extinguished it sends out such a scent as is nauseous to everybody; so these great souls, whilst they shine, are mild and gracious, without being troublesome to any body; but when they draw to an end, they cause great storms and tempests, and not seldom infect the air with contagious distempers. They say, farther, that Saturn is detained prisoner in one of those islands, where he keeps fast asleep in chains, and that he has several of those dæmons for his valets and attendants."-PLUTARCH. Why the Oracles cease.

War-engine.

"WHEN Archidamus the son of Agesilaus, beheld a dart to be shot from an engine, newly brought out of Sicily, he cried out, O Hercules! the valour of man is at an end.-Ibid.

Sleeping Naked.

"IN 1387, William of Wykeham visited the priory of Selborne. Among other complaints, he says, it has been evidently proved to him that some of the canons, living dissolutely after the flesh, and not after the spirit, sleep naked in their beds without their breeches and shirts,' absque femoralibus et camisiis,' he enjoins that these culprits shall be punished by severe fasting, especially if they shall be found to be faulty a third time; and threatens the prior and sub-prior with suspension if they do not correct this enormity.

"The rule of not sleeping naked was enjoined the Knights Templars, who also were subject to the rules of St. Augustine." -GURTLERI, Hist. Templariorum.

"He also forbids them foppish ornaments, and the affectation of appearing like beaux with garments edged with costly furs, with fringed gloves, and silken girdles trimmed with gold and silver."-WHITE's Antiquities of Selborne.

Charles of Burgundy.

Credulity proceeds from a man's own integrity; a vice more honest than safe, the overthrow and death of the great Duke of Burgundy, who committed a maine part of his army to an earle whom he had formerly strucken."-SANDY'S Ovid.

Gualbertus' Beech.

"MABILLON tells us in his Itinerary, of the old Beech at Villambrosa, to be still flourishing, and greener than any of the rest, under whose umbrage the famous Eremit Gualbertus had his cell."-EVELYN'S Silva.

"WHILE We condemn the beech timber, we must not omit to praise the mast, which fats our swine and deer, and hath in some families even supported men with bread.1 Chios endured a memorable siege by the benefit of this mast; and in some part of France they now grind the Buck2 in mills; it affords a sweet oil which the poor people eat most willingly. But there is yet another benefit which this tree presents us that its very leaves, being gathered about the fall, and somewhat before they are frostbitten, afford the best and easiest mattresses in the world to lay under our quilts instead of straw; because, besides their tenderness and loose lying together, they continue sweet for seven or eight years long, before which time straw becomes musty and hard. They are thus used by divers persons of quality in Dauphiné; and in Switzerland I have sometimes lain on them to my great refreshment. So as of this tree it may properly be said—

'The wood's an house; the leaves a bed;" Silva domus, cubilia frondes.”—Juvenal. Ibid.

Jefr we Jame.

"THE most celebrated work of Ali is intituled Jefr we Jame; it is written upon parchment in mysterious characters intermixed with figures, wherein are couched all the grand events that are to happen from the beginning of Muslemanism to the end of the world. This parchment is deposited in the hands of those of his family, and even to this time nobody has decyphered it in any sort of manner but Jaafer Sadek, for, as for the entire explication of it, that is reserved for the twelfth Imam, who is surnamed by way of excellence the Mohdi, or grand director."—OCKLEY, H. of

the Saracens.”

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Egyptian Almanack.

“THE Abbé Pluche, in his History of the Heavens, maintains, and I believe with reason, that the Egyptian grotesque figures, for example, a man with a dog's head, &c. were a sort of almanacks indicating the time of the increase of the Nile, &c. As the French have now in their almanack, opposite to every day in the year, a plant, an animal, or an instrument of husbandry, it would if engraved resemble not a little an Egyptian almanack. It is curious to observe how very ancient fashions and practices are revived."-MAC LAURIN. Lord Dreghorn.

Holidays originally humane.

"LINGET in his Annales Politiques, vol. 2, p. 180, after approving very much of the abolition of several holidays which had recently taken place (in 1770), maintains that no blame can attach to those who introduced a great number of holidays; their motive, he says, was humanity, not superstition; for at that time, the common people were serfs, 'adscripti glebæ,' whose labour was entirely for the benefit of the master, who gave them little more than bare maintenance. It certainly was, therefore, humane to diminish the number of working days at that time; but now that the common people

are free, it is necessary to increase them, as they have in general even by industry little enough to support themselves."-Ibid.

Seasons altered.

"Ir is long since many, of whom I am one, have maintained, that the seasons are altered; that it is not so hot now in summer as when we were boys. Others laugh at this, and say that the supposed alteration proceeds from an alteration in ourselves, from our having become older and consequently colder.

versation I had with my brewer, who is very "In 1783 or 1784, in the course of a conintelligent and eminent in his way, he maintained that an alteration had taken place. This observation he made from a variety of circumstances; the diminution of the number of swallows, the coldness that attends rain, the alteration in the hours of labour at the time of sowing barley, which a great many years ago was a work performed very early in the morning, on account of the intenseness of the heat after the sun had been up for some time. He added that for many years past he had found that the barley did not malt as formerly, and the period he fixed on was the year in which the earthquake at Lisbon happened.

"I was much surprised at this last observation, and did not pay much attention to it till last summer, when I happened to read Les Annales Politiques of Linguet, a very scarce book, which I was sure my brewer had never read; for there to my astonishment I found the very same opinion, with this additional fact, that in Champagne, where he was born, they have not been able since that earthquake to make the same wine. He says too that he has seen the title-deeds of several estates in Picardy, which proved that at that time they had a number of excellent vineyards, but that now no such crop can be reared there. He also attempts to account philosophically for that earthquake having such effects."-Ibid.

Murder of Fergus.1

"FERGUSIUS III. periit veneno ab uxore dato. Alii scribunt, cum uxor sæpe exprobrasset ei matrimonii contemptum, et pellicum greges, neque quicquam profecisset, tandem noctu dormientem ab eâ strangulatum. Quæstione de morte ejus habitâ cum amicorum plurimi insimularentur, nec quisquam ne in gravissimis quidem tormentis quicquam fateretur, mulier alioqui ferox tot innoxiorum capitum miserta in medium processit; ac è superiore loco cædem à se fac tam confessa, ne ad ludibrium superesset, pectus cultro transfodit: quod ejus factum variè pro cujusque ingenio est acceptum, ac perinde sermonibus celebratum."-Bu

CHANAN.

tents.

Dog-ribbed Indian Woman.

"On the 11th January (1772) as some of my companions were hunting, they saw the track of a strange snow-shoe, which they followed; and at a considerable distance came to a little hut, where they discovered a young woman sitting alone. As they found that she understood their language, they brought her with them to the On examination, she proved to be one of the Western Dog-ribbed Indians, who had been taken prisoner by the Athapuscow Indians, in the summer of 1770; and in the following summer, when the Indians that took her prisoner were near this part, she had eloped from them, with an intent to return to her own country; but the distance being so great, and having after she was taken prisoner been carried in a canoe the whole way, the turnings and windings of the rivers and lakes were so numerous that she forgot the track; so she built the hut in which we found her, to protect her from the weather during the winter, and here she had resided from the first setting

in of the fall.

"From her account of the moons past

See the "Wife of Fergus," a Mono-drama. Poems, p. 111.-J. W. W.

since her elopement, it appeared that she had been near seven months without seeing a human face; during all which time she had supported herself very well by snaring partridges, rabbits, and squirrels; she had also killed two or three beavers, and some porcupines. That she did not seem to have been in want is evident, as she had a small stock of provisions by her when she was discovered, and was in good health and condition; and I think one of the finest women, of a real Indian, that I have seen in any part of North America.

"The methods practised by this poor creature to procure a livelihood were truly admirable, and are great proofs that necessity is the real mother of invention. When the few deer sinews that she had an opportunity of taking with her were all expended in making snares and sewing her clothing, she had nothing to supply their place but the sinews of the rabbits' legs and feet; these she twisted together for that purpose with great dexterity and success. The rabbits, &c. which she caught in those snares not only furnished her with a comfortable subsistence, but of the skins she made a suit of neat and warm clothing for the winter. It is scarcely possible to conceive that a person in her forlorn situation could be so composed as to be capable of contriving or executing any thing that was not absolutely necessary to her existence; but there were sufficient proofs that she had extended her care much farther, as all her clothing, beside being calculated for real service, shewed great taste, and exhibited no little variety of ornament. The materials, though rude, were very curiously wrought, and so judiciously placed as to make the whole of her garb have a very pleasing, though rather romantic appearance.

"Her leisure hours from hunting had been employed in twisting the inner rind or bark of willows into small lines, like net

twine, of which she had some hundred fathoms by her; with this she intended to make a fishing.net as soon as the spring advanced. It is of the inner bark of willows

twisted in this manner that the Dog-ribbed Indians make their fishing nets.

"Five or six inches of an iron hoop made into a knife, and the shank of an arrow-head of iron, which served her as an awl, were all the metals this poor woman had with her when she eloped; and with these implements she had made herself complete snowshoes, and several other useful articles.

"Her method of making a fire was equally singular and curious, having no other materials for that purpose than two hard sulphurous stones. These, by long friction and hard knocking produced a few sparks, which at length communicated to some touchwood; but as this method was attended with great trouble, and not always with success, she did not suffer her fire to go out all the winter.

"When the Athapuscow Indians took this woman prisoner, they, according to the universal custom of those savages, surprised her and her party in the night, and killed every soul in the tent except herself and three other young women. Among those whom they killed were her father, mother, and husband; her young child, four or five months old, she concealed in a bundle of clothing, and took with her undiscovered in the night; but when she arrived at the place where the Athapuscow Indians had left their wives, which was not far distant, they began to examine her bundle, and finding the child, one of the women took it from her, and killed it on the spot.

"This last piece of barbarity gave her such a disgust to those Indians, that notwithstanding the man who took care of her treated her in every respect as his wife, and was, she said, remarkably kind to and even fond of her; so far was she from being able to reconcile herself to any of the tribe that she rather chose to expose herself to misery and want than live in ease and affluence among persons who had so cruelly murdered her infant. The poor woman's relation of this shocking story, which she delivered in a very affecting manner, only excited laughter among the savages of my party.

"The singularity of the circumstance, the comeliness of her person and her approved accomplishments, occasioned a strong contest between several of the Indians of my party who should have her for a wife; and the poor girl was actually won and lost at wrestling by near half a score different men the same evening. My guide, Matonabbee, who at that time had no less than seven wives, all women grown, besides a young girl of eleven or twelve years old, would have put in for the prize also, had not one of his wives made him ashamed of it, by telling him that he had already more wives than he could properly attend. This piece of satire, however true, proved fatal to the poor girl who dared to make so open a declaration; for the great man, Matonabbee, who would willingly have been thought equal to eight or ten men in every respect, took it as such an affront that he fell on her with both hands and feet, and bruised her to such a degree, that, after lingering some time she died."-HEARNE'S Journey to the Northern Ocean.

Trees, &c.

"THE trees are pine, larch, juniper, poplar, birch, and bush-willow, growing very high, and alder.

"Gooseberries spread along the ground like vines, the fruit most plentiful and best on the under branches, owing to the reflected heat from below, and the shelter. They thrive in stony and rocky ground, exposed to the sun. Cranberries. Heathberries grow close to the ground, a favourite food of many birds that migrate there in summer, particularly the grey goose.

"Dewater-berries best in swampy ground covered with moss. The plant is not very unlike the strawberry, but the leaves larger. Out of the centre of the plant shoots a single stalk, sometimes seven or eight inches high, and each plant only produces one berry, which at some distance resembles a strawberry; but not so conical. Some have three or four lobes, some nearly twenty. Currans

attendant on old age; so that they may be said to wait patiently for the melancholy hour when, being no longer capable of walking, they are to be left alone, to starve and perish for want. This, however shocking and unnatural it may appear, is so common that among those people one-half at least of the aged persons of both sexes absolutely die in this miserable condition."—Ibid.

Birds.

"THE brown fishing eagle. Snowy owl, a bird that follows the hunter all day long, and seizes the fowls he shoots. Ravens of richest black, tinged with purple and violet hues. The ruffed grouse. Delicate brown, varied prettily with black and white, hawk-like tail, of orange, barred with black, brown, and white, and often spread like a fan. A ruff of glossy black feathers, tinged with rich purple round the neck, which they can erect. In winter they are usually found perched on the pine branches, and easily taken. Their nests generally at the root of a tree, twelve or fourteen eggs. It is remarkable, and perhaps peculiar to these birds, that they clap their wings with such force, that at half a mile distance it resembles thunder. The sharp-tailed grouse dive through the snow. Red-breasted thrush, of sweet song. Larks. Sand martins. Bitterns. Pelicans. Swans."-Ibid.

[Old Age the North-Indian's Misfortune.] "OLD age is the greatest calamity that can befall a North Indian; for when he is past labour he is neglected and treated with great disrespect, even by his own children. They not only serve him last at meals, but generally give him the coarsest and worst of the victuals; and such of the skins as they do not choose to wear, are made up in the clumsiest manner into clothing for their aged parents; who, as they had, in all probability, treated their fathers and mothers with the same neglect, in their turns submitted patiently to their lot, even without a murmur,

[North and South-Indians' Name for the Aurora Borealis.]

"THE North Indians call the Aurora Borealis Ed-thin, that is, deer; and when that meteor is very bright, they say that deer is plentiful in that part of the atmosphere; but they have never yet extended their ideas so far as to entertain hopes of tasting those celestial animals. Their ideas in this respect are founded on a principle one would not imagine. Experience has shown them that when a hairy deer-skin is briskly stroked with the hand in a dark night, it will emit many sparks of electrical fire, as the back

of a cat will. The idea which the Southern Indians have of this meteor is equally romantic, though more pleasing, as they believe it to be the spirits of their departed friends dancing in the clouds; and when the Aurora Borealis is remarkably bright, at which time they vary most in colour, form, and situation, they say their deceased friends are very merry."

[Fairies called Nant-e-na.]

"THEY are very superstitious with respect to the existence of several kinds of fairies, called by them Nant-e-na, whom they frequently say they see, and who are supposed by them to inhabit the different elements of earth, sea, and air, according to their several qualities. To one or other of these fairies they usually attribute any change in their circumstances, either for the better or worse."-Ibid.