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. 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. sea 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, Satan approached, and said, "I will nourish you, 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, The stain it had gathered in this; 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, 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. Scylla, said in the heathen mythology to have been a beautiful nymph, transformed into a monster 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 stormy weather, which is said to have resembled We devote the activity of our youth to revelry, 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 hodies ty, opposite to Scylla, and now denominated Galo-to the chancel, which, when living, we interdicted faro it is by no means so formidable as represented from the church. And though like a mourner that sits by a tomb, 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 Swit zerland. 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. 1545. The council of Trent convenes. 1582. Pope Gregory introduces the new style of 1588. Destruction of the Spanish armada, whose 1590. John Knox introduces the reformation in WHY ARE WE RIGHT-HANDED? so low, that they may not at some time be able to repay an obligation. Therefore, what benevolence would dictate, prudence would confirm. For he that is cautious of insulting the weakest, and not above obliging the lowest, will have attained such habits of forbearance and of complacency, as will secure him the goodwill of all that are beneath him, and teach him how to avoid the enmity of all that are above him. For he that would not bruise even a worm, will be still more cautious how he treads upon a serpent. THE DIFFICULTY WITH FRANCE ADJUSTED. Early in February, the British brig Pantaloon, arrived at Norfolk, bearing an overture of mediation in the misunderstanding between France and the United States, from the British king. The offer of mediation was accepted by our executive, and had also been accepted by France. In accepting the mediation, however, the point, that a foreign nation has a right to demand an explanation of communications passed between different branches of cur government, is expressly denied. It is understood that the president's annual message has been deemed satisfactory to France, and that the first instalment will be paid when demanded. THE MESSAGE. Sir Charles Bell on this subject, observes:-"That for the conveniences of life, and to make us prompt and dexterous, it is evident there ought to be no hesitation which hand is to be used, or which foot to be put forward; and that there is, indeed, no such indecision. Is this taught us? Or is it from nature?" There is a distinction, he says, in the right side of the body; and the left side is weaker, both as to muscular power To the Senate and House of Representatives :and its constitutional properties. The development of the organs of motion and action, he adds, is great-mediation for the adjustment of the dispute between The Government of Great Britain has offered its est on the right side, as may be proved by measure- the United States and France. ment, or the opinion of the tailor and shoemaker. that point in the controversy which, as it involves Carefully guarding This superiority may be said to result from the more frequent use of the right hand. But whence the mise, I have cheerfully accepted the offer. It will our honour and independence, admits of no comproorigin of this use or practice? It has been said, chil- be obviously improper to resort even to the mildest dren are taught by parents and nurses to use their right hand but not always, and not generally, it is tained whether France has declined or accepted the measures of a compulsory character, until it is ascerbelieved Besides, this peculiarity is constitutional; mediation. I therefore recommend a suspension of disease attacks the left side and members more freof the fifteenth of January last, which proposes a parall proceedings on that part of my Special Message tial non-intercourse with France. While we cannot too highly appreciate the elevated and disinterested motives of the offer of Great Britain, and have a just store the relations of ancient friendship between the the great influence of that power to reUnited States and France, and know, too, that our own pacifick policy will be strictly adhered to until the should be insensible to the exposed condition of our national honour compels us to depart from it, we country, and forget the lessons of experience, if we did not efficiently prepare for an adverse result. The peace of a nation does not depend exclusively upon its own will, nor upon the beneficent policy of neightotally unprepared for the exigencies and dangers bouring powers; and that nation which is found warning of its approach, is criminally negligent of its of war, although it come without having given honour and its duty. quently than the right. In walking behind a person, and As there are none so weak, that we may not venture to injure them with impunity, so there are none reliance upon already made, to place the seaboard in a proper state I cannot too strongly repeat the recommendation, for defence, and promptly to provide the means for amply protecting our commerce. ANDREW JACKSON. Washington, February, 8, 1836. |