The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-11-21 00:00:00

THE ORIGINAL ROBINSON CRUSOI

SIZE OF TREES.—Our native woods often contain noble ELECTRICITY OF A HUMAN BODY.—The most remark-
specimens of which the bulk is ten or twelve feet in dia- able case of the production of electricity in the human
e, Juan Fer- meter, a width greater by three feet than the carriage- being at present on record, is one lately
related on excel-
_ volume, - - way in Fetter-lane. near Temple-bar; and oaks might be lent authority in America. The subject of it, a lady, was
.ts discovery by Don -Juan named on the block of which two men could thresh with- for many months in an electric state so different from that
out one incommoding the other. The famous Green- of surrounding bodies, that whenever she was but slightly
.., it was named), in 1372 ; and to
dole oak is pierced by a road, over which it forms a tri- insulated by a carpet or other feebly conducting medium,
,yea the title of Crusoniana from the
, umphal arch, higher by several inches than the poet's sparks passed between her person and any object which
_ , p sieeeeeee
postern at Westminster Abbey. The celebrated table at she approached. From the pain which accompanied the
Dudley Castle, which is formed of a single oaken plank, passage of the sparks, her condition was a source of much
is longer than the wooden bridge that crosses the lake in discomfort to her; when most favourably circumstanced,
Regent's Park, and the roof of the great hail at West- four sparks per minute would pass from her finger to the
minster, which is spoken of with admiration on account brass ball of a stove at a distance of an inch and a half.
of its vast span, being unsupported by a single pillar, is . The circumstances which appeared most favourable to the
little more than one-third the width of the noble canopy production of electricity were an atmosphere about ten
of waving branches that are upheld by the Worksop oak. degrees, tranquility of mind and social enjoyment ; while
The massive rafters of the spacious roof rest on strong a low temperature and depressing emotions diminished it
walls, but the branches of the tree spring from one corn- in a corresponding degree. The phenomena was first no-
rnon centre. Architects can alone estimate the excessive ticed during the occurrence of a vivid aurora borealis;
purchase which boughs of at least 189 feet must have on and though its first appearance was sudden its departure
the trunk into which they are inserted. Those on the was gradual. Various experiments were made, with the
oak of Ellerslie cover a scotch acre of ground ; and in view of ascertaining if the electricity was produced by the
the Three-shire oak its branches drip over an extent of friction of articles of dress ; but no change in these seemed
707 square yards. The tree itself grows in a nook that is to modify its intensity.—Popular Encyclopedice of Na-
formed by the junction of the three counties of York, Not- tural Science,
tingham, and Derby.—Ruins and Old Trees.
HABITS OF EMINENT AUTHORS.—SheIIey usually ate
RUINS OF INDIAN GREATNESS.—The surplus wealth a baked potatoe previously to sitting down to write. He
of India, that used to be employed in building extensive has been heard to say that some of his finest ideas carte
towns, crowded ghauts, magnificent stone or brick seraees, while putting in the butter. Whether he purchased his
some of them capable of containing from six to eight potatoes in the street, or had them dressed at home, does
thousand people ; enormous massive bridges, splendid not appear. Fielding wrote the whole of Tom Jones in
and. mosques and temples ; is all gone ; it has disappeared one night, after a debauch with Hogarth, and sold it the
" Dampier, in the account which he gives of Will's entirely. All the towns in India, with a very few excep- next morning to procure him a meal. Such is the fate of
sojourn, states— At first he could procure scarcely any tions, are in ruins. Delhi is surrounded by ruins. Agra, genius ! Kirk White was much admired for his red hair,
food but seals, which he found but ordinary eating ; Booranpore, Aurungabad, have immense suberbs in ruins, which he allowed to grow down his back in two plaits. He
some other articles he obtained by means of his powder The Deckan is a heap of ruins. Many towns in Central never would suffer any allusion to be made to it ; but when
and shot, but these were soon expended. He next made India that had their hunnreds of thousands of inhabit- writing used it as blotting paper. On this account all his
a saw of his knife, by notching it; and so, by incessant ants are now literally without one, and are swarming with MS. works are translated. in red ink, as may be seen in
leopards, tigers, elks, and buffaloes. In deep forests you the library of the British Museum. Cuvier always wrote
labour, cut the barrel of his gun into small pieces. He stumble upon Hindoo temples, Mohmmudan gateways, with a pail of water at his side, in which be alternately
kindled a fire by striking with the gun flint against a stone tanks eight hundred yars square, brick wells of dipped his head and feet to freshen his ideas. He has
piece of the barrel. Having heated the pieces of iron, large dimensions ; scores of acres of burying- grounds. been known to do this upwards of sixty times in one night
he hammered them out, and bent them just as he pleased and all the other concomitants, and proofs of wealth, and when preparing his Regne Animal. It was his boast that
with hard stones, and sawed them with his jagged knife. power, and population. Malthus would never have writ- he had never been up in a balloon. Dr. Johnson could
By persevering industry, he ground them to an edge, ten his too celebrated work, nor Godwin ever written his never see a post without jumping over it. Boswell re-
and hardened them to a good temper, as there was oc- too little valued answers, had they been in India. India marking upon its puerility, Johnson observed, " Sir, what
casion ; and thus he procured harpoons, lances, fish- is a large forest, with a great many cultivated spots. a boy does in sport, a man may do in earnest." Upon
hooks, and a long knife.' All this may seem strange to India—l saa it after due consideration—could contain which Boswell replied, " Then you mean to say that I
those who are unacquainted with the sagacity of the and support Eve times its present population with ease ; might play at chuck-farthing ?" " Sir," returned John-
Indians; but it ino more than the Mosquito men are and yet it is unquestionably the poorest country in the son, " any man might, if he had a farthing to chuck."
~
accustomed to in their own co .try, where they make no
tzenowrrilada.l dioattohoe
mstaotnearoetsthLwaelaltahtiaonod
eresources WE MUST HAVE A KING.—The cannon had ceased
I to roar; the still bleeding victims of revolutionary fur)
their own fishing and striking i . ~ .. ents without either no limits.g The more I think on the sgubject, the morleg
forge or anvil, though they s• great deal of time am confounded.—Davidson's Travels in India. had been collected together in the hospitals ; the dead
about them. Having obtain conveniences, he had been hastily interred in large but shallow graves, dug
no longer lived upon seals, no ~ he afterwards ever EASY SHAVING.—He happened to have been sharpen- near the Louvre, the Marche des Innocens, and the
kill any, except when he wanted lines, which he made , ing his razors, which were lying open in a row, while a Champ de Mars; the tocsin no longer rang its hear-sick-
huge strop dangled from the wall. Glancing at these cuing sounds in the ears of the Parisian population ; the
by cutting the seal-skins into thongs. He had now a
appreppeaarraettlotnosa, Mr. Bailey stroked his chin and a thought soldiers bivouacked in the public streets and places of the
plentiful and comfortable subsistence, living upon goats,
cur to him. " Poll," he said, n"
I ain't as metropolis boys and girls recounted some of the marvels
birds, or fish, as best suited his inclination ; his clothes neat as I could wish about the gills. Being here, I may of valour and some of the deeds of peril and courage they
wore out, but he supplied their place by fastening a skin as well have a shave, and get trimmed close." The bar- themselves, or their comrades, had accomplished ; a pro-
round his waist; he built himself a little house or hut, ber stood aghast; but Mr. Bailey divested himself of his visional government bad installed itself at the H&tel de
about half a mile from the sea, which he lined with goat- neckcloth, and set down in the easy shaving chair with all Ville; the paving-stones still stood in shapeless heaps,
skins-. To render it complete, his couch of sticks, raised the dignity and confidence in life. There was no resisting and, dignified with the name of " baricades," were the
about two feet distance from the ground, was spread his manner. The evidence of sight and touch became as favourite lounging spots of the "Flaneurs "of Paris e the
with the same, and constituted his only bedding. Du- nothing. His chin was as smooth as a new-laid egg or a warehouses were yet closed, the manufactories were still
ring the period of 'William's residence on the island, he scraped Dutch cheese; but Poll Sweedlepipe wouldn't deserted, the public schools and colleges were as empty
was often sought for by the Spaniards ; and at one time, have ventured to deny, on affidavit, that he had the beard as a new-made tomb ; the palaces were yet open to the
'aided by the light of his fire, they nearly sur- of a Jewish rabbi. "Go with the grain, Poll, all round, heavy and unceremonious tread of the populace ; the pop-
Thisplease " said Mr. Bailey, screwing up his face for the re- ulace ; the public buildings were guarded by self-armed,
escape, and his having frustrated, by
ce tion, of the lather. You mayf do, wotyou like with the self-elected, civic forces ; and Lafayette was hesitating,
his activity and wiles, all their endeavours to take him, bitsP of whisker. I don't both with regard to his own position, and with relation to
made his pursuers consider him to be a supernatural barber stood gazing. at him
care ID Them " The meek little
with brush. and soap-dish that of the Orlean's family, when suddenly a voice was
being. Will could easily distinguish his friends from in his hand, stirring them round and round in a ludicrous heard every where, proceeding from every quarter, though
the Spaniards, by the rigging and appearance of their uncertainty, as if he were disabled by some fascination uttering different tones, and that one voice said, "WE
vessels and boats ; and, on two English ships making from beginning. At last he made a lash at Mr. Bailey's MUST HAVE A KING ! " It may be asked from whom
their appearance, he almost went frantic with joy, sup- eheek. Then he stopped again, as if the ghost of a beard did that voice proceed ? My answeris, from nearly every
posing they came on purpose to fetch him away—of such had suddenly receded from his touch but receiving mild one. I was an eye-witness of all that passed; I mixed
consequence is a man to himself. In order to give them encouragement from Mr. Bailey, in the form of an adju- with all ranks and classes. No event of the slightest im-
a hearty welcome, he caught and killed three goats, and ration to "go in and and win,' he lathered him bounti- portance escaped my observation and enquiries. I saw
dressed them with the ' chonta' (cabbage palm), that he fully. Mr. Bailey smiled through the suds in his satis- the peers,_ the deputies, and even the marshal's, the gen-
rals. and the officers, of all grades and degrees, who
faction. " Gently over the stones, Poll. Go a tip-toe
might be ready to treat the crews as soon as they came
over the pimples ? " Poll Sweedlepipe obeyed, and knew not, on the field of battle what fear meant, now
trembling with an_xiety. and apprehension at the probable
on shore. On their landing, he was recognised by a
scraped the lather off again with particular care. Mr.
Mosquito Indian, named Robin, who was the first that
Bailey squinted at every successive dab, as it was deposit- consequences of the victory of the populace, and all pro-
leaped on shore. Will had stationed himself at the sea- ed on a cloth on his left shoulder, and seemed with a mi- claiming in the most decisive manner, though fluctuating
side, dressed in his goat-skin, toed ngratulate them on croscopic eye to detect some bristles in it ; for he mur- between hope and fear, that they must have a king '
their arrival. Them eeting of the two Indians, and old inured more than once, " Reether redder than I could Fraser's Magazine.
friends, was affecting. Dampier gives the following de- wish, Poll." The operation being concluded, Poll fell
scription of the scene he witnessed :—' Robin ran to his back and stared at him again, while Mr. Bailey, wiping
brother Mosquito-man, threw himself flat upon his face his face on the jack-towel, remarked. "that arter late
at his feet—who, helping him up and embracing him, hours nothing freshened up a man so ieutee as an easy
fell flat with his face on the ground at Robin's feet, and shave."—Martin Chuzzlewit.
was by him taken up also. We stood with pleasure to PENNSYLVANIA.--If I were an y e
behold this interview, which was exceedingly affection-
honest states, I would never rest till I had compelled ate on both sides ; and when their ceremonies of civility Pennsylvania to be as honest as myself. The bad faith of
were over, we also, that stood gazing at them, drew that state brings discredit on all; just as common snakes
_ Each of us embraced him we had found there, are killed because vipers are dangerous. I have a general
who was overjoyed to see so many of his old friends feeling that by that breed of men I have been robbed and
come hither, as he thought, purposely to fetch him.' ruined, and I shudder and keep aloof. The pecuniary
Dampier and Edmund Cook were his firmer shipmates. credit of every state is affected by Pennsylvania. Ohio
The latter was now only a private seaman • and Will pays ; but with such a bold bankruptcy before their eyes,
found, that although his friends had not made so long a how long will Ohio pay? The truth is, that the eyes of
voyage merely on his account, they proved themselves all capitalists are averted from the United States. The
not unmindful of him ; for, as soon as they had anchored, finest commercial understandings will have nothing to do
w
they immediately got out their boat on purpose to send with them. Men rigidly just, who penetrate boldly into
for him. They stayed, to refit and refresh themselves,
the dealings of nations, and work with vigour and virtue
from the 23d of March to the Bth of April.,for honourable wealth—great and high-minded merchants
1684. Will
will loathe, and are now loathing, the name of America
was very useful in procuring goats, of which there was it is becoming, since its fall, the common-shore of Eu-
rope, and the native home of the needy villain. And now,
there alone for three years, two months, and eleven drab-coloured men of Pennsylvania, there is yet a mo-
days, he embarked with his former friends, to renew the ment left—the eyes of all Europe are anchored upon you—
tvocation of a Buccaneer." " Surrexit mundus justis furiis ;"
start up from that trance of dishonesty into which you
are plunged ; don't think of the flesh which walls about
your life, but of that sin which has hurled you from the
FAQIJEERS AT AN INDIAN FAlR.—Several faqueers heaven of character, which hangs over you like a devour-
were to be seen walking through the fair, with one of ing pestilence, map
is
makes good sad, men and ruffians
their arms immovably fixed over their heads, and their dance and sing. t not for gin sling alone and sherry
finger nails a couple of inches long, and resembling horns. cobbler that man is to live ; but for those great principles
a
One of them carried a little light red parasol over his against which no argument can be listened to—principles
head, with his remaining hand, to protect his holiness which give to every power a double power above their
from the rays of the sun ! All these men seemed in the functions and their offices, which are the books, the arts,
prime of life ; their arms were mach withered and shrunk the academies that teach, lift up, and nourish the world—
and,
even some of their fingers had disappeared—probably
principles (I am quite serious in what I say) above cash,
from ulceration. Amongst them one sat preminent. superior to
cotton, higher than currency—principles,
This man's age was probably thirty • his countenance was
without w. God,hi over every sea and in all lands, shouldch it is better to die than live, which every
,
a most superb one, at once graceful and dignified. His servant of
air, while sitting on a tiger's skin, under his chatta or cherish. Uses ad abdita spiramenta anima..
umbrella was perfectly majestic. One of his arms, per- LAFAYETTE AND Louis PHILIPPE.—That was a hap-
fectly shrivelled, was extended to the sky, thoroughly py moment for Louis Philippe when Lafayette sent in his
fixed and immoveable. The nails of his fingers, having resignation of the post of commander-in-chief of the
pierced the palm, appeared to protrude a couple of inches. National Guards of the kingdom, a post which ought
His thumb nail, of a dirty dark brown colour, was curved never to have been confided to any one but a king's son.
like a half-moon, about half an inch wide, and at least That Louis Philippe was personally attached to Lafayette
six inches long, strongly resembling the tusk of a wild is certain ; that he felt that, on several occasions, he had
boar. His plaited hair, full six feet long, was wound rendered signal services to the cause of public order and
round his head, and worn as a turban. Here and there peace is undoubted; and that his admirable tact in main-
were to be seen groups of three or four men and boys, taining the peace of Paris during the trial of Prince Pol-
marked with tridents of white clay on their foreheads, ignec and his colleagues was entitled to the gratitude of
chanting songs in praise of the river God Gunge, Krish- the nation, the king was the first to assert. But Lafay-
noo, or other deities.—Davidson's Travels. ette was a dead- weight on the pacific policy of Louis
CABRERA.—This remarkable partisan may still be called Philippe. It was known to, and felt by Europe, that the
a young man ; he is not more than thirty-nine years old. old general had too much influence at court, that all re-
In appearance, Cabrera is about the middle stature, ra- volutionary agents over the whole world looked up to
they slight, and not ungracefully formed. To a stranger, him for advice and aid, that he was peculiarly obnoxious
his countenance is not indicative of the ferocity which has to all foreign courts, and that his removal from so impor-
made him so remarkable even amongst the sanguinary tent a post as thattf commander-in-chief of all the mill.
leaders of the Carlist bands ; and his demeanour, when tia of France, was earnestly desired. His resignation,
not under the influence of intense excitement, is mild and then. was an immense good; and much as the king loved
gentle. Even when affected by some overwhelming feel- him as a man and a friend, his retirement from office was
ing, his external manner betrays little of the tempest which a boon which none could estimate better than the king
rages within : it is not boisterous nor loud, but rather himself. But although the loss of Lafayette was a posi-
that of deep, calm, concentrated, yet deadly determine- tive good, the event necessarily led to increased hostility
tion. On one occasion only it is recorded that this habi- to the government of the king on the part of the men of
tual calmness completely abandoned him. This monster, the movement faction ; and Lafayette, Dupont de l'Eure,
who ;s not redeemed by another virtue, wept like an in- Lamarque, Lameth, and Audry de Puyraveau, openly
font snatched from the bosom when the tiding's of his headed the malcontents. That fact in itself led the popu-
mother's death reached him. He loved her much; and lace to rebel. They attacked the church of St. Germain
her murder turned to gall whatever little of earthly feel- l'Auxerrois, and nearly destroyed it; sacked the arch-
ing made his heart still human. He shut himself up in bishop's palace ; insulted the ministers of religion ; and,
his apartment during two days, without admitting an in- at length, the voice of Guizot was heard at the tribune
dividual, with the exception of one favoured servant, are- denouncing the Lafayette ministry for its mischievous and
lative it is said, to witness the agony of grief to which he ruinous policy. Now began that series of eineutes, in-
abandoned himself, and which almost deprived him of surrections, conspiracies, and plots against the king, the
consciousness. How bitterly he avenged his ill-fated pa- royal family, and the government, which lasted during
rent need not be told.—Mirror. many years, but which Louis Philippe has, apparently,

Colonel Sutcliffe, "

retired governor of Juan Fer-

has recently

published-a
volume

giving an

account of that island from its discovery by Don -Juan
Fernandez (after whom it was named), in 1572 ; and to
this volume he gives the title of Crusoniana, from the
fact that it was the well-known abode of Alexander
Selkirk on this island, which furnished De Foe with the

.enerally known that there was previ-

to Alexander Selkirk a

solitary tenant

island, and one, too, whose sojourn there, as recorded
bv Dampier and Ringrosse, must have been known to
De Foe, as will be seen from the following extract from
Colonel Sutcliffe's book, in which we trace the original
of the story of Man Friday, and his discovery of his
father in Robinson Crusoe

" At the moment of their [a crew of Buccaneers]
hurried escape [from Juan Fernandez], one of their
crew, a Mosquito Indian, named William, happened to
be in the woods hunting goats ; so that the ship was

under sail before he got back to the bay. Poor Will
had only the clothes on his back, a knife, a gun, a small
horn of powder, and a few shot. His situation became
still more critical when the Spaniards entered the bay,
took up the anchors and cables, and, having caught sight
of him, made a diligent search ; but he eluded their
rsuit, and remained the sole human occupant of the

3rised him

BRITISH COLONIZATION.—The colonizing genius of
the British people appears upon a grand scale in Austra-
lia, Canada, and, as we may remind the else forgetful
world, in the United States of America ; which States are
our children, prosper by our blood, and have ascended to
an overshadowing altitude from an infancy tended by our-
selves. But on the fields of India it is, that our aptitudes
for colonization have displayed themselves most illus.
triously, because they were strengthened by violent re-
sistance. We found many kingdoms established, and to
these we have given unity ; and in process of doing so, by
the necessities of the general welfare, or the mere instincts
of self-preservation, we have transformed them to an em-
pire, rising like au exhalation, of our own—a mighty mo-
nument of our own superior civilization. Ceylon, as a
virtual dependency of India, ranks in the same category.
There also we have prospered by resistance ; there also we
have succeeded memorably where other nations memo-
rably failed. Of Ceylon, therefore, now rising annually
into importance, let us now (on occasion of this splendid
book, the work of one officially connected with the island,
hound to it also by affectionate ties of services rendered,
not less than of unmerited persecutions suffered) offer a
brief, but rememberable account ; of Ceylon in itself, and
of Ceylon in its relations, historical or economic, to our-
selves. Mr. Bennett says of it, with more and 'less of
doubt, three things—of which any one would be sufficient
to detain a reader's attention ; viz., 1. That it is the Ta-
probane of the Romans ; 2. That it was, or has 'been
thought to be, the Paradise of Scripture ; 3. That ;it is
" the most magnificent of the British insular possessions,"
or in yet wider language, that it is an " incomparable co-
lony." This last count in the pretensions of Ceylon is
quite indisputable; Ceylon is in fact already, Ceylon is at
this moment, a gorgeous jewel in the imperial crown ; and
yet, compared with what it may be, with what it will be,
with what it ought to be, Ceylon is but that grain of mus-
tard-seed which hereafter is destined to become the
stately tree, where the fowls of heaven will lodge for ge-
nerations. Great are the promises of Ceylon ; great al-
ready her performances. Great are the possessions of
Ceylon ; far greater her reversions. Rich she is by her
developments, richer by her endowments. She combines
the luxury of the tropics with the sterner gifts of our own
climate. She is hot ; she is cold. She is civilzed ; she is
barbarous. She has the resources of the rich ; and she
has the energies of the poor.—Blackuleod's Magazine.
A LORD MAYOR'S DINNER DESCRIBED BY AN
ORIENTAL.—At length dinner was announced : and all
rose, and led by the queen of the city, (the lady mayoress,)
withdrew to another room, where the table was laid out
In the most costly manner, being loaded with dishes,
principally of silver and gold, and covered with sar-poshes
(lids or covers), some of which were of immense size, like
little boats. 'When the servants removed the sar-poshes,
fishes and soup of every sort were presented to view :
some of the former, I was told, brought as rarities from
distant seas, and at great expense. Before every man of
rank there was an immense dish, which it is his duty to
cut up and distribute, putting on each plate about suffi-
cient for a baby to eat. I turned to a friend, and en-
quired why the guests were helped so sparingly ? "It is
customary," said he, " to serve guests in this way."
" But why not give them enough ?" rejoined I. " You
will soon see," replied he, " that they will all have
enough." Soon after, all the dishes, spoons, &c., were
removed by the servants. I thought the dinner was over,
and was preparing to go, not a little astonished at such
scanty hospitality, when other dishes were brought in,
filled with choice viands of every kind—bears from Russia
and Germany—hogs from Ireland—fowls and geese from
France—turtle from the Mediterranean (?) venison from
the parks of the nobility—some in joints, some quite
whole, with their limbs and feet entire. Operations now
recommenced, the carvers doling out the same small
quantities as before : but though many of the gentlemen
present were anxious to prevail on me to partake, and re-
commended particular dishes, one as being " a favourite
of the King of the French" another as particularly rare
and exquisite, I could not be prevailed upon to partake of
any. Thus did innumerable dishes pour in and disappear
again, the servants constantly changing the plates of the
guests : till I began to form quite a different idea of the
appetites of the guests and the hospitality of the Lord
Mayor, on which I had thought that a reflection was
thrown by the small portions sent to them. I now saw
that many of them, besides being served pretty often,
helped themselves freely to the dishes before them—in-
deed, their appetite was wonderfully good : some, doubt-
less, thinking that such an opportunity would not often
recur. Nor did they forget the juice of the grape—the
bottles which were opened would have filled a ship, and
the noise of the champagne completely drowned the mu-
sic. One would have thought, after all this, no men could
eat more : but now the fruits, sweetmeats, ices, and jel-
lies made their appearance ; pine-apples, grapes, oranges,
apples, pears, mulberries, and confectionaries of such
such strange shapes that I can give no name to them—
and before each guest were placed small plates, with pecu-
liarly shaped knives of gold and silver. Of this part of the
banquet I had the pleasure of partaking, in common with
the selfsame gentlemen who had done such honour to the
thousand dishes above mentioned, and who now distin-
guished themselves in the same manner on the dessert.
The price of some of the fruit was almost incredible; the
n
reared
re as o of
n -hh
nis,
ethat
artificially ih n
heated . . o
.thus nl y
the e
gwl ahsi cs
pine-apples, which are by no means fine, cost each twenty
rupees, (£2.) which in India would be bought for two
pice—thus being 640 times dearer than in our country.
Thus in England the poorer classes cannot afford to eat
fruit, whereas in all other countries they can get fruit
when grain is too dear. The guests continued at table
till late, during which time several gentlemen rose and
spoke : but, from my imperfect knowledge of the lan-
guage, I could not comprehend their purports beyond the
compliments which they passed on each other, and the
evident attacks which they made on their political oppo-
nents. lat last retired with some others to another room,
where many of the guests were dancing—coffee and tea
were here taken about, just as sherbets are with us in the
Mohurrum. I must remark that the servants were gor-
geously dressed, being covered with gold like the generals
of the army ; but the most extraordinary thing about them
was, their having their heads covered with ashes, like the
Hindoo fakirs—a custom indicative with us of sorrow and
repentance. I could hardly help laughing when I looked
at them ; but a friend kindly explained to me that, in
England, none but the servants of the great are privileged
to have ashes strewed on their heads, and that for this
distinction their masters actually pays tirz to government !
"Is this enjoined by their religion .? said I. "Oh, no !"
he replied. " Then," said I, " since your religion does
riot require it, and it appears, to our notions at least, ra-
ther a mark of grief and mourning, whereis the use of
paving a tax for it ?" "It us the custom of the country,"
said he again. After this I returned home, musing deeply
on what I had seen.—Blackwood

SELECTIONS,

NATURALISTS IN PRisoN.—Perhaps to none can im-
prisonment prove more irksome than to those whose delight
has been in exploring mountain, wood, and field. Yet
two naturalists, who were confined together in the King's
Bench prison, contrived to pass their time somewhat
agreeably in philosophic investigations. One, the son of
an eminent ornithologist, employed his leisure in perform-
ing chemical experiments, and became a firm believer in
alchemy, although he failed to produce gold enough to
effect his liberation. Fancy-work carpentry was a favour-
ite occupation with him ; and his ingenuity was also dis-
played in converting watch keys into duelling pistols tor
fleas to settle their affairs of honour. The other prisoner
had once possessed a very extensive and valuable museum, 1
which was dispersed on the eve of his difficulties. Sixteen
years he dwelt within that prison's high and dingy walls, ,
never going beyond them for a moment, yet he was ever I
full of etomological enthusiasm and worldly hope, always
fondly deceiving himself that in a few more weeks his case
in chancery would terminate in his favour, effecting the-eby
the replenishment of his purse, and his immediate libera-
tion. Year after year rolled over him, snatching away the
bloom from his cheeks, and sprinkling his hair with grey,
yet this one hope never abandoned him. " A few weeks
more," he would say, " and I will be rambling once again
on my native mountains in Wales. Look here at the
prime nets I have just contrived for collecting specimens
when I leave this place." In his window sill he raised
luxuriant sweet peas, nasturtiums, and other pretty climb-
ing plants. Then he had, as company, some choice
pigeons, singular cross-breeds of white, brown, and tor-
toiseshell mice, and many caterpillars, whose transforma-
tions were a great source of amusement to him. His
reading was chiefly confined to the scientific magazines,
which were his newspapers ; for the record of some natu-
ralist having caught some rare insect, or a new species, at
such and such a place, was to him the most important of
all intelligence then stirring in the world. The capture of
the rare wood-leopard-moth. one of the many insects he
had succeeded in alluring to his window by means of a
bait of new honey warmed, constituted the grand incident
in his life of long imprisonment. These amstsements
were strangely varied by a course of experiments in the
culinary or conservative art, in which he was greatly en-
couraged by his fellow prisoners, who highly applauded
the genius he displayed in inventing new sorts of soups,
stews, and pickles. lie was at once the Linnwus and the
Ude of the prison-house. In one respect he was a sin-
gular contrast to all the captives we have had occasion to
mention ; he disliked, or rather positively hated, all po-
etry ; and if a line were quoted in his hearing, he would
rail for hours against the folly and sin of speaking or
than
either anything but plaid prose. A unique
well pickled onion.,!
precious
to
moth,hi n or a
was far more b
dd
either Milton or Burns. Ile would have
the
all
the poets in the universe, if he had poweri a
opportunity to do so.—Chambers's Journal.
's(id the e

finally succeeded in subduing, by a constant perseverance
in his policy of peace abroad and obedience to the laws at
home.—Fraser's Magazine.
WHY CERTAIN OLD PEOPLE, WHO HAVE NOTHING
TO DO, ARE EARLY RISERS.—What a blessing should
sleep be to that class of beings who do nothing when
awake; how they should covet those drowsy hours that
give, as it were, a sanction to indolence ; with what anx-
iety they ought to await the fall of day, as announcing the
period when they become the equals of their fellow men ;
and with what terror they should look forward to the time
when the busy world is up and stirring, and their incapa-
city and slothfulness only become more glaring from con-
trast. Would not any one say, that such people would
naturally cultivate sleep as their comforter ? Should they
not hug their pillow as the friend of their bosom ? On the
contrary, these are invariably your early risers ; every
house where I have been on a visit has had, at least, one
of these troubled and troublesome spirits—the torment of
boots ; the horror of housemaids. Their chronic cough
forms a duet with the inharmonious crowing of the young
cock, who, for lack of better knowledge, proclaims day a
full hour before his time. Their creakiiig shoes are the
accompaniment to the scrubbing of brass fenders and the
twigging of carpets, the jarring sounds of opening shut-
ters, and the cranking discord of a hall-door chain ; their
heavy step sounds like a night-mare's tread, through the
whole sleeping house ; and what is the object of all this ?
What new fact have they acquired? what difficult ques-
tion have they solved? whom have they made happier, or
wiser, or better? Not Betty, the cook, certainly, whose'
morning levee of beggars they have most unceremoniously
scattered and scared ; not Mary, the housemaid, who,
unacustomed to be caught in dishabille, is cross the whole
day after, though he was " only an elderly gentleman, and
wore spectacles ;" not Richard, who cleaned their shoes
by candle light ; nor the venerable butler, who, from
shame sake, is up and dressed, and who, still asleep,
stands with his corkscrew in his hand, under the vague
impression that it is a late supper party. These people,
too, have always a consequential, self. satisfied look about
them ; they seem to say, as though they knew a " thing
or two" others had not wot of; although the day, more
confidential when few were by, told them some capital se.
crets the sleepers never heard of ; and they made this
pestilential habit a reason for eating the breakfast of a
Cossack, as if the consumption of victuals was a cardinal
virtue.—Civilized differs from savage life, as much as the
regulation of time as by any other feature. I see no ob-
jection to your red man, who, probably, can't go to break-
fast till he has caught a bear, being up betimes ; but the
1 gentleman who goes to bed with the conviction that hot
rolls and coffee, tea and marmalade, bloaters and honey,
ham, muffins, and eggs, await him at ten o'clock ; for
' him, I say, these absurd vagabondisms are an insufferable
affection, and most unwarrantable liberty with the peace
and privacy of a household.—Loiterings of O'Leary,