Part 34

The watch is of silver, in the form of a skull. On the forehead of the skull is the figure of Death, with his scythe and sand-glass; he stands between a palace on the one hand, and a cottage on the other, with his toes applied equally to the door of each, and around this is the legend from Horace "_Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres_." On the opposite, or posterior part of the skull, is a representation of Time, devouring all things. He also has a scythe, and near him is the serpent with its tail in its mouth, being an emblem of eternity; this is surrounded by another legend from Horace, "_Tempus edax rerum tuque invidiosa vetustas_." The upper part of the skull is divided into two compartments: on one is represented our first parents in the garden of Eden, attended by some of the animals, with the motto, "_Peccando perditionem miseriam aeternam posteris meruere_." The opposite compartment is filled with the subject of the salvation of lost man by the crucifixion of our Saviour, who is represented as suffering between the two thieves, whilst the Mary's are in adoration below; the motto to this is "_Sic justitiae satisfecit, mortem superavit salutem comparavit_." Running below these compartments on both sides, there is an open work of about an inch in width, to permit the sound to come more freely out when the watch strikes. This is formed of emblems belonging to the crucifixion, scourges of various kinds, swords, the flagon and cup of the Eucharist, the cross, pincers, lantern used in the garden, spears of different kinds, and one with the sponge on its point, thongs, ladder, the coat without seam, and the dice that were thrown for it, the hammer and nails, and the crown of thorns. Under all these is the motto, "_Scala caeli ad gloriam via_."

The watch is opened by reversing the skull, and placing the upper part of it in the hollow of the hand, and then lifting the under jaw which rises on a hinge. Inside, on the plate, which thus may be called the lid, is a representation of the Holy Family in the stable, with the infant Jesus laid in the manger, and angels ministering to him; in the upper part an angel is seen descending with a scroll on which is written, "_Gloria excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae volu----_" In the distance are the shepherds with their flocks, and one of the men is in the act of performing on a cornemuse. The works of the watch occupy the position of the brains in the skull itself, the dial plate being on a flat where the roof of the mouth and the parts behind it under the base of the brain, are to be found in the real subject. The dial plate is of silver, and it is fixed within a golden circle richly carved in a scroll pattern. The hours are marked in large Roman letters, and within them is the figure of Saturn devouring his children, with this relative legend round the outer rim of the flat, "_Sicut meis sic et omnibus idem_."

Lifting up the body of the works on the hinges by which they are attached, they are found to be wonderfully entire. There is no date, but the maker's name, with the place of manufacture, "Moyse, Blois," are distinctly engraven. Blois was the place where it is believed watches were first made, and this suggests the probability of the opinion that the watch was expressly ordered by Queen Mary at Blois, when she went there with her husband, the Dauphin, previous to his death. The watch appears to have been originally constructed with catgut, instead of the chain which it now has, which must have been a more modern addition. It is now in perfect order, and performs wonderfully well, though it requires to be wound up within twenty-six hours to keep it going with tolerable accuracy. A large silver bell, of very musical sound, fills the entire hollow of the skull, and receives the works within it when the watch is shut; a small hammer set in motion by a separate escapement, strikes the hours on it.

This very curious relic must have been intended to occupy a stationary place on a _prie-dieu_, or small altar in a private oratory, for its weight is much too great to have admitted of its having been carried in any way attached to the person.

A MONSTER.

It is almost incredible that such a monster, as the one we are about to describe should have been allowed to continue his wicked career for some years, in a civilized country like France, little more than a hundred years ago, but the following paragraph is copied from a Paris journal of that period--1755, January the 17th--and there is every reason to believe that it is strictly correct. "What was his fate we do not know, but can hardly doubt.--The Marquis de Plumartin, whose execrable crimes are known over all France, has at last been taken in his castle, by 300 men of the King's Own regiment of foot, and carried to Poitiers, loaded with irons. The king is going to appoint a commission to try him. This monster turned away his wife some years ago, and became the terror of Poitou. Neither woman nor man durst appear in the neighbourhood. Having one day lost a cause in one of the king's courts, he caused the usher and his man, who came to intimate the sentence to him, to be burnt alive. Some days after, having drawn six of his creditors into his castle, where he had shut himself up with several of his crew, he ordered some of his people to drag them into a pond, tied to the tails of horses, and afterwards fastened them to a stake near a great fire, where three expired, and the other three died a few days after. Thirty of the Marshalsea guards, who were sent to apprehend him, having beset his castle, he barricaded the doors and fired on them from the garret window, killing the commanding officer and five others. After which he left the kingdom, but absurdly imagining that his crimes were forgot, he lately returned."

PERSEVERANCE REWARDED BY FORTUNE.

We have copied the following paragraph from the pages of a local historian, because it gives us a striking instance of what perseverance and good fortune will accomplish, in raising a man to comparative distinction from the humblest walks of life.

August 26, 1691--Sir John Duck, bart., departed this life, being Wednesday at night, and was buried upon the Monday after, being the 31st of August. The wealthiest burgess on the civic annals of Durham. Of Sir John's birth, parentage, and education, the two first have hitherto remained veiled in impenetrable obscurity; as to the third, he was bred a butcher under John Heslop, in defiance of the trade and mystery of butchers, in whose books a record still exists, warning John Heslop that he forbear to sett John Ducke on worke in the trade of a butcher. John Duck however grew rich, married the daughter of his benefactor, and was created a baronet by James II. He built a splendid mansion in Silver-street, where a panel still exists recording his happy rise to fortune. The baronet, then humble Duck, cast out by the butchers, stands near a bridge in an attitude of despondency; in the air is seen a raven bearing in his bill a piece of silver, which according to tradition fell at the feet of the lucky John, and was naturally calculated to make a strong impression on his mind. He bought a calf, which calf became a cow, and which cow being sold enabled John to make further purchases in cattle, and from such slender beginnings, to realise a splendid fortune. On the right of the picture is a view of his mansion in Silver-street, and he seems to point at another, which is presumed to be the hospital he endowed at Lumley. He died without issue, and was buried at St. Margaret's, where his wife, Pia---- Prudens---- Felix, lies buried beside him.

On Duck the Butchers shut the door; But Heslop's Daughter Johnny wed: In mortgage rich, in offspring poor, Nor son nor daughter crown'd his bed.

TRAVELLING IN THE UNITED STATES EXACTLY ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

The American advertisement, of which we here give a literal copy, is deserving of preservation on account of the quaintness of the inn-signs, the peculiarity of the spelling and diction, the "shifting" of the passengers which it announces, and the general idea it gives us of the way in which travelling was performed in America at the time when it was issued.

Philadelphia STAGE-WAGGON, and New-York STAGE BOAT performs their Stages twice a Week.

JOHN BUTLER, with his waggon, sets out on Mondays from his House, at the Sign of the Death of the Fox, in Strawberry ally, and drives the same day to Trenton Ferry, when Francis Holman meets him, and proceeds on Tuesday to Brunswick, and the passengers and goods being shifted into the waggon of Isaac Fitzrandolph, he takes them to the New Blazing-Star to Jacob Fitzrandolph's the same day, where Rubin Fitzrandolph, with a boat well suted, will receive them, and take them to New-York that night. John Butler returning to Philadelphia on Tuesday with the passengers and goods delivered to him by Francis Holman, will again set out for Trenton Ferry on Thursday, and Francis Holman, &c. will carry his passengers and goods, with the same expedition as above to New-York.

_Weekly Mercury._

March 8, 1759.

FETE OF THE FEDERATION. PARIS 1790.

The leading events of the great Revolution in France, may be fairly classed with the marvellous, and among our "Ten Thousand Wonderful Things" there will be found few more wonderful than the civic festival of the general federation of the National Guards of France, which took place on the 14th of July, 1790, and of which the above is a correct representation, taken from a view by Duplessis Bertaux. The proceedings of that memorable day had in them a mixture of religious celebration apparently singular among a people who had lately so much trampled on religion; but as this celebration was more pagan than Christian in its character, the singularity becomes less marked. On the preceding evening, a _Hierodrame_ was performed at the cathedral of Notre Dame--a kind of sacred drama, made up by M. Desaugiers of scraps from the Bible mixed with other matter, and set to music; it professed to tell the story of the taking of the Bastille, and to typify the sadness, trouble, confusion, joy, and alarm of the Parisians. Then succeeded a _Te Deum_, chanted in presence of some of the principal federal and municipal bodies. Early in the morning of the 14th, amid dense clouds and heavy rain, the National Guards from all the eighty-three departments of France, together with deputations from the state army and navy, began to assemble, and speedily formed an immense line from the Porte St. Antoine to the Porte St. Martin; whence they marched, with bands playing and colours flying, to the Champ de Mars, regaled and cheered by the Parisians on the route. On reaching the great square of the Tuileries, the procession was headed by the municipality of Paris and the members of the National Assembly, and followed by a body of gray-headed veterans. The procession traversed the Seine by one of the bridges, greeted by salvos of artillery drawn up on the quays, and entered the Champ de Mars under a triumphal arch almost hidden by flags and patriotic inscriptions. One o'clock had arrived before the various bodies forming the procession had taken their destined places in the enclosed parallelogram, surrounded by nearly 300,000 spectators on the raised terraces, most of whom were by this time drenched by the continuous rain. In the centre of the area was a lofty altar, half pagan, half Catholic in its adornments; and around this altar the provincial National Guards danced and sang in very excited fashion. The royal family appeared at three o'clock. In an immense gallery near the altar, the National Assembly were seated, with the king and the president on two chairs of state exactly equal in height and richness, and the queen and the rest of the court seated behind--a significant interpretation of the decree just announced. At the instant of the king taking his seat, the air was rent with cries of _Vive le Roi! Vive la Nation!_ The banners were unfurled; 1,800 musicians burst forth with jubilant strains; cannon poured out continuous volleys; Talleyrand, as bishop of Autun, assisted by sixty chaplains of the Paris National Guards, performed mass at the altar; and the banners were blessed by sprinkling with holy-water. Then Lafayette, dismounting from his white charger, received from the hands of the king a written form of oath; he swore to this oath at the altar, and with his raised arm gave a signal for the countless host to do likewise--every one raising his right hand, and saying _Je le jure!_ The king took the oath prescribed to him; and the queen held up the dauphin in her arms, as if to denote that he also, poor child, had sworn to defend the national liberties. At five o'clock the royal family retired, and the crowd began to leave the Champ de Mars. Twenty-five thousand federates or provincial deputies went to a royal chateau about a mile distant, where a dinner had been prepared for them by order of the municipality of Paris, with Lafayette as chairman of the banquet. At night all Paris was illuminated; and for three or four days the feastings, reviews, and celebrations were numerous, including a grand dance on the site of the demolished Bastille. On the 18th, Lafayette reviewed the provincial or federate National Guards, and on the 19th they were reviewed by the king. Paris was intoxicated for an entire week, each man displaying at once his delight and his vanity.

A MAN CARRIES HIS HOUSE ON HIS HEAD.

Simeon Ellerton, of Craike, Durham, died 1799, aged 104. This man, in his day, was a noted pedestrian, and before the establishment of regular "Posts," was frequently employed in walking commissions, from the northern counties to London and other places, which he executed with singular fidelity and despatch. He lived in a neat stone cottage of his own erecting; and what is remarkable, he had literally carried his house on his head; it being his constant practice to bring back with him from every journey which he undertook, some suitable stone, or other material for his purpose, and which, not unfrequently, he carried 40 or 50 miles on his head.

IGNORANCE AND FEAR.

In the year 1712, Whiston predicted that the comet would appear on Wednesday, 14th October, at five minutes after five in the morning, and that the world would be destroyed by fire on the Friday following. His reputation was high, and the comet appeared. A number of persons got into boats and barges on the Thames, thinking the water the safest place. South Sea and India stock fell. A captain of a Dutch ship threw all his powder into the river, that the ship might not be endangered. At noon, after the comet had appeared, it is said that more than one hundred clergymen were ferried over to Lambeth, to request that proper prayers might be prepared, there being none in the church service. People believed that the day of judgment was at hand, and acted some on this belief, more as if some temporary evil was to be expected. There was a prodigious run on the bank, and Sir Gilbert Heathcote, at that time the head director, issued orders to all the fire offices in London, requiring them to keep a good look out, and have a particular eye upon the Bank of England.

ARABIAN HORSES.

It is a singular circumstance, that it is to the Arabian that England is indebted for her improved, and now unrivalled, breed of horses for the turf, the field, and the road.

The Arabian horses are divided into two great branches; the Kadischi whose descent is unknown, and the Kochlani, of whom a written genealogy has been kept for 2000 years. These last are reserved for riding solely, they are highly esteemed and consequently very dear. They are said to derive their origin from King Solomon's studs. However this may be they are fit to bear the greatest fatigues, and can pass whole days without food. They are also said to show uncommon courage against an enemy. It is even asserted, that when a horse of this race finds himself wounded and unable to bear his rider much longer, he retires from the fray, and conveys him to a place of security. If the rider falls upon the ground, his horse remains beside him, and neighs till assistance is brought. The Kochlani are neither large nor handsome but amazingly swift. The whole race is divided into several families, each of which has its proper name. Some of these have a higher reputation than others on account of their more ancient and uncontaminated nobility.

We may not believe, perhaps, all that is told us of the Arabian. It has been remarked that there are, on the deserts which his horse traverses, no milestones to mark the distance, or watch to calculate the time; and the Bedouin is naturally given to exaggeration, and most of all when relating the prowess of the animal which he loves as dearly as his children; yet it cannot be denied that at the introduction of the Arabian into the European stables, there was no other horse comparable to him.

HEAD-QUARTERS OF PRINCE RUPERT AT EVERTON, DURING THE SIEGE OF LIVERPOOL, IN 1644.

Prince Rupert, assisted by the Earl of Derby, having taken Bolton by storm, and refreshed his army there for some days, advanced on Liverpool, where the Parliament had a strong garrison under the command of Colonel More, of Bank-hall; and finding on his approach to the town, the high ground near it favourable to his design, compared it to a crow's nest, probably imagining it would be taken with as little difficulty; but the resistance he met with, induced him to declare it was more like an eagle's nest, or a den of lions.

The siege began about the 2nd of June, and the view exhibits his head-quarters from that time till the reduction of the place. His main camp was established round the beacon, about a mile from the town, and his officers were placed in the adjoining villages, from whence a detachment marched every day, being relieved every twenty-four hours, to open trenches and erect batteries. From these advances Prince Rupert frequently attacked the besieged and their works in the way of storm, but was constantly repulsed with great slaughter of his men. At length, Colonel More, finding the town must of necessity surrender, and desirous of ingratiating himself with the Prince, for the preservation of his house and effects at Bank Hall, gave such orders for his soldiers to retire, that the works on the enemy's side were abandoned, and the royalists entered the town at three o'clock in the morning of June 26, putting to the sword all they met with, till they arrived at the High Cross, which then stood on the site where the Exchange now stands. Here the soldiers of the Castle, drawn up in line, beat a parley, and demanded quarter, which, on their submitting as prisoners of war, and surrendering the Castle to the Prince, was granted. The soldiers were then sent to the tower, St. Nicholas's Church, and other places of security; but the Parliament-army, soon after the siege, repossessed themselves of the Castle, and appointed Col. Birch, as governor.

FIRE AT BURWELL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 1727.

Some strollers brought down a puppet-show, which was exhibited in a large thatched barn. Just as the show was about to begin, an idle fellow attempted to thrust himself in without paying, which the people of the show preventing, a quarrel ensued. After some altercation, the fellow went away, and the door being made fast, all was quiet; but the same man, to gain admittance privately, got over a heap of hay and straw, which stood near to the barn, and accidentally set it on fire. The spectators of the show, alarmed by the flames, which had communicated to the barn, rushed to the door; but it happened unfortunately that it opened inwards, and the crowd pressing violently against the door, there could be no escape. Thus the whole company, consisting of more than 160 persons, were kept confined till the roof fell in, and covered them with fire and smoke: six only escaped with life; the rest, among whom were several young ladies of fortune, were reduced to one undistinguishable heap of mangled bodies, totally disfigured. The friends of the dead, not knowing which were the remains they sought, caused a large hole to be dug in the churchyard, and all the bodies were promiscuously interred together, and a tablet erected in the church to perpetuate this most melancholy event.

AN APPARENT SINGULARITY ACCOUNTED FOR.

It is generally well known that birds are very active agents in the extension of vegetation, and that fruit and flowers are, to a great extent, rendered prolific by the insects which visit their blossoms; but few people are aware of the means through which fish are formed in lakes and ponds, which are not connected with other waters. Here, also, an insect is the principal agent. The large water-beetle, which is in the habit of feeding upon the spawn of fish, occasionally in the evening climbs up the stems of rushes, &c. out of the water, sufficiently high to enable it to take wing; in these circumstances it has been caught, and, putting it into water, has been found to give out the spawn with which it had gorged itself previous to taking flight, both in a digested and undigested state; so that, on trial, it has been found that it produced fish of various kinds.

EUROPEAN BALANCING EQUAL TO THE INDIAN JUGGLERS.

The astonishing dexterity of the Indian jugglers is known to all, but many years ago a Spaniard named Cadenas made himself equal, if not superior to them. He may be truly said to be superior to them, inasmuch as several of his feats have never been attempted by them. Don Cadenas extended himself flat on his back on a large table. He then elevated his legs until they were at right angles with his body; he was assisted in keeping this position by a sort of pyramidal cushion, which was placed under him, a little below the lower end of his back. His feet and ankles were covered with boots, on which were many small castanets and little bells. The tranca, which is a round piece of wood, about 8 feet long and five inches in diameter, handsomely painted, was then laid horizontally on the soles of his feet, his legs being perpendicular. Having exactly balanced the tranca, he alternately struck his feet against it, the castanets, &c., keeping time with the music. In proportion to the strength with which he struck the tranca, with one foot or both feet, was the height to which he elevated it, always catching it, in its descent, with great accuracy, on the soles of his feet. Sometimes by bending his knees and then striking out with his limbs, he threw the tranca several feet into the air, catching it, in its descent, on his feet, with as much neatness and more certainty than the Indian jugglers used to catch the brass balls in their hands. He concluded the performance with the tranca, by exactly balancing it on the sole of his left foot, and then by repeated strokes of his right foot set it rapidly in motion like a horizontal fly-wheel.

MOB-WISDOM.

A singular instance of a mob cheating themselves by their own headlong impetuosity, is to be found in the life of Woodward, the comedian. On one occasion, when he was in Dublin, and lodged opposite the Parliament House, a mob who were making the members swear to oppose an unpopular bill, called out to his family to throw them a Bible out of the window. Mr. W. was frightened, for they had no such book in the house, but he threw out a volume of Shakespere, telling the mob they were welcome to it. They gave him three cheers, swore the members upon this book, and afterwards returned it without discovering its contents.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ANIMALS.