Part 50

Joseph Battaglia, a surgeon of Ponte Bosio, relates the following case: Don. G. Maria Bertholi, a priest of Mount Valerius, went to the fair of Filetto, and afterwards visited a relation in Fenilo, where he intended to pass the night. Before retiring to rest, he was left reading his breviary; when, shortly afterwards, the family were alarmed by his loud cries and a strange noise in his chamber. On opening the door, he was lying prostrate on the floor, and surrounded by flickering flames. Battaglia was immediately sent for, and on his arrival the unfortunate man was found in a most deplorable state. The integuments of the arms and the back were either consumed or detached in hanging flaps. The sufferer was sufficiently sensible to give an account of himself. He said that he felt, all of a sudden, as if his arm had received a violent blow from a club, and at the same time he saw scintillations of fire rising from his shirt-sleeves, which were consumed without having burned the wrists; a handkerchief, which he had tied round his shoulders, between the shirt and the skin, was intact. His drawers were also sound; but, strange to say, his silk skull-cap was burnt while his hair bore no marks of combustion. The unfortunate man only survived the event four days. The circumstances which attended this case would seem to warrant the conclusion that the electric fluid was the chief agent in the combustion.

SHOOTING FISH.

Our shores have produced a few specimens of a richly-coloured fish called Ray's Sea Bream (_Brama Rayi_), interesting because it represents a family, almost confined to the tropical seas, of very singular forms and habits. The family is named _Chaetodontidae_, from the principal genus in it. They are very high perpendicularly, but thin and flattened sidewise; the mouth in some projects into a sort of snout, the fins are frequently much elevated, and send off long filaments. They are generally adorned with highly-contrasted colours, which run in perpendicular bands. They are often called scaly-finned fishes, because the dorsal and anal are clothed, at least in part, with scales, so as not to be distinguished from the body. The tubular snout of some, as of a little species which we here represent, is applied to an extraordinary use, that of shooting flies! The fish approaches under a fly which it has discovered, resting on a leaf or twig, a few feet above the water, taking care not to alarm it by too sudden a motion; then, projecting the tip of its beak from the surface, it shoots a single drop at the insect with so clever an aim, as very rarely to miss it, when it falls into the water and is devoured. Being common in the Indian seas, it is often kept by the Chinese in vases, as we keep golden-fish, for the amusement of witnessing this feat. A fly is fastened at some distance, at which the fish shoots, but, disappointed of course, and wondering that its prey does not fall, it goes on to repeat the discharge for many times in succession, without seeming to take in a fresh stock of ammunition, and scarcely ever missing the mark, though at a distance of three or four feet.

EXTRAORDINARY EARTHQUAKES.

Around the Papandayang, one of the loftiest mountains in Java, no less than forty villages were reposing in peace. But in August 1772, a remarkable luminous cloud enveloping its top aroused them from their security. But it was too late; for at once the mountain began to sink into the earth, and soon it had disappeared, with the forty villages and most of the inhabitants, over a space fifteen miles long and six broad. Still more extraordinary, the most remarkable on record was an eruption in Sumbawa, one of the Molucca islands, in 1815. It began on the fifth day of April, and did not cease till July. The explosions were heard in one direction nine hundred and seventy miles, and in another seven hundred and twenty miles. So heavy was the fall of ashes at the distance of forty miles that houses were crushed and destroyed. The floating cinders in the ocean, hundreds of miles distant, were two feet thick, and vessels were forced through with difficulty. The darkness in Java, three hundred miles distant, was deeper than the blackest night; and, finally, out of the twelve thousand inhabitants of the island, only twenty-six survived the catastrophe.

BEAUTIFUL ARCH.

One of the rarities of architecture is the beautiful arch in the choir of Cannistown Church, not far from Bective, near Trim, in Ireland. Down to the very latest period of Gothic architecture, the original plan of a simple nave, or nave and chancel, was followed, and the chief or only difference observable in churches of very late date, from those of the sixth and seventh centuries, consists in the form of the arch-heads, the position of the doorway, the style of the masonry, which is usually much better in the more ancient examples, and the use of bell-turrets, the cloigeteach, or detached round tower, having answered this purpose during the earlier ages. A beautiful and highly characteristic example of an early pointed church is that at Cannistown. As usual, it consists of a nave and chancel, and there are the remains of a bell-turret upon the west gable, the usual position. The choir arch is represented in the annexed cut.

There are numerous examples of churches of this style scattered over Ireland, but they are usually plain, and the choir arch is generally the plainest feature in the building. As example, we can refer our readers to the churches of Kilbarrack, Dalkey, Kinsale, and Rathmichael, all in the immediate neighbourhood of Dublin.

THOMAS CONECTE.

There was a Carmelite friar, Thomas Conecte, who, previous to his being burnt as a heretic at Rome, in 1434, excited the admiration of all Flanders by his vehement sermons against the luxury of the women. His satire was chiefly levelled against their head-dresses, which rose to so enormous a height, that the most exalted head-dresses of a late day were but dwarfs to them. Juvenal des Ursins, who lived at that period, declares that, notwithstanding the troubles of the times, the maidens and married ladies rose to prodigious excess in their attire, and wore hair of a surprising height and breadth, having on each side two ears of so unaccountable a size, that it was impossible for them to pass through a door. Their dresses were the hennins of Flanders, which the worthy Carmelite was so inveterate against. He made them dress themselves in a more modest manner. But, alas no sooner had Friar Thomas left the country than the head-dresses shot up to a greater height than ever. They had only bowed their heads like bullrushes during the storm. Poor Thomas attacked the infallible church itself, and they, in default of better arguments, burnt him.

CURIOUS COINCIDENCES.

On the 21st of April, 1770, Lewis XVI. was married.

21st of June, 1770, fifteen hundred people were trampled to death at the _fete_.

21st of January, 1782, _fete_ for the birth of the Dauphin.

21st of June, 1791, the flight to Varennes.

21st of September, 1792, the abolition of royalty.

21st of January, 1793, the unfortunate monarch's decapitation.

AMPHITHEATRES.

The deficiency of theatres erected by the Romans is far more than compensated by the number and splendour of their amphitheatres, which, with their baths, may be considered as the true types of Roman art. It seems almost certain that they derived this class of public buildings from the Etruscans. At Sutri there is a very noble one cut out of the tufa rock, which was no doubt used by that people for festal representations long before Rome attempted anything of the kind. It is uncertain whether gladiatorial fights or combats of wild beasts formed any part of the amusements of the arena in those days, though boxing, wrestling, and contests of that description certainly did; but whether the Etruscans actually proceeded to the shedding of blood and slaughter is more than doubtful.

Even in the remotest parts of Britain, in Germany, and Gaul, wherever we find a Roman settlement, we find the traces of their amphitheatres. Their soldiery, it seems, could not exist without the enjoyment of seeing men engage in doubtful and mortal combats--either killing one another, or torn to pieces by wild beasts. It is not to be wondered at that a people who delighted so much in the bloody scenes of the arena should feel but very little pleasure in the mimic sorrows and tame humour of the stage. It fitted them, it is true, to be a nation of conquerors, and gave them the empire of the world, but it brought with it feelings singularly inimical to all the softer arts, and was perhaps the great cause of their debasement.

As might be expected, the largest and most splendid of these buildings is that which adorns the capital; and of all the ruins which Rome contains, none have excited such universal admiration as the Flavian amphitheatre. Poets, painters, rhapsodists, have exhausted all the resources of their arts in the attempt to convey to others the overpowering impression this building produces on their own minds. With the single exception, perhaps, of the Hall at Karnac, no ruin has met with such universal admiration as this. Its association with the ancient mistress of the world, its destruction, and the half-prophetic destiny ascribed to it, all contribute to this. Still it must be confessed that

"The gladiator's bloody circus stands A noble wreck in ruinous perfection,"

and worthy of all or nearly all the admiration of which it has been the object. Its interior is almost wholly devoid of ornament, or anything that can be called architecture--a vast inverted pyramid. The exterior does not possess one detail which is not open to criticism, and indeed to positive blame. Notwithstanding all this, its mass, its form, and its associations, all combine to produce an effect against which the critic struggles in vain.

The length of the building, measured along its greatest diameter, is 620 ft., its breadth 513, or nearly in the ratio of 6 to 5, which may be taken as the general proportion of these buildings, the variations from it being slight, and apparently either mistakes in setting out the work in ancient times, or in measuring it in modern days, rather than an intentional deviation. The height of the 3 lower stories is 120 ft.; the total height as it now stands, 157 ft. The arena itself measures 287 ft. in length by 180 in breadth, and it is calculated that the building would contain 80,000 spectators; 50,000 or 60,000 would be much nearer the truth, at least according to the data by which space is calculated in our theatres and public places.

HUNDRED FAMILIES' LOCK.

A common Chinese talisman is the "hundred families' lock," to procure which a father goes round among his friends, and, having obtained from a hundred different parties a few of the copper coins of the country, he himself adds the balance, to purchase an ornament or appendage fashioned like a lock, which he hangs on his child's neck, for the purpose of locking him figuratively to life, and making the hundred persons concerned in his attaining old age.

THE DUKE DE REICHSTADT.

At the Imperial Palace of Schoenbrun, about five English miles from Vienna, is shown the window fractured by the bullet of the enthusiastic student who shot at Napoleon while he was reviewing the Imperial Guard, and also the apartment he occupied when he made this his head-quarters, instead of entering the city. An additional interest is imparted to the place, by the circumstance of the Duke de Reichstadt having, when taken ill, chosen the identical chamber and spot in which his father Napoleon had slept, to close his mortal career: and by a singular coincidence, the remains of the young prince were subjected to a post-mortem examination upon the same table at which the Emperor had held his councils. In imitation of the military hardihood of his sire, the young duke was in the habit of exposing himself to all weathers, and keeping guard during successive nights, a practice which often called forth from his surgeon, Dr. Malfati, the expressive words, '_Rappelez vous, mon Prince, que vouz avez un Coeur de Fer dans un Corp de Verre_.'

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS' CANDLESTICK.

Almost every article, however trifling its intrinsic value, and however homely its appearance, which once belonged to a celebrated individual, is always regarded as an object of interest, and we have, therefore, no hesitation in presenting our readers with the annexed engraving of one of a pair of candlesticks which were once the property of the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots.

They are made of brass, each of them of eleven and a-half inches in height. They are of French manufacture; the sunk parts are filled up with an inlay of blue, green, and white enamel, very similar to that done at Limoge. These extremely elegant and curious articles are the property of Lord Holland, and are preserved at Holland House, Kensington.

Holland House is associated "with the costly magnificence of Rich, with the loves of Ormond, the councils of Cromwell, and the death of Addison." It has been for nearly two centuries and a-half the favourite resort of wits and beauties, of painters and poets, of scholars, philosophers, and statesmen. In the lifetime of the late Lord Holland, it was the meeting-place of "the Whig Party;" and his liberal hospitality made it "the resort, not only of the most interesting persons composing English society--literary, philosophical, and political, but also to all belonging to those classes who ever visited this country from abroad."

EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCES OF INHUMANITY.

In 1534, in the wars of Edward III. with France, Fordun relates that a Frenchman purchased from the Scots several English prisoners, and that he beheaded them to avenge the death of his father. This sentimental cruelty can perhaps be paralleled by that of Coccinas, who, at the massacre of Paris, bought many Huguenots, that he might torture them to death for his private satisfaction. Philip Galeas Visconti, Duke of Milan, was a man of a nature so timid, that thunder threw him into agonies; yet was he so inhuman, that he could _enjoy the shrieks of a female stretched upon a rack_. Wenceslaus, the German Emperor, say Mezeray, Voltaire, and others, _roasted his cook alive_, for dressing his dinner amiss; and never had so intimate a friend in Prague as the common executioner; and even _him_ he put to death at last, for not taking him at his word, when he once had bid him cut his head off, and actually knelt down to receive the stroke.

ANCIENT ROMAN LAMPS.

The earliest lamps fabricated by the potters of ancient Rome have an open circular body, with a curved projecting rim to prevent the oil from spilling, and occur both in terra-cotta, and also in the black glazed ware found in the sepulchres of Nola. Many have a projecting hollow pipe in the centre, in order to fix them to a stick on the top of a candelabrum. These lamps have no handles. They may have been placed in the sacella or lararia, and were turned on the potter's wheel.

The shoe-shaped is the most usual, with a round body, a projecting spout or nozzle having a hole for the wick, and a small annular handle, which is more or less raised.

A singular variety of lamp, well adapted for a table, was fitted into a kind of small altar, the sides of which were ornamented with reliefs. Several however, from their unusual shape, maybe considered as fancy ware, the upper part, or the whole lamp, being moulded into the resemblance of some object. Such are lamps in the British Museum in the shape of a female head surmounted by a flower, or of the head of a negro or Nubian with open jaws, through which the wick was inserted.

Most of these lamps appear to have been made between the age of Augustus and that of Constantine. The style, of course best at the earlier period of the empire, degenerates under the later emperors, such as Philip and Maximus, and becomes at last Byzantine and bad.

Most lamps had only one wick, but the light they afforded must have been feeble, and consequently some have two wicks, the nozzle for which project beyond the body of the lamp. In the same manner were fabricated lamps of three, five, and seven wicks. If more were required the nozzles did not project far beyond the body of the lamp, which was then moulded in a shape adapted for the purpose, and especially the favourite one of a galley. Sometimes a conglomeration of small lamps was manufactured in a row, or in a serrated shape, which enabled the purchaser to obtain what light he required; still the amount of illumination must have been feeble. As many as twenty wicks have been found in some lamps.

The greater number average from three to four inches long, and one inch high; the walls are about one-eighth of an inch thick, and the circular handles not more than one inch in diameter. Some of the larger lamps, however, are about nine inches or a foot long, with handles eight or nine inches high.

AN ECCENTRIC ENGLISHMAN.

Mr. Henry Hastings, a most singular character, and genuine sportsman lived in the time of James and Charles I. Mr. Hastings was second son to the Earl of Huntingdon; and inherited a good estate in Dorsetshire from his mother. He was one of the keepers of New Forest, Hampshire; and resided in the lodge there during a part of every summer season. But his principal residence was at Woodlands, in Dorsetshire, where he had a capital mansion. One of his nearest neighbours, was the Lord Chancellor Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury. Two men could not be more opposite in their disposition and pursuits. They had little communication therefore; and their occasional meetings were rendered more disagreeable to both from their opposite sentiments in politics. Lord Shaftesbury, who was the younger man, was the survivor; and the following account of Mr. Hastings is said to have been the production of his pen. "Mr. Hastings was low of stature, but very strong, and very active; of a ruddy complexion, with flaxen hair. His clothes were always of green cloth. His house was of the old fashion; in the midst of a large park, well stocked with deer, rabbits, and fish-ponds. He had a long narrow bowling-green in it; and used to play with round sand-bowls. Here, too, he had a banqueting-room built, like a stand in a large tree. He kept all sorts of hounds, that ran buck, fox, hare, otter, and badger; and had hawks of all kinds, both long and short-winged. His great hall was commonly strewed with marrow-bones; and full of hawk-perches, hounds, spaniels, and terriers. The upper end of it was hung with fox-skins of this and the last year's killing. Here and there a pole-cat was intermixed; and hunter's poles in great abundance. The parlour was a large room, completely furnished in the same style. On a broad hearth, paved with bricks, lay some of the choicest terriers, hounds, and spaniels. One or two of the great chairs had litters of cats in them, which were not to be disturbed. Of these, three or four always attended him at dinner; and a little white wand lay by his trencher, to defend it, if they were too troublesome. In the windows, which were very large, lay his arrows, cross-bows, and other accoutrements. The corners of the room were filled with his best hunting and hawking poles. His oyster-table stood at the lower end of the room, which was in constant use twice a day, all the year round; for he never failed to eat oysters both at dinner and supper; with which the neighbouring town of Poole supplied him. At the upper end of the room stood a small table with a double desk; one side of which held a church Bible; the other, the Book of Martyrs. On different tables of the room lay hawks' hoods; bells, old hats with their crowns thrust in, full of pheasants' eggs, tables, dice, cards, and a store of tobacco pipes. At one end of this room was a door, which opened into a closet, where stood bottles of strong beer and wine, which never came out but in single glasses, which was the rule of the house; for he never exceeded himself, nor permitted others to exceed. Answering to this closet was a door into an old chapel, which had been long disused for devotion; but, in the pulpit, as the safest place, was always to be found a cold chine of beef, a venison pasty, a gammon of bacon, or a great apple-pie with thick crust, well baked. His table cost him not much, though it was good to eat at. His sports supplied all but beef and mutton, except on Fridays, when he had the best of fish. He never wanted a London pudding; and he always sang it in with, "_My part lies therein-a._" He drank a glass or two of wine at meals; put syrup of gilly-flowers into his sack; and had always a tun-glass of small-beer standing by him, which he often stirred about with rosemary. He lived to be an hundred; and never lost his eyesight, nor used spectacles. He got on horseback without help; and rode to the death of the stag, till he was past fourscore."

PERFUMED BANQUETS OF THE ANCIENTS.

A very remarkable peculiarity in the banquets of the ancients was, their not confining the resources of the table to the gratification of one sense alone. Having exhausted their invention in the confection of stimulants for the palate, they broke new ground, and called in another sense to their aid; and by the delicate application of odours and richly-distilled perfumes, these refined voluptuaries aroused the fainting appetite, and added a more exquisite and ethereal enjoyment to the grosser pleasures of the board. The gratification of the sense of smelling (a sense held by us in very undeserved neglect, probably on account of its delicacy) was a subject of no little importance to the Romans. However this may be, it is certain that the Romans considered flowers as forming a very essential article in their festal preparations; and it is the opinion of Bassius, that at their desserts the number of flowers far exceeded that of fruits. When Nero supped in his Golden House, a mingled shower of flowers and odorous essences fell upon him; and one of Heliogabalus' recreations was to smother his courtiers with flowers, of whom it may be said, they "died of a rose in aromatic pain." Nor was it entirely as an object of luxury that the ancients made use of flowers; they were considered to possess sanative and medicinal qualities. According to Pliny, Athenaeus, and Plutarch, certain herbs and flowers were of sovereign power to prevent the approaches of ebriety, or, as Bassius less clearly expresses it, clarify the functions of the brain.

CHINESE BRIDGES.