The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-22 00:00:00

THE RIVERS OF INDIA.

Every person throughout the civilized world is fa-
miliar with the names of the Indus and the Ganges,
those holy streams which seem to the superstitious
Hindoo, as the Nile appeared to the Egyptian, to be of
divine origin. They are, certainly, among the most
precious gifts which nature has bestowed upon Hindos-
tan. By their means, and that of numerous tribu-

tary or inferior rivers, an amazing degree of fertility
is maintained in the country, which, from time imme-
morial, has not only supported a vast population with
its own produce, but been enabled to satisfy the wants
of the rest of the woad with its superfluities. To us
in England it is difficult to form an idea of those
" ocean streams," which, in a course, in some in-
stances, of nearly 2,000 miles, collect the waters of a

thousand rivers, and at length flow in channels of se-
veral leagues in breadth to the sea. In the level lands
of Bengal, rivers cannot, of course, possess very lofty
banks ; but palaces, temples, and palm-trees of gi-
gantic size, shoot up from the water's edge, and are
visible from a great distance ; yet, in sailing up or
down these majestic streams, the eye is frequently
unable to descry the opposite banks. Except in the
rainy season, the surface of the rivers, rarely ruffled
with winds, is as smooth as a mirror, and beautifully
reflects the glorious hues which dawn or sunset spreads
over the tropical skies, with the lazy, lingering sail
floating over it. Towards the mouth, however, this
tranquillity is twice a day disturbed by the tide, which,
particularly in the Indus, rushes with great violence
against the stream with what is commonly called the
the mascaret or bore, endangering the barks which
encounter it. It was this phenomenon that astonished
the soldiers of Alexander, who, accustomed to the
tideless wave of the Mediterranean, knew not how to
account for this war of waters, which even moderate
travellers have described with wonder.

FALSIFICATION OF WRITINGS.—A medical
student was recently convicted and punished in France for
forging a will, by altering the handwriting, and it is said that
frauds of this nature are becoming alarmingly frequent in that
country of late. We should not be surprised it similar at-
tempts were made here long by some of our chevaliers
d'industrie ; but, fortunately, the mode of detecting falsifica-
tions of the kind is not difficult, if suspicion be once awakened.
Old writing is removed, and place made for new, either by
erasure, by the application of muriatic acid, or by both. A
supposed erasure should be examined by a magnifier, and if
it seem to have been touched with size or sandarac, as a
ground for the new writing, these substances may be dissolved
with water or alcohol respectively. If muriatic acid have been
used it is not unlikely that all the acid may not have been
washed out, when the excess may be readily tested with litmus
paper. But whether chlorine or muriatic acid have been em-
ployed, it is probable that some traces of the oxide of iron of
the old ink may still remain, and these may be rendered visible
by washing the part with a camel-hair pencil dipped in diluted
gallic acid. The latter process may have to be repeated
several times, and on successive days, allowir, the dilute acid
to evaporate slowly each time. We are indebted to a paper
by M. Chevalier, in the last Annales d'Hygiene, for these
brief but valuable suggestions.--Medical Gazette.