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filled, talents of the first class. He was Secretary to the late Mr. Perceval; and was then known as the author of everal literary works; and particulary of a valuable treatise on public affairs, prefixed to a translation from the German "Of the State of Europe," by the celebrated Gentz. When the British Commissariat was reformed, and placed on the efficient and respectable footing on which stood for many years previous to the end of the war, Mr. Herries was selected to execute that great work; and in the situation of Commissary General, performed a task which gained him the admiration and esteem of all parties, while, unlike many other commissaries, the care of his On private fortune, while in office, was entirely forgot n; and he retired with clean hands from the expenditure millions. He has since filled many important situa. ; and latterly, that of Secretary to the Treasury, As man of business, it may be said of him that he has no l; and although he has always been devoted more to than to oratory, yet in clear narrative, and in the tails of financial operations, it is believed no member of House of Commons can equal him. The prefatory Treatise to the work of M. Gentz is writwith great clearness, and is not without point, or conderable mastery of expression. One of the observations ves that, in the year 1802, Mr. Herries was able to rise bore common prejudices. "Because England (he says) flourished daring, I should say notwithstanding, the , the error has sometimes obtained, that she actually pered by the war;-but while the proofs are numethat the wealth and commerce of Great Britain have ly increased, even in this period of disastrous hos. the arguments are likewise irresistible, by which it been maintained that the war has tended to diminish

n." We have no doubt that Mr. Herries has seen h, since 1802, to strengthen this opinion; and that, minister of the Crown, he will strive anxiously to note the best interests of the country.-London paper.

Natural History.

NOTES ON AFRICA.

(From the London Weekly Review.)

CHARACTER AND HABITS OF THE OSTRICH.

be discovery of the ostrich's nest, (on the contents of we heartily regaled ourselves,) led to several conations on the character and habits of the ostrich; and following is a summary of the information I collected my fellow-traveller old Jacob and his Hottentots, from the boor Du Ploit and other dwellers in the t," on different occasions.

66

e estrich is polygaminous, and at the time of breeding Elly associates to himself from two to six females. The ay all their eggs together in the same nest, which is dy a shallow cavity scraped in the ground, of such a ens to be conveniently covered by one of the birds. eggs are placed upon their points, and the earth which been scraped to form the nest is employed to confine uter circle, and keep the whole in the proper position. bens relieve each other in the office of incubation g the day, and the male takes his turn at night, when perior strength is required to protect the eggs or the Hedged young from the jackals, tiger-cats, and other es, which are not unfrequently, it is said, found dead near the nest, destroyed by a stroke from the Hal foot of that gigantic bird.

with a seasoning of salt and pepper, you have a very nice omelade. The ostrich of South Africa is a prudent and wary animal, and displays little of that stupidity ascribed to it by some naturalists. On the borders of the colony, at least when it is eagerly pursued for the sake of its valuable plumage, this bird displays no want of sagacity in providing for its own safety or the security of its offspring. It adopts every precaution to conceal the place of its nest; and uniformly abandons it after destroying the eggs, if the eggs have been disturbed, or the footsteps of man are discovered near it. In relieving each other in hatching, the birds are careful not to be seen together at the nest, and are never observed to approach it in a direct line. Some of the colonists on the skirts of the Karroo and other remote districts, make the pursuit of the ostrich one of their principal and most profitable amusements. Du Ploit showed me five or six skins of ostriches he had lately killed. He said, however, that it was exceedingly diffi cult to get within musket shot of shem, owing to their constant vigilance, and the great distance to which they can see. The fleetest horse, too, will not overtake them, un less stratagem be adopted to tire them out; but by several huntsmen taking different sides of a large plain, and pursuing them backward and forward till their strength is exhausted, they may be at length run down. If followed up too eagerly, this chase is not destitute of danger, for the huntsman has sometimes had his thigh-bone broken by a single stroke from the wing of a wounded ostrich. The beautiful white feathers so highly prized by the ladies of Europe, are found on the tail only of the male bird. The food of the ostrich consists of the tops of the vari ous shrubby plants which even the most arid parts of South Africa produce in abundance. This bird is so easily satisfied in regard to water, that he is constantly to be found in the most parched and desolate tracts, which even the antelopes and beasts of prey have deserted. His cry at a distance is said so much to resemble that of a lion, that even the Hottentots are sometimes deceived by it. When not hatching, they are frequently seen in troops of thirty or forty together, or amicably associated with herds of zebras or quaghas, their fellow tenants of the wilder. ness. When caught young, the ostrich is easily tamed; but it does not appear that any attempt has been made to apply his great strength and swiftness to any purpose of practical utility.

Some of the above details respecting the habits of the African ostrich are already known to naturalists from the researches of Professor Lichenstein; several new facts will, however, be found to be here added; and in communicating these scraps to the editor of the London Weekly Review, I have given nothing on the mere authority of other writers, unless corroborated by my own observation, desert and its wild inhabitants. or by the evidence of persons who were familiar with the

Correspondence.

WONDERFUL TALENT OF MASTER NOAKES.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,-Some evenings ago I was induced to attend an exhibition of the extraordinary powers of calculation of Master Noakes, the interesting little stranger who has, within the past few days, visited Liverpool, under the care of a gentleman, who has humanely offered his services to many as sixty eggs are sometimes found in a nest; attend him to some of the principal towns in the kingdom, mach smaller number are also common: and incu-in order that a fund may, if possible, be raised for the is occasionally performed by a single pair of os. . Each female lays from twelve to sixteen eggs. continue to lay during incubation, and even after reang brood are hatched: the supernumerary eggs ot placed in the nest, but around it, being designed st in the nourishment of the young birds, which, gb when first hatched are as large as a pullet, are Ebly unable at once to digest the hard and acrid food

the old ones subsist. The period of incubation thirty-six to forty days. In the heat of the day at is occasionally abandoned by all the birds, the of the sun being then sufficient to keep the eggs at proper temperature. in ostrich egg is considered as equal in its contents to rty-four of the domestic hen. When taken fresh from nest, they are very palatable, and are wholesome, zh somewhat heavy food. The best mode of cooking that I have seen is that practised by the Hottentots, place one end of the egg in the hot ashes, and, making il orifice at the other, keep stirring the contents with all stick till they are sufficiently roasted; and thus,

education of this wonderful boy.

Though I confess I entered the room somewhat incredulous, and disposed to suspect some trick in the exhibition of the child's endowments, I had not been many minutes present before suspicion gave way to admiration and astonishment at his almost supernatural powers of calculation and combination, and at the expertness and readiness with which he solved the questions put to him. He extracted, with facility, and almost unhesitatingly, the square roots of six and eight figures-multiplied three and four figures by as many others-calculated the value of any number of pounds or hundred weights at any given price-gave promptly the number of revolutions which a wheel, &c. would make in passing over a given space. His modes of calculation are little less extraordinary than the faculty itself; they may properly be termed his own: these he willingly endeavours to explain to his auditors; but it is

not often that his explanation is intelligible to his hearers. He seems to have obtained some properties of numbers known only to himself. It is a curious fact, and is indicative of the wonderful promptness with which he arrives at his results, that his details of the method which he has used in obtaining them generally takes up considerably more time in the recital than the process itself has done. What renders his appearance so much the more interesting is, that he is still the child of seven years of age, in his manners and habits. While he is solving one of his most difficult questions, he will, probably, be engaged in playing with his marbles, or with any other object which may attract his attention. It has been supposed that he uses his fingers in his calculations; this, however, I have understood is not the fact: his operations are purely mental. I could adduce several specimens of the questions which he has had from time to time to solve in my hearing, but will mention only one, and that one of the easiest which I recollect to have been put. He was asked, "How many steps did you take in walking to breakfast this morning, to Lodge-lane, supposing the distance to be two miles, and your step 18 inches ?" He replied almost instantly, "7040 steps." On being asked how he had arrived at the conclusion, he said, "By multiplying the yards in a mile by 4." The reason of this will be obvious.

I regret, however, to learn that few, comparatively, have as yet availed themselves of the opportunity of witnessing the exercise of his extraordinary faculty, and thus contributing to the benevolent object of his education,his parents, who reside in London, being unable to promarks may meet the eye of some whom the subject might cure him a suitable one. It is with a hope that these reotherwise have entirely escaped, that I have ventured to solicit a corner in your widely-circulated paper. Sure I am, that none who do themselves the pleasure of witnessing this mental phenomenon, will regret either the time or the expense which they may thereby incur.-Yours, &c. Liverpool, 10th September, 1827.

R.

From Mr. W. R. Hamilton, Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin, to the Gentleman who has the care of Master Noakes.

DEAR SIR,-Before leaving Liverpool, I wish to express to you the pleasure and surprise with which I have heard your young ward-both at the public examination, in the rooms of the Charitable Institution, and also at Miss Lawrence's school, when I had an opportunity of studying more comfortably his powers and method of calculation: and, as he appears to me fitted to become one day an accomplished mathematician, I cannot but regret that his family should consider it expedient to devote his whole time to exhibition, instead of allowing him to superadd to his natural powers that cultivation which would develop, not extinguish them.-I am, dear Sir, very truly,

yours,

W. R. HAMILTON, T. C. D.

PHRENOLOGY.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,-I have just seen in your Kaleidoscope of the 31st ult. a letter signed Amicus Justitie, in which, under a double character, he thinks he has "paid me off," and that I shall not "come to the scratch again." Now, Sir, whether Cranium and the “beardless youth in the corner" be the same person, is immaterial: it will best suit my purpose to identify myself with him, as I shall then be able to answer your correspondent's letter more fully. I shall first observe, in the words of an English ambassador, that if the length of beard be a mark of wisdom, I had better employ a he-goat to reply to my opponent. I have heard that a monkey is known by the length of his tail; and if we judge of Amicus by the length of his tale, (which fills three columns of your paper,) I am afraid he will be found in an unpleasant situation. It is not necessary to name any scientific person in Liverpool who believes

in phrenology, but London abounds with them. Is Abernethy scientific, or Lawrence? These men are anatomists, and better able to judge of the subject than those who endeavour to overthrow what they cannot comprehend, and deprecate what they are unable to understand.

Again: I do not assert that the Brahmins have the organ of destructiveness, but deny the position of that

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INFINITE DIVISIBILITY OF MATTER.

TO THE EDITOR.

SIR,-Below is the answer to the question inserted in the Kaleidoscope of the 14th of August, as far as regards the quantity of brandy that would remain on the fortieth day; as to the other part, it is plain that the brandy would never be entirely exhausted, but would run on to an infinite number of days. Had the question been, in how many days there would be a small definite quantity of brandy remaining in the cask, it would have been easily

answered.

The question is, theoretically, one of infinitely decreasing gentleman who said that they cannot have it because they progression; and if it were practicable to make the experinever destroy so much as a fly. However, if their destruc-ment, the process would, of course, be infinite. Half of tion of Hindoo widows be the effect of education, so is something must always be something, and half of that, their protection of insects, &c. We have nothing to do something still. The idea of annihilation is a mere chimera, and the infinite divisibility of matter (theoretically) is one with education; we do not deny that the natural propen- of the most simple of all geometrical demonstrations. sities may be curbed by education; we merely judge of nature. That Miss M'Avoy was an impostor, I have We shall annex a solution of the query of Tyro, and since learned; but that does not disprove the possibility shall reserve a second, which we have received from another of distinguishing colours by the touch, of which other subscriber, dated from Church-street, for next week; as we do not wish to dedicate too much of a single publication well-authenticated examples exist. We know that to one subject.-Edit. Kal. colour is only the reflection of different rays of light: surfaces to reflect different rays must be different; and, if different, why may not the difference, though imperceptible to our more obtuse feeling, be sensible to that of a blind man, rendered more acute by the pri vation of sight? If St. Paul was, at one time, a "cruel, murdering persecutor," at another, "gentle, calm, moral, humane, and pious," the cause was the same. person worships the rising sun-another refuses to pull off his hat, the effects are different, but the cause is the same. And if St. Paul did persecute the Christians, it was with a view to their conversion to what he thought the true faith; after he was enlightened, the same desire of serving God produced the true Christian. Amicus accuses ine of personality, which I am not conscious of; at any rate it is unintentional. But what is more grossly personal than the conclusion of his sage epistle? If I be "armed with a mortar and a pestle" I am not an apothecary's apprentice, or an apprentice at all. I have passed the years of discretion;=-1.89108.77818 gal. if the quantity had been only and though my discretion, as well as my beard, be small, one gallon; therefore .77818 X 40 31.1272 gallons of I dare say I have sufficient of both to defend myself from brandy, when the quart on the fortieth day had been the attacks of Amicus Justitiae; who, however friendly he may be to justice, does not seem friendly to any one else; and, certainly, does not do his cause justice by virulence and abuse, instead of argument. I will venture to say, that neither apothecary's apprentice, deputy assistant-surgeon, (by the bye, I don't know what deputy assistant means, an assistant is generally a deputy,) nor journey-half a mile of the counties of Lancaster and York, is a SIR,-On the extreme verge of Cheshire, and within woman milliner was present. Let Mr. Amicus drag me high hill, rising from the plain below almost perpendicufrom behind the counter-let him hold me up to the "full larly; it bears the name of Buckton Castle. From the blaze of phrenological admiration"-I am above his ma- appearance of the top, it does not seem improbable but a lice, and will not, as Shakspeare says, " carry coals." building may have sometime stood there. Could you, Sir, did ever exist? If so, by whom, and when founded, by or any of your correspondents, say whether such a castle whom possessed, and when destroyed, and the source from which you or they gain the information?-An early answer would much oblige Yours, &c.

I must just notice one more remark contained in a note, where he says, that "the nose, cheeks, and chin will be colonized." I doubt not that as many organs might be found on your correspondent's chin as his skull, and that the whole will be a trackless void. I will intrude no further; but if "my friend" wishes to hear from me, I shall be at his service.

September 10, 1827.

HYDROPHOBIA.

TO THE EDITOR.

CRANIUM.

SIR,-It may not be uninteresting to the public to be informed respecting Mr. T. Fenby, who lately died, at the age of 31, from this dreadful malady, and whose case has excited so much attention and commiseration, that he was the author of a small volume of poems, entitled "Wild Roses," which were some time ago favourably noticed in the Kaleidoscope. To these poems I would now call the attention of the public, as containing those sentiments of moral rectitude and benevolence which, to those intimately acquainted with him, peculiarly distinguished his character during his life, and which so strongly displayed themselves in the midst of his acutest sufferings, and in the prospect of approaching death.

Some copies still remaining on hand, will give to those who may feel interested in his character an opportunity of verifying, in some degree, the truth of the above obser

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The Beauties of Chess.

"Ludimus effigiem belli."-VIDA.

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SIR,-Some of your ingenious chess correspondents perhaps take the trouble to answer me the following qua with which, as a beginner, I am unacquainted.-J. R. If a king should be in check, and happens to pass noticed for several (say half a dozen) moves, and it is covered at the antagonist's move, ought he merely to "Check," and move a piece or pawn on some other of the board, thereby leaving the king in check, with winning the game? or ought the king to be remove covered prior to any further procedure?

SOLUTION TO STUDY CLV.

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5th, 6th, and 7th,-Great variation in temperature, with
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8th,-Five, p.m. wind S. W. barometer falling and tempe-
rature rising; rain denoted.

LIVERPOOL MUSICAL FESTIVAL.
THE fashionable Public are respectfully informed, that
the SHOP, No. 69, CHURCH-STREET, will be OPENED on the
and FANCY GOODS, purchased with great care, from the

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To Correspondents.

ESSAYS ON THE HUMAN MIND.-Patronus has assigned self a very arduous task, and he must excuse our in hinting that it would be wise to seek some easter fame. He seems rather too well satisfied with him satisfy others who are aware of the difficulty and d of an investigation in which even the great Locke h ocesaionally at fault. We judge, of course, from the specimen before us; and we shall not finally decide the insertion of his lucubrations until we have furth upon which to found our ultimate determination. correspondent, in the meantime, wishes more precis know what we think of his first essay, we shall be particular in our next note to him.

POETICAL ERRATUM. Our correspondent, Master S whose highly poetical lines, accompanying a rose,

serted in the last Kaleidoscope, informs us that the on the verses was by some means inverted. The seco fourth verse ought to change places. The alteration easily be indicated by the pen. PHRENOLOGY. The letter of Amicus Justitiae shall be in in our next publication.

J.

W. S., of Chorlton-row, will next week find that his We have further to acknowledge the communications of -T. H.-X. Y.-Arthur-W. W. M.-J. S.-W. H

have not been overlooked.

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OR,

Literary and Scientific Mirror.

"UTILE DULCI."

This familiar Miscellany, from which all religious and political matters are excluded, contains a variety of original and selected Articles; comprehending LITERATURE, CRITICISM, MEN and MANSERA, AMUSEMENT, elegant EXTRACTS, POETRY, ANECDOTES, Biography, MeteoroLOGY, the DRAMA, ARTS and SCIENCES, WIT and SATIRE, FASHIONS, NATURAL HISTORY, &c. forming a handsome ANNUAL VOLUME, with an INDEX and TITLE-page. Persons in any part of the Kingdom may obtain this Work from London through their respective Booksellers.

No. 378.-Vol. VIII.

The Kaleidoscope.

MAGINATION—MENTAL HALLUCINATION-NERVOUS
AFFECTIONS HYPOCHONDRIA, &c.

"My brain I'll prove the female to my soul; My soul, the father; and these two beget

A generation of still breeding thoughts,

And these same thoughts people this little world."
Shakspeare.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1827.

PRICE 3 d

some of our readers may assist us to trace out the judgment is dormant; and, as an ingenious theorist authority upon which it rests. It is the case of a on the subject observes, the master of the school man whom the doctors pretended to bleed, but whose being absent, the boys are all playing truant, and in arm, which was kept out of his sight, was merely an uproar.. scratched; whilst warm milk was used to facilitate In the Memoirs of Count de Maurepas is an acthe deception. The man either fainted away or died count of a singular hypochondriac in the person of under the operation, although not one drop of blood the Prince of Bourbon. He once fancied himself a was extracted from him. We hope to obtain all the hare, and would suffer no bell to be rung in his paparticulars of this extraordinary case before our next lace, lest it should scare him to the woods. At anThe power of the human imagination to impart publication, when we shall be enabled to ascertain other time he fancied himself a plant, and insisted on the force and circumstance of reality to the mere what dependance is to be placed upon the evidence. being watered in the garden where he stood. At antoinage of the brain," is as interesting a subject of Those who altogether deny the effect of mind upon other time he thought himself dead, and refused quiry as can be contemplated. Imagination has matter, or, in other words, of the imagination over nourishment, for which he said he had no further en known not only to produce maladies, and cure the human body, must have paid very little attention occasion: this whim would have proved fatal, if his am also, but actually to prove fatal to life. In- to what is passing around them every day of their friends had not disguised two persons, who visited nces in abundance of death, produced by mere lives. A writer of some eminence illustrates this phe-him as in the shades, in the characters of his grandLight, are on record; and the human mind has often nomenon so simply, that we shall transcribe the foleived so severe a shock from fear and apprehen-lowing passage from his works: in of danger, which has had no foundation in re- "We have a familiar example of the instantaneous fity, that mental derangement has been the conse-change in the actions of blood vessels, occasioned by

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father and Marshal Luxembourg, and who, after some conversation concerning the shades, invited him to dine with Marshal Turenne. Our hypochondriac followed them into a cellar prepared for the an affection of the mind in the action of blushing, in purpose, and made a hearty meal. While this turn There is in our present publication a story entitled which the cutaneous vessels of the face are immedi- of his disorder prevailed, he always dined in this Death's Head," which, although it is wrought up ately distended with blood, from the feeling of place with some noble ghost. This strange malady o the form of a romance, is founded on fact; nor shame; and a still greater distention of vessels oc- did not incapacitate him for business, especially the incident at all at variance with probability. curs in some other organs of the body, as the imme-when his interest was concerned.—This account is The victim, in this case, was so shocked by the un-diate consequence of certain passions. On the con- drawn from the Appendix to the Monthly Review, xpected discovery of a human skull, left designedly trary, other mental emotions, such as fear and terror, Dec. 1792. her bed, that reason forsook its seat never to re- as speedily diminish the action of the blood vessels; A woman, four months gone with child, would see whence the sudden paleness which overspreads the an ape dressed like a Merry Andrew, which so forperson under such emotions; nay, when these are cibly impressed her imagination, that, at the usual violent, the whole system of circulation, heart and time, she lay in of a perfect ape, with the cap and arteries together, is often instantaneously suspended waistcoat of a Merry Andrew. The waistcoat was in its motions; if this suspension be merely tempo-red, and went over the arms; it had the folds and rary, as is usual, syncope or fainting only occurs; if figure of a short coat, without skirts; it covered and it be permanent, which has sometimes happened, clung to the flesh. The face perfectly resembled the death ensues." ape; also the arms, legs, and body, except that it had no hair.-This case is given by Bourdelot, who himself examined this curious little monster.

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The force of the imagination is strikingly exemified in dreams, during which the mind's eye is metimes delighted with enchanting scenery, the charmed with the most exquisite harmony; ad while the body is motionless, we are transported an instant to the most distant regions of the Garth-descend into the recesses of the deep, and am the mid air with the ease and velocity of the athered tribe. Surprising as all this is, it is still more astonishthat when waking, and apparently in possession all the faculties which constitute reason, men, lawaring under what are termed nervous affections, ill fancy themselves actually dead; and while they maintain, with a most ludicrous gravity, that they ave not only ceased to live, but that the process of putrefaction has actually commenced, they at the jame time can reason upon general subjects with rfect consistency and logical accuracy. We know a person of talent and sober demeanour, he is thoroughly persuaded that his heart has been asted away by some means, and that he is now stitute of that important organ; and yet this genman will go about his business as systematically, d talk on other subjects as rationally as any other jrson.

We have an indistinct recollection of reading a ost singular instance of the power of imagination, twhich we merely advert here, in the hope that

We might multiply instances innumerable in proof of the power of imagination to impart to "airy nothing a local habitation and a name," but we shall not proceed much further with our prefatory remarks, as we wish to adduce some singular instances of this phenomenon, collected by D'Israeli, and other respectable writers. They most forcibly illustrate the power of a distempered fancy; and they serve to show that the author of the whimsical farce, called "Frightened to Death," is not a mere caricaturist. If, in fiction, he exhibits a man who was persuaded that he was dead, we can produce, in real life, a parallel case, in the person of a Bourbon Prince.

Fuller says, several children, lost in a forest, were fatigued with wandering; the person with them cut them pieces of wood, which he called horses, for them to ride home on; which answered his design; for being thus mounted, they, by the aid of their fancy, trudged home with spirit.

A Portuguese, overwhelmed with the thought that God would not pardon him, lived in the most dismal despair; but was cured by the contrivance of his friends. One, who personified an angel, was admitted through the roof into his chamber, and persuaded him that his sins were forgiven; upon which he speedily recovered.

It may be urged that some of the instances we have adduced, and those we are about to cite, ought rather to be referred to mental derangement than to ima A man in a burning fever, leaning over his bedside, gination; but this appears to us to be a distinction pointed to the chamber door, begging he might almost without a difference. What is derangement swim in that lake, and then he should be cool. The but imagination become paramount over the other physician humoured the conceit: the patient walked faculties? The man who is deranged, in this resem-carefully about the room, seemed to feel the water bles the man who sleeps and dreams: his memory ascend, till he declared himself perfectly cool, and and his imagination are in full operation, but his was found so.

Malebranche, in his Recherche de la Verité, lib. i. c. 7, says,—“ About seven years ago, there was a young man who was born an idiot, and whose body was dislocated in those places where criminals are when broken on the wheel; this proceeded from his mother having seen a criminal suffer that punishment. He lived twenty years in this condition." Henry of Heer says a woman of Namur was ready to faint whenever she heard a bell.

John Kneller, rector of Weilk, in Silesia, when ever he saw a pasty made of the flesh of a smoked hog, (a common dish there) would have died with laughing if it had not been removed.

Boyle says, the harsh noise of whetting a knife, &c. on a grindstone, always made one of his servant's gums bleed.

A young woman in Germany took such an aver sion to wine, that a sweat would overspread her whole body (with anxiety and weakness) whenever any thing was offered to her in which was the least wine.

John Peckham, a learned divine, could never bear the floor swept, from his youth. Once, in preach ing, he heard a sweeping in an adjoining room, and could scarcely draw his breath, but sweat profusely. He would rather jump out of the window than endure a broom in the room.

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A few years ago, before "close fellowship" with the world had brushed away the freshness of my feelings, or sorrow touched with icy finger that gaité du cœur for which the scason of youth is proverbial, it was a custom with me to temper the vivacity of my spirits by strolling every now and then through the deserted alleys of an old churchyard, belonging to a hamlet seated in one of the deepest seclusions of the west of England. The ancient graves sprinkled around in thick profusion; the rude stones, and ruder inscriptions; the weed overgrown walks; and the lowly temple crowning all, and itself crowned with exuberant clusters of ivy,-possessed a charm undefinable for my boyish fancy. I seemed, while winding in and out the grass-covered mounds, or seated in still thought upon them, to become familiar with years long past. The genius of the place has held my senses in close enthralment. I have mused until the closing hymn, wafted across the intervening field in the deep stillness of a Sabbath morning, has appeared, to my excited imagination, to connect itself with the ruined fabric before me, and have lifted my eyes, almost expecting to see the antique train issue forth: the squire in his suuff coloured coat, with ruffled wrists, and ample waistcoat richly decked with lace; the dame, with hood and stomacher and high-heeled shoes: and, in short, all the array of sentient human beings-of hearts bounding with hope and joy, or throbbing under the sharp visitation of care-that once filled those alleys

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Beautiful regards were turned on me." A female figure ing earnestness. She seemed the very personification of sat by my side, and met my intent gaze with correspond"Life in Death." Her stature was small-her shape attenuated to an almost incredible degree; her auburn hair streamed on the night breeze; and her face!-never shall I forget those pale, sad features-that unearthly expression, referable to no feeling by which humanity is visited, and which would almost tempt one to believe in the fabled scenes of purgatory.

My temperament was naturally nervous, and I had a wild pleasure in furnishing it with appropriate food. On the present occasion, my faculties were wholly entranced; sat as motionless, and I should think almost as pale, as the fair statue beside me. Her garments were white and flowing; and, but that mine were of less "questionable shape," had chance brought another person to the place, glances bent upon each other, for reanimated inmates of we should both have passed, with our fixed and silent the surrounding tombs.

It was not until the figure arose that the spell was in any degree unbound. The removal of her hand from again to my heart; with the sensation of one awaking mine seemed a signal for the warm blood to rush back from a painful dream, I rubbed my eyes violently, and, on reopening them, found myself once more in utter solitude. The reaction of my feelings was tumultuous. The principle of life, beaten back for awhile by mingled emotions of wonder and awe, returned with threefold energy: a moment's recollection sufficed to convince me that I had ing received a supernatural visitation, I hastily left the not been dreaming; and with a strong impression of havplace.

When half way home, I was encountered, in ny thoughtless and almost unconscious speed, by a friend whose house lay close by: Whither so fast ?" demanded he; and then added, slightly drawing himself back, Good heavens! you look as if you had seen the woman!"

The woman!-what woman?" exclaimed I, involuntarily shuddering.

Come with me," answered my friend, eyeing me with still greater attention, as he locked his arm in mine,

" and I will tell you."

freshment, be communicated the following little history,
We adjourned to his house, and, having taken some re-

to which I listened with breathless interest.

vious to Amelia's retiring to her chamber. It appears the door of the room; but hearing no exclamations, they that the conspirators afterwards listened for some time a one by one departed.

Mr. Ghad arrived late over night, and slept at an adjoining hotel; and early in the morning his tience induced him to go and arouse his expectati He found one of the principals already stirring, by th Amelia was summoned. Repeatedly did this lady at the door of the poor girl's apartment to no paro At length, becoming alarmed, she communicated the cumstance to the father, who, his first loud signal b unanswered, with an unwonted exertion of strength bua open the chamber-door.

"The scene within was strange and piteous. Or side of the bed (which betrayed few signs of occupata sat Amelia.

springing towards his daughter. Alas! his eager

"Thank God, she is alive!' exclaimed Mr. G

tion was met with the vacant stare and unmeaning of idiocy. On her lap lay the death's head, wid, a a moment's interval, she tossed, with loud lagi. and intelligent child, the horror-stricken parent bet the ceiling, and caught again. Instead of his c maniac!

"What occurred after the girl had entered her clank ber over night can only be guessed at. The most pro surmise is, that she was awakened from her first slep the discovery of the skull, and that darkness, terror, the confusion incident to returning conscica excitement) had at once turned her brain, and (operating in dreadful contrast to her previous

another instance to the list of victims to malicious or tal

less experiment.

"Since this event several years have elapsed, which interval every step has been taken to set f again the pure current of reason-but in vain! and heart-broken and despairing, her father has brought lost child home again. Gentle and inoffensive a she frequently eludes her attendants, and wanders evening hours through the adjacent fields. The neighbours (to whom this story is, of course, uni avoid her as the spectre-woman; and since, under the idea is sedulously encouraged. Have you een kers mistake, she is protected from insult in her lonely a

Fine Arts.

MANCHESTER EXHIBITION OF WATER-COLOUR
DRAWINGS.

herself among her fellows; and in no way more conspi-
In this seminary the young lady soon distinguished
cuously than in the unyielding firmness with which she
rejected every trait and modification of superstitious feeling.
youthful, and, more particularly, the female fancy is apt
Her clear intellect burst asunder the bond whereby the
to be enthralled; and it must have been delightfully in-
teresting to observe a delicate girl negative the deductions
of ignorance, and submit to the test of reason alone those
tales of phantasms and chimeras dire,' always plentifully
The summer had deepened into autumn, when one
evening I took my favourite ramble: the gathering dark-engendered in the seclusion of a boarding school. For
ness had softened and blended the outlines of the various Amelia was delicate-ay, and timid, too: her imagination,
objects before me, and was fast shrouding all in its un-
so far from being indurated, was peculiarly sensitive, and
distinguishing veil, when the moon, darting suddenly her superiority proceeded not from strong nerves, but from

lives in the vicinity of your favourite hamlet. I knew her
"Amelia Gwas the daughter of a gentleman who
from her infancy. Her person, symmetrical and sylph-
like, was moulded by nature and parental care into the
beauty, seemed altogether too comprehensive and strenuous
most winning gracefulness; and her mind, in its expanding
for its slight habitation. She had been forwarded, under
her mother's eye, in all those accomplishments where-
(From a Correspondent.)
with it is held desirable to invest a young female,-when
death prematurely deprived her of the benefits of maternal genius in Manchester, which only required some fare
Although I was aware there was a considerable
solicitude. Her father now deemed it expedient to give opportunity for displaying itself, yet my anticipan
blishment near the metropolis, and thither Amelia was The drawings may not be of a class to rank them a
his daughter the advantages of a first-rate scholastic esta-infinitely short of the talent displayed in this Ex
despatched.
the foremost and best productions in the art; yet man
artists, both for beauty of design and correctness of ch
them develop much power, on the part of the respe
tion. The principal object to be aimed at in water-
drawing, is richness and depth of colouring; pres
cult as this is to attain, many of these drawings
at the same time a clear and chaste, yet bold touch.
thorough knowledge of it. Unbiassed by partiality to
of the exhibitors, I shail proceed to give my candid
of the merits of the most respectable pictures; and i
my strictures will be divested of any technical jarg
known for the most part to artists only. I shall mast
this deficiency by a close adherence to truth. I shal
my opinions with greater confidence, because they co
with those of a gentleman, than whom I know no pe
more capable of judging.

with life and motion.

from behind a mass of clouds, to which it communicated

its own silvery lustre, restored in strong, though mellow radiance, the touching details of the scene. The church stood (as is not unusual) at some little distance from the village, and the most thorough stillness prevailed. I sat down upon a tombstone, and was soon lost in reveric.

"From this abstraction I was roused :-and how?" To my infinite surprise, I felt a chill, wasted hand laid upon mine, and its long fingers twining then selves around my own. I had been, in fact, half slumbering,-my first sensation was, as I have said, surprise, which, however, was instantaneously succeeded by alarm. I started, and, on raising my eyes, perceived that I was not alone.

But who was my companion? She looked not like an inhabitant of the earth, and yet was on it." But for far different was the substance of this apparition from that which met the affrighted eyes of the Scottish warrior:

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a luminous understanding.

determined to recal his precious treasure, who had been
"Two years had flitted by, when the anxious father
represented to him as now ripe in mental and personal
excellence. He announced his resolution to the principals
of the establishment, as well as to Amelia herself, and the
eve of that day on which his arrival was expected, to con-
vey his daughter home, found the happy girl revelling in
health and joyous anticipation: her check radiant with
the contesting rose and lily-her heart bounding with
confidence and universal good-will.

sign of this picture is beyond all praise, bold and striking Duncan's Warning, 173, R. Westall, R. A.-The and shows the artist to be a man of wonderful ge powerful in his conceptions, and original in his executi Farmer's Boy and Dog, 171, by the same artist, is clever with the abovementioned picture, and prese singular contrast, having nothing of the sublime in de which characterizes the other; but being a more c and finished performance. There are also five ouber tures by this celebrated artist, which are worthy of master particularly the Death of Casar, 177, and 4 ST in Macbeth, 169.

But the worm was in the gourd the blight in the bud." Out of this poor girl's very strength and excellence was the principle of her destruction extracted. A scheme had been matured amongst her companions to put the most highly finished picture in the Exhibition, c The Wounded Soldier, 179, W. M. Craig-This is her resolution to a farewell proof, and in pursuance the reor part being touched with the nicest skill. The concerta means had been taken to procure a human skull, which of the whole, and particularly the expression of the mana was introduced between her bed clothes immediately pre- face, is beyond description, and must be seen to fora

y idea of its excellence. I have little hesitation in pro- | uncing this to be one of the most expressive and beautiwater-colour drawings I ever saw.-Boys crossing a le, 172, by the same artist, is an admirable production; colouring being rich and bold, and yet touched with precision of a miniature. View in China, 170, W. Westall.-An exquisitely ished drawing, and whether the conception or the ecution be considered, it is equally excellent; conved in the most masterly manner, and finished with a ecision that certainly could not be surpassed. Bridge near Windsor Castle, 109, J. Glover.This is best drawing in the Exhibition; bold, rich, and effecin the colouring, and sweet in the disposition of the ; which, falling immediately upon the foliage of large trees in the foreground, has a pleasing effect. group of cattle introduced are beautifully executed, give an additional interest to the picture. pine Scene, 60, S. Jackson.-This is one of the best most attractive pictures in the Exhibition, on account e richness and depth of the colouring: it is a grand ve drawing, and evinces the artist to be a man of aloriginal powers. I regret there are no other pictures he same artist; not that the Exhibition is by any as deficient of interest, only that drawings like this dan additional charm. on the River Yare, 80, P. Dewint.-Next to the pictures just noticed, this is probably the most integ; beautiful in conception, and bold in execution, all the strength and richness of an oil painting.re are two other drawings by this clever artist-View Hertford, 57, and Scene near Chiswick, 105; both hich, although masterly, are inferior to the beforetioned picture.

omb of Edward III. Westminster Abbey, 7, J. CoThis venerable building has met with an able and hful delineator in this artist. The difficulty of painting interior view, particularly where the light is admitted faintly, rendering the objects indistinct, has been adably overcome in the present instance.-Poet's Corner, minster Abbey, 15, by the same artist, and a comon to the above, is equally excellent. The place re repose the ashes of the "mighty master-spirits of

song," is very correctly given, and displays the marks of a masterly genius.

is executed with greater nicety than he usually finishes his drawings, and is likely to prove highly attractive, in conView of Manchester, from Broughton, 112, J. Bourne. sequence of being a view of the place where the scene of -A very correct view, with great truth and boldness of the beautiful Romance, "Sir John Chiverton," is laid. colour; strong, rich, and effective. The artist has sacri- Landscape, 72, Copley Fielding.-This little drawing ficed the best view of the town, purposely to obtain a pic-is a perfect gem, and worthy of the talented and popular turesque foreground, which he has managed with great artist. Urostentatious as this picture may appear to a skill and judgment. This artist has also taken A View casual observer, there is more real talent displayed in it of the College, from Hunt's Bank, 100, which is a good, than there is in many other larger, and consequently more bold picture, and a correct view, before the recent altera- attractive pictures. tions. There are nine other drawings by this artist, all of which display great talent and judgment.

View on the Dart, Devon, 41, A. Perigal.-I must confess I was disappointed upon seeing this picture, when I recollected the beautiful paintings in the last Exhibition by this artist. This drawing has not that boldness of execution I should have expected from so experienced an artist, nevertheless it displays powers of no ordinary nature.

I was much pleased with three spirited drawings, (copied from the celebrated picture of Landseer, Intruding Puppies,) which do not appear in the catalogue, by a talented young gentleman, whose diffidence ought not to have prevented him from receiving, in appropria persona, the praise to which he is so justly entitled."

There are some specimens of pencil drawing which are creditable to the taste and talent of the respective artists; particularly two, by M. Peers-Landscape, 187, and Cottage near Green Heys, 195: the former is a sweet composition; and of the fidelity of the latter I can speak, the scene being immediately in the neighbourhood of my residence.

A very talented lady of this town, whose diffidence has caused her to withhold her name, has contributed six drawings, superior to many, and inferior to few; in fact, Glen Gyle, at the head of Loch Katrine, 13, is a picture which, for beauty of design and chasteness of execution, Before closing this article, I must commend the arrangewill compete with the best pictures in the Exhibition.ment of the pictures in this Exhibition; which certainly is Fall of Inversnaid, Scotland, 5, is also an exquisite draw- very praiseworthy, and is calculated to give pretty general ing; possessing great boldness and depth of colour, and satisfaction, not only to the respective artists, but also to finished with a correctness that would reflect credit upon the visitors, each drawing being placed in the most conthe most experienced artist. spicuous point of view: in fact, I imagine this Exhibition will prove more highly attractive than the last. Manchester, Sept. 1827.

Hastings, 69, S. Austin. This is an excellent picture, notwithstanding the careless manner in which it is finished; indeed I am inclined to think that much of its beauty is owing to the bold and effective manner in which it is executed.-A Calm, 135, by the same artist, is equally excellent with the one just enumerated; true to nature, and finished in a style peculiar to this artist. Harden Mill, 16, J. Ralston. A picture in which there is great boldness, depth, and richness of colour; producing an effect truly surprising. The mill is admirably depicted, and finished no way inferior to any of his productions. He has contributed eight other drawings; the best of which are Shrewsbury Abbey, 99, Woodside Ferry, near Liverpool, 154, and Hulme Hall and Bridge, 89. This picture

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WHEN COLDNESS WRAPS THIS SUFF'RING CLAY.

9

[Wirt. born.

D. Queen of

[St. Jerome.

11 St. Michael. 216th Sunday after Trinity. 10 Remigius. 21

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