Part 55

Of the tombs of Consular Rome nothing remains except perhaps the sarcophagus of Scipio; and it is only on the eve of the Empire that we meet with the well-known one of Caecilia Metella, the wife of Crassus, which is not only the best specimen of a Roman tomb now remaining to us, but the oldest building of the imperial city of which we have an authentic date. It consists of a bold square basement about 100 ft. square, which was originally ornamented in some manner not now intelligible. From this rose a circular tower about 94 ft. in diameter, of very bold masonry, surmounted by a brace of ox-skulls with wreaths joining them, and a well-profiled cornice: 2 or 3 courses of masonry above this seem to have belonged to the original work; and above this, almost certainly, in the original design rose a conical roof, which has perished. The tower having been used as a fortress in the middle ages, battlements have been added to supply the place of the roof, and it has been otherwise disfigured, so as to detract much from its beauty as now seen. Still we have no tomb of the same importance so perfect, nor one which enables us to connect the Roman tombs so nearly with the Etruscan. The only addition in this instance is that of the square basement or podium, though even this was not unknown at a much earlier period, as for instance in the tomb of Aruns. The exaggerated height of the circular base is also remarkable. Here it rises to be a tower instead of a mere circular base of stones for the earthen cone of the original sepulchre. The stone roof which probably surmounted the tower was a mere reproduction of the original earthen cone.

POGONIAS.

These vocal fish differ from the umbrinas in having their jaws tagged laterally with many, in place of carrying but one barbel at the symphysis. Schoeff reports of them that they will assemble round the keel of a vessel at anchor, and serenade the crew; and Mr. John White, lieutenant in the navy of the United States, in his voyage to the seas of China, relates to the same purpose, that being at the mouth of the river of Cambodia, the ship's company were "astonished by some extraordinary sounds which were heard around the bottom of the vessel. They resembled," he says, "a mixture of the bass of the organ, the sound of bells, the guttural cries of a large frog, and the tones which imagination might attribute to an enormous harp; one might have said the vessel trembled with it. The noises increased, and finally formed a universal chorus over the entire length of the vessel and the two sides. In proportion as we went up the river the sounds diminished, and finally ceased altogether." As the interpreter told Captain White, the ship had been followed by a "troop of fish of an oval and flattened form," they were most probably pogonias. Humboldt met with a similar adventure in the South Sea, but without suspecting its cause. "On February 20th, 1803, at seven P.M., the whole crew was astounded by a very extraordinary noise, resembling drums beaten in the air; we at first attributed it to the breakers; speedily it was heard all over the vessel, especially towards the poop, and was like the noise which escapes from fluid in a state of ebullition; we began to fear there might be some leak in the bottom. It was heard synchronously in all parts of the vessel, but finally, about nine P.M., ceased altogether." How these fish manage to _purr_ in the deep, and by means of what organ they communicate the sound to the external air, is wholly unknown. Some suppose it to proceed from the swim-bladder; but if that be the drum, what is the drumstick that beats upon it? And cushioned as it is in an obese envelope and without issue, the swim-bladder cannot be a bagpipe or wind instrument.

CURIOUS ADVERTISEMENT.

The following appeared in the public papers of January 24th, 1737:--"Whereas Frances, wife of the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Vane, has, for some months past, absented herself from her husband, and the rest of her friends:--I do hereby promise to any person or persons who shall discover where the said lady Vane is concealed, to me, or to Francis Hawes, esq. her father, so that either of us may come to the speech of her, the sum of L100, as a reward, to be paid by me on demand at my lodgings in Piccadilly. I do also promise the name of the person, who shall make such discovery, shall be concealed, if desired. Any person concealing or lodging her after this advertisement, will be prosecuted with the utmost rigour; or, if her ladyship will return to me, she may depend upon being kindly received. She is about twenty-two years of age, tall, well-shaped, has light-brown hair, is fair-complexioned, and has her upper teeth placed in an irregular manner. She had on, when she absented, a red damask French sacque, and was attended by a French woman, who speaks very bad English.

"VANE."

THE EYE OF THE CHAMELEON.

A most extraordinary aspect is communicated to chameleons by the structure and movements of their eyes. In the first place, the head is enormous, and, being three-sided, with projecting points and angles, makes a sufficiently uncouth visage; but the eyes which illuminate this notable head-piece must, indeed, to borrow for the nonce the phraseology of Barnum, "be seen to be appreciated." There is on each side an immense eye-ball, full and prominent, but covered with the common shagreened skin of the head, except at the very entre, where there is a minute aperture, corresponding to the pupil. These great punctured eye-balls roll about hither and thither, but with no symmetry. You cannot tell whether the creature is looking at you or not; he seems to be taking what may be called a general view of things--looking at nothing in particular, or rather, to save time, looking at several things at once. Perhaps both eyes are gazing upwards at your face; a leaf quivers behind his head, and in a moment _one eye_ turns round towards the object, while the other retains its upward gaze: presently a fly appears; one eye rapidly and interestedly follows all its movements, while the other leisurely glances hither and thither, or remains steady. Accustomed as we are to see in almost all animals the two eyes move in unison, this want of sympathy produces an effect most singular and ludicrous.

DIVING FOR A WIFE.

In many of the Greek islands, the diving for Sponge forms a considerable part of the occupation of the inhabitants, as it has done from the most remote antiquity. Hasselquist says:--"Himia is a little, and almost unknown island directly opposite Rhodes. It is worth notice, on account of the singular method the Greeks, inhabitants of the island, have to get their living. In the bottom of the sea the common Sponge is found in abundance, and more than in any other place in the Mediterranean. The inhabitants make it a trade to fish up this Sponge, by which they get a living far from contemptible, as their goods are always wanted by the Turks, who use an incredible number of Sponges at their bathings and washings. A girl in this island is not permitted by her relations to marry before she has brought up a certain quantity of Sponges, and before she can give proof of her agility by taking them from a certain depth." In other islands the same custom prevails, but with reversed application, as in Nicarus, where the father of a marriageable daughter bestows her on the best diver among her suitors,--"He that can stay longest in the water, and gather the most Sponges, marries the maid."

KNIGHT'S COSTUME OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

The engraving represents a knight's costume of the year 1272, taken from the library of MSS. at Paris. It is that of a Count Hohenschwangen, of the family of Welf, and depicts the wearer in a long sleeveless, dark blue surcoat, with his armorial device; a white swan on a red field with a light red border. Under his coat he wears a _cap-a-pie_ suit of mail. The helmet is original, very like the Greek, with the furred mantle as we see it in the seal of Richard King of England, of the date of 1498. This helmet does not appear to be a tilting helmet, which usually rests upon the shoulders; but this kind of helmet would be fastened, like the vizor with the mailed hood, by an iron throat-brace, and a leather thong. Upon the covered helmet he wears the swan as a crest. The sword-hilt is of gold, the sheath black, the girdle white, the furred mantle is red, lined with white.

Chivalry began in Europe about A.D. 912. From the twelfth to the fifteenth century it had considerable influence in refining the manners of most of the nations of Europe. The knight swore to accomplish the duties of his profession as the champion of God and the ladies. He devoted himself to speak the truth, to maintain the right, to protect the distressed, to practise courtesy, to fulfil obligations, and to vindicate in every perilous adventure his honour and character. Chivalry, which owed its origin to the feudal system, expired with it. The origin of the title of knight, as a military honour, is said to be derived from the siege of Troy, but this solely depends on a passage or two in Homer, and the point is disputed by several learned commentators.

CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.

Button, in his Life, tells us of one of his ancestors, a trooper, who, seeing a young girl at the river-side, lading water into her pail, cast a large stone with design to splash her; but not being versed in directing a stone so well as a bullet, he missed the water, and broke her head; he ran off. Twelve years afterwards, he settled at Derby, courted a young woman, and married her. In the course of their conversations he proved to be the very man who had cast the stone, and she the girl with the broken head.

FUNEREAL JAR.

The term "funereal" has been erroneously applied to all pottery found in tombs, even where the utensils have no relation to funereal purposes, but were probably in common use. There have been found, however, in Corsica vessels of earthenware, which may strictly be called "funereal."

Though the precise period of the fabrication of the funereal vessels found in Corsica is not ascertained, they must be considered of very ancient date. These vessels, when found entire, at first appear completely closed up, and no trace of joining can be discovered. But it has been ascertained that they are composed of two equal parts, the end of one fitting exactly into the other, and so well closed that the body, or at least the bones which they contain, appear to have been placed within them before they were baked upon the kiln. Diodorus Siculus, in speaking of the usages of the Balearic Isles, states that these people were in the habit of beating, with clubs, the bodies of the dead which, when thus rendered flexible, were deposited in vessels of earthenware. This practice of the Corsicans coincides singularly with that of the Coroados Indians, who inhabit a village on the Paraiba river, near Campos, in the Brazils. They use large earthen vessels, called _camucis_, as funereal urns. The bodies of their chiefs, reduced to mummies, are placed in them in a bent posture, decked with their ornaments and arms, and are then deposited at the foot of the large trees of the forest.

The cut which we here give speaks for itself. It represents the funereal jar containing the chief as described; the animal at his feet appears to be a panther or tiger cat.

WRITING MATERIALS.

The materials used for writing on have varied in different ages and nations. Among the Egyptians slices of limestone, leather, linen, and papyrus, especially the last, were universally employed. The Greeks used bronze and stone for public monuments, wax for memorandums and papyrus for the ordinary transactions of life. The kings of Pergamus adopted parchment, and the other nations of the ancient world chiefly depended on a supply of the paper of Egypt. But the Assyrians and Babylonians employed for their public archives, their astronomical computations, their religious dedications, their historical annals, and even for title-deeds and bills of exchange, tablets, cylinders, and hexagonal prisms of terra-cotta. Two of these cylinders, still extant, contain the history of the campaign of Sennacherib against the kingdom of Judah; and two others, exhumed from the Birs Nimroud, give a detailed account of the dedication of the great temple by Nebuchadnezzar to the seven planets. To this indestructible material, and to the happy idea of employing it in this manner, the present age is indebted for a detailed history of the Assyrian monarchy; whilst the decades of Livy, the plays of Menander and the lays of Anacreon, confided to a more perishable material, have either wholly or partly disappeared amidst the wreck of empires.

CURIOUS DISPUTE AND APPROPRIATE DECISION.

Fuller, in his 'Holy State,' p. 170, gives a very _apposite_ story; a poor man in Paris, being very hungry, went into a cook shop, and staid there so long, (for the master was dishing-up meat,) that his appetite being lessened by the steam, he proposed to go without his meal; the cook insisted upon payment all the same. At length, the altercation was agreed to be referred to the first person that passed the door; that person happened to be a notorious idiot. Having heard the complaint, he decreed that the poor man's money should be placed between two empty dishes, and that the cook should be recompensed with the jingling of his cash, as the other was with the fumes of the meat; and this little anecdote is literally matter of fact.

THE TEA-POT.

No specimen of the ceramic art possesses greater variety of form than the tea-pot. On none has the ingenuity of the potter been more fully exercised, and it is worthy of remark, that the first successful production of Boettcher in hard porcelain was a tea-pot. The so-called Elizabethan tea-pots must be of a later date, for tea was not known in England until the time of Charles II; but it is interesting to trace the gradual increase in the size of the tea-pot, from the diminutive productions of the Elers, in the time of Queen Anne and George I., when tea was sold in apothecaries' shops, to the capacious vessel which supplied Dr. Johnson with "the cup that cheers but not inebriates."

Mr. Croker, in his edition of Boswell's Life, mentions a tea-pot that belonged to Dr. Johnson which held two quarts; but this sinks into insignificance compared with the superior magnitude of that in the possession of Mrs. Marryat, of Wimbledon, who purchased it at the sale of Mrs. Piozzi's effects at Streatham. This tea-pot, which was the one generally used by Dr. Johnson, holds more than three quarts. It is of old Oriental porcelain, painted and gilded, and from its capacity was well suited to the taste of one "whose tea-kettle had no time to cool, who with tea solaced the midnight hour, and with tea welcomed the morn." George IV. had a large assemblage of tea-pots, piled in pyramids, in the Pavilion at Brighton. Mrs. Elizabeth Carter was also a collector of tea-pots, each of which possessed some traditionary interest, independently of its intrinsic merit; but the most diligent collector of tea-pots was the late Mrs. Hawes. She bequeathed no less than three hundred specimens to her daughter, Mrs. Donkin, who has arranged them in a room appropriated for the purpose. Among them are several formerly belonging to Queen Charlotte. Many are of the old Japan; one with two divisions, and two spouts for holding both black and green tea; and another of a curious device, with a small aperture at the bottom to admit the water, there being no opening at the top, atmospheric pressure preventing the water from running out. This singular Chinese toy has been copied in the Rockingham ware.

PROTRACTED SLEEP.

One of the most extraordinary instances of excessive sleep is that of the lady at Nismes, published in 1777, in the "Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin." Her attacks of sleep took place periodically, at sunrise and about noon. The first continued till within a short time of the accession of the second, and the second continued till between seven and eight in the evening--when she awoke, and continued so till the next sunrise. The most extraordinary fact connected with this case is, that the first attack commenced always at daybreak, whatever might be the season of the year, and the other always immediately after twelve o'clock. During the brief interval of wakefulness which ensued shortly before noon, she took a little broth, which she had only time to do when the second attack returned upon her, and kept her asleep till the evening. Her sleep was remarkably profound, and had all the character of complete insensibility, with the exception of a feeble respiration, and a weak but regular movement of the pulse. The most singular fact connected with her remains to be mentioned. When the disorder had lasted six months, and then ceased, the patient had an interval of perfect health for the same length of time. When it lasted one year, the subsequent interval was of equal duration. The affection at last wore gradually away; and she lived, entirely free of it, for many years after. She died in the eighty-first year of her age, of dropsy, a complaint which had no connexion with her preceding disorder.

ANCIENT SUIT OF MAIL.

The two figures depicted on next page represent Henry of Metz receiving the oriflamme from the hands of St. Denis, derived from a painted window in the church of Notre Dame de Chartres. The oriflamme was a red banner attached to a staff, and cut in the manner shown in our engraving. Henry of Metz was Marshal of France, and is here represented in a complete suit of mail, his hood being thrown back upon his shoulders. This suit is perfect, even to the extremities; and it is to be remarked that the defence for the hands is divided in the manner of a common glove. Over the mail is worn a loose surcoat, on which is emblazoned the cross, traversed by a red baton--the type of his high office.

THE POISON CUP.

In the time of James I. poison was too frequently resorted to, especially on the Continent, as a means of getting rid of individuals who had rendered themselves obnoxious to certain parties who were prosecuting their own private ends; and so extensively did this infamous practice prevail that there was a class of persons who were known to have studied the art of secret poisoning, and whose services could be engaged for a high reward. In order to counteract the operations of the poisoners, various devices were employed, and among them was the art which the pretended magicians of those days professed to have discovered, of making a kind of glass which would fly in pieces if poison was poured into any vessel that was formed of it. The cut at the head of our article represents a tankard of this sort, in which the glass is mounted in silver gilt arabesque and silver filagree. It was believed that the large crystal which is seen standing out at the centre of the lid would become discoloured at the approach of poison. The tankard is a work of the sixteenth century, and was presented to Clare Hall, Cambridge--where it is still preserved--by Dr. William Butler, an eminent physician in the time of James I.

PORCELAIN FINGER-RINGS.

The porcelain finger-rings of ancient Egypt are extremely beautiful; the band of the ring being seldom above one-eighth of an inch in thickness. Some have a plate on which, in bas-relief, is the god _Set_, or _Baal_, full face, or playing on the tambourine, as the inventor of Music; others have their plates in the shape of the right symbolical eye, the emblem of the Sun; of a fish, of the perch species; or of a scarabaeus, which is said to have been worn by the military order. Some few represent flowers. Those which have elliptical plates with hieroglyphical inscriptions, bear the names of Amen-Ra, and of other gods and monarchs, as Amenophis III., Amenophis IV., and Amenanchut, of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth dynasties. One of these rings has a little bugle on each side, as if it had been strung on the beaded work of a mummy, instead of being placed on the finger. Blue is the prevalent colour, but a few white and yellow rings, and some even ornamented with red and purple colours are found. It is not credible that these rings, of a substance finer and more fragile than glass, were worn during life. Neither is it likely that they were worn by the poorer classes, for the use of the king's name on sepulchral objects seems to have been restricted to functionaries of state. Some larger rings of porcelain of about an inch diameter, seven-eighths of an inch broad, and one-sixteenth of an inch thick, made in open work, represent the constantly repeated lotus flowers, and the god Ra, or the Sun, seated, and floating through the heaven in his boat. Common as these objects were in Egypt, where they were employed as substitutes for the hard and precious stones, to the Greeks, Etruscans, and Italian Greeks they were articles of luxury, just as the porcelain of China was to Europeans some centuries ago. The Etruscans set these bugles, beads, and amulets in settings of their exquisite gold filigree work, intermixed with gold beads and precious stones. Strung as pendants they hung round the necks of the fair ones of Etruria. In one of the tombs already alluded to at the Polledrara, near Vulci, in Italy, was found a heap of annular and curious Egyptian bugles, which had apparently formed a covering to some bronze objects, but the strings having given way, the beads had dropped to pieces. These, as well as the former, had been obtained from some of the Egyptian markets, like that at Naucratis: or from the Phoenician merchants, in the same manner as the flasks. One of the most remarkable of these personal ornaments is a bracelet, composed of small fish strung together and secured by a clasp.

PIGEON CATCHING NEAR NAPLES.

Between La Cava and Naples, about half a mile from the town, are certain Bluebeard-looking towers, several centuries old, erected for the purpose of snaring wood-pigeons; with which view the gentlemen of the neighbourhood, who are generally expert and practised slingers, assemble and man the towers in May. A long line of nets, some quarter of a mile in circuit, held up in a slanting position by men concealed in stone sentry-boxes placed here and there along the _enceinte_, is spread in front. As the pigeons are seen advancing (the time of their approach is generally looked for at early dawn, when they are making for the woods), the nearest slingers commence projecting a succession of white stones in the direction of the nets. These the birds no sooner behold, then attracted, or alarmed (for the motive does not certainly appear), they swoop down upon them, and when sufficiently near to fall within reach of the nets, the persons holding let go, rush from their ambush, and secure the covey. Thousands of wood-pigeons are thus, we have been told by a proprietor, annually taken, and transmitted for presents to distant friends; as we used to send out game, before the sale of it was legalised. Thus birds, as well as fish, and fish as well as man, often get entangled and caught in their headlong pursuit of a pleasure that still eludes them.

FRAME REQUISITE TO SUPPORT THE DRESS.