Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1855-11-21
"ssray L,avoa frsn the Book of xa.urs.'

"Stray LsavcG frsn the Book Of Natzre." I.
Az we have heretofore had occasion to re-
mark. city publishers very seldom send books,
worth reading, to country editors, ourselves incu-
ded; consequently we purchased our copy of the
abore named book \. the the regular retail price.
But we shall not on that account refuse to call
the attention of our readers to it, and recommend
it as one well worth perusing. 1t is a small vol
ume, by Prof. Shele de We're, of the University
ofVirginia. Asyet we have only read the first two
iication and instruction that we hasten TO invite
our readers to partake of the rich entertainment,
The second chapter is entitled mature in Mo
ton," and contains more curious and interesting
into the same space The author shows that not
only the great globe, but call that it inherit" "
men, animals, birds. fish, plants, and even rocks,
are in restless motion. One fact he mentions
which is certainly curious. Speaking of the gla-
ciers of the Alps. he says that large masses OF
rock, ''whfn By accident they fall into the deep
ereyiccs Of these glaciers, return with quiet but
irresistible energy to the surface, moving slowly
steadily upwards Moreover, whilst all weighty
objects sink alike into the cold bed, the organic
parts decay quickly, but the inorganic paris are
thrown up again "Years ago, horse fell into
one Of thtsa glaciers it sank marking it's outline dis
tinctly until il was seen no more. A year alter
wards the clean. white skeleton projected from
the top through the ice" The learned author
speaks of this mode of travel as 60 mysterious
that human science has not yet fath0med its ns
ture to US the fact that organic matter falling in
to glacier quickly decays, is new and equally
wonderful. We had thought thatIce was uaiver-
sally antseptic, as it is in the frozen regions Of
the North where bodies of animals enveoped in
it are preserved from decay for ages, Another il
lustraiion of this strange kind Of notion
''In the middle of the sixteenth century, sue
cessiOn Of long winters, during which immense
masses Of snow fell, increased the glaciers so
much, that they travelled faster and lnwsr than
usually. and in their course overwhelmed little
chapel at the foot OF the Grindelwald. All was
covered mountain high, with snow and ice, and
| Gu remained for years in CHASTITY silence. But 10!
all OF sudden there appeared black unganly
mass hish upon the glittering feld-lt was the
chapel boil Pious hands saved ii, carried it to a
neighboring town, and there the long buried bell
now rings merriy Sabbath after Sabbath"
We would be glad to publish other extracts.
but cannot at present. One fact however we
will notce.-Osrain weeds attach lhsmselvs.to
man and follow him wherever he goes and builds
his cabin And stranger still, tbs different races
of men have different kinds of weeds following in
their wake $50 that a careful observer can, in
travelling, see al once. by merely noticing The
prevailing weeds. whether Europeans or Asiatlcs.
Germans or Slaves. Negroes or Indians, have
dwelt at certain places" Some Of our Indian
tribes called the common plansin in their Ian
guage 'the white mans loostsp."
The author asserts that by a great law OF ma
,ure the course of this movement of men, ami
mails, plants SC. i. from the East to tho West
All the efforts Of man 10 migrate eastward have
been agorously foiled. No great expedition 70
the East, he says, has ever been successful and
permanent.