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it is reckoned contrary to etiquette to write about it in any other than a technical form-to speak of it before any other than certain audiences, the same being limited to a student's class-room, or the hall of a learned society; all which we hold to be quite wrong. The end of science should be utility, in the wide sense of improving mind and body; and, if designed for the improvement of the people, its expositors should not wrap their mantles around them, and withdraw from society, just as a dandy would retire from contact with an honest peasant. We grant that popular science, as it has often hitherto been conducted, is not a very creditable thing; but who is to blame for that? Why, learned men themselves, in a great measure-they have too often sneered at attempts to instruct the people in the higher branches of knowledge; and, like the dog in the manger, they will neither eat hay themselves, nor let others eat it. With those who hold that it is morally impossible to impress general society with any sound views of science, we desire to hold no controversy, as their opinions are too extreme to be combated; but we believe they are comparatively a small class, and may be safely left until clearer light dawns on them. Others, again, having tried, but without obtaining marked success, have despaired of popular science, and have shrunk back into the exclusiveness of the esprit de corps. The question is, have they tried the right plan? or, having tried the right plan, have they persevered sufficiently long with it?

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ledge which have been circulated within the last fifteen years, and making every necessary allowance for the diluted science which such channels convey, the certainty is, that some mental improvement must have been accomplished. Add to this, however, that every lawyer, physician, and divine, and almost every third or fourth person from the mercantile profession, has been at college, and received the statutory allowance of what, in this country, is deemed a liberal education. It was considered no degradation to teach these gentlemen so long as they were boys, but now that they have arrived at maturity, and seek to have science expounded to them, it turns out that it would be derogatory for a professor to resume connexion with them. A private lecturer may take them up, but a professor, regularly installed into a university, must let them alone. People make strange blunders. A professor is reckoned the highest dignitary in the scholastic ladder, then a lecturer, and last the schoolmaster in his phases of rector and ordinary pedagogue. If the professor be the highest, why does he shrink from addressing full-grown men, and freely delegate that privilege to the private lecturer? It cannot be that age constitutes a disadvantage, for it is positively the reverse. He is frightened at the women who may stray into the popular lecture-room; but he forgets that old women get into his learned society, and that many who enter his dignified class-room had barely time to doff their petticoats when summoned to sit at his feet.

We

At a first glance of the matter, it does seem Scientific men may rely upon it that they are in strange, that gentlemen who lecture to beardless a false position, so long as they cause their knowboys in a class-room, to boys who sleep, make noises, ledge to flow in the old tracks; they can no more and indeed attend college as a matter of necessity, do so with justice to themselves, than a statesman that those gentlemen should consider it below their can hope to effect a national alteration by merely dignity to expound science to persons arrived at years speaking of it within the walls of parliament. of discretion, who ask instruction voluntarily, who, do not want sarans to perambulate the country, or by their success in the world, show that they have to occupy all their spare time in writing for penny exercised their minds to some purpose--this does at magazines; let them lecture to students, read essays first sight appear strange, and the matter is not appar- to philosophical societies, conduct experiments, send ently mended, if one considers that the general attend- papers to quarterly reviews-all as heretofore-but ance at popular scientific lectures is sometimes not in addition, let them not neglect an opportunity of far below the average of the roll of many a chartered popularising science in the quarter where their lot society. What then is the cause? It consists in is cast, either by facing their neighbours in the this, that popular audiences are generally ignorant town-hall, the assembly or concert-room. They of the nomenclature of science, and the professor or need not soar to the highest flights of philosophy; lecturer could not fail to be embarrassed at every step. let them explain rudimental truths scientifically, Mathematics, for example, is the alphabet of na- and they do well; and until they do this they must tural philosophy, and all the information which a drop all complaints about living amongst a utilistudent, ignorant of mathematics, can receive from tarian generation, by whom science is smothered natural philosophy, must be defective indeed. and kept down. Their do-nothing policy will not Another source of embarrassment is the huddling mend the matter, and although we dare not say that together of the subjects expounded. But are these knowledge will be hindered by their lukewarmness things absolutely incapable of being mended? A-for no one class can check its progress, and if regular sequence of study could be observed, and if so, one course would pave the way for the other, and each successive instructor, knowing that his predecessor had commenced the structure, would be saved from continually referring to first principles. And something, too, could be done for mathematics, although less has certainly been done to smooth the path of this branch of knowledge than any one within the whole circle of the sciences. If any intelligent teacher will take Professor Ritchie's Geometry into his hands, we have no hesitation in saying, that in a session or two he will be able to put a popular audience in such a position as to enable them to understand a fair and useful modicum of natural philosophy. All this, however, is supposing that very ignorant people are to attend popular lectures an admission by far too liberal. Let any one consider the millions of sheets on popular know

retarded by one section of expounders it will be taken up by another-but the aristocrats of science may delay the current, and that is a consideration of no mean value.

Turning, however, from what should be done, to what has been done, we shall speedily find that no scientific man who wishes to disrobe himself of exclusiveness, can be at any loss in discovering precedents for the utmost lengths that he is disposed to go. The British Association is, to all intents. and purposes, a popular body; and whatever the Times may say to the contrary, a body which, if properly worked, might be of important national service. There are not many scientific men who refuse to attend its meetings; but there are many who attend and speak at the Association who, nevertheless, would decline giving a popular lecture in their own city. Now, why should this be? When it is considered

that the popular element enters largely into the constitution of the Association; but passing from associated efforts, let us glance at the nobler field of individual prowess. Sir Humphrey Davy delivered popular lectures on chemistry at the Royal Institution- Faraday delivered a course, which he did not hesitate to designate juvenile lectures-Archbishop Whately has delivered popular lectures on zoology in Dublin, even after being adorned with the mitre. And if we come to writing, the same eminent prelate wrote on popular logic and popular political economy for a penny print; and, not twelve months ago, Baron Liebig indited two volumes of "Familiar Letters on Chemistry." What Davy, Faraday, Whately, Liebig, and we could mention other names equally great have all done, surely no scientific man now alive should hesitate to do; and yet sorry are we to say, that there be scientific men who, if asked to deliver a popular lecture, would feel themselves degraded-if asked to write a popular paper, would feel themselves insulted; and if told that it was intended for a penny, or even a threehalfpenny periodical, would allow their excitement to run beyond all bounds. But all these things will mend: so long as Franklins and Watts spring up from printing offices and workshops, popular knowledge is safe.

Since writing the foregoing, we have been informed that a series of popular scientific lectures were recently delivered in Aberdeen,-the professors of the two colleges taking a share in the labour, and the proceeds of the lectures being given over to the fund for maintaining industrial schools in the city. One of the chemical lectures was delivered in the chemical class-room of Marischal College (Dr Clark's) by Dr Fyfe, the chemical professor of King's College! This is wholesome innovation, and shows a praiseworthy emancipation from the old fashioned notions of academical etiquette, which still linger in some schools of learning. To us this Aberdeen course appears something singularly deserving of commendation. The professors generously came forth to instruct their fellow citizens-the citizens themselves could not fail to be benefited by the instruction whilst the object to which the receipts were applied was one of the most praiseworthy and philanthropic that could well be conceived. Glasgow has started a Commercial College; Edinburgh is remodelling her Philosophical Institution; and Liverpool, although professing to instruct mechanics only, has an Institute which has done some service to the middle and upper classes. These are cheering signs of the times, and we trust that, catching the general enthusiasm, scientific men will lead, and not follow.

We have also to record, that our hints regarding the inefficiency of learned societies have received confirmation from a quarter altogether unexpected, viz., the Athenæum. That periodical asserts that many of them are in a "state of pitiful decrepitude and insignificance.' Indeed, the somnolence of " chartered bodies" is represented as such, that they may awaken each other by their very snoring.' This is probably too severe; but the subject is worth attending to, as these bodies spend a great deal of money to little purpose, and promote habits of exclusiveness, which do no good. The Athenæum proposes the amalgamation of several into one body, like the Institute of France,-by which means, with one building, containing separate apartments for each section, one general secretary, and separate clerks for mechanical labour, much money would be saved in management, and more left over for scientific purposes.

THE AUTHORS OF THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY.

No. VIII.-ROBERT SOUTHEY.
NELSON'S ATTACK ON SANTA Cruz.

On the evening of the attack Nelson addressed a letter written with his right hand. to the commander-in-chief-the last which was ever "I shall not," said he, "enter on the subject why we are not in possession of Santa Cruz. Your partiality will give credit, that all has hitherto been done which was possible, but without effect. This night I, humble as I am, command the whole destined to land under the batteries of the town, and to-morrow my head will probably be crowned either with laurel or cypress. I have only to recommend Josiah Nisbet to you and my country. The Duke of Clarence, for my son-in-law, on his name being mentioned." Pershould I fall, will, I am confident, take a lively interest fectly aware how desperate a service this was likely to prove, before he left the Theseus he called Lieutenant Nisbet, who had the watch on deck, into the cabin, that he might assist in arranging and burning his mother's letters. Perceiving that the young man was armed, he earnestly begged him to remain behind. "Should we both fall, Josiah," said he, "what would become of your poor mother! The care of the Theseus falls to you: stay, therefore, and take charge of her." Nisbet replied: "Sir, the ship must take care of herself; I will go with you to-night, if I never go again."

He met his captains at supper on board the Seahorse, Captain Freemantle, whose wife, whom he had lately married in the Mediterranean, presided at table. At eleven o'clock the boats, containing between six and seven hundred men, with one hundred and eighty on board the Fox cutter, and from seventy to eighty in a boat which had been taken the day before, proceeded in six divisions toward the town, conducted by all the captains of the squadron, except Freemantle and Bowen, who attended with Nelson to regulate and lead the way thence hasten, as fast as possible, into the great square, to the attack. They were to land on the mole, and then form, and proceed as should be found expedient. They were not discovered till about half past one o'clock, when, being within half gun-shot of the landing-place, Nelson directed the boats to cast off from each other, give a huzza, and push for the shore. But the Spaniards were exceedingly well prepared: the alarm-bells answered the huzza, and a fire of thirty or forty pieces of cannon, with musketry from one end of the town to the other, check the intrepidity with which they advanced. The opened upon the invaders. Nothing, however, could night was exceedingly dark; most of the boats missed the mole, and went on shore through a raging surf, which stove all to the left of it. The Admiral, Freemantle, Thompson, Bowen, and four or five other boats found the mole; they stormed it instantly, and carried it, though it was defended, as they imagined, by four or five hundred men. Its guns, which were six-and-twenty pounders, were spiked, but such a heavy fire of musketry and grape was kept up from the citadel and the houses at the head of the mole, that the assailants could not advance, and nearly all of them were killed or wounded.

In the act of stepping out of the boat Nelson received a shot through the right elbow, and fell; but as he fell he caught the sword, which he had just drawn, in his left hand, determined never to part with it while he lived, for it had belonged to his uncle, Captain Suckling, and he valued it like a relic. Nisbet, who was close to him, placed him at the bottom of the boat, and laid his hat over the shattered arm, lest the sight of the blood, which gushed out in great abundance, should increase his faintness. He then examined the wound, and taking some silk handkerchiefs from his neck, bound them round tight above the lacerated vessels. Had it not been for this presence

of mind in his son-in-law, Nelson must have perished.

One of his bargemen, by name Lovel, tore his shirt into shreds, and made a sling with them for the broken limb. They then collected five other seamen, by whose assistance they succeeded, at length, in getting the boat afloat, for it had grounded with the falling tide. Nisbet took

one of the oars, and ordered the steersman to go close under the guns of the battery, that they might be safe from its tremendous fire. Hearing his voice, Nelson roused himself, and desired to be lifted up in the boat, that he might look about him. Nisbet raised him up, but nothing could be seen except the firing of the guns on shore, and what could be discerned by their flashes upon the stormy sea. In a few minutes a general shriek was heard from the crew of the Fox, which had received a shot under water, and went down. Ninety-seven men were lost in her eighty-three were saved, many by Nelson himself, whose exertions on this occasion greatly increased the pain and danger of his wound. The first ship which the boat could reach happened to be the Seahorse, but nothing could induce him to go on board, though he was assured that if they attempted to row to another ship it might be at the risk of his life. "I had rather suffer death," he replied, "than alarm Mrs Freemantle, by letting her see me in this state, when I can give her no tidings whatever of her husband." They pushed on for the Theseus. When they came alongside he peremptorily refused all assistance in getting on board, so impatient was he that the boat should return, in hopes that it might save a few more from the Fox. He desired to have only a single rope thrown over the side, which he twisted round his left hand, saying, "Let me alone; I have yet my legs left and one arm. Tell the surgeon to make haste and get his instruments; I know I must lose my right arm, so the sooner it is off the better."* The spirit which he displayed in jumping up the ship's side astonished everybody.

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by field-pieces, and several thousand Spaniards, with about a hundred French, under arms, approaching by every avenue. Finding himself without provisions, the powder wet, and no possibility of obtaining either stores or reinforcements from the ships, the boats being lost, Trowbridge, with great presence of mind, sent Captain Samuel Hood with a flag of truce to the governor, to say he was prepared to burn the town, and would instantly set fire to it if the Spaniards approached one inch nearer. This, however, if he were compelled to do it, he should do with regret, for he had no wish to injure the inhabitants, and he was ready to treat upon these terms-that the British troops should re-embark, with all their arms of every kind, and take their own boats, if they were saved, or be provided with such others as might be wanting; they, on their part, engaging that the squadron should not molest the town, nor any of the Canary Islands; all prisoners on both sides to be given up. When these terms were proposed the governor made answer, that the English ought to surrender as prisoners of war, but Captain Hood replied, he was instructed to say, that if the terms were not accepted in five minutes, Captain Trowbridge would set the town on fire, and attack the Spaniards at the point of the bayonet. Satisfied with his success, which was indeed sufficiently complete, and respecting, like a brave and honourable man, the gallantry of his enemy, the Spaniard acceded to the proposal, found boats to re-embark them, their own having all been dashed to pieces in landing, and before they parted gave every man a loaf and a pint of wine. "And here," says Nelson in his journal, "it is right we should notice the noble and generous conduct of Don Juan Antonio Gutierrez, the Spanish governor. The moment the terms were agreed to he directed our wounded men to be received into the hospitals, and all our people to be supplied with the best provisions that could be procured, and made it known, that the ships were at liberty to send on shore and purchase whatever refreshments they were in want of during the time they might be off the island." A youth, by name Don Bernardo Collagon, stripped himself of his shirt, to make bandages for one of those Englishmen, against whom, not an hour before, he had been engaged in battle. Nelson wrote to thank the governor for the humanity which he had displayed. Presents were interchanged between them. Sir Horatio offered to take charge of his despatches for the Spanish government, and thus actually became the first messenger to Spain of his own defeat.

Freemantle had been severely wounded in the right arm, soon after the admiral. He was fortunate enough to find a boat on the beach, and got instantly to his ship. Thompson was wounded; Bowen† killed, to the great regret of Nelson; as was also one of his own officers, Lieutenant Weatherhead, who had followed him from the Agamemnon, and whom he greatly and deservedly esteemed. Trowbridge, meantime, fortunately for his party, missed the mole in the darkness, but pushed on shore under the batteries, close to the south end of the citadel. Captain Waller of the Emerald, and two or three other boats landed at the same time. The surf was so high that many others put back. The boats were instantly filled with water, and stove against the rocks, and most of the ammunition in the men's pouches was wetted. Having collected a few men, they pushed on to the great square, hoping there to find the admiral and the rest of the force. The ladders were all lost, so that they could make no immediate attempt on the citadel, but they sent a sergeant, with two of the town's-people, to summon it; this messenger never returned, and Trow-spatches; but in a private letter to Lord St Vincent-the bridge having waited about an hour, in painful expectation of his friends, marched to join Captains Hood and Miller, who had effected their landing to the south-west. They then endeavoured to procure some intelligence of the admiral and the rest of the officers, but without success. By daybreak they had gathered together about eighty marines, eighty pikemen, and one hundred and eighty small-arm seamen; all the survivors of those who had made good their landing. They obtained some ammunition from the prisoners whom they had taken, and marched on, to try what could be done at the citadel without ladders. They found all the streets commanded

• During the peace of Amiens, when Nelson was passing through

Salisbury, and received there with those acclamations which followed him everywhere, he recognised among the crowd a man who had assisted at the amputation, and attended him afterwards. He beckoned him up the stairs of the council-house, shook hands with him, and made him a present, in remembrance of his services at that time. The man took from his bosom a piece of lace, which he had torn from the sleeve of the amputated limb, saying, he had preserved, and would preserve it to the last moment, in memory of his old commander.

+ Captain Bowen's gold seals, and chain, and sword, were preserved in the town-house of Teneriffe; his watch and other valuables had been made booty of by the populace. In 1810 the magisCommissioner Bowen, saying, that they conceived it would be gratifying to his feelings to receive them, and that as the two nations were now united in a cause which did equal honour to both, they did not wish to retain a trophy which could remind them that they had ever been opposed to each other.-Naval Chronicle, vol. xxiv. p. 393.

trates of the island sent these memorials of the dead to his brother,

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The total loss of the English in killed, wounded, and drowned, amounted to two hundred and fifty. Nelson made no mention of his own wound in his official de

first which he wrote with his left hand-he shows himself to have been deeply affected by the failure of this enterprise. "I am become," he said, "a burthen to my friends, and useless to my country; but by my last letter you will perceive my anxiety for the promotion of my son-in-law, Josiah Nisbet. When I leave your command, I become dead to the world;-'I go hence, and am no more seen.' If, from poor Bowen's loss, you think it proper to oblige me, I rest confident you will do it. The boy is under obligations to me; but he repaid me by bringing me from the mole of Santa Cruz. ́I hope you will be able to give me a frigate to convey the remains of said, in a subsequent letter, "will never again be conmy carcass to England."-"A left handed admiral," he sidered as useful; therefore the sooner I get to a very humble cottage the better, and make room for a sounder man to serve the state." His first letter to Lady Nelson was written under the same opinion, but in a more cheerful strain. "It was the chance of war," said he, “and 1 have great reason to be thankful; and I know it will add much to your pleasure to find that Josiah, under God's providence, was principally instrumental in saving my life. I shall not be surprised if I am neglected and forgotten,-probably I shall no longer be considered as useful; however, I shall feel rich if I continue to enjoy your affection. I beg neither you nor my father will think much of this mishap; my mind has long been made up to such an event.”

His son-in-law, according to his wish, was immediately promoted, and honours enough to heal his wounded spirit awaited him in England. Letters were addressed to him by the first lord of the admiralty, and by his steady friend, the Duke of Clarence, to congratulate him on his return, covered as he was with glory. He assured the duke, in his reply, that not a scrap of that ardour with which he had hitherto served his king had been shot away. The freedom of the cities of Bristol and London were transmitted to him; he was invested with the Order of the Bath, and received a pension of L.1000 a-year. The memorial which, as a matter of form, he was called upon to present on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary catalogue of services performed during the war. It stated, that he had been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy, and in three actions with boats employed in cutting out of harbour, in destroying vessels, and in taking three towns; he had served on shore with the army four months, and commanded the batteries at the sieges of Bastia and Calvi; he had assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven privateers; taken and destroyed near fifty sail of merchant vessels; and actually been engaged against the enemy upwards of a hundred and twenty times, in which service he had lost his right eye and right arm, and been severely wounded and bruised in his body.

Miscellaneous.

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the right point of life for it, let every other consideration GET MARRIED.-Young man! if you have arrived at give way to that of getting married. Don't think of anything else. Keep poking about the rubbish of the world till you have stirred up a gem worth possessing in for you know delays are dangerous. A good wife is the the shape of wife. Never think of delaying the matter; have by your side, while performing the journey of life. most constant and faithful companion you can possibly mend your trousers, and, perchance, your manners; She is of more service, too, than you may at first imagine. She can sweeten your sour moments as well as your tea and coffee "smooth your linen and your cares' for you; for you; ruffle, perhaps, your shirt bosom, but not your temper; and, instead of sewing the seeds of sorrow in your path, she will sew buttons on your shirt, and plant happiness, instead of harrow-teeth, in your bosom. Yes! and if you are too confoundedly lazy and too proud to do such work yourself, she will chop wood and dig potatoes for dinner; for her love for her husband is such that she will do anything to please him-except receive company in her every-day clothes. Get married by all means. His sufferings from the lost limb were long and painful. arn't worth a spoonful of pigeon's milk. Mark this! if, A nerve had been taken up in one of the ligatures at the blest with health and employment, you are not able to All the excuses you can fish up against "doing the deed" time of the operation; and the ligature, according to the support a wife, depend upon it you are not capable of practice of the French surgeons, was of silk instead of supporting yourself. Therefore, so much the more need waxed thread; this produced a constant irritation and discharge; and the ends of the ligature being pulled strength. Get married, I repeat, young man! of annexation; for in union, as well as an onion, there is every day, in hopes of bringing it away, occasioned fresh agony. He had scarcely any intermission of pain, day or night, for three months after his return to England. Sarahs, Marias, Olivias, Elizas, Augustas, Betsies, Peggies, centrate your affections upon one object, and not distriConbute them, crumb by crumb, among a host of Susans, Lady Nelson, at his earnest request, attended the dressing of his arm, till she had acquired sufficient resolution and skill to dress it herself. One night during this state and Dorothies-allowing each scarcely enough to nibble of suffering, after a day of constant pain, Nelson retired body to scour up your whole life, and whatever linen you Get married, and have something to cheer you as you journey through this lonely "vale of tears;" someearly to bed, in hope of enjoying some respite by means of possess, in some sort of Sunday-go-to-meeting order.— laudanum. He was at that time lodging in Bond Street; American and the family were soon disturbed by a mob knocking loudly and violently at the door. The news of Duncan's paper. victory had been made public, and the house was not illuminated. But when the mob were told that Admiral Nelson lay there in bed, badly wounded, the foremost of them made answer-" You shall hear no more from us to-night;" and, in fact, the feeling of respect and sym-lightful. None of your my-dearing or my-loving nonpathy was communicated from one to another with such effect, that under the confusion of such a night, the house was not molested again.

About the end of November, after a night of sound sleep, he found the arm nearly free from pain: the surgeon was immediately sent for to examine it, and the ligatature came away with the slightest touch. From that time it began to heal. As soon as he thought his health established, he sent the following form of thanksgiving to the minister of St George's Church, Hanover Square:-"An officer desires to return thanks to Almighty God for his perfect recovery from a severe wound, and also for the many mercies bestowed on him."

Not having been in England till now since he lost his eye, he went to receive a year's pay as smart money; but could not obtain payment, because he had neglected to bring a certificate from a surgeon that the sight was actually destroyed. A little irritated that this form should be insisted upon, because, though the fact was not apparent, he thought it was sufficiently notorious, he procured a certificate at the same time for the loss of his arm, saying, they might just as well doubt one as the other. This put him in good humour with himself, and with the clerk who had offended him. On his return to the office, the clerk, finding it was only the annual pay of a captain, observed he thought it had been more. "Oh!" replied Nelson, "this is only for an eye. In a few days I shall come for an arm, and in a little time longer, God knows, most probably for a leg." Accordingly, he soon afterwards went, and with perfect good humour exhibited the certificate of the loss of his

arm.

at.

more.

much as I liked master, I don't know but I liked mistress
A HINT TO WIVES.-I saw the lady of the house; and,
looking, Vernon, one of the sort that would never look
old, or grow ugly, even if she lived to the age of Methu-
Such a dear, kind-hearted creature; and so good-
salem. And her fondness for her old man is quite de-

sense, or anxiety about everything he likes to eat and
drink disagreeing with him, but good, downright, honest,
happy smile with which she regarded the old fellow, and
hearty affection, which was beautifully displayed in the
That's what I'd recommend all wives to do who wish to
witnessed how truly he seemed to be enjoying himself.
preserve their good looks.
about than a countenance soured with imaginary cares,
so much upon expression, that, if that's spoilt, farewell
A woman's beauty depends
to all charms, and which nothing tends more to bring
instead of lighted up with thankfulness for innumerable
blessings. That's what makes half the women wither
their beauty so lasting as that placid look of pure bene-
away into wrinkles so early in life, whilst nothing renders
volence, which emanates from a heart full of thankfulness
to God, affection for those nearest and dearest to them,
zine.
and goodwill towards all mankind.-Blackwood's Maga-

great works of past ages seem to a young man things of
FEELINGS TOWARDS CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.-The
another race, in respect to which his faculties must remain
passive and submissive, even as to the stars and the
mountains. But the writings of a contemporary, perhaps
not many years older than himself, surrounded by the
same circumstances, and disciplined by the same manners,
possess a reality for him, and inspire an actual friendship,
which fans and finds his hope. The poems themselves
as of a man for a man.
His very admiration is the wind
extol, to contend for them, is but the payment of a debt
due to one who exists to receive it.-Coleridge's Biographia
assume the properties of flesh and blood. To recite, to
Literaria.

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THE SHAWLS OF CASHMERE.-The staple commodity of the Punjab is found in the shawl manufactures of Cashmere, which have been so often described by others, that they merely require a passing notice. They are a fabric which no exertion on the part of foreigners can imitate; and, though the European manufacturer may impart much of the beauty, and copy with success the pattern, his web possesses none of the delicacy of the original, and is equally destitute of that warmth and comfort which the inhabitants of Europe, in their more frigid zone, are so well able to appreciate. Nor are the weavers of the adjoining countries more successful in this branch of art than our own countrymen: the shawls of Lahore and Delhi, though woven by natives of the valley, and with the same materials, are wanting in the fineness of those prepared in Cashmere, and have the degenerated appearance of a coarse woollen, but little superior to our own manufactures. If implicit reliance is to be placed on the people, the shawl derives its beauty from the water in which the wool is dyed, and which is peculiar to Cashmere. The yearly revenue from the shawl manufactures, exclusive of every expense, is rated at eighteen lacs of rupees; but, as it is entirely realised in kind, every fraud which the ingenuity of a deceiving people can devise is practised in remitting it to Lahore. Shawls which cannot be valued at a higher price than a couple of hundred rupees, are rated at a thousand; and it is not a subject of surprise that the amount which I have now stated far exceeds the actual realisation by the treasury of Runjeet Sing. With a more judicious system, this prince might double this source of his revenue. An idea may be formed of the value to which these fabrics may be manufactured, by some shawls having been lately prepared to order, for the Russian and Persian courts, at the enormous price of 30,000 roubles per pair; which is, I believe, about 12,000 rupees. It is a source of complaint among merchants, that the shawls have lately declined in quality, and good articles are now only to be procured by commissioning them from the valley. article, indeed, has become a drug, and the Punjab government have at present in Umritsir a store of shawls that cannot be valued at less than half a million sterling (fifty lacs of rupees).-Burnes's Travels into Bokhara.

The

LIFE. What is life? The student of nature may analyse, with all his art, those minute portions of matter, called seeds and ova, which he knows to be the rudiments of future creatures, and the links by which endless generations of living creatures hang to existence; but he cannot disentangle and display apart their mysterious life, that something under the influence of which each little germ, in due time, swells out to fill an invisible mould of maturity which determines its forms and proportions. One such substance thus becomes a beauteous rose-bush, another a noble oak; a third an eagle; a fourth an elephant-yea, in the same way, out of the rude materials of broken seeds and roots, and leaves of plants, and bits of animal flesh, is built up the human frame itself, whether of the active male, combining gracefulness with strength, or of the gentler woman, with beauty around her as light. How passing strange that such should be the origin of the bright human eye, whose glance pierces as if the invisible soul were shot with itof the lips, which pour forth the sweetest eloquence-of the larynx, which, by vibrating, fills the surrounding air with music; and, more wonderful than all, of that mass shut up within the bony fortress of the skull, whose delicate and curious texture is the abode of the soul, with its reason which contemplates, and its sensibility which delights in these and endless other miracles of creation. -Arnott.

ALL REFORM BEGINS AT HOME.-What a man's home is, his whole life will be, as a general rule. And the principles, the ideas, the plans, the motives, the hopes of his dwelling, will go out with him into all his intercourse and business. If all is well at home, we need not watch him in the market. If he is a true man there, he will not need to be made any more a "man of the world." If he can succeed in redeeming life's most familiar scenes from dullness and unprofitableness, the world abroad will be all fresh, and full of entertainment. If he be not

a dull familiar stranger in his home, he will find himself at home wherever he goes. If there be independence of physical comforts, and abundance of mental, moral, and social resources in one's own dwelling, there will be no unnecessary anxiety, no feverish hurry, no narrow drudgery in one's business abroad. One will work cheerfully for small profits, if he be rich in the love and society of his home. If discontented there, he will be discontented everywhere. So long as the fire of love burns brightly on the domestic altar, he will not be frozen by the selfishness of the world.-Ideals of EveryDay Life.

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