298

tial to the existence of the more delicate plants of our island.

The length of time during which the common plants retain their power of germinating, is remarkable. In Stirlingshire, the seeds of the common white clover have been found buried under six or seven feet of peat-moss, where they must in all probability have lain for centuries; and yet, when sown in the garden, they have vegetated easily, and given rise to healthy and vigorous plants. It is a curious fact, that, | when ground is for the first time subjected to the plough in this country, a crop of white clover very generally springs up, although the plant may not have been noticed on the spot previously. When some new soil was turned up lately at Hillside, on the north of the Calton Hill at Edinburgh, the narrow

no means an uninteresting plant, and is not unknown
in domestic economy. When in a young state, it was
used as a potherb in the time of the Romans, and is
still employed as such by the country people of Scot-
land.

Thus, Andrew Fairservice, in Rob Roy, says,
"Nae doubt I suld understand my ain trade of hor-
ticulture, seeing I was bred in the parish of Dreep-
daily, near Glasco', where they raise lang-kail under
glass, and force the early nettles for their spring-kail."
The root of the plant, when boiled with alum, imparts
a yellow colour to yarn, and the fibres of its stalk are
made into thread equal to that obtained from flax.
The nettle is always found near the abodes of man;
it is generally abundant in old ruins, and becomes
associated in our minds with the idea of destruction
and desolation" And thorns shall come up in her

opens its red blossoms at eight o'clock in the morning,
and closes them about noon :

"Such is the science to the peasant dear,
Which guides his labour through the varied year,
While he, ambitious 'mid his brother swains
To shine, the pride and wonder of the plains,
Can in the pimpernel's red-tinted flowers,

As close their petals, read the measured hours."
The flowers also close on the slightest approach of
rain, and hence the plant has been denominated the
poor man's weather-glass.

leaved fumitory, a plant by no means common in Bri- palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses there- espied some of the flowers of this plant growing on the

tain, began to grow in great abundance. The seeds had probably lain dormant for a long period, inasmuch as the plant had not been observed in that situation before, although it had been often subjected to the scrutinising search of the Edinburgh botanists.

of."

which is dilated at its base so as to contain a venomous

What observer of nature has not admired the beautiful forget-me-not expanding its large blue flowers in the ditches? This plant, from having been regarded almost every where as the emblem of friendship, has not been so much neglected as most of those weeds to which we are now alluding. The following fanciful origin of the name of this plant is given in Mill's History of Chivalry :" Two lovers were loitering on the margin of a lake on a fine summer evening, when the maiden water, close to the bank of an island at some distance from the shore. She expressed a desire to possess them, when the knight, in the true spirit of chivalry, plunged into the water, and, swimming to the spot, cropped the wished-for plant: but his strength was unable to fulfil the object of his achievement; and very near it, he threw the flowers upon the bank, and he cried, Forget me not,' and was buried in the waters."

casting a last affectionate look upon his lady-love,

In these days of chivalry, the common daisy was treated with great respect as the emblem of fidelity in love, and was worn as such at tournaments:

Many people have felt the effects of the sting of the nettle who have never thought of examining its strucThis organ of defence, which nature has beture. stowed for the purpose of protecting the plant from The commonest weed, when met with in unexpected the attacks of animals, consists of a slender pointed feeling that he could not regain the shore, although situations, or when cultivated in countries where it is thread about the twentieth of an inch in length, which not indigenous, often becomes an object of great inte- Proceeds from the outer covering of the stem or leaf, and rest. It is related by the traveller Park, that, when fluid. When pressed by any foreign body, the sharp wandering on the African desert, worn out and fa-point makes a wound, and the poisonous secretion is tigued, and almost disposed to lie down in despair, at the same time discharged, so as to cause considerhis attention was attracted by a little moss-one which able smarting and inflammation. The structure is as beautiful and perfect as that of the poison-fang of the he had probably often seen before, and passed by unserpent, although it is perhaps not so often made an noticed-growing in the wide waste, without com. object of investigation. panions of any species, and that, on contemplating it, he was arrested by the thought, that, if the Almighty supported this insignificant plant in the desert, and caused it to put forth its leaves and fruit, why should he despond, or once give way to the sentiment that no protecting or guiding arm was near? From reflections such as these he was stimulated to proceed, until he at length reached a refreshing oasis, where his strength

was recruited.

The daisy, when it accidentally sprung up in India among some English earth which had conveyed seeds to that country, was viewed by the excellent Dr Carey with different feelings from those with which he was wont to behold it in this country. They are thus beautifully depicted by the poet :

Thrice welcome, little English flower!
My mother-country's white and red;
In rose or lily, till this hour,

Never to me such beauty spread;
Transplanted from thine island bed,
A treasure in a grain of earth,
Strange as a spirit from the dead,
Thine embryo sprang to birth.
Thrice welcome, little English flower!
Of early scenes belov'd by me,
While happy in my father's bower,

Thou shalt the blithe memorial be;
The fancy sports of infancy,

Youth's golden age, and manhood's prime,
Home, country, kindred, friends, with thee,
I find in this far clime.

Thrice welcome, little English flower!
To me the pledge of hope unseen;
When sorrow would my soul o'erpower,
In joys that were, or might have been;
I'd call to mind how fresh and green
I saw thee waking from the dust;
Then turn to heaven, with brow serene,
And place in God my trust.

The whin, so common in this country, and so often looked upon with indifference, was regarded by the great Linnæus, in whose native country it did not exist, with sentiments little short of adoration. On beholding it covered with its rich golden blossoms, he envied the country which possessed such a floral trea

sure.

In endeavouring to rescue from neglect a few of our common weeds, we shall give a short account of some of those which are most familiar.

What plant more common than the dandelion ? What more despised? Yet it supplies a valuable medicinal article, and has furnished the means of sub. sistence to many of the human race. From it an extract is procured, possessing diuretic properties, which has been employed with success in relieving the sufferings of humanity, more especially in dropsies and affections of the liver. When a swarm of locusts had destroyed the harvest in the island of Minorca, many of the inhabitants subsisted on this plant alone. The roots, when roasted, are to this day used by the poor at Gottingen as a substitute for coffee, and the young leaves, when blanched, are sometimes employed as a salad.

Coltsfoot abounds as a weed on all roadsides, where
it expands its blossoms early in spring, before its leaves
It has been remarked of this
make their appearance.
plant, that the flowers, when in bud, are pendulous,
and become erect when fully expanded; that they
afterwards fade and droop till the seeds become ripe,
when they again rise, in order that the seeds may be
more readily wafted by the wind to situations proper
for their growth. The down on the leaves of the
plant forms good tinder, and the leaves themselves
are employed medicinally in coughs and asthmatic
complaints.

The burdock, well known by its bristly heads, which
adhere pertinaciously to the clothes, and which are
often thrown into the air by boys for the purpose of
catching bats, has also its medicinal and domestic uses.
The young stems, when stripped of their rind, are
boiled and eaten like asparagus, and, in a raw state,
they are prepared as a salad with oil and vinegar.
A decoction of the roots is used as a substitute for
sarsaparilla, to act as a tonic, and cause gentle perspi |
ration. The heads of a similar plant have of late been
put to use in the manufacture of cloth, being employed
as teazles in raising the nap to the surface, which, it is
said, no artificial contrivance could do nearly so well.
Thus, in some districts, from being a despised weed,
this humble plant has become one of the most precious
vegetable productions.

The numerous species of grasses which grow on
roadsides are distinguished alike by their elegance
and their importance in agriculture. The quaking.
grass and hair-grass are among the most beautiful,
and are culled as ornaments for chimney-pieces. Com-
mon rye-grass is the chief ingredient in hay. Yellow
oat-grass yields excellent straw for bonnets, and the
awn or bristle of the common wild oat forms a good
hygrometer, to determine the quantity of moisture
which exists in the atmosphere. The seeds of the
floating sweet-grass, which grows in watery places and
ditches by the waysides, possess nutritive qualities,
and are commonly sold under the name of manna
croup. In some of the grasses we observe a wise pro-
vision of nature to ensure their propagation. The
common sheep's fescue-grass, which forms a fine turf
on all hilly pastures, when it grows on the plain pro-
duces plenty of ripe seeds which vegetate easily; but
when it grows on the mountains, where the seeds are
not likely to come to maturity, it becomes viviparous,
producing shoots or germs, which ultimately detach
themselves from the plant, fall to the ground, and be-
come separate and independent plants.

The seeds of the groundsel and greater plantain, two most abundant weeds, are used as food for birds; the root of common yarrow is employed medicinally as a stimulating tonic, while its flowering tops are used as tea in Orkney. The seeds of goose-grass, a climbing adherent plant met with in all hedges, are roasted as a substitute for coffee. Common hemlock yields a valuable medicine, administered for the relief of pain in many diseases. The young shoots of goosefoot, when peeled and boiled, are eaten as asparagus, while the wild carrot gives origin to the culinary vegetable cultivated in our gardens. The root of the silver-weed, which creeps along every roadside, is eaten roasted or boiled like parsnips; and the common water-cress furnishes a much-used salad. The root of the hedge bindweed may serve as a substitute for jalap, while that of the tormentil has been prescribed as an astringent tonic.

"When in his scarf the knight the daisy bound,
And dames at tourneys shone with daisies crowned,
And fays forsook the purer fields above
To hail the daisy, flower of faithful love."
The common yellow goatsbeard is one of the wayside
horological flowers, opening its petals at sunrise, and
closing them between nine and ten in the morning:
"Broad o'er its imbricated cup

The goatsbeard spreads its golden rays;
But shuts its cautious petals up,

Retiring from the noontide blaze."
Many of the common weeds, even in their native
state, are attractive on account of the beauty of their
flowers. The "bonny broom" has not been though
unworthy of the poet's pen; and the whin or gorse,
"though shapeless and deformed, and dangerous to
the touch, has yet its bloom, and decks itself with or-
naments of gold." The tufted-vetch, with its clusters
of blue flowers, and the convolvulus, with its large
white blossoms, add in no small degree to the beauty
of our hedgerows, and well merit a place in our gar-
dens. The art of the gardener, however, tends in
most instances to defeat the simplicity of nature, by
producing various monstrous varieties, which, al-
though to the eye of the florist they appear gems of
rarest beauty, are looked upon by the botanist as al-
together unnatural, and totally unfit for the purpose
of the student of nature.

The cultivated rose, with its gorgeous double flowers, is highly prized by every florist, while the simple burnet-rose, expanding its single flowers by the roadside, is passed by as unworthy of notice; and yet it is to this despised plant that the greater number of our garden roses owe their origin. Most of the wild geraniums would appear to advantage in our gardens, and would undoubtedly have been cultivated long ere now, had they not been looked upon as vulgar weeds. These plants are not only remarkable for the beauty of their flowers, but also for the peculiarity of structure connected with their seeds. It is remarked by Withering, that, among the numerous instances of obvious providential design and contrivance in the structure of the seeds and seed-vessels of plants, few are perhaps more remarkable, or more strikingly display themselves as the workmanship of an intelligent Artificer, than that which we meet with in the seeds of some of the species of geranium. Each of the seeds in these plants is covered with a distinct seed-coat peculiar to itself, which, after having inclosed the seed, runs out.in the form of a narrow appendage or tail. Each of these appendages has the property of contracting itself into a spiral or screwlike form when dry, and of again extending itself into a right line when moist. By means of this property, the seed, when ripe, is first detached from the plant; and is afterwards kept in motion, according to the dryness or wetness of the weather, until it meets with some crevice in the earth into which it can insinuate itself.

We have thus noticed rapidly a few facts connected with some of the common weeds found by the way. sides. Our remarks might have been easily extended to a much greater length, but enough has been said to show, that, in the meanest departments of the nstural world, there is matter to engage our interests, and draw forth our sympathies. How easy would it be to find, in the moral world, analogies to these humble, and apparently worthless, but still interesting, denizens of the field! In the bustling scenes of the crowded city, in the solitary hovels of the remote country, countless thousands of human weeds meet our eye, and, from the very commonness of the object, The little scarlet pimpernel, ornamenting the bor- fail to touch our hearts. Yet none of these are so ab. ders of our fields, is one of those "sweet remembran-ject, or so vile, but that some worth, some utility, some beauty, might be found in them. It is hardly possi

The nettle, although frequent in waste places, is by cers which tell how fast the winged moments fly." It

ble for the human type to be so effectually degraded as to have lost every trace of the original divinity. And even like the unbidden beauty of an old wayside, do we find virtues in minds which, apparently, have owed nothing either to original constitution or to culThe natural and fortuitous condition of man is indeed analogous to the condition of weeds; and, as many of these could be cultivated into luxuriance and grace, so could minds the most primitive and rude be trained and instructed into a condition pleasing to the contemplation of the most refined.

ture.

ADVENTURE ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER. In the year 1811, Mr Ross Cox engaged himself as a clerk with the Pacific Fur Company, and sailed on board the Beaver from New York, for the mouth of the Columbia River, on the north-west coast of America, where he and his companions were to commence their operations. The business of fur-collecting is carried on, as is generally known, in countries of so barbarous a character, and under circumstances altogether so full of peril and adventure, that no warfare now practised on the elder continent can be considered as nearly so romantic. In the course of an exploratory journey made by Mr Cox and a large party, among whom was a number of friendly Indians, he had the misfortune to fall asleep at a little distance from his companions, who, before he awoke, had quitted the spot, without being aware that he was left behind. This incident took place on the 17th of August, and its consequences will be best narrated in the words of Mr

Cox himself.*

"When I awoke in the evening (I think it was about five o'clock), all was calm and silent as the grave. I hastened to the spot where we had breakfasted it was vacant. : I ran to the place where the men had made their fire: all, all were gone, and not a vestige of man or horse appeared in the valley. My senses almost failed me. I called out, in vain, in every direction, until I became hoarse; and I could no longer conceal from myself the dreadful truth that I was alone in a wild uninhabited country, without horse or arms, and destitute of covering.

Having now no resource but to ascertain the direction which the party had taken, I set about examining the ground, and at the north-east point of the valley discovered the track of horses' feet, which I followed for some time, and which led to a chain of small hills with a rocky, gravelly bottom, on which the hoofs made no impression. Having thus lost the tracks, I ascended the highest of the hils, from which I had an extended view of many miles around; but saw no sign of the party, or the least indication of human habitations. The evening was now closing fast, and with the approach of night a heavy dew commenced falling. The whole of my clothes consisted merely of a gingham shirt, nankeen trousers, and a pair of light leather mocassins, much worn. About an hour before breakfast, in consequence of the heat, I had taken off my coat and placed it on one of the loaded horses, intending to put it on towards the cool of the evening; and one of the men had charge of my fowling-piece. I was even without my hat; for in the agitated state of my mind on awaking, I had left it behind, and had advanced too far to think of returning for it. At some distance on my left I observed a field of high strong grass, to which I proceeded, and after pulling enough to place under and over me, I recommended myself to the Almighty, and fell asleep. During the night, confused dreams of warm houses, feather beds, poisoned arrows, prickly pears, and rattlesnakes, haunted my disturbed imagination.

rattlesnake cooling himself in the evening shade. I
instantly retreated, on observing which he coiled him-
self. Having obtained a large stone, I advanced
slowly on him, and taking a proper aim, dashed it with
all my force on the reptile's head, which I buried in
the ground beneath the stone.

The late race had completely worn out the thin soles
of my mocassins, and my feet in consequence became
much swollen. As night advanced, I was obliged to
look out for a place to sleep, and after some time, se-
lected nearly as good a bed as the one I had the first
night. My exertions in pulling the long coarse grass
nearly rendered my hands useless, by severely cutting
all the joints of the fingers.

was obliged to shorten the legs of my trousers to procure bandages for them. The wolf did not make his appearance, but during the night I got occasional starts from several of his brethren of the forest.

I anticipated the rising of the sun on the morning of the 23d, and having been unsuccessful the two preceding days, determined to shape my course due north, and if possible not return again to the lake. During the day I skirted the wood, and fell on some old tracks, which revived my hopes a little. I slept this evening by a small brook, where I collected cherries and haws enough to make a hearty supper. The country through which I dragged my tired limbs on the 24th, was thinly wooded. My course was north and northeast. I suffered much from want of water, having got during the day only two tepid and nauseous draughts from stagnant pools, which the long drought had nearly dried up. About sunset I arrived at a small stream, by the side of which I took up my quar. ters for the night.

I did not awake until between eight and nine o'clock on the morning of the 25th. My second bandages having been worn out, I was now obliged to bare my knees for fresh ones; and after tying them round my feet, and taking a copious draught from the adjoining brook for breakfast, I recommenced my joyless journey. My course was nearly north-north-east. I got Some slight traces of men's feet, and a few old horseno water during the day, nor any of the wild cherries. tracks, occasionally crossed my path: they proved that human beings sometimes at least visited that part of the country, and for a moment served to cheer my drooping spirits.

About dusk an immense wolf rushed out of a thick

copse a short distance from the pathway, planted himself directly before me, in a threatening position, and appeared determined to dispute my passage. He was not more than twenty feet from me. My situation was desperate, and as I knew that the least symptom of fear would be the signal for attack, I presented my stick, and shouted as loud as my weak voice would permit. He appeared somewhat startled, and retreated a few steps, still keeping his piercing eyes firmly fixed on me. I advanced a little, when he commenced howling in a most appalling manner; and supposing his intention was to collect a few of his comrades to assist in making an afternoon repast on my half-famished carcass, I redoubled my cries, until I had almost lost the power of utterance, at the same time calling out various names, thinking I might make it appear I was not alone. An old and a young lynx ran close past me, but did not stop. The wolf remained about fifteen minutes in the same position; but whether my wild and fearful exclamations deterred any others from joining him, I cannot say. Finding at length my determination not to flinch, and that no assistance was likely to come, he retreated into the wood, and disappeared in the surrounding gloom.

I rose before the sun on the morning of the 19th, and pursued an easterly course all the day. I at first felt very hungry, but after walking a few miles, and taking a drink of water, I got a little refreshed. The general appearance of the country was still flat, with burned grass, and sandy soil, which blistered my feet. The scorching influence of the sun obliged me to stop for some hours in the day, during which I made several ineffectual attempts to construct a covering for my head. At times I thought my brain was on fire from the dreadful effects of the heat. I got no fruit those two days, and towards evening felt very weak | from the want of nourishment, having been forty-eight hours without food; and to make my situation more annoying, I slept that evening on the banks of a pretty lake, the inhabitants of which would have done honour to a royal table. With what an evil eye and a mur. derous heart did I regard the stately goose and the plump waddling duck as they sported on the water, unconscious of my presence! Even with a pocket pistol I could have done execution among them. The state of my fingers prevented me from obtaining the nights; and on this evening I had no shelter whatcovering of grass which I had the two preceding ever to protect me from the heavy dew. On the following day, the 20th, my course was nearly north-east, and lay through a country more diversified by wood and water. geese, ducks, cranes, curlews, and sparrows, also some I saw plenty of wild hawks and cormorants, and at a distance about fifteen or twenty small deer. The wood consisted of pine, birch, cedar, wild cherries, hawthorn, sweet-willow, honeysuckle, and sumach. The rattlesnakes were very numerous this day, with horned lizards, and grasshoppers: the latter kept me in a constant state of feverish alarm from the similarity of the noise made by their wings to the sound of the rattles of the snake when preparing to dart on its prey. I suffered severely during the day from hunger, and was obliged to chew grass occasionally, which allayod it a little. Late in the evening I arrived at a lake upwards of two miles long, and a mile broad, the shores of which were high, and well wooded with large pine, spruce, and birch. It was fed by two rivulets, from the north and northeast, in which I observed a quantity of small fish; but The shades of night were now descending fast, when had no means of catching any, or I should have made I came to a verdant spot surrounded by small trees, a Sandwich-island meal. There was, however, an and full of rushes, which induced me to hope for waabundant supply of wild cherries, on which I made a ter; but after searching for some time, I was still hearty supper. I slept on the bank of the nearest doomed to bitter disappointment. A shallow lake or stream, just where it entered the lake; but during pond had been there, which the long drought and heat the night the howling of wolves and the growling of had dried up. I then pulled a quantity of the rushes bears Broke in terribly on my slumbers, and balmy and spread them at the foot of a large stone, which I sleep' was almost banished from my eyelids. On ris- intended for my pillow; but as I was about throwing ing the next morning, the 21st, I observed on the op- myself down, a rattlesnake coiled, with the head erect, posite bank at the mouth of the river, the entrance of and the forked tongue extended in a state of frightful a large and apparently deep cavern, from which I oscillation, caught my eye immediately under the stone. judged some of the preceding night's music had issued. I instantly retreated a short distance; but assuming I now determined to make short journies for two or fresh courage, soon despatched it with my stick. On three days in different directions, in the hope of fall-examining the spot more minutely, a large cluster of ing on some fresh horse-tracks, and, in the event of them appeared under the stone, the whole of which I being unsuccessful, to return each night to the lake, rooted out and destroyed. This was hardly accomwhere I was at least certain of procuring cherries and plished when upwards of a dozen snakes of different water sufficient to sustain nature. In pursuance of descriptions, chiefly dark brown, blue, and green, On the 18th, I arose with the sun, quite wet and this resolution, I set out early in a southerly direction made their appearance: they were much quicker in chilly, the heavy dew having completely saturated my from the head of the lake, through a wild barren their movements than their rattle-tailed brethren, and flimsy covering, and proceeded in an easterly direc tion, nearly parallel with the chain of hills. In the country, without any water, or vegetation, save loose I could only kill a few of them. tufts of grass like those already described. I had course of the day I passed several small lakes full of armed myself with a long stick, with which during wild fowl. The general appearance of the country the day I killed several rattlesnakes. Having discowas flat, the soil light and gravelly, and covered with vered no fresh tracks, I returned late in the evening, the same loose grass already mentioned; great quan-hungry and thirsty, and took possession of my berth tities of it had been recently burned by the Indians in of the preceding night. I collected a heap of stones hunting the deer, the stubble of which annoyed my from the water side, and, just as I was lying down, feet very much. I had turned into a northerly course, observed a wolf emerge from the opposite cavern, and where, late in the evening, I observed about a mile thinking it safer to act on the offensive, lest he should distant two horsemen galloping in an easterly direc-imagine I was afraid, I threw some stones at him, one tion. From their dresses I knew they belonged to of which struck him on the leg: he retired yelling our party. I instantly ran to a hillock, and called into his den; and after waiting some time in fearful out in a voice to which hunger had imparted a supersuspense to see if he would re-appear, I threw myself natural shrillness; but they galloped on. I then took on the ground, and fell asleep; but, like the night beoff my shirt, which I waved in a conspicuous manner fore, it was broken by the same unsocial noise, and for over my head, accompanied by the most frantic cries; upwards of two hours I sat up waiting in anxious ex- I arose on the morning of the 26th, considerably still they continued on. I ran towards the direction pectation the return of day-light. The vapours from refreshed, and took a northerly course, occasionally they were galloping, despair adding wings to my flight. the lake, joined to the heavy dew, had penetrated my diverging a little to the east. Several times during Rocks, stubble, and brushwood, were passed with the frail covering of gingham; but as the sun rose, I took the day I was induced to leave the path by the appearspeed of a hunted antelope; but to no purpose: for it off, and stretched it on a rock, where it quickly ance of rushes, which I imagined grew in the vicinity on arriving at the place where I imagined a pathway dried. My excursion to the southward having proved of lakes; but on reaching them, my faint hopes vawould have brought me into their track, I was com- abortive, I now resolved to try the east, and after eat-nished: there was no water, and I in vain essayed to pletely at fault. It was now nearly dark. I had ing my simple breakfast, proceeded in that direction; extract a little moisture from them. Prickly thorns eaten nothing since the noon of the preceding day; and on crossing the two small streams, had to pene- and small sharp stones added greatly to the pain of my and, faint with hunger and fatigue, threw myself on trate a country full of 'dark woods and rankling tortured feet, and obliged me to make further encroachthe grass, when I heard a small rustling noise behind wilds, through which, owing to the immense quan- ments on my nether garments for fresh bandages. me. I turned round, and, with horror, beheld a large tities of underwood, my progress was slow. My feet The want of water now rendered me extremely weak too were uncovered, and, from the thorns of the va- and feverish; and I had nearly abandoned all hopes rious prickly plants, were much lacerated; in conse of relief, when, about half-past four or five o'clock, quence of which, on returning to my late bivouack I the old pathway turned from the prairie grounds into

• Adventures on the Columbia River. By Ross Cox. Two volumes. London, Colburn and Bentley, 1831.

This was a peculiarly soul-trying moment. I had tasted no fruit since the morning before, and after a painful day's march under a burning sun, could not procure a drop of water to allay my feverish thirst. I was surrounded by a murderous brood of serpents, and ferocious beasts of prey, and without even the consolation of knowing when such misery might have a probable termination. I might truly say with the royal psalmist that the snares of death compassed me round about."

Having collected a fresh supply of rushes, which I spread some distance from the spot where I massacred the reptiles, I threw myself on them, and was permitted through divine goodness to enjoy a night of undisturbed repose.

a thickly wooded country, in an easterly direction; through which I had not advanced half a mile when I heard a noise resembling a waterfall, to which I hastened my tottering steps, and in a few minutes was delighted at arriving on the banks of a deep and narrow rivulet, which forced its way with great rapidity over some large stones that obstructed the channel. After offering up a short prayer of thanksgiving for this providential supply, I threw myself into the water, forgetful of the extreme state of exhaustion to which I was reduced: it had nearly proved fatal, for my weak frame could not withstand the strength of the current, which forced me down a short distance, until I caught the bough of an overhanging tree, by means of which I regained the shore. Here were plenty of hips and cherries; on which, with the water, I made a most delicious repast. On looking about for a place to sleep, I observed lying on the ground the hollow trunk of a large pine, which had been destroyed by lightning. I retreated into the cavity, and having covered myself completely with large pieces of loose bark, quickly fell asleep. My repose was not of long duration; for at the end of about two hours I was awakened by the growling of a bear, which had removed part of the bark covering, and was leaning over me with his snout, hesitating as to the means he should adopt to dislodge me; the narrow limits of the trunk which confined my body preventing him from making the attack with advantage. I instantly sprung up, seized my stick, and uttered a loud cry, which startled him, and caused him to recede a few steps; when he stopped, and turned about, apparently doubtful whether he would commence an attack. He determined on an assault; but feeling I had not sufficient strength to meet such an unequal enemy, I thought it prudent to retreat, and accordingly scrambled up an adjoining tree. My flight gave fresh impulse to his courage, and he commenced ascending after me. succeeded, however, in gaining a branch, which gave me a decided advantage over him, and from which I was enabled to annoy his muzzle and claws in such a manner with my stick as effectually to check his progress. After scraping the bark some time with rage

the cheering sight of a small column of gracefully
curling smoke announced my vicinity to human be-
ings, and in a moment after two Indian women per-
ceived me: they instantly fled to a hut which appeared
at the farther end of the meadow. This movement
made me doubt whether I had arrived among friends
or enemies; but my apprehensions were quickly dissi-
pated by the approach of two men, who came running
to me in the most friendly manner. On seeing the
lacerated state of my feet, they carried me in their
arms to a comfortable dwelling covered with deer-
skins. To wash and dress my torn limbs, roast some
roots, and boil a small salmon, seemed but the business
of a moment. After returning thanks to that great
and good Being in whose hands are the issues of life
and death, and who had watched over my wandering
steps, and rescued me from the many perilous dangers
I encountered, I sat down to my salmon, of which it
is needless to say I made a hearty supper."

OCCASIONAL SKETCHES OF THE
CONTINENT.
BERLIN.

[The following article is furnished by a British gentleman who
has spent some years in Berlin. It gives a lively picture of the
amusements of the people in that city, and may awaken, among our

readers, a curiosity for further information respecting the Prussian
capital. We trust that the allusions to the state of political feeling

among the Prussians will not be understood as intended to bear
upon the politics of our own country. That the Prussians are
contented under a government which, though excluding the re-
presentative principle, is conducted at present in an efficient and
liberal manner, is, we believe, a fact which no well-informed per-
son will deny. When we reflect that, in every department of the
public service, talent and good conduct are approved of and pro-
moted without regard to rank, that the administration of justice
is most pure and the economy of the state most conscientious,
that the government supports the best system of education in the
world, and that, however uncontrolled may be the power of the
king, he is personally the most affable and amiable man in his do-
minions, we cannot wonder at the felicity of the people under a
system so little likely, to all appearance, to give satisfaction in

very numerous; but in the various public and private balls, is always afforded a sufficient antidote against ennui. There are few public balls which are considered genteel, or which ladies of the first fashion are accustomed to attend. There are during the winter monthly assemblies at Jäger's, a famous restaurateur's, which are called Almack's Balls, and where there are ladies patronesses to decide upon the claims of the candidates for admission, who rival in the nicety of their discrimination the illustrious conclave who keep the world in awe in London. Here all the rank and fashion of Berlin assemble, and the exclusiveness of the company doubtless much enhances the joy and satisfaction of those fortunate enough to have passed muster. There are likewise a series of public balls, given about Christmas, in the concert saloon in the theatre-royal, which is certainly one of the most magnificent ballrooms in the world. It is of immense size, and of very great height, with galleries quite round for such of the company as are spectators merely in the gay scene. Part of the gallery is set apart for the accommodation of the royal family, and particularly for that of the Princess Von Leugnitz, the wife of the king.* His majesty mingles with the crowd, but generally retires very early.

To these balls at the theatre the public is admitted by tickets, issued by the Graf Von Räder, the king's chamberlain, to whom all applications must be submitted. But this appears more to be a form than intended to render the balls very select. The exhibition, however, is certainly one of a very splendid description, and affords great gratification to a stranger in Berlin. Here you see the whole court of the king, together with the members of his family, mixed with the families of the respectable, though not perhaps the fashionable burghers. And it is agreeable to observe the freedom of that intercourse which unites all ranks in an indiscriminate melée. This freedom is carried to an extent which we may consider rather outrageous. I have seen one of the king's sons waltzing with an actress of the French company, and the sisters Elsler, the famous danseuses, who were there, addressed in the most familiar manner by the king himself. Still A

and disappointment, he gave up the task, and retired England. We may only further premise, that Berlin is a large, there is a high gratification in the whole scene.

to my late dormitory, of which he took possession. The fear of falling off, in case I was overcome by sleep, induced me to make several attempts to descend; but each attempt aroused my ursine sentinel; and after many ineffectual efforts, I was obliged to remain there during the rest of the night. I fixed myself in that part of the trunk from which the principal grand branches forked, and which prevented me from falling during my fitful slumbers.

On the morning of the 27th, a little after sunrise, the bear quitted the trunk, shook himself, cast a longing, lingering look' towards me, and slowly disappeared in search of his morning repast. After waiting some time, apprehensive of his return, I descended, and resumed my journey through the woods in a north-north-east direction. In a few hours all my anxiety of the preceding night was more than compensated by falling in with a well-beaten horsepath, with fresh traces on it, both of hoofs and human feet: it lay through a clear open wood, in a north-east course, in which I observed numbers of small deer. About six in the evening I arrived at a spot where a party must have slept the preceding night. Round the remains of a large fire which was still burning were scattered several half-picked bones of grouse, partridges, and ducks, all of which I collected with economical industry. After devouring the flesh, I broiled the bones. The whole scarcely sufficed to give me a moderate meal, but yet afforded a most seasonable relief to my famished body. I enjoyed a comfortable sleep this night close to the fire, uninterrupted by any nocturnal visitor. On the morning of the 28th I set off with cheerful spirits, fully impressed with the hope of a speedy termination to my sufferings. My course was northerly, and lay through a thick wood. Late in the evening I arrived at a stagnant pool, from which I merely moistened my lips; and having covered myself with some birch bark, slept by its side. I rose early on the morning of the 29th, and followed the fresh traces all day through the wood, nearly north-east by north. I passed the night by the side of a small stream, where I got a sufficient supply of hips and cherries. On the 30th, the path took a more easterly turn, and the woods became thicker and more gloomy. I had now nearly consumed the remnant of my trousers in bandages for my wretched feet, and, with the exception of my shirt, was almost naked. The horse-tracks every moment appeared more fresh, and fed my hopes. Late in the evening I arrived at a spot where the path branched off in different directions: one led up rather a steep hill, the other descended into a valley, and the tracks on both were equally recent. I took the higher; but after proceeding a few hundred paces through a deep wood, which appeared more dark from the thick foliage which shut out the rays of the sun, I returned, apprehensive of not procuring water for my supper, and descended the lower path. I had not advanced far when I imagined I heard the neighing of a horse. I listened with

breathless attention, and became convinced it was no illusion. A few paces farther brought me in sight of several of those noble animals sporting in a handsome meadow, from which I was separated by a rapid stream. With some difficulty I crossed over, and ascended the opposite bank.

On advancing a short distance into the meadow,

though scarcely handsome city, of 230,000 inhabitants, and con-
taining all the public buildings and institutions customary in large
metropolitan cities.]

monarch mingling with his people in their amuse-
ments, unattended by a single emblem of his dignity,
is both a singular and instructive spectacle. So far,
indeed, do these balls appear to be "burgerlich," that
no military uniforms are worn at them. The king,
his sons, generals, and officers, all appear as private
individuals, and in plain clothes.
Thus the very
by the king, is here removed, lest it might in any way
semblance of that power, which is in reality wielded
mar the general satisfaction. To promote the amuse-
ments of the people has often been a scheme laid by
bad princes to render less hateful the exercise of their
despotism; but in the instance of Frederick William
of Prussia no such manœuvre would be requisite, and
there can be no doubt that he takes heartfelt delight
in contributing to and beholding the practical happi-

The manners of the king in his court, and
in his intercourse with his subjects, are marked by
great simplicity and moderation. All affairs in which
he himself is personally concerned are regulated upon
the most severe system of decorum and punctuality.
His hours of repast are all fixed, and most accurately
observed. No deviation of the most trifling nature
takes place in the daily routine of his own household,
which is indeed one of a magnitude much below what
our ideas of regal splendour would require. The royal
palace in Berlin, that at least in which the present
king always lives, is the same he occupied in the life-ness of his subjects.
time of his father, and is very small. Its furniture
and decorations are by no means of a costly nature,
and every thing in the person and palace of Frederick
William gives token of his mind being fixed upon
more important objects than the empty trappings of
royalty. To luxury and magnificence, in which other
kings have been seen to place their chiefest glory, he
appears perfectly indifferent, holding it by no means
essential to dazzle the eyes of a well-educated people,
in order to secure their respect to his person, or their
obedience to his government.

There is, perhaps, only one amusement which the
King of Prussia pursues with unceasing ardour, and
with which he allows nothing to interfere. I refer to
his taste for the theatre. Every evening he is in
Berlin, he is present at one of the theatres in the city.
There are two large theatres and one smaller. To
one of the larger he goes every evening, attended by
members of his family, generally sitting in a private
box, whilst the royal box, which is of large dimen-
sions, and placed in the middle of the circle of boxes,
is occupied by his suite, and often by his sons the
princes. Three times in the week are given at the
theatre-royal representations in the French language.
To the French comedians the king is very partial,
paying their salaries from his own purse. On the
occasion of these representations he is always present.
On the other evenings, and particularly on Sunday
evenings, he is at the opera-house, which is a very
splendid theatre, though not very large when com-
pared with the Italian opera-houses in Paris and
London. The king retires before nine, even should
the performances not be concluded, as he always takes
his seat at supper at that particular hour, and receives
the report of the officer on guard for the day on the
royal watch.*

The other public amusements in Berlin are not

Die Konigliche Wache, a building of a very handsome appearance, nearly opposite the king's palace, at which is placed a numerous guard.

These balls, therefore, gave me unmixed satisfaction, independently of the survey of the brilliant scene itself; and yet from the gallery the whole view was exceedingly imposing; the floor covered with couples flying round the room in the mazes of the waltz or the mazurka, together with that never to be described music, all gave to the eye, as to the ear, full enjoyment; and there being a profusion of the more substantial sources of animal gratification in the adjoining saloons, tended in no degree to lessen the satisfaction. Here ices, jellies, caviare, Champagne, and Burgundy, revived the wearied dancer, and added to the hilarity of the company. And doubt not but more sufficient viands were there also, for I dare say even a beef-steak à l'Anglaise might have been furnished forth by that prince of Berlin caterers, the far-famed Jäger. These balls are generally concluded by ten o'clock, so much do the early habits of the king opethere are generally balls at the principal hotels, to rate as an example. On the same evenings, however, which all disposed for a more lengthened enjoyment in dancing and merriment adjourn.

At a large building called the Colosseum, situated in the older part of Berlin, balls and concerts are given twice a-week during the winter. The music here, as in fact every where in Germany, is of a very high order, though the price of admission is only one shilling each person. This ballroom is likewise of very large dimensions, with galleries round for spectators, and here resort the shopkeepers with their wives and daughters, the latter of whom are incessantly and indefatigably employed in dancing from the commencement to the conclusion of the entertainment, Although the females of the more fashionable circles do not exhibit themselves here, yet the male sex are not so fastidious, but in great numbers frequent these balls, and gallop and dance the hours away with the sturdy bourgeoises. In these balls of course it would be vain to expect any extraordinary elegance of attire, or the greatest refinement of manners; but all pursue what their own tastes call them to. The fa

thers are below in the tunnel, a sort of cellar beneath the ballroom, drinking schnaps or beer, smoking their pipes, and chatting in circles; the mothers in groups

* The Princess Von Leugnitz is the married wife of the king, though not acknowledged as queen consort. Such marriages are common with kings and princes in Germany who marry beneath their own rank The king has no family by the princess, who has a separate palace adjoining to the king's.

drinking tea at small tables around the room, and the
daughters engaged in the practical exposition of per-
petual motion. Others more refined, or with more
money to spare, take supper in the refreshment room.
Thus that class which may be called the lower of the
middle class indulge in a very cheap and rational
amusement.
No improper female character can pos-
sibly gain admittance, and the utmost regularity and
decorum prevail in the whole assembly. Although
we very properly consider Great Britain as the hap-
piest country in the world, yet I much doubt if the
lower orders of the people enjoy so much freedom
in their amusements, or whether those amusements
themselves are of so innocent and exhilarating a
nature. Music and dancing have hitherto been too
much neglected in this country. What a contrast do
the lower orders in Germany and in France present
to those of this most happy country! There the
people, following the bent of their inclinations, pass
their leisure hours with their families in tea-gardens
or music saloons, finding there infinitely more grati-
fication than in the drunken scenes of the pot-house,
which seems the only place of resort left open to the
lower orders in Great Britain; and which appears
most frequented on that day which we of all nations
peculiarly hold to be sacred.

moderate tone and temper; but for the repression of
crime, and discovery of offenders, it must ever far sur-
pass in efficiency a police bound to be scrupulous in
any invasion of the liberty of the subject, or of the
inviolability of his domestic sanctuary.

CITIZEN JAFFRAY.

ONE who has travelled over all broad Scotland in Goldsmith's approved manner, and conversed with individuals in almost every town and village which it contains, can safely affirm, and here does affirm, that he never found any hamlet so little but what it had its clever fellow. The place may want doctor, minister, and schoolmaster; but yet there is sure to be in it some smart or some studious person, some man who either gets the reputation of being "a dungeon," that is, a dark storehouse of information and thought, or "a slie hand," which is as much as to say, a wit or wag. Sometimes he is a shoemaker, sometimes a weaver lad, sometimes a small shopkeeper; but, whatever be his means of livelihood, there he is, either leading all by his wisdom, or amusing all by his fun Such must ever be one of the first considerations-perhaps fond of studious musings by the waterside forced upon a sojourner among the nations on the at morn or eve-perhaps content to keep up the clishContinent. Nothing makes a people more obedient maclaver at the close-head between work-hours-not to the laws, more satisfied with their individual stations, or more disposed to fulfil their duties, than the unlikely the moving spirit of a book-club, or a readingroom, or a scientific lecture, and possibly also the promotion amongst them of innocent amusements, and healthy and quiet recreation. Of this the ruling centre of a knot of good fellows who meet o'-nights over a glass of something. All the neighbours say of him, powers of Europe are well aware, and most wisely that, if he had only had schule lear, and been properly abstain from any interference in such matters, other than affording them assistance by their own counte- brought forward, he must have proved a first-rate poet or historian-perhaps a minister!-and all agree The effects of a contrary in deploring that so bright a spirit should be confined policy in Great Britain are now, perhaps, about to to so dull a sphere, and the world at large deprived of make themselves more intelligible than they have ever its rays, though, heaven knows, the world has usually heretofore been. more clever fellows than it can make a good use of.

nance or contributions.

tuitous; and it was seldom he would receive the slightest refreshment, lest he should put the people to expense. If in these, or any other of his journies, he chanced to find a houseless wanderer and her child sitting under a hedge, he would sit down beside her, and compassionately inquire if her child had been vaccinated; and if answered in the negative, would then produce his implements and perform the operation; and on leaving, drop sixpence (it was all he could spare) into her hand, to provide for herself and child the next meal, and then proceed on his journey with his heart and pocket light. In short, his labours in this way were so abundant, and conducted to suc cessfully, that he was able to say with truth, twelve years before his death, that he had vaccinated above 13,000 children, not one of whom, so far as his know. ledge extended, ever took the small-pox.

It was very gratifying to the Citizen, that nearly the whole of his neighbours, in his native village, allowed him to vaccinate their children. There were, however, two families-one at each end of the village -who resisted this innovation as a newfangled invention, to oppose, as they ignorantly imagined, the designs and workings of Providence. Our friend regretted this exceedingly, as he could not expect to succeed in effectually banishing this highly infectious disease from Cambusbarron, without the concurrence of the entire population; but here, although he found persuasion to be in vain, his object was accomplished in a very effectual manner; for upon the next visitation of the distemper, each of the two families, although they lived at opposite ends of the village, was infected, and one in each died, whilst every other fa mily in the place escaped. This was a triumph to vaccination which gratified the Citizen very much; for although he, in common with every man in the village, regretted the loss which his neighbours had suffered, he yet justly thought that ultimately more good would result from these instances of perverse feeling, and prejudiced thinking, than the temporary loss sustained by these families.

It is very questionable if any poor man ever rendered himself so useful to the public, and conferred such lasting benefits upon society. If the calculation be a just one-and we believe it is not very wide of the truth-that one out of every four children born died of the small-pox; and if we presume that for the last twelve years of his life he vaccinated 3000 children, in addition to the 13,000 formerly mentioned, we have 4000 lives which this one man had been in. strumental in saving. What an idea, and how de lightful to a benevolent mind, the contemplation of such an amount of good actually conferred! The motive which stimulated the Citizen in this, the cause of humanity, was as generous and disinterested as the zeal and perseverance with which he continued it were laudable; for at the time he commenced operations, the price for inoculating each child was half a guinea, at the least-a price which he considered as calculated very much to oppose the general progress of this beneficent appointment of Providence. To see the Citizen setting out upon a vaccinating tour, was quite a treat. Dressed, in the winter, with his long coat and a spencer-his locks only slightly coloured with age, neatly combed down, and curling naturally about his ears, while they were trimly brushed back upon his forehead, with a slender walking-stick in his hand, and his face beaming with humanity-he considered himself as the messenger of good only; the world and its wealth, which he never sought much after, and which never pressed themselves into his service, he left, upon these occasions, entirely behind. Nor did he ever regret the time he expended, nor the money he might have realised, had he prosecuted business with as intense a concentration of mental energy as he did gratuitous vaccination.

Independently of the freedom of social intercourse, Of this class, though more remarkable for expana degree of freedom in other respects is enjoyed in sion and liberality of mind than for any thing like Prussia, which is not felt in Austria or Russia. Here either talent or information, was William Jaffray, you may be sure of receiving your letters unopened of Cambusbarron, near Stirling, who died in 1828, at from the post-office, and also that your own epistles the age of seventy-nine. He obtained the nickname will not be subjected to that unpleasant ceremony. of Citizen, from his having rather conspicuously adThe contrary may be expected in the two empires;vocated the principles of the French Revolution. but in Prussia the tolerance of the government allows Even in old age, he had much of the fire of youth left all practical freedom, except that of the press. A nacould not, it is generally thought, be tolerated under portioned body, corresponded well with the buoyancy tive press, without the control of a severe censorship, in him, and his limber, but well-formed and justly prothe present circumstances of Prussia, where the almost and hilarity of his mind. "The circumstances which go to make up the narrative of an obscure villager's all-powerful remonstrances of the Russian despot are even now directed to alarm the court of Berlin as to life, are, in the case of the Citizen, more than usually the consequences of the too liberal tone of the govern- scanty; for he was born, brought up, married, and brought up his family, and finally died, in the same ment. As English and French newspapers have open house. But it was not such circumstances as being circulation, as also English and French books, to those born, married, and dying-things common to all men Prussians acquainted with either of those languages,that rendered William Jaffray so distinguished as a free press may be said comparatively to be allowed, he was in the neighbourhood. His mind had a wider the more especially as the study of other languages range, and it required something beyond the dull moforms a feature in the education of almost every notony of a village life to give scope to the craving Prussian. In the coffeerooms in Berlin, foreign newsbenevolence of his disposition. This scope he found papers are openly exposed, and the conversation is first in inoculation, and afterwards in vaccination. generally just as free and unrestrained as if it were When inoculation began to attract public attention, held in the Crown and Anchor itself. Political remarks are certainly not much in vogue amongst the the Citizen became desirous of being himself the me people generally, for that wakeful spirit is not there dium of communicating it to his neighbours. He abroad which renders Great Britain so prolific in po- began by trying the experiment first upon his own liticians. It may be that they are satisfied with the son, who is still living. This trial having succeeded very well, he persuaded some of his neighbours to government; or that they are sluggish and phlegmatic, allow their children to undergo the same operation, not prone to change, indisposed to render themselves which was attended with success, and afforded high unhappy at the contemplation of miseries perhaps more gratification to his own kindly feelings. He also opeimaginary than real; or, content with moderate gra- rated upon some adults with good effect; and in this tifications, and happy in their unlimited tolerance, manner was proceeding unostentatiously, but efficithat they willingly leave state matters to men of wiser heads or more unsettled natures all or any one of ently, in conferring lasting benefits upon his country: but his experience soon convinced him that inoculathese may be reasons why politics never, or very rarely, tion was not a perfect remedy for that loathsome dis-him to the public notice, was not likely to be long become the leading theme of conversation in Prussia. It is certainly not to be attributed to any fear of the ease, the small-pox. He therefore hailed with ecstacy concealed, although he was stigmatised, by the local consequences of indulgence in such discourses. No the growing popularity, founded upon utility, of the authorities as a friend of the people,' and consesystem of espionage exists in Berlin, or other large discovery of Dr Jenner; and wrote to Dr Bryce in quently an enemy to the government and the governors. Accordingly, the national vaccine establishtowns in Prussia, which is so much to be dreaded in Edinburgh, who instantly supplied him with some of the best works upon the subject; as also a supply of ment-immediately after its erection, which seems, Austria and Russia, so as to render conversation in from an incident we are about to relate, to have been public places, or with persons unknown to you, in the matter, and the necessary operating instruments. Being thus equipped, he went forth now in the conabout the time our friend acquired the epithet of Ci. two latter countries, highly dangerous. scious dignity of a real benefactor to mankind. Every tizen-opened a correspondence with him. The inciFriday, either in the house of his friend Mrs For- dent arose out of this correspondence, and proves the degree of personal interest that even a public functionrester, or in his own wareroom, which was just above, did he wait for hours, for the double purpose of sup- ary, in a close burgh, could take in the Citizen, in the most suspicious of times. Upon one occasion there plying his weavers with work, or vaccinating their children. Nor did he confine his exertions in this came a rather large package, through the post-office, firmly and closely sealed up, addressed To Wm. Jaf fray, near Stirling, Scotland; and it was indorsed On his Majesty's service. The postmaster, only anxious for the safety of his friend the Citizen, never reflecting for a moment that this was not the way to apprehend a criminal, concealed the package, and instantly dispatched a trusty messenger to inform him that he had better place himself under hiding for a time, as a very suspicious-looking package lay in the post-office, addressed to him, and indorsed as above; but what was the surprise of the postmaster when he saw the Citizen, who was in the secret, appear with his returned messenger, and demand the package in the open shop. Nothing could exceed his surprise at what he deemed the temerity of his friend. Upon the whole, it is a little singular, in the history of William Jaffray, that while he was in open correspondence with such an institution as the national vaccine establishment, which acted directly under the control of

The police, in all governments constituted like that of Prussia, must necessarily be a vast and powerful body. Its secret workings are of course not open to the observation of a stranger. Yet that they have information of the general habits of all strangers in the city, and of their mode of passing time, is most sure. This prying into your secret motions produces to you no sort of annoyance whatever, unless you should, with unpardonable folly, engage in any practices inconsistent with the stability of the government, or the tranquillity of the people. In such practices it is useless to indulge, under a supposition of the possibility of baffling the Prussian police. But in no other manner can your freedom of action or your ease and quiet be disturbed, than through your own rashness. The police, therefore, is, as it is in this country, so far as the welldisposed and quiet individual is concerned, merely conservative. Doubtless it is a dangerous instrument to be wielded by arbitrary and irresponsive power; but until a representative and free government be established instead of a pure monarchy, we may perhaps be grateful for the moderate and preservative uses to which its energies are as yet peculiarly directed. An arbitrary and powerful police is destructive to real liberty, though its actions may be regulated by a very

good cause to Stirling and Cambusbarron, or even the
parish of St Ninians, extensive as it is, but made re
gular itinerating tours to the towns and villages of
this populous district. His plan was, when he arrived
in a town or village, to go into the house of some ac-
quaintance-and many persons were proud of the
acknowledgment, on the part of the Citizen, of an
acquaintanceship-and to request those in the house
to inform the people of the place that he was there,
and for what purpose. In this way he has frequently,
after walking from six to nine miles, vaccinated from
eighty to one hundred and twenty children, and re-
turned in the same primitive way to his own house in
the evening.

On these itinerating tours, as in all his labours in
this cause of humanity, his services were entirely gra-

What follows is derived from a neat little Guide to Stirling, recently published. Ebenezer Johnstone, Stirling; Fraser and Company, Edinburgh.

So zealous

a vaccinator, and one who had so much to recommend

the government, and was lauded by them as a patriot and benefactor to the human race, he should be treated, by the legal authorities in Scotland, as an enemy to social order, and a wrongheaded fellow, whom it was perfectly right and proper to put down, at all hazards, as a disturber of the public peace. So differently do men judge, when one takes theory as his rule, and another the practice of virtue. Be this as it may, the Citizen, from this time, was never troubled for his political sentiments, and he did not change them till the earthly scene closed upon him. He was henceforth considered as a privileged person. A person in direct communication with the government as he appeared to be, was wisely esteemed as above the petty malice of the local authorities.

neither the one nor the other, as he was the first to the agricultural districts of England, one to eight receive it, so he would be the first to discard it. He hundred and twenty. There is, however, more insawas the first in his native village, excepting a young nity in England than in any other country of Europe. lady, that carried an umbrella, which he exhibited to An inquiry, therefore, into the causes of so much great advantage in his progress to church the first insanity in this country becomes very important; and Sabbath after he had it; his wife, who had more of these causes must be sought among the agents that this world's way of thinking than her husband, keep act upon the brain. I have already shown that insaing at a considerable distance behind him, for fear she nity is a disease of the brain, and that whatever should be called proud, and until she should learn powerfully excites this organ, may so derange its acwhat was the opinion of the neighbours upon this tion as to produce derangement of the mind. Somenewfangled and conceited-like invention. Such an times it is occasioned by a blow or fall upon the head, idea never entered the head of the Citizen; it was at other times by inflammation or fever, which proenough for him if it was an improvement, and likely duces an unusual determination of blood to the brain. to be useful. The ideas which any or all of his neigh-But far oftener this disease is occasioned by moral bours might form, weighed very little in his mind. causes, by too violent excitement of the mind, producWhen the vaccine establishment had become ac-If I save, by my umbrella,' said the Citizen, my ing morbid action in some parts of the brain. quainted with his merit, they began to reward it in a new hat, while my laughing neighbour is getting his Thus we find that insanity prevails most in those manner which highly gratified the worthy Citizen. drenched with the rain, let the winner laugh.' countries where people enjoy civil and religious freeThey first created him a regular corresponding member, I have known the Citizen, after he was past seventy, dom, where every person has liberty to engage in the with power to receive and remit through the post-office, rise at three in the morning, and walk a distance of strife for the highest honours and stations in society, packages indorsed on his Majesty's service; then they thirteen miles, over valley, moor, and mountain, and and where the road to wealth and distinction of every supplied him with fresh variolous matter, and promised return in the afternoon, carrying in his handkerchief kind is equally open to all. There is but little insanity to continue the supply; and remitted, besides, a new a mule-canary, with some of its feathers more fantas- in those countries where the government is despotic. assortment of instruments for conducting his opera- tically arranged than any other he could find. He The inhabitants of such countries possess but little tions, and shortly after voted him, at the public ex- took much pleasure in teaching blackbirds and star- mental activity compared with those who live in a repense, a handsome silver cup, richly embossed, with lings to perform tunes, and the reward he sought for public, or under a representative government. There à suitable inscription engraved upon it. After the this labour was a large price for the feathered song- is but little insanity in China, and travellers state lapse of a few years more, and when he had added to ster, says a cool calculator. No; but that it might be that there is but little in Turkey. The disease is unhis former fame by a continued perseverance, stimu- placed in the street of some populous town to charm common in Spain and also in Russia, out of the large lated as it was by the expressed approval of such com. the city virtuosi. A great part of his attention was cities. In France there is much less in the country petent judges, he was constituted an honorary member occasionally given to flowers, which he cultivated in than in the cities. Humboldt states that he saw very of the vaccine establishment, and a diploma sent him his garden with great care for a while; but his pre- few cases of mental derangement among the American to that effect, an honour enjoyed, because deserved, by vailing curiosity and thirst for novelty soon displaced savages. In such countries the spirit of inquiry and only a few. Upon these decided marks of the public them for others, which soon shared the same fate-improvement is seldom awakened, or is soon stifled approbation of his merits, the old man set a particular the last being always better than those that preceded when it is; and the inhabitants exhibit but little more value, and considered them as heirlooms to descend them. mental excitement than the brute creation. in his family to the latest generation.

There was an exploit of the Citizen, upon which he set a higher value than even upon his exertions in vaccination the release of a female negro. This young woman had been brought from the West Indies to assist in taking charge of her master's family; and after remaining some time in Scotland, her proprietor was sending her back to his estate in Jamaica. In the passage between Stirling and Glas. gow, where he was carrying her to see her shipped off, he had taken a place for himself in the cabin of the canal-boat, and left his slave to go into the steerage. Upon the same day, the Citizen, and a Mr Cunningham, belonging to Glasgow, both active and enterprising friends of humanity, had taken, from motives of economy, their place where the female negro was. They soon made themselves familiar to her by their kind inquiries concerning her fate; and having understood that she was proceeding to Ja maica, they concluded that she was returning to the state of slavery so detested by them both, and not, as they learned from the girl herself, much relished by her either. They then conversed earnestly between themselves for some time, and came to the resolution of communicating to the young woman the knowledge of the great constitutional fact, that no slave could set his foot on British ground, and remain a slave. They then told ber that as she was quite free, she was at liberty, upon her arrival in Glasgow, to follow her own inclinations; but as she was an utter stran. ger, if she chose to follow them, they would carry her to a magistrate, and have her liberty officially and publicly acknowledged. If, on the other hand, she chose to follow her master, she must abide the consequence of returning to Jamaica, and probably become the mother of more slaves. Upon her arrival, the love of liberty, so natural to the human heart, prevailed over even the habitual obedience she had yielded to her master, and she followed the Citizen and his friend, who, after they had got her liberty publicly recognised, exerted themselves effectually in procuring employment for her, without which her freedom would have rather been a curse than a blessing. Upon the appearance of the Citizen in Stirling next Friday, we did think that he had attached a higher degree of personal importance to himself than was usually indicated by the appearance of his outward man. His spencer was more nicely brushed and more justly ac commodated to his person; and his locks, of which he was always proud, were, if possible, more neatly combed; and his hat had, from the mere elation of his mind, assumed something of a jaunty air; while his customary slight walking-stick was transformed into a formidable cudgel, which he brandished over his shoulder with the air of a man who was inclined to use it in clearing his way of every intruder. Certain it is, there was not one circumstance in his pretty ong life that afforded him so complete and full a satisfaction; for we have frequently heard him say that it was well worth a man's while to live a long life, if he could accomplish such an object at the end of it. Worthy Citizen! what would have been the state of mental enjoyment felt by thee, hadst thou now lived, when there is not a slave in the king's dominions? Thou wouldst have been proud in belonging to a country that had dignity of mind sufficient to bestow, through its representatives, twenty millions of pounds

for the liberation of slaves !

It is natural to suppose that such a man possessed a mind of peculiar construction. And so he did; for he was ardently and passionately attached to novelty not, however, because any thing was merely new, was he attached to it, but because he hoped it might prove either useful or agreeable. If a novelty should prove |

The last incident we shall mention exhibits the Citizen as equally desirous of benefiting society by his death, as he had proved himself the friend of hu. manity during his life. About the time of his last illness, the country was very much agitated by the horrors committed in Edinburgh by Burke and his fellows, which irritated the people very much against the medical profession. The Citizen, sympathising with the faculty, regretted the scantiness of subjects for dissection, and requested that his own body should be assigned to this purpose, which, however, was not required. This was being benevolent even in death.

Once more, the Citizen was an exemplary attendant upon the public ordinances of religion. In theory, indeed, his religious sentiments were tinged with a certain extravagance, which seemed quite congenial to his mental taste, and which were, like his other failings, harmless, and characteristic of the man; 'for even his failings leaned to virtue's side.'"

EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE MENTAL EX.
CITEMENT IN PRODUCING DISEASE.
[Being Extract Fourth from the Work of Dr Brigham.]
This portion of Dr Brigham's work does not, we are glad to
think, bear with so much force upon the people of Great Britain,
as it unhappily does upon those of the United States. It presents,
however, a very curious picture of the extreme mental excitement
which prevails in the latter country, and, if based, as we have
every reason to believe, upon right views, holds forth a very in-
structive warning to our own.]

INTELLECTUAL cultivation, and powerful mental ex-
citement, have a very important bearing upon one of
the most appalling and deplorable diseases which af-
flicts humanity; a disease which now prevails to a
great extent in this country, and is, I apprehend, in-
creasing with fearful rapidity. The disease I allude
to is insanity, or disorder of the organ of the mind,
of the mental faculties.
which produces a derangement in the manifestation

In all countries, the disease prevails most among those whose minds are most excited. Aristotle noticed, in his day, the great prevalence of insanity among statesmen and politicians. It is said the disease prevails most among those whose minds are excited by hazardous speculations, and by works of imagination and taste; and but little among those whose minds are exercised only by calm inquiry. The registers of the Bicêtre, in France, show that the insane of the educated classes consist chiefly of priests, painters, sculptors, poets, and musicians; while no instance of the disease in naturalists, physicians, geometricians, or chemists, has occurred.*

In all ages and countries, insanity has prevailed most in times of great moral and mental commotion. The crusades, and the spirit of chivalry that followed them, the reformation of Luther, the civil and religious discords of Europe, the French revolution, the American revolution, greatly multiplied cases of insanity. So true is it that moral and mental causes excite this disease, that Esquirol says he "could give the history of the revolution, from the taking of the Bastile until the last appearance of Bonaparte, by that of some lunatics, whose insanity relates to the events which have distinguished this long period."

Not only do the commotions which powerfully affect the minds of people occasion immediate insanity in adults, but they predispose the next generation to this terrible disease; and this is a fact that deserves great consideration. Esquirol says that many women, strongly affected by the events of the revolution, bore children, whom the slightest cause rendered insane. He is supported by others in this opinion, that strong mental emotion of the mother predisposes the offspring to insanity.

Children do not indeed often become insane, though they do occasionally, from strong mental excitement and injudicious developement of the moral farulties. Esquirol has seen children rendered insane by jealousy, by fear, and the severity of their parents; and

Pinel has made the same observation. The former relates the case of a child, "endowed with precocious intelligence, with a head uncommonly large," and who became mentally deranged at the age of eleven. He states, also, that he has known many students, animated by a desire to surpass their comrades, to be come insane after pursuing severe studies. M. Foville says he has seen a child of ten years of age, whom the assiduous reading of romances rendered insane. This child at last believed himself one of the heroes of the works he had read, and passed most of his time in striking the walls, trees, &c., which he took to be his enemies.

We have no means of determining correctly the number of insane persons in the United States; but if there are as many in the other states of the Union as in Connecticut, the whole number cannot be less than fifty thousand, or one in every two hundred and sixty-two of the population, as is evident from the following facts. In the year 1812, a committee was appointed to ascertain the number of insane persons in the state of Connecticut. This committee addressed letters to physicians and other persons in every town in the state, requesting correct information upon this subject. They received answers from seventy towns, But though mental excitement may not often proand, after much deliberation and inquiry, reported, duce insanity during childhood, it may predispose a they were "satisfied there were one thousand indivi- person to this disease; and I believe it does, by giving duals within the bounds of the state mentally deranged, an early predominance to the nervous, system. The and that the condition of many of them was truly de-following facts support this opinion. Van Swieten says plorable." On mentioning this statement recently to the distinguished physician of the Retreat for the Insane at Hartford, and my surprise at the great num. ber reported by the committee, he assured me it was less than he believed the actual number of insane persons in Connecticut. But if we admit there were one thousand individuals mentally deranged in 1812, or one in every two hundred and sixty-two of the inhabitants, then there were more than twice as many in this deplorable condition as in any country in Europe, in proportion to the population. The number of the insane in England has increased within the last twenty years; still there are but about fourteen thousand in that country, one half of whom are idiots.

In Scotland, the proportion of insane to the popuła. tion, is one to five hundred and seventy-four; and in

that nearly all insane persons have had convulsions when young; and I have seen repeated instances in which premature exercise of the mental faculties appeared to be the predisposing cause of convulsions. I now know several boys, with large heads, and who are remarkable for the maturity of their understand. ings, and the great proficiency they have already made in their studies, whom slight exciting causes throw into convulsions.

In view of these few brief facts respecting Insanity, we are forced to believe, that among the causes of the great prevalence of this disease in this country, are the following:—

First, Too constant and too powerful excitement of We take leave to express a suspicion that this fact is over. stated.-Ed. C. E. J.