The Sun.
London, England, 1823-12-20 00:00:00

BULLION.

Portugal Gotd,in - / .- 0 0
Foreign (it'll!, in liar* 3 17 ti
Now DottlliontiS . .
Now Dollars
Silver in Hire, Mtendard o 4 111

Prom the IVezehaven He-
d usill 3i
1 Statesu a lly a e
lr.l
ej—Died, on the East hock, in this
tairigewTiinnid"The Ile jt. This singular
g;::l had .',turner,
for a number of years lived in salusion on the top of
this rock, the ascent to which is both difficult and tedious. Ms
residence was a cabin, built of eakrth and done, with an aperture
which served both as an er trance and a chimney. At the extremity
of this cabin was hie bed, composed of husks and boughs, where,
on Sunday, the 2d instant, he was found dead. An In-
quest was held on his body, whose verdict was—" That
he died by the Visitation of Clod." Ills person was co-
vered with rage, and, in that part of them which served
as his trousers there Was found, strongly sewed in triple folds,
upwards of 40 dollars in silver, which seems to show, that
though he had renounced the world, the love of gain was still
inherent. The only companions of his retirement were two or
three sheep, which he fed with coo, and they enjoyed all his
tenderness. Ile was extremely taciturn in his manner, com-
municated little to inquirers, and wits both, ignorant and re In winter he appeared frequently at the doors of the
citizens, with a basket ; asked for nothing, spoke little ;
but whatever was given him be took away quietly. The
only food found in his tenement, was tvio or three birds,
picked for cooking, and a few potatoes. 'dye believe he was a
native 'cis me' of the neighbouring towns, but of his early life,
or the motives which led him to seek such an uncomfortable
asylum from the vanities of life, we have no knowledge:

POR THE SUN.

UPAS TREE.

Mn. Emon—Although the wonderful effects
formerly attributed to this plant are now proved
to have been incorrect, the following account of
It may still not prove unacceptable to your readers.

This pernicious tree is found twenty-seven
leagues from Batavia, in the island of Java; and
in the midst of a track of country rendered
wholly barren by the deadly effluvia of the
Upas, which is said to extend for ten or twelve
miles around it. The poison is a gum which
issues out from between the bark and the tree;
and in its external appearance it bears a strong
resemblance to camphor. Malefactors condemn'
ed to death, are alone employed in the dangerono
task of procuring it for the Emperor, by the
hope of saving their lives if their enterprise pro
successful, which is but very seldom the case.
Of the deadly effects of this drug, the follow'
ing account is published by a Dutchman. In
February 1776, he was present at the execution
of 13.0 f the Emperor's concubines. The fair de
Unguents being brought out into a court, were
there fastened to 13 stakes.
Being stripPe
naked to the waist, they were each lanced wIl!
a lancet dipped In the gum of the Upar, in In!
middle of their breasts, and such was the violent
„
effect produced by this poison, that the whole et,
them expired within the space of 16 minutes, and
apparently in the most dreadful agonies. irith'
in a few hours after their death, the hedil
lowing singular appearance.l
of the unfortunate sufferers p
were coveredresented the ,
with livid spots; the colour was change
yellowa
kind of blue, and their e) es assigned a yellow
hue. They

What caused the idea of the existence Of so per.
vicious a drug as that we have now described, it
is
scarcely possible to surmise ;
unless We attribute
it to the love of the miraculous, or to the excel'
sive credulity, discoverable in too many of the
earlier travellers.
The visiting and describiag
countries, till then unknown, afford, full scope
for pnati
the exercise of a fertile im.' • !on nod at 3
period when knowledge was less generally
geminated, the traveller might be himself
posed upon, and induced to consider vulgar er'
rors, as established facts, and publish them to
such to his unsuspecting readers. These wild
phantoms of the brain, the offspring of ignorance
or of superstition, have, however, vanished be'
fore the light of philosophy, and many are the
wonders that have been either wholly erased from
the book of nature, or rendered less miraculous
`by a more accurate investigation. The nature
and effects of the once. famed 'Upas tree, is
among the latter class ; and notwithstanding the
poetical description given by Dr. Darwin of
plant so well calculated to inspire his muse--
Fierce, in dread silence, on th' blasted he4th,
Fell Upas sits, the Hydra tree of death.
Lo, from one root, th' invertoned soil below,
A thousand vegetative serpents grow.
The story of the baneful property of the tiPa'l:
now classed amongst the wondrous fictions which
ignorance has transmitted to us.
But although all that has been related of il
situation, olfeetF, and deadly properties, or (1)0;
Upas tree be now proved erroneous, it is true
that there is found in Java, a tree of e Wit 1'1;
sap, when properly prepared, gives
drug, as deadly as the most violent poison lathe -
to discovered, when it is introduced into the
blood, a fact proved by the ingenious exPerimien
of Mr. Brodie, made several years eV, a1n,..1,e:"
corded in the Philosopliical Transactions. 0;
singular plant which is called the anchar,grows la
the eastern part of the island. It a ppears,moreove.:
that the island of Macassar roduces a tree, calit
ed Arbor Toxicaria, of which the sap may
rendered no less mortal than that of the ancher•
__
and furnishes a shrub, affording a roisen more
deadly even than the famed Upas. rod&
The anchar has a perpendicular and CY
cal et"), which spreads and divides into "'ti
3 poiS33oUr
roes wings near the ground, and rises wholly bare,be
to height of from 60 to 80 feet. If a punourecor
made in the true bark or cortex of this treci.ll,,,
the earth, the cerebrated pni:•on, or
juice, thick and yellowish, but of which the
auirt,
face becomes brown upon exposure to thefroo
oozes so plentifully, that a large tree -
a tea-cup full within a short space of tine i;%.
NVhilst the inner bark, or liber, of fihruus 10,1
ture, resembling coarse linen, is either leo,
into ropes, or made into a coarse article of 'boa
worn by the common people. Poison is matte
co•
the gum, which alone possesses a deleterioui 11,10,
lity. The preparation of this fatal drug, w,dhe
proves mania whenever it is introduced illi" 00
circulation by a pointed instrument, is canto:
only in the eastern part of the Island of"( iv
but the cloth made from the fibrous part t)
Sip, or niris_,,,
plant is common throughout the island. Ag'
•-• -00!

l'sl)o
384 6,1 ° 431 0,1
3500

COAL-MARKET, DEC; 19.
Shit at Market. Skips sold
874 Newcastle . 544
161 Sunderland - 164

YOAfl °f.
BIRTIIS. t the I
At Weymouth, on Thursday, the 17th hot°
Colonel
B Stewa
rlinrd, of a son. 11406
In ugton-street, Bath, the Lady of '1011"
of a son.

NeOn:theal7B6 instant,
alit
SA,t.R
jßallllleisDis,.
ou'dirri;l"l°ll(
trani,isphropinsceista,st4e-strteerete,t,Lteoic i........-----i
estmilis.f 1
: tr 4 tet L
Mr. il'a'r
_On Thursday, at Ilacicney, 111 r. Thomas bare
ticurbc
dington.street, to ;Harp...Ann' eldest daughter of '
Clark, of Stamford-bill. '
--..—.—......—. )m,nott,
DIED.
tirelrltsthiLerler "0
Pot rsJ,'
stOcrnetaFrriydostyf
inAoigylidt,,s,thaeftleratha
few
wtadnatisthiline wessifejorifv•ltitirgo'nrithls: obr'hc;
solace husband and seven children (they otillOorvitroio
weeks old) to bewail her irreparable loss. Shei:o of Iri
death of her second daughter, 811111111 Frances, a•ho of
Ile
l6th year, only ten days. ~E the cos
hall, Wilts, at hit brothje°r•hinn
On
nn
tilliereduntes d
janystanthte, l7th instant, stldenlY• • oil
Wm. Les Esq.,- ' li'dd '
• , near t ermrnster, Mrs' °•rnbe' yitforit-"
ley-house,
torceshire.
Esq. Nottingliarn-rlacc, Portland-OAm t,ridai tbe 17
At his house, near liondon.bridge, on '
Richard Till, Esq. in his 76t.11 Year'
-1PanileesiPlIou°:,r5O11.1'3:11TI::::111:

At tM6 SI/
?dated anti Published for the PioNgSrog,l'isj.
Orrlcs, 112, *rand, bf J. B. 11Ass 41'