident superstitions4               
------------------                      
,,voyage ,,of ,,manufacture4      ,the  
produce of our factories has preceded   
even our most enterprising  travellers4 
,captain ,clapperton saw at the court of
 the ,sultan ,bello1 in  the interior of
 ,africa1 pewter dishes with the ,london
 stamp1 and had at  the royal table a   
piece of meat served up on a white      
wash-hand basin of  ,english            

manufacture4 ,the cotton of ,india is   
conveyed by ,british ships  round half  
our planet1 to be woven by ,british     
skill in the factories of  ,lancashire4 
,it is again set in motion by ,british  
capital1 and  transported to the very   
plains whereon it grew2 and is          
repurchased by  the lords of the soil   
which gave it birth1 at a cheaper price 
than that  at which their coarser       
machinery enables them to manufacture it
  themselves4 ,at ,calicut1 7in the     
,east ,indies17 whence the cotton cloth 
called calico derives its name1 the     
price of labour is a fraction of  that  
in ,england1 yet the market is supplied 
from ,british looms4                    
------------------                      
,,sir ,,david ,,brewster',s             
,,kaleidoscope4      ,the idea of this  
instrument1 constructed for the purpose 
of creating and  exhibiting a variety of
 beautiful and perfectly symmetrical    
forms1 first  occurred to ,sir ,david   
,brewster in #ahad1 when he was engaged 

in  experiments on the polarization of  
light1 by successive reflections        
between plates of glass4 ,the reflectors
 were1 in some instances1  inclined to  
each other2 and he had occasion to      
remark the circular  arrangement of the 
images of a candle round a centre1 or   
the  multiplication of the sectors      
formed by the extremities of the glass  
plates4 ,in repeating1 at a subsequent  
period1 the experiments of ,m4 ,biot  on
 the action of fluids upon light1 ,sir  
,david ,brewster placed the fluids  in a
 trough1 formed by two plates of glass1 
cemented together at an  angle2 and the 
eye being necessarily placed at one end1
 some of the  cement1 which had been    
pressed through between the plates1     
appeared to  be arranged into a regular 
figure4 ,the remarkable symmetry which  
it  presented led to ,dr4 ,brewster's   
investigation of the cause of this      
phenomenon2 and in so doing1 he         
discovered the leading principles of the
  kaleidoscope4    ,by the advice of his

 friends1 ,dr4 ,brewster took out a     
patent for his  invention2 in the       
specification of which he describes the 
kaleidoscope  in two different forms4   
,the instrument1 however1 having been   
shown to  several opticians in ,london1 
became known before he could avail      
himself  of his patent2 and1 being      
simple in principle1 it was at once     
largely  manufactured4 ,it is calculated
 that not less than #bjj1jjj            
kaleidoscopes  were sold in three months
 in ,london and ,paris2 though1 out of  
this  number1 ,dr4 ,brewster says1 not1 
perhaps1 one thousand were constructed  
upon scientific principles1 or were     
capable of giving anything like a       
correct idea of the power of his        
kaleidoscope4                           
------------------                      
,,lord ,,rosse',s ,,leviathan           
,,telescope4      ,the late ,earl of    
,rosse1 with a devotion to science which
 has few  parallels1 constructed this   
gigantic telescope1 at his seat1        

,parsonstown1 in the south of ,ireland4 
,to the frame of the vast  instrument is
 fixed a large cubical wooden box1 about
 eight feet wide2  in this there is a   
door1 through which two men go in to    
remove1 or to  replace1 the cover of the
 mirror4 ,to this box is fastened the   
tube1  which is made of deal staves1 and
 hooped like a huge cask4 ,it is about  
#dj feet long1 and #h feet diameter in  
the middle4 ,the ,dean of ,ely once     
walked through the tube with an umbrella
 up6 ,the stupendous speculum  weighs   
three tons2 the casting and polishing of
 it were labours of  wonderful skill4   
,the telescope is not turned to any part
 of the sky1 but  limited to the range  
of half an hour on each side of the     
meridian1  through which its motion is  
given by powerful clockwork1 independent
 of  the observer4 ,for this purpose it 
stands between two pieces of masonry1   
of gothic design1 which harmonize with  
,lord ,rosse's castle2 one of these     
piers sustaining the galleries for the  

observer1 and the second the  clockwork 
and other apparatus4 ,there is an       
elegant arrangement of  counterpoises to
 balance the enormous mass1 so that a   
comparatively  slight force only is     
required to elevate or depress it4 ,a   
correspondent  of the ,mechanics'       
,magazine thus describes the capacity of
 this  wonderful instrument3--    ,such 
is its power1 that if a star of the     
first magnitude were removed  to such a 
distance1 that its light would be three 
millions of years in  reaching us1 this 
telescope would1 nevertheless1 show it  
to the human  eye4 ,is it to be wondered
 at1 then1 that1 with such an           
instrument1 grand  discoveries should be
 made8 ,it has been pointed to the      
heavens2 and1  although in the beginning
 of its career1 it has already          
accomplished  mighty things4 ,there are 
nebulous spots in the heavens which have
  baffled all the instruments hitherto  
constructed1 but this telescope         
resolves their true character           

completely4 ,among the wonderful objects
  which have been subject to its        
scrutiny1 is the nebula in the          
constellation of ,orion4 ,i have had an 
opportunity of examining it4 ,it is  one
 of the most curious objects in the     
whole heavens4 ,it is not round1  and it
 throws off furious lights4 ,from the   
time of ,herschel it has been  subjected
 to the examination of the most powerful
 instruments--but it  grew more and more
 mysterious and diverse in its          
character4 ,when ,lord  ,rosse's great  
telescope was directed to its           
examination1 it for a long  time        
resisted its power4 ,he found it        
required patient examination--night     
after night1 and month after month4 ,at 
length1 a pure atmosphere gave  him the 
resolution of its constitution2 and the 
stars of which it is  composed burst    
upon the sight of man for the first     
time6                                   
------------------                      
,,origin ,,of ,,reflecting              

,,lighthouses4      ,in the last        
century1 at a meeting of a society of   
mathematicians at  ,liverpool1 one of   
the members proposed to lay a wager1    
that he would  read a paragraph of a    
newspaper1 at ten yards' distance1 with 
the light  of a farthing candle4 ,the   
wager was laid1 and the proposer1 having
  covered the inside of a wooden dish   
with pieces of looking-glass1  fastened 
in with glaziers' putty1 placed his     
reflector behind the  candle1 and won   
his wager4 ,one of the company marked   
this experiment  with a philosophic eye4
 ,this was ,captain ,hutchinson1 the    
dockmaster1  with whom originated the   
reflecting lighthouses1 erected at      
,liverpool in  #agfc4                   
------------------                      
,,waste ,,of ,,human ,,life4      ,in   
#ahbe1 there was opened in              
,cochin-,china a canal1 #bc miles long1 
#hj  feet wide1 and #ab feet deep4 ,it  
was begun and finished in six weeks1    
although carried through large forests  

and over extensive marshes4  ,twenty    
thousand men worked upon it day and     
night2 and it is stated that  #g1jjj    
died of fatigue4                        
------------------                      
,,lifting ,,heavy ,,persons4      ,one  
of the most extraordinary pages in ,sir 
,david ,brewster's ,letters on  ,natural
 ,magic1 is the experiment in which a   
heavy man is raised with  the greatest  
facility1 when he is lifted up the      
instant that his own  lungs1 and those  
of the persons who raise him1 are       
inflated with air4  ,thus1 the heaviest 
person in the party lies down upon two  
chairs1 his  legs being supported by the
 one1 and his back by the other4 ,four  
persons1 one at each leg1 and one at    
each shoulder1 then try to raise        
him--the person to be raised giving two 
signals1 by clapping his hands4  ,at the
 first signal1 he himself and the four  
lifters begin to draw a  long and full  
breath1 and when the inhalation is      
completed1 or the lungs  filled1 the    

second signal is given for raising the  
person from the  chair4 ,to his own     
surprise1 and that of his bearers1 he   
rises with the  greatest facility1 as if
 he were no heavier than a feather6 ,sir
 ,david  ,brewster states that he has   
seen this inexplicable experiment       
performed  more than once2 and he       
appeals for testimony to ,sir ,walter   
,scott1 who  had repeatedly seen the    
experiment1 and performed the part1 both
 of the  load and of the bearer4 ,it was
 first shown in ,england by a gentleman 
who  saw it performed in a large party  
at ,venice1 under the direction of an   
officer of the ,american navy4          
------------------                      
,,origin ,,of ,,the ,,society ,,of      
,,arts4      ,to this ,society1 a       
well-informed writer has said1 some of  
our best  artists have owed the most    
priceless of all services that can be   
rendered to men of genius at the outset 
of their career--appreciation on  the   
part of an enlightened few--introduction

 under favourable auspices  to the many4
    ,the ,society of ,arts was          
established in #aged1 chiefly by ,mr4   
,william  ,shipley1 a drawing-master2   
but it was not until #aggd that the     
institution was fairly located in its   
own premises1 built in handsome  style  
by the ,adams'1 in ,john ,street1       
,adelphi2 the object being denoted  by  
the inscription upon the entablature of 
the pediment in the front of  the       
mansion1 in these words3 ,arts and      
,commerce promoted4    ,there are many  
interesting anecdotes of the early      
awards of this  ,society4 ,thus1 in     
#ageh1 ,bacon1 the sculptor1 received   
for a small figure  of ,peace a reward  
of ten guineas2 and the same artist     
gained the highest  premium upon nine   
different occasions4 ,in #agfa1         
,nollekens received ten  guineas for an 
alto-relievo of ,jephtha's ,vow2 and two
 years later1 fifty  guineas for a more 
important piece of sculpture4 ,flaxman1 
in #agfh1  gained for one of his        

earliest attempts a grant of ten        
guineas2 and for  another work1 in      
#agga1 he obtained the ,society's gold  
medal4 ,lawrence1  at the early age of  
thirteen1 received the reward of a      
silver-gilt  palette1 with five guineas1
 for his drawing in crayons of the      
,transfiguration2 and the painter in the
 height of his subsequent  prosperity1  
was accustomed to speak of the impulse  
thus given to his  love of art4 ,in     
#ahjg1 ,sir ,william ,ross1 at the age  
of twelve1 received  the ,society's     
silver palette for a drawing of the     
death of ,wat ,tyler2  ,mr4 ,edwin      
,landseer gained a similar mark of      
approbation in #ahaj1 for an  etching2  
and to ,mr4 ,wyon was adjudged the gold 
medal1 in #ahah1 for a  medal die4 ,but 
to artists there is a feature of still  
greater interest  in the ,society's     
history3 it was in its rooms that the   
first exhibition  of paintings in       
,england took place in #agfj1 which was 
continued with  great success for some  

years4    ,within about ninety years1   
the ,society had distributed more than  
#ajj1jjjl4 in premiums4 ,the growth of  
forest trees was one of its early       
objects of encouragement2 and we find   
among the recipients of its gold  medals
 the ,dukes of ,bedford and ,beaufort1  
the ,earls of ,winterton1 ,upper        
,ossory1 and ,mansfield2 and ,dr4       
,watson1 ,bishop of ,llandaff4 ,then    
came  agriculture1 chemistry1           
manufactures1 and mechanics4 ,in the    
latter1 the  ,society taught us1 or at  
least aided those who did so1 the       
manufacture  of ,turkey carpet1         
tapestry1 weaving1 and weaving to       
imitate the  ,marseilles and ,india     
quilting2 also1 how to improve our      
spinning and  lace-making1 our paper1   
and our catgut for musical instruments1 
our  straw-bonnets1 and artificial      
flowers4    ,the colonies shared in the 
,society's early encouragement3 potash  
and  pearlash were produced by its agent
 in ,north ,america2 and it was busily  

engaged1 just before the breaking out of
 the war of independence1 in            
introducing the culture of the vine1 the
 growth of silk-worms1 and the          
manufacture of indigo and vegetable     
oils4 ,but the rewards given to poor    
,bethnal-green and ,spitalfields        
weavers1 for useful inventions in their 
calling1 illustrate1 perhaps even better
 than any of the foregoing  instances1  
the object of the ,society which so     
honourably distinguishes  it from other 
associations--its readiness to receive1 
examine1 and  reward every kind of      
useful invention that may be brought    
forward by  those who have neither      
friends nor money to aid them in making 
their  inventions known4    ,nor must we
 forget ,barry's grand series of        
paintings upon the ,society's  large    
room2 of which ,dr4 ,johnson said1 there
 is a grasp of mind there1  which you   
will find nowhere else4 ,upon the walls1
 too1 hang some fine  portraits of the  
early presidents of the ,society1       

painted by ,sir ,joshua  ,reynolds4     
------------------                      
,,vast ,,mirrors4      ,mirrors are cast
 of larger dimensions at ,st4           
,petersburg than elsewhere4  ,in the    
imperial manufactory1 there was cast for
 ,prince ,potemkin1 a  mirror measuring 
#aid inches by #ajj4 ,one of the same   
proportions1 valued  at #cjjj guineas1  
was cast for the ,duke of ,wellington   
many years since1  but was broken to    
atoms in its conveyance from ,st4       
,petersburg to  ,england4               
------------------                      
,,transportation ,,of ,,the             
,,coffee-,,tree4      ,one of the most  
interesting episodes in the history of  
coffee is1 that  of the transportation  
of the plant of the coffee-tree1 taken  
from the  hothouses of ,amsterdam1 given
 to ,louis ,,xiv41 and father of the    
three  plants1 one of which was taken to
 the ,french ,antilles by ,captain      
,declieux1 who1 in a scarcity of water  
experienced by the ship's crew1  shared 

the small quantity which he had to      
drink1 between himself and his  dear    
coffee-plant4 ,it is believed that from 
this plant has sprung all  the coffee   
grown in the ,west ,indies4             
------------------                      
,,arkwright',s ,,spinning ,,frame4      
,mr4 ,arkwright tells us1 that he       
accidentally derived the first hint of  
this great invention from seeing a      
red-hot iron bar elongated by being     
made to pass between rollers2 and1      
though there is no mechanical analogy   
between that operation and the process  
of spinning1 it is not difficult  to    
imagine that1 by reflecting upon it1 and
 placing the subject in  different      
points of view1 it might lead him to his
 invention4                             
------------------                      
,,spinning ,,feats4      ,among the     
wonders of this branch of manufacture1  
the following deserve  mention3--,in    
#agde1 a woman at ,east ,dereham1 in    
,norfolk1 spun a single  pound of wool  

into a thread of #hd1jjj yards in       
length1 wanting only #hj  yards of      
forty-eight miles1 which1 at the above  
period1 was considered a  circumstance  
of sufficient curiosity to merit a place
 in the records of  the ,royal ,society4
 ,since that time1 however1 a young lady
 of ,norwich has  spun a pound of combed
 wool into a thread of #afh1jjj yards2  
and she  actually produced from the same
 weight of cotton a thread of #bjc1jjj  
yards1 equal to upwards of #aae         
miles3--this last thread1 if woven1     
would  produce about twenty yards of    
yard-wide muslin4                       
------------------                      
,,marvels ,,of ,,the ,,alchemists4      
,the pretended secret of the ,alchemists
 was the transmutation of the  baser    
metals into gold1 which they            
occasionally exhibited to keep the      
dupes who supplied them with money in   
good spirits4 ,this they performed  in  
various ways4 ,sometimes they made use  
of crucibles with a false  bottom4 ,at  

the real bottom1 they put a quantity of 
gold or silver4 ,this  was covered by a 
portion of powdered crucible mixed with 
gum or wax1 and  hardened4 ,the material
 being put into a crucible and the heat 
applied1  the false bottom disappeared2 
and at the end of the process1 the gold 
or  silver was found at the bottom of   
the crucible4 ,sometimes1 they made a   
hole in a piece of charcoal1 filled it  
with oxide of gold or silver1 and       
stopped up the hole with a little wax2  
or they soaked the charcoal in          
solutions of these metals2 or they      
stirred the mixture in the crucible     
with hollow rods1 containing oxide of   
gold or silver within1 and the end      
closed with wax4 ,by these means1 the   
gold or silver wanted was  introduced   
during the operation1 and considered as 
a product4    ,sometimes the cunning    
wights used solutions of silver in      
nitric acid1 or  of gold in aqua-regia1 
or an amalgam of gold or silver1 which  
being  adroitly introduced1 furnished   

the requisite quantity of metal4 ,a     
common  exhibition was to dip nails into
 a liquid1 and take them out1 half      
converted into gold4 ,the nails were    
one-half gold and the other half  iron1 
neatly soldered together1 and the gold  
was covered with something  to conceal  
the colour1 which the liquid was capable
 of removing4                           
------------------                      
,,invention ,,of ,,the ,,hand ,,gear4   
,it has been said that we are indebted  
for the important invention in the      
steam-engine1 termed hand gear1 by which
 its valves or cocks are worked  by the 
machine itself1 to an idle boy named    
,humphrey ,potter1 who1 being  employed 
to stop and open a valve1 saw that he   
could save himself the  trouble of      
attending and watching it1 by fixing a  
plug upon a part of  the machine which  
came to the place at the proper times1  
in consequence  of the general movement4
 ,if this anecdote be true1 what does it
 prove8  ,that ,humphrey ,potter might  

be very idle1 but that he was1 at the   
same  time1 very ingenious4 ,it was a   
contrivance1 not the result of accident1
  but of acute observation and          
successful experiment4--,dr4 ,paris4    
------------------                      
,,poker ,,across ,,the ,,fire4          
,boswell and ,johnson held a            
conversation upon this experiment as    
follows3--,boswell4 ,why1 sir1 do people
 play this trick1 which ,i  observe now 
when ,i look at your grate1 putting the 
shovel against it to  make the fire     
burn8--,johnson4 ,they play the trick1  
but it does not  make the fire burn4    
,there is a better 7setting the poker   
perpendicularly up at right angles with 
the grate47 ,in days of  superstition1  
they thought1 as it made a cross with   
the bars1 it would  drive away the      
witch4    ,upon this1 ,dr4 ,kearney     
notes3 it certainly does make the fire  
burn3 by  repelling the air1 it throws a
 blast upon the fire1 and so performs   
the  parts1 in some degree1 of a blower 

or bellows4 ,these observations were    
made only as to the shovel1 but the     
poker is equally efficacious4 ,after    
all1 says ,croker1 it is possible that  
there may be some magnetic or           
electrical influence1 which1 in the     
progress of science1 may be  explained2 
and what has been thought a vulgar      
trick1 may be proved to be  a           
philosophical experiment4    ,whatever  
may be the cause1 there is every-day    
evidence that a poker or  shovel1 as the
 case may be1 if laid across a dull     
fire1 will revive it2  because1 we      
think1 the poker or shovel receives and 
concentrates the  heat1 and produces an 
additional draught through the fire4    
------------------                      
,,the ,,artesian ,,well ,,of ,,grenelle1
 ,,at ,,paris4      ,the boring of this 
well by the ,messrs4 ,mulot occupied    
seven years1 one  month1 twenty-six     
days1 to the depth of #agid-a_/b        
,english feet1 or  #aid-a_/b feet below 
the depth at which ,m4 ,elie de         

,beaumont foretold that  water would be 
found4 ,the sound1 or borer1 weighed    
#bj1jjj lb41 and was  treble the height 
of that of the dome of the ,hospital des
 ,invalides1 at  ,paris4 ,in ,may1      
#ahcg1 when the bore had reached #abdf  
feet #h inches1 the  great chisel and   
#bfb feet of rods fell to the bottom2   
and1 although  these weighed five tons1 
,m4 ,mulot tapped a screw on the head of
 the  rods1 and thus1 connecting another
 length to them1 after fifteen months'  
labour1 drew up the chisel6 ,on another 
occasion1 this chisel having been       
raised with great force1 sunk at one    
stroke #he feet #c inches into the      
chalk6#g    -----    ,footnote #g3      
,the depth of the ,grenelle ,well is    
nearly four times the height of         
,strasburg ,cathedral2 more than six    
times the height of the ,hospital    des
 ,invalides1 at ,paris2 more than four  
times the height of ,st4    ,peter's1 at
 ,rome2 nearly four times and a half the
 height of ,st4    ,paul's1 and nine    

times the height of the ,monument1      
,london4 ,lastly1    suppose all the    
above edifices to be piled upon each    
other1 from the    base-line of the     
,well of ,grenelle1 and they would but  
reach within    #aa-a_/b feet of its    
surface4--,year-,book of ,facts1 #ahdc4 
------------------                      
,,wet ,,the ,,ropes4      ,the property 
of cords contracting their length by    
moisture became  generally known1 it is 
said1 on the raising of the ,egyptian   
obelisk in  the square facing ,st4      
,peter's1 at ,rome1 by order of ,pope   
,sixtus ,v4 ,the  great work was        
undertaken in the year #aehf1 and the   
day for raising the  obelisk was marked 
with great solemnity4 ,high mass was    
celebrated at ,st4  ,peter's1 and the   
architect and workmen received the      
benediction of the  ,pope4 ,the blast of
 a trumpet was the given signal1 when   
engines were set  in motion by an       
incredible number of horses2 but not    
until after  fifty-two unsuccessful     

attempts had been made1 was the huge    
block lifted  from the earth4 ,as the   
ropes which held it had somewhat        
stretched1 the  base of the obelisk     
could not reach the summit of the       
pedestal1 when a  man in the crowd cried
 out1 ,wet the ropes6 ,this advice was  
followed1  and the column1 as of itself1
 gradually rose to the required height1 
and  was placed upright on the pedestal 
prepared for it4                        
------------------                      
,,the ,,death ,,of ,,dr4 ,,black4       
,in the society of friends such as ,adam
 ,smith1 ,hume1 ,carlyle1 ,home1        
,hutton1 ,playfair1 and ,dugald         
,stewart1 the closing days of this great
 and  gentle chemist wore tranquilly    
away4 ,towards the end1 he sank into a  
low  state of health1 and only preserved
 himself from the severe shocks of  the 
weather in the changeable climate of    
,edinburgh1 by a degree of care  and    
abstemiousness rarely surpassed even by 
the devoutest ,brahmin4 ,it  was his    

generous and manly wish1 that he might  
never live to be a burden  to his       
friends2 and never was the wish more    
completely gratified4 ,on the  #bfth    
,november #agii1 in the seventy-first   
year of his age1 he expired  without any
 convulsion1 shock1 or stupor1 to       
announce or retard the  approach of     
death4 ,being at table with his usual   
fare--some bread1 a few  prunes1 and a  
measured quantity of milk diluted with  
water2 and having  the cup in his hand  
when the last stroke of the pulse was to
 be given1  he had set it down upon his 
knees1 which were joined together1 and  
kept  it steady with his hand in the    
manner of a person perfectly at ease2   
and  in this attitude expired1 without  
spilling a drop1 and without a writhe   
in his countenance2 as if an experiment 
had been required1 to show to  his      
friends the facility with which he      
departed4 ,his servant opened the  door 
to tell him that some one had left his  
name2 but getting no answer1  stepped   

about half way towards him1 and1 seeing 
him sitting in that easy  posture1      
supporting his basin of milk with one   
hand1 he thought that he  had dropped   
asleep1 which he had sometimes seen     
happen after his meals4  ,the man went  
back and shut the door2 but before he   
got down stairs1 some  anxiety that he  
could not account for made him return1  
and look again at  his master4 ,even    
then1 he was satisfied1 after coming    
pretty near1 and  turned to go away2 but
 again returned1 and coming quite close1
 found his  master without life4        
------------------                      
,,origin ,,of ,,the ,,telegraph4        
,when ,arthur ,young made his well-known
 journey in ,france1 in the year  #aghg 
to #aghi1 he met1 he tells us1 with a   
,monsieur ,lomond1 a very  ingenious and
 inventing mechanic1 who had made a     
remarkable discovery  in electricity4   
,you write two or three words on a      
paper1 says ,young3  he takes it with   
him into a room1 and turns a machine    

enclosed in a  cylindrical case1 at the 
top of which is an electrometer1 a      
small1 fine1  pith ball2 a wire connects
 with a similar cylinder and            
electrometer in a  distant apartment2   
and his wife1 by remarking the          
corresponding motions  of the ball1     
writes down the words they indicate2    
from which it appears  that he has      
formed an alphabet of motions4 ,as the  
length of the wire  makes no difference 
in the effect1 a correspondence might be
 carried on  at any distance4 ,whatever 
the use may be1 the invention is        
beautiful4  ,this discovery1 however1   
lay unnoticed until about the year      
#ahde2 though  the apparatus was        
designed to effect the same end as the  
electric  telegraph1 by means very      
similar4    ,the possibility of applying
 electricity to telegraphic             
communication was  conceived by several 
other persons1 long before it was       
attempted upon a  practical scale4 ,the 
,rev4 ,mr4 ,gamble1 in his description  

of his original  shutter-telegraph1     
published towards the close of the last 
century1  alludes to a project of       
electrical communication4 ,mr4 ,francis 
,ronalds1  in a pamphlet on this        
subject1 published in #ahbc1 states that
 ,cavallo  proposed to convey           
intelligence by passing given numbers of
 sparks  through an insulated wire2 and 
that1 in #ahaf1 he himself made         
experiments upon this principle1 which  
he deemed more promising than the       
application of galvanic or voltaic      
electricity1 which had been projected   
by some ,germans and ,americans4 ,he    
succeeded perfectly in transmitting     
signals through a length of eight miles 
of insulated wire2 and he  describes    
minutely the contrivances necessary for 
adapting the principle  to telegraphic  
communication4    ,it is1 however1 to   
the combined labours of ,mr4 ,w4 ,f4    
,cooke and ,professor  ,wheatstone that 
electric telegraphs owe their practical 
application2  and1 in a statement of the

 facts respecting their relative        
positions in  connection with the       
invention1 drawn up at their request by 
,sir ,m4 ,i4  ,brunel and ,professor    
,daniell1 it is observed that ,mr4      
,cooke is entitled  to stand alone1 as  
the gentleman to whom this country is   
indebted for  having practically        
introduced and carried out the electric 
telegraph as  a useful undertaking1     
promising to be a work of national      
importance2 and  ,professor ,wheatstone 
is acknowledged as the scientific man   
whose  profound and successful          
researches had already prepared the     
public to  receive it as a project      
capable of practical                    
application4--,penny  ,cyclopdia4       
------------------                      
,,necessity ,,the ,,mother ,,of         
,,invention4      ,when ,vitiges1 king  
of the ,goths1 besieged ,belisarius in  
,rome in #ecf1 and  caused the fourteen 
large aqueducts to be stopped1 the city 
was  subjected to great distress1 not on

 account of the want of water in        
general1 for it was secured against that
 inconvenience by the ,tiber1 but  on   
account of the loss of that water which 
the baths required1 and1  above all1 of 
that necessary to drive the mills1 which
 were all situated  on these canals4    
,horses and cattle1 which might have    
been employed in  grinding1 were not to 
be found2 but ,belisarius1 a man of     
great  ingenuity1 devised an expedient  
to remedy this distress4 ,below the     
bridge that reached to the wall of      
,janiculum1 he extended ropes1 well     
fastened1 and stretched across the river
 from both banks4 ,to these he  affixed 
two boats of equal size1 at the distance
 of two feet from each  other1 where the
 current flowed with the greatest       
rapidity1 under the  arch of the bridge2
 and1 placing large millstones on one of
 the boats1  suspended in the middle    
space a machine by which they were      
turned4 ,he  constructed at certain     
intervals on the river other machines of

 the same  description1 which1 being put
 in motion by the force of the water    
that  ran below them1 drove as many     
mills as were necessary to grind        
provisions for the city4 ,to destroy    
these1 the besiegers threw into the     
stream logs of wood1 and dead bodies1   
which floated down the river into  the  
city2 but the besieged1 by making use of
 booms to stop them1 were  enabled to   
drag them out before they did any       
mischief4 ,this is said to  have been   
the first invention of floating mills4  
------------------                      
,a ,,dry-,,making ,,in ,,holland4       
,the conversion into solid land of the  
,lake of ,beemster1 in ,north  ,holland1
 is1 after the ,haarlemmermeer ,polder  
7which is twice and a half  its size71  
the largest specimen in the ,netherlands
 of what the ,dutch  term dry-makings4  
,the scheme was first broached in #aegj4
 ,in #aeib funds  were applied for1     
which were not1 however1 promised by the
 ,states of  ,holland and ,west         

,friesland until #aeig4 ,in #afjg1 a    
company was formed at  the ,hague1 by   
,dirck van ,oss and others1 to pump out 
the ,beemster in  whole or in part2 and 
on their security the ,states lent the  
necessary  capital4 ,at the             
commencement1 it was thought that       
sixteen windmills  would suffice for the
 undertaking2 but this number was       
shortly increased  by ten1 and the      
twenty-six mills were then divided into 
thirteen gangs4  ,by the end of #afjh1  
several of the mills began to pump1 and 
early in  #afji1 they were all ready4   
,towards the end of this year1 the      
bottom of  the lake became visible in   
some places3 but during a storm on the  
#bc;d of  ,january #afaj1 the great     
waterland sea dyke gave way1 and the    
pressure on  the ring dyke that had been
 constructed round the ,beemster proved 
greater than it was capable of          
resisting4 ,it gave way in turn in two  
places1 and the lake was again filled4  
,on the #eth ,february #afaj1 further   

and ample funds were advanced by the    
,states2 in #afaa1 more mills were  put 
on to the work2 on the #aith of ,may    
#afab1 the dry-making was at last       
completed2 and on the #cjth ,july of    
that year1 the distribution of the  lots
 of land redeemed took place4 ,the ring 
dyke is over #cg1jjj yards  long1 and   
has an average height of  #aej ,z4 ,p4  
7a metre and a half  above the mean     
level of the sea74 ,thus was the        
,beemster pumped out2 and  from that day
 to the present1 the name of ,dirck van 
,oss has been held in  deep respect in  
,holland1 as the name of the first      
,dutchman who conquered  the waters on  
anything like a large scale4 ,the system
 he employed has  been closely followed 
in all successive undertakings of this  
kind2 and1  with the exception of the   
application of steam1 and certain       
improvements  in machinery1 the plans of
 ,dirck van ,oss for draining the       
,beemster were  adapted with a like     
success to the ,lake of ,haarlem1 by ,m4

 ,gevers  d',endegeest1 the hero of this
 last conquest1 and the sanguine prophet
  7#ahfg7 of the ultimate reclamation of
 the ,zuyder ,zee4 ,the drainage of  the
 ,lake of ,haarlem1 it may be mentioned1
 was accomplished in #aheb1  after      
thirteen years of toil and anxiety1 at a
 cost of #aa1jjj1jjj  florins           
7#iaf1fff72 a sum which1 large as it is1
 has nevertheless been  completely      
recovered1 both in capital and interest1
 by the sale of  #db1dha acres of arable
 land4--,report to ,foreign ,office4    
------------------                      
,a ,,scientific ,,pilgrim4      ,when   
,lord ,napier 7of ,merchiston7 first    
published his ,logarithms1 ,mr4         
,briggs1 ,professor of ,mathematics at  
,gresham ,college1 ,london1 was so      
surprised with admiration1 that he could
 not rest till he had seen the  noble   
inventor1 and actually went to ,scotland
 for that purpose in #afae4  ,lilly1 the
 astrologer1 thus describes the         
interview3--,mr4 ,briggs  appointed a   

certain day when to meet at ,edinburgh2 
but1 failing thereof1  ,merchiston was  
afraid he would not come4 ,it happened  
one day1 as ,john  ,marr and the ,lord  
,napier were speaking of ,mr4 ,briggs3  
',ah6 ,john1' said  ,merchiston1 ',mr4  
,briggs will not come4' ,at the very    
instant1 one knocks  at the gate2 ,john 
,marr hastens down1 and it proved to be 
,mr4 ,briggs1 to  his great contentment2
 he brings ,mr4 ,briggs up into my      
,lord's chamber1  where almost one      
quarter of an hour was spent1 each      
beholding the other  with admiration    
before one word was spoken4 ,at last1   
,mr4 ,briggs began1  ',my ,lord1 ,i have
 undertaken this long journey purposely 
to see your  person1 and to know by what
 engine of wit or ingenuity you came    
first to  think of this most excellent  
help unto astronomy1 viz4 the           
logarithms2  but1 my ,lord1 being by you
 found out1 ,i wonder nobody else found 
it out  before1 when now1 being known1  
it appears so easy4' ,briggs was nobly  

entertained by ,lord ,napier2 and every 
summer after1 during his  lordship's    
life1 this venerable man went to        
,scotland purposely to see  him4        
------------------                      
,,the ,,burning ,,mirrors ,,of          
,,archimedes4      ,many have questioned
 the facts recorded by several          
historians1  concerning the surprising  
effects of the burning mirrors of       
,archimedes1  by means of which the     
,roman galleys besieging ,syracuse were 
consumed to  ashes4 ,descartes1 in      
particular1 discredited the story as    
fabulous2 but  ,kircher made many       
experiments with a view of testing its  
credibility4 ,he  tried the effect of a 
number of plane mirrors2 and1 with five 
mirrors of  the same size1 placed in a  
frame1 he contrived to throw the rays   
reflected from them to the same spot1 at
 the distance of more than #ajj  feet2  
and by this means he produced such a    
degree of heat1 as led him to  conclude 
that1 by increasing their number1 he    

could have set fire to  inflammable     
substances at a greater distance4 ,he   
likewise made a voyage  to ,syracuse1 in
 company with his pupil ,schottius1 in  
order to examine  the place of the      
alleged transaction2 and they were both 
of opinion1  that the galleys of        
,marcellus could not have been more than
 thirty paces  from ,archimedes'        
mirrors4    ,m4 ,buffon also constructed
 a machine1 consisting of a number of   
mirrors1  by which he seems to have     
revived the secret of ,archimedes1 and  
to have  vindicated the credit of       
history in this respect4 ,his experiment
 was  first made with twenty-four       
mirrors1 which readily set fire to      
combustible matter composed of pitch and
 tow1 and laid on a deal board  at the  
distance of seventy-two feet4 ,he       
further pursued the attempt by  framing 
a kind of polyhedron1 consisting of #afh
 pieces of plane  looking-glass1 each   
six inches square2 and by means of this 
machine1  some boards of beech-wood were

 set on fire at the distance of #aej    
feet1  and a silver plate was melted at 
the distance of #fj feet4 ,this machine1
  in the next stage of its improvement1 
contained #cfj plane mirrors1 each      
eight inches long and six broad1 mounted
 on a frame eight feet high and  seven  
broad4 ,with twelve of these mirrors1   
light combustible matter was  kindled at
 the distance of twenty feet2 with      
forty-five of them1 at the  same        
distance1 a large tin vessel was melted1
 and with #aag1 a thin piece  of silver4
 ,when the whole machine was employed1  
all the metals and  metallic minerals   
were melted at the distance of          
twenty-five and even of  forty feet4    
,wood was kindled in a clear sky at the 
distance of #baj feet4  ,m4 ,buffon     
afterwards constructed a machine which  
contained #djj mirrors1  each six inches
 square1 with which he could melt lead  
and tin at the  distance of #adj feet4  
,but perhaps the most powerful burning  
mirror ever constructed1 was that  of   

,mr4 ,parker1 an eminent glass          
manufacturer of ,london2 it was made in 
the begining of this century by one     
,penn1 an ingenious artisan of          
,islington4 ,he erected an outhouse at  
the bottom of his garden1 for the       
purpose of carrying on his operations1  
and at length succeeded in  producing1  
at a cost of #gjj1 a burning lens of a  
diameter of three  feet1 whose powers   
were astonishing4 ,the most hard and    
solid substances  of the mineral world1 
such as platina1 iron1 steel1 flint1 c41
 were  melted in a few seconds1 on being
 exposed to its immense focus4 ,a       
diamond weighing ten grains1 exposed to 
this lens for thirty minutes1  was      
reduced to six grains1 during which     
operation it opened and foliated  like  
the leaves of a flower1 and emitted     
whitish fumes2 when closed  again1 it   
bore a polish1 and retained its form4   
,ten cut garnets1 taken  from a         
bracelet1 began to run into each other  
in a few seconds1 and at  last formed   

one globular garnet4 ,the clay used by  
,wedgewood to make his  pyrometric test 
ran in a few seconds into a white       
enamel2 and several  specimens of lavas1
 and other volcanic productions1 on     
being exposed to  the focus of the lens1
 yielded to its power4    ,a            
subscription was proposed in ,london to 
raise the sum of #gjj guineas1  in order
 to indemnify the inventor for the      
expense he had incurred in  its         
construction1 and retain it in ,england2
 but1 through the failure of  the       
subscription1 and other concurring      
circumstances1 ,mr4 ,parker was  induced
 to dispose of it to ,captain           
,mackintosh1 who accompanied ,lord      
,macartney in his celebrated embassy to 
,china2 and the mirror1 much to  the    
loss and regret of ,european science1   
was left at ,pekin4                     
------------------                      
,,magnetic ,,correspondence ,,in ,,the  
,,seventeenth ,,century4      ,in one of
 ,addison's contributions to the        

,spectator 7,no4 #bda71 we find  the    
following curious instance of what may  
almost be considered as the             
foreshadowing of the electric telegraph4
 ,it is quoted from the writings  of    
,strada1 the celebrated ,roman ,jesuit1 
who died in #afdi4 ,in his              
,prolusiones1 a series of polished      
,latin essays upon rhetoric and         
literature1 he gives an account of a    
chimerical correspondence between  two  
friends1 by the help of a certain       
loadstone1 which had such virtue  in it1
 that if touched by two several needles1
 when one of the needles  so touched    
began to move1 the other1 though at ever
 so great a distance1  moved at the same
 time and in the same manner4 ,he tells 
us that two  friends1 being each of them
 possessed of these needles1 made a kind
 of  dial-plate1 inscribing it with     
twenty-four letters--in the same manner 
as the hours of the day are marked upon 
the ordinary dial-plate4 ,they  then    
fixed one of the needles on each of     

these plates1 in such a manner  that it 
could move round without impediment so  
as to touch any of the  twenty-four     
letters4 ,upon their separating from one
 another into distant  countries1 they  
agreed to withdraw themselves punctually
 into their  closets at a certain hour  
of the day1 and to converse with one    
another  by means of this their         
invention4 ,accordingly1 when they were 
some  hundred miles asunder1 each of    
them shut himself up in his closet at   
the  time appointed1 and immediately    
cast his eye upon his dial-plate4 ,if he
  had a mind to write anything to his   
friend1 he directed his needle to  every
 letter that formed the words that he   
had occasion for--making a  little pause
 at the end of every word or sentence1  
to avoid confusion4  ,the friend1 in the
 meanwhile1 saw his own sympathetic     
needle moving of  itself to every letter
 which that of his correspondent pointed
 at4 ,by  this means1 they talked       
together across a whole continent1 and  

conveyed  their thoughts to one another1
 in an instant1 over cities or          
mountains1  seas or deserts4444 ,in the 
meanwhile 7adds the ,essayist1          
playfully71 if  ever this invention     
should be revived1 or put in practice1  
,i would  propose that upon the lovers' 
dial-plate there should be written1 not 
only the twenty-four letters1 but       
several entire words which have always  
a place in passionate epistles2 as      
flames1 darts1 die1 languish1  absence1 
,cupid1 heart1 eyes1 hang1 drown--and   
the like4 ,this would very  much abridge
 the lover's pains in this way of       
writing a letter--as it  would enable   
him to express the most useful and      
significant words with a  single turn of
 the needle4                            
------------------                      
,,navigation ,,before ,,the ,,compass4  
,before the invention of the mariner's  
compass1 the ,phoenician1 the ,greek1   
and the early ,italian navigators were  
compelled to creep from headland  to    

headland1 without venturing to quit the 
shore--except when an island1  so near  
as to be distinctly seen from the       
continent1 offered them an  equally     
secure retreat from the violence of an  
accidental tempest4 ,yet1  the bolder   
,norwegians1 though exposed to far      
greater perils1 from the  habitual      
inclemency of a high northern latitude1 
and from the frequent  cloudiness of    
their atmosphere1 were in the habit of  
attempting1 and  often with success1 a  
voyage of some length upon the ocean4   
,it may be  supposed that a patient     
observation of natural phenomena1       
attention to  the flight of migratory   
birds and to the direction of currents1 
and some  few simple devices which1     
being no longer necessary1 are now      
forgotten1  served as substitutes for   
the more valuable guides of modern      
navigation4  ,of one of the devices here
 enumerated1 it is related that when    
,flok1 a  famous ,norwegian navigator1  
was about to set out from ,shetland for 

,iceland1 then called ,gardarsholm1 he  
took on board some crows1 because  the  
mariner's compass was not yet in use4   
,when he thought he had made a          
considerable part of his way1 he threw  
up one of his crows1 which1  seeing land
 astern1 flew to it2 whence ,flok1      
concluding that he was  nearer to       
,shetland 7or perhaps ,faro7 than any   
other land1 kept on his  course for some
 time1 and then sent out another crow1  
which1 seeing no  land at all1 returned 
to the vessel4 ,at last1 having run the 
greater  part of his way1 another crow  
was sent out by him1 which1 seeing land 
ahead1 immediately flew for it2 and     
,flok1 following his guide1 fell in     
with the east end of the island4 ,such  
was the simple mode of steering  their  
course1 practised by those bold         
navigators of the stormy northern       
ocean4 ,this story at once and          
strikingly recalls the use made of birds
  by the first sea captain of whom we   
read--,noah2 but such expedients        

evidently could not be supposed to have 
inspired the old northern  navigators   
with the courage and confidence that    
enabled them1 as there  is reason to    
believe1 to discover ,america before    
,columbus4                              
------------------                      
,,semaphore v4 ,,electric ,,telegraph4  
,an anecdote will suffice to illustrate 
the advantages of the electric  over the
 visual variety of telegraph--the one   
being only workable in  certain states  
of the weather2 the other available in  
all states4 ,upon  one occasion1 when   
the ,british army were fighting in      
,spain1 intelligence  was every day     
feverishly expected from ,wellington    
through the medium of  the semaphore at 
the ,admiralty4 ,long delayed1 it came  
at last1 and was  apparently of a       
fearful character4 ,it ran thus3        
,wellington defeated4  ,parliament and  
the people were stunned for a time1 and 
rumours flew  about like wildfire to    
this effect4 ,it turned out1 however1   

that just as  the word defeated was     
deciphered1 a fog intervened1 and cut   
off the  rest of the communication4     
,when the dark pall disappeared1 the    
bright  sky disclosed to a jubilant     
people1 not ,wellington defeated1 but   
,wellington defeated--the ,french6      
------------------                      
,a ,,wrench ,,to ,,old ,,st4 ,,paul',s4 
,when1 after much mean and yet costly   
endeavour to patch up the cathedral  of 
,st4 ,paul's1 after the great fire1 ,sir
 ,christopher ,wren at last had  his    
advice accepted1 to rebuild the whole   
structure1 the demolition of  the old   
fabric gave ample play to his scientific
 knowledge and  engineering skill4 ,one 
of his exploits1 perhaps now more       
remarkable  because at the time it was  
at once rare and bold1 has thus been    
described3--,in order that the rubbish  
and old materials might not  hinder the 
setting out of the foundations1 for the 
purpose of proceeding  with the works1  
,sir ,christopher constructed scaffolds 

high enough to  extend his lines over   
the heaps that were in the way2 and     
thereby caused  perpendiculars to be    
fixed upon the points below for his     
various walls  and piers1 from lines    
drawn carefully upon the level plan of  
the  scaffold4 ,thus he proceeded1      
gaining every day more and more room1   
till  he came to the middle tower that  
formerly carried the lofty spire4 ,the  
ruins of this tower being nearly two    
hundred feet high1 the labourers  were  
afraid to work above1 which induced him 
to facilitate the labour by  the use of 
gunpowder4 ,to perform this work1 he    
caused a hole to be dug1  of about four 
feet wide1 by the side of the north-west
 pier of the  tower1 in which was       
perforated a hole two feet square1      
reaching to the  centre of the pier4 ,in
 this he placed a small deal box        
containing  eighteen pounds of          
gunpowder4 ,to this box he affixed a    
hollow cane1  which contained a quick   
match1 reaching to the surface of the   

ground  above2 and along the ground a   
train of powder was laid1 with a match4 
,the mine was then closed up1 and       
exploded1 while the philosophical       
architect waited with confidence the    
result of his experiment4 ,this  small  
quantity of powder not only lifted up   
the whole angle of the  tower1 with two 
great arches that rested upon it1 but   
also two adjoining  arches of the aisle1
 and the masonry above them4 ,this it   
appeared to do  in a slow but efficient 
manner1 cracking the walls to the top1  
lifting  visibly the whole weight about 
nine inches1 which suddenly dropping1   
made a great heap of ruins in the place1
 without scattering or accident4  ,it   
was half a minute before the heap       
already fallen opened in two or  three  
places1 and emitted smoke4 ,by this     
successful experiment1 the  force of    
gunpowder may be ascertained2 eighteen  
pounds only of which  lifted up a weight
 of more than three thousand tons1 and  
saved the work  of a thousand labourers4

 ,the fall of so great a weight from a  
height of  two hundred feet gave such a 
concussion to the ground1 that the      
inhabitants round about took it for the 
shock of an earthquake4                 
------------------                      
,,snow ,,spectacles4      ,ellis1 in his
 ,voyage to ,hudson's ,bay1 written in  
the middle of last  century1 says of the
 ,esquimaux3--,their snow eyes1 as they 
very properly  call them1 are a proof of
 their sagacity4 ,they are little pieces
 of wood  or ivory1 properly formed to  
cover the organs of vision1 and tied on 
behind the head4 ,they have two slits1  
of the exact length of the eyes1  but   
very narrow2 and they see through them  
very distinctly1 and without  the least 
inconvenience4 ,this invention preserves
 them from  snow-blindness1 a very      
dangerous and powerful malady1 caused by
 the  action of the light strongly      
reflected from the snow1 especially in  
the  spring1 when the sun is            
considerably elevated above the horizon4

 ,the use  of these eyes considerably   
strengthens the sight1 and the          
,esquimaux are  so accustomed to them1  
that when they have a mind to view      
distant  objects1 they commonly use them
 instead of spy-glasses4                
------------------                      
,a ,,self-,,taught ,,mechanist4         
,the following description is given of  
an ingenious and singular piece of      
mechanism--constructed by a boy of the  
name of ,john ,young1 who in #ahai      
resided at ,newton-on-,ayr--which       
attracted much notice among the         
scientific of the day3--,a box1 about   
three feet long by two broad1 and  six  
or eight inches deep1 had a frame and   
paper covering erected on it1  in the   
form of a house4 ,on the upper part of  
the box are a number of  wooden figures1
 about two or three inches high1        
representing people  employed in those  
trades and sciences with which the boy  
is familiar4  ,the whole are put in     
motion at the same time by machinery    

within the  box1 acted upon by a handle 
like that of a hand-organ4 ,a weaver    
upon his  loom1 with a fly-shuttle1 uses
 his hands and feet1 and keeps his eye  
upon the shuttle1 as it passes across   
the web4 ,a soldier1 sitting with a     
sailor at a public-house table1 fills a 
glass1 drinks it off1 then  knocks upon 
the table1 upon which an old woman opens
 a door1 makes her  appearance1 and they
 retire4 ,two shoemakers upon their     
stools are seen1  the one beating       
leather1 and the other stitching a shoe4
 ,a  cloth-dresser1 a stone-cutter1 a   
cooper1 a tailor1 a woman churning1 and 
one teasing wool1 are all at work4      
,there is also a carpenter sawing a     
piece of wood1 and two blacksmiths      
beating a piece of iron1 the one  using 
a sledge1 and the other a small hammer2 
a boy turning a  grindstone1 while a man
 grinds an instrument upon it2 and a    
barber  shaving a man1 whom he holds    
fast by the nose with one hand4 ,the boy
 was  only about seventeen years of age 

when he completed this curious work1    
and since the bent of his mind could be 
first marked1 his only amusement  was   
that of working with a knife1 and making
 little mechanical figures4  ,this is   
the more extraordinary1 as he had no    
opportunity whatever of  seeing any     
person employed in a similar way4 ,he   
was bred a weaver with  his father1 and 
since he could be employed at the trade1
 has had no time  for his favourite     
study1 except after the work ceased1 or 
during the  intervals2 and the only tool
 he ever had to assist him was a        
pocket-knife4 ,in his earlier years he  
produced several curiosities on a       
smaller scale2 but the one now described
 is his greatest work1 to which  he     
devoted all his spare time during two   
years4                                  
------------------                      
,,the ,,amsterdam ,,pile4      ,in an   
interesting report on the ,waterstaat of
 the ,netherlands1  presented to the    
,british ,government1 we read3 ,to      

appreciate the beauty  of the ,dutch    
science of hydrodynamics1 it is         
necessary to understand  that1 from     
first to last1 it is a question of      
comparative levels4 ,the  error of a    
centimtre in level might drown a        
province1 or frustrate the  purpose for 
which some canal had been designed4     
,thus it may be said1  without          
exaggeration1 that the most important   
institution in the kingdom  of the      
,netherlands is a certain antiquated    
pile at ,amsterdam--but one of  many    
million pine-trees brought from ,norway1
 on which the city is  perched1--which  
indicates the rise and fall of the outer
 waters of the  ,zuyder ,zee and ,german
 ,ocean4 ,for #bjj years this pile has  
been watched  with anxiety by the       
burghers of the ,netherlands1 and a     
graduated scale  has been marked upon   
it1 in which the mean water level is    
represented by  zero4 ,it is known as   
the ',amsterdamsche ,peil1' and every   
hydraulic  undertaking in the country is

 measured by its standard1 as having a  
level of so many mtres or centimtres    
above or below the usual level of  the  
sea4 ,the initials ,a4 ,p4              
7,amsterdamsche ,peil71 ,o4 ,a4 7,zero  
of  ,amsterdam71 or ,z4 ,p4 7,zero of   
,pile71 are the forms of abbreviation   
most  generally used to represent the   
starting-point in all hydraulic         
calculations2 and one of these1 with the
 signs  and -1 must therefore           
necessarily occur in every intelligible 
description of ,dutch public  works4    
------------------                      
,,the ,,perils ,,of ,,experiment4       
,m4 ,rouelle1 an eminent ,french        
chemist1 was not the most cautious of   
operators4 ,one day1 while performing   
some experiments1 he said to his        
auditors3 ,gentlemen1 you see this      
cauldron upon the brazier2 well1 if ,i  
were to cease stirring for one moment1  
an explosion would ensue1 that  would   
blow us all into the air4 ,the audience 
had scarce had time to  reflect on this 

comfortable piece of information1 when  
the operator  actually did forget to    
stir1 and his prediction was amply      
verified4 ,the  explosion took place    
with a terrible crash2 all the windows  
of the  laboratory were smashed to      
pieces1 and two hundred auditors were   
whirled  away into the garden4          
,fortunately1 no one received any       
serious injury1  the chief violence of  
the explosion having been in the        
direction of the  chimney4 ,the         
demonstrator himself marvellously       
escaped without further  harm than the  
loss of his wig4--,a certain ,scotch    
,professor--not of the  present         
generation--as remarkable for the       
felicity of his  experimentation as     
,rouelle could be for his failures1 was 
once  performing an experiment with some
 combustible materials1 when the        
mixture exploded1 and the phial which he
 held in his hand flew into a  thousand 
pieces4 ,gentlemen1 said the ,doctor to 
his students1 with the  most unaffected 

gravity1 ,i can assure you that ,i have 
performed this  experiment often with   
the same phial1 and never knew it break 
in my  hands before4 ,the simplicity of 
this somewhat superfluous assurance     
gave rise to a general laugh1 in which  
the ,professor1 instantly  discerning   
the cause of it in his own excellent    
,irishism1 most heartily  joined4       
------------------                      
,,the ,,siberian ,,mammoth ,,remains4   
,about #dj1jjj lbs4 of fossil           
ivory--that is to say1 the tusks of at  
least  #ajj ,mammoths--are bartered for 
every year in ,new ,siberia1 so that in 
a  period of #bjj years of trade with   
that country1 the tusks of #bj1jjj      
,mammoths must have been disposed       
of--perhaps even twice that number1     
since only #bjj lbs4 of ivory is        
calculated as the average weight        
produced by one pair of tusks4 ,as many 
as ten of these tusks have been  found  
lying together1 weighing from #aej to   
#cjj lbs4 each4 ,the largest  are rarely

 sent out of the country1 many of them  
being too rotten to be  made use of1    
while others are so large that they     
cannot be carried away1  and are sawn up
 in blocks or slabs on the spot with    
very considerable  waste1 so that the   
loss of weight in the produce of a tusk 
before the  ivory comes to market is of 
no trifling amount4 ,a large portion of 
this  ivory is used by the nomad tribes 
in their sledges1 arms1 and household   
implements1 and formerly a great        
quantity used to be exported to ,china2 
a trade which can be traced back to a   
very distant period4  ,notwithstanding  
the enormous amount already carried     
away1 the stores of  fossil ivory do not
 appear to diminish2 in many places near
 the mouths  of the great rivers flowing
 into the ,arctic ,ocean1 the bones and 
tusks  of these antediluvian pachyderms 
lie scattered about like the relics of  
a ploughed-up battlefield1 while in     
other parts these creatures of a  former
 world seem to have huddled together in 

herds for protection  against the sudden
 destruction that befell them1 since    
their remains are  found lying together 
in heaps4 ,in #ahba1 a hunter from      
,yakutsk1 on the  ,lena1 found in the   
,new ,siberian ,islands alone #ejj poods
 7#ah1jjj lbs4  ,english7 of ,mammoth   
tusks1 none of which weighed more than  
#c poods2 and  this1 notwithstanding    
that another hunter on a previous visit 
in #ahji  had brought away with him #bej
 poods of ivory from the same islands4  
,entire mammoths have occasionally been 
discovered1 not only with the  skin     
7which was protected with a double      
covering of hair and wool7  entire1 but 
with the fleshy portions of the body in 
such a state of  preservation that they 
have afforded food to dogs and wild     
beasts in the  neighbourhood of the     
places where they were found4 ,they     
appear to have  been suddenly enveloped 
in ice1 or to have sunk into mud which  
was on  the point of congealing1 and    
which1 before the process of decay could

  commence1 froze around the bodies1 and
 has preserved them up to the  present  
time in the condition in which they     
perished4 ,it is thus they  are         
occasionally found when a landslip      
occurs in the frozen soil of the        
,siberian coast1 which never thaws1 even
 during the greatest heat of the        
summer1 to a depth of more than #b feet2
 and in this way1 within a period  of a 
century and a half1 five or six of these
 curious corpses have come  to light    
from their icy graves4 ,a very perfect  
specimen of the ,mammoth  in this state 
was discovered in the autumn of #ahfe1  
near the mouth of  the ,jenissei2 an    
expedition was despatched to the spot by
 the ,imperial  ,academy of ,sciences in
 the summer of #ahff1 and the result of 
that  expedition1 it is considered1 will
 be the disclosure of some interesting  
facts in the natural history of a former
 creation4--,mr4 ,lumley's ,report  on  
,russian ,trade4                        
------------------                      

,,velocity ,,of ,,electricity4      ,one
 of our most profound electricians is   
reported to have exclaimed1  ,give me   
but an unlimited length of wire1 with a 
small battery1 and ,i  will girdle the  
universe with a sentence in forty       
minutes4 ,yet this is  no vain boast2   
for so rapid is the transit of the      
electric current along  the lines of the
 telegraph wire1 that1 supposing it were
 possible to  carry the wires eight     
times round the earth1 it would but     
occupy one  second of time4 ,the immense
 velocity of electricity makes it       
impossible  to calculate it by direct   
observation2 it would require to be many
  thousands of leagues long before the  
result could be expressed in the        
fractions of a second4 ,yet ,professor  
,wheatstone devised some apparatus  for 
this purpose1 among which was a double  
metallic mirror1 to which he  gave a    
velocity of eight hundred revolutions in
 a second of time4 ,the  ,professor     
concluded1 from his experiments with    

this apparatus1 that the  velocity of   
electricity through a copper wire1      
one-fifteenth of an inch  thick1 exceeds
 the velocity of light across the       
planetary spaces2 that  it is at least  
#bhh1jjj miles per second4 ,the         
,professor adds1 that the  light of     
electricity1 in a state of great        
intensity1 does not last the  millionth 
part of a second2 but that the eye is   
capable of distinctly  perceiving       
objects which present themselves for    
this short space of  time4              
------------------                      
,,monochromatic ,,painting4      ,a very
 delicate experiment1 yet a very natural
 one1 which ,buffon appears  to have    
first noticed1 led in all probability to
 the invention of the  monochromatic    
mode of painting1 or painting with a    
single colour4 ,if1 at  the moment which
 precedes sunset1 at the close of a     
cloudless day1 a  body is placed near a 
wall1 or against another polished body1 
or on a  smooth chalky soil1 the shadow 

carried by this body is blue1 instead of
  being black or colourless4 ,this      
effect is produced by the light of the  
sun being so weakened1 that the blue    
rays which are reflected from the       
sky--which has always this colour on a  
clear day--fall1 and are again  driven  
back or reflected on that part of the   
wall which the dying light  of the sun  
cannot strike2 for even at its last     
moment1 the light which  falls straight 
and direct1 is sufficiently strong to   
destroy that of the  heavens1 which is  
only reflected1 wherever they meet4     
------------------                      
,,the ,,mariner',s ,,compass4      ,the 
time at which the attractive property of
 the magnet was discovered1  is by no   
means known2 certain1 however1 it is1   
that mankind were  acquainted with it at
 a very early period4 ,father ,kircher  
endeavours to  prove that the ,jews were
 aware of the magnet's singular property
 of  attracting iron2 and from          
,plutarch1 it appears that the          

,egyptians were  not ignorant of it4    
,pythagoras1 ,ptolemy1 and several other
 ancient  philosophers1 knew and admired
 this wonderful property of the magnet4 
,thales and ,anaxagoras were so struck  
with it1 as to imagine that the  magnet 
had a soul2 and ,plato said that the    
cause of its attraction was  divine4    
,but the directive property of the      
magnet was not known to the  ancients4  
,to the simple application of this      
property1 which was either  discovered  
or introduced into ,europe about #ejj   
years ago1 mankind is  indebted         
principally for the discovery of a new  
continent nearly equal  to the old one1 
for an extensive commerce between the   
most distant  nations1 and for an       
accurate knowledge of the shape and size
 of the  world we inhabit4 ,the use of  
the magnetic needle was not known in    
,europe  before the thirteenth century4 
,the honour of its discovery has been   
much  contested2 but by the consent of  
most writers1 it seems to belong to     

,flavio ,gioja of ,amalfi4 ,he lived in 
the reign of ,charles of ,anjou1 who    
died in #acji2 and it was1 it is said1  
in compliment to this ,sovereign  that  
,gioja distinguished the ,north ,pole by
 the emblem of ,france1 the             
fleur-de-lis4 ,du ,halde1 in his book   
upon ,china1 indeed1 intimates that  the
 use of the magnetic needle was known to
 the ancient ,chinese4  ,speaking of the
 ,emperor ,hoang-ti1 when he gave battle
 to ,tchi-,yeou1 he  says3 ,he1         
perceiving that thick fogs saved the    
enemy from his pursuit1  and that the   
soldiers rambled out of the way and lost
 the course of the  wind1 made a car    
which showed them the four cardinal     
points4 ,by this  method he overtook    
,tchi-,yeou1 made him prisoner1 and put 
him to death4  ,some say that there were
 engraven on this car1 on a plate1 the  
characters of a rat and a horse1 and    
underneath was placed a needle to       
determine the four parts of the world4  
,this would amount to the use of  the   

compass1 or something near it1 being of 
great antiquity and well  attested4 ,in 
another place1 speaking of certain      
ambassadors1 ,du ,halde  says3 ,after   
they had their audience of leave1 in    
order to return to  their own country1  
,tcheou-,kong gave them an instrument1  
which on one  side pointed towards the  
north1 and on the opposite side towards 
the  south1 to direct them better on the
 way home1 than they had been  directed 
in coming to ,china4 ,the instrument was
 called ,tchi-ran1 which  is the same   
name as the ,chinese now call the       
sea-compass by2 this has  given occasion
 to think that ,tcheou-,kong was the    
inventor of the  compass4 ,this happened
 in the twenty-second cycle1 about #ajdj
 years  before ,christ2 but1            
notwithstanding the assertions of ,du   
,halde1 strong  reasons have been       
adduced against the mariner's compass   
being known  among the ancient people of
 ,china and of ,arabia4 ,the ,french    
also have  laid claim to the discovery  

of the compass1 and in the ,imperial    
,library  at ,paris there is a poem1    
contained in a curious quarto manuscript
 of  the thirteenth century1 on vellum1 
in which the mariner's compass is       
evidently mentioned2 but still it       
appears that the ,neapolitan1 ,flavio   
,gioja1 if not the original discoverer1 
was at least the first who used  the    
mariner's compass1 or constructed it for
 the use of vessels in the              
,mediterranean4                         
------------------                      
,,the ,,discovery ,,of ,,lithography4   
,the invention1 or more properly the    
discovery1 of lithography1 claims a     
high rank among those of the present    
age1 on account of its extensive        
usefulness4 ,the honour of the invention
 belongs to ,alois ,sennefelder1        
originally a performer at the ,theatre  
,royal of ,munich4 ,he had conceived    
the idea of etching on stone instead of 
on copper1 and was proceeding to  make  
the experiment1 when an accidental      

discovery gave a more beneficial  turn  
to his speculations4 ,the discovery1    
which was that of the  lithographic art1
 has been thus narrated by ,sennefelder 
himself3--    ,i had just succeeded1 in 
my little laboratory1 in polishing a    
stone  plate1 which ,i intended to cover
 with etching ground1 when my mother    
entered the room1 and desired me to     
write her a bill for the  washerwoman1  
who was waiting for the linen4 ,i       
happened not to have even  the smallest 
slip of paper at hand1 as my little     
stock of paper had been  entirely       
exhausted by taking proof impressions   
from the stones2 nor was  there even a  
drop of ink in the ink-stand4 ,as the   
matter would not admit  of delay1 and we
 had nobody in the house to send for a  
supply of the  deficient materials1 ,i  
resolved to write the list with my ink  
prepared  with wax1 soap1 and           
lamp-black1 on the stone which ,i had   
just polished1  and from which ,i could 
copy it at leisure4    ,some time after 

this1 ,i was going to wipe this writing 
from the stone1  when the idea1 all at  
once1 struck me to try what would be the
 effect of  such a writing with my      
prepared ink if ,i were to bite it in   
the stone  with aquafortis2 and whether1
 perhaps1 it might not be possible to   
apply  printing ink to it in the same   
way as to wood engravings1 and to take  
impressions from it4 ,sennefelder       
surrounded the stone with a border of   
wax1 and applied aquafortis1 by which in
 a few minutes the writing was  raised4 
,printing ink was then applied with a   
common printer's ball1  impressions were
 taken off1 and the practicability of   
the important art  of lithography thus  
was fully established4    ,the first    
application of the art to purposes of   
usefulness unconnected  with the fine   
arts1 was made by the ,duke of          
,wellington in the ,peninsular  ,war1   
for the purpose of rapidly multiplying  
copies of general orders1  instructions1
 etc41 and accompanying them with       

sketches of positions4 ,it  has since   
been introduced into the public offices 
of almost every state  in ,europe2 and  
its uses in every department of         
commercial1 social1 and  artistic       
activity are innumerable4               
,,the ,,end4                            
,,murray ,,and ,,gibb1 ,,edinburgh1     
,,printers ,,to ,,her ,,majesty',s      
,,stationery ,,office4                  
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,catalogue ,,of                        
,,popular ,,and ,,standard ,,books      
,,published ,,by                        
,,william ,p4 ,,nimmo1                  
,,edinburgh1                            
,,and ,,sold ,,by ,,all ,,booksellers4  
,illustration                           
,second and ,cheaper ,edition4          
,the ',edina' ,burns4    ,crown #dto1   
beautifully printed on the finest toned 
paper1 and elegantly      bound in cloth
 extra1 gilt edges1 price ,twelve       
,shillings and ,sixpence2      or in    

morocco extra1 ,twenty-five ,shillings4 
,a ,,handsome ,,drawing-,,room ,,edition
 ,,of                            ,,the  
,,poems ,,and ,,songs                   
,,of                                    
,,robert ,,burns4                       
,,with ,,original ,,illustrations ,,by  
,,the ,,most                            
,,distinguished ,,scottish ,,artists4   
,illustration    ',of all the handsome  
reprints of the works of nature's own   
bard1 this  ,edina edition of the ,poems
 and ,songs of ,burns is perhaps the    
handsomest yet produced4 ,beautifully   
printed1 and profusely illustrated  by  
some of the most distinguished of the   
,scotch academicians1 it forms a  shrine
 worthy of the genius of the poet of the
 land of the mountain and  the flood4   
,it is1 as might be expected1 ,scottish 
in every  respect1--printer1 publisher1 
and illustrators2 and as also we think  
it  should2 for with whom could it be so
 much a labour of love to produce a     
first-rate edition as with one of       

,burns's own countrymen8 and who should 
be better able to illustrate the brown  
heath and shaggy wood of  ,scotia's     
scenery than her own sons8'--,the       
,examiner4                              
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s                              
,,large ,,print ,,unabridged            
,,library ,,edition ,,of ,,the          
,,british ,,poets4                      
,,from ,,chaucer ,,to ,,cowper4         
,in ,forty-eight ,vols4 ,demy #hvo1     
,pica ,type1 ,superfine ,paper1 ,elegant
                      ,binding1 price   
#ds4 each ,volume4                      
,the ,text edited by ,,charles ,,cowden 
,,clarke4                  ,with        
,authentic ,portraits engraved on       
,steel4                                 
---------------------               ,the
 following ,works are comprised in the  
,series3--                              
,vols4         ,,wyatt1                 
#a       ,,spenser1                     

#e       ,,shakespeare1 ,,surrey1       
#a       ,,herbert1                     
#a       ,,waller1 ,,denham1            
#a       ,,milton1                      
#b       ,,butler1                      
#b       ,,dryden1                      
#b       ,,prior1                       
#a       ,,thomson1                     
#a       ,,johnson1 ,,parnell1 ,,gray1  
,,smollett1                         #a  
,,pope1                                 
#b       ,,shenstone1                   
#a       ,,akenside1                    
#a       ,,goldsmith1 ,,collins1 ,t4    
,,warton1                            #a 
,,armstrong1 ,,dyer1 ,,green1           
#a       ,,churchill1                   
#a       ,,beattie1 ,,blair1 ,,falconer1
                                 #a     
,,burns1                                
#b       ,,cowper                       
#b       ,,bowles1                      
#b       ,,scott1                       
#c       ,,chaucer',s ,,canterbury      
,,tales1                                

#c       ,,crawshaw1 ,,quarles'         
,,emblems1                              
#a       ,,addison1 ,,gay',s ,,fables1  
,,somerville',s ,,chase1                
#a       ,,young',s ,,night ,,thoughts1 
#a       ,,percy',s ,,reliques ,,of     
,,ancient ,,english ,,poetry1           
#c       ,,specimens1 ,,with ,,lives    
,,of ,,the ,,less ,,known ,,british     
,,poets1    #c       ,h4 ,k4 ,,white    
,,and ,j4 ,,grahame',s ,,poetical       
,,works1              #a        ,any of 
the ,works may be had separately1 price 
#ds4 each ,volume4                      
,,hugh ,,miller',s ,,works4             
,illustration                           
,,cheap ,,popular ,,editions1           
,in crown #hvo1 cloth extra1 price #es4 
each4                                   
,i4                                     
,thirteenth ,edition4                   
,my ,schools and ,schoolmasters2 or1    
,the                           ,story of
 my ,education4    ',a story which we   
have read with pleasure1 and shall      

treasure up in  memory for the sake of  
the manly career narrated1 and the      
glances at  old-world manners and       
distant scenes afforded us by the       
way4'--,athenum4    ,a cheaper edition  
of ',my ,schools and ,schoolmasters' is 
also published1  bound in limp cloth1   
price #bs4 #f;d4                        
,,ii4                                   
,thirty-fourth ,thousand4               
,the ,testimony of the ,rocks2 or1      
,geology        in its ,bearings on the 
,two ,theologies1 ,natural and          
,revealed4                              
,profusely ,illustrated4    ',the most  
remarkable work of perhaps the most     
remarkable man of the  age4444 ,a       
magnificent epic1 and the ,principia of 
,geology4'--,british and  ,foreign      
,evangelical ,review4                   
,,iii4                                  
,ninth ,edition4                        
,the ,cruise of the ,betsey2 or1 ,a     
,summer          ,ramble among the      
,fossiliferous ,deposits of the         

,hebrides4          ,with ,rambles of a 
,geologist2 or1 ,ten ,thousand ,miles   
over                  the ,fossiliferous
 ,deposits of ,scotland4                
,,iv4                      ,sketch-,book
 of ,popular ,geology4                  
,v4                               ,ninth
 ,edition4                  ,first      
,impressions of ,england and its        
,people4    ',this is precisely the kind
 of book we should have looked for from 
the  author of the ,old ,red ,sandstone4
 ,straightforward and earnest in style1 
rich and varied in matter1 these ,first 
,impressions will add another  laurel to
 the wreath which ,mr4 ,miller has      
already won for  himself4'--,westminster
 ,review4          ,a cheaper edition of
 ',first ,impressions of ,england' is   
also               published1 bound in  
limp cloth1 price #bs4 #f;d4            
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,hugh ,,miller',s ,,works4             
,illustration                           

,,cheap ,,popular ,,editions1           
,in crown #hvo1 cloth extra1 price #es4 
each4                                   
,,vi4                                   
,ninth ,edition4                        
,scenes and ,legends of the ,north of   
,scotland2                  ,or1 ,the   
,traditional ,history of ,cromarty4     
,,vii4                                  
,eleventh ,edition4                     
,the ,old ,red ,sandstone2 or1 ,new     
,walks in                   an ,old     
,field4 ,profusely ,illustrated4    ',in
 ,mr4 ,miller's charming little work    
will be found a very graphic            
description of the ,old ,red ,fishes4 ,i
 know not a more fascinating volume  on 
any branch of ,british                  
,geology4'--,mantell's ,medals of       
,creation4                              
,,viii4                                 
,fourth ,edition4                       
,the ,headship of ,christ and the       
,rights of          the ,christian      
,people4 ,with ,preface by ,,peter      

,,bayne1 ,a4,m4                         
,,ix4                                   
,tenth ,edition4                        
,footprints of the ,creator2 or1 ,the   
,asterolepis         of ,stromness4     
,with ,preface and ,notes by ,mrs4      
,,miller1 and a     ,biographical       
,sketch by ,professor ,,agassiz4        
,profusely ,illustrated4    ',mr4       
,miller has brought his subject to the  
point at which science in its  onward   
progress now lands4'--,,agassiz4 ,from  
,preface to ,american ,edition  of the  
',footprints4'                          
,x4                               ,third
 ,edition4                  ,tales and  
,sketches4 ,edited1 with a ,preface1    
by ,mrs4 ,,miller4                      
,,xi4                                   
,third ,edition4                        
,essays3 ,historical and ,biographical1 
,political                    and       
,social1 ,literary and ,scientific4     
,,xii4                                  
,second ,edition4                       

,edinburgh and its ,neighbourhood1      
,geological             and ,historical4
 ,with the ,,geology ,,of ,,the ,,bass  
,,rock4    ,illustration    999999 ,hugh
 ,miller's ,works may also be had in    
complete sets of #ab ,volumes1          
elegantly bound in imitation ,roxburgh1 
gilt top1 price #c1 #abs41 or in        
half-calf extra1 gilt back1 price #d1   
#ajs4                                   
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,p ,o ,p ,u ,l ,a ,r   ,w ,o ,r ,k ,s   
,,by ,,ascott ,r4 ,,hope4       ,second 
and ,cheaper ,edition1 ,crown #hvo1     
cloth extra1 price #cs4 #f;d41          
,a   ,b ,o ,o ,k   ,a ,b ,o ,u ,t   ,d  
,o ,m ,i ,n ,i ,e ,s 3                  
,,being ,,the ,,reflections ,,and       
,,recollections ,,of ,a ,,member        
,,of ,,the ,,profession4    ',a more    
sensible book than this about boys has  
rarely been written1 for  it enters     
practically into all the particulars    
which have to be  encountered amongst   

the young ideas who have to be trained  
for life1  and are too often marred by  
the educational means adopted for their 
early mental development4 ,the writer is
 evidently one of the ,arnold           
school--that prince of                  
schoolmasters--who did more for the     
formation  of the character of his      
pupils than any man that ever           
lived4'--,bell's  ,weekly ,messenger4   
--------------                  ,third  
,edition1 ,crown #hvo1 cloth extra1 #cs4
 #f;d41                    ,a   ,b ,o ,o
 ,k   ,a ,b ,o ,u ,t   ,b ,o ,y ,s 4    
,,by ,,ascott ,r4 ,,hope1 ,author of ',a
 ,book about ,dominies4'                
----------------------------------------
-----------------                       
----------------------------------------
-----------------        ,four ,volumes1
 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #abs41 or    
four volumes bound in                   
two1 ,roxburgh style1                   
,,the ,,people',s ,,edition ,,of        
,t ,y ,t ,l ,e ,r ' ,s                  

,h ,i ,s ,t ,o ,r ,y   ,o ,f   ,s ,c ,o 
,t ,l ,a ,n ,d 4    ',the most brilliant
 age of ,scotland is fortunate in having
 found a  historian whose sound judgment
 is accompanied by a graceful liveliness
  of imagination4 ,we venture to predict
 that this book will soon become1  and  
long remain1 the standard ,history of   
,scotland4'--,quarterly ,review4        
----------------------------------------
-----------------             ,cheap    
,edition1 ,crown #hvo1 cloth extra1     
price #cs4 #f;d41                       
,l ,a ,s ,t   ,l ,e ,a ,v ,e ,s 3       
,,sketches ,,and ,,criticisms4          
,,by ,,alexander ,,smith1               
,author of ',life ,drama1'              
',dreamthorpe1' etc4 etc4               
,edited1 with a ,memoir1 by ,,patrick   
,,proctor ,,alexander1 ,m4,a41          
,author of ',mill and ,carlyle1' etc4   
etc4                                    
----------------------------------------
-----------------             ,second   
,edition1 ,crown #hvo1 cloth extra1     

price #cs4 #f;d41                       
,,family ,,prayers ,,for ,,five ,,weeks1
        ,,with ,,prayers ,,for ,,special
 ,,occasions1 ,,and ,a ,,table ,,for    
,,reading                  ,,the ,,holy 
,,scriptures ,,throughout ,,the ,,year4 
,,by ,w ,i ,l ,l ,i ,a ,m   ,w ,i ,l ,s 
,o ,n1 ,,minister ,,of ,,kippen4        
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s                     ,,library
 ,,edition ,,of ,,standard ,,works1     
,in large ,demy #hvo1 with ,steel       
,portrait and ,vignette1 handsomely     
bound1 ,roxburgh style1 gilt tops1 price
 #es4 each4                        ,i4  
,,vii4          ,,shakespeare',s        
,,complete           ,,swift',s ,,works4
 ,carefully                ,,works4     
,with               selected1 with ,life
 of the        ,biographical ,sketch by 
,,mary        ,author1 and original and 
,c4 ,,clarke2 and a ,copious            
authentic ,notes4                       
,glossary4                              

,,viii4                                 
,,defoe',s ,,works4 ,carefully          
,,ii4                     selected from 
the most             ,,burns',s         
,,complete               authentic      
sources2 with            ,,poetical and 
,,prose                  ,life of       
,author4           ,,works4 ,with ,life 
and              ,variorum ,notes4      
,,ix4                                   
,,smollett',s ,,works4                  
,,iii4                   ,carefully     
selected from the         ,,goldsmith',s
 ,,miscellaneous       most authentic   
sources2 with                  ,,works4 
,life of ,author4                       
,x4                    ,,iv4            
,,the ,,canterbury                      
,,byron',s ,,poetical                   
,,tales ,,and ,,faerie                  
,,works4 ,illustrated by                
,,queen1 with other ,poems              
eminent ,artists4               of      
,,chaucer and ,,spenser4                
,edited for ,popular ,perusal1          

,v4                   with current      
,illustrative and            ,,josephus3
 ,the ,whole               ,explanatory 
,notes4        ,works of ,,flavius      
,,josephus1     the ,jewish ,historian4 
,translated                 ,,xi4       
by ,,whiston4                    ,,the  
,,works ,,of ,,the                      
,,british ,,dramatists4                 
,,vi4                   ,carefully      
selected from the            ,,the      
,,arabian ,,nights'         original    
editions1 with copious                  
,,entertainments4              ,notes1  
,biographies1 and a        ,illustrated 
with upwards of      ,historical        
,introduction1 etc4          #ajj       
original ,engravings        etc4 ,edited
 by ,j4 ,s4 ,,keltie1                   
,editor of ',defoe's ,works1'           
etc4                                    
------------------      999999 ,the     
above ,works may also be had elegantly  
bound in half-calf extra1               
gilt back1 price #hs4 each4             

----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,demy #hvo1 cloth1 price #ajs4 #f;d41   
,,jamieson',s ,,scottish ,,dictionary4  
,abridged from the ,dictionary and      
,supplement 7in #d vols4 #dto71 by      
,,john ,,johnstone4 ,an entirely new    
,edition1 ,revised and ,enlarged1       
by ,,john ,,longmuir1 ,a4,m41 ,,ll4,d41 
formerly ,lecturer in ,king's ,college  
and ,university1 ,aberdeen4             
----------------------------            
,in demy #hvo1 richly bound in cloth and
 gold1 price #fs4 #f;d41                
,,the ,,poetical ,,works ,,of ,,james   
,,thomson4                              
,,edited ,,by ,,charles ,,cowden        
,,clarke4       ,illustrated with choice
 ,full-page ,engravings on ,steel1      
printed in                              
,colours by ,,kronheim  ,,co4           
------------------------------------    
,demy #hvo1 bound1 price #cs4 #f;d41    
,,the ,,mechanic',s ,,and ,,student',s  
,,guide                                 

,,in ,,the             ,,designing ,,and
 ,,construction ,,of ,,general ,,machine
 ,,gearing1        ,as ,eccentrics1     
,screws1 ,toothed ,wheels1 etc41 and the
 ,drawing of     ,rectilineal and       
,curved ,surfaces2 with ,practical      
,rules and ,details4                    
,illustrated with numerous ,original    
,engravings4          ,,edited   ,,by   
,f ,r ,a ,n ,c ,i ,s   ,h ,e ,r ,b ,e ,r
 ,t   ,j ,o ,y ,n ,s ,o ,n1             
,author of ',the ,metals used in        
,construction4'    ',as a whole1 the    
work may be commended for its general   
correctness1  brevity1 neatness1 and the
 way in which it necessitates the       
drawing  forth from the mental stores   
the technical knowledge stowed away as a
  foundation4444 ,we may remark that    
many ,london schools have for some  time
 adopted the examples to be found in    
,mr4 ,joynson's work as exercises  for  
youth1 and that the said youth          
eventually find them of great use4      
,surely this is commendation indeed1 and

 with this we close a brief  notice of a
 very nicely got-up and creditable      
volume4'--,english  ,mechanic4          
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s ,,five ,,shilling            
,,illustrated                           
,,gift-,,books4                         
------------------    ,crown #hvo1      
beautifully printed on superfine paper1 
profusely illustrated      by eminent   
,artists1 and richly bound in cloth and 
gold and gilt      edges1 price #es4    
each4                                   
,i4              ,,sword ,,and ,,pen2   
,or1 ,english ,worthies in the ,reign   
of ,elizabeth4 ,by ,,walter ,,clinton4  
,,ii4              ,,norrie ,,seton2    
,or1 ,driven to ,sea4 ,by ,mrs4 ,george 
,,cupples1 ,author of ',unexpected      
,pleasures1' etc4                       
,,iii4               ,,the ,,circle ,,of
 ,,the ,,year2 ,or1 ,studies of ,nature 
and ,pictures of the ,seasons4 ,by ,w4  
,h4 ,,davenport ,,adams4                

,,iv4                ,,the ,,wealth ,,of
 ,,nature3 ,our ,food ,supplies from    
the ,vegetable ,kingdom4 ,by the ,rev4  
,,john ,,montgomery1 ,a4,m4             
,v4                 ,,stories ,,of      
,,school ,,life4 ,by ,ascott ,r4 ,hope4 
,,vi4                  ,,the ,,battle   
,,history ,,of ,,scotland4 ,tales of    
,chivalry and ,adventure4 ,by ,,charles 
,,alfred ,,maxwell4                     
,,vii4               ,,the ,,sea ,,kings
 ,,of ,,orkney4 ,and other ,historical  
,tales4 ,by the same ,author4           
,,viii4                 ,,english ,,and 
,,scottish ,,chivalry4 ,tales from      
,authentic ,chronicles and ,histories4  
,by the same ,author4                   
,,ix4                ,,the ,,wars ,,of  
,,england ,,and ,,scotland4 ,historical 
,tales of ,bravery and ,heroism4 ,by the
 same ,author4                          
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s ',,carmine' ,,gift-,,books4  
---------------------                   

,i4     ,small #dto1 beautifully printed
 within red lines on superior paper1    
handsomely bound in cloth extra1        
bevelled boards1 gilt edges1 price      
#gs4 #f;d41                             
,,roses ,,and ,,holly3                  
,a ,gift-,book for all the year4        
,with ,original ,illustrations by       
eminent ,artists4           ',this is   
really a collection of art and literary 
gems--the         prettiest book1 take  
it all in all1 that we have seen        
this season4'--,illustrated ,times4     
---------------------                   
,,ii4                   ,uniform with   
the above1 price #gs4 #f;d41            
,,pen ,,and ,,pencil ,,pictures ,,from  
,,the ,,poets4           ,with ,choice  
,illustrations by the most eminent      
,artists4                               
---------------------                   
,,iii4                   ,uniform with  
the above1 price #gs4 #f;d41            
,,gems ,,of ,,literature3               
,,elegant1 ,,rare1 ,,and ,,suggestive4  

,illustrated by distinguished ,artists4 
',for really luxurious books1 ,nimmo's  
,pen and ,pencil ,pictures from the     
,poets and ,gems of ,literature may be  
well recommended4 ,they are  luxurious  
in the binding1 in the print1 in the    
engravings1 and in the                  
paper4'--,morning ,post4                
---------------------                   
,,iv4                   ,uniform with   
the above1 price #gs4 #f;d41            
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,elegant ,,extracts4 
,profusely ,illustrated by the most     
eminent ,artists4                       
---------------------                   
,v4                   ,uniform with the 
above1 price #gs4 #f;d41                
,,the ,,golden ,,gift4                  
,a ,,book ,,for ,,the ,,young4          
,profusely ,illustrated with ,original  
,engravings on ,wood by                 
eminent ,artists4                       
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,just ready4                            

,,entirely ,,new ,,binding1             
,,in ,,cloth ,,extra1 ,,gold ,,and      
,,colours4                              
,,entirely ,,new ,,binding1             
,,in ,,morocco ,,extra ,,illuminated4   
,,nimmo',s ,,popular ,,edition ,,of     
,,the                            ,,works
 ,,of ,,the ,,poets4                    
--------------    ,in fcap4 #hvo1       
printed on toned paper1 elegantly bound 
in cloth extra1      gold and colours1  
price #cs4 #f;d4 each2 or in morocco    
extra1 illuminated1      price #fs4     
#f;d4 each2 or morocco extra1 novel     
prismatic effect      with silk centre1 
entirely new design1 price #gs4 #f;d4   
each4 ,each      ,volume contains a     
,memoir1 and is illustrated with a      
,portrait of      the ,author1 engraved 
on ,steel1 and numerous full-page       
,illustrations      on ,wood1 from      
designs by eminent ,artists4            
,i4                                ,,ix4
       ,longfellow's ,poetical ,works4  
,beattie and ,goldsmith's               

,poetical ,works4                       
,,ii4         ,scott's ,poetical ,works4
                       ,x4              
,pope's ,poetical ,works4               
,,iii4         ,byron's ,poetical       
,works4                      ,,xi4      
,burns's ,poetical ,works4              
,,iv4         ,moore's ,poetical ,works4
                      ,,xii4            
,the ,casquet of ,gems4                 
,v4       ,wordsworth's ,poetical       
,works4                  ,,xiii4        
,the ,book of ,humorous                 
,,vi4                                   
,poetry4         ,cowper's ,poetical    
,works4                                 
,,xiv4                   ,,vii4         
,ballads3 ,scottish and                 
,milton's ,poetical ,works4             
,english4                    ,,viii4    
,,xv4        ,thomson's ,poetical       
,works4            ,the ,complete ,works
 of                                     
,shakespeare4                           
,two ,volumes1 price #cs4 #f;d4 each4   

----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s ,,popular ,,edition ,,of     
,,the ,,works                           
,,of ,,the ,,poets--continued4          
------------------                      
,,xvi4            ,the ,arabian ,nights'
                     ,,xviii4           
,entertainments4                ,lives  
of the ,british     ,two ,volumes1 price
 #cs4 #f;d4 each4               ,poets4 
,,xvii4                                 
,,xix4        ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's      
,progress           ,the ,prose ,works  
of               and ,holy ,war4        
,robert ,burns4                         
---------------------    999999 ,this   
,series of ,books1 from the very        
superior manner in which it  is         
produced1 is at once the cheapest and   
handsomest edition of the ,poets  in the
 market4 ,the volumes form elegant and  
appropriate presents as  ,school ,prizes
 and ,gift-,books1 either in cloth or   
morocco4    ',they are a marvel of      

cheapness1 some of the volumes extending
 to  as many as #gjj1 and even #ijj1    
pages1 printed on toned paper in a      
beautifully clear type4 ,add to this1   
that they are profusely illustrated     
with wood engravings1 are elegantly and 
tastefully bound1 and that  they are    
published at #cs4 #f;d4 each1 and our   
recommendation of them is               
complete4'--,scotsman4                  
----------------------------------------
------------------------                
,,nimmo',s ,,favourite ,,gift-,,books4  
,in small #hvo1 ,illustrated1 printed on
 toned paper1 richly bound in cloth     
and gold and gilt edges1 with new and   
original ,frontispiece1      printed in 
colours by ,,kronheim1 price #bs4 #f;d4 
each4                      ,i4          
,,iv4         ,the ,vicar of ,wakefield4
                 sop's ,fables1         
,poems and ,essays4            ,with    
,instructive ,applications4             
,,by ,,oliver ,,goldsmith4              
,,by ,,dr4 ,,croxall4                   

,,ii4                                   
,v4       ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's          
,progress4         ,the ,history of     
,sandford                               
and ,merton4                   ,,iii4   
,the ,life and ,adventures              
,,vi4           of ,robinson ,crusoe4   
,evenings at ,home2                     
,or1 ,the ,juvenile ,budget ,opened4    
999999 ,the above are very elegant and  
remarkably cheap editions of these old  
favourite ,works4                       
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,completion ,,of ,,the ,,copyright     
,,edition ,,of                          
,,wilson',s                             
,,tales ,,of ,,the ,,borders4           
,,edited ,,by ,,alexander ,,leighton1   
,one of the ,original ,editors and      
,contributors4      ,in announcing the  
completion of the ,copyright ,edition of
 the ,,border  ,,tales1 the ,publisher  
does not consider it necessary to say   
anything in  recommendation of a work   

which has stood the test of a general   
competition1 and which has increased in 
public favour with its years4  ,equally 
suited to all classes of readers1 it has
 been received with  delight in the     
school-room1 the drawing-room1 the      
parlour1 and the  village reading-room4 
,many of the ,tales have been publicly  
read4 ,the  high tone of its morality   
renders it an admirable small library   
for  young members of the family4       
,the new ,copyright ,edition will       
contain four additional ,volumes1 now   
first published1 which will complete the
 work4 ,it will be issued in            
,twenty-four ,monthly ,volumes1 price   
#as4 each1 sewed in elegant wrapper1    
commencing ,march #ast1 #ahfi4 ,but at  
the same time the entire work will be   
kept on sale1 so that all who desire to 
possess it--either complete1 or  any    
separate volume thereof--can be supplied
 at once4 ,each volume is  complete in  
itself1 forming an independent          
collection of stories4 ,the  work may   

also be had in ,twelve ,double ,volumes1
 handsomely bound in  cloth1 price #cs4 
each1 or in ,roxburgh gilt top1 for     
libraries1 etc41  price #ds4 #f;d4 each4
    ,those who already possess the first
 twenty ,volumes are recommended to     
complete their sets by purchasing the   
four ,new ,volumes1 the last of  which  
will contain a ,steel ,portrait of the  
,editor and principal  contributor1     
,alexander ,leighton1 with a copious    
,glossary4                              
----------------------------            
,crown #hvo1 cloth extra1 price #cs41   
,,triumph3                     ,the     
,christian more than ,conqueror4        
,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,george ,,philip1    
,m4,a41 ,,free ,,st4 ,,john',s          
,,church1 ,,edinburgh4    ',we have1 in 
this little volume1 a very gem of       
scriptural1 ,christian  thoughtfulness1 
of sagacious ,christian joyfulness1 of  
cultured  intellect1 of purest literary 
taste1 and of finest genuine            
feeling4'--,british and ,foreign        

,evangelical ,review4                   
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s                      ,,handy 
,,books ,,of ,,useful ,,knowledge4      
,foolscap #hvo1 uniformly bound in cloth
 extra4                          ,,price
 ,,one ,,shilling ,,each4               
------------------                      
,i4                             ,,the   
,,earth',s ,,crust4       ,a ,handy     
,outline of ,geology4 ,with numerous    
,illustrations4 ,third         ,edition4
 ,by ,,david ,,page1 ,,ll4,d41          
,f4,r4,s4,e41 ,f4,g4,s41 ,author of     
',text-,books of ,geology and ,physical 
,geography1' etc4                       
,,ii4                         ,,poultry 
,,as ,a ,,meat ,,supply3    ,being      
,hints to ,henwives how to ,rear and    
,manage ,poultry ,economically          
and ,profitably4 ,fourth ,edition4 ,by  
the ,author of ',the                    
,poultry ,kalendar4'                    
,,iii4                         ,,how    

,,to ,,become ,a ,,successful           
,,engineer3       ,being ,hints to      
,youths intending to adopt the          
,profession4 ,third                     
,edition4 ,by ,,bernard ,,stuart1       
,engineer4                              
,,iv4                                   
,,rational ,,cookery3       ,cookery    
made ,practical and ,economical1 in     
connection with the                     
,chemistry of ,food4 ,fifth ,edition4   
,by ,,hartelaw ,,reid4                  
,v4                                     
,,domestic ,,medicine3    ,plain and    
,brief ,directions for the ,treatment   
requisite before ,advice          can be
 obtained4 ,second ,edition4 ,by        
,,offley ,,bohun ,,shore1     ,doctor of
 ,medicine of the ,university of        
,edinburgh1 etc4 etc4 etc4              
,,vi4                                   
,,domestic ,,management3       ,hints on
 the ,training and ,treatment of        
,children and ,servants4                
,by ,,mrs4 ,,charles ,,doig4            

,,vii4                                  
,,free-,,hand ,,drawing3        ,a      
,guide to ,ornamental1 ,figure1 and     
,landscape ,drawing4 ,by an             
,,art ,,student1 ,author of ',ornamental
 and ,figure ,drawing4'                 
,profusely ,illustrated4                
,,viii4                      ,,the      
,,metals ,,used ,,in ,,construction3    
,iron1 ,steel1 ,bessemer ,metal1 etc4   
etc4 ,by ,,francis ,,herbert ,,joynson4 
,illustrated4                           
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------    ,new
 series of ,choice ,books1 beautifully  
printed on superfine paper1  profusely  
,illustrated with original ,engravings  
by the first ,artists1 and  elegantly   
bound in cloth and gold1 large crown    
#hvo1 price #fs4 each1  entitled1       
,,nimmo',s ,,select ,,library4          
,i4            ,almost ,faultless3 ,a   
,story of the ,present ,day4 ,by the    
,author of ',a ,book for ,governesses4' 
,,ii4           ,before the ,conquest2  

or1 ,english ,worthies in the ,olden    
,time4 ,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,davenport ,,adams4 
,illustration                           
999999 ,,other ,,volumes ,,uniform ,,in 
,,progress4                             
----------------------------------------
------------------------                
,,nimmo',s ,,universal ,,gift-,,books4  
,a ,series of excellent ,works1         
profusely ,illustrated with original    
,engravings by the first ,artists1      
choicely printed on superfine paper1    
and elegantly bound in cloth and gold1  
crown #hvo1 price #cs4 #f;d4 each4      
,i4          ,rupert ,rochester1 the    
,banker's ,son4 ,a ,tale4 ,by ,winifred 
,,taylor1 ,author of ',story of ,two    
,lives1' etc4 etc4                      
,,ii4            ,the ,story of ,two    
,lives2 or1 ,the ,trials of ,wealth and 
,poverty4 ,by ,,winifred ,,taylor1      
,author of ',rupert ,rochester1'        
etc4                                    
,,iii4           ,the ,lost ,father2 or1
 ,cecilia's ,triumph4 ,a ,story of our  

own ,day4 ,by ,,daryl ,,holme4          
,,iv4       ,christian ,osborne's       
,friends4 ,by ,mrs4 ,harriet ,miller    
,davidson1         ,author of ',isobel  
,jardine's ,history1' and ,daughter of  
the                             late    
,hugh ,miller4                          
,v4         ,tales of ,old ,english     
,life2 or1 ,pictures of the ,period4 ,by
       ,,william ,,francis ,,collier1   
,,ll4,d41 ,author of ',history of       
,english                                
,literature1' etc4    ,illustration     
999999 ,,other ,,volumes ,,uniform ,,in 
,,progress4                             
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,popular ,works by the ,author of       
',heaven our ,home4'                    
------------------                      
,i4                          ,,one      
,,hundredth ,,thousand4                 
,crown #hvo1 cloth antique1 price #cs4  
#f;d41                                  
,,heaven ,,our ,,home4    ',the author  

of the volume before us endeavours to   
describe what heaven  is1 as shown by   
the light of reason and ,scripture2 and 
we promise the  reader many charming    
pictures of heavenly bliss1 founded upon
 undeniable  authority1 and described   
with the pen of a dramatist1 which      
cannot fail  to elevate the soul as well
 as to delight the imagination4444 ,part
  ,second proves1 in a manner as        
beautiful as it is convincing1 the      
,,doctrine ,,of ,,the ,,recognition ,,of
 ,,friends ,,in ,,heaven1--a subject of 
which  the author makes much1           
introducing many touching scenes of     
,scripture  celebrities meeting in      
heaven and discoursing of their         
experience on  earth4 ,part ,third      
,,demonstrates ,,the ,,interest ,,which 
,,those ,,in ,,heaven ,,feel  ,,in      
,,earth1 ,,and ,,proves1 ,,with         
,,remarkable ,,clearness1 ,,that ,,such 
,,an ,,interest  ,,exists ,,not ,,only  
,,with ,,the ,,almighty ,,and ,,among   
,,the ,,angels1 ,,but ,,also ,,among    

,,the ,,spirits ,,of ,,departed         
,,friends4 ,we unhesitatingly give our  
opinion that  this volume is one of the 
most delightful productions of a        
religious  character which has appeared 
for some time2 and we would desire to   
see  it pass into extensive             
circulation4'--,glasgow ,herald4        
--------------                          
,a ,cheap ,edition of                   
,,heaven ,,our ,,home1        ,in crown 
#hvo1 cloth limp1 price #as4 #f;d41 is  
also published4    ,illustration        
,,ii4                                   
,,twenty-,,ninth ,,thousand4            
,crown #hvo1 cloth antique1 price #cs4  
#f;d41                                  
,,meet ,,for ,,heaven4    ',the author1 
in his or her former work1 ,heaven our  
,home1 portrayed a  ,,social ,,heaven1  
,,where ,,scattered ,,families ,,meet   
,,at ,,last ,,in ,,loving  ,,intercourse
 ,,and ,,in ,,possession ,,of ,,perfect 
,,recognition1 to spend a  never-ending 
eternity of peace and love4 ,in the     

present work the  individual state of   
the children of ,god is attempted to be 
unfolded1 and  more especially the state
 of probation which is set apart for    
them on  earth to fit and prepare erring
 mortals for the society of the         
saints4444 ,the work1 as a whole1       
displays an originality of conception1  
a flow of language1 and a closeness of  
reasoning rarely found in  religious    
publications4444 ,the author combats the
 pleasing and generally  accepted       
belief1 that ,,death ,,will ,,effect    
,,an ,,entire ,,change ,,on ,,the       
,,spiritual ,,condition ,,of ,,our      
,,souls1 and that all who enter into    
bliss will  be placed on a common       
level4'--,glasgow ,herald4              
--------------                          
,a ,cheap ,edition of                   
,,meet ,,for ,,heaven1        ,in crown 
#hvo1 cloth limp1 price #as4 #f;d41 is  
also published4                         
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        

,,iii4                                  
,,twenty-,,first ,,thousand4            
,crown #hvo1 cloth antique1 price #cs4  
#f;d41                                  
,,life ,,in ,,heaven4          ,,there1 
,,faith ,,is ,,changed ,,into ,,sight1  
,,and ,,hope ,,is ,,passed ,,into       
,,blissful ,,fruition4    ',this is     
certainly one of the most remarkable    
works which have been  issued from the  
press during the present generation2 and
 we have no  doubt it will prove as     
acceptable to the public as the two     
attractive  volumes to which it forms an
 appropriate and beautiful              
sequel4'--,cheltenham ,journal4    ',we 
think this work well calculated to      
remove many erroneous ideas  respecting 
our future state1 and to put before its 
readers such an idea  of the reality of 
our existence there1 as may tend to make
 a future  world more desirable and more
 sought for than it is at               
present'--,cambridge ,university        
,chronicle4    ',this1 like its         

companion works1 ,heaven our ,home1 and 
,meet for  ,heaven1 needs no            
adventitious circumstances1 no prestige 
of literary  renown1 to recommend it to 
the consideration of the reading public1
 and1  like its predecessors1 will no   
doubt circulate by tens of thousands    
throughout the land4'--,glasgow         
,examiner4                              
--------------                          
,a ,cheap ,edition of                   
,,life ,,in ,,heaven1        ,in crown  
#hvo1 cloth limp1 price #as4 #f;d41 is  
also published4    ,illustration        
,,iv4                                   
,,seventh ,,thousand4                   
,crown #hvo1 cloth antique1 price #cs4  
#f;d41                                  
,,christ',s ,,transfiguration2          
,,or1 ,,tabor',s ,,teachings4    ',the  
work opens up to view a heaven to be    
prized1 and a home to be  sought for1   
and presents it in a cheerful and       
attractive aspect4 ,the  beauty and     
elegance of the language adds grace and 

dignity to the  subject1 and will tend  
to secure to it the passport to public  
favour so  deservedly merited and       
obtained by the author's former         
productions4'--,montrose ,standard4     
',a careful reading of this volume will 
add immensely to the interest of  the   
,new ,testament narrative of the        
,transfiguration1 and so far will       
greatly promote our personal interest in
 the will of ,god as revealed in  his   
word4'--,wesleyan ,times4               
--------------                          
,a ,cheap ,edition of                   
,,christ',s ,,transfiguration1          
,in crown #hvo1 cloth limp1 price #as4  
#f;d41 is also published4               
-------------------------    999999     
,aggregate ,sale of the above ,popular  
,works1 #aeg1jjj copies4 ,in addition   
to this1 they have been reprinted and   
extensively circulated in ,america4     
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s ,,presentation ,,series ,,of 

,,standard ,,works4                     
---------------------     ,in small     
,crown #hvo1 printed on toned paper1    
bound in cloth extra1 gilt              
edges1 bevelled boards1 with ,portrait  
engraved on ,steel1                     
price #cs4 #f;d4 each4                  
,i4                              ,,vii4 
,,wisdom1 ,,wit1 ,,and ,,allegory4      
,,the ,,mirror ,,of ,,character4        
,selected from ',the ,spectator4'       
,,selected ,,from ,,the ,,writings ,,of 
,,overbury1 ,,earle1 ,,and ,,butler4    
,,ii4             ,,benjamin ,,franklin3
                     ,,viii4            
,a ,,biography4            ,m ,e ,n   ,o
 ,f   ,h ,i ,s ,t ,o ,r ,y 4            
,by ,eminent ,writers4                  
,,iii4              ,,the ,,world',s    
,,way3                       ,,ix4      
,,lays ,,of ,,life ,,and ,,labour4      
,,old ,,world ,,worthies2               
,,or1 ,,classical ,,biography4          
,,iv4                         ,,selected
 ,,from            ,,travels ,,in       

,,africa4              ,,plutarch',s    
,,lives4          ,,the ,,life ,,and    
,,travels ,,of                ,,mungo   
,,park4       ,with a ,supplementary    
,chapter1                  ,x4          
detailing the results of recent         
,,the ,,man ,,of ,,business             
,discovery in ,africa4                  
,considered in ,six ,aspects4           
,a ,,book ,,for ,,young ,,men4          
,v4                  ,,wallace1         
,,xi4           ,,the ,,hero ,,of       
,,scotland3              ,,women ,,of   
,,history4                ,a            
,,biography4                 ,by        
,eminent ,writers4             ,by      
,james ,paterson4                       
,,xii4                    ,,vi4         
,,the ,,improvement ,,of ,,the ,,mind4  
,,epoch ,,men1                    ,by   
,isaac ,watts4          ,,and ,,the     
,,results ,,of ,,their                  
,,lives4              ,by ,samuel ,neil4
    999999 ,this elegant and useful     
,series of ,books has been specially    

prepared  for ,school and ,college      
,prizes3 they are1 however1 equally     
suitable for  ,general ,presentation4   
,in selecting the works for this        
,series1 the aim of  the publisher has  
been to produce books of a permanent    
value1  interesting in manner and       
instructive in matter--books that youth 
will  read eagerly and with profit1 and 
which will be found equally attractive  
in after life4                          
----------------------------------------
--------------------------------        
,,nimmo',s ,,half-,,crown ,,reward      
,,books4        ,extra ,foolscap #hvo1  
cloth elegant1 gilt edges1 ,illustrated1
                            price #bs4  
#f;d4 each4                     ,i4     
,v4       ,memorable ,wars of ,scotland4
               ,home ,heroines3         
,,by                           ,tales   
for ,girls4    ,,patrick ,,fraser       
,,tytler1 ,f4,r4,s4,e41            ,,by 
,t4 ,s4 ,,arthur4    ,author of         
',history of ,scotland1'                

etc4                                    
,,vi4                                   
,lessons from ,women's ,lives4          
,,by ,,sarah ,j4 ,,hale4                
,,ii4            ,seeing the ,world3    
,,vii4       ,a ,young ,sailor's ,own   
,story4            ,the ,roseville      
,family3          ,,by ,,charles        
,,nordhoff4              ,an ,historical
 ,tale of the                           
,eighteenth ,century4                   
,,by ,,mrs4 ,a4 ,s4 ,,orr4              
,,iii4         ,the ,martyr ,missionary3
                       ,,viii4          
,five ,years in ,china4                 
,leah3      ,,by ,,rev4 ,,charles ,p4   
,,bush1 ,m4,a4       ,a ,tale of        
,ancient ,palestine4                    
,,by ,,mrs4 ,a4 ,s4 ,,orr4              
,,iv4                                   
,,ix4              ,my ,new ,home3      
,champions of the ,reformation4         
,a ,woman's ,diary4               ,the  
,stories of ,their ,lives4              
----------------------------------------

------------------------                
,,nimmo',s ,,two ,,shilling ,,reward    
,,books4    ,foolscap #hvo1             
,illustrated1 elegantly bound in cloth  
extra1 bevelled          boards1 gilt   
back and side1 gilt edges1 price #bs4   
each4                        ,i4        
,,vi4                ,the ,far ,north4  
,a ,father's ,legacy to his             
,daughters2 etc4                        
,,ii4         ,the ,young ,men of the   
,bible4                ,,vii4           
,great ,men of ,european ,history4      
,,iii4            ,the ,blade and the   
,ear4                 ,,viii4           
,mountain ,patriots3                    
,,iv4              ,monarchs of ,ocean4 
,,ix4                                   
,labours of ,love3                      
,v4                   ,a ,tale for the  
,young4          ,life's ,crosses1 and  
,how to                  ,meet them4    
,x4                                     
,mossdale3                              
,a ,tale for the ,young4                

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,,nimmo',s ,,eighteenpenny ,,reward     
,,books4    ,demy #ahmo1 ,illustrated1  
cloth extra1 gilt edges1 price #as4     
#f;d4 each4                     ,i4     
,,vi4         ,the ,vicar of ,wakefield4
             ,the ,boy's ,own ,workshop4
            ,poems and ,essays4         
,,by ,,jacob ,,abbott4          ,,by    
,,oliver ,,goldsmith4                   
,,vii4                   ,,ii4          
,the ,life and ,adventures of           
sop's ,fables1                          
,robinson ,crusoe4     ,with            
,instructive ,applications4             
,,by ,,dr4 ,,croxall4                   
,,viii4                                 
,the ,history of ,sandford              
,,iii4                             and  
,merton4      ,bunyan's ,pilgrim's      
,progress4                              
,,ix4                   ,,iv4           
,evenings at ,home2         ,the ,young 
,man-of-,war's          ,or1 ,the       

,juvenile ,budget ,opened4              
,man4     ,a ,boy's ,voyage round the   
,world4                   ,x4           
,unexpected ,pleasures4                 
,v4                    ,by ,,mrs4       
,,george ,,cupples1 ,author        ,the 
,treasury of ,anecdote3         of ',the
 ,little ,captain1' etc4          ,moral
 and ,religious4                        
--------------    999999 ,the above     
,series of elegant and useful books is  
specially prepared for  the             
entertainment and instruction of young  
persons4                                
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,,nimmo',s ,,sunday ,,school ,,reward   
,,books4    ,fcap4 #hvo1 cloth extra1   
gilt edges1 ,illustrated1 price #as4    
#f;d4 each4                       ,i4   
,v4            ,bible ,blessings4       
,lessons from ,rose ,hill4         ,,by 
,,rev4 ,,richard ,,newton4              
,,vi4                   ,,ii4           
,great and ,good ,women4            ,one

 ,hour a ,week3     ,fifty-two ,bible   
,lessons for the                  ,,vii4
                 ,young4                
,at ,home and ,abroad4                  
,,iii4                                  
,,viii4            ,the ,best ,things4  
,the ,kind ,governess4         ,,by     
,,rev4 ,,richard ,,newton4              
,,ix4                   ,,iv4           
,christmas at the ,beacon3              
,grace ,harvey and her                ,a
 ,tale for the ,young4                  
,cousins4                               
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,,nimmo',s ,,one ,,shilling ,,juvenile  
,,books4      ,foolscap #hvo1 ,coloured 
,frontispiece1 handsomely bound in      
cloth1                                  
,illuminated1 price #as4 each4          
,i4                                     
,,vii4      ,four ,little ,people and   
their          ,the ,perils of          
,greatness4                ,friends4    
,,viii4                   ,,ii4         

,little ,crowns1 and ,how to            
,elizabeth2                             
,win ,them4       ,or1 ,the ,exiles of  
,siberia4                               
,,ix4                  ,,iii4           
,great ,riches4           ,paul and     
,virginia4                              
,x4                   ,,iv4             
,the ,right ,way1 and                   
,little ,threads4                       
the ,contrast4                       ,v4
                                  ,,xi4 
,benjamin ,franklin4               ,the 
,daisy's ,first ,winter4                
,,vi4                                   
,,xii4              ,barton ,todd4      
,the ,man of the ,mountain4             
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,,nimmo',s ,,sixpenny ,,juvenile        
,,books4       ,demy #ahmo1             
,illustrated1 handsomely bound in cloth1
 gilt side1                        gilt 
edges1 price #f;d4 each4                
,i4                                     

,,vii4        ,pearls for ,little       
,people4        ,story ,pictures from   
the ,bible4                       ,,ii4 
,,viii4            ,great ,lessons for  
,the ,tables of ,stone4                 
,little ,people4                        
,,ix4                  ,,iii4           
,ways of ,doing ,good4                  
,reason in ,rhyme4                      
,x4                   ,,iv4             
,stories about our ,dogs4        sop's  
,little ,fable ,book4                   
,,xi4                   ,v4             
,the ,red-,winged ,goose4       ,grapes 
from the ,great ,vine4                  
,,xii4                   ,,vi4          
,the ,hermit of the ,hills4             
,the ,pot of ,gold4    ,illustration    
,,nimmo',s ,,fourpenny ,,juvenile       
,,books4    ,the above ,series of ,books
 is also done up in elegant ,enamelled  
,paper          ,covers1 beautifully    
printed in ,colours1 price #d;d4 each4  
----------    999999 ,the distinctive   
features of the ,new ,series of         

,sixpenny and ,one  ,shilling ,juvenile 
,books are3 ,the ,subjects of each      
,volume have been  selected with a due  
regard to ,instruction and              
,entertainment2 they are  well printed  
on fine paper1 in a superior manner2 the
 ,shilling ,series is  ,illustrated with
 ,frontispieces printed in ,colours2 the
 ,sixpenny ,series  has beautiful       
,engravings2 and they are elegantly     
bound4                                  
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,,nimmo',s ,,popular ,,religious        
,,gift-,,books4                         
------------------     #ahmo1 finely    
printed on toned paper1 handsomely bound
 in cloth extra1              bevelled  
boards1 gilt edges1 price #as4 #f;d4    
each4                                   
,i4                 ,across the ,river3 
,twelve ,views of ,heaven4          ,by 
,,norman ,,macleod1 ,d4,d42 ,r4 ,w4     
,,hamilton1 ,d4,d42 ,,robert ,s4        
,,candlish1 ,d4,d42 ,,james ,,hamilton1 

,d4,d42 etc4 etc4 etc4    ',a more      
charming little work has rarely fallen  
under our notice1 or one  that will more
 faithfully direct the steps to that    
better land it should  be the aim of all
 to seek4'--,bell's ,messenger4         
,,ii4                   ,emblems of     
,jesus2 or1 ,illustrations of           
,emmanuel's ,character and ,work4       
,,iii4                    ,life         
,thoughts of ,eminent ,christians4      
,,iv4                  ,comfort for the 
,desponding2 or1 ,words to              
,soothe and ,cheer ,troubled ,hearts4   
,v4              ,the ,chastening of    
,love2 or1 ,words of ,consolation       
to the ,christian ,mourner4 ,by ,,joseph
 ,,parker1 ,d4,d41                      
,manchester4                            
,,vi4                 ,the ,cedar       
,christian4 ,by the ,rev4 ,theodore     
,l4 ,,cuyler4                           
,,vii4                 ,consolation for 
,christian ,mothers bereaved            
,,of ,,little ,,children4 ,,by ,a       

,,friend ,,of ,,mourners4               
,,viii4                  ,the ,orphan2  
or1 ,words of ,comfort for the          
,fatherless and ,motherless4            
,,ix4                 ,gladdening       
,streams2 or1 ,the ,waters of the       
,sanctuary4 ,a ,book for ,fragments of  
,time on each ,lord's ,day              
of the ,year4                           
,x4                         ,spirit of  
the ,old ,divines4                      
,,xi4                   ,choice         
,gleanings from ,sacred ,writers4       
,,xii4                 ,direction in    
,prayer4 ,by ,peter ,grant1 ,d4,d41     
,author of ',emblems of ,jesus1' etc4   
,,xiii4                  ,scripture     
,imagery4 ,by ,peter ,grant1 ,d4,d41    
,author of ',emblems of ,jesus1' etc4   
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,popular ,religious ,works1             
,,suitable ,,for ,,presentation4        
------------------                      
,i4          ,foolscap #hvo1 handsomely 

bound in cloth extra1 antique1          
price #bs4 #f;d41                       
,,christian ,,comfort4                  
,,by ,,the ,,author ,,of ',,emblems ,,of
 ,,jesus4'                              
,,ii4              ,by the same ,author1
 uniform in style and price1            
,,light ,,on ,,the ,,grave4             
,,iii4                        ,uniform  
in style and price1                     
,,glimpses ,,of ,,the ,,celestial       
,,city1                       ,,and     
,,guide ,,to ,,the ,,inheritance4       
,with ,introduction by the              
,,rev4 ,,john ,,macfarlane1 ,,ll4,d41   
,,clapham1 ,,london4                    
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-----------------                 ,crown
 #dto1 cloth extra1 gilt edges1 price   
#fs41                           ,,the   
,,national ,,melodist4       ,,two      
,,hundred ,,standard ,,songs1 ,,with    
,,symphonies ,,and ,,accompaniments     
,,for ,,the ,,pianoforte4               
,edited by ,j4 ,c4 ,,kieser4            

--------------               ,demy #dto1
 cloth extra1 gilt edges1 price #cs4    
#f;d41                           ,,the  
,,scottish ,,melodist4                  
,,forty-,,eight ,,scottish ,,songs ,,and
 ,,ballads1 ,,with ,,symphonies ,,and   
,,accompaniments ,,for ,,the            
,,pianoforte4                           
,edited by ,j4 ,c4 ,,kieser4    ,the    
above two volumes are very excellent    
,collections of ,first-class  ,music4   
,the arrangements and accompaniments1 as
 the name of the ,editor  will          
sufficiently testify1 are admirable4    
,they form handsome and  suitable       
presentation volumes4                   
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,,nimmo',s ,,instructive ,,and          
,,entertaining                          
,,anecdote ,,books4      ,foolscap #hvo1
 elegantly printed on superfine paper1  
and richly bound             in cloth   
and gold and gilt edges1 price #bs4     
each4          ,i4    ,,books ,,and     

,,authors4                   ,,curious  
,,facts ,,and ,,characteristic          
,,sketches4          ,,ii4    ,,law     
,,and ,,lawyers4                        
,,curious ,,facts ,,and ,,characteristic
 ,,sketches4          ,,iii4    ,,art   
,,and ,,artists4                        
,,curious ,,facts ,,and ,,characteristic
 ,,sketches4          ,,iv4             
,,invention ,,and ,,discovery4          
,,curious ,,facts ,,and ,,characteristic
 ,,sketches4          ,v4    ,,omens    
,,and ,,superstitions4                  
,,curious ,,facts ,,and ,,illustrative  
,,sketches4          ,,vi4              
,,clergymen ,,and ,,doctors4            
,,curious ,,facts ,,and ,,characteristic
 ,,sketches4    ',this series seems well
 adapted to answer the end proposed by  
the  publisher--that of providing1 in a 
handy form1 a compendium of wise and    
witty sayings1 choice anecdotes1 and    
memorable facts4'--,the  ,bookseller4   
,,nimmo',s ,,pocket ,,treasuries4       
,miniature #dto1 choicely printed on the

 finest toned paper1 and beautifully    
bound in a new style1 cloth1 price #as4 
each4 ,the ,complete        ,set in an  
elegant ,box1 price #gs4 #f;d4 each4    
,i4                        ,,iv4        
,a ,treasury of ,table         ,the     
,table ,talk                            
,talk4              of ,samuel ,johnson1
                                        
,,ll4,d4                          ,,ii4 
,v4                     ,epigrams       
,gleanings               and ,literary  
,follies4     from the ,comedies of     
,shakespeare4                           
,,iii4                       ,,vi4      
,a ,treasury of ,poetic                 
,beauties of the                        
,gems4              ,british            
,dramatists4      ',a charming little   
,series1 well edited and printed4 ,more 
thoroughly  readable little books it    
would be hard to find2 there is no      
padding in  them1 all is epigram1 point1
 poetry1 or sound common                
sense4'--,publisher's ,circular4        

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,in square #hvo1 richly bound in cloth  
and gold1 price #cs41                   
,,the ,,loves ,,of ,,rose ,,pink ,,and  
,,sky ,,blue1                      ,,and
 ,,other ,,stories ,,told ,,to          
,,children4                       ,by   
,,william ,,francis ,,collier1 ,,ll4,d41
                ,author of ',tales of   
,old ,english ,life1' etc4 etc4         
,profusely ,illustrated with ,original  
humorous ,illustrations on ,wood4       
',it is a clever book by a clever man4  
,there is a mind in every page1 and  the
 illustrations show that the artist     
appreciates the humour of the           
author4'--,daily ,news4    ',a fanciful 
and eccentric title for some very good  
fairy tales told to  the little         
ones4'--,the ,times4    ',the prose and 
verse stories in this very handsome     
volume are of a  healthy kind1 and well 
calculated to compass the object for    
which they  have been written1 namely1  

the amusement of our young folk4'--,the 
,examiner4    ',the ,loves of ,rose     
,pink and ,sky ,blue1 and other ,stories
 told to  ,children1 by ,dr4 ,w4 ,f4    
,collier1 is one of the most pleasant   
contributions to this season's          
literature which comes from the far     
north4 ,it is genial in its purpose1    
pleasant in its details1 and natural  in
 its composition4'--,bell's ,messenger4 
,second ,edition1 enlarged1 price #cs41 
richly bound1                    ,,story
 ,,of ,,the ,,kings ,,of ,,judah ,,and  
,,israel4                               
,,written ,,for ,,children4             
,by ,a4 ,o4 ,b4                         
,illustrated with ,full-page ,engravings
 and ,map4    ',we have been much       
pleased with the ,story of the ,kings of
 ,judah1 which  will prove a real boon  
to children1 who so often are compelled 
to puzzle  their little brains over the 
history of the ,kings of ,judah and     
,israel1  with the vaguest possible idea
 of what it all means4 ,this little work

  gives the best and clearest account we
 have ever seen1 as adapted to the      
comprehension of children2 and the      
author is evidently one who has been    
accustomed to the training of young     
minds1 and knows how to meet their      
difficulties4'--,churchman's ,companion4
                 ,n ,e ,w   ,g ,i ,f ,t 
- ,b ,o ,o ,k   ,f ,o ,r   #a #h #g #j 4
                        ,in ,small      
,quarto1 ,price #ajs4 #f;d41            
,e ,p ,i ,s ,o ,d ,e ,s   ,o ,f   ,f ,i 
,c ,t ,i ,o ,n 2                ,,or1   
,,choice ,,stories ,,from ,,the ,,great 
,,novelists4                ,with       
,biographical ,introductions and ,notes1
 etc4    ,this work is profusely        
,illustrated with ,original ,engravings 
by the most  distinguished ,artists4 ,it
 is beautifully printed at the          
,,ballantyne  ,,press on superfine      
paper1 and elegantly bound in cloth and 
gold4  ,the ,engraving has been executed
 by ,mr4 ,,robert ,,paterson1           
,edinburgh1 who  is well known for the  

excellence of his work4                 
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,illustration                           
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