but considerable diameter, seen around the sun and moon, with the red color nearer the center than the blue. Several very fine ones were seen in the month of January, 1860. They are caused by the refraction of light; not unfrequently several rings may be seen concentric with one another. Humboldt describes a very fine lunar halo seen by him at Cumana. Glorias or Anthelia are colored circles surrounding the shadows of observers. M. Bougues mentions that when he, Don Antonia Ulloa, and his companions, were upon the summit of Mount Pichincha, one of the Andes chain, and the sun just rising behind them, each saw his own shadow distinctly projected with a gloria surrounding the head. The anthelia consisted of three concentric circles of a lively color and prismatic, the red being external. Parhelia, or Mock Suns, are among the most beautiful of the meteors with which we are acquainted. They consist of halos and luminous arcs, intersecting one another in different directions and studded with solar images. These phenomena are also due to the action of atmospheric moisture on rays of light, and are seen in the greatest perfection in the polar regions.* Paraselena, or Mock Moons, are not uncommon; they resemble in general character the preceding, and doubtless owe their origin to the same physical cause. Mr. E. J. Lowe, of the Beeston Observatory, thus describes a very remarkable halo with paraselenæ seen by him on November 12th, 1859: "It consisted of a beautiful lunar corona, ten degrees in width, which exhibited faintly the prismatic colors. Also an ordinary bright halo or circle of twenty-two degrees and thirty minutes radius, having the Moon for its center; and a second very perfect circle, far too gigan tic to allow of its being all seen at once, and therefore in the north-west, giving the appearance of an inverted rainbow. This circle had its center seventeen degrees north-west of the zenith, while its southern edge passed through the Moon. It was exactly ninety degrees in diameter, yet gave the impression of being much larger. There were also seven mock moons. Two were situated at the intersections of the two circles; two others on the Moon's horizontal level and just without the circle of twentytwo and a half degrees radius; the fifth and sixth on the great circle at a distance of fifty degrees from the moon on either side; and the seventh on the same circle, a short distance 1819-20, pp. 156, See Parry: Journ. of Voy. 164, 172. without the smaller circle on the north side. A lunar halo, and a small portion of the great cir cle, were seen for a short time by my assistant at seven o'clock. owed its disappearance to these clouds becom"This phenomenon was formed in cirri, and ing cirrocumuli. The temperature was 32-2°, and the wet bulb thermometer 30-8°. The wind, a gentle breeze from east, the clouds floating in a south-west current. At 12 30 A.M., (13th,) the wind veered through north to north-west." The Aurora Borealis is a luminous phenomenon seen in high latitudes in both hemispheres, and would with more propriety be termed the Aurora Polaris. It is, however, more commonly spoken of as the Aurora Borealis, or Australis, according to which hemisphere is referred to. The appearances presented, consist of streaks or rays of light, of greater or less intensity, diverging in every direction from a central point, and which become visible in the northern horizon soon after sunset. Frequently a dull confused mass of light, of a pinkish hue, appears, and it is from this that the phenomenon derives its name. The precise physical cause of the Au rora Borealis is not yet satisfactorily ascertained, but all the appearances connected with it are electrical; and its form, direction, and position, though ever varying, always bear a marked relation to the magnetic meridian and poles. Whatever, therefore, be its physical nature, it is evident that the theater of its action is the atmosphere, and that the agent to which the development is due is electricity, associated, in some unascertained manner, with terrestrial magnetism. During the prevalence of Auroral displays, magnetic needles are very generally subject to much disturbance-a fact first noticed by Halley. A copious deposition of dew, sudden thaws, and severe gales in the English Channel, are also among the occurrences which seem to be connected with the appearance of this interesting phenomenon. Increased brilliancy in the light of the stars situated in the vicinity of the display has also been noticed. If the reader should be in possession of an electrical machine, he may obtain a very satisfactory representation of the Aurora by discharging an intermittent supply of electricity through a partially exhausted glass tube bent into the form of a semi-circle. The Aurora Borealis seems subject to periodical visitations; sometimes it is seen very frequently, at other times years pass by without any apparitions being noticed. Thus we find that few were noted in the seventeenth century; at the beginning of the eighteenth, they recommenced and lasted till about the middle of that century, when there was a partial cessation. During the last few years, as is well known, some splendid displays have been witnessed, especially in 1859. Besides this secular variation, there seems to be also a mensual variation. Many observers have thought that they have heard sounds emitted by Aurora. Possibly this is referred to by Virgil, who, after describing the prodigies at Cæsar's death, says: "Armorum sonitum toto Germania colo Audiit."* Much uncertainty exists on this point, as the evidence is very conflicting. The influence of the Aurora in producing gales of wind seems to have been first pointed out by one John Winn, in a letter to Dr. Franklin, dated Spithead, August 12th, 1772. He says: "I believe the observation is new that the Aurora Borealis is constantly succeeded by hard southetly or south-west winds, attended with hazy weather and small rain; I think I am warranted, from experience, to say, constantly; for in twenty three instances that have occurred since I first made the observation, it has invariably obtained. "Sailing down the English Channel, in 1769, a few days before the autumnal equinox, we had a remarkably bright and vivid Aurora the whole night. In-shore, the wind was fluctuating between northnorth-west and north-west; and farther out, west-north-west. Desirous of benefiting by the land wind, and also of taking advantage of an earlier ebb-tide, I dispensed with the good old marine adage, never to approach too near a weathershore, lest it should prove a lee-shore; and by short tacks clung close along the English coast. Next day the wind veered to the south-west, and soon after southsouth-west, and sometimes south. We were then in that dangerous bay between Portland and the Start Point, and carried a pressing sail, with hopes of reaching Torbay before dark; but night fell upon *Georgics, lib. i., line 473. us with thick haze and small rain, insomuch that we could not have seen the land the distance of a ship's length. The gale now increased to a storm; nothing remained but to endeavor to keep off the shore till the wind should change. Luckily our ship was a stout one, and well rigged. "Since I have made this observation, I have got out of the Channel, when other men as alert and in faster ships, but unapprised of this circumstance, have not only been driven back, but with difficulty escaped shipwreck." Colonel Capper remarks: "As it appears that on all such occasions the current of air comes in a direction diametrically opposite to that where the meteor appears, it seems probable that the Aurora Borealis is caused by the ascent of a considerable quantity of electric fluid in the superior regions of the atmo sphere to the north and north-east, where, consequently, it causes a body of air near the earth to ascend, when another current fill up the vacuum, and thus may produce of air will rush from the opposite point to the southerly gales which succeed to the Aurora Borealis, etc." The earliest notice we possess of the Aurora is to be found in the writings of Aristotle. Other classical writers also allude to it. In 1574, in the reign of Queen this country, which Stowe thus describes: Elizabeth, there was a fine display seen in "The fourteenth of Nouember being Sunday, about midnight following, diuers strange impressions of fire and smoake were seene in the ayre, to proceede foorth of a black cloude in the North towards the South, which so continued next night following, the heauens from all parts til the next morning that it was daylight. The did seeme to burne marueilous ragingly, and ouer our heads the flames from the horizon round about rising did meete, and there double and rolle one in another, as if it had bene a cleare furnace."* In 1575, the Aurora Borealis was seen in Holland, and Cornelius Gemma, of the University of Louvaine, says: "The form of the chasma of September 28th following, immediately after sunset, was, indeed, less dreadful, but still more confused and various, [than a previous display which occurred in the same year,] for in it was seen a great many bright arches, out of which gradually issued spears, cities, with towns and men in battle ar *Annals. Fol. London, 1631. ray; after that there were excursions of rays every way; waves of clouds, and battles mutually pursued and fled, and wheeling round in a surprising manner." ry-dancers." The ancients, amongst other appellations, called it the "Capra Saltans" (Dancing Goat.) The wild Indian savage views in it the spirits of his forefathers roaming through the realms above. "Flying dragons, hostile armies, and other signs and prodigies, have been traced by the superstitious in the bloody rods and burning spears of the Aurora, no difficulty being found in accommodating the modes of celestial warfare to the ideas of the be There is strong reason to believe that the Aurora has become much commoner in Europe than it formerly used to be, and has correspondingly diminished in the northern parts of Asia, as Von Wrangel was informed by the natives. The Shetlanders speak of the Aurora as the "Mer-holders and the times." From the London Intellectual Observe THE IDOL-HEAD OF THE BY WM. BOLLAERT, F.R.G.S. JIVAROS. best East-India cinnamon, and three thousand to four thousand pounds of it are annually gathered. A wholesome and nourishing drink is made from the Jatropha manihot, and this valuable root is of almost universal use as food, and for many other purposes throughout Ecuador, NewGranada, and Peru. The Torquilla palm is most abundant, and yields the beautiful straw used in making the Panama hats. On the eastern side of the Republic of Ecuador, formerly known as Quito, live a tribe of Indians called Jívaros, a strange, wild people, dwelling in the midst of a most beautiful mountainous country, rich with tropical vegetation and dense forests, and including in its wild grandeur the by no means inconsiderable valcano of Macas. There may be found, among other valuable vegetable productions, the handsome mahogany, sandal, and ebony trees, the In addition to all this vegetable produccinchonas, India-rubber, copal, storax, in- tiveness and wealth, this favored district digo, guayusa, canelo, etc., most of them is rich in gold, and may boast of having well known to civilized life, and all of them the famous auriferous mountain of Llandeserving to be so for their useful proper-ganate within its boundaries. The natives ties and capacities. The laurelo or waxpalm is very abundant, the wax being obtained by merely scraping it off the bark. Cotton, of a long fiber, strong, and of a fine quality, grows there indigenously; no limits could be put to its cultivation, and the Amazon affords an easy shipment to Europe. Coffee and cacoa grow freely. The guayusa, a plant which the Indians cultivate near their huts, might probably compete with tea from China in the English market, as it has a similar aromatic flavor without bitterness. Canelo is a species of cinnamon; the ishpingo is the calyx of its flower. It is equal in flavor to the are not slow in turning this to their own account, and quickly collect for the traders an ample supply of the precious metal to exchange for their much-coveted goods. The fertility of the soil is, in a great measure, to be attributed to its plentiful irrigation, not only by the smaller rivers, Chinchipe, Pastasa, and Marañon, but likewise by the mighty Amazon, of which they are tributaries; and it is in the forests among these rivers that the Jívaro Indians now make their homes. They are an ancient and warlike people, and their history is given by Velasco, the historian of Quito, together with an account of their conspiracy An Idol-Head was obtained through a baptized Indian, who persuaded a Jívaro, notorious for ill luck, that this was occasioned by the imprisonment of the idol, who was desirous to travel. The Jívaro handed it over for this object, when it was taken to the governor of Macas, who sent suitable presents to the Indian in return for his interesting gift. against the Spaniards in 1599, an outbreak | by Professor Cassola in June, 1861, and which procured for them the title of Arau- was exhibited to a few persons in London. canos of the North. At that period they This had been stolen from a temple on the made the governor of Macas prisoner, and river Pastasa. At the latter end of the killed him by pouring molten gold down same year another specimen fell into the his throat; afterward they destroyed the hands of Don R. de Silva Ferro, Chilian Spanish settlements in their part of the consul in London, with an explanatory docountry in one day, killing the men, but cument, which has been translated by Mr. taking the women into captivity. In mo- Bollaert, and communicated to the Ethnodern times many expeditions have been or- logical Society, together with some account ganized to punish them, but all have failed. of the Jivaros themselves. The Jívaros are a warlike, brave, and astute people; they love liberty, and can tolerate no yoke. Their bodies are muscular, they have small and very animated black eyes, aquiline noses, and thin lips. Many have beards and fair complexions, most probably arising from the numbers of Spanish women they captured in the insurrection of 1599. They have fixed homes, cultivate yucas,maize, beans, and plantains, and their women wear cotton cloth. They live in well-built huts made of wood, and sleep in fixed bed-places instead of hammocks. Their lances are made of the Chonta palm, the head being triangular, thirty to fifty inches long, and ten to fifteen inches broad. They are accustomed to take a strong emetic every morning, consisting of an infusion of the guayusa or tea-plant, for the sake of getting rid of all undigested food, and being ready for the chase with an empty stomach. Their hair hangs over their shoulders, and they wear a helmet of bright feathers. Velasco, in 1789, divided them into three branches; Villavicencio, in our own times, divides them into ten, all speaking the same lanugage, which is sonorous, clear, and harmonious, easy to learn, and energetic. Their branch tribes are constantly at war with each other, but readily unite against a commo enemy. Their dissensions are frequently caused by their good living; the abundance of fish and game makes them saucy to each other, which often leads to serious quarrels. At each village they have a drum called Tunduli, to call the warriors to arms, and the signal is repeated from village to village. When engaged in war, their faces and bodies are painted; but during peace they wear breeches down to their knees, and a shirt without sleeves. One of their prominent customs is to deify the heads of their prisoners. This fact has been known for some time, but only lately have any specimens been obtained. The first was brought to Europe These curious trophies are thus prepared: after a war the heads of the victims are cut off, the skull and its contents removed, and a heated stone (it is said) is introduced into the hollow of the skin; desiccation goes on, and it is reduced to about one fourth, retaining some appearance of the features. A feast ensues, when the victor abuses the head roundly, to which the head is made to reply in similar terms-the Indian priest being the spokesman for the head, or chancha, (an Indian name for a sow,) and he concludes his part thus: "Coward, when I was in life, thou didst not dare to insult me thus; thou didst tremble at the sound of my name. Coward! some brother of mine will revenge me." The victor at this raises his lance, strikes, and wounds the face of his enemy, after which he sews the mouth up, dooming the idol to perpetual silence, excepting as an oracle; questions being put to it when the inquirer is under the spell of a narcotic. When the Jivaro is pressed by the ene my, and has not time to cut off the head of a victim, the ceremony is performed on the head of a sow, which is adored as a real Idol-Head. Should the fruits of the earth not be in abundance, the women hold a feast of supplication to the head, and if their request is not granted, the hair is shaved off, and it is thrown into the woods. A double string is attached to the top of the head, so that it may be worn round the neck. The lips are sewn together, and a number of strings hang from them, the use of which is not apparent. "MARCH 29th, 1679," is the date of a baronetcy conferred on a Berkshire gentleman, William Kenrick, of Whitley, which, however, expired with the second. generation about the close of the century. The second baronet left his property to an only daughter, who is understood to have soon after disposed herself in marriage in a very extraordinary way. Tradition and a cotemporary broadside ballad concur in representing this young gentlewoman as paid court to by many, but refusing all, and keeping her affections disengaged, until, attending a wedding at Reading, she met a young and handsome but poor attorney, named Benjamin Child, with whom she fell violently in love on the spot. For some days she reasoned with herself on the subject, trying to shake herself free of this sudden passion, but all in vain. Then, feeling that something must be done, but unable from confusion of mind to devise a proper course, she took the extraordinary step of sending the young man a letter, demanding satisfaction for injuries she alleged he had inflicted on her, and appointing time and place for a hostile meeting. Mr. Child was much surprised, and quite at a loss to conceive who the challenger could be. By the advice of a friend, however, he resolved to attend. The meeting may be described in the words of the ballad: "Early on a summer's morning, "At the bottom of a mountain, "Covered with her mask, and walking, "I am challenged by a gallant Who resolves to try my talent; LADY'S GARLAND. Who he is I can not say, But I hope to show him play.' "It is I that did invite you; You shall wed me, or I'll fight you Underneath those spreading trees; Therefore choose from which you please. "You shall find I do not vapor, I have sought my trusty rapier; Therefore take your choice,' said she: 'Either fight or marry me!' "Said he: 'Madame, pray what mean you? "I will not my face uncover Till the marriage ties are over; Therefore choose you which you will, Wed me, sir, or try your skill. "Step within that pleasant bower With your friend one single hour: Strive your thoughts to reconcile, And I'll wander here the while.' "While this beauteous lady waited, "If my judgment can be trusted, "He consented to be married; All three in a coach were carried "Though sweet pretty cupids hovered The ballad goes on to state that the pair went in her coach to the lady's elegant mansion, where, leaving him in a parlor, she proceeded to dress herself in her finest attire, and by and by broke |