a manner that the person inside can see at his ease whatever occurs in the street, in both directions. In many houses the ground floor is not inhabited, but merely serves, with its gate and arched passage, for an entrance to the warehouses. The streets are generally long and narrow, and some of them so similar in appearance as often to mislead the stranger. The Boomtjes, corruptly called Boom-quay, is the finest. It extends along the Maese, and thus commands a pleasing prospect over that river. The small house in which the celebrated Bayle resided, while he held the professorship of philosophy and his tory here, is situated in this street, and is still pointed out to strangers.

"The public buildings are remarkable neither for number nor elegance. The Stadthouse is an old fashioned brick edifice; the Exchange, an oblong, with a covered walk on each side. The cathedral of St. Laurence contains an exquisitely wrought screen of brass, by which the choir is separated from the rest of the church. Its summit also commands an extensive prospect, exhibiting the Hague, Leyden, and Dort, in different directions. This cathedral contains the monument of admiral De Witt. Rotterdam enjoys the advantages of a public library, a cabinet of antiquities, and one of natural history: an academy of sciences was also founded here, in 1771."

The celebrated statue of Erasmus is placed in a conspicuous situation on one of the canals. An engraving of this memorial, as well as of the house in which Erasmus was born, has already appeared in our Miscellany. (Vol. vii. page 385.)

"This town also gave birth to the celebrated Vanderwerfe, whose works were so highly esteemed by the elector palatine, that he conferred on him the honour of knighthood, ennobled his descendants, and accompanied these marks of favour by the more solid testimony of a liberal pension and several valuable presents. This painter excelled in historical subjects. His brother, Peter Vanderwerfe, who distinguished himself as a painter of portraits, was born near this city." The vicinity of Rotterdam, though flat, is thickly studded with villas, with gardens and pleasure-grounds. On many of the entrances are inscribed characteristic mottoes; as "Hope and repose,"-"The Abode of Peace," -"Peace is my garden,"-" Consider those beneath you."

"As a commercial emporium, Rotterdam enjoys several advantages. The navigation of the Maese brings to it an extended inland traffic. The ice breaks up earlier in spring than at Amsterdam, and a single tide wafts a vessel from its quays to the main sea; whereas the navigation of the Zuyder Zee to the Texel is intricate and tedious. In antiquity it may also claim superiority over

the last-named city. It was a privileged town, secured by fortifications, so early as the thirteenth century. Its prosperity progressively increased from that period, till the invasion by France in 1795. During its connexion with that power, so great and so rapid was its decline, that while in 1802 its number of ships amounted to 1,786, in 1808 it had sunk to 65, and in the subsequent years its trade was utterly extinct. On the restoration of general peace in 1814, its shipping interest sprung up again with wonderful energy, insomuch that the number of vessels in 1817 nearly equalled that in 1802.

"Its commercial transactions are chiefly with the north of Europe; by much the greater proportion of its tonnage being engaged in transporting the bulky productions of the Baltic, corn, timber, flax, and hemp. The peculiar commerce of the town may be said to be madder, geneva, and refined sugar.*

CHERRIES.

CHERRIES were first planted in Britain one hundred years before Christ; and afterwards brought from Flanders, and planted in Kent, with such success, that an orchard of thirtytwo acres produced, in the year 1540, 1,000Z. Miller has enumerated a great variety; but since his time, their culture has much increased.

"Cherries (says Sturm) are a fruit which, from their sweetness mixed with a pleasing acidity, quench the thirst, allay the fever of the blood in the heat of summer, and prevent the bad humours to which we are but too liable at this season. In the first place, they quench the thirst by their sharpness, which contracts the glands, cools the parched tongue, and moistens the dry palate. This method of appeasing the thirst in hot weather is much to be preferred to all those drinks with which we fill ourselves, and only the more increase our heat and perspiration. But, besides the cherries quenching our thirst in the most pleasing way, they have a cooling quality, which tempers the heat of the blood, calms the animal spirits, of which the too great impetuosity and agitation affect and weaken the nerves. Thus the wholesome juice of the cherries, their acidity, and their astringent virtue, cool us delightfully in the great heats, prevent the blood from being too thick, thin the fluids, and keep them from corrupting."

Peacham, author of the Complete Gentleman, published in the reign of James I., who was reduced to poverty in his old age, and chiefly subsisted by writing little penny books for children, says: "July I would have drawn in a jacket of light yellow, eating cherries, with his face and bosom sun-burnt."

* Abridged, in the main, from the Cabinet Cyclopædia, vol. vii.

Sir Hugh Platt, in his Garden of Eden, relates the following curious anecdote of a cherry-tree:-" Sir Francis Carew, on Queen Elizabeth's visit to him at Beddington, in Surrey, led her Majesty to a cherry-tree, whose fruit he had of purpose kept back from ripening, at the least, one month after all cherries had taken their farewell of England. This secret he performed by straining a tent, or cover of canvass, over the whole tree, and wetting the same now and then with a scoop or horn, as the heat of the weather required; and so by withholding the sunbeams from reflecting upon the berries, they grew both great and were very long before they had gotten their perfect cherrycolour; and when he was assured of her Majesty's coming, he removed the tent, and a few sunny days brought them to their full maturity." P. T. W.

Anecdote Gallery.

TALES OF THE TOMB.

CAN any of our readers offer a satisfactory solution of the following horrible phenomena, which we extract from Captain Alexander's recent very entertaining Transatlantic Sketches? and which we think unique in the order of the hideous :

"It is not generally known, that in Barbadoes there is a mysterious vault, in which no one now dares to deposit the dead: it is in a churchyard near the sea-side. In 1807, the first coffin that was deposited in it, was that of a Mrs. Goddard; in 1808, a Miss A. M. Chase was placed in it; and in 1812, Miss D. Chase. In the end of 1812, the vault was opened for the body of the Hon. T. Chase; but the three first coffins were found in a confused state, having been apparently tossed from their places. Again was the vault opened, to receive the body of an infant, and the four coffins, all of lead, and very heavy, were (found) much disturbed. In 1816, a Mr. Brewster's body was placed in the vault, and again great disorder was apparent among the coffins. In 1819, a Mr. Clarke was placed in the vault; and, as before, the coffins were in confusion.

Each time that the vault was opened, the coffins were replaced in their proper situations: that is, three on the ground, side by side, and the others laid on them. The vault was then regularly closed; the door, (a massive stone, which required six or seven men to move,) was cemented by masons; and though the floor was of sand, there were no marks of footsteps, or water.

The last time the vault was opened was in 1819. Lord Combermere was then present; and the coffins were found thrown confusedly about the vault-some with the heads down, and others up. What could have occasioned

this phenomenon? In no other vault in the island has this ever occurred. Was it an earthquake which occasioned it, or the effects of an inundation in the vault?

In England there was a parallel occurrence to this, some years ago, at Haunton, in Suffolk. It is stated, that on opening a vault there, several leaden coffins, with wooden cases, which had been fixed on biers, were found displaced, to the great consternation of the villagers. The coffins were again placed as before, and the vault properly closed, when again another of the family dying, they were a second time found displaced; and two years after that, they were not only found all off their biers, but one coffin, (so heavy as to require eight men to raise it,) was found on the fourth step, which led down to the vaults; and it seemed perfectly certain, that no human hand had done this.

As yet, no one has satisfactorily accounted for the Barbadoes or the Haunton wonder.

PIANO-FORTE MAKING.

CERTAIN of the industrious classes are apt, without consideration, to grumble and murmur at the luxuries of the wealthy, which, in reality, are the means that find bread, and employment for thousands. Amongst expensive luxuries-which may now, indeed, considering the universal cultivation of music, be ranked as necessaries-piano-fortes cannot fail to be enumerated; and the fact that Broadwood alone makes, on an average, 700 per week (!)—as one of his workmen informed a member of the writer's family-will prove the astonishing number of various artisans which this branch of business only employs and supports. But, it will be naturally asked, how does he find a sale for so many? The answer of Mr. B. to this question, when proposed by a friend, who went to his warehouse to try a piano-forte, was— "It is not by the sale of my instruments that I find the business answer, so much as by their hire: old and new are equally profitable in this respect; and, in truth, had I my choice, I would prefer letting my pianofortes to selling them.”

Great Marlow, Bucks.

ESCAPE FROM TORTURE.

M. L. B.

SEVERAL soldiers of Montgomery's Highland regiment were taken prisoners by the American Indians. Allan Macpherson, one of them, witnessed the miserable fate of his comrades, who had been tortured to death by the Indians; and seeing them preparing to commence the same operations upon himself, made signs that he had something to communicate. An interpreter was brought; and Macpherson told them, that if his life was spared for a few minutes, he would disclose the secret of an extraordinary medicine,

which, if applied to the skin, would cause it to resist the strongest blow of a tomahawk, or sword; and that if they would permit him to go into the woods, with a guard, to collect the plants proper for this medicine, he would prepare it, and allow the experiment to be made on his own neck, by the strongest and most expert warrior among them.

This story easily gained upon the superstitious credulity of the Indians, and the request of the Highlander was complied with.

Being sent into the woods, he soon returned with such plants as he chose to pick up. Having boiled these herbs, he rubbed his neck with their juice, and laying his head on a log of wood, desired the strongest man among them to strike at his neck with his tomahawk, when he would find that he could not make the smallest impression! An Indian levelling a blow with all his might, cut with such force, that the head flew off to the distance of several yards.

The Indians were fixed in amazement at their own credulity, and the address with which the prisoner had escaped the lingering death prepared for him; but, instead of being enraged at the escape of their victim, they were so pleased with his ingenuity, that they refrained from inflicting further cruelties on the remainder of their prisoners.-FERNANDO.

MARGARET LAMBRUN.

THE husband of Margaret Lambrun having died of grief, occasioned by the death of his mistress, Mary Queen of Scots, Margaret formed the resolution to avenge the death of her husband and mistress upon Queen Elizabeth. To accomplish her purpose, she assumed a man's habit, and repaired to the English Court; but, as she was pushing through a crowd, to get near the queen, she dropped one of her pistols. This being observed, she was seized and brought before Elizabeth, who examined her strictly; when Margaret replied, " Madam, though I appear in this habit, I am a woman; I was several years in the service of Queen Mary, whom you have unjustly put to death; you have also caused that of my husband, who died of grief to see that innocent queen perish so iniquitiously. Now, as I had the greatest affection for both, I resolved to revenge their deaths by killing you. I have made many efforts to divert my resolution from this design, but in vain."

The queen heard this avowal with calmness, and answered: "You are then persuaded, that in this action you have done your duty, and satisfied the demands which your love for your mistress and your husband required from you; but what think you is my duty to you ?”

Margaret asked, if this question was put as a queen, or a judge; and on her majesty

saying as a queen, "Then,” said Margaret, "your majesty ought to grant me a pardon.” "But what assurance can you give me," returned the queen, "that you will not repeat the attempt ?"

Margaret replied, "Madam, a favour which is granted under restraint is no more a favour; and in so doing, your majesty would act against me as a judge."

The queen was so struck with her behaviour, that she gave her a pardon, and a safe conduct out of the kingdom."-FERNANDO.

Fine Arts.

POMPEII.

ON the 5th of June, 1827, an excavation was made at Pompeii, in the presence of the King and Queen of Naples, which was one of the most successful ever remembered, on account of the abundance and quality of the objects discovered. The spot chosen for the operation was a mansion, in which there had been previously discovered a very beautiful fountain in Mosaic, bordered with shell-work, and nearly similar to another that had been found in a contiguous house. From the midst of the basin rose a small column of marble, on which was placed a genius of bronze, holding in its left hand a bird, with its wings expanded, from the beak of which the water issued, and then fell back into the basin. A theatrical mask, also of marble, imbedded in the bottom of the niche, poured forth in its turn another stream of water. Before one of the feet of the fountain was a little bronze statue, in a sitting posture, with a basket in the left hand, and a cap on its head: apparently representing a Phrygian shepherd, clothed in a short tunic, and evidently no connexion with the place where it was found. On the marble pedestal there was a beautiful piece of sculpture, representing a child, half naked, lying asleep, grasping in one of its hands a little basket, and on one side of it a vase overturned; its clothes were of a peculiar make. Before the other foot of the fountain was a kind of marble caryatides. The partitions were ornamented with very elegant paintings, which appeared, to judge from the symbolical accessories, to represent the birth of Bacchus. In the hall was a stove, with its trevet, of rusty iron, surmounted by some fragments of bronze vases. the two chambers, situated on the sides of the hall, were discovered a great number of other interesting objects—the principal of which were, two strong bracelets of gold, a small silver coin, a number of elegant bronze vases, and a very beautiful candelabrum, of the same material.

In

The king gave orders on the spot, that the fountain should be restored to the same state in which it had been found; that the whole

of the shell-work, which had been detached from the border, and half fallen down among the rubbish, should be replaced; that the bronze statues with which it was ornamented should be transported to the Royal Bourbon Museum, and that their place should be supplied by casts of baked earth; and that the partitions, on which were the paintings, as well as the fountain, should be defended by a roof, to save them from the chance of damage. W. G. C.

The Naturalist.

THE ALLIGATOR.

(Abridged from Stevenson's Twenty Years' Residence in South America.)

THE river of Guayaquil and the creeks that empty themselves into it, abound with alligators, lagartos, or caimanes, so much so, that on the banks where they lie basking in the sun they appear like logs of wood thrown up by the tide, and are so unapprehensive of danger, that a canoe or boat may pass very near to them without their being disturbed; when basking in this manner they keep their enormous mouths open, and owing to the colour of the fleshy substance on the inside of the lower jaw, as well as to a musky scent which accompanies their breath, great numbers of flies are allured to enter the mouth, the upper jaw of which, when a sufficient number are collected, suddenly falls down, and the deluded insects are swallowed. The alligator is an oviparous animal; the female deposits her eggs in the sand, laying in the course of one or two days from eighty to a hundred; they are much larger than those of a goose, and much thicker; they are covered with a very tenacious, white membrane, and are often eaten by the Indians, who when they take them first, open a small hole in the larger end, and place the egg in the sand with the hole downward; by this means a peculiarly disagreeable musky taste is destroyed; they afterwards cook them in the same manner as other eggs. Mr. Stevenson has tasted them, and found nothing disagreeable, except their being very tough. After depositing her eggs, the female covers them with sand, and then rolls herself over them, and continues rolling to the water side, as if to prevent the spot being found where she has left her deposit; but the vigilant gallinasos are generally on the alert at this season, and when they have found the nest, destroy the whole of them. The people who live near the sides of the river train their dogs to search for the eggs, as well as to destroy them; and thus thousands are annually broken.

When instinct informs the alligator that the time of ovation is completed, both the male and female go to the nest, and if undisturbed, the female immediately uncovers the

eggs, and carefully breaks them; the young brood begin to run about, and the watchful gallinasos prey upon them, while the male alligator, who appears to have come for no other purpose, devours all that he possibly can; those that can mount on the neck and back of the female are safe, unless they happen to fall off, or cannot swim, in which cases she devours them.

Mr. Stevenson has frequently seen the lagartos eighteen or twenty feet long. They feed principally on fish, which they catch in the rivers, and are known sometimes to go in a company of ten or twelve to the mouths of the small rivers and creeks, where two or three ascend while the tide is high, leaving the rest at the mouth; when the tide has fallen, one party besets the mouth of the creek, while the other swims down the stream, flapping their tails, and driving the fish into the very jaws of their devourers, which catch them, and lift their heads out of the water to swallow them.

When these voracious creatures cannot procure a sufficient quantity of fish to satisfy their hunger, they betake themselves to the savanas, where they destroy the calves and foals, lurking about during the day, and seizing their prey when asleep at night, which they drag to the water side, and there devour it. The cattle and the dogs appear sensible of their danger when they go to the rivers to drink, and will howl and bark until they have attracted the attention of the lagartos at one place, and then drop back and run to another, where they drink in a hurry, and immediately leave the water side; otherwise, as has been the case, an alligator would seize on them by the nose, drag them under the water, and drown and eat them.

When the lagarto has once tasted the flesh of animals it will almost abandon the fish, and reside principally ashore. Mr. Stevenson crossed the large plain of Babaoyo, where he saw a living one, buried, except the head, in the clay, beside the remains of several dead ones. On inquiring how they came there, the montubios, a name given here to the peasantry, told me, that when the rains fall in the mountains great part of this savana is inundated, at which time the lagartos prowl about in search of the cattle remaining on the small islands that are then formed; and when the waters retire they are left imbedded in the clay, till the ensuing rains set them at liberty; they feed on flies in the way already described, and can exist in this manner for six or seven months. When found in this state the natives always kill them; sometimes by piercing them with lances between the fore leg and the body, the only visible part in which they are vulnerable; if they be not prepared with a lance, they collect wood and

kindle a fire as near to the mouth of the lagarto as they dare venture, and burn him to death.

These animals will sometimes seize human beings when bathing, and even take children from the shores; after having succeeded once or twice they will venture to take men or women from the balsas, if they can surprise them when asleep; but they are remarkably timid, and any noise will drive them from their purpose. They have also been known to swim alongside a small canoe, and to suddenly place one of their paws on the edge and upset it, when they immediately seize the unwary victim. Whenever it is known that a cebado, one that has devoured either a human being or cattle, is in the neighbourhood, all the people join in the common cause to destroy it; this they often effect by means of a noose of strong hide rope, baited with some animal food; when the lagarto seizes the bait its upper jaw becomes entangled with the rope, and the people immediately attack it with their lances, and generally kill it.

The natives sometimes divert themselves in catching the lagartos alive; they employ two methods, equally terrific and dangerous to a spectator, at first sight: both of these were exhibited to Count Ruis, when we were at Babaoyo, on our way to Quito. A man takes in his right hand a truncheon, called a tolete; this is of hard wood, about two feet long, having a ball formed at each end, into which are fastened two iron harpoons, and to the middle of this truncheon a platted thong is fastened. The man takes this in his hand, plunges into the river, and holds it horizontally on the surface of the water, grasping a dead fowl with the same hand, and swimming with the other: he places himself in a right line with the lagarto, which is almost sure to dart at the fowl; when this happens the truncheon is placed in a vertical position, and at the moment that the jaw of the lagarto is thrown up, the tolete is thrust into the mouth, so that when the jaw falls down again the two harpoons become fixed, and the animal is dragged to the shore by the cord fastened to the tolete. When on shore the appearance of the lagarto is really most horrible; his enormous jaw propped up by the tolete, showing his large, sharp teeth; his eyes projecting almost out of his head; the pale red colour of the fleshy substance on his under jaw, as well as that of the roof of the mouth; the impenetrable armour of scales which covers the body, with the huge paws and tail, all contribute to render the spectacle appalling; and although one is perfectly aware that in its present state it is harmless, yet it is almost impossible to look on it without feeling what fear is. The natives now surround the lagarto and bait it like a bull; holding before it any

thing that is red, at which it runs, when the man jumps on one side and avoids being struck by it, while the animal continues to run forward in a straight line, till checked by the thong which is fastened to the tolete. When tired of teazing the poor brute, they kill it by thrusting a lance down its throat, or under the fore leg into its body; unless by accident it be thrown on its back, when it may be pierced in any part of the belly, which is soft and easily penetrated.

The other method is, by taking a fowl in one hand, and a sharp, strong knife in the other; the man swims till he is directly opposite to the alligator, and at the moment when it springs at the fowl the man dives under the water, leaving the fowl on the surface; he then holds up the knife to the belly of the animal, and cuts it open, when the alligator immediately rolls over on its back, and is carried away by the stream. The teeth of the alligator are often taken from the jaws, and yesqueros, small tinder boxes, which are generally carried in the pocket for the purpose of lighting cigars, are made from them; they are beautifully white and equal to the finest ivory; some are four inches long, and most delicately carved, and mounted with gold or silver.

THE NOSTOCH.

THIS curious plant was formerly thought by some to be a gelatinous deposition from the clouds, when they touched the hills; others have supposed it to be the remains of a fallen star, or of a will-o'-the-wisp; or that it was a frozen frog; or disgorged by the heron: in short, there have always been some won. derful or superstitious ideas attached to it.

Botanists describe the plant as a sort of membraneous moss, of an irregular body—a little transparent, and of a pale-green colour. It trembles when touched, and is easily broken. It can only be seen after it has rained; when it is found in several places, but chiefly in uncultivated ground, and alongside sandy roads. It is formed almost in a moment; for, when in summer, walking in a garden, not the least trace of it is seen; on a sudden, a storm of rain falls, and in an hour after, in the same spot, the whole walk will appear covered with numbers of the plants. The heat, or a high wind, causes the water to evaporate from the plant in a short time; and then it contracts, shrinks, and loses its transparency and colour. According to Dillenius, when young, it is small and globular, or like little scales; but its growth is very rapid, and its existence short. It is not certain that it revives after being shrivelled and blackened by dry weather.

P. T. W.