such as is now common in ponds and estua- | straits. The Samoiedes and Kamtschatdales, in ries; and where the bird trod upon it, in some Northern Asia, are very similar to them in their apcases, it seems that the mud was crowded upwards, pearance and manners, as well as in their boats, forming a ridge around the track in front, several huts, and instruments. inches in height. "Indeed," continues the professor, "I hesitate not to say, that the impression made on the mud appears to have been almost as deep, indicating a pressure almost as great, as if an elephant had passed over it." All the varieties of tracks are included under two divisions; 1, the Pachydactyli, or thick-toed: 2, the Leptodactyli, or slender-toed. The first includes three varieties; the second, eight varieties. Some of the slender-toed variety have four toes, with an appendage at the heel, apparently produced by a tuft of hair or feathers not unlike that attached to the foot and leg of the bantam fowl. The footmarks vary in size, from one inch to seventeen inches. We may probably infer from that fact, that they were made by birds of all sizes, varying from that of a snipe, to a species of bird larger than the ostrich. The ostrich is from seven to nine feet high, and weighs generally about one hundred pounds. The foot of an ostrich is but ten inches long. But the largest of the ornithicnites, is from sixteen to seventeen inches long. If this furnishes a fair ground of comparison, we are led to believe that these antediluvian birds, taking also into view the comparative length of the steps, must have been almost twice as high as the ostrich, and, perhaps, twice as heavy! The form of the Esquimaux seems influenced by the climate; their stature is much lower than the European, five feet nine inches being considered gigantick; the usual height is from four to five feet. Though the trunk of the body is thick, the extremities are small, especially the hands and feet, and the fingers very short. The face is broad and flat, and the nose small, and sunk very deep: this would appear to be caused by the muscles of the face being drawn in from intense cold. The females have a fresh and good-natured expression of countenance. Their dress is very simple. That of the men is of a double coat of deer-skin, with the hair inwards; at one end a hood is formed, and raised over the head; trousers of the same, also double, falling over the boots which extend to the knee, which are of deer-skin or of the hide of the walrus or seal. The dress of the females is very similar; they are, however, distinguished by their boots-so capacious, as to make each leg appear as large as the body, and to give them a waddling gait; these boots form a receptacle for all the nick-nacks that may come into the possession of these fair orders of the north; and, in fact, answer the purpose of a “reticule." Captain Parry states, that they were originally used for a receptacle for children, but that of late a new-fashioned hood has been introduced. Their clothes are sewn together with the thread consisting of the sinews of animals; they arrange their dress with some taste; and from the rich variety of furs, the most showy of which the ladies turn into borders, they, on gala days, make a splendid appearance. But the taste of some was not so good; in lieu of beads they sometimes form or namental girdles of the teeth of the fox, wolf, o musk-ox; and one, to be finer than the rest, had fringed her jacket with a long row of foxes' noses; these were, however, suspected to be regarded as amulets or charms. To complete their beauty, the These impressions were clearly made upon soft earth or mud, at the time, doubtless, when the Connecticut river valley was an estuary. They were gradually filled up by alluvial deposites, and subsequently formed into stone. That they were made at an early period in the history of the globe, will familiarly appear from the fact, that they are found in strata or layers of rock which may be traced directly under hills and mountains, and even beneath the bed of the Connecticut river. But it also appears from the fact, that they are found in strata, the formation of which, geologists attribute to a period antecedent to the flood; or at least antecedent to some great revolution which the earth has under-women paint their skin 'by drawing a needle under gone since its creation. Tracks of a similar description have been found in England, in similar geological formations. The organick remains of enormous vegetables have also been found, both in New England and Great Britain, the period of whose existence must be assigned to the same early era in the history of the globe. We sincerely hope that these investigations may be pursued; for the results will certainly form an important link in that chain of geological evidence, which shall at some subsequent period establish a connected and perfect history of the earth from the beginning. the epidermis, with a thread dipped in lampblack and oil; and after sewing and drawing out the needle, and pressing the part, it leaves a permanent olive teint. Hunting is the only resource of these poor people; they pass their whole lives in adventure, which forms a determined character. When not able to procure wood or iron, their ingenuity turns the bones of animals into their implements; and their cord or line is formed by cutting the toughest and most elastick skins into long strips. The short period of summer is employed in shooting the deer with bow and arrow, the flesh of which for eating, We should be guilty of great injustice, did we not and the hide for clothing, they highly esteem. The acknowledge our indebtedness for most of the pre-eider and other wild ducks also furnish them with ceding facts to that most excellent work, Professor Silliman's Journal. CHARACTER OF THE ESQUIMAUX. food, and their skins, with feathers inwards, are used as clothing also. Winter drives all the animals to the south, and then these people are forced to subsist from the products of the river-the seal, the walrus, and the whale-which are obliged to The Esquimaux are an extensive race, occupying the ascend to the surface for respiration. In a solitary shores of the Northern ocean. Richardson and Frank-snow-shed, erected on purpose, they watch, and imlin found them along the whole coast of the American mediately the animal is visible, strike a dart or a Polar sea; Kotzebue, in the channel near Beering's harpoon with a line attached. When struck, it darkness prevailed. Toolemak, with incantations, plunges into the water, but forced to return at inter- | cipal deity is called Aywillaiyoo, being the figure of a vals, is again attacked, till, by loss of blood, and fa- female of gigantick stature, having only one eye, tigue, it becomes an easy prey. With a band of (the left,) and a pig-tail reaching to the knees, and dogs, a single Esquimaux will attack a polar bear; so large that both hands can scarce grasp it. Capthe dogs keep him at bay, while the master advan-tain Lyon was present when Toolemak, their chief cing with a spear, and avoiding with incredible agil-magician, summoned Aywillaiyoo to the upper world ity the springs of the bear, pierces him repeatedly, to utter her oracles. They were all assembled in a till, exhausted, he falls and dies. Nooses, springs, hut, and light after light was extinguished till total and traps, are also used to catch birds and foxes. Immediately, a walrus or other sea-monster is taken, shouts are raised throughout the village of huts, when they all come out, and immediately it is brought before them, slices are cut out, and every lamp has a fresh supply of oil; the huts are in a blaze of light; all the pots are filled with the flesh, and the women begin cooking, occasionally picking out a dainty morsel for themselves: the feast is now prepared, when, seated round, one man takes up a large piece, and severs, with his teeth, as much as he can get into his mouth, and then passes it to his neighbour, and so on all round till it is consumed, and a fresh piece is supplied; they will sometimes devour the whole of the animal at one sitting. A youth, named Toolooak, is said to have taken in the Fury, within twenty-four hours, ten pounds four ounces of solid This deity is supposed to have a father, who is a food, a gallon and a pint of water, with more than a giant with one arm. The Esquimaux also have a pint of soup. Captain Lyon, however, thought more familiar spirit, called Pamiooli, a kind of MerKanzara, another native, possessed more capaci-cury among them, frequently invoked; they likety of stomach; in nineteen hours he finished nine wise mention a large bear, which they say inhabits pounds fifteen ounces of solid, and a gallon and a the centre of the ice, and sometimes holds converse half of fluid. Such are the appetites of those with them. They, however, believe in a future people, and so improvident are they, that the most state, in which as usual among savage nations, they ample stores soon disappear; one day they are imagine the senses will be completely amused.— labouring under all the evils of repletion, and a few They believe that the soul passes through different days after they are without food. abodes, first into a state similar to purgatory; that the good spirits pass through them, and find their state continually improving until they reach a spot where the sun never sets, and where, with plenty of water, and a beautiful country by the side of lakes which never freeze, the deer roam in vast herds, and the seal and the walrus abound. Such is the perfection of bliss in the imagination of these poor crea WATERSPOUTS. BY LIEUT. H. W. OGDEN, U. S. N. "In May, 1820, while on our passage from Havana to Norfolk, in the U. S. sloop of war John Adams, we had reached the latitude of cape Fear, and near the inner edge of the gulf stream, when the wind died away, the weather became very warm, and the atmosphere close and oppressive. The crew were lounging listlessly about the deck, dreading the dull monotony of a continued calm, when one of the seamen called out that there was a waterspout on the larboard bow. Their intellectual faculties are not, of course, much developed; they cannot count beyond ten, and can form no abstract ideas; but in the mechanical structure of their huts and implements, they display great skill; from constantly migrating, they have a good notion of delineating geography; they are very humorous, and fond of mimicking. The first winter they appeared to be honest in the extreme; but,tures? after two or three winters, being accustomed to see pieces of iron, tin-pots, and pieces of wood and planks, lying about, all to them, as gold and jewels to the people of the south, they, by degrees, yielded to the temptation of pilfering; this may, however, in some degree be excused, after they discovered that in their early intercourse with the strangers, skins and furs of great value had been exchanged by them for beads and other articles of little value; for among themselves the greatest integrity appeared to be observed, their sledges and implements of hunting being left outside their huts without any suspicion of their losing any thing. Hospitality was a virtue they also possessed; the strangers from the south "The officers immediately rushed up from below, were admitted freely into their huts, and the women and I among the number, but we had scarcely reached waited upon them with the greatest attention, setting the deck before a second and a third were seen, and the best food they had before them, as well as mend- within half an hour, there were seven around us vaing and drying their clothes. "The women work-rying in their distance from the ship from two huning and singing, their husbands quietly mending dred yards to two miles. their lines, the children playing before the door, and the pot boiling over the blaze of a cheerful lamp," presents a scene of civilized happiness little imagined to exist in such desolate regions, and cheering in the highest degree to the wandering voyager. Their religious customs are curious; their prin "The atmosphere was filled with low ashy-coloured clouds, some of which were darker underneath than others, and from these the water spouts were generally formed, each one from a separate cloud. In some instances, they were perfectly formed before we observed them, but in others, we could see a the ship, would occasionally vary from a perpendicular line and then resume it. "While the spout was thus moving slowly by us, we had a good opportunity of observing it attentively, and, as we were well convinced that it was not to be broken or dispersed by the concussion of firing, the gun was secured. small portion of the cloud, at first extend downwards in the shape of an inverted cone, and then continue to descend, not very rapidly, until it reached the water. In other instances, however, we observed that this conical appearance of a portion of the cloud, did not always result in the perfect formation of a waterspout. Several times we saw the cone project, continue for a short time stationary- "Around the base of the spout for several feet, the then rise again slowly and disappear in the clouds. sea was considerably agitated, and a few feet above, This would in some cases occur two or three times a gyratory motion was very distinct, tending upward, to the same cloud; but eventually a larger and dark- and accompanied by a whizzing noise, something er cone would descend, and result in forming the vis-like that made by a small quantity of steam escaping ible spout as abovementioned. through a valve which was not very tight. "We saw so many of these failures, that the eye very soon became accustomed to that degree of density in the cone which would ensure its descent, and even the sailors became practical philosophers for the time, correctly predicting when a spout would be formed, and when it would fail. "While intently watching these various operations, we observed that the nearest waterspout, then about two hundred yards on our starboard quarter, was moving slowly towards the ship with a light air from the eastward. The captain immediately ordered the topsails to be clewed down, the hatches to be covered with tarpawlings and battened, the crew to be sent under deck, and directed some of the marines to be in readiness with loaded muskets, to try what effect might be produced by the concussion of firing, as it is the general belief that waterspouts may be broken by this means. As soon as it was near enough, the marines were ordered to fire, and although many of the balls must have passed directly through it, neither the perforation nor concussion had the slightest effect on it. The marines were ordered to load and fire again, and, in the meantime, I was directed to cast loose one of the thirty-two pounders. I did so, and took aim directly at the base of the spout, then within sixty yards, and fired. The captain, and others who were watching the effect to be produced, said they distinctly saw the ball strike the spout at its base, dashing the water on each side, but still it remained as perfect as before. I was ordered to load and fire again, and to elevate the gun so as to strike the tube as high as possible, but just as I was in the act of pulling the lock-string, the captain looked aloft, and observing the head of the spout directly over the main truck, called out to me to hold on, not wishing to try further experiments, while it was in such dangerous proximity to the ship. For some minutes I had been too much occupied with the gun to notice particularly the position and progress of the waterspout, but now, on looking up, I saw the dense black cloud from which it was formed, hanging immediately over us, at a height, as nearly as I could judge, of between three and four hundred feet, and the upper part of the spout directly over the mast-heads. When at a distance of two hundred yards, the tube of the spout seemed to fall perpendicularly from the cloud to which it was attached, but as it approached, the cloud alone moved steadily on, while the lower part of the tube, as though it found something repulsive in the ship, diverged slowly to the southwest, and passed the stern at a distance of about sixty yards. "The tube of the spout was apparently four or five feet in diameter, and its surface well defined. Its colour was light and misty, but we observed that they all looked darker at a distance than when close to us. Its shape was something like a trumpet, the small end downwards, and spreading out suddenly as it united with the cloud. At a height of between twenty and thirty feet from the water, a number of sea-birds were flying around it, evidently in quest of food. They were in rapid motion, flitting and crossing each other's path at every moment, darting in towards the tube, wheeling away, and then as hastily returning. In the meantime, the cloud above, which had rapidly grown denser and larger, began to exhibit coruscations of electricity. The spout which had passed off to a distance of about three hundred yards, after having been visible more than twenty minutes, became smaller at its lower part, and then gradually rose until entirely lost in the cloud, part of which still hung over us. Soon after this several severe flashes of lightning struck near to the ship, and the rain began to fall in large and very cold drops, some of the sailors who believed that the water was taken up in a body to the clouds, tasted the rain as it fell on the deck, and were very much astonished to find it perfectly fresh. A light breeze now sprang up, bearing the cloud off to the Westward, which, as it passed on, assumed the appearance of a heavy squall, and from its accelerated motion, it was evidently carried on by a strong wind." After reviewing the different opinions of philosophers as to the formation of waterspouts, Mr. Ogden says; that "the nearest remaining within sixty yards of our ship for at least fifteen minutes, afforded a good opportunity of observing it minutely, and so far as this one (which seemed to be like all the others in sight at the time) can go in confirmation of a general theory, it inclines me to the belief of that part of Dr. Franklin's hypothesis, which supposes it to be a body of warm air rising from the surface of the ocean to the upper and cooler region, where its moisture begins to be condensed into thick vapour by the cold, thus causing the spout to become first visible at its upper end. As the vapours continue to ascend, by constant addition they became denser, and, consequently, their centrifugal force greater, until being risen above the concentrating currents which compose the whirl, they fly off, spread, and form the cloud." Silliman's Journal. "This, however, was no doubt caused by a differ- There is a paradox in pride-it makes some ence in the current of air above and below, and I men ridiculous, but prevents others from becomobserved that some of the others, more distant from ing so. 398 BIOGRAPHY. WILLIAM HARVEY. The discoverer of the circulation of the blood, was born at Folkstone, in 1578, and educated at Canterbury school. He afterwards went to Caius College, Cambridge. At the age of nineteen he travelled through France and Germany to Padua, where he took the degree of M. D. On his return to England he was incorporated to his doctor's degree at Cambridge, and then settled in London, where he married. In 1604, he was admitted a candidate of the college of physicians; three years after fellow; and in 1615, he made known his discovery of the circulation of the blood in his lectures, the MS. of which is preserved among Sir Hans Sloane's papers. It was published in 1628, and dedicated to Charles I., after the ingenious author had, in his lectures, for nine years confirmed and illustrated it, by the most convincing arguments. This discovery produced a wonderful revolution in the practice of physick, and many laid claim to it, Father Paul among the rest; and by some, envious of Harvey's fame, Hippocrates was asserted to be the original inventor. In 1632, Harvey was made physician to the king, (Charles I.,) and shared his dangers at the battle of Edge Hill; and, in consequence of his loyalty, in 1645, he was made warden of Merton college, which the following year he resigned on the surrender of the city to parliament. In 1654, he was chosen president of the college of physicians, but his infirmities were now so great, that he recommended Dr. Prujean for his successor. As he had no family, he honourably made the college his heirs; and after he had built them a combination-room, a library, and a museum, he presented them with the deeds of his estates, and founded the commemoration, which annually, on the 18th of October, records the liberality and merit of its founder. This great man died on the 3d of June, 1657. Under his picture in the college, on a brass plate, is an inscription, which fully commemorates his services and virtues. His works, with a life, were edited by Dr. Lawrence, in 2 vols. 1767. SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS. The poetical genius of Homer has given a degree of importance to the rocks of Scylla, and the whirlpool of Charybdis, which they do not in reality merit; yet no doubt they were, in the infancy of navigation, when the barks were small and frail, and the mariners unskilful, formidable and dangerous obstacles to the passage of the strait of Messina. by the ancients, yet certainly presents a danger not to be despised. It is probably caused by the meeting of several currents, and is sometimes so powerful as to whirl round a man of war, and to place the undecked boats of the country in considerable peril OPINION OF THE ORIENTALS AS TO WINE. When Noah planted the first vine, and retired, "I will nourish you, Satan approached, and said, charming plant!" He quickly brought three animals, a lamb, a lion, and a hog, and killed them one after the other near the vine. The virtue of the blood of these animals penetrated it, and is still manifest in its growth. When a man drinks one goblet of wine, he is then agreeable, gentle, and friendly; that is the nature of the lamb. When he drinks two, he is a lion, and says: "Who is like me?" he then talks of stupendous things. When he drinks more, his senses forsake him, and at length he wallows in the mire. Need it be said that he then resembles the hog? I KNOW THOU HAST GONE. BY T. K. HERVEY, ESQ. I know thou hast gone to the house of thy rest, I know thou hast gone where the weary are blest, And hope, the sweet singer that gladden'd the earth, I know thou hast gone where thy forehead is starr'd I know thou hast drank of the Lethe that flows In thy far-away dwelling wherever it be, And the love that made all things a musick to me, In the hush of the night, on the waste of the sea, I have ever a presence that whispers of thee, Mine eye must be dark that so long has been dim, But my heart has revealings of thee and thy home, I never look up with a vow to the sky, And though like a mourner that sits by a tonib, Scylla, said in the heathen mythology to have been a beautiful nymph, transformed into a seamonster by the jealousy of Circe, is, in reality, merely a common rock, on the coast of Italy, and opposite that of Sicily. In its summit is a castle, and on each side a sandy bay. In 1793, an earthquake is said to have destroyed some of the surrounding rocks, and thus lessened the danger, and prevented that extraordinary roaring of the sea in We devote the activity of our youth to revelry, stormy weather, which is said to have resembled the barking of dogs, but is not now observed. Cha- and the decrepitude of our age to repentance; and rybdis is a vortex or whirlpool, on the coast of Sici- we finish the farce by bequeathing our dead bodies y, opposite to Scylla, and now denominated Galo-to the chancel, which, when living, we interdicted It is by no means so formidable as represented from the church. faro. 1. Jesus Christ born in Judea, now called the Holy Land, in the 4004th year of the world. 26. John the Baptist commences his ministry. 29. Christ is baptized by John in the river Jordan. 33. Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, under Pontius Pilate, six weeks after which event, he ascends to heaven. 35. The miraculous conversion, and beginning of the apostleship of St. Paul. 39. St. Matthew writes his gospel. 44. St. Mark pens his gospel. 52. The Apostles assemble in council at Jerusalem. 62. St. Paul bound and sent to Rome. 64. The first persecution of the Christians. 66. The last Jewish war against the Romans com mences. 67. Peter and St. Paul suffer martyrdom at Rome by crucifixion, the former with his head downwards. 70. Jerusalem, as foretold by Christ, totally destroyed by the Romans, and the ploughshare driven over its ruins. During this terrible siege, upwards of 3,000,000 of the Jews perished. 95. The second persecution against the Christians. 99. St. John dies, in the 102d year of his age. Prior to this event, he had been cast into a caldron of boiling oil, taken out unharmed, and banished to the isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Revelation. 102. Pliny, the younger, writes his epistle to the emperour Trajan at Rome, informing him of the mode of worship practised by the early Christians. Among other charges, he says, "Solent statu die convenire, et carmina dicere quasi Deo;" i. e., "They were accustomed to assemble on a stated day, and sing hymns to God." 107. Third persecution against the Christians. 118. Fourth persecution against the Christians. 130. The emperour Adrian attempts to rebuild Jerusalem and restore the temple, but his workmen are foiled by earthquakes and fiery eruptions. 202. Fifth persecution against the Christians. 235. Sixth persecution against the Christians. 250. Seventh persecution against the Christians. 257. Eighth persecution against the Christians. 272. Ninth persecution against the Christians. 303. Tenth persecution against the Christians; after which a series of persecutions broke out with the bitterest violence and cruelty. 311. The emperour Constantine becomes a convert to Christianity, and abolishes heathenism from his empire. 325. The first grand council of Nice, in which the Eastern and Western churches were represented. 343. The Christians are persecuted in Persia. 449. The Saxons conquer Britain. 476. The Western empire is abolished. 480. The Roman empire divided into ten horns or kingdoms, and brought under the authority of the pope. 496. Clovis, king of France, is baptized, and embraces the Roman Catholick religion.. 516. The computation of time from the birth of Christ, introduced by Dionysius, a monk. 597. Augustine, the monk, goes to England and teaches the Roman Catholick religion 606. The bishop of Rome is ordained the universal head of the church. 622. Mahomet begins to promulgate his religion by the sword. 637. Jerusalem captured by the Saracens. 698. The Picts in Great Britain are converted to Christianity. 748. Middle or dark ages, in which science slumbers, or is confined chiefly to the cloisters. 756. The popes are constituted civil lords in Italy, and arrogantly claim dominion over the whole world. 800. The German empire instituted by Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, the Germans horetofore having been divided into different tribes or separate kingdoms. 878. The university at Oxford founded by Alfred the Great, king of England. 915. The university at Cambridge established. 1065. Jerusalem captured from the Saracens by the Ottomans or Turks. 1065. William, duke of Normandy, conquers England, and takes possession of the throne. 1096. The first crusade to Palestine, or the Holy Land, undertaken by several Christian sovereigns, with the avowed object of recovering Jerusalem and the holy sepulchre out of the hands of the Turks and Saracens. 1110. Revival of literature in the university of Cambridge. 1147. Second crusade to Palestine. 1177. Saladin defeated before Jerusalem. The crusade attended with immense loss of blood and treasure. 1178. The Albigenses and Waldenses, two Christian sects, take their rise in the south of Europe. 1189. Third crusade against the Holy Land, conducted with great fierceness and bravery, under the kings of England and France. 1192. Richard Cœur de Lion, defeats Saladin at Ascalon. The victory, however, is not decisive. The crusades are finally abandoned as not being worth the immense sacrifice of blood and treasure they had already cost. 1215. Magna Charta signed by King John of England. 1233. The Dominican friars get the management of the inquisition into their hands. 1283. The conquest of Wales by Edward the first, king of England. 1369. J. Wicklif commences preaching in England. 1414. The council of Constance assemble. 1415. John Huss and Jerome of Prague are condemned and burnt for their religious opinions. 1509. John Calvin born. 1517. Martin Luther writes against indulgences in Germany, which paves the way for the reformation. 1519. Zuinglius begins the reformation in Switzerland. 1529. The diet of Spires in Germany meet;-the protesting against which gave rise to the name of Protestants. 1533. Henry VIII., of England, renounces his allegiance to the pope, and styles himself the supreme head of the church of England. |