laterally with many, in place of carrying but one barbel at the
symphysis. Schoeff reports of them that they will assemble round the
keel of a vessel at anchor, and serenade the crew; and Mr. John White,
lieutenant in the navy of the United States, in his voyage to the
seas of China, relates to the same purpose, that being at the mouth
of the river of Cambodia, the ship's company were "astonished by some
extraordinary sounds which were heard around the bottom of the vessel.
They resembled," he says, "a mixture of the bass of the organ, the
sound of bells, the guttural cries of a large frog, and the tones which
imagination might attribute to an enormous harp; one might have said
the vessel trembled with it. The noises increased, and finally formed
a universal chorus over the entire length of the vessel and the two
sides. In proportion as we went up the river the sounds diminished, and
finally ceased altogether." As the interpreter told Captain White, the
ship had been followed by a "troop of fish of an oval and flattened
form," they were most probably pogonias. Humboldt met with a similar
adventure in the South Sea, but without suspecting its cause. "On
February 20th, 1803, at seven P.M., the whole crew was astounded by a
very extraordinary noise, resembling drums beaten in the air; we at
first attributed it to the breakers; speedily it was heard all over
the vessel, especially towards the poop, and was like the noise which
escapes from fluid in a state of ebullition; we began to fear there
might be some leak in the bottom. It was heard synchronously in all
parts of the vessel, but finally, about nine P.M., ceased altogether."
How these fish manage to _purr_ in the deep, and by means of what organ
they communicate the sound to the external air, is wholly unknown. Some
suppose it to proceed from the swim-bladder; but if that be the drum,
what is the drumstick that beats upon it? And cushioned as it is in an
obese envelope and without issue, the swim-bladder cannot be a bagpipe
or wind instrument.
CURIOUS ADVERTISEMENT.
The following appeared in the public papers of January 24th,
1737:--"Whereas Frances, wife of the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount
Vane, has, for some months past, absented herself from her husband,
and the rest of her friends:--I do hereby promise to any person or
persons who shall discover where the said lady Vane is concealed, to
me, or to Francis Hawes, esq. her father, so that either of us may
come to the speech of her, the sum of L100, as a reward, to be paid by
me on demand at my lodgings in Piccadilly. I do also promise the name
of the person, who shall make such discovery, shall be concealed, if
desired. Any person concealing or lodging her after this advertisement,
will be prosecuted with the utmost rigour; or, if her ladyship will
return to me, she may depend upon being kindly received. She is about
twenty-two years of age, tall, well-shaped, has light-brown hair, is
fair-complexioned, and has her upper teeth placed in an irregular
manner. She had on, when she absented, a red damask French sacque, and
was attended by a French woman, who speaks very bad English.
"VANE."
THE EYE OF THE CHAMELEON.
A most extraordinary aspect is communicated to chameleons by the
structure and movements of their eyes. In the first place, the head is
enormous, and, being three-sided, with projecting points and angles,
makes a sufficiently uncouth visage; but the eyes which illuminate
this notable head-piece must, indeed, to borrow for the nonce the
phraseology of Barnum, "be seen to be appreciated." There is on
each side an immense eye-ball, full and prominent, but covered with
the common shagreened skin of the head, except at the very entre,
where there is a minute aperture, corresponding to the pupil. These
great punctured eye-balls roll about hither and thither, but with
no symmetry. You cannot tell whether the creature is looking at you
or not; he seems to be taking what may be called a general view of
things--looking at nothing in particular, or rather, to save time,
looking at several things at once. Perhaps both eyes are gazing
upwards at your face; a leaf quivers behind his head, and in a moment
_one eye_ turns round towards the object, while the other retains its
upward gaze: presently a fly appears; one eye rapidly and interestedly
follows all its movements, while the other leisurely glances hither and
thither, or remains steady. Accustomed as we are to see in almost all
animals the two eyes move in unison, this want of sympathy produces an
effect most singular and ludicrous.
DIVING FOR A WIFE.
In many of the Greek islands, the diving for Sponge forms a
considerable part of the occupation of the inhabitants, as it has
done from the most remote antiquity. Hasselquist says:--"Himia is a
little, and almost unknown island directly opposite Rhodes. It is worth
notice, on account of the singular method the Greeks, inhabitants of
the island, have to get their living. In the bottom of the sea the
common Sponge is found in abundance, and more than in any other place
in the Mediterranean. The inhabitants make it a trade to fish up this
Sponge, by which they get a living far from contemptible, as their
goods are always wanted by the Turks, who use an incredible number of
Sponges at their bathings and washings. A girl in this island is not
permitted by her relations to marry before she has brought up a certain
quantity of Sponges, and before she can give proof of her agility by
taking them from a certain depth." In other islands the same custom
prevails, but with reversed application, as in Nicarus, where the
father of a marriageable daughter bestows her on the best diver among
her suitors,--"He that can stay longest in the water, and gather the
most Sponges, marries the maid."
KNIGHT'S COSTUME OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
The engraving represents a knight's costume of the year 1272,
taken from the library of MSS. at Paris. It is that of a Count
Hohenschwangen, of the family of Welf, and depicts the wearer in a
long sleeveless, dark blue surcoat, with his armorial device; a white
swan on a red field with a light red border. Under his coat he wears
a _cap-a-pie_ suit of mail. The helmet is original, very like the
Greek, with the furred mantle as we see it in the seal of Richard King
of England, of the date of 1498. This helmet does not appear to be a
tilting helmet, which usually rests upon the shoulders; but this kind
of helmet would be fastened, like the vizor with the mailed hood, by
an iron throat-brace, and a leather thong. Upon the covered helmet he
wears the swan as a crest. The sword-hilt is of gold, the sheath black,
the girdle white, the furred mantle is red, lined with white.
[Illustration: [++] Knight's Costume of 1272.]
Chivalry began in Europe about A.D. 912. From the twelfth to the
fifteenth century it had considerable influence in refining the manners
of most of the nations of Europe. The knight swore to accomplish the
duties of his profession as the champion of God and the ladies. He
devoted himself to speak the truth, to maintain the right, to protect
the distressed, to practise courtesy, to fulfil obligations, and
to vindicate in every perilous adventure his honour and character.
Chivalry, which owed its origin to the feudal system, expired with it.
The origin of the title of knight, as a military honour, is said to be
derived from the siege of Troy, but this solely depends on a passage or
two in Homer, and the point is disputed by several learned commentators.
CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE.
Button, in his Life, tells us of one of his ancestors, a trooper, who,
seeing a young girl at the river-side, lading water into her pail,
cast a large stone with design to splash her; but not being versed
in directing a stone so well as a bullet, he missed the water, and
broke her head; he ran off. Twelve years afterwards, he settled at
Derby, courted a young woman, and married her. In the course of their
conversations he proved to be the very man who had cast the stone, and
she the girl with the broken head.
FUNEREAL JAR.
The term "funereal" has been erroneously applied to all pottery
found in tombs, even where the utensils have no relation to funereal
purposes, but were probably in common use. There have been found,
however, in Corsica vessels of earthenware, which may strictly be
called "funereal."
Though the precise period of the fabrication of the funereal vessels
found in Corsica is not ascertained, they must be considered of very
ancient date. These vessels, when found entire, at first appear
completely closed up, and no trace of joining can be discovered. But
it has been ascertained that they are composed of two equal parts, the
end of one fitting exactly into the other, and so well closed that
the body, or at least the bones which they contain, appear to have
been placed within them before they were baked upon the kiln. Diodorus
Siculus, in speaking of the usages of the Balearic Isles, states that
these people were in the habit of beating, with clubs, the bodies of
the dead which, when thus rendered flexible, were deposited in vessels
of earthenware. This practice of the Corsicans coincides singularly
with that of the Coroados Indians, who inhabit a village on the Paraiba
river, near Campos, in the Brazils. They use large earthen vessels,
called _camucis_, as funereal urns. The bodies of their chiefs, reduced
to mummies, are placed in them in a bent posture, decked with their
ornaments and arms, and are then deposited at the foot of the large
trees of the forest.
[Illustration: [++] Funereal Jar.]
The cut which we here give speaks for itself. It represents the
funereal jar containing the chief as described; the animal at his feet
appears to be a panther or tiger cat.
WRITING MATERIALS.
The materials used for writing on have varied in different ages and
nations. Among the Egyptians slices of limestone, leather, linen, and
papyrus, especially the last, were universally employed. The Greeks
used bronze and stone for public monuments, wax for memorandums and
papyrus for the ordinary transactions of life. The kings of Pergamus
adopted parchment, and the other nations of the ancient world chiefly
depended on a supply of the paper of Egypt. But the Assyrians and
Babylonians employed for their public archives, their astronomical
computations, their religious dedications, their historical annals,
and even for title-deeds and bills of exchange, tablets, cylinders,
and hexagonal prisms of terra-cotta. Two of these cylinders, still
extant, contain the history of the campaign of Sennacherib against
the kingdom of Judah; and two others, exhumed from the Birs Nimroud,
give a detailed account of the dedication of the great temple by
Nebuchadnezzar to the seven planets. To this indestructible material,
and to the happy idea of employing it in this manner, the present age
is indebted for a detailed history of the Assyrian monarchy; whilst
the decades of Livy, the plays of Menander and the lays of Anacreon,
confided to a more perishable material, have either wholly or partly
disappeared amidst the wreck of empires.
CURIOUS DISPUTE AND APPROPRIATE DECISION.
Fuller, in his 'Holy State,' p. 170, gives a very _apposite_ story; a
poor man in Paris, being very hungry, went into a cook shop, and staid
there so long, (for the master was dishing-up meat,) that his appetite
being lessened by the steam, he proposed to go without his meal; the
cook insisted upon payment all the same. At length, the altercation was
agreed to be referred to the first person that passed the door; that
person happened to be a notorious idiot. Having heard the complaint, he
decreed that the poor man's money should be placed between two empty
dishes, and that the cook should be recompensed with the jingling of
his cash, as the other was with the fumes of the meat; and this little
anecdote is literally matter of fact.
THE TEA-POT.
No specimen of the ceramic art possesses greater variety of form than
the tea-pot. On none has the ingenuity of the potter been more fully
exercised, and it is worthy of remark, that the first successful
production of Boettcher in hard porcelain was a tea-pot. The so-called
Elizabethan tea-pots must be of a later date, for tea was not known in
England until the time of Charles II; but it is interesting to trace
the gradual increase in the size of the tea-pot, from the diminutive
productions of the Elers, in the time of Queen Anne and George I., when
tea was sold in apothecaries' shops, to the capacious vessel which
supplied Dr. Johnson with "the cup that cheers but not inebriates."
Mr. Croker, in his edition of Boswell's Life, mentions a tea-pot that
belonged to Dr. Johnson which held two quarts; but this sinks into
insignificance compared with the superior magnitude of that in the
possession of Mrs. Marryat, of Wimbledon, who purchased it at the sale
of Mrs. Piozzi's effects at Streatham. This tea-pot, which was the one
generally used by Dr. Johnson, holds more than three quarts. It is
of old Oriental porcelain, painted and gilded, and from its capacity
was well suited to the taste of one "whose tea-kettle had no time to
cool, who with tea solaced the midnight hour, and with tea welcomed
the morn." George IV. had a large assemblage of tea-pots, piled in
pyramids, in the Pavilion at Brighton. Mrs. Elizabeth Carter was also
a collector of tea-pots, each of which possessed some traditionary
interest, independently of its intrinsic merit; but the most diligent
collector of tea-pots was the late Mrs. Hawes. She bequeathed no less
than three hundred specimens to her daughter, Mrs. Donkin, who has
arranged them in a room appropriated for the purpose. Among them are
several formerly belonging to Queen Charlotte. Many are of the old
Japan; one with two divisions, and two spouts for holding both black
and green tea; and another of a curious device, with a small aperture
at the bottom to admit the water, there being no opening at the top,
atmospheric pressure preventing the water from running out. This
singular Chinese toy has been copied in the Rockingham ware.
PROTRACTED SLEEP.
One of the most extraordinary instances of excessive sleep is that
of the lady at Nismes, published in 1777, in the "Memoirs of the
Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin." Her attacks of sleep took place
periodically, at sunrise and about noon. The first continued till
within a short time of the accession of the second, and the second
continued till between seven and eight in the evening--when she awoke,
and continued so till the next sunrise. The most extraordinary fact
connected with this case is, that the first attack commenced always
at daybreak, whatever might be the season of the year, and the other
always immediately after twelve o'clock. During the brief interval of
wakefulness which ensued shortly before noon, she took a little broth,
which she had only time to do when the second attack returned upon
her, and kept her asleep till the evening. Her sleep was remarkably
profound, and had all the character of complete insensibility, with
the exception of a feeble respiration, and a weak but regular movement
of the pulse. The most singular fact connected with her remains to be
mentioned. When the disorder had lasted six months, and then ceased,
the patient had an interval of perfect health for the same length of
time. When it lasted one year, the subsequent interval was of equal
duration. The affection at last wore gradually away; and she lived,
entirely free of it, for many years after. She died in the eighty-first
year of her age, of dropsy, a complaint which had no connexion with her
preceding disorder.
ANCIENT SUIT OF MAIL.
The two figures depicted on next page represent Henry of Metz receiving
the oriflamme from the hands of St. Denis, derived from a painted
window in the church of Notre Dame de Chartres. The oriflamme was a
red banner attached to a staff, and cut in the manner shown in our
engraving. Henry of Metz was Marshal of France, and is here represented
in a complete suit of mail, his hood being thrown back upon his
shoulders. This suit is perfect, even to the extremities; and it is to
be remarked that the defence for the hands is divided in the manner of
a common glove. Over the mail is worn a loose surcoat, on which is
emblazoned the cross, traversed by a red baton--the type of his high
office.
[Illustration: [++] Ancient Suit of Mail.]
THE POISON CUP.
[Illustration: [++] The Poison Cup.]
In the time of James I. poison was too frequently resorted to,
especially on the Continent, as a means of getting rid of individuals
who had rendered themselves obnoxious to certain parties who were
prosecuting their own private ends; and so extensively did this
infamous practice prevail that there was a class of persons who
were known to have studied the art of secret poisoning, and whose
services could be engaged for a high reward. In order to counteract the
operations of the poisoners, various devices were employed, and among
them was the art which the pretended magicians of those days professed
to have discovered, of making a kind of glass which would fly in pieces
if poison was poured into any vessel that was formed of it. The cut at
the head of our article represents a tankard of this sort, in which
the glass is mounted in silver gilt arabesque and silver filagree. It
was believed that the large crystal which is seen standing out at the
centre of the lid would become discoloured at the approach of poison.
The tankard is a work of the sixteenth century, and was presented to
Clare Hall, Cambridge--where it is still preserved--by Dr. William
Butler, an eminent physician in the time of James I.
PORCELAIN FINGER-RINGS.
The porcelain finger-rings of ancient Egypt are extremely beautiful;
the band of the ring being seldom above one-eighth of an inch in
thickness. Some have a plate on which, in bas-relief, is the god _Set_,
or _Baal_, full face, or playing on the tambourine, as the inventor of
Music; others have their plates in the shape of the right symbolical
eye, the emblem of the Sun; of a fish, of the perch species; or of
a scarabaeus, which is said to have been worn by the military order.
Some few represent flowers. Those which have elliptical plates with
hieroglyphical inscriptions, bear the names of Amen-Ra, and of other
gods and monarchs, as Amenophis III., Amenophis IV., and Amenanchut,
of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth dynasties. One of these rings has
a little bugle on each side, as if it had been strung on the beaded
work of a mummy, instead of being placed on the finger. Blue is the
prevalent colour, but a few white and yellow rings, and some even
ornamented with red and purple colours are found. It is not credible
that these rings, of a substance finer and more fragile than glass,
were worn during life. Neither is it likely that they were worn by the
poorer classes, for the use of the king's name on sepulchral objects
seems to have been restricted to functionaries of state. Some larger
rings of porcelain of about an inch diameter, seven-eighths of an inch
broad, and one-sixteenth of an inch thick, made in open work, represent
the constantly repeated lotus flowers, and the god Ra, or the Sun,
seated, and floating through the heaven in his boat. Common as these
objects were in Egypt, where they were employed as substitutes for
the hard and precious stones, to the Greeks, Etruscans, and Italian
Greeks they were articles of luxury, just as the porcelain of China
was to Europeans some centuries ago. The Etruscans set these bugles,
beads, and amulets in settings of their exquisite gold filigree work,
intermixed with gold beads and precious stones. Strung as pendants they
hung round the necks of the fair ones of Etruria. In one of the tombs
already alluded to at the Polledrara, near Vulci, in Italy, was found
a heap of annular and curious Egyptian bugles, which had apparently
formed a covering to some bronze objects, but the strings having given
way, the beads had dropped to pieces. These, as well as the former,
had been obtained from some of the Egyptian markets, like that at
Naucratis: or from the Phoenician merchants, in the same manner as the
flasks. One of the most remarkable of these personal ornaments is a
bracelet, composed of small fish strung together and secured by a clasp.
PIGEON CATCHING NEAR NAPLES.
Between La Cava and Naples, about half a mile from the town, are
certain Bluebeard-looking towers, several centuries old, erected for
the purpose of snaring wood-pigeons; with which view the gentlemen of
the neighbourhood, who are generally expert and practised slingers,
assemble and man the towers in May. A long line of nets, some quarter
of a mile in circuit, held up in a slanting position by men concealed
in stone sentry-boxes placed here and there along the _enceinte_, is
spread in front. As the pigeons are seen advancing (the time of their
approach is generally looked for at early dawn, when they are making
for the woods), the nearest slingers commence projecting a succession
of white stones in the direction of the nets. These the birds no sooner
behold, then attracted, or alarmed (for the motive does not certainly
appear), they swoop down upon them, and when sufficiently near to fall
within reach of the nets, the persons holding let go, rush from their
ambush, and secure the covey. Thousands of wood-pigeons are thus, we
have been told by a proprietor, annually taken, and transmitted for
presents to distant friends; as we used to send out game, before the
sale of it was legalised. Thus birds, as well as fish, and fish as well
as man, often get entangled and caught in their headlong pursuit of a
pleasure that still eludes them.
FRAME REQUISITE TO SUPPORT THE DRESS.
James I., and his subjects who wished to clothe themselves loyally,
wore stupendous breeches. Of course the "honourable gentleman" of
the House of Commons were necessarily followers of the fashion. But
it led to inconveniences in the course of their senatorial duties.
It was an old mode revived; and at an earlier day, when these nether
garments were ample enough to have covered the lower man of Boanerges,
the comfort of the popular representative was thus cared for:--"Over
the seats in the parliament-house, there were certain holes, some two
inches square, in the walls, in which were placed posts to uphold a
scaffold round about the house within, for them to sit upon who used
the wearing of great breeches stuffed with hair like wool-sacks, which
fashion being left the eighth year of Elizabeth, the scaffolds were
taken down, and never since put up." So says Strutt; but doubtless the
comforts of the members were not less cared for when the old fashion
again prevailed.
PRICES OF SEVRES PORCELAIN.
As one of the curiosities of luxury and taste it is worth while to note
the high prices for which some portions of the very choice collection
of Sevres porcelain at Stowe were sold:--A small coffee cup, which
weighed scarcely three ounces, realised 46 guineas; and another,
similar, but somewhat inferior, sold for 35 guineas. A chocolate cup
and saucer, Bleu de Roi, with beautiful miniatures of two ladies of
the Court of Louis XV., and four paintings of Cupids, though slightly
injured during the view, realised 45 guineas. The prices obtained for
most of the cups and saucers were from 10 to 12 guineas. A beautiful
specimen of a Bleu de Roi cup, saucer and cover, jewelled in festoons,
cameos, and imitation of pearls, sold for L35 10s.; and another,
somewhat inferior, for 21 guineas. A salver, mounted in a table with
ormolu ornaments, sold for 81 guineas; the companion piece for L100.
HENRY THE EIGHTH'S CHAIR.
In the earlier half of the sixteenth century a large proportion of
the furniture used in this country, as well as of the earthenware and
other household implements during the greater part of that century, was
imported from Flanders and the Netherlands. Hence, in the absence of
engravings at home, we are led to look at the works of the Flemish and
German artists for illustrations of domestic manners at this period.
The seats of that day were termed joint (or joined) stools and chairs.
A rather fine example of a chair of this work, which was, as was often
the case, three-cornered, is preserved in the Ashmolean museum, at
Oxford, where it is reported to have been the chair of Henry VIII. We
here annex a sketch of it.
[Illustration: [++] Henry the Eighth's Chair.]
MULLET AND TURBOT WITH THE ROMANS.
The Romans were enthusiastic for the mullet. It was for them _the_
fish, _par excellence_. It was sometimes served up six pounds in
weight, and such a fish was worth L60 sterling. It was cooked on the
table, for the benefit and pleasure of the guests. In a glass vessel
filled with brine made from water, the blood of the mackerel, and salt,
the live mullet, stripped of all its scales, was enclosed; and as its
fine pink colour passed through its dying gradations, until paleness
and death ensued, the _convives_ looked on admiringly, and lauded the
spectacle.
The turbot was next in estimation, but as, occasionally, offending
slaves were flung into the turbot preserves for the fish to feed upon,
some gastronomists have affected to be horror-stricken at the idea
of eating a _turbot a la Romaine_; quite forgetting that so many of
our sea-fish, in their domain, feed largely on the human bodies which
accident, or what men call by that name, casts into the deep.
"TOO LATE," QUOTH BOICE.