confirmed by information received from the inhabitants | humble part, the extraordinary invention of Mr. Babof the northern parts of Brazil, Dr. Gardner is led bage actually substitutes mechanism in the place of to believe that the puncture which the vampire makes man. A problem is given to the machine, and it solves in the skin of animals is effected by the sharp-hooked it by computing a long series of numbers following nail of its thumb, and that from the wound thus made, some given law. In this manner it calculates astronoit abstracts the blood by the suctorial powers of its lips mical, logarithmic, and navigation tables, as well as and tongue. That these bats attack man as well as tables of the power and products of numbers. It can inanimals is certain; for Dr. Gardner has frequently been tegrate, too, innumerable equations of finite differences, shown the scars of their punctures in the toes of many and, in addition to these functions, it does its work who had suffered from their attacks; but he never met cheaply and quickly; it corrects whatever errors are acwith a recent case. The bats grow to a large size; the cidentally committed, and it prints all its calculations! doctor having killed some that measured two feet be- This grand invention of the age was, after much negotween the tips of the wings. tiation, patronized by the British government, and Mr. Babbage gratuitously devoted the energies of his mind not commensurate with the genius of the inventor. The to its completion; but the liberality of the state was government had contracted for the machine originally submitted to its notice. During its progress, Mr. Babbage invented one more perfect and useful, the construcwhich has been refused. "Some Eastern monarch," says tion of which required a fresh appeal to the Treasury, a contemporary," intent upon glory, or perhaps, some democratic community in the far West, intent upon gain, may welcome and naturalise this exile of mechanism, and cheaply supply the navies of England with astronomical and nautical tables to guide them through the ocean." The Calculating Machine first named has been placed in the museum at King's College, London.

EXTRAORDINARY MIRAGE.

About the middle of March, there was seen early in the morning, at Ulm, a mirage; the weather being clear and cold, and the sun rising brilliantly. From the point of the steeple of the cathedral of Ulm, rose a narrow ray, of a dark colour, almost vertical, with a slight inclination to the west. Near this ray the image of the upper half of the steeple was designed, with its tower, and all the numerous and delicate Gothic ornaments which decorate it on every side. This image was so correct that it might have been mistaken for a representation made by the Daguerréotype; and the phenomenon was repeated eight times.

room.

66

WEIGHT OF THE ATMOSPHERE.

Pascal shows that all the phenomena and effects hitherto ascribed to the horror of a vacuum, arise from the weight of the mass of air; and after explaining the variable pressure of the atmosphere in different localities, and its different states, and the rise of water in pumps, he calculates that the whole mass of air round our globe weighs 8,983,889,440,000,000,000 French pounds.

ABSENCE OF SNOW IN SIBERIA.

There is in Siberia, M. Erman informs us, an entire district, in which, during the winter, the sky is constantly clear, and where a single particle of snow never falls.-Arago.

GIGANTIC BIRDS' NESTS.

A BAD ROOM FOR HEARING." Mr. J. Scott Russell has thus lucidly explained one of the causes of bad qualities in the construction of a He shows that in a large square room, of the usual form, the reflexion of the same sound is carried to the speaker's ear by different paths, and in different periods of time; the result of which is the confusion of successive sounds and syllables with each other, and so a prolific cause of indistinct hearing. It requires another principle to afford the remedy for these evils, which Mr. Russell believes to be quite new. He calls it the principle of non-reflexion and lateral accumulation of the sound wave. It was originally suggested to him by the observation of a similar phenomenon in the wave of the first order in water. This wave he considers to be the type of the sound wave; and on examination, he finds experimental evidence of the same Mr. Gould describes the Wattled Talegalla, or Brush phenomenon in the latter wave. He has observed Turkey, of Australia, as adopting a most extraordinary that at angles below 45°, the sound wave is no longer process of nidification. The bird collects together an completely reflected from the surface on which it im- immense heap of decaying vegetable matter as a depinges; and, that when the obliquity of the wave to the pository for the eggs, and trusts to the heat engendered surface is 60°, a phenomenon follows of total non-re-by decomposition for the development of the young. flexion, and the wave continues merely to roll along The heap employed for this purpose is collected by the the surface in a direction parallel to it. This fact fur- birds during several weeks previous to the period of nishes a ready means to remedy the evils so often pro-laying. It varies in size from two to four cart-loads, duced by the reflexions, and echo, and interference of sound in public buildings. Wherever it is possible to place flat or curved surfaces at such angles that the direction of the sound shall be very oblique to the surface, it may be harmlessly disposed of, and prevented from injurious reflexion. This is exactly what the stalls of a choir, the side chapels of a cathedral, and the partitions of boxes in an opera-house, do so successfully for buildings of a large class. The same principle enables Mr. Russell to explain the whispering gallery of St. Paul's (which is circular), and another equally celebrated, mentioned by Saunders, which is perfectly straight. The same principle also explains the conveyance of sound along the smooth surface of a lake, and over the flat surface of a sandy desert; as well as the extraordinary reverberation or accumulation of sound in some portions of a building.

BABBAGE'S CALCULATING MACHINE. The construction of a calculating machine, which truly deserves the name, was reserved for our distinguished countryman, Mr. Babbage. While all previous contrivances performed only particular arithmetical operations under a sort of copartnery between the man and the machine, in which the latter played a very

and is of a perfectly pyramidal form. Several birds
work at its construction, not by using their bills, but
by grasping the materials in their feet, and throwing
them backwards to one common centre.
In this heap,
the birds bury the eggs, perfectly upright, with the
large end upwards; they are covered up as they are laid,
and allowed to remain until hatched; when the young
birds are clothed with feathers, not with down, as is
usually the case. It is not unusual for the natives to
obtain nearly a bushel of eggs, at one time, from a single
heap; and as they are delicious eating, they are eagerly
sought after, as well as the flesh. The birds are very
stupid, and easily fall a victim to the sportsman, and
will sit aloft and allow a succession of shot to be fired
at them until they are brought down.

DAVY'S VOLCANIC THEORY.

Potassium is lighter than water. It breaks into flame the moment it touches water or ice. If plunged into water, there is no combustion, but hydrogen is discharged without turbulence or resistance. These remarkable, but far from anomalous properties, suggested to the teeming mind of the electro-chemist Davy, the conjecture that the solid body of the world is composed of potassium and the metals that resemble

it; and that volcanized eruptions are produced by the occasional incursion of the waters of the deep, or of the great mountain-tanks, on the still domain of these atlantic metals. The far greater part of the investigated crust of the earth is certainly composed of such oxidated metals, and the specific gravity of the whole globe is supposed to be less than that of even the rocks; so that it is, at least, possible that there may be more of sound prediction in this sublime conception than the majority are inclined to think.-North British Review.

ATOMS OF THE ELEMENTS.

The fifty-five elements, in their simplest forms, are considered as minute particles, points, or atoms, each, according to its elementary nature, endowed with specific properties. So minute, indeed, are the parts of these elements in their ultimate state of division, in which condition they are usually termed atoms, as to elude all our powers of inspection, even when aided by the most powerful microscopes. Who can see the particles of gold in a solution of that metal in aqua regia, or those of common salt when dissolved in water? That respected veteran of science, the celebrated professor of chemistry in the University of Glasgow, has estimated the bulk of an ultimate particle, or atom of lead, as less than of a cubic inch; and concludes that its weight cannot exceed the of a grain !-North British Review.

1 888,492,000,000,000th

1 310,000,000,000th

"6 FOOTSTEPS BEFORE THE FLOOD." "The historian," says Dr. Buckland, "may have pursued the line of march of triumphant conquerors, whose armies trampled down the most mighty kingdoms of the world. The winds and the storms have utterly obliterated the ephemeral impressions of their course. Not a track remains of a single foot, or a single hoof, of all the countless millions of men and beasts, whose progress spread desolation over the earth. But the reptiles that crawled upon the half-finished surface of our infant planet, have left memorials of their passage, enduring and indelible." As a moral lesson, the remark is beautiful and appropriate.

VELOCITY OF LIGHT.

LORD ROSSE'S LEVIATHAN TELESCOPE. To the frame of this vast instrument is fixed a large cubical wooden box, about eight feet wide, in which there is a door, through which two men go in to remove, or to replace, the cover of the mirror. To this box is fastened the tube, which is made of deal staves, and hooped like a huge cask. It is about 40 feet long, and è feet diameter in the middle. The Dean of Ely walked through the tube with an umbrella up!

Dr. Scoresby, who has viewed the moon through this huge telescope, states that every object on the mos surface, 100 feet high, may be distinctly seen. There are craters of extinct volcanoes, rocks, and numberles masses of stones: but there are no signs of habitations -no vestiges of architectural remains-to show that the moon is, or ever was, inhabited by a race of mortals similar to ourselves. It presents no appearance which can lead to the supposition that it contains anything like the green fields and lovely verdure of this beautiful world of ours. There is no water visible; not a sea, er river, or even the measure of a reservoir for supplying town or factory; all seems desolate.

NUTRIMENT IN COFFEE.

M. Raven, from elaborate experiment, shows that coffee slightly roasted is that which contains the maximum of aroma, weight, and nutrition. He declares coffee to be very nutritious, as it contains a large quantity of azote; three times as much nutriment as tea; and more than twice the nourishment of soup (bouillon), Chicory contains only half the nutriment of coffee. M. Rayen has also succeeded in obtaining from coffee an extract in the form of a white crystalline substance, capable of giving a deep green colour to five thousand times its weight of water or spirit,

THE DOOM OF OUR WORLD.

What this change is to be, we dare not even conjec ture; but we see in the heavens themselves some traces of destructive elements, and some indications of their power. The fragments of broken planets-the descent of meteoric stones upon our globe-the wheeling comete welding their loose materials at the solar furnace-the volcanic eruptions on our own satellite--the appearance of new stars, and the disappearance of others are a Light moves through a space equal to the circum-foreshadows of that impending convulsion to which the ference of the earth in the eighth part of a second-in system of the world is doomed. Thus placed on a planet which is to be burnt up, and under heavens which are the twinkling of an eye. Could an observer, placed in the centre of the earth, see this moving light as it de- and dwelling in the mausoleums of former worlds, let to pass away; thus treading, as it were, on the cemeteries. scribes the earth's circumference, it would appear a us learn the lesson of humility and wisdom, if we have luminous ring, that is, the impression of the light, at the commencement of its journey, would continue on the North British Review. not already been taught it in the school of revelationretina till the light had completed its circuit. Nay, since the impression of light continues longer than the fourth part of a second, two luminous rings would be seen, provided the light made two rounds of the earth, and in paths not coincident.-North British Review.

PREDICTION OF THE WEATHER.

M. Arago is decidedly of opinion that the influences of the moon and of comets on the changes of the weather are almost insensible; and, therefore, that the prediction of the weather can never be a branch of astronomy, properly so called. And yet, our satellite and comets According to Howard, the mean temperature of Lon-have, at certain periods, been considered as prepor don exceeds that of the neighbouring country about 1° 8' Fahr.

TEMPERATURE OF LONDON AND ITS ENVIRONS.

DISTANCE OF THE EARTH FROM THE FIXED STARS.

The light of the sun takes 160 minutes to move to the Georgium Sidus, the remotest planet of our own solar system; and so vast is the unoccupied space between us and the nearest fixed star, that light would require five years to pass through it. But, as the telescope has disclosed to us objects many thousand times more remote than such a star, the creation of a new star at so great a distance could not become known to us for many thousand years, nor its dissolution recognised for the same length of time. Had the fleet messenger that was charged with the intelligence of its birth, or its death, started at the creation of the world, he would, at the present time, be only nearing our own planetary system.-North British Review.

derating stars in meteorology. Again, M. Arago be lieves that he is in a condition to deduce from E investigations this important result:- Whatever may be the progress of the sciences, never will observers, whe are trustworthy, and careful of their reputation, renture to foretell the state of the weather

CHANGE IN THE LEVEL OF THE CASPIAN SEA.

One of the most singular features in the ancient con dition of the surface of the globe which modern re searches have brought to light, is that exhibited by the region around the Caspian; affording the most equivocal proofs of great changes in the relative levels of the land and water at a period geologically recent Over a vast region, a calcareous argillaceous deposit exists in nearly horizontal stratification, abounding in fresh-water shells and others analogous to, and to a great extent identical with, species now living in the

Caspian, attaining, in some places, a thickness of 300 | feet; which appears to prove that, at the time it was deposited, there existed an inland sea, of brackish water, exceeding in size the present Mediterranean, and of which the present Caspian is the diminished relic. The President's Address to the Geological Society, 1846.

INSIGNIFICANCE OF MAN.

Hampden, Lord Falkland, and Clarendon (a somewhat heterogeneous trio !) are "going on as well as can be expected" under the hands of their respective sculptors; and that eighteen brazen barons and prelates (we could scarcely have imagined so many, unless living specimens may be included) are to occupy the niches prepared for them in the new House of Lords, at the cost of 2,700. - a very moderate sum, it must be confessed, when we The Earth is 8000 miles in diameter; the atmosphere consider that it allows only 150l. for each individual, is calculated to be 50 miles in altitude; the loftiest taking the clerical with the lay. We are told that, "it mountain peak is calculated to be 5 miles above the has been thought advisable to keep principally in view level of the sea (for this height has never been visited the expression of some specific idea, and its illustration by man); the deepest mine that he has formed is 550 by some well-known historic or poetic incident adapted yards; and his own stature does not average 6 feet. for representation in painting." To judge how far these Therefore, if it were possible for him to construct a good intentions have been carried out, we cannot do globe 800 feet-or twice the height of St. Paul's Cathe-better than extract the following observations from one dral-in diameter, and to place upon any one point of its surface an atom 1-4380th of an inch in diameter, and 1-720th part of an inch in height, it would correctly denote the proportion that he bears to the earth upon which he stands.-Griffiths's Chemistry of the Four

Seasons.

APPROACH OF ICEBERGS.

Icebergs sometimes cover immense spaces; we may, therefore, suppose that they sensibly disturb certain zones of the oceanic temperature, and then, by means of communication, the temperature of islands and continents. Thus, on March 28, 1818, in 41° 50' north latitude, 53° 13' longitude west of Paris, Captain Vivian felt, during the whole day, an excessively cold wind blowing from the north, which led him to suppose that ice was approaching. And, in fact, on the following day, he saw a multitude of floating islands, which occupied a space of upwards of seven leagues. "Many of these lands," says he, "were from 200 to 250 English feet high above the water."

DECAY OF THE TEETH.

Mr. Alexander Nasmyth considers that, in addition to the ordinary diseases of the teeth, called decay, the effeminacy of social life, the almost exclusive and unremitting exercise of the mental faculties, and a consequently superinduced morbid, nervous susceptibility, cause disease to appear in the sockets of the teeth, which produces their expulsion, although the bodies of the teeth themselves may be perfectly sound. That peculiarity, of which both modern and ancient social life affords abundant examples, is frequently found to have existed in the sockets of the ancient Egyptians, but never to have been observed in races of men who

of our leading journals. After mentioning that Marlborough and Nelson have been selected to fill two out of four pedestals in St. Stephen's Porch, while the compartments intended for painting are proposed to be dedicated to Peace and War; the article proceeds thus :

"The subjects recommended for the decoration of the Hall of St. Stephen's are, on the whole, dignified and appropriate. An early Trial by Jury, the Signing of Magna Charta, and the Privileges of the Commons, asserted by Sir Thomas More against Cardinal Wolsey, are all calculated to keep in recollection the origin of many of the liberties that are to this day enjoyed. The corridors, from the Central Hall, it is proposed to decorate with paintings illustrative of the great contest which commenced with the Long Parliament, In order to accommodate prejudices which may still be in existence, an attempt has been made to do justice to the heroic virtues that were displayed on both sides.' Thus, we have a little Royalism on one hand, balanced by a little Republicanism on the other; but the latter, as it ought to be, is kept considerably subdued. The Central Corridor shall, it is proposed, illustrate the gradual progress of our institutions by paintings, exhibiting the contrast between the extremes of ignorance and We enlightenment which Britain has experienced. have Cook in Otaheite proposed as a corrective to the Phoenicians in Cornwall; a Druidical sacrifice debited to us, and, on the credit side, the English authorities preventing the sacrifice of a Suttee; while the exposure of Anglo-Saxon captives in the Roman market-place is met with a set-off in the emancipation of negro slaves. We next come to the Upper Waiting-hall, where it is suggested that Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Milton, Dryden, and Pope, shall be admitted. That the poets should be confined to the Ante-Chamber, as if waiting for national patronage, is but too much in accordance with historical truth; but if accuracy is affected in a matter in which the nation has so much reason to feel ashamed, we must protest against the doubtful taste of proposing as subjects of historical paintings for the decoration of the Royal Ante-Chamber and the Royal THERE are few of our readers, it may be presumed, who Gallery, events that history altogether repudiates. have not, ere this, paid a visit to the new and magnificent Eleanor sucking the poison from the wound in her huspalace in which the peers of Great Britain and Ireland band's arm is a pretty incident for a romance, but, are destined, we trust, through future ages, to deliberate unfortunately, it is almost certain that this heroic act of in their wisdom, on all matters touching the weal and suction was never performed. Raleigh spreading his woe of this great kingdom. And amongst these numer-cloak as a carpet for the Queen forms a pleasing subject ous visitors we can scarcely imagine one in any degree capable of appreciating such things, who has not left this splendid creation of architectural genius equally surprised and delighted by the taste and judgment "The only point of controversy which appears to which could plan, and the skill which could execute, a have divided the commissioners, or rather to have cut whole so perfect even in its minutest detail. Consider- off Sir Robert Inglis from the main body, has been his ing, however, that the fine arts are certainly not indi- dissent from a resolution of his colleagues, to substitute genous to our country, we cannot but feel some little Henri de Londres, Archbishop of Dublin, for William, anxiety with regard to the decorations which are to Bishop of London, who was originally elected one of the complete this monument of national taste in the nine-eighteen metal notables intended to fill the niches in the teenth century; and we have therefore read, with much interest, the report which the commissioners entrusted to decide upon these embellishments have just put forth. It is, no doubt, satisfactory to learn, that

have followed a natural course of life.

DECORATIONS OF THE NEW HOUSES OF
PARLIAMENT.

for an anecdote of gallantry, but its interest is destroyed when we remember that in all probability the thing never occurred.

House of Lords. Sir Robert Inglis has gone into a
learned disquisition to show that Henri de Londres was
less worthy than William to occupy a niche in the wall
within the new palace at Westminster.
While giving

No. 103.]

VOL. IV.

London Magazine:

A JOURNAL OF ENTERTAINMENT AND INSTRUCTION
FOR GENERAL READING.