SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. SIR PHILIP SIDNEY was one of the most remarkable men that England has produced. His parents were Sir Henry Sidney, an Irish gentleman, and Mary, daughter of the Duke of Northumberland. He was born at Penshurst, in Kent, in the year 1554. At the age of twenty-five, he became one of the most highly trusted counsellors of Queen Elizabeth, by whom he was sent ambassador to the Emperor of Austria. A few years afterwards, his advice influenced the Queen in a most important crisis of her life. The Duke of Anjou had long sought her hand; and, though she was nearly twenty-five years older than that prince, he took the resolution of preferring his suit in person, and secretly paid her a visit at Greenwich. It appears that, though his figure was not handsome, his manners were pleasing, and that he made considerable impression on her heart. The Queen ordered her Ministers to fix the terms of the marriage settlement; and a day was appointed for the nuptials. But the wise counsellors who surrounded her throne saw the necessity of averting a step which might have been very prejudicial to the interests of England; and Sir Philip Sidney, in particular, had the courage to address a letter to her, in which he dissuaded her from the match with such force of reasoning, that her resolution was shaken. As the appointed day drew near, she became irresolute and melancholy; and was observed to pass several nights without sleep. At last, her settled habits of prudence overcame her inclinations, and the Duke of Anjou was dismissed. When Queen Elizabeth, in 1585, agreed to assist Maurice, Prince of Orange, against the arms of Spain, she sent an army into the Netherlands, commanded by the famous Earl of Leicester. Leicester made but a sorry general, and did little service to the cause; but Sir Philip Sidney so greatly distinguished himself by his courage and conduct, that his reputation rose to the highest pitch. His name became so illustrious throughout Europe, that he was invited to be a competitor for the Crown of Poland, and would probably have been elected but for the interference of Elizabeth. He fell on the 17th of October, 1586, at the battle of Zutphen. His body was brought to London, and buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. These obsequies were attended " by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen in murreie;' by the Grocers' Company, of which Sir Philip was a member; and by many of the citizens practised in arms." SIR PHILIP SIDNEY is described by the writers of that age as the most perfect model that could be imagined of a great character. With the wisdom of a statesman, the valour of a soldier, and the elegant accomplishments of a gentleman and scholar, he combined high principles of religion, and great purity of life. No person was too low to become an object of his humanity. After the battle of Zutphen, while he was lying mangled with wounds, upon the field, a bottle of water was brought him to relieve his thirst; but observing a soldier near him in a similar condition, he said, "This man's necessity is greater than mine," and resigned the water to the dying man. Besides the beautiful poem of the Arcadia, which places him in a high rank among the English poets, he wrote a number of smaller pieces, both in prose and verse Sir Philip Sidney left one daughter, Elizabeth, who was born in the year 1585, in the parish of St. Olave, Hart-street, London, where Lady Sidney, Sir Philip's mother resided, and where she died in 1586. This Elizabeth was married to Roger, Earl of Rutland. The widow of Sir Philip afterwards became the wife successively of Robert Devereux, the unfortunate Earl of Essex, and of Richard, Earl of Clanricarde and of St. Alban's. THE ANCIENT WATER-CONDUITS OF LONDON WERE built for the purpose of conducting water into the city of London. Before the time of William the Conqueror, and for two hundred years after, London was supplied with water by the river Thames on the South; by the River of the Wells (afterwards called Fleet Ditch), on the West; by a stream called Walbrook, which ran through London-Wall, and through the heart of the city into the Thames; by a fourth stream, or Bourne, which took its course along the city, beginning in Fenchurch-street, through Lombardstreet, at the west end of which it turned southwards by Sherbourn-lane into the Thames. This Bourne was called Langbourne from its length. Langbourne ward still bears its name. In the west suburbs was another stream called Oldbourne or Holborne, which began at Holborn-bars, and ran down the street to Holborn-bridge into the River of the Wells. Besides these, there were fountains or wells in various parts, the chief of which were Holy-well, Clerks-well, Clements-well, whose respective situations are now pointed out by the names of the streets which were called after them. So greatly, however, had population and building increased towards the end of the thirteenth century as to encroach upon and render useless the River of the Wells and other streams; when it became necessary to invent some additional mode of supplying the inhabitants with water. Accordingly in the year 1285, a leaden cistern, encased in stone for protection, was erected in West Cheap (Cheapside), called the Great Conduit, into which water was conveyed from Paddington. Between the years 1401 and 1610 a vast number of these conduits were built in London, among which we may particularly notice one at Holborn Cross, about 1498. This was restored in 1577 by Mr. W. Lamb, and was hence called Lamb's Conduit. 1 A regular trade was carried on by persons employed to convey water from the conduits to the respective houses; these were called "Water Bearers;" the vessels which they used held about three gallons. In order to keep up the various conduits, sums of money were frequently bestowed by "good and charitable people.' It was also customary for the city authorities to visit them in great state. Stow gives an amusing account of one of these visits : "On the 18th September, 1562, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and many worshipful persons, and divers of the masters and wardens of the twelve companies, rid to the Conduit-heads, for to see them after the old custom; and afore dinner they hunted the hare and killed her, and thence to dinner at the head of the conduit. There was a good number entertained with good cheer by the Chamberlain. And after dinner they went to hunting the fox. There was a great cry for a mile, and at length the hounds killed him at the end of St. Giles's. Great hallowing at his death, and blowing of horns. And thence the Lord Mayor, with all his company, rode through London to his place in Lombard-street." The Conduits being now found insufficient, the supply of water was greatly increased by the waterworks near London-bridge, which were planned and executed by Peter Morrice, a Dutchman, in the reign of Elizabeth. The famous inn called WHITE CONDUIT HOUSE, derives its name from an ancient stone conduit, shown in the engraving, and which till very lately stood near the spot. It appears to have been built in 1641, and was raised over a head of water that supplied the Charter-house by means of a leaden pipe, which, after the erection of Sadler's Wells, passed through the basement story of that building. The carved stone which bore the date exhibited also the initials of THOMAS SUTTON, the noble founder of the Charter-house, with his arms, and other initials, probably those of persons connected with the hospital. FROM THE RUSSIAN. M. BENEATH thy all-directing nod, The heron seeks every where the neighbourhood of lakes, of rivers, and of lands intersected by water.Almost always solitary, it remains, for hours together, immoveable in the same spot. When it puts itself in motion to watch, upon their passage, and more nearly, the frogs and fishes, which constitute its chief aliment, it enters into the water above the knee, with its head between the legs, and in this position, after having patiently awaited the moment of seizing its prey, it suddenly unfolds its long neck, and pierces its victim with its bill. It has been ascertained that it swallows frogs entire, for their bones are found in its stomach unbroken. In time of dearth, and when the water is covered with ice, it approaches running streams, and hot springs, where it is said to feed on the waterlentil, and other small plants. But it frequently exposes itself to perish, rather than seek a milder climate. In the different seasons of the year, it constantly appears so melancholy and insensible, that it will remain alone and exposed in the worst weather, on some stump in the midst of an inundated meadow, while the blongios (a smaller kind of heron) takes shelter in the thick herbage, and the bittern in the midst of the reeds. The herons, which unite to their sad and uniform existence all the torments of perpetual fear and inquietude, are not accustomed to take flight, except at night, and for the purpose of betaking themselves into the woods of thick and lofty foliage in the neighbourhood, and from which they return before the dawn of day. Then it is that their sharp and unpleasant scream is heard, which might be compared to that of a goose were it not shorter and more melancholy. In the day-time, they fly away to a great distance from the sight of man, and when attacked by the eagle or the falcon, they endeavour to escape by rising into the air, and getting above them. The wings of the heron strike the air in an equal and regulated motion, and this uniform flight raises and carries its body to such an elevation, that, at a distance, nothing is perceptible except the wings, which are at length lost sight of in the region of the clouds.-CuVIER'S Animal Kingdom. TREATMENT OF LUNATICS. Ir may be gratifying, as an appendix to a former paper, to observe that the great modern secret of management in insanity is gentle and kind treatment, occupation, and amusement, and last, though not least, religious and moral instruction for all who are able to bear it. If the boasted advance of our age in knowledge had stopped short of the poor lunatic, who was least able to take care of himself, we should have less ground for mutual congratulation; but thanks to the Christian benevolence of the wealthy and the influential, the sorrowful sighing of the most pitiable of "prisoners" has at length come before us, and much has been done by the scientific and the pious, to increase his comfort and to hasten his cure. 1st. As to mild treatment.-The mind, whether in a sound or unsound state, naturally revolts at oppression and injustice; and the reason as well as experience of mankind should have taught them earlier, that all constraint or correction beyond what is clearly necessary, should be studiously avoided in the treatment of lunatics. Kind and cheering language, a compliance with pardonable oddities, an endurance of provoking language, the suggestion of hope, whether of amendment or discharge, an attention to little wants and even weaknesses, and an affectionate sympathy with the character and case of each individual, are charms too potent to be resisted. Hence, a really good temper is indispensable in superintendents and servants of the insane, and the control of their own passions becomes the first of duties; when patients see, however imperfectly, that real kindness alone dictates the necessary discipline, and feel that some interest is taken in their comfort, one half of the work is done. 2dly. Occupation and Amusement—are of great importance, though their value has only been properly understood of late. Out of confinement, as well as in it, idleness is the greatest evil of our nature; it makes the man who is at liberty his own tormentor; while employment will sweeten the dreariest hour of solitude in a prison, and greatly increases the pleasure of society under confinement. It was once the declaration of a poor convict who was long shut up in a dungeon, that he was for months supplied with the means of fixing his attention and engaging his thoughts by watching the movements of a spider, the only tenant of his cell. We now find the females in every well conducted Lunatic Asylum, working, knitting, getting up the linen, mending, and reading suitable books; while the men are also engaged with books, garden work, tennis-ball, pumping water, battledoor and shuttlecock, or other healthful and harmless occupations. The bodily exercise so necessary to the health is thus provided for by promoting proper circulation, and assisting due secretion; while the mind is no longer suffered to prey upon itself for want of some external object; in this way, both present comfort and future cure are found to be eminently promoted. 3dly. As to Religious Instruction.-The experience of all the asylums which have tried it, is, that under the exercise of a wise discretion in the selection of cases, and of prudent caution in their management, religion and morals are actual helps in the cure of insanity, as well as no small alleviations where a cure cannot be effected. This is not an experiment of yesterday, for the judicious religious instruction of those who are recovering has been in use for a great number of years at Bethlem-hospital, under two successive chaplains; nor did that hospital adopt the plan till such accumulated evidence poured in from all England and Scotland as could not be resisted.* The same system is pursued at Hanwell, and indeed spectators have often observed that the behaviour of the insane during public worship is such as need not fear a comparison with that of the most sane congregation wherever assembled. The writer of this paper has known cases in which the highest possible comfort has been administered by the chaplain, both in health and sickness, to the poor patient, whose gratitude has been expressed down to the latest opportunity. Indeed, when we consider how frequently it happens that much wandering will appear on a given subject, while on all others the mind will preserve its tone, it would neither be philosophic nor Christian to withhold a remedy of God's own providing, in those cases where no particular reason for doing so is to be found. If space would allow, it could be easily shown that so far from the common notion being true, that Reli gion makes men mad, the want of Religion has often been a main source of madness. Whatever excites the passions strongly is not only injurious to the exercise of reason, but often suspends its operation and produces its overthrow. Some, under the influence of liquor, are in a state of temporary madness, and the friends of patients constantly assign drinking as the main, or the only cause of the malady. In conclusion, let all be grateful that the treatment of a malady which has not spared the sceptred monarch, and may be permitted, in the righteous providence of God, to visit any of us, is now better understood than ever; and let all who are yet blessed with the unspeakable mercy of a sound understanding, be anxious above all things to "walk with God" in the constant use of that Divine Revelation which he has been pleased to make of himself, and in humble prayer for the influence of his Holy Spirit that they may be enabled to receive its doctrines, and obey its precepts; and let all who call themselves Christians remember, that in proof of the Almighty having inseparably connected sin with suffering, and holiness with happiness, an illustrious layman has said that "whatever disunites man from God, separates man from man." If then, all suffering and sorrow be a consequence of the Fall, who can doubt that madness is so? and where then, in addition to human means, may we more properly look for aid than to Him who in the days of his flesh, especially remembered outcasts, and now declares that "whosoever will, may come." The power of using that will, and the success which may attend its exercise, cannot be defined or limited by man, and can only be fully known by Him "who knoweth all things." P. * The last return at Bethlem gave a proportion of seventy seven under religious instruction, out of two hundred and twenty then in the house. I CANNOT but remember with thankfulness the benefit I derived from the Lectures of Dr. Adam Marshall on Human Anatomy. He was a man of strong mind, and had deeply studied the mathematical construction and laws of our bony fabric, and was never happier than when explaining them. In the course which I attended, he was member his devoting a whole lecture to display the proparticularly scientific and eloquent on this subject. I refound science that was visible in the formation of the double hinges of our joints. Such was the effect of his demonstrations, that our inquisitive friend, who had accompanied me to his course with sceptical inclinations, suddenly exclaimed, with great emphasis one day as we left his rooms, his own body, can remain an Atheist." I felt as he did, A man must be a fool indeed, who, after duly studying but had not been aware that his objecting mind was spontaneously working itself into so important a conviction.— Sacred History of the World NOCTURNAL FIGHT WITH A LION.-A number of lions are met with among the hills of California, and they are said to be very ferocious. A former commandant of Mexico, in the year 1821, was travelling near the Gulf of Molexe, and finding it impossible, from the lateness of the hour, to reach Loreto before the morning, he resolved upon, sleeping in one of the valleys near the shore. His two sons, youths of sixteen and eighteen years of age, accompanied him. The father, being apprehensive of lions, which he knew to be plentiful among the mountains, slept with a son on either side of him, charitably supposing that, if one of these animals should approach the party during the night, he would certainly attack the person sleeping on the outside. About midnight, a wandering lion found out the retreat of the party, and, without his approach being perceived, he leaped upon the father, in whose body he inserted his teeth and claws, and with his mane and tail erect, proceeded forthwith to devour him. The two boys, moved by the cries and sufferings of their parent, grappled the lion manfully, who, finding his prize contested, became furious: the combat was most bloody. After being dreadfully lacerated, the two brave youths succeeded, with a simple knife, in killing their ferocious enemy, but, unhappily for them, not soon enough to save their father; and the afflicted boys were left to lament his death and their own severe wounds. They both, with difficulty, survived; and are, I understand, still living in California, although dreadful objects,-the features of one of them being nearly obliterated.-HARDY's Travels in Mexico. THE SWALLOWS. YE gentle birds, that perch aloof, Ere Winter's angry threats commence, May God, by whom is seen and heard SALT. THE varieties of this useful mineral are distinguished by the different situations in which they are found: thus we have Sea-salt, Rock-salt, Lake-salt, and Fountain-salt; all possessing exactly the same properties, and containing the same component parts. To those who are unacquainted with the effect of chemical combinations, it will appear strange that a substance of such an agreeable flavour as salt should be composed of the most unpalatable materials; but this is really the case; for salt is formed by the union of soda with marine acid, either of which, taken separately, is highly disagreeable. When salt is suffered to crystallize regularly, it takes the form of a cube, and, when broken, splits into thin plates. It is one of the most abundant substances in nature, being distributed with a profusion in proportion to our wants, and found in some state or other in every country of the world. The sea is the most abundant source of this mineral, since it has been ascertained that one-thirtieth part of all the great waters of the ocean is formed of salt. The quantity of salt, however, which the sea contains, is not the same in all climates. The proportion appears to increase from the poles in a regular progression, and to be greatest in quantity near the Equator. The North Seas contain a sixty-fourth, those of Germany about a thirtieth, the Spanish Main a sixteenth, and the ocean, within the Equator, from a twelfth to an eighth part. In very hot countries, where the earth is dry and sandy, it is not uncommon to find the surface covered with a crust of salt. This circumstance is mentioned by several travellers. In Persia very extensive plains are said to be covered with a sort of fleecy salt. In Arabia the plains are seldom without salt; and in Africa this substance is so abundantly spread on the ground, that we may presume the dry and hot soil has some share in its formation. In many parts of the world we meet with lakes of salt water, whose bottoms are encrusted with layers of salt. Mr. Barrow, in particular, notices these salt lakes. He met with them to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, on the frontiers of the Caffre country, and has given the following account of them. "We encamped on the verdant bank of a beautiful lake, in the midst of a wood of fruit-bearing plants. It was of an oval form, about three miles in circumference. On the western side was a shelving bank of green turf, and round the other parts of the basin the ground, rising more abruptly, and to a greater height, was covered thickly with the same kind of plants as had been observed to grow most commonly in the thickets of the adjoining country. The water was perfectly clear, but salt as brine. It was one of those salt-water lakes, which abound in Southern Africa, where they are called zout-pans by the colonists. The one in question, it seems, is the most famous in the colony, and is resorted to by the inhabitants from very distant parts, for the purpose of procuring salt for their own consumption, or for sale. It is situated on a plain of considerable elevation above the level of the sea. The greatest part of the bottom of the lake was covered with one continued body of salt like a sheet of ice, the crystals of which were so united that it formed a solid mass as hard as rock. The margin, or shore, of the basin, was like the sandy beach of the sea-coast, with sand-stone and quartz pebbles thinly scattered over it, some red, some purple, and others gray. Beyond the narrow belt of sand round the margin, the sheet of salt commenced with a thin porous crust, increasing in thickness and solidity as it advanced towards the middle of the lake. The salt that is taken out for use is generally broken up with pick-axes, where it is about four or five inches thick, which is at no great distance from the margin of the lake. The thickness in the middle is not known, a quantity of water generally remaining in that part. The dry south-easterly winds of summer agitating the water of the lake, produce on the margin a fine light powdery salt, like flakes of snow. This is equally beautiful as the refined salt of England, and is much sought after by the women, who always commission their husbands to bring home a quantity of snowy salt for the table. "I caused a hole four feet in depth to be dug in the. sand, close to the edge of the water. The two first feet were through sand, like that of the sea-shore, in which were mingled small shining crystals of salt. The third foot was considerably harder and more compact, and came up in flakes that required some degree of force to break; and the last foot was so solid that the spade would scarcely pierce it; and one-fifth part of the mass, at least, was pure salt in crystals. The water now gushed in perfectly clear, and as salt as brine." Salt springs are very numerous, and occur in most parts of the world. Those of our own country, situated at Northwich, are well known for the great quantity of salt which is annually obtained from them. The springs are from twenty to forty yards below the surface of the earth, and the water is raised by a steam-engine, and conveyed through long troughs to the brine-pits, where it is evaporated in large iron pans till the salt crystallizes. An immense quantity is collected in this way, no less than 45,000 tons being annually manufactured in the town of Northwich. Nothing more nearly resembles a Polypus than the common body in which the animal of the DIAZOMA is contained. This body is formed of cells, and spread out like a saucer-of a firm, jelly-like substance, transparent, and of a light violet colour, which is deeper at the extremity of the cells. These cells are disposed in several concentric circles, containing the animals, of a grey ash colour, which are visible through the skin that incloses them. The cells are large, projecting, flattened, and inclined in a direction from the centre to the circumference; the various circular rows appear each to form a distinct group. Each cell has two tube-shaped pores of a purple colour, marked with six grooves, from which, when the creature expands itself, six lance-shaped feelers proceed; the largest and most projecting tube corresponds with the mouth, and is farthest from the centre. The description of animals to which this is allied are called radiated, from the parts of which they are composed, arising from a common centre, and spreading out in a circular form like the rays of the sun. When in a state of rest, not the least appearance of life is visible, and they appear like unformed lumps of animal substance; but when left undisturbed and excited by hunger, their numerous arms are spread in search of food: and we observe instead of the slimy mass we threw down in disgust, the appearance of a group of flowers in full bloom. The Sea Anemone, so common on our own coasts, is a beautiful specimen of an animal of this class. Persons, who some years back were lowered in a Diving Bell to inspect the wreck of the Royal George, that foundered at Portsmouth, were struck with astonishment at the appearance of its deck, which was covered with mud deposited from the sea, and become the abode of numerous groups of these creatures, who with their extended arms had converted the whole surface into the resemblance of an extensive and beautiful flower garden. rose. THE TWO ROSES. BEING with my friend in a garden, we gathered each of us a He handled his tenderly; smelt to it but seldom, and sparingly. I always kept mine to my nose, or squeezed it in my hand; whereby, in a very short time, it lost both its colour and sweetness: but his still remained as sweet and fragrant as if it had been growing upon its own root. These roses, said I, are the true emblems of the best and sweetest creature-enjoyments in the world,-which, being moderately and cautiously used and enjoyed, may for a long time yield sweetness to the possessor of them; but, if once the affections seize too greedily upon them, and squeeze them too hard, they quickly wither in our hands, and we lose the comfort of them; and that, either through the soul surfeiting upon them, or the Lord's righteous and just removal of them, because of the excess of our affections to them. It is a point of excellent wisdom, to keep the golden bridle of moderation upon all the affections we exercise on earthly things; and never to let slip the reins of the affections, unless they move towards God, in the love of whom there is no danger of excess.-FLAVEL. Lines quoted in TAYLOR'S Holy Living and Dying, as being found on a tombstone in Feversham Church. hoso him bethoft, Inwardly and oft, how hard it were to flit From bed into the pit, From pit unto pain That nere shall cease again, He would not do one sin AN ALPHABETICAL ACCOUNT An Austrian army, awfully arrayed, For fame, for fortune fighting; furious fray: Kinsmen kill kindred, kindred kinsmen kill. Men march 'midst moles, 'midst mounds, 'midst murderous mines. Now noisy noxious numbers notice nought Yield, yield ye youths, ye yeomen, yield your yell. |