The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-02-04 00:00:00

SELECT EXTRACTS.

Associlerroi,rs OF IDEAS.—When a gentleman remarked, on
the morning that intelligence was received of Lord Bryou's
death—"So Byron is gone ?"—on individual present rejoined,
" Yes, and do you know, Mr. Cooper, our neighbour, is not
expected to live ? "—Metropolitan Magazine.
CITY OF QUEBEC.—III the midst of a fine landscape stands
Quebec, the capital of British America. It is seated on a
promontory stretching out into the river, which, by means of
it and Point Levi, on the opposite side, is narrowed to about
three quarters of a mile, though inimediatelybelow it spreads
out into a wide basin. Cape Diamond, the most elevated

point of the city, is reckoned by an eminent traveller 1,000
feet high; a proof of the fallacious nature of such estimates,
since the more accurate observation of Bouchette fixes it at

345. Above 100 feet lower is an elevated plain, on which are
built the castle, and the whole of what is termed the upper
town. Thence a perpendicular steep of above 200 feet de-
scends to the banks of the St. Lawrence ; and in the narrow
interval'between this precipice and the river is the lower
town, the crowded seat of business and
.shipping. The
scenery of Quebec and the surrounding country is described
by all travellers as rivalling in picturesqne beauty the most
favoured parts of the earth.. The navigator who ascends the
St. Lawrence, after' he has passed the Isle of Orleans, and
entered the broad basin' already mentioned, where he first
comes in sight of this capital, is struck with intense admira-
tion—He sees its citadel crowning a lofty cliff, its castle and
batteries overhanging a range of formidable steeps, the river
crowded with numerous vessels of every form and size, from
the huge timber-raft to the bark canoe. The fall of Mont-
morenci appears dashing its white foam almost to the cloud ;
and on each side is a long range of fertile and beautiful shore.
On ascending Cape Diamond, a still grander and more ex-
tensive panorama bursts upon his view, combining all the
boldness of rude with the richness of cultivated nature. Up
and down the magnificent stream of the Saint Lawrence is a
reach of more than forty miles, on which sails almost innu-
merable are in ceaseless movement.—Below is the beautiful
Isle of Orleans; while the opposite coast is diversified by a
great variety of natural and cultivated scenery. To the north
appears the river St. Charles, winding amid fertile valleys and
hills, with villages hanging on, their sides ; while the pros-
pect is closed by a bold screen of mountains. Mr. Weld
prefers the views from the upper town, where, though fewer
_objects are seen, they appear more distinct and brilliant.
This traveller, after visiting a great part of Europe and Ame-
rica, gives to them a preference over every thing that he had
observed on either continent. Mr. M•Gregor considers.
them similar, but much superior, •to those from the castles'
of Edinburgh and Stirling. Quebec, from its situation, and
the care with which it has been fortified, is a vrey strong
town, and considered the chief bulwark of British America.
On the summit of the lofty headland just described, stands
the citadel. The rock consists of gray granite mixed with
quartz crystals, and a species of dark-coloured slate. About
forty acres are here covered with works, carried to the edge
of the precipice, and connected by massive walls and batte-
ries with the other defences of the place. The main body of
the fortress, however, consists of the upper town, whose
fortifications enclose a circuit of about two miles and three
quarters. The face of the hill towards the river is so ex-
tremely precipitous, that it requires only a common wall to
protect it, though the gate leading from the lower town is
defended by heavy cannon, and the steep approach by Moun-
tain-street is infiladed and flanked by many guns of large
calibre. As the declivity towards the interior and the plains
of Abraham does not present the same abrapt face, but del
scends by successive ridges, it has been strengthened by a
series of regular works, including ditch, covered way, and
glacis, with some exterior defences to obstruct the approach
of an enemy. 11 seems probable, -therefore, that the place
would hold out against any attack, till the approach of the
rigorous winter should compel the assailants to raise the
siege.— Edinburgh Cabinet Library ; Historical and De-
scriptive Account of British America.
THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT.—A correspondent of the
Athenceum, writing from Cairo, says :—" In our days of
science and enterprise, those pyramids on which I now gaze
from my terrace are still the most stupendous efforts of hu-
man skill and perseverance. I have had lately the good for-
tune to meet Professor W. Forchhammer, of the Kiel Uni-
versity, in the Duchy of Holstein ; and I may venture to
affirm, that the grand arcanurn the cui bond of those singu-
lar structures, is at length solved by the investigations of that
able antiquarian. As he published in the year 1837, a little
dissertation on subject, I need not rehearse the chain of
reasoning by which he establishes that the pyramids are ar-
tificial hills, built over vast receptacles of water. It is not,
perhaps, extraordinary, that the Ethiopians, who first colo-
nized Egypt, should have taken such precautions to supply
their newly built cities with water cleansed by subsidency,
and cooled by outlets always turned to the north. We learn
from. Bruce and Pearce in what singular veneration pure
water is still held by the Agows, who will never offer any to
a stranger. But, however satisfied with his new theory,
Professor Forchhammer was still anxious to extend his re-
searches by 'ocular examination; and, although extremely
diffident before he set out, he had the good fortune to collect
new proofs from a careful survey of several pyramids. In
this 'part of his inquiries, lie derived considerable assistance
from the labours of Colonel Wyse, who, by a succession of
most praiseworthy attempts, has succeeded in discovering a
new chamber and several of those Syringes mentioned by
Strabo (xvi. 1). It is much to be regretted, that some of the
spirited scientific associations of the British empire have not
taken up the question of a thorough history and survey of
the pyramids. The latter part of the undertaking might be
accomplished by a well-combined system of boring. My
own labours at the great pyramid are on a much smaller scale
than those-of the German philosopher... As some of my Eng-
lish friends entertained doubts relative. to the old standar
yard, 1 resolved to Compare an accurate measurement of the
length of the grand chamber with that made by John Greaves,
who found it to be 34,380 in the year 1680. I obtained
10,471 for the length of the inner wall, and 10;476 metres
for that of the outer one. If we take the mean of these two
numbers, and divide by 34.38, the result will be 0:30469458
metre for the length of the English foot. The Annuaire die
Bureau des Longitudes gives one-tenth of a millim4tre more,.
or somewhat less than four thousandths of an inch.- On the
morning of the 18th of November, 1 found the dip of the
magnetic needle =4l deg. 41 mm. 7 see. on the top of the
pyramid, and on the evening of the same day found it to be-
-41 deg. 32 min. 9 sec. in the principal chamber. The dip at
Alexandria was 43 deg. 48 min. 2 sec. on the Bth of October,
and GO deg. 29 min. 8 sec. at Rome on the 20th of Septem-
ber."

TEMPERANCE, ABSTINENCE, VARIETY.--Clloeolate has
been found most serviceable to the low-spirited, to those who
are emaciated, to those who suffer from hemorrhoids; and
there are certain states in which coffee may be preferred :
but that these and herbs, in a state of infusion and decoc-
tion., ought to be the sole drink of man, neither appears from
the history of the past, nor a consideration of the adaptation
of man for the various climates to which he is exposed, the
labour he has to undergo, nor to the immense variety of
fOod which necessity and habit of life have introduced. The
-vicissitudes of human existence, sometimes in a state of the
utmost simplicity, at others of unbounded luxury, demand
that aliment suitable to the-general wants, as well as to each
individual member, should be obtained ; that fermented
liquors, if injudiciously taken, produce diseased stomachs
and livers, consumption, dropsy, madness, is universally ac-
knowledged ; and the prudent man, who fears that lie may
be betrayed into a single excess that may overpower his rea-
son, is perfectly right in shunniog the means of mischief.
But good wine is a good cordial, a fine stomachic ; and,
taken at its proper season, invigorates mind and body, and
gives life an additional charM. There can be found no sub-
stitutes for the fermented liquors that can enable man to
sustain the mental and bodily labour which the artificial
habits of society so constantly demand. Temperance and
moderation are virtues essential to our happiness, but
a total abstinence from the enjoyments which the boun-
teous hand of nature has provided is as unwise as it is
ungrateful. If, on the one hand, disease and sorrow attend
the abuse of alcoholic liquorS, innocent gaiety, additional
strength and power of mind, and an increased capability of
encountering the over-varying agitations of life, are amongst
the many good results which spring from a well-regulated
diet, in which the alcoholic preparations bear their just pro-
portion and adaptation. Although the abuse of wine and
fermented liquors is so dangerous to man, yet a moderate in-
dulgence in these gifts of Providence is a source of happiness,
of joy, and of health to him. The rigid laws that have been
so loudly proclaimed, and widely disseminated, are not
adapted to every stage of society, nor to every member of the
commonwealth. If, on the one hand, disease and affliction
follow upon intemperance, additional strength and power of
mind, and an increased capability of encountering the ever-
varying agitations of life, are among the many good results
which spring froth a well-regulated diet, in which beer, wine,
and tea, bear their just proportions ; nor are alcoholic fluids
to be altogether banished, though they are most objection,
able if often taken, and more especially in their diluted state.
—Dr. Sigmond on Tea. kc.
THE UNDULATORY THEORY OF LlGHT.—According to
this theory, light is not a peculiar substance or kind of mat-
ter, but only a peculiar state of matter, viz., a state of vibra-
tion like that which produces sound. The vibrations of
sound are communicated through the air; but those of light
through a far more rare and subtle fluid called et hors which
is supposed to fill all space, and to be so extremely subtle
to penetrate not only between the particles of air, but also
between those of solid substances, passing through glass as
easily as water through a net. What is generally called a
perfect vacuum must therefore be only a space filled with
this ether •, for, of course. no, vessel could be made which
would confine or exclude it. The excessive thinness of this
fluid accounts for its undulations being communicated with
immense rapidity. It is supposed, that every source of light
sets this ether into a vibrating or wavering state ; as a vibra-
ting string acts on the air, or a stone on the water into which
it is thrown. Now it is known that if two tides, or sets of
waves, meet each other, the result is sometimes a very high
tide, but sometimes no tide at all. If the two sets of waves
meet in such a way, that all the elevations or waves corre-
spond, and all the depressions or troughs also correspond,
the result is a doubly high tide, as might be expected. This
is the case in many harbours where the tide comes in by two
passages of equal length. But suppose the two passages to
be rather 'unequal in length,-so that one tide arrives a little'
later than the other, the difference may be such, that all the
elevations of one set of waves correspond with the depres-
sions of the other, and vice vend. Then the two tides de-
stroy each other, and render the surface of the water com-
paratively smooth. The same thing occurs in sound ;
sometimes double sound produces silence. When two notes
slightly differing from each other in pitch are sounded toge-
ther, the two sets of waves meet as above, and sometimes
destroy each other. Thus, the two notes, instead of uniting
and producing a louder sound, produce that periodical interval
of silence which the musician calls a beat. According to the
undulatory theory, the same occurs with light. Sometimes
double light produces darkness. When two portions of
light arrive at the same spot by travelling two different
routes, if the two routes slightly differ in length, the two
sets of ethereal undulations may so meet as to destroy each
other, as the two tides do in some harbours ; and such is the
case in those very thin films which appear black. The light
falling on them follows two 'different routes, in order to come
to the eye. Some light is reflected hack from the first sur-
face, and the rest penetrates into the film, and is reflected
from the second surface ; and this last portion evidently tra-
vels to the eye by a route rather longer than that of the for-
mer portion. Now, if the thickness of the plate be equal to
half the length of a wave of light, or to the length of 11, 21,
31, &c., waves, the two sets of undulations coming from the
two surfaces of the film, and meeting in the eye, destroy each
other, and produce darkness, or 'a black colour. This is the
case in all the black stripes, which appear on a thin film seen
in homogeneous light. But, at all the light stripes, the thick-
ness of the plate is 1,2, 3,4, or some whole number of light
waves ; and at such places, the two portions of light from
the two surfaces, on uniting in the eye, produce a doubly lu-
minous effect. As in the Newtonian theory of light the fits
are of different lengths in the different colours, so, in this
theory, different colours in light are like the different notes
in musical sounds : they are both due to a difference in the
length or slowness of the vibrations—in the one case of ether,
in the other of air. Brilliancy of light corresponds with
loudness sound • but colour corresponds with pitch. Some
persons are inclined to doubt the accounts of the rapidity of
the vibrations requisite to produce sound; the very lowest
sound being due to at least twelve vibrations in a second of
time, while the highest notes require 3000 or 4000 vibrations
in a second! But what will such persons say to the velocity
of the vibrations which constitute light ; when it is calculat-
ed, on unerring principles, that to produce red light, which
corresponds to a low sound, there is required about 458 bil-
lions (a billion is a million of millions) of vibrations in a
single second ; while violet, or the light which corresponds
to a shrill sound, is due to 727 billions of vibrations in a se-
cond of time ! This difference in the length of the waves of
the different colours, accounts for the different breadths of
the stripes seen on a film in different coloured lights ; and
for the different coloured stripes seen in white light, as ex-
plained at the end of the last paper.—Saturday Magazine.