Petrifaction. A large petrifaction has lately been dug out of the Nitshill quarry. It has been a tree in the "days of other years;" it was lying in an borizontal direction, 27 feet below the surface of the earth, 16 of which were of solid white sand-stone rock. About 5 feet of the trunk, with roots sufficient to keep it firmly upright, all in one piece, is now standing in the midst of the quarry. The grains of the wood can plainly be traced. Several branches of a similar nature have been found. The top of the tree has not been got out, but a black circle can be seen round it in the rock; it is full 13 inches and an half across. About 15 yards west from where the tree was found, there is another piece, without roots, cleared on one side for about 5 feet. The rock is quite black round these petrifactions, or, rather, the petrifactions, are in a sort of black shell, which has been curiously dented with the grains of the wood, and they are not fastened, but rather enclosed in the rock. Term and again desired the company of his wor- | stumps, he proceeded to the metropolis, ship, with whose conversation he affected | taking for his wife and young children, a to be much pleased, that he promised if the miserable lodging upon Hog-hill mayor would ride to the next town, and after term, without either profit or professpend the evening with him, he would stop sional reputation he paced the hall of the take dinner. This flattery won the af- Four Courts. Yet even thus he was not fection of the host, who very readily altogether undistinguished. If his pocket complied, and thus Ferguson in the com- was not heavy, his heart was light-he was pany of the magistrate passed safely through young and ardent, buoyed up not less by that town and neghbourhood without being the consciousness of what he felt within, at all suspected. He then got a passage to than by the encouraging comparison with Holland, and returned from thence with the those who were successful around him, and Prince of Orange. his station among the crowd of idlers, whom he amused with his wit, or amazed by his eloquence. Many even who had emerged from that crowd did not disdain occasionally to glean from his conversation the rich and varied treasures which he did not fail to squander with the most unsparing prodigality; and some there were who observed the brightness of the infant luminary struggling through the obscurity that clouded its commencement. Among those who had the discrimination to appreciate, and the heart to feel for him, luckily for Curran, was Mr. Arthur Wolfe, afterwards the onfortunate but respected Lord Kilwarden. The first fee of any consequence that he received was through his recommendation; and his recital of the incident cannot be without its interest to the young professioned aspirant whom a temporary neglect may have sunk into dejection. "I then lived," said he " upon Hog hll; my wife and children were the chief furniture of my apartments; and as to my rent it stood much the same chance of its liquidation with the national debt. Mrs. Curran, however, was a barrister's lady, and what was wanting in wealth, she was well determined should be supplied by dignity. The landlady, on the other hand, had no idea of any gradation except that of pounds, shillugs, and pence. I walked out one morning to avoid the perpetual altercations on the subject, with my mind, you may imagine, in no very enviable temperament. I fell into gloom to which from my infancy, I had been occasionally subject. I had a family for whom I had no dinner, and a landlady for whom I had no rent. I had gone abroad in despondence-I returned home almost in desperation. When I opened the door of my study, where Lavater alone could have found a library, the first object which presented itself was an immense folio of a brief, 20 golden guineas wrapped up beside it, and the name of Old Bob Lyons marked upon the back of it. I paid my landladybought a good dinner-gave Bob Lyons a share of it; and that dinner was the date of my prosperity!"-Such was his own exact account of his professional advancement. Anecdote of Curran. When Curran was called to the bar, he was without friends, without connexions, without fortune, conscious of talents far above the mob by which he was elbowed, and cursed with sensibility which rendered him painfully alive to the mortifications he was fated to experience. Those who have risen to professional eminence, and recollect the impediments of such a commencementthe neglect abroad-the poverty, perhaps, at home-the frowns of rivalry-the fears of friendship-the sneer at the first essay the prophecy that it will be the last-discouragements as to the present-forebod ings as to the future-some who are established endeavouring to crush the chance of competition, and some who have failed anxious for the wretched consolation of companionship-those who recollect the comforts of such an apprenticeship, may duly appreciate poor Curran's situation. After toiling for a very inadequate recompense at the Sessions of Cork, aud wearing, as he said himself, his teeth almost to their The Chequers. ever, continued his investigations, and his It has been frequently stated that the perseverance was rewarded by the discovery that the manuscripts were in the hands chequers which are painted on the doors of M. Jacobson, mayor of Normoutiers. and window-shutters of public-houses M. Jacobson possesses all that Thirot rewere once the arms of an Earl of Arun-ceived from Voltaire, and this valuable coldel, in whose department it rested to grant lection consists oflicenses to sell spirituous liquors. The accuracy of this assertion may be doubted for various reasons, most of which being the result of dull antiquarian research would require more space to unfold than cen be allowed in our columns.-But a much more satisfactory account of this sign has been giveu by the Honourable Daines Barrington, in his disquisition on the game of chess, published in the Archælogia. "1. The dedication already mentioned. This piece is in the hand-writing of Voltaire, with his erasures. If reliance may be placed on the opinion of the men of letters who have heard this dedication read, it is the most eloquent discourse ever written by Voltaire. "2. A considerable number of letters in the hand-writing of Voltaire. They have never been printed, and are the more curious from their having been written confidentially. They are full of anecdotes and historical traits of a highly interesting nature. The Barons of the Exchequer have always sat with a chequered cloth spread over the table that is placed before them, and the ancient use of it was to settle the "3. About fifty pieces in verse, all reaccounts passed by this Court, the compu-markable for that grace and facility which tations being made in an age when the characterise the fugitive poetry of Voltaire. simplest rules of arithmetic were known only to few-upon the squares. The checquers of ale-houses, most likely, were also used for calculating the reckonings; and this hypothesis is strengthened, if not confirmed, by a remarkable fact-that the same sign was used at Pompeii, as appears by the engravings in the 4th vol, of the Archælogia. Manuscripts of Voltaire. The Aristarque Champenois contains the following article of literary intelligence, which appears authentic, and is not destitute of interest : "It was stated in the journals, that on the 25th of August, the day of the re-erection of the statue of Henry IV., a dedication of the Heuriade, addressed by Voltaire to Louis XV., was to be read by the Secretary of the Academy. This was the finest homage that a literary body could render to a great and good King-the bard was worthy of the hero: but this hope has not been realized. "Count François de Neufchateau well knew that this piece had existed, for, at a very early age, he had heard it read, but he believed it to be lost past recovery, as well as all the papers which had belonged to Thirot, from the long inquiries which he had unsuccessfully made, and the silence of the possessor of the papers. Grimm also was persuaded that this collection was destroyed, as may be seen from what he states in his correspondence, tom 2, p. 372. "M. François de Neufchateau, how "4. Fragments of a tragedy which Voltaire composed at the age of twelve, and which is entitled Amulius and Numitor. These manuscripts are soon to be printed, and it is supposed will form an octavo volume of about 800 pages. Spread of Christianity. Eight of the Society Islands in the Pacific Ocean have totally renounced idolatry, and are become professedly Christians. In Otaheite alone 50 places of Christian worship have been erected; and, so strictly is the sabbath observed, that on a late occasion, when a ship arrived off the coast, about the time of public worship, the capconcluded that the whole population had tain not seeing a single individual stirring, been extirpated by war. In some cases the inhabitants of one island have carried the knowledge of christianity to those of them to follow their own example in rea neighbouring island, and have induced nouncing idolatry. Infant murder, human sacrifices, and cannibal feasts are abandoned; and in their place marriage is universally respected, parental obligation is felt, industry commenced its labours, the press is at work, a spelling-book has been printed, the gospel published; and, to the eyes of admiring spectators, is to be seen at once the degraded, sensual, cannibal, idolatrous Otaheitan, sitting under the bread-fruit tree learning his spelling book, reading the scriptures to a missionary in his hut, or bowing before the true God in a Christiau temple. MR. FELLENBERG'S INSTITUTION AT HOFWYL. the design of prevailing upon Mr. F. to make room for another young prince under their care. All these pupils go through the same discipline; eat at the table with Mr. F. and his family, aud pay about £60 sterling a year for all expences, exclusive of clothes. I ought to add, that when the troubles upon the Continent had reduced so many families to great distress, Mr. F. kept above a dozen of the young men for nothing during two years. This part of the establishment creates the principal expence, as about 20 eminent professors belong to it, whose salaries amount to between 2 and £3,000 a year. On the other hand, they [From Mr. Brougham's evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons.] Happening to be in Switzerland in the autumn of 1815, I went to Berne, for the purpose of visiting Mr. Fellenberg's institution, which is situated in a pleasant country, about four miles from the town. I was received by him with great courtesy; he showed me himself every part of his establishment, and appeared anxious to have the whole details of its management inves-form a very interesting society, and render tigated. My intention was to return, and a residence in the neighbourhood alike inpass a few weeks there, for the purpose of structive and agreeable. acquiring further information respecting the system, and more especially the extraordinary economy which prevails, and which enables Mr. F. to effect so much with so slender means. This can only be learnt by a daily examination of minute particulars; to facilitate which, Mr. F. was kind enough to offer me the use of a chateau, in the neighbourhood of his own residence; but the state of the weather for many weeks, and of my own health, made it desireable that I should proceed to Italy, without accomplishing my purpose. Several tracts have been written on the subject; the best of which is entitled, "Rapport fait à S. M. I. L'Empereur Alex andre, sur l'Etablissement de Hofwyl." It was in fact written by Mr. C. Pictet, of Geneva, who has paid great attention to the plans of Mr. F. and examined them carefully in different stages of their progress. The groundwork of the establishment is a farm of moderate extent, from 210 to 220 posen, answering nearly to our English acres, which Mr. F, cultivates himself with great assiduity and success. Upon this he has ingrafted the other branches of his institution, which consist of a seminary for the education, and moral and religious improvement of the poor; an academy for the richer classes of society; an agricultural institution for a limited number of pupils; and a manufactory of agricultural implements. The academy consists of fifty or sixty pupils, who are taught every branch of use. ful learning, from Latin and Greek to the higher branches of the mathematics and of physical science. These pupils are chiefly of patrician families. When I was there, I found 7 or 8 German princes among them, besides several sons of German nobles; and the Prince and Princess of Wurtemburg (the present King and Queen) were ex pected in a few days to visit the place, with The Agricultural Institution is peculiarly under Mr. F.'s own care, and consists of about twenty pupils, more advanced in They are years than the former class. taught practically in the farm, and have likewise hours of scholastic instruction, and of meetings for discussion with Mr. Fellen berg. They are separately lodged and boarded at Buchsee, a chateau about a mile distant from Mr. F.'s house. The manufactory of agricultural implements is extremely beautiful, from the neatness and excellence of the workmanship, but especially from the valuable improvements in mechanism which Mr. F. has introduced. Among these may be mentioned his horseshoe, his scarifier, or exterpator, his root and straw cutters; and, above all, bis drill, which has been highly admired by all competent judges, and, I believe been honoured with the approbation of the Board of Agriculture in this country. The branch of the establishment, however, which is more particularly deserving of attention, and with which all the others are more or less connected, is the seminary for the poor. Mr. F. having long remarked the extreme profligacy of the lower orders in the Swiss towns, and the habits of igno rance and vice in which their children were brought up, formed many years ago the design of attempting their reformation, upon principles equally sound and benevolent. His leading doctrine was, that to make these poor people better, it was necessary to make them comfortable; and that this end would be best attained by forming in their earliest years habits of industry, which might contribute to their subsistence, and by joining with them a greater degree of intellectual cultivation than has ever yet been extended to the labouring classes of the community, or been imagined to be compatible with their humble pursuits. He began his experiments upon a small number of children, which he has now increased to between 30 and 40; and this may be reckoned the utmost limit upon a farm of so moderate an extent. Those children were taken from the very worst description of society; the most degraded of the mendicant poor in Berne and other Swiss towns. With hardly any exception, they were sunk in the vicious and idle habits of their parents, a class of dissolute vagrants, resembling the worst kind of gypsies. The complete change that has been effected in them all, is one of the most extraordinary and affecting sights that can be imagined. When I saw them, there were some who had been grown up towards manhood; but the reformation in almost all took place during from one to two years, or a very little more, according as they were taken at an earlier or more advanced age. The remark which I made is that which immediately strikes all who visit Hofwyl; the appearance of the children alone, their countenance and manner, impress you with a conviction of their excellent dispositions. To describe all the steps of the process by which this reformation has been effected would be impossible, as much depends upou minute circumstances, and upon the great skill and management of Vebril, a young man who has devoted his life, under Mr. F., to the superintendance ot this part of the establishment, and to whose extraordinary virtue and ability its success is principally owing. THE AGE OF IMPROVEMENT. A London publication for this month states as follows: | more miles. Here then is a principle by which heat may be conveyed from a public boiler or magazine, where it is generated, to any desirable distance; and thence may be conveyed into houses for the purpose of keeping the rooms at any temporature just as gas for light, or water for culinary purposes, is now conveyed into them. We thus divest ourselves at once of coal or wood fires, of all their smoke, filth, and dangers; and also of chimneys, grates, and accessories. In cost, the ratio is very high iu favor of the heat of steam, as ten to one, and twenty to one, according to circumstances. In effective heat, in wholesomeness, in enjoyment, and in luxury, there can be no comparison. Thus a bushel of refuse coal and cruders, costing eight-pence or a shilling will boil a copper for fifteen hours, and generate steam enough to keep ten or twelve rooms at a uniform and equally diffused temperature of sixty or seventy degrees. Of course it is the same whether these rooms are in one house, six houses or twelve houses;* and hence the incalculable advantages of this application of steam. Houses, manufactories, schools, charches, hamlets, villages, cities, and even the great metropolis itself, may thus be heated from one or many boilers or from one or many stations, as may be most convenient. Smoke, the nuisance of towns, will thus be exterminated; because that which is generated at the public boilers may easily be consumed, or condensed. We thus also clear society of the stigma and the crimes of chimney-sweeping; and diminish the hazards and the horrors of those conflagrations which are as dangerous to our property as our lives. In fiue, we expect that these observations will, in dne time, have the effect of rendering Steam-heating Societies as general, as popular, and as lucrative, as Gas-li-hfing Societies; and we hope, in consequence to witness, in the universal success of both, a greater triumph of philosophy than philosophers themselves have ever coutem "In the number of April last, we intro duced the details of a system of warming houses, by means of a Steam generated in a small boiler, worked in any out-building, and conveyed by pipes to hollow-sided cylinders placed in the rooms of a house; and we stated in such clear terms the ad-plated." vantages of this elegant mode of propaga ting heat, that the work-shops engaged in the manufactories have had more orders than they can execute. The experiments made in the course of these erections have, however, determimed a fact that cannot fail to lead to a great extension of the system. It appears that steam, conveyed in pipes nearly half a mile in length, has suffered at the extremity no sensible diminution of its heat; consequently hot steam may be diffused for purposes of heating-houses, in a radius from the boiler of at least half a mile; and perhaps even of two, three, or * It is proved, by experiment, that every superficial foot of a metallic hollow cylinder will heat 250 cubic feet of air, at 60, 70, or 80°, as may be desirable. A cylinder, four feet high, and sixteen inches diameter, that is, having sixteen feet on the outside, and sizteen feet on the inside, will therefore heat 8000 cubic feet of air, or a room thirty feet square and nine feet high. It appears also that one small boiler will keep four such eylinders at 70° of heat; and, therefore, will heat twelve rooms, that are eighteen feet square and eight feet high. National Register: BRITISH. The King. Windsor Castle, Oct. 3.-" His Majesty continues in a very tranquil state of mind, and in good bodily health, but without any diminution of his disorder." now exposed to the public eye, and are admired for their tasteful structure. The scaffolding formed round the south minaret, for the purpose of elevating its angular ornaments, is worthy of notice, inasmuch as it exhibits a specimen of intricate and superior workmanship for raising massy substances; for it must be recollected, a column of fluted iron runs up the We are enabled to give a few particulars middle of these minarets, the top weight as to the present situation of our venerable measuring 6 feet in diameter, over which Sovereign, which may not be uninteresting there is a light cupola, terminating in a to our readers, and particularly so when spheriodical base. Having mentioned the such a studied silence prevails on the sub-large minarets with their auxiliary ornaject. His Majesty is perfectly blind, and occupies a long suit of rooms, through which he is almost continually strolling. Several piano-fortes and harpsichords are placed at certain intervals, and the Momarch frequently stops at them, runs over a few notes of Handel's Oratorios, and proceds on his walk. Ile dines chiefly on cold meats, and frequently eats standing. He has a silk plaid dress, and will sometimes stop and address himself to a noble Duke or Lord, thus holding a colloquy,naments. Having inadequately described and furnishing their answers. The King suffers his beard to grow two or three days, seldom, however, exceeding three days. His hair is perfectly white. The Doctors Willis attend with the other physicians, but not with the privacy of the King. He is quite cheerful in his conduct and conversation, eats very heartily, and enjoys good bodily health." The Pavilion, Brighton. ments, we shall notice the centre elevation, which will more properly assume the appearance of a pagoda, from its immense circular frame of massy iron-work, with ribs and supporters of the same material. The exterior of this centre pagoda will be fronted with Bath stone. In the space from the centre to the north and south minarets there are formed four exceedingly fine globular Chinese vases, which are now receiving their exquisite oriental or the scale of improvements, for the present year, we ought to observe that it is impossible to convey a sketch of the probable architectural appearance of this palace, fronting the Steyne. In the first place, Marlborough-house, adjoining the north side of the Royal residence, will be pulled down, to give correspondence with the large minaret; at the extremity of which the grand entrance-hall will be erected. At the south wing, the fine range of preThe plan for the elevation of this Royal mises belonging to the Castle Tavern will edifice more and more developes itself give way to the further extension of the every day. It is premature to anticipate improvements in that quarter. A full what will be the extent of improvements view of the palace will then be obtained which are only in part commenced; but from the Steyne. Columus of stone will while general remarks are made upon er- be raised along the whole front. The roneous calculations, it becomes interesting west side of the Pavilion exhibits a fine to obtain a small portion of information order of architecture, which comprehends upon the outline of a Royal structure, a suit of apartments for the Royal Family, which will ultimately present an external baths, library rooms, &c. Our readers appearance of magnificence, and exhibit must be aware that a length of time is a monument of the taste of its illustrious requisite to complete these extensive impossessor. We must take for the first di-provements, which require the co-operavision of our report, the centre range of tion of talent in the several departments noble buildings that are to be finished of the arts and sciences. This palace will this year. This includes a space from the certainly present one of the first producnorth and south minarets (improperly tions of oriental architecture in Europe. called a pagodas.) The large minaret to No language can describe the taste and the north is designed for the music room, splendid style in which the music and while that to the south is internally finish dining rooms are furnishing. The first ing for the grand banquetting or dining artists in the kindom are employed in the room. Upon the angles of the north mi-decorations. The consumption of matenuret are raised beautiful stone ornaments, rials is necessarily great. The incense designated Kremlin minarets. The eleva-iron-work used has been supplied from the tion of them is nearly equal to the tower-founderies in the neighbourhood of Lewes, ing appearance of the centre. They are and apart from Loudon. The stone has VOL. VIII. No. 48. Lit. Pan. N. S. Nov. 1. : B |