the city, was it not? No!--what, near Russell-square and Gower-street?
Gower-street! Well, really, she knew nothing of those parts of the
town."
I was next asked, "Whether my mamma went to court?"
"No," I answered, in my ignorance; "but papa does sometimes, and takes
his blue bag with him when he has law business." This gave rise to
shouts of laughter, and long exclamations of "Dear, dear!" whilst looks
of pity were showered down upon me.
"I mean," continued Miss Noble, "her Majesty's receptions. My mamma
goes to court; and I am to be presented myself by the Grand Duchess of
Mechlenburgh-Sedlitz immediately on my leaving college;" and she tossed
her head up to the ceiling, until I thought it would never come down
again.
"How did you come last night?" resumed Miss Noble. "In the omnibus,"
cried out wicked Meggy, who immediately ran away.
"No; I know how she came," said another beauty, "for I was in the
drawing-room at the time, and looked out of the window; she came in a
clarence _with one horse_." And they all tittered again, and I felt my
cheeks growing red, though why I should be ashamed of mamma's pretty
clarence I don't know, even though it has but _one_ horse.
I was next asked, "Whether my paternal (meaning papa, I suppose) lived
at home?" "Of course," I answered; "where should he live?" "Why some
people have an establishment in the city, and a family in a square.
The shop (and they tittered again) must not be neglected." "Do not be
rude, Miss Ogle," interrupted Miss Noble, affecting to be very serious;
"personalities are extremely rude; and, besides, Miss Clover's father
may not live in a shop. Tell us, dear, what profession are you in?"
"I--I'm in no profession," I said, trembling lest I should be laughed
at again. "Dear! what beautiful simplicity!" said the court lady,
lifting her hands up; "not you--your father, child." "Oh! papa is a
stockbroker." "A what? A stockbroker! Pray, what's that?" "I know,"
said the young lady who had told about the clarence with one horse;
"it's a trade; for I hear papa talk of desiring his stockbroker to buy
and sell; and I am certain, now I think of it, that they deal in _bears
and ducks_." "No such thing," exclaimed a little girl with a turn-up
nose; "they sell old stocks, such as bankrupts' stocks, or retiring
haberdashers' stocks; they're a sort of old-clothesmen." "At any rate,
they are not professional, and therefore must be in trade," decided
proud Miss Noble; and they all turned away from me, with sneers and
contempt. "It's no such thing," I burst out; "my papa is a gentleman--a
real gentleman--and he's quite as good, if not better, than any of your
papas, though you are so proud; and I sha'n't answer any more of your
rude questions." "That's right," laughed Meggy; "that's the way to
disappoint them. Don't tell 'em anything."
You should have heard, too, Nelly, their curiosity about my brothers,
making me describe them over and over again--their eyes, whiskers,
noses, and calling them by their names, Oscar, Alfred, Augustus, Henry,
as if they had known them for years. The impudent girl, with the
turn-up nose, actually said she felt she could madly love Oscar; and
I couldn't help replying, "You need not trouble yourself, Miss; he'll
never ask you." Silly thing! I'm sure Oscar wouldn't as much as look at
her--not even in church.
But the greatest shame has yet to come. You can never believe what I am
going to tell you, Nelly, although you know I scorn fibbing.
Class had just broken up, when a maid came in carrying a large tray;
and only imagine my confusion when I saw laid out on it all my cakes
and goodies! Miss Bright (the quiet teacher who had brought me into
the schoolroom) called me, and I was going to ask for permission to
put them into my play-trunk, when--think of my surprise, Nelly!--if
she did not actually seize _my plum-cake, and begin cutting it up into
thin slices_! At first I was so shocked that I could not speak; and
I was about to stop her, when she cut some large slices, and desired
me "to hand them to the governesses, and then take the dish round to
each young lady." I am afraid I looked vexed, and, in truth, I was
nearly choking with passion; and I am sure you would have done the
same, Nelly, for you would have seen no joke in treating girls to your
goodies, after they had been making fun of you, and turning your papa
and mamma into ridicule. But this was not all; for one rude thing, upon
ascertaining from me that mamma made it, said, in a voice running over
with vinegar, "I thought so, for she has forgotten the plums." Then my
oranges were cut into quarters, and I had to hand them round also (_the
governesses had halves!_) until all was gone, and I had only two pieces
myself as a favor. Now, don't think me greedy, Nelly--you know I don't
care for feasting, only I do not like to be forced to be generous, and
to give to all alike, whether I like them or not--offering as much to
that proud Miss Noble (who is not too proud, however, to eat another
girl's cake) as to dear Meggy. I dare say it is very pleasant when it's
not your own--"share and share alike" is all very fine; but I should
like to know when their goodies are coming? As I am the last girl
entering this term, I suppose it won't be before next half-year? And
I mean to say, Nelly, it is most heart-rending--putting insult on the
top of cruelty--to force you to help the governesses, and to _double
shares, too_, whilst I'm sure my slice broke all to pieces, it was so
miserably thin.
Oh, dear, there's Mrs. Rodwell. If she catches me writing, I shall be
found out; so, my own darling Nelly, I must say good-by. Mind you write
soon, and tell me all about dear S. Has he asked after me? and often?
Is he pale? Tell him not to forget your devoted, true-hearted
KITTY CLOVER.
* * * * *
P. S.--Oh! Nelly, I have had such a fright; my heart is jumping up and
down like a canary in a cage when the cat's underneath it. Only think
of the Lady Principal's coming up to my desk. I made sure it was to
ask me for this letter, and I determined in my mind to swallow it
sooner than let her read it. But, thank goodness! it was only to say
she had not opened my last letter to you, as it was sealed; but, for
the future, she would close them herself, after looking over their
contents. Much obliged! Catch me giving her any other than my own
compositions. So, darling, we are safe; but isn't that lucky?
P. S.--I'm sure you'll never be able to read this scrawl. Why didn't
you answer my last?
ANECDOTE OF BYRON.
"I heard an anecdote that evening of the poet, which was very
characteristic, and quite new to me. When at Pisa, his lordship found
it difficult to keep up his practice with the pistol on account of the
objections of his neighbors and the municipal regulations of the place.
He, therefore, by the aid of a small gratuity, obtained permission from
a farmer in the vicinity to shoot at a mark in his paddock. On the
occasion of his first visit to the premises, the peasant's daughter,
a very pretty _contadina_, accosted the bard after the genial manner
of her country. She wore in her bosom a freshly-plucked rose with two
buds attached to the stein. Byron sportively asked her to give him
the flower. She hesitated, and blushed. He instantly turned to his
companion and rehearsed in English a very natural tale of humble and
virtuous love, bitterly contrasting the apparent loyalty of this fair
rustic with women in high life. Then, with perfect seriousness, he
again asked for the rose as a token of sympathy for an unloved exile.
His manner and words moved the girl to tears. She handed him the
rose with a look of compassion, and silently withdrew. The incident
aroused his latent superstition. He was lost in a reverie for several
minutes, and then inquired of his friend if he remembered that Rousseau
confessed throwing stones at a tree to test the prospects of his future
happiness. The flower was devoted to a similar ordeal. It was carefully
attached to an adjacent pale, and Byron having withdrawn several paces,
declared his intention of severing one of the buds from the stalk at
one fire. He looked very carefully to his priming, and aimed with great
firmness and deliberation. The ball cut the bud neatly off, and just
grazed the leaves of the rose. A bright smile illumined the poet's
countenance, and he rode back to Pisa in a flow of spirits."
CELESTIAL PHENOMENA.
BY D. W. BELISLE.
ORION.--Whoever learns this constellation can never forget the
brilliant lesson. It is too clearly defined and magnificently beautiful
to pass from the memory. It is distinguished by four bright stars,
which form a parallelogram: Betelguese, a star of great brilliancy, and
of the first magnitude, in the right shoulder, Bellatrix in the left,
7½° east of Betelguese, are called the "epaulets of Orion." Rigel, a
star of the first magnitude, marks the left foot, and is 15° south of
Bellatrix. Eight and a half degrees east of Rigel is Saiph, forming the
lower end of the parallelogram.
"First in rank
The martial star upon his shoulder flames:
A rival star illuminates his foot;
And on his girdle beams a luminary
Which, in the vicinity of other stars,
Might claim the proudest honors."
Three bright stars lie in a straight line near the middle of the
square, and are known by the name of the "Three Kings," or the "Ell,"
or "Yard." In sacred history, they are usually termed the "bands of
Orion;" they are also known as the "belt" of Orion. The space they
occupy is three degrees, and a straight line passing through them,
points to the Pleiades on one side and Sirius on the other. There is
a row of small stars running down obliquely from the belt, called
the "sword of Orion." In the middle of this row is one of the most
remarkable nebulæ in the heavens. With a good telescope, in the centre
an apparent opening is discovered, through which, as through a window,
we seem to get a glimpse of other heavens and brighter regions beyond.
How little man appears, with all his pride of pomp and splendor, in
contemplating this immeasurable expanse, and with awe we are led to
exclaim, "What is man, that _Thou_ art mindful of him?"
About 9° west of Bellatrix are eight stars of the fourth magnitude,
in a curved line that marks the lion's skin, which Orion used as a
shield in his left hand. Rheita asserts there are 2,000 stars in this
constellation, although but 78 are visible to the naked eye. Galileo
found 80 in the belt, 21 in a nebulous star in the head, and about 500
in another part within the space of four degrees. This constellation
comes to the meridian the 21st of January.
According to some Greek authorities, Orion was a son of Neptune and
Euryale, a famous Amazonian huntress, and inheriting the disposition
of his mother, became the most famous hunter in the world, and boasted
that there was not an animal on earth which he could not conquer. To
punish this vanity, a scorpion sprang out of the earth and bit him, so
that he died of the poison, and, at the request of Diana, he was placed
among the stars opposite the scorpion that caused his death. Others say
that he was the gift of the gods to a peasant of Bœotia as a reward for
piety, and that he far surpassed other mortals in strength and stature.
"When chilling winter spreads his azure skies,
Behold Orion's giant form arise;
His golden girdle glitters on the sight,
And the broad falchion beams in splendor bright;
A lion's brindled hide his bosom shields,
And his right hand a ponderous weapon wields!"
LEPUS--_The Hare._--This constellation is situated south of Orion,
and comes to the meridian on the 24th of January. It may readily be
distinguished by means of four stars of the third magnitude, which
form an irregular square or trapezium. Three small stars curve along
the back, while four minute ones mark the ears, and are 5° south of
Rigel, whose brilliancy obscures their lesser light. The Greeks assert
this animal was one which Orion delighted in hunting, therefore it was
placed near him in the sky.
* * * * *
COLUMBIA--_Noah's Dove._--Continuing a straight line from the Hare 16°
south, it comes to Phaet, a star of the second magnitude, in the Dove.
This star is also on the meridian at the same time with that in the
belt of Orion, and with Sirius and Naos makes an equilateral triangle.
This constellation is so called in commemoration of the dove Noah sent
out "to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground,"
after the ark had rested on Ararat. "And the dove came in to him, in
the evening, and lo! in her mouth was an olive leaf!"
"The sure messenger,
A dove went forth once, and again, to spy
Green tree or ground whereon his foot may light;
The second time returning, in his bill
An olive leaf he brings, pacific sign!"
* * * * *
ERIDANUS.--This constellation is composed of 84 stars, of which one is
of the first magnitude, one of the second, and eleven of the third.
The others are very minute stars, and the constellation is exceedingly
difficult to trace in the heavens. Achernar is a star of great
brilliancy and beauty, but it cannot be seen in our latitude, having a
southern declination of 58°. West of Rigel are four stars of the fourth
magnitude, and five of the fifth, arching up in a semicircular form,
marking the first bend of the northern stream, while 19° west of Rigel
glitters a bright star of the second magnitude, called Gamma. This star
is on the meridian thirteen minutes after the Pleiades. The entire
length of Eridanus is 130°, and as the other stars which compose it are
very minute, it is not desirable to trace them.
The Latin poets have rendered this river (which is in Cisalpine Gaul,
and also called Padus, and by moderns, Po) memorable by its connection
with the beautiful fable of Phaeton, a favorite of Venus, who intrusted
him with the care of one of her temples. Vain of the favor of the
goddess, he obtained an oath from his father, Phœbus, that he would
grant him any request he should make. The charioteer of the skies had
no sooner uttered the oath than
"The youth, transported, asks without delay,
To guide the Sun's bright chariot for a day;
The god repented of the oath he took,
For anguish thrice his radiant head he shook;
'My son,' says he, 'some other proof require--
Rash was my promise, rash was thy desire;
Not Jove himself, the ruler of the sky,
That hurls the three-forked thunder from above,
Dares try his strength; yet who as strong as Jove?
Besides, consider what impetuous force
Turns stars and planets in a different course:
I steer against their motions; nor am I
Borne back by all the currents of the sky;
But how could you resist the orbs that roll
In adverse whirls, and stem the rapid pole!'"
Phœbus pleaded with his son in vain. Phaeton undertook the aerial
journey, and no sooner had he received the reins than he forgot the
explicit directions of his father, and betrayed his ignorance of the
manner of guiding the chariot. The flying coursers became sensible
of the confusion of their driver, and immediately departed from the
usual track. Too late Phaeton saw his rashness, and already heaven and
earth were threatened with destruction as the penalty, when Jupiter,
perceiving the disorder of the horses, struck the driver with a
thunderbolt, and he fell headlong into the river Eridanus--
"At once from life, and from the chariot driven,
The ambitious boy fell thunderstruck from heaven."
In Ethiopian and Libyan mythology, it is asserted that the great heat
produced by the sun's deviation from his usual course dried up the
blood of the Ethiopians, and turned their skins black, and produced
sterility and barrenness over the greater part of Libya. Evidently this
fable alludes to some extraordinary heats at a remote period, and of
which this confused tradition is all the account that has descended to
later times.
* * * * *
CAMELOPARDALUS.--This constellation is of modern origin, and the
stars--the largest being of the fourth magnitude--are too unimportant
and scattered to invite attention. It occupies the space between the
head of the Lynx and the pole, containing 58 minute stars.
* * * * *
AURIGA.--This brilliant constellation is readily distinguished by the
most beautiful star which lies between Orion and the polar star. This
star is called Capella, and marks the position of the Goat, as well
as the heart of Auriga, and with Menkalina in the right shoulder,
and Auriga or El Nath in the right foot, which also forms the top of
the northern horn of the Bull, forms a beautiful triangle. Capella
and Menkalina in the shoulders, have the same distance between them,
and are of the same size and brilliancy as Betelguese and Bellatrix
in Orion, being 7½° apart, and the four form a long, narrow
parallelogram, lying north and south, and it is a curious coincidence
that its length is precisely five times its breadth. Auriga, Capella,
and Menkalina, together with a star of the fourth magnitude in the
head, marked Delta, make an elongated diamond. There can be no more
exciting, rational, or pleasant pastime than that of forming different
objects by various arrangements of the stars. Select any portion of
the heavens, and squares, angles, curves, crosses, and diamonds are
visible, and no shape can hardly be conceived that its counterpart
might not be traced in the starry firmament above. Those who have never
spent an hour thus pleasantly employed, are not aware of the pleasure
to be found in contemplating the "stars, which are the poetry of
heaven."
"Seest thou the orbs that numerous roll above?
Those lamps that nightly greet thy visual powers
Are each a bright capacious world like ours!"
Mythology is at fault as to the origin of this constellation, and
all the most ancient authors are indefinite about its history. Its
origin is known to be very ancient, but nothing well authenticated has
descended to us as to the period or the character from which it took
its rise.
"The blue, deep, glorious heavens! I lift mine eyes
And bless thee, O my God! that I have met
And owned thy image in the majesty
Of their calm temple, still! that never yet
There hath thy face been shrouded from my sight
By noontide blaze, or sweeping storm of night!
I bless thee, O my God!"
* * * * *
GEMINI.--This constellation is remarkable from the singularity of
one of its most brilliant stars, Castor, which, on looking through
a telescope, resolves into two distinct stars, one of which is very
small, and revolves around the larger one once in a period of 342 years
and two months. Four and a half degrees south-west of Castor may be
seen Pollux, a star of equal brilliancy. This constellation comes to
its meridian the 24th of February. It takes its rise from Castor and
Pollux, sons of Jupiter and Leda, Queen of Sparta, who were translated
to a place in the heavens by Jupiter, as a reward for their courage and
bravery.
"Fair Leda's twins in time to stars decreed;
One fought on foot, and one renowned for horse."
* * * * *
CANIS MINOR.--This is a small constellation, containing only fourteen
stars, of which two are of great brilliancy. Procyon, a star of the
first magnitude, is situated twenty-three degrees south of Pollux,
and twenty-six degrees east of Betelguese, and forms with them a
large right-angled triangle. Procyon comes to the meridian the 24th
of February. According to Greek mythology, this is one of Orion's
hounds. The Egyptians, however, claim its origin from their god Anubis,
whom they worshipped under the form of a dog's head. Probably the
Egyptians were the inventors of the idea, as the constellation rises
a little before Sirius, which, at a particular season, they always
dreaded; therefore they represented it as a watchful creature, that
warned them of the approach of danger. Moderns have asserted it to be
one of Actæon's hounds, that devoured their master after he had been
transformed into a stag by Diana, to prevent his betraying her. This is
evidently an error, as there is no proof to sustain it.
* * * * *
CANIS MAJOR.--This interesting constellation is situated south-east
of Orion, and is universally known by the brilliancy of its principal
star, Sirius, which is the largest and brightest in the heavens. In our
hemisphere, during the winter months, it glows with a lustre unequalled
by any other star in the firmament. It is also the nearest star to the
earth, yet the distance between Sirius and us is so great that sound,
travelling thirteen miles a minute, would be three millions of years
in traversing the mighty space. And a ray of light, which moves at the
rate of 200,000 miles per second, would be three years and eighty-two
days in passing through the vast space that lies between Sirius and
the earth. If the nearest star to the earth gives such results, what
must those give situated a thousand times as far beyond, where worlds,
surrounded by their satellites, roll in their orbits away in the
immensity of space, each revolving around its own sun, while, millions
of miles beyond, stars, like our own, greet their visual organs, and
inspire as great an interest to the inhabitants of that world as those
do to us which we discover by the aid of our powerful telescopes?
The Thebans determine the length of the year by Sirius, and the
Egyptians dreaded its approach, as, at its rising, commenced the
inundation of the Nile, teeming with malaria and death.
"Parched was the grass, and blighted was the corn,
Nor 'scape the beasts; for Sirius, from on high,
With pestilential heat infects the sky."
The Romans, also, were accustomed yearly to propitiate Sirius by the
sacrifice of a dog.
INGENUITY OF BEES.
The wonderful ingenuity of bees has often been remarked. The
rose-cutter separates circular pieces from leaves with precision, and,
digging a hole six or eight inches deep in the ground, the bee rolls
up the leaf, and depositing it in the hole, lodges and secures an egg
in it, with food for the larva when hatched, and often several, but
all separated, and very perfect, and the bee then presides in the
upper part to protect her brood. The upholsterer makes a hole enlarged
at the bottom, and lines the whole with red poppy leaves, lays her
eggs, supplies them with food, &c., separately, then turns down the
lining to cover them, and closing the hole, leaves them to nature. The
wood-piercer makes a perpendicular hole with vast labor in a decaying
tree, in the sunshine, a foot deep; then deposits her eggs and food,
and separates each by a dwarf wall made of sawdust and gluten, each
higher than the other, and the last closing the hole; and she then
makes another hole horizontally, to enable them to escape as they
successively mature. The mason-bee constructs a nest on the side of
a sunny wall, makes up sand pellets with gluten, and by persevering
industry fixes and finishes a cell, in which it lays an egg and
provisions. It then forms others beside it, and covers in the whole,
the structure being as firm as the stone. Wasps and humble-bees make
cavities in banks. They line them with wax, and make innumerable cells
for their eggs in perfect communities.
BABYLON, NINEVEH, AND MR. LAYARD.
(Continued from page 55.)
[Illustration: GRAND ENTRANCE TO THE PALACE OF KONYUNJIK.]
Mr. Layard, having a small amount of money at his disposal, proceeded
to make excavations at Konyunjik, opposite Mosul, where the first
Assyrian Sculptures had been found. In a month, nine chambers had
been explored. The palace had been destroyed by fire. The alabaster
slabs were almost reduced to lime, and many of them fell to pieces as
soon as uncovered. In its architecture, the newly-discovered edifice
resembled the palaces of Nimroud and Khorsobad. The chambers were
long and narrow. The walls were of unbaked bricks, with a panelling
of sculptured slabs. The bas-reliefs were greatly inferior in general
design, and in the beauty of the details, to those of the earliest
palace of Nimroud.