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being perceived by him, and was astonished at the attention | them there is a small hollow tube. The fly remains they ali paid to the few words he was able to address to them. for some time attached to the body of the locust ; A middle-aged man, with several of his family about him, but whether this is for the purpose of lodging its eggs came up to me with his book, and repeated the words the in the body, is not yet known. 'Padre Sahib' had spoken to him on presenting it; and, as if really anxious to have them corroborated, asked, with much earnestness, if it were true. I assured him it all was. 'Then,' said he, I will read the book to my family whenever I get home.""

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From the information contained in this, as well as other recent accounts of India, it appears that the great work of conversion in the East is proceeding with daily increasing success and certainty. The formidable difficulties arising from the tenets and prejudices of the natives, are yielding to the influence of christian precept, strengthened by christian example; and the late wise, humane, and most salutary abolition, by our government, of the custom of widows burning themselves with the bodies of their husbands, has been generally received in a manner which shews how glad the people are to be released from a frightful superstition, which, in spite of education and habit, must, at all times, have been revolting to the natural feelings of every human being.

THE LOCUST AND THE ICHNEUMON. ALMOST every body has heard speak of the "Book of Nature," by which people usually mean the information and amusement to be always found in the patient observation of the natural world around us. But this "Book of Nature," if we rightly study it, will teach us more than the mere knowledge of what falls under the observation of our natural senses: it may enable us to think and judge in some degree correctly of the Great Creator of them all. For, as the Scripture says, "The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead."

How wonderful it is, that in a world where almost every creature preys upon, or is itself the prey of, some other, all should be so nicely balanced, that the whole great system still goes on! If the suffering, which, owing to the mutual destruction of each other by the different creatures, runs throughout our world, has branded it with marks of divine wrath, still the wondrous fact-that all goes on well in the main, is proof of an all-wise and ever-watchful Keeper in and over it, who, in the midst of wrath, continually remembers mercy; and who, opposing different evils by each other, in the end brings out of them whatever good He will. I was led to these reflections by reading in "WEBSTER'S Travels through the Crimea and Turkey," the following fact in the Natural History of

THE LOCUST.

The Locust.

"Before the fly goes in search of a locust for destruction, it prepares a small hole in the ground, which it does very quickly, by means of its nippers and legs. Into this hole it drags the body, and afterward scrapes the earth over it; and to render the surface smooth, it seems to take great pains in replacing the earth, by running backward and forward over the spot, whilst patting it with its legs.

"The destruction of the locusts by this means has not hitherto been noticed. But there can be no doubt it is carried on upon a very extensive scale in the Steppe all over the south."

A note to the above informs us, that "these insects were observed by Dr. Lee, in the autumn of 1825, around Odessa, and several beautiful specimens of them will be found in the collection of insects of the Crimea and Caucasus, which he presented to the Museum of the Royal Institution after his return from Russia, in 1826." F. F. C.

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THE motto of the family arms of Dr. DODDRIDGE was Dum vivimus vivamus-(Live while you live.) Under this motto he wrote the following lines, which, in the opinion of Dr. JOHNSON, constitute one of the finest epigrams in the English language:

"Live while you live," the epicure would say,
"And seize the pleasures of the present day :"
"Live while you live," the sacred preacher cries,
"And give to God each moment as it flies:"
Lord! in my view let both united be,-

I live in pleasure when I live to Thee. WHEN we think of death, a thousand sins we have trode as worms beneath our feet, rise up against us like flaming serpents.-SCOTT.

THE passions, like heavy bodies down steep hills, once in motion, move themselves, and know no ground but the bottom.-FULLER.

LONDON:

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, 445, (WEST) STRAND. Sold by all Booksellers and Newsvenders in the Kingdom. Hawkers and Dealers in Periodical Publications supplied on wholesale terms by W.S. ORR, Paternoster-Row; G. BERGER, Holywell-st.; A. DOUGLAS, 27, Portman-st. Portman-sq. London, And by the Publisher's Agents in the following places :Aberdeen................... .Brown and Co. Hull Wilson. Lancashire and Bancks and Co. Manchester.

"In the neighbourhood of Odessa, myriads of a peculiar fly, of that kind called Ichneumon, may be met with employed in killing and burying the Locusts. The manner in which this is done is very singular. These flies steal upon the locusts unaawares, mount upon their back, and strongly apply their own long powerful legs around the body of the locust, so that it cannot spread Birmingham its wings and mount into the air, whereby it might escape. When the locust is wearied with exertions

The Ichneumon.

to get free from the gripe of his enemy, the fly applies the strong nippers, with which its mouth is furnished, to the neck of the locust, then pushes its sharp dart between the victim's head and body, and in a few seconds the locust is dead. This dart is found, upon examination, to consist of two sharp bodies, and in

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UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

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If this sentiment of an old writer had prevailed more generally, how many relics of noble buildings, now levelled with the dust, would have been spared to us! The rage for modern improvement, or the blind fury of a mob has, in a few hours, frequently destroyed the work of centuries; all that skill, and labour, and wealth were able to effect;-and what to successive generations would have furnished invaluable models for the instruction of architects and workmen. The keen regret that follows these acts of wanton violence must be deep, as the mischief is not to be repaired; but let us hope that better feelings have taken root amongst us, and that henceforward every lofty spire and venerable tower will be cherished with care and reverence, as legacies of patient and costly labour, bequeathed to us by our ancestors, as well for our use as our delight.

The accompanying print represents the exterior as it now appears, of a very curious building; the oldest Hall, (originally belonging to a private residence), and the most perfect specimen of the domestic architecture of the fifteenth century, existing in London.

Crosby Hall or Place, on the east side of Bishopsgate-street, was built in the reign of Henry V., by Sir John Crosby, or Crosbie, Knight, a wealthy grocer and woolman. After his death in 1475, we learn, that amongst its possessors or inmates, were Richard Duke of Gloster, (afterwards Richard III), some distinguished merchants of Italy and London, and ambassadors from Denmark and France.

VOL. I.

In the early part of the last century, the Hall was converted into a Dissenting Meeting House, and on the dispersion of the congregation, about 1775 or 1780, it became a packer's warehouse.

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The Hall extends about 69 feet in length by 27 in to try his fortune in London. His first work of any breadth; the heighth, to the apex of the roof, is note was his celebrated poem of London. It was about 40 feet; but when converted into a warehouse, published without his name, but soon attracted the it was intersected by a floor, which prevents any judg-notice of the most distinguished individuals of the ment being formed of the general effect The Hall has the usual accompaniment of a large bay-window, or recess. Both this, and the windows on the opposite side, are of great beauty, and bear some resemblance to the windows in the hall at Eltham. A little above the recess is a door, communicating with a smaller apartment (42 feet by 22). The roof of the Hall, which is of admirable design and workmanship, and in some places has been gilt, will be better understood from our view of the interior, than by any verbal description that we can give of it.

day. For a considerable time after this, his chief employment was writing in the Gentleman's Magazine, to which work he gave great interest by reporting the debates in the Houses of Parliament under the fiction of "Debates in the Senate of Lilliput." In those days the machinery of the daily press, by means of which the debates of a whole night are laid on our breakfast tables in the morning, was not in existence; and the public was delighted with discussions full of vigour and eloquence, much of which was given to them by the reporter. In 1747, he

The ceiling of the smaller room is in form a four-published his plan of an English Dictionary, for which centered arch divided into rows of square pannels, each pannel originally filled with very rich tracery. The Hall is so completely hidden, that hundreds of our readers must have passed it unknowingly, and their first knowledge that such a building ever existed might have been the news of its destruction.

he endeavoured to obtain the patronage of the Earl of Chesterfield, so well known for his writings on the subject of politeness. But the intercourse between the polished courtier and the rough scholar, was equally unsatisfactory to both; and Johnson informed the world in his preface, that "the English In a statement lately circulated, we are told "there Dictionary was written with little assistance from is reason to believe, that in a very few years every the learned, and without any patronage of the vestige of this interesting fabric would have been great; not in the soft obscurities of retirement, or swept away, and the ground occupied by modern under the shelter of academic bowers, but amidst inhouses, had it not been for the zealous interference of convenience and distraction, in sickness and in sortwo or three neighbouring families. Desirous to row." Chesterfield, on the other hand, ridiculed avert such a loss to the arts, and such a discredit to Johnson's deportment and manners, of which he gave the age, a few gentlemen met together, and resolved a satirical description in one of his Letters to his Son. to make an appeal to such individuals of taste and In 1749, Johnson produced another admirable satire, influence as they thought likely to co-operate with The Vanity of Human Wishes, and his tragedy of Irene. them in the work of preservation. That primary He now began The Rambler, a work which was not at appeal has been answered in the most encouraging first received in a manner worthy of its great excelmanner. A committee has been formed, and sub-lence. Written entirely by himself, and in a very serious scriptions have been opened with a spirit that promises a satisfactory result."

tone, it wanted the variety and gaiety necessary to attract the readers of periodical publications. But, after it was collected into volumes, its merit was fully perceived; and the author lived to see it reach a tenth

From this gratifying statement, we trust that this building will be preserved to distant ages. We would urge our readers to visit it, (as it is open for inspec-edition. tion) and also the Church of St. Helen's, in the immediate neighbourhood, as that is also a building of great beauty, and is preserved with a degree of neatness that confers the highest credit upon its guardians. In that church rest the builder of Crosby Hall, and also the famous Sir Thomas Gresham, and Sir Andrew Judd, the founder of Tunbridge School. These "Traffickers" were indeed amongst "the honourable of the earth," and gave a lustre to the name of the LONDON MERCHANT. "They were honoured in their generation, and were the glory of their times; and they have left a name behind them that their praises might be reported."

Soon after the close of the Rambler, he lost his wife, who had been his faithful and affectionate partner in all his difficulties and distresses, and whose death he deeply deplored. His Dictionary, the labour of many years, was now brought out, and hailed by the public as a valuable addition to English literature. The profit he derived from it did not, however, remove his difficulties; he had, in fact, been living upon it beforehand during nearly the whole time of its preparation. He then began the Idler, a series of delightful Essays, which were published in a weekly newspaper. So severe did his struggles with poverty still continue to be, that, on the death of his mother, in 1759, he wrote the beautiful moral tale of Rasselas, for the purpose of raising a sufficient sum of money to defray the expenses of her funeral and discharge her little debts.

MEMOIR OF DOCTOR JOHNSON. DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON, one of the best, as well as most illustrious, men of whom England can In 1762, he received a pension from king George boast, was born on the 7th of September, 1709, at the third; by which, and the profits of his literary Litchfield, where his father was a bookseller, in very labours, he was placed in easy circumstances. The low circumstances. He contrived, however, to main- only great work which he produced after this period tain his son for some time at Oxford. On his death, was his Lives of the English Poets, which was comthe young student was compelled by necessity to en-pleted in 1781. He died on the 13th of December, gage himself as usher in a grammar-school. In this situation he was treated in a manner which so wounded his feelings, that it was a subject of painful remembrance to him for the rest of his life. On quitting it he made some unsuccessful attempts to maintain himself by his pen; and soon afterwards married Mrs. Porter, the widow of a mercer of Birmingham, with whom he received a small sum of money, which enabled him to open a boarding-school. In this, too, he was unsuccessful he abandoned his plan, and resolved

1785, in the 75th year of his age; his remains were interred in Westminster Abbey, and, a monument is erected to his memory in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Dr. Johnson, as a writer, has never been surpassed in the greatness of his conceptions, and the elevation of his religious and moral sentiments. Living much in the world, and undergoing many of the trials and changes of life, his philosophy was built on experience and observation of human nature; and, if his pencil, on the whole is a dark one, yet there are beau

tiful lights, as well as deep shades, in his pictures. His views of religion have most unjustly been blamed as gloomy. That he laboured, at times, under a greater fear of death than might have been expected from his Christian principles and general strength of mind, is true; but this, with some imperfections of character (of no great moment, indeed) is to be ascribed to the diseased state of his bodily frame during the whole of his long life. In his trials and calamities, we find him always resorting to heaven for support and consolation; and, in his writings, while the duties of religion are represented as utterly inconsistent with the slightest degree of vicious indulgence, they are never placed as bars to innocent enjoyment. His style has been made the subject of much criticism, and frequently exposed to petulant ridicule. But it seems peculiarly suited to his turn of thought; and, in his pages, a grand and solemn train of reflexions becomes still more impressive from the magnificent flow of the language in which it is clothed.

In private life, Dr. Johnson was not less beloved than revered. He was rough in his exterior, but his heart was full of the milk of human kindness. He has been represented as rude and overbearing in society; but his rudeness will be found to have been generally worthy of a better name, and to have exhibited itself in stern reproof of presumptuous ignorance or unbecoming levity; while his life was spent in offices of kindness and charity, to the utmost extent of his means. Even his ordinary conversation was full of instruction; and Boswell, who wrote his life, has by merely preserving what fell from his lips, produced one of the most valuable books in our language.

WHO IS ALONE?

How heavily the path of life

Is trod by him who walks alone; Who hears not, on his dreary way,

Affection's sweet and cheering tone. Alone, although his heart should bound With love to all things great and fair, They love not him,-there is not one

His sorrow or his joy to share. The ancient stars look coldly down

On man, the creature of a day; They lived before him, and live on

Till his remembrance pass away. The mountain lifts its hoary head,

Nor to his homage deigns reply; The stormy billows bear him forth,

Regardless which—to live or die. The flow'ret blooms unseen by him, Unmindful of his warmest praise; And if it fades, seeks not his hand

Its drooping loveliness to raise. The brute creation own his power,

And grateful serve him, though in fear; Yet cannot sympathise with man,

For if he weeps, they shed no tear.

Alone, though in the busy town,

Where hundreds hurry to and fro, If there is none who for his sake

A selfish pleasure would forego; And oh how lonely, among those

Who have not skill to read his heart, When first he learns how summer friends At sight of wintry storms depart. My Saviour! and didst thou too feel How sad it is to be alone,

Deserted in the adverse hour

By those who most thy love had known? The gloomy path, though distant still,

Was ever present to thy view; Oh! how couldst thou, foreseeing it, For us that painful course pursue

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Forsaken by thy nearest friends,

Surrounded by malicious foes;
No kindly voice encouraged thee,
When the loud shout of scorn arose.
Yet there was calm within thy soul,

Nor Stoic pride that calmness kept,
Nor Godhead, unapproached by woe,-
Like man thou hadst both lov'd and wept.
Thou wert not then alone, for God

Sustained thee by his mighty power; His arm most felt, his care most seen,

When needed most in saddest hour; None else could comfort, none else knew

How dreadful was the curse of sin ;He who controul'd the storm without,

Could gently whisper peace within. Who is alone, if God be nigh?

Who shall repine at loss of friends, While he has One of boundless power, Whose constant kindness never ends; Whose presence felt, enhances joy,

Whose love can stop the flowing tear, And cause upon the darkest cloud

The pledge of mercy to appear.

SIR EDWARD CORE being now very infirm in body, a friend of his sent him two or three doctors to regulate his health, whom he told, that he had never taken physic since he was börn, and would not now begin; and that he had now upon him a disease which all the drugs of Asia, the gold of Africa, the silver of America, nor all the doctors of Europe could cureOld Age; he therefore thanked them and his friend that sent them, and dismissed them nobly with a reward.—ELLIS's Letters.

VEGETABLE TITAN.

(Rafflesia Arnoldi, or Krábál.) THIS gigantic flower was discovered in Sumatra, in 1818, when Sir STAMFORD RAFFLES, then governor of that island, made his first journey from Bencoolen into the interior. In that journey he was accompanied by a naturalist of great zeal and acquirements, the late Dr. JOSEPH ARNOLD, a member of the Linnæan Society, from whose researches, aided by the friendship and influence of the governor in an island so favourably situated and so imperfectly known as Sumatra, the greatest expectations had been formed. But these expectations were never to be realized, for the same letter which gave the account of the gigantic flower, brought also the intelligence of Dr. Arnold's death. This letter was one from Sir Stamford Raffles to Sir Joseph Banks, and in it he inclosed the following extract written by the lamented Arnold to some unknown friend, (for the epistle was left unfinished,) in which he gives an account of the discovery of this, which Sir Stamford Raffles well denominated-"most magnificent flower."

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After describing the previous route, Arnold says: "At Pulo Lebban, on the Manna River, I rejoice to tell you, I met with what I consider the greatest prodigy of the vegetable world. I had ventured some way before the party, when one of the Malay servants came running to me, with wonder in his eyes, and said, Come with me, sir, come! a flower very large, beautiful, wonderful!' I went with the man about a hundred yards into the jungle, and he pointed to a flower growing close to the ground, under the bushes, which was truly astonishing. My first impulse was to cut it up and carry it to the hut: I therefore seized the Malay's parang, (a sort of instrument like a woodman's chopping-hook,) and finding that it sprang from a small root, which ran horizontally, (about as large as two fingers,) I soon detached it, and removed it to our hut. To tell you the truth, had I been alone, and had there been no witnesses, I should, I think, have been fearful of mentioning the

dimensions of this flower, so much does it exceed | Patma (see Fig. ).

Another of these vegetable

every flower I have ever seen or heard of; but I had Sir paradoxes, figured also by Blume, is a native of the Stamford and Lady Raffles with me, and Mr. Palsgrave, who, though equally astonished with myself, yet are able to testify as to the truth.

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"The whole flower was of a very thick substance; the petals and nectary being in few places less than a quarter of an inch thick, and in some places three quarters of an inch: the substance of it was very succulent. When I first saw it, a swarm of flies were hovering over the mouth of the nectary, and apparently laying their eggs in the substance of it. It had precisely the smell of tainted beef.

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Raflesia Arnoldı.

"Now for the dimensions, which are the most astonishing part of the flower. It measured a full yard across; the petals being twelve inches high, and a foot apart from each other. The nectarium, in the opinion of us all, would hold twelve pints; and the weight of this prodigy we calculated to be fifteen pounds!"

A guide from the interior of the country said that such flowers were rare, but that he had seen several, and that the natives call them Krúbal. Later information, however, has shown that the Krúbúl, or Great Flower, is much more generally known than its first European discoverers suspected. In some districts it is called Krúbúl, and in others simply Ambun Ambun. It is said to take three months, from the first appearance of the bud, to the full expansion of the flower, and it appears but once a-year, at the conclusion of the rainy season. It has no stem of its own, but grows on the roots and stems of a woody species of cissus, (Cissus angustifolia.) Upon this plant the Krúbúl seems to take its origin in some crack or hollow of the stem, and soon shews itself in the form of a round knob, which, when cut through, exhibits the infant flower enveloped in numerous sheaths; these open and wither away as the flower enlarges, until at the time of its fulness, but very few remain. The blossoms rot away not long after their expansion, and the seeds (spora) are raised with the pulpy mass.

This giant flower may well be esteemed the wonder of the vegetable world; and although several others, similar to it in form and habits, have been found, none have as yet been discovered that equal it in size. A small species has been mentioned by Dr. Horsfield; but his flower, instead of measuring three feet across, only measured three inches. A second very magnificent species, measuring two feet across, has been discovered in a small island near Java, called Nusa Kambangan, which has been described and figured by Blume, in his Flora Java, and from this work our second and third figures have been taken. By the natives it is called Paima, and hence the botanical name proposed is Rafflesia

Brugmansia Zippelu.

All these curious plants agree in several circumstances. In the first place, they have no proper roots of their own, and derive their nourishment from the vegetables on which they grow. In the second place, they have no stems, the flowers being seated on the vines that support them. Thirdly, they are destitute of leaves, the flowers being enclosed only by scales, which are purplish, or brownish, and resemble the outer coverings of buds, or rather the chaffy scales of other clinging plants; for, deriving their nourishment through the leaves of another vegetable, they do not require leaves of their own. So that here we have plants consisting of flower only, neither root, stem, nor leaves being present. And what is still more curious is, that, although the largest and most magnificent flowers in the world, they have very little in common with other flowering plants. They have no proper seeds, but are multiplied by spores, similar to the spawn of mushrooms, to which, indeed, their general form bears very great resemblance. The flowerleaves are of a mushroom-like substance, and smell like tainted beef; they contain no hollow vessels, like most other flowering plants, but consist of cells alone, like the mushroom-tribe, and they arise from beneath the bark of the cissus, which becomes enlarged by their growth, and very much resembles that false covering which some of that tribe have which grow upon living plants; raising the outer surface into tumors, and bursting it as they become more fully grown, such as the blights and blasts of corn, and so forth. Hence these stupendous flowers, which are six to nine feet in circumference, shew their likeness to the most lowly of the mushroom tribes, some of which are so minute as scarcely to be visible to the naked eye.

B.

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