Chapter 34

Note 39, p.237.--Obliquity of the wings of birds.

In consequence of the manner in which the wings are affixed to the scapula, they give a stroke to the air in a direction both downwards and backwards; so that while the former supports the bird, the latter impels it forward. It is curiousto notice that the degree of this obliquity varies in different birds, and is evidently adapted to their habits: thus, for instance, birds of prey have a great obliquity of wing, which better enables them to pursue their victims in a horizontal course; while those birds which soar to a considerable elevation, in a nearly vertical direction, as theLark, have scarcely any obliquity of wing, but strike directly downwards.

Note 40, p.238.--A mechanical proposition.

This fact may be demonstrated by converting the triangle into a parallelogram, of which one of the sides of the triangle will become its diagonal: the other two sides will, of course, represent two forces equivalent to such diagonal, which, acting in opposition to it, must produce a balance.

Note 41, p.241.--Kite messengers.

The curious experiments of Mr. Faraday upon the optical effects produced by the revolutions of different wheels, might be exhibited by arrangements adjusted as messengers.

Note 42, p.246.--Winds and storms.

The sea and land breezes which occur in the islands of the torrid zone, very strikingly illustrate the position laid down in the text, and afford a good explanation of the manner in which winds may be occasioned by a change of temperature in the air. In these, during the hottest part of the day, the wind sets in from all quarters, and appears to be blowing towards the centre of the island, while in the night it changes its direction, and blows from the centre of the land towards the sea; for since the sun’s rays produce much more heat by their reflection from land than they do from water, that portion of air which is over the land will soon become heated, and will ascend; a rarefaction and diminution of the quantity of air over the central part of the land will be thus occasioned, which must be supplied from the sides; but, as the land cools again during the night, that portion of air which had been previously heaped up will begin to descend, and by spreading and equalizing itself will produce a breeze blowing from the centre.

Thetrade-winds, so called from the advantage which their certainty affords to trading vessels, are another example of the same kind; they are generally stated to blow from east to west over the equator, and are occasioned by the rarefaction of the air by the sun’s heat, and the motion of the earth from west to east. While writing the present note, we have seen an essay upon the subject by Captain Basil Hall, published in an appendix to Mr. Daniel’s admirable work on Meteorology: the perusal of this paper has induced us to cancel what we had written, and to refer the reader to the essay itself; for it is quite impossible to do justice to the views it entertains, in the limited space necessarily prescribed to us in this note.

On the coast of Guinea, the wind always sets in upon the land, blowing westerly instead of easterly; this exception arises from the deserts of Africa, which lie near the equator, and being a very sandy soil, reflect a great degree of heat into the air above them, which being thus rendered lighter than that which is over the sea, the wind continually rushes in upon the land to restore the equilibrium.

Among the irregular winds, or those which are not constant, but accidental, may be noticed thewhirlwind, theharmattan, and thesirocco. The first of these is occasioned by the meeting of two or more currents of wind from opposite directions, and which can only be occasioned by some temporary but violent disturbance of equilibrium. Theharmattanis met with on the western coast of Africa, and is generally attended by great heat and fog; it appears to be occasioned by a conflict between the heated sands of Africa, and the regular direction of the trade-winds over that continent, and, by disturbing their progress, it is frequently the forerunner of a hurricane in the West Indies. Thesiroccooccurs in Egypt, the Mediterranean, and in Greece, and is chiefly characterised by its unhealthy qualities. The air, by passing over the heated sands of Egypt, becomes so dried and rarefied as to be scarcely fit for respiration, and, being thus prepared, it absorbs so much humidity on passing the Mediterranean as to form a suffocating and oppressive kind of fog.

Mr. Daniel observes, that the currents of a heated room, in some measure, exemplify the great currents of the atmosphere. If the door be opened, the flame of a candle held to the upper part will show, by its inclination, a currentflowing outwards; but, if held near the floor, it will be directed inwards. If the door be closed suddenly from without, it moves with the in-coming current, and against the out-going, and a condensation of air takes place in the room; which is proved by the rattling of the windows, and the bursting open of any door in the room, if slightly closed. If the door close from within, it moves against the in-coming current, and with the out-going, and a rarefaction of the air in the room takes place; which is evidenced by the rattling of the windows, and the bursting open of another door in the contrary direction.

Meteorology has been long considered the least perfect branch of natural knowledge; so apparently capricious and irregular are its phenomena, that philosophers had almost abandoned the idea of bringing them under the operation of any general laws. Brighter lights are, however, now dawning upon us. Mr. Whewell, in his Bridgewater Treatise, has explained the manner in which the various currents of the atmosphere maintain a necessary balance in the distribution of heat and moisture around the globe, and has thus reduced to order and design phenomena which have hitherto been regarded as unconnected and fortuitous. Lieut.-Col. Reid, by his late happy investigation of the law of storms, will, no doubt, lead us into a novel path of the most important discoveries. He has satisfactorily proved, by a mass of evidence derived from numerous logbooks, that storms obey fixed laws. His attention was ardently directed to the subject by having been at Barbadoes immediately after the great hurricane of 1831, which in the short space of seven hours killed upwards of 1400 persons on that island alone. The discoveries of Col. Reid may be thus briefly stated.--That hurricanes are whirlwinds of great diameter, always revolving according to an invariable law, viz. from right to left (supposing yourself standing in the centre), or in the opposite way to the hands of a watch, in the northern hemisphere, and in a contrary direction in southern latitudes; at the same time they have a progressive motion in a curved line, and as they advance their diameters appear to enlarge and their violence to diminish; it has been also found that in the centre of the vortex there is a lull, or calm. Col. Reid observes that the simplest mode of illustrating the subject is to cut out concentric circles, so as to represent progressive whirlwinds, by moving whichover any tract, the veering of the wind will be easily understood. The reader may form a more familiar idea by causing the water to circulate in a basin, which will represent the violent circular motion of the storm-wind, with a calm in the centre of the vortex. Suppose this to be also moving onward at a rate of about seven miles an hour, and he will have a correct notion of the subject. Since the storms expand in size and diminish in force as they proceed towards the poles, and the meridians at the same time approach each other, gales become huddled together; and hence, apparently, the true cause of the very complicated nature of the winds in our latitude. Observations would also appear to render it probable that there exists an accordance of the force of storms with the law of magnetic intensity; for example, it is at its minimum at St. Helena, where storms never occur; on the contrary, the lines of greatest intensity seem to correspond with the latitudes of typhoons and hurricanes. To what important discoveries may not the pursuit of this enquiry lead us?

The practical importance of the foregoing facts must be obvious: to use the expression of Sir John Herschel, “they will teach seamen how to steer their ships, and save thousands of lives.” They will thus learn on which side to lay-to a ship in a storm, for, by watching the veering of the wind, they will ascertain the direction in which it is falling; if violent, and the changes sudden, the ship will probably be near the centre of the vortex; whereas, if the wind blows a great length of time from the same point, and the changes are gradual, it may reasonably be supposed the ship is near the extremity of it. The barometer also becomes a very important instrument upon these occasions; the rapid rotatory motion of a column of the atmosphere necessarily occasions its fall, and this fall is always greatest at the centre of the storm. When it begins to rise, the centre has passed, and when the wind has sufficiently abated to enable a ship to make sail, she may then bear away with safety; but near the middle of the hurricane, before the barometer begins to rise, all square-sails must be dangerous.

Note 43, p.250.--Ancient archery.

We are reminded, upon this occasion, of part of a stanza in the well-known ballad of Chevy Chace, wherean English archer aimed his arrow at Sir Hugh Montgomery:--

“Thegrey goose wingthat was thereon,In his hearte’s blood was wett.”

“Thegrey goose wingthat was thereon,

In his hearte’s blood was wett.”

The more ancient ballad, however, readsswane-feathers. In the “Geste of Robyn Hode,” among Mr. Garrick’s old plays, in the Museum, the arrows of the outlaw and his companions are particularly described:--

“With them they had an hundred bowes,The strings were well ydight;An hundred shefe of arrows good,With hedes burnish’d full bryght;And every arrowe an ell longe,Withpeacockewell ydight,And rocked they were with white silk,It was a semely sight.”

“With them they had an hundred bowes,

The strings were well ydight;

An hundred shefe of arrows good,

With hedes burnish’d full bryght;

And every arrowe an ell longe,

Withpeacockewell ydight,

And rocked they were with white silk,

It was a semely sight.”

And Chaucer, in the description of the squyer’s yeoman, says:--

“And he was clad in cote and hode of greene;A sheafe ofpeacockearrows bryght and shene,Under his belt he bare full thriftely,Well coude he dresse his tackle yemanly:His arrowes drouped not with fethers lowe,And in his hand he bare a mighty bowe.”Prol. to Cant. Tales.

“And he was clad in cote and hode of greene;

A sheafe ofpeacockearrows bryght and shene,

Under his belt he bare full thriftely,

Well coude he dresse his tackle yemanly:

His arrowes drouped not with fethers lowe,

And in his hand he bare a mighty bowe.”

Prol. to Cant. Tales.

In order to show the dandyism displayed by the archers of former times, it may be stated, that, in the wardrobe accounts of the 28 Edw. I. p. 359, is a charge for verdigrise to stain the feathers of the arrows green. A wardrobe account of the 4 Edw. II. furnishes an entry for peacock arrows, “Pro duodecim flecchiis cum pennis depavone, emptis pro rege de 12 den.”

As this note has some connexion with the shuttlecock,[84]as well as the arrow, we may take this opportunity of introducing a passage, which was accidentally omitted in the text; it refers to the method of playing this game at Turon, in Cochin China; and which is described by a travelleras follows:--“Instead of using a battledoor,[85]as is the custom in England, the players stood seven or eight in a circle; and after running a short race, and springing from the floor, they met the descending shuttlecock with the sole of the foot, and drove it up again with force high in the air. The game was kept up with much animation, and seldom did the players miss their stroke, or give it a wrong direction. The shuttlecock was made of a piece of dried skin rolled round, and bound with strings. Into this skin were inserted three feathers, spreading out at top, but so near to each other, where they were stuck into the skin, as to pass through the holes, little more than a quarter of an inch square, which were always made in the centre of Cochin copper coins. We made one or two awkward attempts at the game, not only to our own confusion, but much to the amusement of the natives. It must, however, be remembered, that, amongst these ingenious people, the feet assist, as auxiliaries to the hands, in the exercise of many trades, particularly that of boat-building.”

84. Shuttlecock, more correctly, perhaps, shuttle-cork, although Skinner thinks it is called acockfrom its feathers.

85. So called from door, taken for a flat board; and battle, for striking,i. e.a striking-board.

Note 44, p.270.--Sound conveyed by solid bodies.

A beautiful experiment was lately instituted at Paris, to illustrate this fact, by Biot. At the extremity of a cylindrical tube, upwards of 3000 feet in length, a ring of metal was placed, of the same diameter as the aperture of the tube; and in the centre of this ring, in the mouth of the tube, was suspended a clock-bell and hammer. The hammer was made to strike the ring and the bell at the same instant, so that the sound of the ring would be transmitted to the remote end of the tube through the conducting power of the matter of the tube itself; while the sound of the bell would be transmitted through the medium of the air included within the tube. The ear being then placed at the remote end of the tube, the sound of the ring, transmitted by the metal of the tube, was first distinctly heard; and, after a short interval had elapsed, the sound of the bell, transmitted by the air in the tube, was heard. The result of several experiments was, that the metal of the tube conducted the sound with about ten and a half times the velocity with which it was conducted by the air; that is, at the rate of about 11,865 feet per second.

Note 45, p.288.--Expressive music.

The biographer of Josquin des Prez, the celebrated musician, andmaestro di capellato Louis XII. King of France, relates an anecdote which may be here told in connexion with the present subject. When Josquin was first admitted into the service of the French monarch, he had been promised a benefice by his Majesty; but this Prince, contrary to his usual habits, for he was in general both just and liberal, forgot the promise he had made; when Josquin, after suffering great inconvenience from the shortness of his Majesty’s memory, ventured by the following expedient to remind him publicly of his promise without giving offence. He had been commanded to compose a motet for the Chapel Royal, on which occasion he selected part of the 119th Psalm, “Memor esto verbi tui servo tuo”--“Oh think of thy servant, as concerning thy word,” which he set in so supplicating and exquisite a manner, that it was universally admired, particularly by the King, who was not only touched by the music, but felt the words so effectually, that he soon afterwards granted his petition, by conferring on him the promised preferment. For which act of justice and munificence, Josquin, with equal felicity, composed as a hymn of gratitude another part of the same Psalm,--“Bonitatem fecisti cum servo tuo, Domine”--“Oh Lord, thou has dealt graciously with thy servant.”

Josquin, among musicians, was the giant of his time, and seems to have arrived at universal monarchy and dominion over the affections and passions of the musical part of mankind; indeed, his compositions were as well known and as much practised throughout Europe at the beginning of the sixteenth century, as those of Handel were in Europe sixty years ago.

Note 46, p.294.--Imaginary forms.

The following case, quoted by Sir David Brewster, in his work on “Natural Magic,” from the life of Peter Heaman, a Swede, who was executed for piracy and murder at Leith in 1822, will afford a very curious example of the influence of the imagination in creating distinct forms out of an irregularly shaded surface. “One remarkable thing was, one day as we mended a sail, it being a very thin one, after laying it upon deck in folds, I took the tar-brush and tarredit over in the places which I thought needed to be strengthened. But when we hoisted it up, I was astonished to see that the tar I had put upon it represented a gallows and a man under it without a head. The head was lying beside him. He was complete, body, thighs, legs, arms, and in every shape like a man. Now, I oftentimes made remarks upon it, and repeated them to the others. I always said to them all, ‘You may depend upon it that something will happen.’ I afterwards took down the sail on a calm day, and sewed a piece of canvass over the figure to cover it, for I could not bear to have it always before my eyes.”

The curious effect of chance resemblance was particularly remarked by Leonardo da Vinci in the moss and stains on old stones. And, in our own times, this faculty of the imagination has not unfrequently been enlisted into the service of the fortune-teller for purposes of fraud and imposition. The following story is related on credible testimony. “A British officer, in expectation of promotion, and of being united to a lady in marriage, sought a gipsy fortune-teller. The sorceress, no doubt, had made herself well acquainted with these circumstances. On entering the room, she ordered a large glass of spring-water, into which she poured the white of a newly-laid egg. After shaking the mixture for some time, she so far succeeded as to induce the credulous observer to declare that he saw most distinctly the image of the ship in which he was to hoist his flag, the church in which he was to be married, and his bride going with him into the church.”--The Gipsies’ Advocate, by J. Crabb.

Note 47, p.295.--Fairy rings.

Dr. Wollaston, in a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions, (1807, p. 133,) relates some interesting observations he made on the progressive changes of these rings, and which satisfactorily explain their origin. He observed, that some species of fungi were always to be found at the exterior margin of the dark ring of grass if examined at the proper season. The position of the fungi led him to believe, that progressive increase from a central point was the probable mode of formation of the ring; and he thought it likely that the soil which had once contributed to the support of fungi, might be so exhausted as to be rendered incapable of producing a second crop. Thedefect of nutriment on one side would occasion the new roots to extend themselves solely in the opposite direction, and would cause the circle of fungi continually to proceed, by annual enlargement, from the centre outwards. The luxuriance of the grass follows as a natural consequence, as the soil of an interior circle is enriched by the decayed roots of fungi of the succeeding year’s growth. During the growth of fungi, they so entirely absorb all nutriment from the soil beneath, that the herbage is often for a while destroyed, and a ring appears bare of grass, surrounding the dark ring; but, after the fungi have ceased to appear, the soil where they had grown becomes darker, and the grass soon vegetates again with peculiar vigour. Dr. Wollaston had many opportunities of remarking, that, when two circles interfere with each other’s progress, they do not cross each other, but are invariably obliterated between the points of contact. The exhaustion occasioned by each obstructs the progress of the other, and both arestarved; a circumstance which affords a strong confirmation of the above theory.

Note 48, p.300.--Resonance.

In order to comprehend the nature ofreciprocated vibration, orresonance, let the reader keep in his remembrance the analogy between musical vibration, and the oscillation of the pendulum, as explained at page 275. If he well understands the phenomena of the latter, he will readily comprehend those of the former. Galileo observed that a heavy pendulum might be put in motion by the least breath of the mouth,provided the blasts were often repeated, and made to keep time exactly with the vibrations of the pendulum: from the same sympathetic communication of vibrations will two pendulum clocks fixed to the same wall, or two watches lying upon the same table, take the same rate of going, though they would not agree with one another if placed in separate apartments. Mr. Ellicot indeed observed that the pendulum of one clock was even able to stop that of the other; and that the stopped pendulum, after a certain time, would resume its vibrations, and in its turn stop the vibrations of the other. We have here a correct explanation of the phenomena ofResonance; for the undulations excited by a vibratory body are themselves capable of putting in motion all bodies whose pulses are coincidentwith their own, and consequently with those of the primitive sounding body; hence the vibrations of a string, when another, tuned in unison with it, is made to vibrate.

Upon the same principle does the resonance, or reciprocated vibrations of columns of air, depend. We are much indebted to Mr. Wheatstone for our knowledge of this branch of acoustics; he has shown that, if a tuning-fork or a bell be sounded before a tube inclosing a column of air of the necessary length, the original sound will be augmented by the rich resonance of that air; and that the sounds of tuning-forks, if held before the cavity of the mouth, may be reciprocated most intensely by adjusting the alterable volume of air contained within it to the pitch of the instrument; by placing, for instance, the tongue, &c. in the position for the nasal continuous sound ofng(in song), and then altering the aperture of the lips, until the loudest sound was obtained, he readily accomplished his object.

If two vibrating tuning-forks, differing in pitch, be held over a closed tube, furnished with a moveable piston, either sound may be made to predominate, by so altering the piston as to obtain the exact column of air which will reciprocate the required sound. The same result may be obtained by selecting two bottles (which may be tuned with water) each corresponding to the sound of a different tuning fork; on bringing both tuning-forks to the mouth of each bottle alternately, that sound only will be heard, in each case, which is reciprocated by the unisonant bottle; or, in other words, by that bottle which contains a column of air susceptible of vibrating in unison with the fork.

Among the Javanese instruments brought to England by the late Sir Stamford Raffles, there is one called thegender, in which the resonances of columns of air are employed to augment, we might almost say to render audible, the sounds of vibrating metallic plates. Under each of these plates is placed an upright bamboo, containing a column of air of the proper length to reciprocate the lowest sound of such plate. If the aperture of the bamboo be covered with pasteboard, and its corresponding plate be struck, a number of acute sounds only (depending on the more numerous subdivisions of the plate) will be heard; but, on removing the pasteboard, an additional deep rich tone is produced by the resonance of the column of air within the tube.

It is only by a knowledge of this principle that thetheory of the Guimbarde, or Jew’s harp, can be well understood.

Note 49, p.300.--The Jew’s harp.

The Memoires of Madame de Genlis first made known the astonishing powers of a poor German soldier on the Jew’s harp. This musician was in the service of Frederick the Great, and finding himself one night on duty under the windows of the king, played the Jew’s harp with so much skill, that Frederick, who was a great amateur of music, thought he heard a distinct orchestra. Surprised on learning that such an effect could be produced by a single man with two Jew’s harps, he ordered him into his presence; the soldier refused, alleging that he could only be relieved by his colonel; and that, if he obeyed, the king would punish him the next day for having failed to do his duty. Being presented the following morning to Frederick, he was heard with admiration, and received his discharge and fifty dollars. This artist, whose name Madame de Genlis does not mention, is called Koch; he has not any knowledge of music, but owes his success entirely to a natural taste. He has made his fortune by travelling about, and performing in public and private; and is now living retired at Vienna, at the advanced age of more than eighty years. He used two Jew’s harps at once, in the same manner as the peasants of the Tyrol; and produced, without doubt, the harmony of two notes struck at the same moment, which was considered by the musically-curious as somewhat extraordinary, when the limited powers of the instrument were remembered. It was Koch’s custom to require that all the lights should be extinguished, in order that the illusion produced by his playing might be increased.

It was reserved, however, for Mr. Eulenstein to acquire a musical reputation from the Jew’s harp. After ten years of close application and study, this young artist has attained a perfect mastery over this untractable instrument. In giving some account of the Jew’s harp, considered as a medium for musical sounds, we shall only present the result of his discoveries. This little instrument, taken singly, gives whatever grave sound you may wish to produce, as athird, afifth, or anoctave. If the grave tonic is not heard in the bass Jew’s harp, it must beattributed not to the defectiveness of the instrument, but to the player. In examining this result, you cannot help remarking the order and unity established by nature in harmonical bodies, which places music in the rank of exact sciences. The Jew’s harp has three different tones; the bass tones of the first octave bear some resemblance to those of the flute and clarionet; those of the middle and high to thevox humanaof some organs; lastly, the harmonical sounds are exactly like those of theharmonica. It is conceived that this diversity of tones affords already a great variety in the execution, which is always looked upon as being feeble and trifling, on account of the smallness of the instrument. It was not thought possible to derive much pleasure from any attempt which could be made to conquer the difficulties of so limited an instrument; because, in the extent of these octaves, there were a number of spaces which could not be filled up by the talent of the player; besides, the most simple modulation became impossible. Mr. Eulenstein has remedied that inconvenience, by joining sixteen Jew’s harps, which he tunes by placing smaller or greater quantities of sealing-wax at the extremity of the tongue. Each harp then sounds one of the notes of the gamut, diatonic or chromatic; and the performer can fill all the intervals, and pass all the tones, by changing the harp. That these mutations may not interrupt the measure, one harp must always be kept in advance, in the same manner as a good reader advances the eye, not upon the word which he pronounces, but upon that which follows.

Note 50, p.316.--Verbal telegraph.

This project has lately been revived; in a late number of theRevue Encyclopédiquethere is a proposal to communicate verbal intelligence, in a few moments, to vast distances; and this not by symbols, as in the Telegraph, but in distinct articulate sounds uttered by the human voice. The plan is said to have originated with an Englishman, Mr. Dick, according to whose experiments the human voice may be made intelligible at the distance of twenty-five or thirty miles. It has been stated, inNote 44, that the celebrated Biot had ascertained that sound travels more than ten times quicker when transmitted by solid bodies, or through tubes, than when it passes through the open air;at the distance of more than half a mile the low voice of a man was distinctly heard. Father Kircher relates in some of his works, that the labourers employed in the subterranean aqueducts of Rome heard each other at the distance of several miles. The note which follows was published in the early edition of this work, before the subject attracted any notice, or any railroad had been completed. It is therefore reprinted without alteration.

Note 51, p.316.--Electrical telegraph.

It has often occurred to the author of these pages, during his reveries, that the means of conveying intelligence with immense rapidity may be hereafter invented by the Electrician.--Should a system of railways be established throughout the country, it might lead to some expedient by which such a desideratum could be accomplished through the medium of electrical discharges. Upon this subject we have accidentally fallen upon a curious notice in Arthur Young’s Travels in France (vol. i. p. 65). “M. Lomond has made a very curious discovery in electricity; you write two or three words on a paper, he takes it with him into his room, and there turns a machine inclosed in a cylindrical case, at the top of which is an electrometer of pith balls; by means of a wire, a connexion is made with a similar cylinder and electrometer in a distant apartment, and his wife, by remarking the corresponding motions of the balls, writes down the words they indicate; from which it appears that he has formed anAlphabet of Motion. As the length of the conducting wire makes no difference in the effect, a correspondence might be carried on at any distance, as, for example, within or without a besieged town; or for purposes much more interesting and useful. Whatever the uses may be, the invention is beautiful.”

Note 52, p.368.--Carrier pigeons.

Thecarrieris a variety of the common domestic pigeon, and which, from the superior attachment that it shows to its native place, is employed in many countries as the most expeditious courier. The letters are tied under its wing, it is let loose, and in a very short space returns to the home it was brought from, with its advices. This practice was much in vogue in the East; and at Scanderoon, till of lateyears, it was used on the arrival of a ship, to give the merchants at Aleppo a more expeditious notice than could be done by any other means. In our own country, these aerial messengers have been employed for a very singular purpose, having been let loose at Tyburn at the moment the fatal cart was drawn away, to notify to distant friends the departure of the unhappy criminal.

In the East, the use of these birds seems to have been greatly improved, by having, if we may use the expression, relays of them ready to spread intelligence to all parts of the country; thus it is stated by Ariosto (canto 15), that the governor of Damiata circulated the news of the death of Orrilo. “As soon as the commandant of Damiata heard that Orrilo was dead, he let loose a pigeon, under whose wing he had tied a letter. This fled to Cairo, from whence a second was despatched to another place, as is usual; so that, in a very few hours, all Egypt was acquainted with the death of Orrilo.”

But the simple use of them was known in very early times. Anacreon tells us (ode ix.) that he conveyed his billet-doux to Bathyllus by a dove.

Taurosthenes also, by means of a pigeon he had decked with purple, sent advice to his father, who lived in the isle of Ægina, of his victory in the olympic games, on the very day he had obtained it.[86]And, at the siege of Modena, Hirtius without, and Brutus within the walls, kept, by the help of pigeons, a constant correspondence; baffling every stratagem of the besieger, Antony, to intercept their couriers. In the times of the crusades, there are many more instances of these birds of peace being employed in the service of war: Joinville relates one during the crusade ofSaint Louis, and Tasso another, during the siege of Jerusalem.--Pennant’s British Zoology.

The Dutch variety is the most valuable; a pair of the best kind being worth from five to eight pounds. It is lighter than the English pigeon, and flies nearly as fast again. It proceeds at the rate of 60 miles an hour, and has been known to complete a journey of 800 miles, but this; itis presumed, is not continuous, but assisted by occasional rest. The bird learns but one lesson; it may carry from Antwerp to London, or to any other place, but it will only pass between two such places. It evidently travels by sight; when tossed, it circles, then rises in a spiral, observes its route and darts off. It will not fly at night; and, should the day be foggy, it is delayed, and sometimes lost.

86.Ælian. Var. Hist.lib. ix. c. 2. Pliny, lib. x. c. 24, says that swallows have been made use of for the same purpose. Their rate of flight has been estimated at a mile in a minute, for ten hours, or 600 miles per day.

Note 53, p.371.--Origin of popular ceremonies.

The soothsayers attributed many mystic properties to the coral; and it was believed to be capable of giving protection against the influence ofEvil Eyes: it was even supposed that coral would drive away devils and evil spirits; hence arose the custom of wearing amulets composed of it around the neck, and of making crowns of it. Pliny and Dioscorides are very loud in the praises of the medicinal properties of this substance; and Paracelsus says that it should be worn round the necks of infants, as an admirable preservative against fits, sorcery, charms, and even against poison. It is a curious circumstance that the same superstitious belief should exist among the negroes of the West Indies, who affirm that the colour of coral is always affected by the state of health of the wearer, it becoming paler in disease. In Sicily it is also commonly worn as an amulet by persons of all ranks; as a security against anevil eye, a small twisted piece, somewhat resembling a horn, is worn at the watch-chain, under the name ofBuon Fortuna, and is occasionally pointed at those who are supposed to entertain evil intention. His late Sicilian Majesty was celebrated for his faith in, and frequent use of, thebuon fortuna.--But to return to the coral usually suspended around the necks of children in our own country. In addition to the supposed virtues of the coral, it may be remarked that silver bells are usually attached to it, which are generally regarded as mere accompaniments to amuse the child by their jingle; but the fact is, that they have a different origin, having been designed to frighten away evil spirits. For the same superstitious objects were bells introduced into our churches as a species of charm against storms and thunder, and the assaults of Satan.

In farther illustration of the truth, that a custom has frequently survived the tradition of its origin, it may be here observed, that the common practice of persons who areunable to write, making their mark orcross, is derived from our Saxon ancestors, who affixed the sign of the cross, as a signature to a deed, whether they could write or not. Several charters still remain, to which kings and persons of great eminence affix “Signum Crucis manu propriá pro ignorantiá literarum.” Hence is derived the expression ofsigninginstead ofsubscribinga paper. In like manner, the physician of the present day continues to prefix to his prescriptions the letter R, which is generally supposed to meanRecipe, but which, in truth, is a relict of the astrological symbol of Jupiter, formerly used as a species of superstitious invocation.

Note 54, p.379.--Invention of the game of chess.

Alphesadi, an Arabian writer, quoted by Montucla in hisHistoire des Mathematiques, expressly mentions the invention of chess as of Indian origin, and relates the following very curious Indian tradition:--Ardschir, King of the Persians, having invented the game ofTric-Trac, and being exceedingly vain of it, a certain Indian, named Sessa, the son of Daher, invented the game of chess, and presented his chess-board and chess-men to the king of the Indies. The sovereign was so much pleased, that he desired Sessa to name his reward, when this man made the apparently modest request, that he should receive as a gift so much corn as could be estimated by beginning with one grain, and doubling as many times as there were squares upon the chess-board, viz. 64. The king felt displeased at having his munificence thus slighted by a request so limited and so unworthy to be a gift from royalty; but, as Sessa remained firm, orders were given to the chief minister that he should be satisfied: when, however, the visir had by calculation ascertained the enormous quantity of corn which would be required, he waited upon the king, and with some difficulty convinced him of the fact; upon which the king sent for Sessa,--and said to him, that he admired his powers of calculation even more than the ingenuity of the game which he had presented to him, and, in respect to his promise as to the corn, he was compelled to acknowledge himself to be insolvent.

Dr. Wallis, the friend of Sir Isaac Newton, and Savilian Professor of Oxford, found that the quantity of corn would be such as to be capable of forming a pyramid, the measurementof which would be nine English miles in height, and nine similar miles for each of the four sides of the base. After this, Montucla also states some elaborate calculations made by himself, and proves, amongst other remarkable facts, that the quantity of corn in question would cover 162,000 square leagues to the depth of one foot, French measure, which would be at least three times the extent of the surface of France as it was about the year 1796, and which he estimates at 50,000 square leagues.

Note 55, p.388.--An arithmetical trick.

This problem is to be found in Hutton’s Recreations, and is stated as follows:--

“A person having in one hand anevennumber of shillings, and in the other anodd, to tell in which hand he has the even number.”

“Desire the person to multiply the number in the right hand by any even number whatever, and that in the left by any odd number; then bid him to add together the two products, and if the whole sum be odd, the even number of shillings will be in the right hand, and the odd number in the left; if the sum be even, the contrary will be the case. By a similar process, a person having in one hand a piece of gold, and in the other a piece of silver, we can tell in which hand he holds the gold, and in which the silver. For this purpose, some value represented by an even number, such as 8, must be assigned to the gold, and a value represented by an odd number, such as 3, must be assigned to the silver; after which the operation is exactly the same as in the preceding example.

“To conceal the artifice better, it will be sufficient to ask whether the sum of the two products can be halved without a remainder; for, in that case, the total will be even, and in the contrary case odd.

“It will be readily seen that the pieces, instead of being in the two hands of the same person, may be supposed to be in the hands of two persons, one of whom has the even number, or piece of gold, and the other the odd number, or piece of silver. The same operations may then be performed in regard to these two persons, as are performed in regard to the two hands of the same person, calling the one, privately, the right, and the other the left.”

Note 56, p.389.--An algebraic problem.

It is by discovering the number of counters left on the board that this trick is performed. By means of a table the problem may be immediately solved; but as such a reference would be inconvenient, and, indeed, destructive to the magic of the trick, a Latin verse is substituted, which may be easily carried in the memory, and will be found to answer all the purposes of a table. In order, however, that the reader may become thoroughly acquainted with the machinery of the trick, we shall explain it in the words of its author. The problem is stated as follows: “Three things being privately distributed to three persons, to guess that which each has got.”

Let the three things be a ring, a shilling, and a glove. Call the ringA, the shillingE, and the gloveI; and in your own mind distinguish the persons by calling them first, second, and third. Then take twenty-four counters, and give one of them to the first person, two to the second, and three to the third. Place the remaining eighteen on the table, and then retire, that the three persons may distribute among themselves the three things proposed without your observing them. When the distribution has been made, desire the person who has the ring to take from the remaining eighteen counters as many as he has already; the one who has the shilling to take twice as many as he has already, and the person who has the glove to take four times as many; according to the above supposition then, the first person has taken one, the second four, and the third twelve; consequently, one counter only remains on the table. When this is done, you may return, and, by the number left, can discover what thing each person has taken, by employing the following words:----

To make use of these words, you must recollect, that in all cases there can remain only 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7 counters, and never 4. It must likewise be observed, that each syllable contains one of the vowels, which we have made to represent the things proposed, and that the first syllable of each word must be considered as representing the first person, and the second syllable the second. This being comprehended, if there remains only one counter, you mustemploy the first word, or rather the two first syllables,sal-ve, the first of which, that containingA, shows that the first person has the ring represented byA; and the second syllable, that containingE, shows that the second person has the shilling represented byE; from which you may easily conclude that the third person has the glove. If two counters should remain, you must take the second wordcer-ta, the first syllable of which, containingE, will show that the first person has the shilling represented byE; and the second syllable, containingA, will indicate that the second person has the ring represented byA. In general, whatever number of counters remain, that word of the verse which is pointed out by the same number must be employed.

Instead of the above Latin verse, the following French one might be used:--

In using the above line, it must be considered as consisting only of six words.

This problem might be proposed in a manner somewhat different, and might be applied to more than three persons. Those of our readers who may be desirous of further information on the subject, must consult Bachet in the 25th of hisProblèmes plaisantes et délectables.

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