Part 3

Dr. Edmonston in his interesting "_View of the Zetland Islands_," relates that the hooded Crow sometimes engages in merry meetings, but, savage-like, concludes by a sanguinary sacrifice. The crows generally appear in pairs, even during winter, except when attracted to a spot in search of food, or when they assemble for the purpose of holding what is called a _Craws' Court_. This latter institution exhibits a curious fact in their history. Numbers are seen to assemble on a particular hill or field, from many different parts. On some occasions, the meeting does not appear complete before the expiration of a day or two. As soon as all the deputies have arrived, a very general noise and croaking ensue; and shortly after, the whole fall upon one or two individuals, whom they persecute and beat until they kill them. When this has been accomplished, they quietly disperse.

ALPINE PERILS.

Strange incidents befel Professor Forbes, and his companions, in their travels through the Alps of Savoy. On one occasion, they got so near a thundercloud, as to be highly electrified by induction, with all the angular stones round them hissing like points near a powerful electrical machine; on another, whilst crossing one of the loftiest passes, the Col de Collon, they discovered a dark object lying on the snow, which proved to be the body of a man, with the clothes hard-frozen and uninjured. "The effect on us all," says the Professor, "was electric; and had not the sun shone forth in its full glory, and the very wilderness of eternal snow seemed gladdened under the serenity of such a summer's day, as is rare at these heights, we should certainly have felt a deeper thrill, arising from the sense of personal danger. As it was, when we had recovered our first surprise, and interchanged our expression of sympathy for the poor traveller, and gazed with awe on the disfigured relics of one who had so lately been in the same plight with ourselves, we turned and surveyed, with a stronger sense of sublimity than before, the desolation by which we were surrounded; and became still more sensible of our isolation from human dwellings, human help, and human sympathy, our loneliness with nature, and as it were, the more immediate presence of God."

PHILOSOPHICAL ENTHUSIASM.

"Never shall I forget," says Agassiz, "the impression which the sight of the _Pterichthys_, provided with appendages resembling wings, produced upon me, when I assured myself that it belonged to the class of fishes. It was an entirely new type, which was about to figure, for the first time since it had ceased to exist, in the series of beings--again to form a link which nothing of all that had been revealed up to the time with regard to extinct creations, would have led us ever to suspect the existence of--showing forcibly that observation alone can lead us to the recognition of the laws of development of organized beings; and how much we should guard against all those systems of transformation of species, which the imagination invents with as much facility as reason refutes them."

"SHEPHERD TO THE KING OF ENGLAND FOR SCOTLAND."

Lalande, the celebrated astronomer, committed a ludicrous mistake in styling James Ferguson, _Berger du Roi d'Angleterre en Ecosse_, the King of England's Shepherd for Scotland. The matter has, however, been thus explained:--Daubenton, as a naturalist, had the charge of the royal flocks of sheep in France. In order to retain his situation under the republic, he required a _certificate of civism_ from the Section of the Sans Culottes. In this curious document, he is called _the Shepherd Daubenton_. Lalande, whose great work on astronomy was published at this period, had seen James Ferguson (the astronomer) designated _the Shepherd_, probably to distinguish him from Adam Ferguson the Philosopher, and hence he placed _Ferguson the Shepherd_ in the same category with _the Shepherd Daubenton_, and made him "Shepherd to the King of England for Scotland!"

TRAVELS OF VOLCANIC DUST.

On the 2nd of September, 1845, a quantity of volcanic dust fell in the Orkney Islands, which was supposed to have originated in an eruption of Hecla in Iceland. It was subsequently ascertained that an eruption of Hecla took place on the morning of the above-named day, so as to leave no doubt of the justness of the conclusion. The dust had thus travelled about 600 miles!

EARLY LIFE OF ALEXANDER BRONGNIART.

This celebrated chemist and mineralogist, upwards of forty years director of the porcelain manufactory of Sèvres, was born at Paris in 1770. His father was justly celebrated for his attainments in the fine arts. His mind developed itself in the midst of that brilliant society belonging to the end of the eighteenth century, which his father was accustomed to draw around him. He there derived, from conversations with Franklin, the germ of that mild and practical philosophy which he never abandoned; and from those of Lavoisier his earliest notions of chemistry, which formed one of the foundations of his scientific career. He gave early indications of that clearness of elocution which formed one of his merits as a professor; and it is related that Lavoisier himself took pleasure in listening to a lecture on chemistry delivered by Brongniart even when he was scarcely fifteen years of age. He studied in the Ecole de Medécine, where he was thrice enrolled; and when every Frenchman was called to the frontier, he was connected to the army of the Pyrenees in the capacity of an apothecary. A stay of fifteen months among these mountains gave him the opportunity of studying a rich and varied field of nature, as a zoologist and botanist. He likewise made geological observations, which, at a later period, took their place in the science, and which he often took pleasure in recalling; but there he encountered dangers which his youth did not suspect, and he was imprisoned under suspicion of having favoured the escape of the skilful naturalist, Broussonnet, who avoided certain death by fleeing by the breach of Rolland. Restored to liberty after the 9th Thermidor, Brongniart returned to Paris, and, in 1800, was nominated director of the porcelain manufactory of Sèvres, on the recommendation of Berthollet. At nineteen years of age, Brongniart was one of the founders of the Societé Philomatique, which, at the period of proscription for all of a higher class, kept alive the sacred fame of science. He died in 1847, and at his funeral, on October 9th, M. Elie de Beaumont delivered an _éloge_, whence these details have been derived.

SMEATON'S REPROOF OF GAMING.

Smeaton, the engineer, was on intimate terms of acquaintance with the Duke and Duchess of Queensbury, and often spent a leisure hour in the evening at their house. On a few occasions, he played at cards with them, and on one such evening, he effected the abolition of that inconsiderate, indiscriminate play amongst people of superior rank or fortune, which compels every one to join, and at their own stake too. Smeaton detested cards, and his attention never following the game he played like a boy. The game was Pope Joan; and the general run of it was high; and the stake in Pope had accumulated to a serious sum. It was Smeaton's turn by the deal to _double_ it; when, regardless of his cards, he busily made minutes on a slip of paper, and put it on the board. The Duchess eagerly inquired what it was; and he as coolly replied, "Your grace will recollect the field in which my house stands may be about five acres, three roods, and seven perches; which, at thirty years' purchase, will be just my stake; and if your grace will make a duke of me, I presume the winner will not dislike my mortgage." The joke and the lesson had alike their weight; and the party never after played but for the merest trifle.

INVENTION OF GUN-COTTON.

Cotton, having largely contributed to our national prosperity in times of peace, promised, not long since, to play a very important part in the strategies of war; and this by its use in place of gunpowder; wherefore the new substance was termed "Gun-cotton."

The merit of the invention is believed to be due to Professor Schonbein, of Basle. In 1840, the novelty was first announced as an explosive compound, possessing many apparent advantages over gunpowder. It was described as a cotton prepared by a secret process; which, on the application of a spark, became at once converted into a gaseous state. In an experiment performed in the laboratory of Professor Schonbein, a certain weight of gunpowder, when fired, filled the apartment with smoke; whilst an equal weight of gun-cotton exploded without producing any smoke, leaving only a few atoms of carbonaceous matter behind. Cannon-balls and shells were then experimentally projected by this prepared cotton, with nearly double the projectile force of gunpowder.

Professor Schonbein made an interesting experiment upon the wall of an old castle: it had been calculated that from three to four pounds of gunpowder would be requisite to destroy this wall, and a hole capable of containing that quantity was prepared. In this aperture were put four ounces of the prepared cotton, which, when fired, blew the massive wall to pieces.

Again, the sixteenth part of an ounce of the prepared cotton, placed in a gun, carried a ball with such force, that it perforated two planks at the distance of twenty-eight paces; and, at another time, with the same charge, drove a bullet into a wall, to the depth of three inches and three-quarters.

Professor Schonbein attended the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Southampton, in 1846, when the operation of this new power was explained and experimented with. Subsequently, the professor attended at Osborne House, to exhibit the properties of his gun-cotton to Prince Albert, when Schonbein offered to explode a portion on the hand of Colonel B----: who would, however, have nothing to do with the novel power. Prince Albert himself submitted to the test, and off went the cotton, without smoke, stain, or burning of the skin. Thus encouraged, the colonel took his turn; but whether the material was changed or not for the coarser preparation, it gave him such a singeing that he leaped up with a cry of pain. A hearty laugh was all the commiseration he received. After this, Professor Schonbein loaded a fowling-piece with cotton in the place of powder, and the prince fired both ball and shot from it with the usual effect, and perfect impunity.

SIR JOSEPH BANKS'S "BALANCE."

At the death of Sir Joseph Banks, there was left at the apartments of the Royal Society, at Somerset House, a very delicate balance, constructed by Ramsden, the property of Sir Joseph. The secretaries accordingly wrote to his widow, requesting to know her wishes respecting the instrument. "Pay it into Coutts's," was her ladyship's reply.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE GATES.

The central gates of the marble arch, facing Buckingham Palace, were put up in the summer of 1837: they were designed and cast by Samuel Parker, then of Argyll-place--they are the largest and most superb in Europe, not excepting the gates of the Ducal Palace at Venice, or of the Louvre at Paris. Their material is a beautiful alloy, the base of which is refined copper. Although cast, their enriched foliage and scroll-work bear the elaborate finish of the finest chasing: the height of each gate is twenty-five feet; width, seventeen feet, six inches; extreme thickness, three inches; weight of each, two tons, thirteen cwt.; yet, they are so beautifully hung, that a child might open and shut them. They now terminate at the springing of the arch; but Mr. Parker had cast for the heading a chaste frieze, and a design of the royal arms in the central circle, flanked by state crowns: this portion was, however, irretrievably mutilated by the Government removing the gates from the foundry in a common stage-waggon, without due care to prevent their breakage; yet the work cost, altogether, 3000 guineas!

EARTHQUAKES IN CHILE.

Mr. Darwin, in his very interesting _Journal of a Voyage round the World_, relates that he was one day dining with a gentleman at Coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake happened. He heard the forthcoming rumble, but from the screams of the ladies, the running of servants, and the rush of several of the gentlemen to the doorway, he could not distinguish the motion. Some of the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one gentleman said he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did, it would only be to dream of falling houses. The father of this person had lately lost all his property at Talcahuano, and he himself had only just escaped a falling roof at Valparaiso, in 1822. He mentioned a curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing at cards, when a German, one of the party, got up, and said he would never sit in a room in these countries with the door shut, as, owing to his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at Copiapo. Accordingly, he opened the door; and no sooner had he done this, than he cried out, "Here it comes again!" and the famous shock commenced. The whole party escaped. The danger in an earthquake is not from the time lost in opening a door, but from the chance of its becoming jammed by the movement of the walls.

CUVIER IN LONDON.

When Cuvier visited England, in 1818, in conversing with the Prince Regent on the subject of our Natural History Collections, he suggested the union of all the private collections in one great national museum, which, from the extent of our colonial possessions, he conceived would surpass every other collection in Europe.

During the great naturalist's stay in London, he was gratified with the sight of a Westminster election, in which he saw the practical working of one of our most important political institutions. "At this period," says his biographer, Mrs. Lee, "the election for Westminster was going forward, and he frequently dwelt upon the amusement he had received from being on the hustings every day. These orgies of liberty were then unknown in France; and it was a curious spectacle for a man who reflected so deeply on everything which passed before him, to see and hear our orators crying out at the top of their voices to the mob, who pelted them with mud, cabbages, eggs, &c. &c.; and Sir Murray Maxwell, in his splendid uniform, and decorated with orders, flattering the crowd who resisted him, and sent at his head all the varieties of the vegetable kingdom. Nothing ever effaced this impression from Cuvier's memory, who frequently described the scene with great animation."

THE FIRST CUP OF TEA DRUNK IN ENGLAND.

In all probability, the first cup of Tea made in England was drunk upon the site of Buckingham Palace, St. James's Park; for the Earl of Arlington took the first pound of tea to England, having bought it in Holland for sixty shillings; and at this time the Earl resided at Arlington House, which was taken down to make room for Buckingham House, since altered to the Queen's Palace.

BENEFIT OF A WIFE TO AN AUTHOR.

The wife of Nathaniel Bowditch was a woman of singular sweetness of disposition and cheerful piety, who, by her entire sympathy with her husband in all his studies and pursuits, lightened and cheered his labours; and by relieving him from all domestic cares, enabled him to go on with undivided mind and undistracted attention, in the execution of his great work--the translation of Laplace's _Mécanique Celeste_, on which his fame as a man of science rests. He had been heard to say that he never should have accomplished the task, and published the book in its present extended form, had he not been stimulated and encouraged by her. When the serious question was under consideration as to the expediency of Bowditch's publishing it at his own expense, at the estimated cost of 10,000 dollars, (which it actually exceeded,) with the noble spirit of her sex, his wife conjured and urged him to go on and do it, saying that she would find the means, and gladly make any sacrifice, and submit to any self-denial that might be involved in it. In grateful acknowledgment of her sympathy and aid, he proposed, in the concluding volume, to dedicate the work to her memory, (she died in 1834)--a design than which nothing could be more beautiful or touching.[3]

In the course of his labour, Dr. Bowditch used to say, "I never come across one of Laplace's _Thus it plainly appears_, without feeling sure that I have got hours of hard study before me to fill up the chasm, and find out and show _how_ it plainly appears."

Footnote 3:

It is highly honourable to the sex, that the only exposition of Laplace's work that has (1848) appeared in England, is from the pen of a female--the accomplished Mary Somerville, wife of Dr. Somerville, of Chelsea Hospital. This was published under the title of the _Mechanism of the Heavens_, of which, it is observed, in the _Edinburgh Review_, "this, unquestionably, is one of the most remarkable works that female intellect ever produced in any age or country; and with respect to the present day, we hazard little in saying that Mrs. Somerville is the only individual of her sex in the world who could have written it." For this signal service to science, there was conferred upon the lady a pension of 300_l._ per annum, at the recommendation of Sir Robert Peel.

THE WORLD IN A DROP OF WATER.

The microscope has shown that a drop of water though it may appear to the naked eye to be perfectly clear, is swarming with living beings. According to Ehrenberg, a cubic inch of water may contain more than 800,000 millions of these beings, estimating them only to occupy one fourth of its space; and a single drop, placed under the microscope, will be seen to hold 500 millions; an amount, perhaps, not so very far from equal to the whole number of human beings on the surface of our globe!

ORIGIN OF POST-PAID ENVELOPES.

M. Piron tells us, that the idea of a Post-paid Envelope originated, early in the reign of Louis XIV., with M. de Velayer, who, in 1653, established, with royal approbation, a private penny post, placing boxes at the corners of the streets for the reception of letters, wrapped up in envelopes, which were to be bought at offices established for that purpose.

M. de Velayer also caused to be printed certain forms of _billets_, or notes applicable to the ordinary business among the inhabitants of great towns, with blanks, which were to be filled up by the pen with such special matter as might complete the writer's object. One of these _billets_ has been preserved to our times by a pleasant misapplication of it. Pelisson, Mde. de Sevigné's friend, and the object of the _bon mot_, that "he abused the privilege which men have of being ugly," was amused at this kind of skeleton correspondence; and under the affected name of _Pisandre_, (according to the pedantic fashion of the day,) he filled up and addressed one of these forms to the celebrated Mademoiselle de Scuderi, in her _pseudonyme of Sappho_. This strange _billet-doux_ has happened, from the celebrity of the parties, to be preserved, and is still extant: one of the oldest, we presume, of penny-post letters, and a curious example of a pre-paying envelope--as well as a new proof of the adage, that "there is nothing new under the sun."

CHARACTER IN WORKS.

Telford, the engineer, relates that he came to London in 1782, and got employed at the quadrangle of Somerset house-buildings; he soon became known to Sir William Chambers and Mr. R. Adam, the two most distinguished architects of that day; the former haughty and reserved, the latter affable and communicative; and a similar distinction of character pervades their works, Sir William's being stiff and formal, and those of Mr. Adam, playful and gay.

BRINDLEY, THE ENGINEER.

Though one of the most successful engineers of his age, Brindley was so illiterate as to be scarcely able to read or to write. By his unrivalled powers of abstraction and memory, he often executed his plans without committing them to paper; and when he was engaged in any difficult or complex undertaking, he was in the habit of retiring to bed, where he often remained for two or three days, till he had thoroughly completed his design. So singular, indeed, was the structure of his mind, that the spectacle of a play in London, disturbed to such a degree the balance of its mechanism, that he could not, for some time, resume his usual pursuits.

REASON FOR SILENCE.

Some one asked Fontaine, the celebrated geometrician, what he did in society where he remained almost perfectly silent. "I study," replied he, "the vanity of men, in order to mortify it occasionally."

ASCENT OF THE JUNGFRAU ALP.

In 1841, Professor Forbes, along with M. Agassiz, and others, made a successful ascent of the great Swiss mountain, the Jungfrau, whose summit is 13,720 feet above the level of the sea.

Of six travellers and seven guides who formed the party, four of each reached the top--viz., of the former, MM. Forbes, Agassiz, Desor, and Duchatelies; of the latter, Jacob Leutvold (who ascended the Finster Aarhorn,) Johan Jannon, Melchior, Baucholzer, and Andreas Aplanalp. They left the Grimsel on the morning of the 27th of August, 1841, ascended the whole height of the Ober-Aar Glacier, and descended the greater part of that of Viesch. Crossing a col to the right, they slept at the chalet of Aletsch, near the lake of that name. This was twelve hours' hard walking, the descent of the glaciers being difficult and fatiguing. Next day, the party started at six a.m., having been unable sooner to procure a ladder, to cross the crevices; they then traversed the upper part of the glacier of Aletsch in its whole extent for four hours and a half, until the ascent of the Jungfrau began.

The party crossed with great caution extensive and steep fields of fresh snow, concealing crevices, till they came to one which opened vertically, and behind which rose an excessively steep wall of hardened snow. Having crossed the crevices with the ladder, they ascended the snow without much danger, owing to its consistency. After some similar walking they gained the col, which separates the Aletsch Glacier from the Rothal, on the side of Lauterbrunnen, by which the ascent has usually been attempted. Thus, the travellers, although now at a height of between 12,000 and 13,000 feet, had by far the hardest and most perilous part of the ascent to accomplish. The whole upper part of the mountain presented a steep, inclined surface of what at first seemed snow, but which soon appeared to be hard ice. This slope was not less than 800 or 900 feet in perpendicular height, and its surface (which Professor Forbes measured several times with a clinometer,) in many places rose at 45 degrees, and in few much less; and all Alpine travellers know well what an inclined surface of 45 degrees is to walk up. Of course, every step taken was cut with the hatchet, whilst the slope terminated below, on both sides in precipices some thousand feet high. After very severe exertion, they reached the top of this great mountain, at four p.m. The summit was so small that but one person could stand upon it at once, and that not until the snow had been flattened. The party returned as they came up, step by step, and backwards, and arrived at the chalets of Aletsch, and by beautiful moonlight, at half-past eleven at night.

THE STEAM-GUN IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.