the dust. Hence we may perceive the force and beauty of the Latin sentence, Homo sum, humani à me nil alienum puto. "I am a man, and nothing which relates to man can be foreign to my bosom." consummate that bliss, to recollect with how much tribulation it was they entered into the heavenly kingdom. At all events we are certain, that, as the mariner, who, after a painful and perilous voyage, arrives at the haven of rest, does doubly prize his present If society be bound together by one ease and safety, while he looks back general bond of interest, it must be the on his past dangers and sufferings, so highest wisdom to promote the happithe Christian in heaven, shall addition-ness of the whole; especially as there ally appreciate the blessedness of that place, while he takes a retrospective view of the poignant and multifarious afflictions he endured when on his passage thither. Elgin. J. G. OLIDEN:-AN EASTERN TALE. Causes of Disappointment. ONE man by anxiety, labour, or parsimony, accumulates wealth, to be dissipated by the profligacy, extravagance, or folly of his posterity. Activity is health to the body politic, to nature, animate as well as inanimate; nor can society exist, but in a state of retrograde or progressive movement. Like the minute particles which form the vast ocean, and are in perpetual agitation, sometimes glittering in the sun, at other times lost in the profundity of the common aggregate; so in society, those who were once rich, great, or honourable, are now, in their posterity, lost in the common mass of mankind, and immerged in eternal oblivion. Where are now, we may ask, the descendants of Cyrus, of Alexander, or of the mighty Cæsars? Where are those of Plato, of Socrates, or of Cicero? Or, where are those of Croesus, or of Rhamsinitus? These attained for themselves an illustrious name, either for wealth, heroic greatness, or wisdom; but of these they could give no hereditary right, nor secure them by any means to their posterity. Nay, it may be that the descendants of those on whose necks they placed their feet, and from whom they exacted an unwilling obedience and goading servitude, are lording it over theirs, and imposing upon them an oppressive load of degradation and want. Thus the mighty of the earth mingle with the confluence of mortals, and are for ever lost; and thus the wise become raca's, and the foolish sons of Minerva; and thus is the pride of humanity dashed from the pinnacle of imaginary grandeur, to mingle with 87.-VOL. VIII. is an enjoyment and a pleasure in the indulgence of a benevolent disposition, and in the exercise of benevolent feelings, which are far superior to the gratification of mere animal senses. If the disparity of individual felicity consisted in the indulgence of sensual propensities, there would be much less than what there is, that would be enviable from inequality of rank or fortune. The keen edge of sensual pleasure is blunted, and becomes obtuse by repetition; while the pleasurable feelings of a generous, enlarged, and highly cultivated mind, are not only permanent and rational, but followed by no evil consequences. And as a man cannot of himself enjoy great wealth, its true employment must consist in the cultivation of intellect, in the improvement of the best feelings of the heart, and in promoting the general interest of mankind; more especially in the support and encouragement of every species of genius; for whatever has contributed to the improvement of agriculture, commerce, or literature, has been the offspring of genius. These few remarks are made as introductory to an Eastern tale, supposed to be written about the close of the fifteenth century, by the son of Caly Basa, who had been tutor to the children of Amurath, father of Mahomet the Great. In the reign of Bajazet the Second, also second emperor of the Turks, successor to Mahomet the Great, towards the close of the fifteenth century, lived Oliden Caly, son of Caly Basa, tutor to Bajazet's father. Oliden was so unfortunate as to be born amidst the general wreck and decay of literature and of the arts and sciences. He had naturally an unbounded thirst for knowledge, was endowed with great natural parts, and was favoured with what, in his own age and country, was called a liberal and excellent education; but he had to contend with many difficulties, and none greater than what arose from the vast variety and volu Q minous extent of the works written | fell in the most melancholy accents upon almost every subject; in which counsel was obscured, and truth concealed by a multitude of words. With one of the most wealthy citizens of Constantinople he constantly resided, mostly in a villa, which vied in magnificence and grandeur with any of those that surrounded this stately seat of the Turkish empire. It was so situated as to command an extensive, though rather a confused view of this great city; but it had a perfect one of that admirable and superb structure, St. Sophia's temple, built by Justinian the Roman emperor, after the form of the Pantheon at Rome. In front of this villa was a fertile and highly cultivated valley, on which, at about half a league distance, stood a building that consisted of nine beautiful porticos, shaded with palm and laurel trees, and dedicated to the Muses. To this place Oliden often retired to contemplate the works of nature, and to this the still solemnity of the place invited. These porticos, according to vulgar report, which was favoured by their mystical appearance, were the usual haunt of those genii that superintend the affairs of mortals. This, to the studious and well-informed mind, stamped on them a fancied sanctity; so that, whilst a person was seated, or pacing backwards and forwards in them, he was almost induced to believe that he held converse with the invisible world. Oliden, frequently, after having, for recreation, rambled alone in his favourite walks, would retire here both for rest and contemplation. One evening, when thus amusing himself, the shades of night began to prevail, admonishing him that it was time to return, when he directed his steps towards the porticos. In his way he had to pass by the habitation of one of his most intimate and learned friends, who was consuming his health, and devoting his time and talents to the service of his fellow men. At this time he observed him on the top of his house, contemplating, as he thought, the beauties of a moonlight scene, or the glorious wonders of the heavens. To evade his notice, that he might proceed without interruption, he walked close by the house, when he heard something uttered by his friend, which arrested his attention; he stood still and listened, when his friend's voice But upon his ear, to this effect." And beyond this," as if he had uttered something previous, "I have devoted my time, talents, and strength to the service of man; his good have I pursued with the most patient, persevering, and laborious steps; to this I have been actuated by the purest motives, and most comprehensive benevolence. None have solicited my aid in vain; I have warned; I have corrected and instructed the ignorant; I have fed the hungry, and clothed the naked ;befriended the friendless, the orphan, and the widow; always relying on my own resources for future life. Alas! these have failed."-He paused a few minutes, and then continued.—" Almost numberless were those who called me by the sacred name of friend; when fortune smiled they smiled, and saluted me with the most evident marks of pleasure, and every where I received a hearty welcome. now I am avoided, as if I bore about with me the deadliest contagion. When I meet them in the street, I mostly have to encounter either shy looks, a nod of indifference, or a contemptuous smile. Nay, even the priests of the great prophet lift up their holy eyes to heaven, and cannot, as they pass by, see an old but an unfortunate friend. I once thought learning, talents, and beneficence would at least protect from insult. But, alas! these are seldom respected in adversity; goodness is desired by few, and those who possess it are generally detested on account of it. Such is the gratitude, candour, and fidelity of man. I derive, however, no feeble support from the consciousness of the integrity of my own conduct, and I have a never-failing fountain of consolation in the fidelity, wisdom, and goodness of that Being, who sitteth on the circle of the heavens, without whose knowledge nothing can come to pass." Oliden heard these things with the keenest emotions of sorrow; he proceeded to the silent seat of the muses, his spirits much depressed with what he had learned from his friend's soliloquy. When he arrived at the porticos, being weary, he seated himself in that dedicated to Clio, and pursued that train of thought to which the late occurrence had given rise. He cast a glance over the earth; contemplated man in his different gradations, from the lowest condition of barbarism to the highest state of cultivation; from the wild African, to the accomplished courtier. He concluded, their principles of conduct must spring from the same blind selfishness and contracted views; the one fancies his highest good consists in a sluggish ease, and in liberty without the least constraint; the other in the accumulation of wealth, the glitter of equipage or dress, or in sensual indulgence. He imagined that he saw the wild African pursuing the deer, while he is himself caught by the lion. Alas! he exclaimed, if a man, who could have taught this savage, by the means of art and industry, to have subdued the country to his own service, command, and fruition, had fallen by any means into his power, this African would have deprived him of his possessions, if not of his life. He thought he saw the merchant, who had forsaken the precepts of wisdom and truth, labouring for the attainment of his hundreds of thousands, reduced to a prison or a mere competency; he who sought felicity in splendour and fame, writhing under mental agony, occasioned by repeated mortification, or remorse of conscience, because he had, influenced by the same motives as the savage, treated with disdain sound philosophy and true piety; the sensualist tormented with the acutest affliction, baving cast off all rational restraint, and ridiculed all that is virtuous and good. After having been absorbed in thought for some time, his attention was excited by the approach of a being most singular in his aspect; he advanced with a slow and limping step, and seemed to be blind; there was something very stern in bis features, and, behind, he had wings. At a short distance, pursuing the same tract, was a very gracefully formed female, over whose face hung a very elegantly variegated veil; on her head she wore a helmet, with a large plume nodding in the air; in one hand she held a spear, in the other a shield. Behind her were the nine muses,* following with a dejected air. The Muse were certain goddesses who presided over poetry, music, dancing, and all the liberal arts; and were nine in number. They were generally represented as young, beautiful, and modest virgins; they were fond of Clio was first, holding in her hand a manuscript volume, over which passed a strong iron clasp secured by a lock, on which was inscribed, Penury. Eu terpe was next, having a broken flute. After Euterpe, came Thalia; she had a shepherd's crook and a scroll, on which might be read, Pastoral and Comic Poetry; her once neat and unornamented attire was hung in tatters. Next was Melpomene, and though her dress had once been rich and splendid, she seemed to have fared little better than her sister Thalia. Terpsicore was more cheerful and gay than the others, was crowned with laurel, and seemed only to have appeared to accompany them. Erato might be distinguished by her crown of roses and myrtles, but it was withered and faded; she held in her hand a lyre and lute, both of which were unstrung: Love was in attendance, but it was with an extinguished flambeau. Polyhymnia followed Erato, she held a sceptre in one hand, in the other a small statue of Demosthenes, with one finger placed on his lips. Urania was easily known by her azure robe, and a crown of stars, which was enveloped in a cloud; she carried a globe before, defaced except these words, "Wilderness, Desert." Calliope was last in the train; she had a trumpet slung behind her, as if it were no longer of use; she had also the works of Homer and Virgil, but they were bound round with a chain, to which was hung a label containing this word, "Incognitus," or unknown. Fixed in silent attention, whilst examining this mysterious group, he at length heard the female with the variegated veil thus address the sternfeatured personage in behalf of the sacred Nine:-"At the frequent and urgent solicitation of the Sisters," she said, "who are here, I have consented to present their case to the consideration of your majesty. They have been wandering up and down the earth for several hundred years, seeking rest and entertainment, but have met with maltreatment and neglect. War, devastation, riot, and voluptuousness, are the delight and pursuit of men; whilst the liberal arts, sciences, and literature, are almost banished from amongst them. The muses complain, solitude, and commonly appeared in different attire, and bearing different symbols, according to the arts and sciences over which they presided. that not only they, but their followers, are left without a common portion of earthly good; whilst to them man owes all above the spontaneous produce of nature. They fear lest there should not be left a foot of earth, on which they may tread without danger. They have even ventured to intimate, that you bestow your favours most freely upon those who are the greatest pests and destroyers of mankind. Ignorance, cruelty, and wealth; science, wisdom, and poverty, seem almost natural associations. They now appeal to your bounty and wisdom, and hope for redress." At this, the stern personage whom she addressed, with a voice that seemed to shake the earth, exclaimed, "Man is a free agent, and by the neglect and contempt of art and science, calls down upon his own species those chastisements his offences demand." He then immediately disappeared; the others withdrew in the order in which they came. Lost a few moments in amazement, at what he had heard and seen, he was startled by a voice, saying, "Oliden, hear, and learn to be wise, and virtuous, and content, without power, grandeur, or wealth.". Sheffield, Oct. 28th, 1825. BARONIUS. ANALYSIS OF GEOLOGY. (Continued from col. 164.) MANY, if not all the substances which compose the crust of the earth, are capable, under genial circumstances, of crystallization; hence we find crystals almost every where, and almost of every size, hue, and form. To enumerate and dwell upon every individual composing this immense variety, is not my present purpose; but rather to select a few, as specimens of the whole. The most minute crystal of the same species is not less perfect than the most massive; nor is it less transparent, if both are perfect: for the nucleus of a large crystal is a small crystal; and the nucleus is as perfect as the aggregations, which, by increasing its surfaces, constitute its superior size; analogous to the mode in which an infant becomes a man. Hence crystals are found so minute, and in such numbers, that they frequently form large beds of fine sand; while others are found so large as fairly to claim the appellation of massive. If vegetation has its minute masses, and animation its insects so small that they are only the subject of microscopic observation, its oak, crowned with all the exuberant foliage of a stately sovereign of the forests, and its elephant; so their sister kingdom, the mineral, possesses its minute and its vast, germed and perfected by analogous principles. Thus has the Infinite, amidst the sportive varieties of creation, enriched every portion of matter with its due proportion of interest to the eye of reason-that eye which, in man, the head of his visible creation, was created to behold his works, and in these to behold, with admiration, Him who created all. The diamond, the most precious of all gems, is one in the very first class of crystals: to note it, will therefore suffice for the whole genus of jewels. The structure of the diamond is distinctly lamipar, and, in general, it is found crystallized into an octahedral form, although to this general rule several exceptions occur. Eminent for its transparency and resplendent brilliancy, in some instances it is even phosphorescent, absorbing rays of light, and giving them out on being carried into a dark room. According to the opinions of the most eminent chemists, as well as geologists, the diamond is a simple substance; being pure crystallized carbon. Its hardness is so great, that it will cut or scratch every other gem in existence: it may, therefore, fairly be denominated the hardest substance in creation. How wonderful! A subtile, fluid gas, carbon, which ordinarily floats in the atmosphere, and often enters into the breath of man, as well as beasts, and the fowls of the air, and is absorbed by the tender leaves of plants, becomes at once the hardest and the most resplendent gem which the whole creation owns. Enriched by the energies of affinity and polarity, in the perfection of their action, how precious does the crystal of carbon become in the estimation of man-one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling have been given for a single diamond! Diamonds are generally found amidst alluvial strata, surrounded by a gravel, which forms the beds or banks of rivers. They are of every size, from that of a pin's head to a pi rocks; the ocean also contains immense quantities of saline matter, and upon a smaller scale, salt lakes, and numerous beds of salt, exist upon or near the earth's surface. geon's egg, or even larger. The largest | nerally abound in the vicinity of these diamond known is one said to have been found in the island of Borneo, in the East Indies, which is in the possession of the Rajah of Mattan; this weighs 367 carats: but the largest known in Europe is the one purchased by Count Orloff for the late Empress of Russia, which weighs 193 carats; this is about the size of a pigeon's egg. Precious, however, and firm as is the diamond, it is a combustible substance; and, treated with a white heat, in a steady and brilliant flame, it burns away-fit emblem of all terrestrial riches, and all terrestrial solidity. "Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away, like an eagle toward heaven;" and every individual earthly good, however firm, perishes in the using: yea, like the resplendent diamond, these pass away, leaving not even a wreck behind.What a lesson to man! Although other crystals are less hard, several possess a brilliancy approaching that of the diamond, and also a resemblance to its form. The crystals of quartz, locally termed Derbyshire diamonds, Bristol stones, rock crystals, &c. are of this description; but they are essentially different substances from diamonds. The crystals of felspar are most abundant, and embrace an extensive variety, some of which reflect a beautiful pearly light, and are so hard they will scratch quartz. But hardness and brilliancy are not the only properties by which we estimate the value of crystals; several are valuable because of their use in the arts, and others because they seasonably minister to the wants, conveniences, and comforts of mankind: among the latter, no crystals stand higher than those of the muriate of soda, named common salt. Rock salt occurs in distinct strata beneath the earth's surface, in England and many other countries throughout the four quarters of the globe. In these strata crystals are found, indistinctly laminar in structure, of almost every size, which, on being struck, yield cubic fragments; evincing the cube to be their primitive form: select portions of these are called gem salt, from their purity and transparency; and these are used instead of the crystals obtained by evaporating brine. Springs of brine ge Common salt is an assemblage of the crystals of muriate of soda: these are generally obtained as follows. A brine, composed of sea-water or of saline spring water, and as much salt as it takes up from rock salt, introduced therein for the purpose of saturating the water, in order to increase the quantity of salt produced by a given evaporation of water, is poured into large shallow iron boilers; these boilers are subjected to a gentle heat, by which the water is gradually evaporated; and as certain portions of the saline particles become dry, they crystallize; and these are taken out and separated from the remaining fluid by wicker baskets. These crystals are generally in a cubic form, of a white colour, transparent, and grateful to the palates of men and other animals. Sometimes these crystals are grouped together; and they frequently form hollow quadrangular pyramids. The large crystals of British salt are fine, firm cubes; and these are not exceeded in quality by bay salt, or any other foreign salt. A more universal, or a more useful, and of course valuable crystal exists not than common salt: fitly, indeed, named common, because of its common or universal use; and as fitly denominated salt, or the salt, because it seasons every thing else. So fitly named, that the Creator himself, while incarnated for the redemption of man in this very sphere, takes it as the foundation of a striking parable or lesson to his disciples, "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another." In the days of types and shadows, which preceded and prefigured his incarnation, the command of Jehovah to his people was, "Every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meatoffering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." In conformity with |