belief that the magnets would sympathise with each other, whatever might be the intervening distance. The following are the observations of Sir T. Browne, in his 'Vulgar Errors,' on this very curious subject :-"The conceit is excellent, and, if the effect would follow, somewhat divine, whereby we might communicate like spirits, and confer with Menippus in the moon. And this is pretended from the sympathy of two needles touched with the same loadstone, and placed in the centre of two circles, or rings, with letters described round about them; one friend keeping one, and another friend the other, and agreeing upon an hour wherein they will communicate; for then, saith tradition, at what distance of place soever, when one needle shall be removed unto any letter, the other, by a wonderful sympathy, will move unto the same. But, herein, I confess my experience can find no truth; for having expressly framed two circles of wood, and according to the number of the Latin letters divided each into twenty-three parts, placing therein two needles composed of the same steel, touched with the same loadstone, and at the same point,—of these two needles, whenever I removed the one, although but at the distance of half a span, the other would stand like Hercules' pillars." Having thus demonstrated, experimentally, the fallacy and utter failure of the scheme, he concludes with a very candid and rational apology :-"Now this magical conceit, how strange soever, might have some original in reason; for men, observing no solid whatever did interrupt the action of the magnet, might be induced to believe no distance would terminate the same." The Electrical Telegraph, as at present worked, is unquestionably the greatest wonder the world ever witnessed, and the highest triumph ever achieved by science; nor has even familiarity, that most potent of all disenchanters, as yet dissolved the spell that rivets our imagination, and perpetuates our astonishment; its miraculous agency, indeed, daily becomes an object of increasing wonder, as our Ariel extends the magic girdle, which is ultimately destined to encircle the wide world, and at once to annihilate time and space. Even during the progress of the present little book through the press, wires, for the first time, have been carried along the bed of the sea, and, unlike the wand and book of Prospero, have lost no power by their immersion. In the flush of our success, and in the pride of our conquest, let us not forget the master-spirits to whom our obligations are justly due. Let us bow humbly at the shrine of Oersted of Copenhagen, the immortal discoverer of electro-magnetism; let us do all honour to Faraday for his consummation of that discovery, by having been the first to draw electric sparks from the magnet; and let us as duly acknowledge the services of Wheatstone, in seizing and taking captive this subtle power, so as to render it subservient to the will of man, by the construction of the Electric Telegraph. All honour to this great triumvirate ! Note 54b, p. 409.-CARRIER PIGEONS. The carrier is a variety of the common domestic pigeon, and which, from the superior attachment that it shows to its native place, is employed in many countries as the most expeditious courier. The letters are tied under its wing, it is let loose, and in a very short space returns to the home it was brought from, with its advices. This practice was much in vogue in the East; and at Scanderoon, till of late years, it was used, on the arrival of a ship, to give the merchants at Aleppo a more expeditious notice than could be done by any other means. In our own country, these aërial messengers have been employed for a very singular purpose, having been let loose at Tyburn at the moment the fatal cart was drawn away, to notify to distant friends the departure of the unhappy criminal. In the East, the use of these birds seems to have been greatly improved, by having, if we may use the expression, relays of them ready to spread intelligence to all parts of the country; thus it is stated by Ariosto (Canto 15), that the governor of Damiata circulated the news of the death of Orrilo. "As soon as the commandant of Damiata heard that Orrilo was dead, he let loose a pigeon, under whose wing he had tied a letter. This fled to Cairo, from whence a second was despatched to another place, as is usual; so that, in a very few hours, all Egypt was acquainted with the death of Orrilo." But the simple use of them was known in very early times. Anacreon tells us (Ode ix.) that he conveyed his billet-doux to Bathyllus by a dove. Taurosthenes also, by means of a pigeon he had decked with purple, sent advice to his father, who lived in the isle of Ægina, of his victory in the Olympic games, on the very day he had obtained it. And, at the siege of Modena, Hirtius without, and Brutus within the walls, kept, by the help of pigeons, a constant correspondence; baffling every stratagem of the besieger, Antony, to intercept their couriers. During the * Elian. Var. Hist., lib. ix. c. 2. Pliny, lib. x. c. 24, says that swallows have been made use of for the same purpose. Their rate of flight has been estimated at a mile in a minute for ten hours, or 600 miles per day. siege of Haarlem, when that city was reduced to the last extremity, and on the point of opening its gates, a design was formed to relieve it, and the intelligence was conveyed to the citizens by a letter which was tied under the wing of a pigeon. In the times of the crusades there are many more instances of these birds of peace being employed in the service of war: Joinville relates one during the crusade of Saint Louis, and Tasso another during the siege of Jerusalem. The Dutch variety is the most valuable, a pair of the best kind being worth from five to eight pounds. It is lighter than the English pigeon, and flies nearly as fast again. It proceeds at the rate of 60 miles an hour, and has been known to complete a journey of 800 miles; but this, it is presumed, is not continuous, but assisted by occasional rest. The bird learns but one lesson; it may carry from Antwerp to London or to any other place, but it will only pass between two such places. It evidently travels by sight; when tossed, it circles, then rises in a spiral, observes its route, and darts off. It will not fly at night; and, should the day be foggy, it is delayed, and sometimes lost. Note 55, p. 412.-ORIGIN OF POPULAR CEREMONIES. The soothsayers attributed many mystic properties to the coral; and it was believed to be capable of giving protection against the influence of Evil Eyes: it was even supposed that coral would drive away devils and evil spirits; hence arose the custom of wearing amulets composed of it around the neck, and of making crowns of it. Pliny and Dioscorides are very loud in the praises of the medicinal properties of this substance; and Paracelsus says that it should be worn round the necks of infants, as an admirable preservative against fits, sorcery, charms, and even against poison. It is a curious circumstance that the same superstitious belief should exist among the negroes of the West Indies, who affirm that the colour of coral is always affected by the state of health of the wearer, it becoming paler in disease. In Sicily it is also commonly worn as an amulet by persons of all ranks as a security against an evil eye, a small twisted piece, somewhat resembling a horn, is worn at the watch-chain, under the name of Buon Fortuna, and is occasionally pointed at those who are supposed to entertain evil intention. His late Sicilian Majesty was celebrated for his faith in, and frequent use of, the buon fortuna. -But to return to the coral usually suspended around the necks of children in our own country. In addition to the supposed virtues of the coral, it may be remarked that silver bells are usually attached to it, which are generally regarded as mere accompaniments to amuse the child by their jingle; but the fact is, that they have a different origin, having been designed to frighten away evil spirits. For the same superstitious object were bells introduced into our churches as a species of charm against storms and thunder and the assaults of Satan. In farther illustration of the truth that a custom has frequently survived the tradition of its origin, it may be here observed, that the common practice of persons who are unable to write, making their mark or cross, is derived from our Saxon ancestors, who affixed the sign of the cross as a signature to a deed, whether they could write or not. Several charters still remain, to which kings and persons of great eminence affix Signum Crucis manu propriâ pro ignorantia literarum." Hence is derived the expression of signing instead of subscribing a paper. 66 Note 56, p. 420.—INVENTION OF THE GAME OF CHESS. Alphesadi, an Arabian writer, quoted by Montucla in his 'Histoire des Mathématiques,' expressly mentions the invention of chess as of Indian origin, and relates the following very curious Indian tradition :-Ardschir, king of the Persians, having invented the game of Tric-Trac, and being exceedingly vain of it, a certain Indian, named Sessa, the son of Daher, invented the game of chess, and presented his chess-board and chess-men to the king of the Indies. The sovereign was so much pleased, that he desired Sessa to name his reward, when this man made the apparently modest request, that he should receive as a gift so much corn as could be estimated by beginning with one grain, and doubling as many times as there were squares upon the chess-board, viz. 64. The king felt displeased at having his munificence thus slighted by a request so limited and so unworthy to be the gift from royalty; but, as Sessa remained firm, orders were given to the chief minister that he should be satisfied: when, however, the visir had by calculation ascertained the enormous quantity of corn which would be required, he waited upon the king, and with some difficulty convinced him of the fact; upon which the king sent for Sessa, and said to him, that he admired his powers of calculation even more than the ingenuity of the game which he had presented to him, and, in respect to his promise as to the corn, he was compelled to acknowledge himself to be insolvent. Dr. Wallis, the friend of Sir Isaac Newton, and Savilian Professor of Oxford, found that the quantity of corn would be such as to be capable of forming a pyramid, the measure ment of which would be nine English miles in height, and nine similar miles for each of the four sides of the base. After this, Montucla also states some elaborate calculations made by himself, and proves, amongst other remarkable facts, that the quantity of corn in question would cover 162,000 square leagues to the depth of one foot, French measure, which would be at least three times the extent of the surface of France as it was about the year 1796, and which he estimates at 50,000 square leagues. Note 57, p. 429.-HOW TO POISE AN EGG ON ITS END. By smartly shaking the egg, we disorganize its contents, whence the heavier particles fall down; and thus, by lowering its centre of gravity, enable the egg to stand steadily on its base. Note 58, p. 429.-THE MAGIC WAND. From remote antiquity the rod, or wand, has been regarded as the symbol, as well as the agent, of magical power. Bacchus had his Thyrsus,-Hercules his club ;-Mercury, when sent on his mission to Æneas by Jupiter, took especial care to provide himself with the essential instrument of power : "But first he grasps within his awful hand The mark of sov'reign power-his MAGIC WAND: And eyes, tho' clos'd in death, restores to light."-Æn. iv. Circe transformed the companions of Ulysses into swine by "the waving of her circling wand ;" and thus spake her fabled son, Comus, in the "Mask" of Milton : "If I but wave the Wand, Your nerves are all chain'd up in alabaster, And you a statue, as Daphne was Root-bound, that fled Apollo." And when the Brothers interposed, they failed to disenchant the lady from the chair, in consequence of having neglected to secure the rod of Comus : "What! have you let the false enchanter 'scape? O ye mistook; ye should have snatch'd his Wand, Prospero, on abjuring his power, "breaks his Staff, And buries it in certain fathoms of the earth." Eneas was only enabled to pacify the Infernal deities by |