A very philosophical writer having building of Alexandria.-Parchment was adopted by Eumenes in the sec- the misfortune of a wife of very un ond Century before Christ. (Harmer.) Nearchus, who accompanied Alexander, found the Indians writing on linen or cotton cloth, and that their characters were beautiful.-Arrian, 717. Dr. Campbell thought that the Greeks knew nothing of the Hebrews till after the Macedonian conquest nor of the Pentateuch and Hebrew writings till after the translation of the Septuagint.-Essay on Miracles. The stories of the Dead Sea are all contradicted by Dr. Clarke; for its salubrity, fish, shores, fertility, &c. he vouches. It has been mistaken for a lake of the same name near Babylon. St. Jerom passed great part of his life at Bethlehem, of whom Erasmus said, "Quis docet apertius? quis delectat urbanius, quis movet efficatius, quis laudat candidius, quis suadet gravius, quis hortatur ardentius?" In the highest luxury of imperial Rome, the price of admission to the Theatre (where any was paid) was no more than one eighth of an English penny! During the time of our commonwealth, when the Established Church lost its authority and sanctity, it was customary for the banns of marriage to be proclaimed on three market days in Newgate Market, and afterwards the parties were married at the Church, and the Register states, that they were married at the place of meeting called the Church. See the Register of St. Andrew, Holborn, during those years. Cæsar's celebrated Letter to the Senate, Veni, vidi, vici, was written upon his victory over Pharnaces, after ter five days battle, A.U.C. 707. Written under a whole-length portrait of Beau Nash at Bath, between two busts of Locke and Pope : "This picture plac'd these busts between, But Folly at full length." Ån able translator will do his best to be as just to his original, as the impression is to the seal.-Middleton. pleasant temper, was one day visited by a scholar of one of our Universities, when, in the midst of a deep discussion, they heard upon the staircase leading to his study door a violent quarrel be tween her and one of her servants, and in an instant she burst into the room, but instantly retreated on finding that her husband was engaged. The scholar started from his chair, and said to his friend, "What can be the cause of all this distress?" "Oh, sit down," said the philosopher very calmly, "I cannot discover the origin of evil!" Rousseau is said to have carried an Ode to Voltaire for perusal, addressed to posterity; and pressed Voltaire for his free opinion of it. Voltaire having read it, said it contained some good lines, but regretted that those to whom it was addressed, would never read it. In seeking superior aid in our tronbles and anxieties, we seldom apply to the first cause, until we find secondary causes fail us; which marks our extreme ignorance and ingratitude. Pekin is now the largest city in the world, and contains, according to Anderson, a space of nine miles every way. W. Whiston counted the period of the end of the world to be 20 years from his own time, A. D. 1712; and yet (as it is said) asked 30 years purchase for an estate which he had to sell. Rev. D. Mathias, Rector of St. Mary, Whitechapel, attended a poor woman who had been delivered of four male children at one birth; they all did well, and he baptized them-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: and a similar fact had occurred to him before, when he held a curacy in Leicestershire. In 1785, the conflicting principles between Lord Fitzgibbon and Mr. Curran broke forth into personal hostility. Fitzgibbon called Curran a puny babbler; and he retorted, by telling him that his argument was more like the paltry quibble of a lawyer than the reasoning of a statesman, and his language more like that of an Attorney Particular than Attorney General;—and then they went out like true Irish debaters, and finished the dispute by firing a brace of pistols at each other, but left the field, unlike Irish combatants, with sentiments of unabated hostility.-Life of Curran. Ed. Rev. 1820. Dr. Franklin's Morning Prayer "O powerful Goodness, bountiful Father, merciful Guide! increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest, strengthen my resolution to perform what that wisdom dictates, accept my kind offices to thy other creatures as the only return in my power for thy continual favours to me?" President West being subject to the gout, it attacked his right hand while he was painting his great picture of Death on the pale Horse; but this did not check his ardour; for he proceeded with his left hand, and the whole was finished by himself without any assistance. Some conversation having occurred on the indelicacies of the attitudes in the waltz, a lady remarked that they formed a part of the liberties of the "Unthought-of follies cheat us in the wise." Who would have thought that Locke loved romances, that Newton once studied astrology, and that Dr. S. Clarke prided himself in agility, and leaped over his tables and chairs! The greatest mass of silver is said by Albinus, in his Chronicle of the Mines of Misnia, to have been found at Schneeberg in 1478; it weighed by computation about 400 quintals. Albert de Saxe who went down into the mine, dined upon an enormous block, observing to the company there, that "the Emperor Frederick is a powerful Monarch, but he does not keep so rich a table as I do.” An electric eel (Gymnotus Electricus) was lately brought to Paris from America, and, in trying upon it the experiments of M. Humboldt, a very singular occurrence took place. Several naturalists had already subjected themselves to electric shocks, more or less violent, by touching the fish, which is nin de Saint Jusk seized it with both of the size of a large eel, when Dr. Jahis hands, and was rewarded with a succession of shocks more severe than Volta's pile would have given. Indeed, he was exposed to real danger, in consequence of finding it impossible to loose his hold of the animal, notwithwhole frame to an excessive degree. standing its every motion agitated his An involuntary contraction forced him to grasp it with supernatural strength, and the more he grasped, the more dreadful did the electrical shocks become. They extorted from him the most agonizing cries, which alarmed all present, including Messrs. Alibert, Geoffroy, St. Hiliare, Serre, and Larrey, who were even afraid for his life, as it is probable, had he continued long in the situation, that death must have ensued. No one knew how to assist him. "Let go, let go!" they cried, but he had not the power to follow their advice. Happily it occurred to him to replunge the eel into its tub, and scarcely were his hands wetted, when the contact of the water (acting as a conductor) enabled him to let his enemy slip. Captain Steadman in his "Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition against the revolted Negroes of Surinam," relates, that on waking about four o'clock one morning in his hammock, he was extremely alarmed at finding himself weltering in congealed blood, and without feeling any pain whatever. "The mystery was," continues Captain S. Our readers may remember that, according to Mr. Todd's experiments, (in 1817) the intensity of the shocks given by the torpedo bore no relation to the size of the fish, but an evident relation to its liveliness and to the degree of irritation caused by preserving, pricking, or squeezing the animal. This Dr. Janin has sensibly demonstrated. The cel discharges the electric fluid in self defence; and it is probable the Paris specimen will not long survive the copious emission.-ED. "that I had been bitten by the Vampyre or Spectre of Guiana, which is also called the Flying Dog of New Spain, and by the Spaniards, Perrovolador. This is no other than a bat of monstrous size, that sucks the blood from men and cattle while they are fast asleep, even sometimes till they die; and as the manner in which they proceed is truly wonderful, I shall endeavour to give a distinct account of it. Knowing, by instinct, that the person they intend to attack is in a sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet, where, while the creature continues fanning with his enormous wings, which keeps one cool, he bites a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so very small indeed, that the head of a pin could scarcely be received into the wound, which is consequently not painful; yet through this orifice he continues to suck the blood, until he is obliged to disgorge. He then begins again, and thus continues suc and disgorging until he is scarcely able to fly; and the sufferer has often been known to sleep from time to eternity. Cattle they generally bite in the ear, but always in places where the blood flows spontaneously. Having applied tobacco ashes as the best remedy, and washed the gore from myself and hammock, I observed several small heaps of congealed blood all round the place where I had lain upon the ground; on examining which, the surgeon judged that I had lost at least twelve or fourteen ounces during the night." ACCOMPLISHED SHOPLIFTER. A young gentleman lately residing in Edinburgh, was the master of a handsome spaniel bitch, which he had bought from a dealer in dogs. The animal had been ed ucated to steal for the benefit of its protec tor; but it was some time ere his new master became aware of this irregularity of morals, and he was not a little astonished and teazed by its constantly bringing home articles of which it had feloniously obtained possession. Perceiving, at length, that the animal proceeded systematically, in this sort of behaviour, he used to amuse his friends, by causing the spaniel to give proofs of her sagacity in the Spartan art of privately stealing, putting the shopkeepers where he meant she should exercise her faculty on their guard as to the issue. The process was curious, and excites some surprise at the pains which must have been bestowed to qualify the animal for these practices. As soon as the master entered the shop, the dog seemed to avoid all appearance of recognizing or acknowledg. ing any connection with him, but lounged about in an indolent, disengaged, and indeIn the course of pendent sort of manner. cated by a touch on the parcel and a look looking over some wares, his master inditowards the spaniel, that which he desired she should appropriate, and then left the shop. The dog, whose watchful eye caught the hint in an instant, instead of following his master out of the shop, continued to sit at the door, or lie by the fire, watching the counter, until she observed the attention of the people of the shop withdrawn from the Whenprize which she wished to secure. ever she saw an opportunity of doing so, as she imagined unobserved, she never failed to jump upon the counter with her fore feet, possess herself of the gloves, or and escape from the shop to join her maswhatever else had been pointed out to her, ter. SUPERNATURAL WARNING. The age of superstition is past, and there are few, except in the lower rank of society, who will now give credit to improbable tales, however well they may be persuaded of the respectability of their source, unless they have the means of being acquainted with their truth and authenticity. Superstition, however has still her votaries; and in spite of the enlightened and civilized state of society, at the present time, there are few who will not feel some interest at the recital of a story, in which any thing connected with supernatural agency is introduced, and more particularly so when that story is in the most remote manner founded on fact. The tale I am about to narrate deviates but very slightly from one which has been well authenticated, and at the time when it was fresh upon our mem ory, was almost universally believed. C, was, some years ago residing A young gentleman by the name of with a clergyman in the North of Eng land, for the purpose of completing his education. He was heir to a large for tune, particularly amiable, of a lively disposition, gay in his manners, and entirely free from any taint of super stitious belief. He was strong and healthy, and very unlikely, in any manner to give credit to the workings of his imagination, or to believe in dreams. I mention this because there are some people whose weak state of health, or whose melancholy disposition might make them more liable to be exposed to the impression produced by any sudden alarm, or any unusual agitation. One morning, however, at breakfast, his haggard and pale looks, and thoughtful manner, attracted the attention of his friends, who were accustomed to see him animated and healthy; and upon their pressing him to account for this sudden alteration, he confessed that he had, during the night, had a dream, which had made so strong an impression upon him, that he could not drive it from his thoughts. He said that he had seen a young woman enter his room softly, with a light in one hand, and a knife in the other; that she made several attempts to stab him, but upon his resistance she had disappeared. He then described her person and dress, both of which, he said, were so deeply impressed upon his memory, that they never could be effaced. His friends treated the matter lightly, and endeavoured to ridicule him for giving so much credit to a dream; and Mr. C himself, as if ashamed of his weakness, tried to banish it from his thoughts. Several months passed away, and he resumed his usual gaiety of manner; every thing appeared forgotten; and when his dream intruded itself upon his recollection, he laughed at himself for having ever thought of such a triflé. suddenly stopped short, and uttered a scream of horror; his friend ran to his assistance, surprised at an emotion for which he could not account, but Mr. C―, having closed the door, immediately related the circumstances of the dream which had made so much impression upon him some years before, adding, at the same time, that the female servant who had lighted them up stairs, was the same person, both in face, appearance, and dress, who had appeared to him in his vision. The sudden and unexpected recollection of a circumstance which had been so long forgotten, could not fail to agitate Mr. C exceedingly; but as there was nothing suspicious in the manners of the inhabitants of the inn, the friends retired to rest, having first taken care to fasten the door, and place their pistols near them. Overcome by the fatigue of travelling, they were soon both asleep; but Mr. C awaking suddenly, beheld, to his extreme horror, the same woman standing over him, with a light in one hand, and a knife in the other, having the blade directed towards his breast, apparently about to strike. Ju his agony of horror, he uttered a scream, which awoke his friend, who springing from his bed, was just in time to catch her arm. FORMATION OF MISTS IN PARTICULAR SITUATIONS. * * By Sir Humphrey Davy, bart. All persons who have been accustomed to the observation of Nature, must have over the beds of rivers and lakes in calm and clear weather after sun-set; and whoever has considered these phenomena in relation to the radiation and communication publication of the researches of M. M. Rumof heat and nature of vapour, since the ford, Leslie, Dalton, and Wells, can hardly have failed to discover the true cause of them. As, however, I am not aware that any work has yet been published in which Years had elapsed, and Mr. Ghaving come into the possession of a large property, proposed to an inti- frequently witnessed the formation of mists mate friend to visit the Continent. They left England together; and after having travelled through most of the countries in Europe, were returning home in the autumn of. A long and tedious day's journey brought them very late one evening to a retired village on the borders of Hungary; this cause is fully discussed, and it involves there was but one inn in the place, and that, from its appearance did not promise them very comfortable accommodation. However, they had no choice; it was too late to proceed, and they alighted. There was nothing remarkable in their reception; they were proceeding to the apartment which was allotted to them, when Mr. C rather complicated principles, I shall make no apology for offering a few remarks on the subject to the Royal Society. As soon as the Sun has disappeared from any part of the globe, the surface begins to lose heat by radiation, and in greater proportion as the sky is clearer; but the land and water are cooled by this operation in a very different manner; the impres sion of cooling on the land is limited to the surface and very slowly transmitted to the interior; whereas, in water above 40 deg. Fahrenheit, as soon as the upper stratum is cooled, whether by radiation or evaporation, it sinks in the mass of fluid, and its place is supplied by warmer waters from below; and till the temperature of the whole mass is reduced nearly to 40 deg. F. the surface caunot be the coolest part. It follows, therefore, that wherever water exists in considerable masses, and has a temperature nearly equal to that of the land, or only a few degrees below it, and above 45 deg. F. at sun-set, its surface during the night, in calm and clear weather, will be warmer than that of the contiguous land; and the air above the land will necessarily be cooler than that above the water; and when they both contain their due proportion of aqueous vapour, and the situation of the ground is such as to permit the cold air from the land to mix with the warmer air above the water, mist or fog will be the result; which will be so much greater in quantity, as the land surrounding or inclosing the water is higher, the water deep er, and the temperature of the water, which will coincide with the quantity or strength of vapour in the air above it, greater. REMARKABLE EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING. Mr. TRENCALTE, vicar-general of Digne, has sent the following narrative to the Academy of Sciences, at Paris. He remarks that the lightning struck the church, while the bells were ringing. The village of Chateauneuf is situated in the commune of Digne, in the department of the Lower Alps, south-east of the little town of Moustiers, which is known for a very excellent manufactory of earthenware. The village stands on the extreme point of one of the first Alps, which rise amphitheatrically above Moustiers. It contains beside the church and parsonage, fourteen houses, on an eminence which is cut off by the angles of two other mountains, one to the east, and the other to the west. The interval which divides the village from the mountain to the cast, is so narrow and deep, that the sight of it inspires terror: 105 scattered huts, chiefly on the east side of the mountain, contains a population of 500 souls. Sunday, July 11, 1819, M. Salome, clergyman of Moustiers and episcopal commissioner, came to Chateauneuf to induct a new rector. About half an hour past ten, the procession went from the parsonage to the church. The weather was fine, only there were some heavy clouds in the sky. The new rector had begun the celebration of mass. A young man, eighteen years of age, was singing the epistle, when three claps of thunder were heard, instantaneously succeeding each other. The massbook was torn out of his hands, and rent to pieces; he felt the flame on his body, which soon caught him by the neck. At first, he cried aloud; but, he now closed his mouth by an involuntary motion, was thrown down, and rolled towards the people assembled in the church, who also sunk As upon the ground, and were cast out of the door of the church-(Toutes les personnes rassemblees dans l'eglise avoient été terrassées et jetées ainsi hors la porte.) soon as he came to himself, he returned into the church, where he found the clergyman of Moustiers quite senseless. He immediately called to his assistance some persons who were only slightly wounded: they lifted up the clergyman, extinguished his upper garments, which were burning, and by means of vinegar, restored him to his senses in two hours. He vomited a considerable quantity of blood. He affirmed, that he had not heard the thunder, and indeed knew nothing of what had passed. He was carried to the parsonage house. The electric fluid had struck the upper part of the gold trimming of his stole, whence it descended, tore off one of his shoes, which it threw to the other end of the church, and broke the metal buckle. The chair on which he sat was also broken to pieces. On the second day after the event, the clergyman was conveyed to his own house at Moustiers, where it was two months before his wounds were perfectly healed. He had a wound, some fingers broad, on the right shoulder, another extended from the middle of the back part of the right upper arm to the middle of the exterior side of the lower arm; and a third deep wound went from the middle of the back part of the left upper arm, to the middle of the back part of the lower arm, on the same side; a fourth, less considerable and shallower, was on the outer side of the lower part of the left shoulder; and a fifth on the upper lip, near the nose. He was tormented for nearly two months, by a total deprivation of sleep; he felt his arms lamed, and since that time always suffers by the changes of the weather. A little child was torn from its mother's arms, and thrown to the distance of six paces it recovered in the open air. The legs of every individual felt lamed: the terrified woman presented a dismal spectacle. The church was filled with a thick black smoke, so that objects could only be distinguished by the glare of the flames, proceeding from the clothes which the lightning had set on fire. Eight persons were killed upon the spot. A young woman, of nineteen years of age, was carried home in a state of insensibility, and died the following morning, in dreadful agonies, as her loud lamentations evinced. The number of the killed was therefore nine, and that of the wounded, 82. The priest who read mass was not touched by the lightning, probably because he wore a silk dress All the dogs that were in the church were found dead, in the positions in which they were at the moment. A woman who was in a hut, on the Barbin mountain, to the west, saw three masses of fire descend in rapid succession, which seemed as if they would destroy the whole village. It is probable the lightning first struck the cross on the steeple. |