of Mahomet and his family.-Vella was condemned to imprisonment. To be continued.

66

The Naturalist.

HOPPERS. "There is," says the author of the Natural History of Selborne, a small, long, shining fly in these parts, very troublesome to the housewife, by getting into the chimnies, and laying its eggs in the bacon while it is drying. These eggs produce maggots, called jumpers, which, harbouring in the gammons and best parts of the hogs, eat down to the bone, and make great waste. This fly, I suspect, to be a variety of the musca putris of Linnæus. It is to be seen in the summer in farm kitchens, on the bacon-racks and about the mantel

pieces, and on the ceilings." This fly is not peculiar to any county; its ravages are felt as severely in London as in any part of England. In the warehouses and cellars of wholesale cheesemongers and factors, yon may see some of the finest cheeses rendered almost valueless by the larvae of these abominable insects. In Wiltshire and Gloucestershire they are called "Hoppers.'

ENGLISH MASTIFFS.

A. M.

Sir Thomas

Roe took out some English mastiffs to India, as a present for the Great Mogul. They were of marvellous courage.One of them leaped overboard to attack a shoal of porpoises, and was lost. Only two of them lived to reach India. They travelled each in a little coach to Agra. One broke loose by the way, fell upon a large elephant, and fastened on his trunk; the elephant at last succeeded in hurling him off. This story delighted the Mogul; and these dogs, in consequence, came to as extraordinary a fortune as Whittington's cat. Each had a palanquin to take the air in, with two attendants

to bear him, and two more to walk on each side and fan off the flies; and the Mogul had a pair of silver tongs made, that he might, when he pleased, feed them with his own hand.

FISH OF THE Bosphorus.-The Bosphorus swarms with myriads of the finny tribe, the most ordinary of which are the scombri, a species of mackarel, which are dried without salt, by the Greeks; palamedes and stavidria two species of dolphins; and anchovies and nilufer, which latter are caught by torch light on their migration from the

Black into the White Sea, during the autumn, when the Greek women, each provided with a boat and torch, pass the whole night upon the water, fascinating the nilufer into their nets by means of its impetuous dash at the To the turbot, treacherous blaze. roach, and lamprey, we have yet to add that monarch of the table, the swordfish, which is caught along the shore in wooden cells, on which the fishermen will sit for whole hours, in motionless abiding of a solitary victim. Shell-fish are also found in plenty and perfection. The Bosphorus is at times enlivened by the gambols of shoals of dolphins, whose effigies are extant on the coins of many Greek cities.

Notices of New Books.

A History, Description, and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of Southwark, &c. Part I. London: Effingham Wilson.

From the specimen before us, we may reasonably expect to see in due course, a well arranged history of our metropolis. We were ever friends to such works; we would have a history of every nook within this island, and must, therefore, entertain a kindly But we must exclaim against the bad feeling towards the one under notice. taste which has led the editor to adopt the description of wood-cuts that appear in this part. So far from being an ornament to the work, they are a of this kind should be small, and inpositive blemish. Wood-cuts in works serted amongst the letter-press; no man of taste would purchase a book those in a child's primer. Our goodwith great staring, vulgar prints, like will towards this history of London has betrayed us into these remarks; compilations, and should regret to hear we know the labour required in such vain. The reader will judge of the that that labour had been expended in literary portion of the work from the following observations on the early trading of the Britons:

"Herodotus, who flourished about 450 years before Christ, says, 'I have nothing certain to relate concerning the western boundaries of Europe; know as little of the islands called Cassiterides, except from the tin which is thence imported among us; and though I have diligently enquired, yet have I never seen any man, who, by his own

experience, could inform me of the nature of that sea which bounds the extremities of Europe; however, it is certain that amber and tin come from its remotest parts.' 'Europe,' he adds, ' has not been fully discovered by any man; and we have no account whether it be bounded on the north and east side by the sea.' The first classical writer who expressly mentions the British isles, is the author of De Mundo, a work that has been ascribed to Aristotle; this writer speaks of a sea that comes towards the Gallic Gulf, and thence to the columns of Hercules. 'In this sea,' he says, 6 are two is lands, (Britannia Albion and Ierne,) larger than those we named above: they are directly above the Celts.' He further describes the northern parts of Europe as inhabited by the Scythians, and the western by the Celts.

"Polybius, who lived about 200 years before Christ, promises 'in his third book,' to write a treatise respecting the British Islands, and the making of tin; but this tract unfortunately, if ever written, is lost. Strabo, and other Greek historians, constantly mention these islands; and there can be no doubt that they are intended by the Cassiterides of the classical authors. The Phoenicians, according to Strabo, were long accustomed to visit the Cassiterides from Spain, for the sake of a profitable traffic in tin, lead, and skins; so jealous were they, we are told, of the monopoly of this commerce which they at one time enjoyed, that when the Romans followed a Phoenician ship bound hither, for the purpose of discovering the market, the master ran the vessel aground, and destroyed it, rather than let them trace his course.There is great reason to suppose that the Phoenicians not only traded to Britain for tin, &c., but established a colony here at a remote period; certain it is that the date of the voyage of Hamilco, who was sent by the senate of Carthage, about the time of Darius Nothus, to discover the western shores and part of Europe, agrees almost precisely with the date of the coming over of several friendly tribes. Dr. Vincent, in his treatise on the Commerce and Navigation of the ancients in the Indian Ocean, says, 'that tin is mentioned as an import into Africa, Arabia, Scindi, and the coast of Malabar. It has continued an article of commerce brought out of Britain in all ages; conveyed to all the countries in the Mediterranean, by the Phoenicians, Greeks,

and Romans, and carried into the Eastern Ocean from the origin of commerce: tin,' he continues, 'is enumerated by Arrian as exported to India, and if we find the produce of Britain conveyed to Malabar in the earliest period that history can reach, we find the spices of Malabar in Britain, in an age when the course of the commerce with India was probably as little known as the existence of America; the venerable Bede, who died in the year 735, was possessed of pepper, cinnamon, and frankincense. The Phoenicians, in fact, traded to all parts of the known world, perhaps from the time of Abraham.' They enriched themselves by exchanging their manufactures, and the productions of the East, for the silver of Spain and the tin of Britain. Spain was to them what America has been to us.; but Britain was so invaluable to their trade, that they uniformly endeavoured to throw a veil of mystery over its situation and its produce. 'At every station they visited on the Mediterranean, these enterprising navigators established colonies; Strabo mentions their possessing not less than three hundred on the shores of that sea. It cannot, therefore, be unreasonable to infer that they established similar settlements in more distant countries, and particularly in Britain, where, for such a length of time, they possessed the monopoly of an article which enriched them, and was so much required by other nations."

Table Talk.

PLAYING THE FOOL.-How is a man now-a-days to know how to play the fool? Where is he to find a master? There was once on a time seven wise men; it is now a hard matter to find as many fools. The old original British fool is lost; like the capercailzie, it is a thing that was. The world is getting on too fast; it is precocious; it is advancing beyond its strength; it is be coming too wise to last; it has flung away its toys too soon, and is endangering its life with too sedate a manhood ere its twenty-first century. A really wise man will be discovered by this sign, that he chooses to wear some little foible or folly in such sort, that this friends and his foes may lay hold of it when they list, and make it a handle for detraction or disparagement. The most dangerous thing in the world is to be teres et rotundus, enwrapped

in excellence, as some rash folks strive to be. What is the consequence? That envy or malice cuts boldly into them. They experience the fate of the tortoise, which was carried mid-air, and dashed to pieces against a rock by the eagle, because it was so inaccessible. Tait's Edin. Mag.

WAR.-Fortune and success are apt to represent things as glorious, which in their nature are detestable. What millions have the phantom false-glory

sacrificed at her altars! The actions

of great conquerors, however unworthy are often viewed in distant ages and remote regions, not with wonder and amazement only, but even with envy But the prospect of eternity must convince us that to die for the service of our fellow creatures is really glorious; whilst those who trample upon a prostrate world and violate the laws of humanity, are but as dreadful storms or pestilential blasts, to execute the wrath of an offended God. Men who trace the paths of glory by the light of fire and sword, can have no right to be remembered, except it be with horror or indignation.

CLOCK AT GENEVA.-In the long room of the public library at Geneva, is a clock in the form of a temple, on the dome of which stands the figure of the bird," whose lofty and shrillsounding throat awakes the god of day." The mechanism being wound up, chanticleer flaps his wings and crows lustily; whereupon twelve figures, representing the apostles, dance to the music of chimes, round a peristyle: still lower down the mimic structure is a balcony, in which the Virgin Mary sits enthroned; to her, out of a door on the right, comes a winged figure, representing the angel of the annunciation: presently after, from another door on the left-hand side, a skeleton, as the image of death, advances, and falls prostrate at the feet of the Virgin. At that moment a personage in the centre of the dome, behind "our Ladye," opens a third door, and strikes upon a bell the time of the day. On this whimsical piece of horology is inscribed the date, 1650.

A SPEAKING DOG.-Some author of antiquity, whose name has escaped us, writes of a dog which spoke many words. This will not be doubted after reading the following curious account of a dog, communicated by the celebrated Lubnitz to the Royal Academy of France: This dog was of middling

THE LADIES OF CARACAS. View them in church, in the magnificent cathedral, especially on festival occasions, and you are full of admiration. They are richly and even elegantly dressed-all silks of various kinds and colours. A silk shawl adorns the head, perhaps rather fantastically, and hangs down over the shoulders in the most graceful manner, but is studiously prevented from concealing the beauties of the bosom and waist. The skirts below are equally guarded against enviously withholding from view the neatest ancles which ever nature turned. The stockings and shoes are suited to all this array of grace and charms. They come tripping into the hallowed house, a damsel steps from behind, and lays a cushion for her mistress's knees, which would do no discredit as a hearth-rug to the most splendid draw. ing-room in London. It is in the middle of the consecrated place, where no seats or forms obstruct your view.As soon as the lady drops on her knees she adjusts, with reverted hand, her dress behind, as if fearful of accidental exposure, but carefully abstains from covering her fine feet and ancles.Whether it be "nature that works in as Milton has it, or whether the practice is derived from times when men, as well as women, frequented Catholic churches, I am not able to determine. Their dark round eyes are full of life, and, you hastily conclude, of intelligence.

her so,

CURIOUS LETTER.-A Quaker, who had sent his watch to one of the same belief three or four times to be repaired, but which was not at all benefited in the end, dispatched the following characteristic epistle to the watch repairer: "Friend John-I once more send thee

my erroneous pocket clock. The last time she was at thy board, she was in no ways benefited by thine instructions. I find, from the wavering of her hands, and the index of her mind, she is not right in the inward man-I mean the mainspring. Therefore, take her and purge her with thy adjusting tool of truth; and, if possible, drive her from the error of her ways. Let her visit the sun's motion, the true calculation table, and the equator; and, when thou hast brought her conformable to the standard of truth, send her home with the bill of moderation, which shall be remitted to thee by thy friend,

"OBADIAH B

"Dated this second day of the week, commonly called Monday."

GROWTH OF HAIR AFTER DEATH.The learned Honoratus Fabri (lib. 3, de Plantis,) and several other authors, are of opinion that hair, wool, feathers, nails, horns, teeth, &c. are nothing but vegetables. If it be so, we need not be surprised to see them grow on the bodies of animals, even after their death, as has frequently been observed. Petrus Borellus, Hist. et Obs. Med. Cent. I. Obs. 10, pretends that these productions may be transplanted as vegetables; and may grow in a different place from that where they first germinated. He also relates, in some of his observations on the subject, amongst others, that of a tooth drawn out and transplanted, which may appear pretty singular.-Annual Register, 1762, p. 70. Immediately following this article is another, entitled "Observations on the Hair of Dead Persons," being an extract of a letter from Bartholine to Jacks, inserted in the Arts of Copenhagen, and as it is not very long, while we have the work before us, we may as well transcribe it also:-"I do not know whether you ever observed that the hair, which, in people living was black or gray, often after their death, in digging up their graves, or opening the vaults where they lie, is found changed into a fair or flaxen colour, so that their relations can scarce know them again by such a mark. This change is produced, un doubtedly, by the hot and concentred vapours which are exhaled from the dead bodies."

THE VALIENTE INDIANS." In the wet seasons," says Roberts, in his Travels in Central America," which with the Valientes is a period of rest and enjoyment, they form parties for drinking weak preparations of cocoa, of which

they take immense quantities. Their method of preparing it is extremely simple, it being merely bruised or crushed between two stones, and ground to a consistence of paste, diluted with warm water; and in this state passed round to the company in calabashes, containing each about a quart: some Indians drink eight or ten quarts at a sitting, which induces a state of sleepy insensibility."

PERSONAL APPEARANCE Of FredeRICK THE GREAT.-I examined, with strong curiosity, this man; great in genius, small in stature, almost bent down under the weight of his laurels and his long labours. His blue coat, worn out like his body, his long boots that went higher than his knees, his waistcoat stained with snuff, formed a The fire of his looks showed that his singular and yet noble appearance.mind had not decayed with age; in spite of his invalided appearance, it was seen that he could still fight like a young soldier; in spite of his small size, the mind still saw him greater than all other men."

Memoirs of Count Segue. CATHARINE OF RUSSIA.-" She had an aquiline nose, and graceful mouth, blue eyes, and dark eye-brows, a very gentle look, and when she wished it, an engaging smile. In order to disguise the corpulency of age, which effaces every charm, she wore a loose robe with long sleeves, a dress very much like that of the early Muscovites. The whiteness and beauty of her skin were the attractions which she preserved the longest." Ib.

RUSSIAN POLICE." The following occurrence," says a recent writer on Russia, "witnessed one day in the street at Saint Petersburgh, by a friend of mine, serves to instance the dread entertained by the lower classes of getting under the power of the police. As he was passing the Isaac Bridge, a drooshka suddenly stopped before him, when the driver of consternation. took his passenger leaped down, and with every symptom from off the seat of the vehicle, and laid him on the road; he then hastily remounted his box, and drove away with all possible speed. The passenger had been seized with a fit, when, thinking he might die, the affrighted, but prudent Russian, took this method of getting rid of him, in order to avoid the trouble and expence the police would have imposed upon him, had he been found with the dead body."