the seal, while the movement of that portion of it which is above the surface indicates to the fisherman that the animal is at work. His spears are of different kinds, increasing in strength and power according to the prey he has to contend with. These spears are tipped with the point of the narwhal's horn. But the most curious portion of them is an appendage called siatko, consisting of a piece of bone three inches long, and having a point of iron at one end, and at the other end a small hole, or socket, to receive the point of the spear. Through the middle of this instrument is secured the allek, or line of thong, of which every man has, when sealing, a couple of coils, each from four to six fathoms long, hanging at his back. These are made of the skin of the oguke, the larger seal, as in Greenland, and are admirably adapted to the purpose, both on account of their strength, and the property which they possess of preserving their pliability even in the most intense frost. When the spear is about to be used, the siatko is fitted on its point. In this situation it is retained by bringing the allek tight down, and fastening it round the middle of the staff by what seamen call a 66 slippery hitch," which may instantly be disengaged by pulling on the other end of the line. As soon as the spear has been thrown, and the animal struck, the siatko is thus purposely separated, and, being slung by the middle, now performs very effectually the important office of a barb, by turning at right angles to the direction in which it has entered the orifice.

Thus armed, the Esquimaux watches until the ice becomes so thin that the blowing of the seal is distinctly heard, when he drives his spear through the thin crust into the animal, whose labours have thus facilitated its own destruction. With his panna, or iron knife, which is straight, flat, pointed at the end, ground equally sharp at both edges, and firmly secured in a handle of bone or wood, he cuts away the ice so as to secure his prey. The neitiek is the only seal killed in this manner, and, being the smallest, is held while struggling, either simply by the hand, or by putting the line round a spear with the point stuck into the ice. For the oguke the line is passed round a man's leg or arm; and for a walrus, round his body, his feet being at the same time firmly set against a hummock of ice. in which position these people can, from habit, hold against a very heavy strain.*

* Vide Frontispiece.

The capture of a walrus, after a season of scarcity, is the occasion of intense excitement in an Esquimaux village. Every lamp swims with oil; the huts become a blaze of light; and the cutting up of the spoil is a scene of joyous festivity, terminating too frequently in gluttony of a most disgusting character. Sickness follows as the result, and death removes many.

The filthy habits of the people form a painful feature in their character. Mr. M'Dougall's description of what he witnessed at Cape York must close our present paper:

"The natives received us without betraying any great degree of interest or curiosity. The shape of their garments, made of bear and deer skins, was essentially the same as their more southern neighbours, but they outvied all we had previously seen in want of cleanliness, and were, without exception, the most disgusting, filthy race of human beings it has been my lot to encounter.

"The men might possibly at some remote period have indulged in a wash, but it is my firm conviction that the boys, apparently ten or twelve years old, had never undergone any. thing in the form of an ablutionary process. It is, however, almost impossible to convey an idea of the personal appearance of these degraded creatures, who, though to us objects of commiseration, were by no means of that opinion themselves.

66

"It was from this place that Erasmus York was, with his own consent, taken on board the Assistance, Captain Ommanney, in August, 1850. He was brought to England, and edu cated at St. Augustine's College, Canterbury. In 1855 he was sent to Newfoundland, with a view of being useful among the Esquimaux of Labrador; but he died the following year of consumption. He was of a mild and amiable disposition, and made himself everywhere beloved by his warm and single-hearted affection for all who were kind to him.

"Naturally supposing his friends would make eager inquiries concerning their absent rela tive, one of the officers had considerately kept an Illustrated London News, with the portrait of York, for the express purpose of showing it to these poor people, in the event of communi. cating with them; but they appeared to have forgotten him, and although his native name was pronounced, they repeated it without any emotion. This want of curiosity respecting him surprised us, for they must have imagined we were the same vessels by the presence of

the steamers, which appeared to fix their attention.

"The so-called village consisted of three sealskin tents erected on the inner slope of Cape York, close beside a huge glacier. The inhabitants consisted of two old women, and three younger and more comely women, each with a child at her back, whom we presumed were the wives of the only three men we observed. Besides these, there were nine children of different ages, all as healthy as they were dirty. "The appearance of the interior of the tents was quite in keeping with their persons. The skins strewn around were anything but inviting, and although not very fastidious, it would take a considerable time to reconcile one to the thoughts of seeking repose amongst so much filth. Strewn around on the outside of the tents were bones of birds and seals, besides

a quantity of putrid seal flesh and intestines, sending forth an offensive smell.

"We, of course, considered this to be the refuse on which, probably, the dogs were fed; but were soon enlightened by seeing one of the ancient ladies take a portion of the entrails, and swallow a quantity of it as Italians do maccaroni. Being, however, of considerable length, she was unable to swallow the whole, and therefore contented herself with a foot or two, which was severed with a knife. This feat completed our disgust; and after the captain had distributed a few presents, we retraced our steps towards the boats, pitying in our inmost hearts the sad lot of these poor wretches, whose only means of subsistence must be very precarious; for, having no boats, they are necessitated to trust to killing their prey between the cracks in the ice."

HE German city of Nuremberg has always claimed the invention of pocket clocks, as watches were first named;

and the fact that they were, in early times, called Nuremberg eggs, from their shape being oval, and that this town stood pre-eminent for the numbers and quality of its watches, seems to favour if not quite to justify the claim, which goes back to the year 1477. Blois, in France, however, also claims the merit of the invention, and so does China, which is said to have introduced the invention into Germany, whence it passed to France, and thence into England.

The invention of this instrument was the culminating point of horometry, and it was developed out of the increasing needs and experiences of mankind. A volume might be written about the steps of the delicate art which, in due order, shaped and applied the coiled spring, the spiral balance spring, the repeating movement, the varied escapements, the jewelled pivots, and all the other mechanisms that are now combined in a good watch-an instrument which, although it is so small that it may be hidden from view in a lady's hand, represents the consolidated genius of the horologists of four centuries.

Be this as it may, however, there have been watches made of many sizes and many shapes. There have been skull watches, tulip, apple, rose, giant watches, and liliputian watches. In the Exhibition of 1851, a Mr. Funnel, of Brighton, exhibited a small lever watch of no more diameter than that of a three-halfpenny piece. A rose watch of the greatest beauty was exhibited by Mr. Jones, of the Strand. A century ago, Mr. Arnold, also of the Strand, presented to George III. a repeating watch of his own manufacture, set in a ring. The size of this curiosity did not exceed that of a twopenny-piece, although it contained one hundred and twenty different parts, which altogether did not weigh more than five pennyweights, seven grains, and three-fourths; the tools employed in its manufacture had to be all made for it, and the watch contained the first ruby cylinder ever made. The King was so pleased with it that he presented Mr. Arnold with five hundred guineas as a recognition of his skill. Some time after, the Emperor of Russia, having heard of this watch, offered Arnold a thousand guineas if he would make another like it for him, but Arnold declined the commission, that he might not depreciate the value of his own gift to his own Sovereign.

HE Arch of Titus was raised to commemorate the capture of Jerusalem, and in honour of the captor, by the Senate and common people. It stands on the Summa Sacra Viâ, or highest point of the Sacred Way. Not only is it the most elegant of all the triumphal arches, but as a record of Scripture history it has rightly been called "one of the most interesting ruins in Rome."

It consists of a single splendid arch of white marble, with fluted columns of the Composite order on each side. It is covered with elaborate sculptures. Those of the frieze represent a procession of warriors leading oxen to the sacrifice; on the key-stone is the figure of a Roman warrior, nearly perfect. On the attic, he who runs may read the original inscription,

bridge during the flight of Maxentius, after his defeat by Constantine on the Via Flaminia. "The size of this candle-stick, as here represented, appears to be nearly a man's height; so that, both in size and form, these bas-reliefs perfectly correspond with the description of Josephus, and are the only authentic representations of these sacred objects."

On the other side, the emperor is shown, crowned by victory, seated in his triumphal car drawn by four horses, and surrounded by Romans carrying the fasces, and soldiers and citizens waving branches of laurel. The vault of the arch is richly ornamented with sunk

panels and roses; a bas-relief in the centre represents the apotheosis of Titus.

The length of the arch is 49 feet; its breadth 16 feet; its whole height is equal to its length. Above the entablature is an Attic order 12 feet high. The arch is semicircular, and springs from a horizontal moulding called the impost, which crosses the front of the building at about 22 feet from the ground. The height of the Composite marble columns which flank the arch is 22.065 feet. They stand on pedestals 9 feet high.*

*"Triumphs of Ancient Architecture: Greece and Rome." London: T. Nelson and Sons. See Review, page 116,

AID that flower, so pale and lonely,
Spring was come to violets only?
Lo! I lift my golden cup,
With its joy-drops brimming up;
Lo! I spread my leaves, and sing,
Welcome, welcome, happy Spring!

Like a child of tender birth,
Close I cling to mother earth:
Nesting in her faithful breast,
Here I find my home of rest;
While the storms beat on the hill,
Here she warms and feeds me still.

What if winds blow wild and high,
Still I know that Spring is nigh;
Let the sheeted rains come down,
Still I wear my golden crown.
Thus, my garden friends, you see
Kings might sometimes envy me.

So, in tones of hope and pleasure, Boastful of her golden treasure,

Fearing neither wind nor rain,
Living woe, nor dying pain,
Mid the snow-flakes cold and white,
Sang the cheerful Aconite.

But a voice more soft and tender,
Strange to scenes of pomp and splendour,

Woke in music soft and low,
Singing of the rural meadows,
Silent dells, and leafy shadows,

Where the Violet loves to grow;
Singing with a voice so sweet,
Tints and odours seemed to meet
In a strain of scented air,
Half a perfume-half a prayer.

The Violet.

OUCH me gently, sang the Violet To the wild winds sweeping by, To the tempest in its furyTouch me gently, or I die. Dear to me the leafy garden,

With its tall trees overhead;