Three years afterward, by the merest accident in the world, I happened
to return to my favorite little village. There was evidently some
excitement going on, and as I chanced to recognize my old friend
Father Hermann, I went up and renewed our acquaintance.
"What is the matter?" said he; "why you do not mean to say you don't
know?"
"Not in the least."
"Why your old friend Alphonsine has been dead six months."
"I really don't see why the worthy inhabitants of the village should
rejoice at that," said I.
"A great obstacle has been removed," said the father; "don't you
remember?"
"Of course; and what has followed?"
"The marriage of Pierre Prévost and Marie!"
I was not long in accompanying Father Hermann to the cottage in which
my old friends were receiving the warm congratulations of their
friends and neighbors.
They recognized me at once, and insisted that I should be present at
the entertainment which was to follow in the course of the day. Of
course I accepted the invitation. I never remember having enjoyed
myself so much, and am quite certain that I spoke from my heart when I
proposed, in my very best French, the healths of la belle Marie and
Pierre Prévost.
------
{119}
From The Popular Science Review.
INSIDE THE EYE:
THE OPHTHALMOSCOPE AND ITS' USES.
BY ERNEST HART, OPHTHALMIC SURGEON.
There are few spectacles more affecting--and there were few more
hopelessly distressing--than that which many have seen, of the blind
man, with eyes unaltered in their human aspect of beauty, searching
vainly to penetrate the unchangeable darkness of a noonday, bright to
others, and replete with the splendor of light and color. There have
always been many of these sufferers from a disease which claims the
most profound sympathy, and which seemed bitterly to reproach our
science that it could not timely penetrate the mystery of that obscure
chamber which lies behind the iris, and had found no means for
enabling us to see through the clear but darkened space of the pupil.
That reproach, at least, exists in part no longer. Since some few
years now we have learnt how to explain the obscurity of the interior
of the eye, and by what optical contrivances we can overcome this
darkness and look into the depths of the ocular globe; thus inspecting
with ease, and quite painlessly to the individual, the lenses and
humors of the eye, the nerve of sight and its transparent retinal
expansion, and even the vascular tissue which lies behind and
surrounds this. This is a great triumph of physical science, and it is
no barren triumph. The insight which we gain into the host of
affections of the refracting media and deep membranes of the eye has
given to our diagnosis and therapeutical treatment of the most obscure
forms of disease leading to blindness, a certainty and precision to
which we were formerly strangers.
The optical instrument by which we are able to effect this inspection
is known by the fitting title of the _Ophthalmoscope_ ([Greek text]
the eye; [Greek text], I survey). With this instrument, the manner of
using it, and its valuable applications, I am necessarily
professionally much occupied in daily work; and as the editor of the
"Popular Science Review" has requested me to give some plain account
of the matter, I will endeavor to afford an untechnical statement of
what the ophthalmoscope is, and what are some of the most useful
results which have been obtained by its use.
Let me first remind the general reader that in the human eye, behind
the pupillary aperture of the colored iris, which presents to the
unaided eye of the observer the mere aspect of black darkness, lies,
first, a clear bi-convex _lens_; and behind this, filling the eye, and
giving to it the character of a solid ball, a transparent globular
mass, known as the _vitreous body_, or _humor_. It is into a
depression in the front of this that the aforesaid lens is fitted, so
that the whole space of the eye behind the _iris_ is filled by the
_lens_ and _vitreous body_. The optic nerve, or nerve of sight, which
pierces the tunics of the eye at the back and near the centre, spreads
out and forms an expanded tunic of nerve-structure which enwraps the
vitreous body as far as its most forward edge, where the colored iris
descends in front of it. Enwrapping again this nerve-tunic or _retina_
is a vestment, chiefly made of blood-vessels, connected by fine tissue
and thickly coated with black pigment, having its own optical uses.
This second outer pigmented vascular tunic is _the choroid_. This
again is enclosed within the external strong fibrous membrane, which
includes and protects all the sclerotic membrane {120} ([Greek text],
hard). These are the two humors and three tunics of the eye which can
to a greater or less extent be examined during life by the aid of the
ophthalmoscope.
They can all be more or less investigated in the living eye by the aid
of the ophthalmoscope, because by the aid of this instrument we are
able to see through the pupillary space. If one considers what is the
reason of the apparent darkness of the pupillary aperture and the
chambers of the eye behind it, it is not difficult to gain an idea of
the means by which this optical condition may be altered so as to
enable us to see where all seem to the unaided vision obscure.
[Illustration: Doctor looking through ophthalmoscope.]
{121}
This darkness of the pupillary aperture is attributable partly to
obvious causes, such as the natural contraction of the pupil or _iris_
which occurs under light--this contraction limiting the number of rays
which can enter the eye. Then that black pigment which lines the iris
absorbs a great deal of light; and thus, as in the case of albinos,
whose eyes are deficient in pigment, or where the pupil is dilated,
either through disease or by artificial agents, these obstacles for
seeing into the living eye are removed. But still the main
difficulties are not cleared away; and if you take for example an
albino animal, such as one of those beautiful little white-furred
rabbits, whose rosy eyes look like fiery opals edged with swan's down,
and dilate the pupils with atropine, it is still not possible to see
clearly the details of the structure within and at the back of the
eye. This is by reason of the structure of the eye as an optical
instrument, and because the rays of light in entering and in emerging
from it undergo refraction, according to definite laws. The light
which penetrates the eye traverses the transparent retina, producing
the impression necessary for sight, and is partly absorbed by the
black pigment of the choroid; but a great number of the rays are
reflected; for here there is no exception to the general rule that
some of the rays of light falling upon any substance are always
reflected. These rays, in returning, are refracted through the
vitreous body and lens, just as they were in entering the eye, with
the object then of causing them so to converge as to produce upon the
retina a clear and definite image of whatever external object they
started from. Similarly, then, on their emergence they are refracted
chiefly by the lens and cornea, so as to form an image in the outer
air, the emergent rays coinciding in their path with that which they
took when entering, and the image formed in the air being conjugated
with the retinal image; being formed, therefore, on the same side,
varying with the position of the lens and object, and the
accommodation of the eye. Thus, then, to perceive this aerial image,
derived from the retinal reflection, the eye of the observer needs to
be placed in the axis of the converging rays; but since this is also
the axis of the entering rays, he will of necessity in that position
cut off those rays altogether of the light proceeding, say, from a
lamp, or the source of light opposite to the eye to be illuminated.
The problem to be solved consists, then, in the simple illumination of
the eye to be observed by a source of light so arranged that the
observer can be placed in the axis of the rays entering and emerging
without intercepting those rays. This may be most conveniently
effected by placing the source of light aside of the eye to be
observed, and observing through a pierced concave mirror, which
reflects that light into the eye. We can then, by looking through the
central aperture of this mirror, place ourself in the path of the
entering and emerging rays. The mirror becomes the source of light to
the observed eye; the rays which it flashed into the eye emerge {122}
in part, and return along the same path, forming the aerial image at a
distance and under circumstances regulated by the optical conditions
of the eye observed, and within view of the observer who is looking
through the mirror. A very simple diagram will suffice to explain
this: _r a_ is the circle of diffusion of the retina, and the lines
indicate how the reflected rays will pass through the media of the
eye, and form at _r' a'_ real enlarged but inverted image of the
fundus of the eye. This will be placed at the distance of distinct
vision of the subject, and has relation to the accommodation of the
eye.
[Illustration: Diagram of preceding discussion.]
As these are variable quantities, the practice of ophthalmoscopy
demands a little address, which habit quickly gives. It is for want of
understanding this, and from impatience of these preliminary
difficulties, that many have been discouraged at the outset, and have
abandoned unwisely the attempt to learn the use of the ophthalmoscope.
The image obtained in the way mentioned is not so distinct as to give
that full perception of details which is necessary for scientific and
medical purposes. A more defined image is obtained by interposing, for
example, a bi-convex lens on the path of the luminous rays emerging
from the eye observed. The effect of holding such a lens of short
focus before the observed eye whilst examining it with a concave
ophthalmoscopic mirror is to cause the rays emerging from the eye to
undergo a further refraction, and to modify the actual image which
they form, producing one which is smaller, more defined, but still
inverted. This is the most simple and one of the most satisfactory
methods of exploring the eye with the ophthalmoscope. It is that of
the most general and easy application, and I will, therefore, add a
few words to explain how it may most conveniently be practised.
We will suppose that it is the human eye which is to be examined. The
room is to be made dark; the person to be seated; a light--the white
flame of an oil-lamp or an Argand gas-burner--to be placed near his
head, on the side, and at the level of the eye to be observed. The
observer takes then the concave mirror in the hand of the side toward
the lamp, and placing it against the front of his eye, so that the
upper edge rests against his eyebrow, brings his head to the level of
that of the person seated, looks through the central perforation at
the eye to be observed, and by a little careful change in the
direction of the mirror casts, by its aid, upon the eye examined the
light of the lamp.
He will now perceive that the pupillary aperture is illuminated, and,
no longer black, shines with a silvery or reddened light. He takes now
the bi-convex lens of short focus in the hand hitherto free, and
places it in front of the examined eye, and at such a distance as to
make the focus of the lens coincide with the pupil of that eye
--distance varying from two to three inches. He himself will usually
need to be at a distance from twelve to eighteen inches. This is for
normal eyes. The slight movements backward and forward necessary to
adjust these distances correctly, are effected very easily and
precisely after practice; but at first it is a little difficult to
avoid changing the direction of the mirror while thus slightly
advancing or retiring the head; and this is a point on which it is
well to give a warning, for it is a frequent source of discouragement
to beginners, who find that at every movement they interfere with the
illumination of the eye, and so suffer from a series of little
failures at the outset. The first thing, in fact, that every one sees
amounts to a little more than a red, luminous disc; those who begin by
seeing nothing more, therefore, need not to be discouraged; a little
patience and time will enable them to see what more practised persons
describe. The eye to be examined may be more fully observed by
dilating the pupil {123} with atropine--a drop of a solution, one
grain to a pint of water, or one of the atropized gelatines prepared
for me by Savory and Moore, each of which contains one hundred
thousandth of a grain of atropine, and will maintain dilation during
several hours. This acts also perfectly well with rabbits or cats.
[Illustration: Doctor examining patient.]
The first thing seen is the red reflection of the choroidal vessels
showing through the transparent retina; and when the eye observed is
directed upward and inward, we see the usually circular disc of the
optic nerve, encircled by a double ring, cream-colored, or very
faintly roseate or grey, and surrounded by the red choroid. The two
rings are the apertures in the choroid and sclerotic, of which the
former is the smaller. From out this disc we see springing the retinal
artery and retinal veins, sometimes centric, at others excentric, in
their passage. The artery is easily recognized as being somewhat
smaller in calibre, and of a lighter red. The artery usually divides
into a superior and inferior branch, each of which subdivides
forthwith into two secondary branches, and these again continue to
subdivide, dichotomously, running forward to the anterior limits of
the retina. The veins, which are somewhat larger and deeper colored,
usually pierce the disc of the optic nerve in two trunks. Pulsation
may occasionally be detected in the veins by watching carefully their
color, which seems to change at each impulse just where they pass over
the edge of the optic disc and bend to pierce the nerve.
Fuller details of the ophthalmoscopic appearances of healthy eyes,
both human and animal, will be found in Zander's treatise, excellently
edited and translated by Mr. R. B. Carter, of Stroud. In the healthy
eye the aqueous humor, lens, and vitreous humor are clear, and do not
in any way obstruct the passage of the light. It is otherwise in
disease; and this brings us to the discussion of some of the practical
applications of the ophthalmoscope. Here, perhaps, I may be permitted
to quote some of the {124} paragraphs of a paper which I read lately
on the subject before the Hanveian Society:
[Illustration: Interior of eye. ]
"Taking up the diagnosis of the various forms of disease any of
which would have been held to constitute the condition known as
amaurosis, it may be noted, first of all, that even in the hands of
the novice ophthalmoscopic examination supersedes those chapters in
ophthalmology which were formerly devoted to the means of
distinguishing between incipient cataract and amaurosis. In the
past, and even at present, with those surgeons who are content to
treat deep-seated diseases of the eye by guessing at their nature,
and have not adopted the systematic use of the ophthalmoscope into
their practice, the functional annoyances which commonly occur at
the outset of the formation of lenticular cataract, have been, and
are, fertile sources of deception. The patient complains of frontal
pain, of confused vision, stars of light, and some other vague
symptoms which characterize the outset alike of many forms of
deep-seated disease of the eye, and of the fatty degeneration of the
lens which commonly gives rise to lenticular cataract, probably from
coincident swelling of the lens. An error arising from this source
has many times condemned the unfortunate subject of a commencing
cataract to the severe treatment thought appropriate to the unhappy
class of amaurotics. The kind of alteration in the lens,
imperceptible by any other means than the ophthalmoscope, is the
slightly opaque striation of the substance of the lens sometimes
seen in an early stage. These opaque striae may occupy either the
anterior or the posterior segment of the lens, and spring from the
centre of the crystalline or converge toward the centre from the
circumference. In order to see the latter, the pupil must be fully
dilated with atropine; as, indeed, for the purposes of complete
ophthalmoscopic examination it always needs to be; and then, just as
the greatest expert cannot discover them except by ophthalmoscopic
illumination, so, neither with its aid, can they be passed over with
ordinary care. In order to be quite sure in any delicate case, it is
well to lower the light a little, and use only a feebly illuminating
power, as a very strong light may overpower a {125} commencing
opacity, and render us unable to detect the striae. This practical
caution applies equally to all other conditions of opacity in the
transparent media. In two cases, lately, I have been able to set at
rest doubts of this kind, which happened to be in the persons of
medical men, who were much disquieted by the symptoms--one a member
of this society. In a third case I have recently detected incipient
cataract (peripheric striae) in a gentleman supposed to be suffering
from commencing glaucoma.
"It is of frequent occurrence to find the capsule of the lens
stained with black spots; these are stains left by the uveal
pigment, and occur usually after an attack of iritis, when the iris
has been in contact with the lens. When the iris has been adherent,
a complete ring of pigment may often be seen on the surface of the
lens. A day's experience at any ophthalmic clinique can mostly show
examples of this condition; but it is only when these deposits are
numerous, and in the central line of vision, that they become
troublesome. They are then met with as the sequences of severe
choroido-iritis, and usually coincide with further mischief in the
vitreous and choroid.
"The vitreous, under the influence most commonly of choroiditis, and
usually syphilitic choroiditis, presents alterations of the most
striking character for ophthalmoscopic observation. The patients who
offer these changes complain usually of considerable dimness of
sight, which on examination is found to include both diminution in
the acuteness of visual perception, and restriction in _the field of
vision_, or extent of any object seen at once. The great source of
trouble to them is, that when they lift the eye or move the head,
black corpuscles, or streaks, or webs float before their eyes, and
obscure the object at which they are looking; and when the eyes are
kept still, these fall again and disappear. Examine now the eyes of
such an one, and you will see that the phenomena described are due
to the existence of actual shreds, corpuscles, or webs of fibrous
and albuminous exudation, which float in the vitreous, and at each
motion of the eye rise in clouds and obscure the fundus, so that you
can barely see it, or perhaps not at all. These conditions, I say,
are mostly specific, but not invariably. They are sometimes the
result of scrofula, and probably of other forms of choroiditis."
Here, then, are a large number of cases in which the ophthalmoscope
transports us at once from the regions of the known to the unknown.
There are other classes of cases equally striking. Let me take
illustrative examples. Two persons apply for advice, complaining that
the sight has been gradually growing more and more dim, perhaps in one
eye,--it may be in both. The progress of the disease has been
insidious and nearly painless. The eyes are to all external appearance
healthy, except probably that in both patients the pupils are
partially dilated and sluggish. The ophthalmoscope helps us to solve
the problem.
The one is a case, it may be, of slow atrophy of the optic nerve,
proceeding from central disease of the brain--from pressure on the
optic tracts of nerve within the skull, or from defective nutrition
following losses of blood. We find the nerve glistening white and
slightly cupped, the arteries small, the fundus otherwise healthy. In
the other we recognize at once, in the fulness of the veins, their
pulsation, and the marked excavation of the optic disc, the
indications of excessive tension of the eyeball and undue pressure of
the nerve. The first requires careful constitutional treatment and a
long course of studied hygiene and medication; the second calls for
direct and immediate interference, with the view of relieving the
intra-ocular pressure. In the diagnosis of this great class of
glaucomatous disease of the eye--disease {126} characterized of loss
of vision, sometimes slow and sometimes rapid, but always
characterized by definite ophthalmoscopic signs: cupping of the disc,
pulsation, fullness of the veins, and it may be more or less haziness
of the transparent media--ophthalmoscopy has rendered a most brilliant
and inestimable service. Prior to the introduction of the use of this
instrument the disease was of an unknown pathology; its results were
fatal to vision, but there were no means of diagnosing the conditions
attending the earlier stages, and blindness followed almost certainly
and inevitably. The investigation of the disease has brought us a
remedy in the excision of a portion of the iris--a practice introduced
by Von Gräfe, of Berlin, and of which the success is in suitable cases
most gratifying.
Another series of examples may be chosen to illustrate the application
of ophthalmoscopy. I avoid giving details here, but it is perhaps
right to say that these are not fanciful sketches, but notices of
cases in my experience and taken from my note-books of practice. Two
persons are asking for advice as to the management of their eyes for
short-sightedness. Are both to receive the same advice? The
ophthalmoscope alone can furnish positive data. With this we may
discover a staphylomatous condition of the back of the eye, a bright
excentric margin around the optic disc and edge with black pigment.
Examining it closely, we may find that this pigmented edge gives
evidence of progressive inflammation at the back of the eye, and
extending to continuous and increasing atrophy and retrocession of the
coats of the eye. This person is in danger of becoming rapidly made
short-sighted or of losing sight altogether. We must prohibit the use
of concave glasses for a certain length of time, and must adopt active
and effectual measures for subduing the atrophic inflammation. In the
other patient the ophthalmoscope may show us but little stretching or
waste, and that not progressive, and will enable us then to calm his
fears, to prescribe appropriate glasses, and to dismiss him to his
occupation with ease of mind and safety. So with sudden lose of sight
from intra-ocular haemorrhage, the ophthalmoscope gives us information
which could never have been guessed at without it, and guides us, not
only to the local knowledge, but to the constitutional information
essential for cure.
There are certain conditions of the eye which may warn any one that it
is desirable that the condition of the vision ought to be investigated
by the ophthalmoscope. Rapidly increasing short-sightedness is one of
the most marked, and when this becomes associated with weakness of
sight and loss of acuteness in the perception of small objects, the
warning is very urgent. A diminution in the field of vision is another
important indication of internal changes in the eye, of which only the
ophthalmoscope can detect the true nature. It would be difficult,
perhaps, to say whether more mischief is done and more suffering is
caused by the total neglect of such symptoms or by their ignorant
palliation by the aid of common spectacles, chosen empirically,
because they facilitate vision for the time. The great use of the
ophthalmoscope, then, is this: that it arms us with an instrument of
precision, by which we can determine the precise local condition of
the parts of the eye in which the function of sight is resident and
through which it is regulated. If it cannot do all that we might ask,
it is because the sense of sight is in truth a cerebral function, of
which the eye is only an instrument; and in dealing with cerebral
affections of the sight, it can indeed give us information which
without it we should lack, but it leaves still to be desired more
intimate acquaintance with first causes, which at present we can only
discuss inferentially. To the amateur in science, and to the lover of
nature, it discloses an exquisite spectacle, unknown till now, that
carries {127} observation into the inner chambers of the living eye,
and displays its wonders and its beauties. The observation is
perfectly painless, and may easily be effected: rabbits, for example,
submit to it with great calmness and composure, and at the College of
Physicians' _soirée_ last year, a little pet white rabbit of mine sat
up calmly in a box which I had made for the purpose, and was examined,
by the aid of a modification which I devised of Liebreich's
demonstrating ophthalmoscope, by many score of observers. Mine has the
advantage of being adapted for use even amid a blaze of light, and it
cannot easily be disarranged; two qualities valuable in an instrument
for demonstration.
----------
From The Lamp.
THE PILGRIMAGE TO KEVLAAR.
FROM THE GERMAN.
The mother stood at the window.
The son he lay in bed;
"Here's a procession, Wilhelm;
Wilt not look out?" she said.
"I am so ill, my mother,
In the world I have no part;
I think upon dead Gretchen,
And a death-pang rends my heart."
"Rise up; we will to Kevlaar;
Will staff and rosary take;
God's Mother there will cure thee,--
Thy sick heart whole will make."
The Church's banner fluttered,
The Church's hymns arose;
And unto fair Cöln city
The long procession goes.
The mother joined the pilgrims,
Her sick son leadeth she;
And both sing in the chorus,
"_Gelobt seyst du, Marie!_" [Footnote 22]
[Footnote 22: "Praised be thou, Mary!"]
II.
The holy Mother in Kevlaar
To-day is well arrayed,--
To-day hath much to busy her.
For many sick ask her aid.
{128}
And many sick people bring her
Such offerings as are meet;
Many waxen limbs they bring her,
Many waxen hands and feet.
And who a wax hand bringeth,
His hand is healed that day;
And who a wax foot bringeth,
With sound feet goes away.
Many went there on crutches
Who now on the rope can spring;
Many play now on the viol
Whose hands could not touch a string.
The mother she took a waxen light.
And shaped therefrom a heart;
"Take that to the Mother of Christ," she said,
"And she will heal thy smart."
He sighed, and took the waxen heart,
And went to the church in woe;
The tears from his eyes fell streaming,
The words from his heart came low.
"Thou that art highly blessed,
Thou Mother of Christ!" said he;
"Thou that art queen of heaven,
I bring my griefs to thee.
I dwell in Cöln with my mother;
In Cöln upon the Rhine,
Where so many hundred chapels
And so many churches shine.
And near unto us dwelt Gretchen;
But dead is Gretchen now.
Marie, I bring a waxen heart,--
My heart's despair heal thou.
Heal thou my sore heart-sickness;
So I will sing to thee
Early and late with fervent love,
"_Gelobt seyst du, Marie!_"
{129}
III.
The sick son and the mother
In one chamber slept that night;
And the holy Mother of Jesus
Gild in with footsteps light
She bowed her over the sick man's bed,
And one there hand did lay
Upon his throbbing bosom,
Then smiled and passed away.
It seemed a dream to the mother,
And she had yet seen more
But that her sleep was broken,
For the dogs howled at the door.
Upon his bed extended
Her son lay, and was dead;
And o'er his thin pale visage streamed
The morning's lovely red.
Her hands the mother folded.
Yet not a tear wept she;
But sang in low devotion,
"_Gelobt seyst du, Marie!_"
MARY HOWITT.
------
From The Reader.
THE ANCIENT LAWS OF IRELAND.
_Ancient Laws of Ireland_. Vol. I. Printed for Her Majesty's
Stationery Office. (London: Longman. Dublin: Thorn.)
This is a curious book, throwing some glimmerings of light upon a very
remote and obscure period of Irish history. In 1852 a government
commission, called the "Brehon Law Commission," was issued to the Lord
Chancellor of Ireland, Lord Rosse, Dean Graves, Dr. Petrie, and
others, appointing them to carry into effect the selection,
transcription, and translation of certain documents in the Gaelic
tongue containing portions of the ancient laws of Ireland, and the
preparation of the same for publication. In pursuance of this, the
commissioners employed Dr. O'Donovan and Professor O'Curry, two Gaelic
scholars of high distinction, to transcribe and translate various law
tracts in the Irish language in the library of Trinity College,
Dublin, of the Royal Irish Academy, of the British Museum, and in the
Bodleian Library at Oxford. The transcriptions occupy more than 5,000
manuscript pages, including all the law tracts which it was thought
necessary to publish, and have nearly all been translated; but the two
chosen scholars did not live to complete and revise their
translations. The portion now published was prepared for the press by
W. Neilson, Hancock, LL.D., first in conjunction with Dr. O'Donovan,
and, after his death, with the Rev. Mr. O'Mahony, professor of Irish
in the university of Dublin. It is a volume of some 300 pages, the
Irish on one page and the translation opposite, containing the first
part of the _Senchus Mor_ (we are not told how much is to follow),
treating of the law of distress or distraint, with an Irish
introduction, and various Irish glosses and commentaries on the text.
The title _Senchus Mor_ (pronounced "Shanchus Môr") for which seven
or {130} eight different derivations are suggested, appears to mean
"the great old laws," or "the great old decisions." The chief
manuscripts of it which are known to exist are three in Trinity
College, Dublin, and one in the Harleian collection in the British
Museum, and the earliest of these is assigned to _circa_ A.D. 1300.
But quotations from the _Senchus Mor_ are found in "Cormac's
Glossary," the greater part of which was probably composed in the
ninth or tenth century, and the date of the original compilation is
put by good judges, on various evidence, at A.D. 438 to 441. It is, in
short, a codification and revision, under the direction of St.
Patrick, of the judgments of the pagan Brehons. Three kings, three
poets, and three Christian missionaries (of whom Patrick was one) were
combined in this work, and the code then established remained the
national law of Ireland for nearly twelve centuries. The pagan laws
embodied in this revised code were in force during a period of unknown
antiquity, prior to the introduction of Christianity to the island.
"The _Senchus Mor_ has been selected by the commissioners for early
publication as being one of the oldest and one of the most important
portions of the ancient laws of Ireland which have been preserved. It
exhibits the remarkable modification which these laws of pagan
origin underwent, in the fifth century, on the conversion of the
Irish to Christianity.
"This modification was ascribed so entirely to the influence of St.
Patrick that the _Senchus Mor_ is described as having been called in
after times 'Cain Patraic,' or Patrick's law.
"The _Senchus Mor_ was so much revered, that the Irish judges,
called Brehons, were not authorized to abrogate anything contained
in it.
"The original text, of high antiquity, has been made the subject of
glosses and commentaries of more recent date; and the _Senchus Mor_
would appear to have maintained its authority among the native Irish
until the beginning of the seventeenth century, or for a period of
1,200 years.
"The English law, introduced by King Henry the Second in the twelfth
century, for many years scarcely prevailed beyond the narrow limits of
the English pale (comprising the present counties of Louth, Meath,
Westmeath, Kildare, Dublin, and Wicklow). Throughout the rest of
Ireland the Brehons still administered their ancient laws amongst
the native Irish, who were practically excluded from the privileges
of the English law. The Anglo-Irish, too, adopted the Irish laws to
such an extent that efforts were made to prevent their doing so by
enactments first passed at the parliament of Kilkenny in the
fortieth year of King Edward III. (1367), and subsequently renewed
by Stat. Henry VII., c. 8, in 1495. So late as the twenty-fourth and
twenty-fifth years of the reign of King Henry VIII. (1534) George
Cromer, archbishop of Armagh and primate of Ireland, obtained a
formal pardon for having used the Brehon laws. In the reign of Queen
Mary, 1554, the Earl of Kildare obtained an eric of 340 cows for the
death of his foster-brother, Robert Nugent, under the Brehon law.
"The authority of the Brehon laws continued until the power of the
Irish chieftains was finally broken in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
and all the Irish were received into the king's immediate protection
by the proclamation of James I. This proclamation, followed as it
was by the complete division of Ireland into counties, and the
administration of the English laws throughout the entire country,
terminated at once the necessity for, and the authority of, the
ancient Irish laws.
"The wars of Cromwell, the policy pursued by King Charles II. at the
restoration, and the results of the revolution of 1688, prevented any
revival of the Irish laws; and before the end of the seventeenth
century the whole race of judges (Brehons) and professors (Ollamhs)
of the Irish laws appears to have become extinct."
{131}
Portions of the text of the _Senchus Mor_, as we now have it, are held
by Gaelic scholars to be in the language of the fifth century, in what
was called the _Bérla Feini_ dialect; other portions translated from
that ancient form into Gaelic of the thirteenth century. Various
ancient Irish glosses and commentaries accompany the text, and also an
introduction of high antiquity, giving an account of the origin of the
_Senchus Mor_.
"Patrick came to Erin to baptize and to disseminate religion among
the Gaeidhil--_i.e._, in the ninth year of, the reign of Theodosius,
and in the fourth year of the reign of Laeghairè [pronounced Layorie
or Layrie], son of Niall; king of Erin." The combination of the
Roman pagan laws with Christian doctrine in the Theodosian code
received imperial sanction in A.D. 438, and was at once adopted both
in the eastern and western empires. St. Patrick, Dr. Hancock
remarks, a Roman citizen, a native of a Roman province, and an
eminent Christian missionary, would be certain to obtain early
intelligence of the great reform of the laws of the empire and of
the great triumph of the Christian church. Having now been six years
in Erin, and established his influence there, he attempted
successfully a similar reform in that remote island, and the
composition of the _Senchus Mor_ was accordingly commenced in that
same year, 438, and completed in about four years.
"In ancient Irish books the name of the place where they were
composed is usually mentioned. The introduction to the _Senchus Mor_
contains this information, but is very peculiar in representing the
book as having been composed at different places in different
seasons of the year: 'It was Teamhair in the summer and in the
autumn, on account of its cleanness and pleasantness during these
seasons; and Rath-guthaird was the place during the winter and the
spring, on account of the nearness of its fire-wood and water, and
on account of its warmth in the time of winter's cold.'
"Teamhair, now Tara, was, at the time the _Senchus Mor_ was
composed, the residence of King Laeghairè, the monarch of Erin, and
of his chief poet Dubhthach Mac ua Lugair, who took such a leading
part in the work.
"Teamhair ceased to be the residence of the kings of Ireland after
the death of King Dermot, in A.D. 565, about a century and a quarter
after the _Senchus Mor_ was composed. Remains are, after the lapse
of nearly 1,400 years, to be still found, the most remarkable of
their kind in Ireland, which attest the ancient importance of the
place."
In the introduction a curious account is given of St. Patrick's manner
of dealing with the existing "professors of the sciences," and his
admission of the claim of inspiration on behalf of his pagan
predecessors.
"Patrick requested of the men of Erin to come to one place to hold a
conference with him. When they came to the conference the gospel of
Christ was preached to them all; and when the men of Erin heard of
the killing of the living and the resuscitation of the dead, and all
the power of Patrick since his arrival in Erin, and when they saw
Laeghairè with his Druids overcome by the great signs and miracles
_wrought_ in the presence of the men in Erin, they bowed down, in
obedience to the will of God and Patrick.
"Then Laeghairè said: 'It is necessary for you, O men of Erin, that
every other law should be settled and arranged by us, as well as
this.' 'It is better to do so,' said Patrick. It was then that all
the professors of the sciences in Erin were assembled and each of
them exhibited his art before Patrick, in the presence of every
chief in Erin.
"It was then that Dubhthach was ordered to exhibit the judgments and
all the poetry of Erin, and every law which prevailed among the men of
Erin, through the law of nature, and {132} the law of the seers, and
in the judgments of the island of Erin, and in the poets.
"They had foretold that the bright word of blessing would
come--_i.e._, the law of the letter; for it was the Holy Spirit that
spoke and prophesied through the mouths of the just men who were
formerly in the island of Erin, as he had prophesied through the
mouths of the chief prophets and noble fathers in the patriarchal
law; for the law of nature had prevailed where the written law did
not reach.
"Now the judgments of true nature which the Holy Ghost had spoken
through the mouths of the Brehons and just poets of the men of Erin,
from the first occupation of this island down to _the reception_ of
the faith, were all exhibited by Dubhthach to Patrick. What did not
clash with the Word of God in the written law and in the New
Testament, and with the consciences of the believers, was confirmed
in the laws of the Brehons by Patrick and by the ecclesiastics and
the chieftains of Erin; for the law of nature had been quite right,
except the faith and its obligations, and the harmony of the church
and the people. And this is the _Senchus Mor_.
"Nine persons were appointed to arrange this book--viz., Patrick,
and Benen, and Cairnech, three bishops; Laeghairè, and Corc, and
Dairè, three kings; Rosa--_i.e._, Mac-Trechim, and
Dubhthach--_i.e._, a doctor of the _Bérla Feini_, and
Fergus--_i.e._, a poet.
"Nofis, therefore, is the name of this book which they
arranged--_i.e._, the knowledge of nine persons--and we have the
proof of this above."
And in one of the ancient commentaries on the introduction we are
told:
"Before the coming of Patrick there had been remarkable revelations.
When the Brehons deviated from the truth of nature, there appeared
blotches upon their cheeks; as first of all on the right cheek of
Sen Mac Aige, whenever he pronounced a false judgment, but they
disappeared again when he had passed a true judgment, etc.
"Connla never passed a false judgment, through the grace of the Holy
Ghost, which was upon him.
"Sencha Mac Col Cluin was not wont to pass judgment until he had
pondered upon it in his breast the night before. When Fachtna, his
son, had passed a false judgment, if, in the time of fruit, all the
fruit of the territory in which it happened fell off in one night,
etc.; if in time of milk, the cows refused their calves; but if he
passed a true judgment the fruit was perfect on the trees; hence he
received the name of Fachtna Tulbrethach.
"Sencha Mac Aililla never pronounced a false judgment without
getting three permanent blotches on his face for each judgment.
Fitliel had the truth of nature, so that he pronounced no false
judgment. Morann never pronounced a judgment without having a chain
around his neck. 'When he pronounced a false judgment the chain
tightened around his neck. If he passed a true one it expanded down
upon him."
Corc and Dairè were territorial chieftains, or minor kings. Laeghairè,
son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, was monarch of Erin; his reign
commenced A.D. 428, four years before the arrival of Patrick, and
ended with his life in 458, one year after the foundation of Armagh by
that great Christian missionary. Laeghairè is usually called the first
Christian king of Ireland, but it seems more likely from the evidence
we have that he himself did not become a Christian, although he
acknowledged the merit of St. Patrick, and gave him permission to
preach and baptize, on condition that the peace of the kingdom should
not be disturbed. Travellers in our time, by mail-steamers from
Holyhead and the Island of Druids, may some of them not know that
Kingstown is a name given, but a few years ago, to "Dunleary"--that
is, the fortress of King Laeghairè, when George IV., by graciously
landing there, supplanted the {133} memory of the ancient king.
Dubhthach, Fergus, and Rossa, or Rosa, were eminent poets and learned
men; they exhibited "from memory what their predecessors had
_sung_"--for much of the ancient law was preserved in the form of
verse, and Dubhthach, "royal poet of Erin," at the compilation of the
_Senchus Mor_, put a thread of poetry round it for Patrick. Many parts
of the work as we have it are in verse.
The subject of that part of the _Senchus Mor_ which is contained in
the volume before us is the "Law of Distress"--that is, the legal
rules under which distraint was to be made of persons, cattle, or
goods, in a great variety of cases. To a general reader, the legal
verbosity and trivial repetitions make the book hard to read; but
imbedded in it, so to speak, are many curious little fragments of a
very remote and obscure social system, and some of these we shall
proceed to set before our readers.
Fines in cases of death, bodily hurt, insult, or injury of whatever
kind were arranged according to the dignity of the parties concerned.
The "honor-price" is the same for a king, a bishop, a chief
law-professor, and a chief poet who can compose a quatrain
extemporaneously.
At a feast, "his own proper kind of food" is assigned to persons of
different rank--as, for example, the haunch for the king, bishop, and
literary doctor; a leg for the young chief; a steak for the queen; the
heads for the charioteers; and a _croichet_ [unknown part] for "a king
opposed in his government."
Should a person have property, it shall not increase his honor-price,
unless he do good with it.
A king with a personal blemish was allowed with difficulty, if at all.
In case of distress by or on a person of distinction, _fasting_ was a
necessary legal form--the creditor had to "fast upon" his debtor until
a pledge was given for the claim. Something very similar to this
curious process is found in the ancient Hindoo laws, and appears to be
practised in India to the present day, under the name of "_dherna_,"
According to Sir William Jones, the creditor sat at the debtor's door,
abstaining from food, till, for fear of becoming accountable for the
man's death, the debtor paid him. As to the Irish mode of "fasting
upon" a debtor of the chieftain grade, exact particulars are not
given; but it would seem that on presentation of the claim of
distraint at the residence of the debtor the "fasting" began, and if
the debtor did not pay or give a pledge, but allowed his creditor to
go on fasting (it is not said for how long), he became liable to
double the debt, and other penalties.
If one of inferior grade comes to sue one of the chieftain grade, he
must be accompanied, on his part, by one of the chieftain grade.
Among articles enumerated as coming under various rather puzzling
rules and exemptions in cases of distraint, we find, weapons for
battle; a racehorse; a harp-comb, and other requisites for music; toys
for the children--viz., "hurlets, balls, and hoops," and also "little
dogs and cats;" the "eight parts which constitute a mill;" the fork
and cauldron; the kneading-trough and sieve; the bed-furniture--
_i.e._, plaids and bolsters; the reflector or mirror; the chess-board;
the seven valuable articles of the house of the chieftain--viz.,
"cauldron, vat, goblet, mug, reins, horse-bridle, and pin;" the
cattle-bells, the griddle, the "branch-light of each person's house;"
the lap-dog of a queen, the watch-dog, the hunting hound; implements
of weaving and of spinning.
Fines and penalties were provided, among other cases, for withholding
the food-tribute from a king or chief; for the deficiency of a feast;
for neglecting the due clearing of roads in war, or in winter, or at
time of a fair; for neglecting the due preparation of a fair-green;
for neglecting any persons or things cast ashore by the sea (in this
case the "territory" was liable); {134} for neglecting "the common net
of the tribe;" for breaking the laws of rivers and fishing; for
neglecting the due maintenance and medical treatment of the sick; for
not helping in the erection of the common fort of the tribe; for not
blessing a completed work. This last is a curious offence. "It was
customary," we read in a note to p. 132, "for workmen, on completing
any work, and delivering it to their employer, to give it their
blessing. This was the 'abarta,' and if this blessing was omitted, the
workman was subject to a fine, or loss of a portion of his fee, equal
to a seventh part of his allowance of food while employed--the food to
which a workman was entitled being settled by the law in proportion to
the rank of the art or trade which he professed. And it would appear
that the first person who saw it finished and neglected the blessing
was also fined." To the present day, among Irish peasants, it is
thought a marked omission if, in transferring or praising, or even
taking notice of, any possession, especially if it be a living
creature, one neglects to say "God bless it!" or "I wish you luck with
it!" or some such good word; and where you see any work going on, it
is right to say, "God bless the work!"
Distress was levied on defaulters for share in building "the common
bridge of the tribe;" for beef to nourish the chief "during the time
that he is making laws;" for the "cow from every tribe," sent on
demand, "when the king is on the frontier of a territory with a host."
"Now, the custom is that this cow is taken from some one man of them
for the whole number. They make good that cow to him only." Also for
the victualling of a fort; for guarding and feeding captives; for the
maintenance of a fool, or of a madwoman, or of an aged person, or of a
child. "Five cows is the fine for neglecting to provide for the
maintenance of the fool who has land, and _power of amusing;_ and his
having these is the cause of the smallness of the fine. Ten cows is
the fine for neglecting to provide for the maintenance of every
madwoman; and the reason that the fine is greater than that of the
fool is, for the madwoman is not a minstrel, and has not land. If the
fool has not land, or has not power of amusing, the fine for
neglecting to provide for his maintenance is equal to that of the
madwoman who can do no work." "A 'cumhal' of eight cows is the fine
for neglecting to maintain any family senior who has land after his
eighty-eighth year. As to each man of unknown age after his ninetieth
year, his land shall pass from the family who have not maintained him
to an extern family who have maintained him. As to every senior of a
family and man of unknown age without land, a 'cumhal' of five 'seds'
is the fine for not maintaining him."
There are fines for evil words, false reports, slander, nicknames, and
satire. The poets were supposed to have the power of turning a man's
hair gray by force of satire, or even of killing him. There are also
fines for "failure of _hosting_," "the head of every family of the lay
grades is to go into the battle;" "every one who has a shield to
shelter him, and who is fit for battle, is to go upon the plundering
excursion." "Three services of attack" are enumerated--on pirates,
aggressors, and wolves; and "three services of defence"--to secure
"promontories [hills?], lonely passes, and boundaries."
"Distress of three days for using thy horse, thy boat, thy basket, thy
cart, thy chariot, for wear of thy vessel, thy vat, thy great
cauldron, thy cauldron; for 'dire'-fine in respect of thy house, for
stripping thy herb-garden, for stealing thy pigs, thy sheep; for
wearing down thy hatchet, thy wood-axe; for consuming the things cast
upon thy beach by the sea, for injuring thy meeting-hill, for digging
thy silver mine, for robbing thy bee-hive, for the fury of thy fire,
for the crop of thy sea marsh, for the 'dire'-fine in respect to thy
corn-rick, thy turf, thy ripe {135} corn, thy ferns, thy furze, thy
rushes, if without permission; for slighting thy law, for slighting
thy inter-territorial law, for enforcing thy 'Urradhus' law; _in the
case_ of good fosterage, _in the case_ of bad fosterage, the fosterage
fee in the case over fosterage _for_ cradle clothes; for recovering
the dues of the common tillage land, for recovering the dues of joint
fosterage, for recovering the dues of lawful relationship, for
unlawful tying, over-fettering of horses, breaking a _fence_ to let
cows into the grass; breaking it before calves _to let them_ to the
cows. The restitution of the milk is in one day."
There are also fines for quarrelling in a fort; for disturbing the
meetinghill; for stripping the slain; for refusing a woman "the
longed-for morsel;" for scaring the timid, with a mask or otherwise;
for causing a person to blush; for carrying a boy on your back into a
house so as to strike his head; for love-charms and "bed-witchcraft;"
for neglect in marriage; for "setting the charmed morsel for a
dog--_i.e._, to prove it;" for failure as to "the safety of a
hostage;" for "withholding his fees from the Brehon."
For mutilation and for murder, the "eric-fine and honor-price" varied
according to circumstances.
Distress of five days' stay is "for not erecting the tomb of thy
chief;" "for false boasting of a dead woman;" for satirizing her after
her death; for causing to wither any kind of tree; for the eric-fine
for an oath of secret murder.
In certain cases, persons were exempted from distress for a longer or
shorter period. For example: "A man upon whom _the test of the
cauldron_ is enjoined--_i.e._, to go to a testing cauldron--and he
shall have exemption until he returns;" "a man whose wife is in
labor;" "a man who collects the food-tribute of a chief."
The bodies and bones of the dead are protected by penalties. There is
a fixed fine and "honor-price" for carrying away the remains of a
bishop out of his tomb (as relics?); also _breaking bones_ in a
churchyard, "to take the marrow out of them for sorcerers." "The bone
of a king drowned in the stream, or of a hermit condemned to the sea
and the wind," belongs to the people of the land where it happens to
be cast, until the tribe of the deceased pay for its redemption.
There are penalties for "lookers-on" at an ill deed; and these are
divided into three classes: "a looker-on of full fine" is one who
"instigates, and accompanies, and escorts, and exults;" of half fine,
one who does not instigate, but does the other acts; of quarter-fine,
one who "accompanies only, and does not prohibit, and does not save."
Clerics, women, and boys are exempt.
One is accountable (in different degrees) for one's own crime, the
crime of a near kinsman, the crime of a middle kinsman, and the crime
of a kinsman in general.
"There are four who have an interest in every one who sues or is
sued"--the tribe of the father, the tribe of the mother, the chief,
the church; also the tribe of the foster-father.
"Every tribe is liable after the absconding of a member of it, after
warning, after notice, and after lawful waiting."
The notes to this volume are few and unimportant, and further
elucidations on many points are much to be desired. The printing of
the original Gaelic along with the translation must add greatly to the
cost of the work, but the value of the text to philologers may perhaps
make this worth while. Only we hope that this laudable and interesting
undertaking, of the publication of the ancient laws and institutes of
Ireland, will not, like other Irish schemes that could be named, make
a costly and elaborate beginning, and then, exhausting its means in
the outset, break down altogether. This first volume gives us a strong
desire to see the proposed plan carried into {136} completion without
undue delay. It would appear that all the heavy part of the literary
work of it is already done.
------
MISCELLANY.
_The Transparency of the Sea. _--At a late meeting of the French
Academy of Science, M. Cialdi and Father Secchi sent the result of
some observations they have made "On the Transparency of the Sea." The
experiments were made at the end of April, on board a vessel, near
Civita Vecchia, from six to twelve miles from land, and at depths
varying from 90 to 300 metres, the sea being perfectly clear and
tranquil. Discs of different diameters and colors attached to wires
being plunged horizontally under water, showed that the maximum depth
at which the largest (a white disc 3-1/4 metres in diameter) could be
seen was 42-1/2 metres, the sun being elevated 60-1/4° above the
horizon. With a vertical sun the depth of visibility shall be 45
metres. The color of the disc appeared at first a light green, then a
clear blue, which became darker as it was lowered, until it could no
longer be distinguished from the surrounding medium. Discs of a yellow
or sandy color disappeared at less than half the depth of the white
discs--that is to say, between 17 and 24 metres. The height of the sun
and the clearness of the sky greatly influence the depth at which
objects may be seen. Viewing the light reflected from a submerged
white disc through a spectroscope, the red and yellow colors were
found to be rapidly absorbed. As it was sunk deeper in the sea a
portion of the green became absorbed, the other colors remaining
unaltered. The authors remark that this luminous absorption of the
more refrangible rays is what would be expected from the calorific
opacity and the actinic transparency of water. From the foregoing
results, they doubt whether the bottom of the sea has ever been seen
at a depth of 100 metres, as it is more probable that the mud and sand
brought up by waves has been mistaken for such: the fact that the
bottom of the sea is a worse reflector than the white disc,
strengthens this supposition.
_Irish Limestone Caverns._--At a late meeting of the Cork Cuvierian
Society, Professor Harkness, so well known for his investigations of
Scottish rocks, announced the discovery of the bones of mammals in a
limestone quarry at Middleton, County Cork. The rock consists of the
ordinary limestone of the district, in one part much fissured, and
under this fissured portion there is a mass of brown clay, the
thickness of which cannot be determined, as its base is not seen. This
reddish-brown clay under the limestone is the deposit which furnishes
the fossil bones, and which, doubtless, fills the space which was once
a natural grotto. Beside the bones, which are in a fragmentary
condition, there are also present teeth and antlers. The latter are
much broken, and do not afford sufficient character to enable the
species to be accurately determined. They seem, however, to belong to
two forms, one of which had the beam and branches smooth and
sub-compressed, features which indicate the antlers of the reindeer;
and the other with the horns rounded and rough, a form of surface
which marks the antlers of the common stag. Of these antlers two
portions which appear to belong to the reindeer have been cut while in
the fresh state; and the faces of the cuts being almost smooth, this
cutting appears to have been effected by a fine regular-edged
instrument rather than, by a serrated tool. The leg bones which appear
in this clay have all been broken, for the most part longitudinally,
except the carpal and tarsal, and other small bones of the
extremities. This longitudinal fracturing of the long bones of the leg
is not known to occur in any mammalian remains which belong to a
period previous to that where we have evidence of the existence of
{137} the human race; and these broken bones afford evidence of the
occurrence of man, who, for the purpose of obtaining the marrow,
divided them in the direction most available for this object. Beside
the evidence afforded by the cut antlers and longitudinally divided
bones, there are other circumstances indicating the occurrence of man
in connection with these remains; one of these is the presence of
charred wood, which is equally disseminated through the clay with the
bones and teeth. This charred wood is the remains of the ancient fires
by means of which former human beings cooked their food.
_Is there an Open Arctic Sea?_--Sir Roderick Murchison, who answers
this question in the affirmative, gives the following arguments in
support of his opinion:--(1.) The fact has been well ascertained by
Scoresby and others, that every portion of the floating pack-ice north
of Spitzbergen is made up of frozen sea-water only, without a trace of
terrestrial icebergs like those which float down Baffin's Bay, or
those which, carrying blocks of stone and _débris_, float northward
from the land around the South Pole. (2.) The northern shores of
Siberia tell the same tale; for in their vast expanse the absence of
icebergs, or erratic blocks, or anything which could have been derived
from great or lofty masses of land, has been wen ascertained. (3.) As
a geologist, Sir R. Murchison could point out that this absence of
erratic blocks in northern Siberia has existed from that remote
glacial period when much larger tracts of northern Europe were
occupied by glaciers than at the present day. (4.) The traveller
Middendorf found the extreme northern promontory of Siberia, Taimyr,
clad with fir trees, while the immense tract of country to the south
of it was destitute of trees, showing a milder climate at that point
of Siberia nearest the pole.
_Food as a Means of Preventing Disease_,--It seems not at all
improbable that, as has been shown by Liebig in the case of plants,
most of those diseases which we at present attribute to the presence
of some morbid substance in the blood, are produced in the first
instance by the absence of some of the proper constituents of the
blood. The blood when abnormally composed will allow vegetable and
other growths to take place in it, thus producing painful symptoms;
but if it contained its suitable components, it is most probable that
it would be then enabled to resist the development of the materials we
refer to. In the case of the potato disease, there can hardly be a
doubt that the sap becomes deteriorated, owing to the absence of the
proper proportion of potash, prior to the development of the oïdium
which commits such ravages. The idea which we have given has not had
many advocates in this country, and we are glad to find that Mr.
Erasmus Wilson has in some measure lent his support to the theory.
Although Mr. Wilson does not go as deeply into the question as we
should wish, still he shows that food may well be employed not only in
preventing but in curing disease. If, he says, it be admitted that
food is the source of the elements of which the body is composed, what
kind of body can be expected in the case of a deficient supply of
food, whether that deficiency proceed from actual want, or from some
perverse theory of refinement, founded on a false conception of the
nature and objects of food, and ignorance of its direct convertibility
into the flesh and blood of man? We think Mr. Wilson is too determined
a supporter of flesh-eating tastes. If he had his way, he would
convert man into a decidedly carnivorous animal, and we do not think
that either experience or an appeal to the anatomy of the human
masticatory and digestive organs would bear out his views.--_Vide "On
Food as a Means of Prevention of Disease._"
_Are the Flint Implements from the Drift Authentic?_--A pamphlet has
appeared from the pen of Mr. Nicholas Whitley, of the Royal
Institution of Cornwall, in which it is attempted to be proved that
the so-called flint implements are not the result of workmanship. The
_Popular Science Review_ gives the following abstract of Mr. Whitley's
argument: (1.) _The "implements" are all of flint._ The tools employed
by men of the recognized archaeological stone age are made of stones
of various kinds, of which there are examples of serpentine, granular
greenstone, indurated claystone, trap greenstone, claystone, quartz,
syenite, chest, etc. Why, therefore, {138} should the only weapon in
the drift deposit be manufactured from flint solely? (2.) The
_"implements" are all of one class--axes_. Were they then a race of
carpenters? Man is a cooking animal; and if ten thousand axes have
been found, surely one seething-pot or drinking-cup ought to have
turned up. He needs shelter, but no remnant of his clothing or hut has
been found. Almost everywhere where there are chalk flints we find
axes, and nothing but axes. (3.) _There is a gradation in form_ from
the very rough fracture of the flint to the perfect almond-shaped
implement. Let the most enthusiastic believer in their authenticity
examine carefully the one thousand implements in the Abbeville museum,
and he would probably reject two-thirds as bearing no evidence of the
work of man. But it would be impossible for him to say where nature
ended and art began. (4.) Some of the implements are admirable
illustrations of the form produced by the natural fracture of the
egg-shaped flint nodule. (5.) It is supposed that these weapons were
used for cutting down timber and scooping out canoes. But it should be
remembered that the gravels in which they are found were formed during
a severe Arctic climate, in which no tree but a stunted birch could
have grown, certainly none large enough to form a canoe. (6.) _Their
number._ The implements are found by thousands in small areas, and in
numbers quite out of proportion to the thinly scattered population
that must have (if at all) then existed.
_The Sponge Fishery._--The main industry of the island of Crete is the
sponge fishery which is pursued on its coasts. It is chiefly carried
on by companionships of from twenty to thirty boats, for mutual
support and protection. The mode of operation preparatory to a dive is
very peculiar and interesting. The diver whose turn it is takes his
seat on the deck of the vessel, at either the bow or stern, and
placing by his side a large flat slab of marble, weighing about 25
lbs., to which is attached a rope of the proper length and thickness
(1-1/2 inch), he then strips, and is left by his companions to prepare
himself. This seems to consist in devoting a certain time to clearing
the passages of his lungs by expectoration, and highly inflating them
afterward; thus oxidizing his blood very highly by a repetition of
deep inspirations. The operation lasts from five to ten minutes, or
more, according to the depth; and during it the operator is never
interfered with by his companions, and seldom speaks or is spoken to;
he is simply watched by two of them, but at a little distance, and
they never venture to urge him or distract him in any way during the
process. When from some sensation, known only to himself, after these
repeated long-drawn and heavy inspirations, he deems the fitting
moment to have arrived, he seizes the slab of marble, and, after
crossing himself and uttering a prayer, plunges with it like a
returning dolphin into the sea, and rapidly descends. The stone is
always held during the descent directly in front of the head, at
arm's-length, and so as to offer as little resistance as possible;
and, by varying its inclination, it acts likewise as a rudder, causing
the descent to be more or less vertical, as desired by the diver. As
soon as he reaches the bottom he places the stone under his arm to
keep himself down, and then walks about upon the rock, or crawls under
its ledges, stuffing the sponges into a netted bag with a hooped
mouth, which is strung round his neck to receive them; but he holds
firmly to the stone or rope all the while, as his safeguard for
returning and for making the known signal at the time he desires it.
The hauling up is thus effected: The assistant who has hold of the
rope awaiting the signal, first reaches down with both hands as low as
he can, and there grasping the rope, with a great bodily effort raises
it up to nearly arm's-length over his head; the second assistant is
then prepared to make his grasp as low down as he can reach, and does
the same; and so the two alternately, and by a fathom or more at a
time, and with great rapidity, bring the anxious diver to the surface.
A heavy blow from his nostrils to expel the water and exhausted air
indicates to his comrades that he is conscious and breathes, a word or
two is then spoken by one of his companions to encourage him if he
seems much distressed, as is often the case; and the hearing of the
voice is said by them to be a great support at the moment of their
greatest state of exhaustion. A few seconds' rest at the surface, and
then the diver returns into the boat to recover, generally putting
{139} on an under-garment or jacket, to assist the restoration of the
animal heat he has lost, and to prevent the loss of more by the too
rapid evaporation of the water from his body.--_Travels in Crete._
_The Sun's Spots._--Father Secchi writes from Rome, under date of Aug.
8, to the _Reader_ as follows: I thank you for the interest you take
in the observations of the sun. The last large spot has been very
interesting for science, and I hope to be able to publish all the
drawings we have made of it by projection. Meanwhile I send you two of
them, photographed on a large scale. You will see in the printed
article which I send you, that I have been able to see the
_prominences_ and _depressions_ produced by the spot at the edge of
the sun; not only myself but also M. Tacchini. I regret that the
shortness of time does not allow me to copy the drawings made on that
occasion, but I send a copy of them to Mr. De la Rue, and you will see
them. As to the _willow-leaves_ and _rice-grains_ question, I think,
as you say, we are all right and all wrong. I will state clearly what
I see. On first placing the eye to the telescope, and in very good
moments of definition, the surface of the sun appears certainly to me
made up of many oblong bodies, which I think are the willow-leaves of
Mr. Nasmyth; their orientation is in every direction, but they take a
converging direction in the neighborhood of the spots, where they form
the tongues, currents, and such like. But this view is, as I said,
rather difficult to obtain, and many times I have looked for it quite
without success. Is this a defect of vision, or caused by the sun's
_changements?_ If by willow-leaves other things than these are
understood, I have not seen them. M. Airy seems to understand other
things, and then I am quite at a loss. This, therefore, is a matter
very problematic, and to be better studied. By projection on a large
scale in some beautiful moments of definition, these oblong bodies on
the general surface of the sun have been seen by my assistant also;
but generally they are not visible, but the sun appears like clouds.
As to the mobility of the solar surface, you can judge from the two
photographs that I send you; they have been made only at an interval
of twenty-four hours. I think we assisted at the outbreaking of the
spot, and at its arrangement from a great confusion of movements into
a regular transformation of an ordinary group of spots. The appearance
which I have seen is quite like that which takes place when a great
movement is excited in a stream of running water, which finally
resolves itself into some vortices which take their course
independently. The movement of these spots even alone is capable of
demonstrating materially what Mr. Carrington has found with great
labor--that there is in the sun a real drift of matter, since without
this it would be impossible to explain how the spot has been increased
in two days to a length twice as great as its breadth, this remaining
almost constant. But more of this in a particular memoir.
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
HISTORY OF MY RELIGIOUS OPINIONS.
By John Henry Newman, D.D., of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. London:
Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green. 1865. 8vo., pp. 379.