Copernicus, 24th May, 1543, day of the last quarter.
Luther, 18th February, 1546, three days after the full.
Henry VIII., 28th January, 1547, the day of the first quarter.
Calvin, 27th May, 1564, two days after the full.
Cornaro, 26th April, 1566, day of the first quarter.
Queen Elizabeth, 24th March, 1603, day of the last quarter.
Shakspeare, 23rd April, 1616, day after the full.
Camden, 2nd November, 1623, day before the new moon.
Bacon, 9th April, 1626, one day after last quarter.
Vandyke, 9th April, 1641, two days after full moon.
Cardinal Richelieu, 4th December, 1642, three days before full moon.
Doctor Harvey, 30th June, 1657, a few hours before the new moon.
Oliver Cromwell, 3rd September, 1658, two days after full moon.
Milton, 15th November, 1674, two days before the new moon.
Sydenham, 29th December, 1689, two days before the full moon.
Locke, 28th November, 1704, two days before the full moon.
Queen Anne, 1st August, 1714, two days after the full moon.
Louis XIV., 1st September, 1715, a few hours before the full moon.
Marlborough, 16th June, 1722, two days before the full moon.
Newton, 20th March, 1726, two days before the new moon.
George I., 11th June, 1727, three days after new moon.
George II., 25th October, 1760, one day after full moon.
Sterne, 13th September, 1768, two days after new moon.
Whitfield, 18th September, 1770, a few hours before the new moon.
Swedenburg, 19th March, 1772, the day of the full moon.
Linnaeus, 10th January, 1778, two days before the full moon.
The Earl of Chatham, 11th May, 1778, the day of the full moon.
Rousseau, 2nd July, 1778, the day after the first quarter.
Garrick, 20th January, 1779, three days after the new moon.
Dr. Johnson, 14th December, 1784, two days after the new moon.
Dr. Franklin, 17th April, 1790, three days after the new moon.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, 23rd February, 1792, the day after the new moon.
Lord Guildford, 5th August, 1722, three days after the full moon.
Dr. Warren, 23rd June, 1797, a day before the new moon.
Burke, 9th July, 1797, at the instant of the full moon.
Macklin, 11th July, 1797, two days after full moon.
Wilkes, 26th December, 1797, the day of the first quarter.
Washington, 15th December, 1790, three days after full moon.
Sir W. Hamilton, 6th April, 1803, a few hours before the full moon.
The doctor winds up this extract from the bills of mortality by the
following appropriate remark: "Here we see the moon, as she shines on
all alike, so she makes no distinction of persons in her influence:
"----aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,
Regumque turres."
GLUTTONY OF THE MONKS.
King John, pointing to a fat deer said, "See how plump he is, and yet
he has never heard mass!" John might have alluded to the gluttony of
the monks, which was notorious in his days; for Giraldus Cambrensis
says, that from the monks of St. Swithin's, Winchester, Henry II.
received a formal complaint against the abbot for depriving his priests
of three out of thirteen dishes at every meal. The monks of Canterbury
exceeded those of St. Swithin; they had seventeen dishes every day, and
each of these cooked with spices and the most savoury and rich sauces.
ANCIENT BELL-SHRINE.
The annexed engraving represents one of the most valuable and curious
ecclesiastical relics of the early Christian Period that has ever been
discovered. It consists of a bronze bell-shrine and bell, found about
the year 1814, on the demolition of the ruined wall at Torrebhlaurn
farm, in the parish of Kilmichael-Glassrie, Argyleshire, and now one of
the most valued treasures in the Museum of the Scottish Antiquaries.
[Illustration [++] Bronze Bell-Shrine and Bell.]
That it must have been deposited in the wall where it was found,
for the purpose of concealment at a period of danger and alarm,
seems abundantly obvious; but of the occasion of this concealment no
tradition has been preserved. Within the beautiful case is a rude
iron bell, so greatly corroded that its original form can only be
imperfectly traced; yet this, and not the shrine, was obviously the
chief object of veneration, and may, indeed, be assumed, with much
probability, to be some centuries older than the ornamental case in
which it is preserved. Whether it shall be thought to have been an
ancient reliquary or a mass-bell, or whatever else may be conjectured
of its nature and use, it may fairly be presumed to have remained
in the neglected spot in which it was found since the subversion
of the Roman Catholic worship in the sixteenth century, when the
favoured objects of external adoration and reverence, under the
former superstition, came to be regarded with impatient contempt and
abhorrence.
It is deserving of attention that the figure of our crucified Saviour
in invested with a regal crown, and not with a crown of thorns, as
is usually the case. The brass chain or collar, of rude workmanship,
about three feet six inches long, now attached to the case, and the
extremities of which are connected with a small cross of the same
metal, was discovered at the same time, not far from the case.
EGYPTIAN GARDEN.
The diagram which accompanies this article is an Egyptian sketch of
an Egyptian garden; and it is expressly curious, both as an example
of the pictorial art of the period, and as giving us an idea of the
pleasure-gardens of Egypt in its most flourishing days.
[Illustration [++] Egyptian Garden.]
The garden here represented stood beside a canal of the Nile, with
an avenue of trees between it and the bank, on which side was the
entrance. It was surrounded by an embattled wall, through which a noble
gateway gave access to the garden. The central space was occupied by
the vineyard, surrounded by its own wall, in which the vines were
trained on trellises supported by slender pillars. At the further end
of the vineyard was a building of three storeys, the windows from which
opened over the luxurious foliage and purple clusters, regaling the
senses both of sight and smell. Four large tanks of water kept the
vegetation well supplied with nutritive moisture; and, with the smooth
and verdant turf which borders them, the water-fowl that sported over
the surface, and the lotus-flowers that sprang from their clear depths,
added a new beauty to the scene. Near the tanks stood summer-houses,
overlooking beds of various flowers, and sheltered from the sun by
surrounding trees. Two enclosed spaces between the tanks, being filled
with trees, were probably devoted to some species of particular rarity,
or remarkable for the excellence of their fruit. Rows of date trees and
Theban palms, alternating with other trees, bordered the whole garden,
and environed the vineyard wall.
The very numerous allusions to gardens in the Sacred Scriptures show
that the Hebrews inherited the same taste as the Egyptians. In these
allusions we find the same characteristics that are so observable in
those depicted on the monuments; such as the absolute necessity of
water, the custom of having pools in them, the advantage of a situation
by the side of a river, the practice of enclosing them from intrusion,
and appropriation of enclosures to particular productions.
With the early Egyptians the love of flowers seems to have been almost
a passion; they appear to have been in constant request in offerings to
the gods, and as ornaments of the person, as decorations of furniture;
as graceful additions to several entertainments, they occur at every
turn. Flowers were painted on walls, furniture, dresses, chairs, boxes,
boats, and, in short, on whatever was wished to be ornamental. Wreaths
and chaplets were likewise in common use among the Egyptians, and
artificial flowers were not uncommon.
STATE OF THE MIND DURING SLEEP.
The following is an instance of phantasms being produced by our
associations with bodily sensations, and tends to show how alive our
faculties continue during sleep to the highest impressions:--
The subject of this observation was an officer in the expedition to
Louisburg in 1758, who had this peculiarity in so remarkable a degree,
that his companions in the transport were in the constant habit of
amusing themselves at his expense. They could produce in him any kind
of dream by whispering in his ear, especially if this was done by a
friend with whose voice he had become familiar. One time they conducted
him through the whole progress of a trial, which ended in a duel; and
when the parties were supposed to have met, a pistol was put into
his hand, which he fired, and was awakened by the report. On another
occasion they found him asleep on the top of a locker in the cabin,
when they made him believe he had fallen overboard, and exhorted him to
save himself by swimming. They then told him that a shark was pursuing
him, and entreated him to dive for his life. He instantly did so, and
with so much force as to throw himself from the locker upon the cabin
floor, by which he was much bruised, and awakened of course. After
the landing of the army at Louisburg, his friends found him one day
asleep in his tent, and evidently annoyed by the cannonading. They
then made him believe that he was engaged, when he expressed great
fear, and showed an evident disposition to run away. Against this they
remonstrated, but at the same increased his fears by imitating the
groans of the wounded and the dying; and when he asked, as he often
did, who was hit, they named his particular friends. At last they
told him that the man next himself in his company had fallen, when he
instantly sprung from his bed, rushed out of the tent, and was only
roused from his danger and his dream by falling over the tent-ropes. A
remarkable thing in this case was, that after these experiments he had
no distinct recollection of his dreams, but only a confused feeling of
oppression or fatigue, and used to tell his friends that he was sure
they had been playing some trick upon him. It has been observed that
we seldom feel courageous or daring in our dreams, and generally avoid
danger when menaced by a foe, or exposed to any probable peril.
MUSIC OF THE SEA.
The mysterious music that is heard in the bay at West Pascagoula,
is described by those who have listened to it as being singularly
beautiful. "It has, for a long time," says Mrs. Child, an American
authoress, "been one of the greatest wonders of the south-west.
Multitudes have heard it, rising, as it were, from the water, like the
drone of a bagpipe, then floating away, away, away, in the distance,
soft, plaintive, and fairy-like, as if AEolian harps sounded with richer
melody through the liquid element; but none have been able to account
for the beautiful phenomenon. There are several legends touching these
mysterious sounds; but in these days few things are allowed to remain
mysterious." These strange sounds, which thus assume the beauty and
the harmony of regular music, are stated to proceed from the cat-fish.
A correspondent of the _Baltimore Republican_ thus explains the
phenomenon:--"During several of my voyages on the Spanish main, in the
neighbourhood of Paraguay and San Juan de Nicaragua, from the nature of
the coast, we were compelled to anchor at a considerable distance from
the shore; and every evening, from dark to late night, our ears were
delighted with AEolian music, that could be heard beneath the counter of
our schooner. At first I thought it was the sea-breeze sweeping through
the strings of my violin (the bridge of which I had inadvertently left
standing); but after examination I found it was not so. I then placed
my ear on the rail of the vessel, when I was continually charmed with
the most heavenly strains that ever fell upon my ear. They did not
sound as close to us, but were sweet, mellow, and aerial, like the soft
breathings of a thousand lutes, touched by fingers of the deep sea
nymphs, at an immense distance. Although I have considerable "music in
my soul," one night I became tired, and determined to fish. My luck,
in half-an-hour, was astonishing. I had half filled my bucket with
the finest white cat-fish I ever saw; and it being late, and the cook
asleep, and the moon shining, I filled my bucket with water, and took
fish and all into my cabin for the night. I had not yet fallen asleep,
when the same sweet notes fell upon my ear; and, getting up, what
was my surprise to find my cat-fish discoursing sweet sounds to the
sides of my bucket! I examined them closely, and discovered that there
was attached to each lower lip an excrescence, divided by soft wiry
fibres. By the pressure of the upper lip thereon, and by the exhalation
and discharge of breath, a vibration was created, similar to that
produced by the breath on the tongue of the Jews' harp."
THE ROCK OF CASHEL.
Any work which professed to be a record of what is rare and curious,
would surely be incomplete if it did not contain an account of the
celebrated Rock of Cashel; for the venerable buildings which crown
its summit are, from their number, variety, preservation, and site,
decidedly the most interesting ruins in the Emerald Isle, and, to
use the words of Sir Walter Scott, "such as Ireland may be proud
of." Cashel, which is distant about one hundred miles from Dublin,
appears to be a place of high antiquity, and was long the residence
of the kings of Munster; but as its early history is involved in much
obscurity, it is uncertain at what period it became a diocesan site. It
is stated that previous to the year 1101 the buildings on the Rock were
occupied as a royal residence, and that in that year the hitherto royal
seat was dedicated solely to ecclesiastical uses.
[Illustration [++] Rock of Cashel.]
The buildings consist of a round tower, Cormack's chapel, cathedral,
castle and monastery; the latter is a few yards detached, and the least
remarkable of the number; all the former are closely connected. The
Round Tower, the date and uses of which are in common with those of all
other similar structures involved in much obscurity, raises its tall
and yet scarce dilapidated head far above its younger and more decaying
companions. It is fifty-six feet in circumference, and ninety feet
in height. Cormack's Chapel, which, with the exception of the Round
Tower, is the most ancient structure of the group, was built by Cormack
M'Carthy, king of Munster, in 1136. It is roofed with stone, and in its
capitals, arches, and other features and details, the Norman style is
distinctly marked. The numerous ornaments, grotesque heads, and other
curious sculptures, which adorn the arches, columns, and pilasters,
are all in uniformity of style. The building altogether is a perfect
gem, and the architectural antiquary and the artist will find in it
a most valuable addition to their studies. The cathedral is a noble
remnant of what is usually termed the pointed Gothic, and contains many
interesting relics.
The rock, which is here presented as it appears from the plain below,
has the buildings we have just mentioned on its very summit; it rises
abruptly from a widely extended fertile country, to a considerable
height above the town, and from many parts at a distance it forms a
very striking object. On the top of the rock, and around the ruins,
an area of about three acres has been enclosed, which is open to the
public.
INSTANCE OF INCREMATION.
Last night (26th September, 1769), say the chronicles of the day, the
will of Mrs. Pratt, a widow lady, who lately died at her house in
George Street, Hanover Square, was punctually fulfilled, by the burning
of her body to ashes in her grave, in the new burying-ground adjoining
to Tyburn turnpike.
THE HAWTHORNDEN SWORD.
The great antiquity of the Scottish claymore is proved by its being
figured in the sculptures both of Iona and Oronsay, with considerable
variety of details. In some the blade is highly ornamented, and the
handle varies in form, but all present the same characteristic, having
the guards bent back towards the blade. A curious variety of this
peculiar form is seen in a fine large two-handed sword preserved at
Hawthornden, the celebrated castle of the Drummonds, where the Scottish
poet entertained Ben Johnson during his visit to Scotland in 1619. It
is traditionally affirmed to have been the weapon of Robert Bruce,
though little importance can be attached to a reputation which it
shares with one-half the large two-handed swords still preserved. Our
engraving is a correct representation of it.
[Illustration [++] Hawthornden Sword.]
The handle appears to be made from the tusk of the narwhal, and it
has four reverse guards, as shown in the cut. The object aimed at by
this form of guard, doubtless, was to prevent the antagonist's sword
glancing off, and inflicting a wound ere he recovered his weapon, and,
in the last example especially, it seems peculiarly well adapted for
the purpose.
INSTINCT IN A CAT.
The following anecdote almost places the cat on a level with the
dog:--"A physician of Lyons was requested to inquire into a murder
that had been committed on a woman of that city. In consequence of
this request he went to the habitation of the deceased, where he
found her extended lifeless on the floor, weltering in her blood. A
large white cat was mounted on the cornice of a cupboard, at the far
end of the apartment, where he seemed to have taken refuge. He sat
motionless, with his eyes fixed on the corpse, and his attitude and
looks expressing horror and affright. The following morning he was
found in the same station and attitude, and when the room was filled
with officers of justice, neither the clattering of the soldiers' arms,
nor the loud conversation of the company, could in the least degree
divert his attention. As soon, however, as the suspected persons were
brought in, his eyes glared with increased fury, his hair bristled, he
darted into the middle of the apartment, where he stopped for a moment
to gaze at them, and then precipitately retreated under the bed. The
countenances of the assassins were disconcerted, and they were now, for
the first time, abandoned by their atrocious audacity."
A TRANCE.
Mrs. Godfrey, sister to the Duke of Marlborough, had nearly been
buried alive; the physicians all declaring that the breath of life was
irrecoverably gone. Her husband, Colonel Godfrey, had, however, the
pleasure to see her revive, seven days after (that day week, and same
hour), and what is more, she never knew till the day of her death the
length of her trance, or sleep.
THE NUMBER SEVEN.
The number is composed of the first two perfect numbers, equal and
unequal, 3 and 4; for the number 2, consisting of repeated unity, which
is no number, is not perfect, it comprehends the primary numerical
triangle or trine, and square or quartile conjunction, considered by
the favourers of planetary influence as of the most benign aspect.
In six days creation was completed, and the 7th was consecrated to
rest. On the 7th day of the 7th month, a holy observance was ordained
to the children of Israel, who feasted 7 days, and remained 7 days
in tents; the 7th year was directed to be a Sabbath of rest for all
things; and at the end of 7 times 7 years commenced the grand jubilee.
Every 7th year the land lay fallow; every 7th year there was a general
release from all debts, and all bondmen were set free. From this law
may have originated the custom of our binding young men to 7 years'
apprenticeship, and punishing incorrigible offenders by transportation
for 7, twice 7, and three times 7, years. Every 7 years the law was
to be read to the people. Jacob served 7 years for the possession of
Rachael; and also other 7. Noah had 7 days' warning of the flood, and
was commanded to take the fowls of the air in by 7, and the clean
beasts by 7. The ark touched ground on the 7th month; and in 7 days the
dove was sent out, and again in 7 days after. The 7 years of plenty,
and 7 years of famine were foretold in Pharaoh's dream by 7 fat and 7
lean beasts, and the 7 full and 7 blasted ears of corn. Nebuchadnezzar
was 7 years a beast; and the fiery furnace was 7 times hotter to
receive Shadrach, &c. A man defiled was, by the Mosaic law, unclean 7
days; the young of both animals was to remain with the dam 7 days, and
at the end of the 7th was to be taken away. By the old law, man was
commanded to forgive his offending brother 7 times; but the meekness
of the revealed law extended his humility to 70 times 7: if Cain shall
be avenged 7 times, truly Lamech 70 times 7. In the destruction of
Jericho, 7 priests bore 7 trumpets 7 days; on the 7th they surrounded
the wall 7 times; after the 7th, the walls fell. Balaam prepared 7
years for a sacrifice; and 7 of Saul's sons were hanged to stay a
famine. Laban pursued Jacob 7 days' journey. Job's friends sat 7 days
and 7 nights, and offered 7 bullocks and 7 rams, as an atonement for
their wickedness. In the 7th year of his reign, King Ahazuerus feasted
7 days, and on the 7th deputed his 7 chamberlains to find a queen,
who was allowed 7 maidens to attend her. Miriam was cleansed of her
leprosy by being shut up 7 days. Solomon was 7 years in building the
Temple, at the dedication of which he feasted 7 days; in the Temple
were 7 lamps; 7 days were appointed for an atonement upon the altar,
and the priest's son was ordained to wear his father's garments 7
days. The children of Israel eat unleavened bread 7 days. Abraham gave
7 ewe-lambs to Abimelech, as a memorial for a well. Joseph mourned 7
days for Jacob. Naaman was cleansed of his leprosy by bathing 7 times
in Jordan. The Rabbins say that God employed the power of this number
to perfect the greatness Of Samuel, his name answering the value of
the letters in the Hebrew word, which signifies 7; whence Hannah his
mother, in her thanksgiving, says, the barren hath brought forth 7. In
Scripture are enumerated 7 resurrections: the widow's son, by Elias;
the Shunamite's son, by Elisha; the soldier who touched the bones of
the prophet; the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue; the widow's
son of Nain; Lazarus, and our Lord. The apostles chose 7 deacons.
Enoch, who was translated, was the 7th from Adam; and Jesus Christ was
the 77th in a direct line. Our Lord spoke 7 times on the cross, on
which he was 7 hours; he appeared 7 times; and after 7 times 7 days
sent the Holy Ghost. In the Lord's prayer are 7 petitions, contained in
7 times 7 words, omitting those of mere grammatical connexion; within
this number are concealed all the mysteries of apocalypse revealed
to the 7 churches of Asia. There appeared seven golden candlesticks
and 7 stars in the hand of him that was in the midst; 7 lambs before
the 7 spirits of God; the book with 7 seals; the lamb with 7 horns
and 7 eyes; 7 angels with 7 trumpets; 7 kings; 7 thunders; 7,000 men
slain. The dragon with 7 heads and 7 crowns; and the beast with 7
heads; 7 angels bearing 7 plagues, and 7 vials of wrath. The vision of
Daniel was of 70 weeks and the elders of Israel were 70. There were
also 7 heavens, 7 planets (query), 7 stars, 7 wise men, 7 champions
of Christendom, 7 notes in music, 7 primary colours, 7 deadly sins,
and 7 sacraments in the Catholic church. The 7th son was considered
as endowed with pre-eminent wisdom; and the 7th son of a 7th son is
still thought to possess the power of healing diseases spontaneously.
Perfection is likened to gold 7 times purified in the fire; and we
yet say you frightened me out of my 7 senses. The opposite sides of a
dice make 7, whence the players at hazard make 7 the main. Hippocrates
says the septenary number, by its occult virtues, tends to the
accomplishment of all things, to be the dispense of life, and fountain
of all its changes; and, like Shakespeare, he divided the life of man
into 7 ages; for as the moon changes her phases every seven days,
this number influences all sublunary beings. The teeth spring out on
the 7th month, and are shed and renewed in the 7th year, when infancy
is changed into childhood; at twice 7 years puberty begins; at three
times 7 the faculties are developed, and manhood commences, and we are
become legally competent to all civil acts; at four times 7 man is in
full possession of all his strength; at five times 7 he is fit for the
business of the world; at six times 7 he becomes grave and wise, or
never: at 7 times 7 he is in his apogee, and from that time decays;
at eight times 7 he is in his first climacterick; at nine times 7, or
63, he is in his last or grand climacterick, or year of danger; and
ten times 7, or three score and ten, has, by the royal prophet, been
pronounced the natural period of human life.
SUPERSTITIOUS LEGEND.
We are told that when St. Helena, of pious memory, had discovered the
true Cross of Christ, she permitted various fragments to be taken from
it, which were encased, some in gold, and some in gems, and conveyed to
Europe, leaving the principal or main part of the wood in the charge
of the Bishop of Jerusalem, who exhibited it annually at Easter, until
Chosroes, king of Persia, plundered Jerusalem in the reign of the
emperor Phocas, and took away this holy relic.