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continuance of a truce. The siege was formed on the | of the animal, unimpaired by the state of hyberna18th of March, 1799, but, at last, after losing 3000 tion. The bat takes wing as readily and actively as men, the French retreated, in the night of the 20th ever, when roused from his state of repose, and the of May, leaving behind them all their heavy artillery, hedgehog walks about in his usual manner, without which was immediately mounted upon the walls by any appearance of feebleness or impaired strength. Djezzar, and from that period Acre has been the best-It must not be supposed that the winter sleep of anifortified town in Syria. In 1831 and 1832 it stood mals is entered upon at a particular season of the a six months' siege from Ibrahim Pacha, whose can- year, and remains perfectly uninterrupted until that non destroyed most of what yet existed of the ancient season has passed away. It is strictly dependent buildings, so that very few remains of antiquity are upon circumstances, and is capable of being internow to be seen, except in fragments worked up in rupted, and even altogether prevented, by regulating the walls and forts which the Egyptian conqueror has the temperature to which these animals are exposed. erected, most of which are said to be bomb-proof, and Thus, dormice may be kept in a cage in a warm room, capable of withstanding the attack of an European all the winter long, without falling into the lethargic force, an assertion the truth of which seems likely to state, though they will appear more listless and dull be very soon put to the test. than at other seasons of the year. Their sleep is also liable to interruption when in their natural state, either from a sudden return of mild weather, which causes their revivification, and induces them to seek their usual food, &c., or from an accession of cold, such as to cause pain and accelerated respiration, and to make them active in their endeavours to retreat from the cause of their sufferings.

THE DORMOUSE, (Mus avellanarius, LINN.)

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We have now arrived at the season in which many animals prepare for winter repose, and pass into the peculiar condition called hybernation. The temporary suspension of their usual functions, signified by this term, is not traceable to any particular characters, external or internal, of the species that are liable to this state of lethargy, but must rather be considered as a wise and benevolent provision, by which various animals are enabled to adapt themselves to the state of the temperature around them, and to sleep away a season that is uncongenial to their natures.

Each of the species subject to this remarkable change seeks its appropriate place of hybernation, either in the earth, in caverns and ruinous places, in trunks of trees, or bushes, or in some spot protected from the extreme severity of the weather, for intense cold is productive of nearly the same effects as returning heat in these animals. It accelerates the circulation, and consequently the respiration, and thus the animal is restored to activity. When a sheltered spot has been selected, it is usually lined with dried herbs, grasses, leaves, and moss, and then (in the case of the dormouse) the animal rolls itself up in a ball-like form, and falls into its customary state of repose.

Hybernation must not be confounded with the state of torpor sometimes produced in animals by severe cold, which stiffens the muscles, and deadens the sensation. Dr. Marshall Hall, who has carefully investigated the phenomena of hybernation, asserts that in those animals on which he experimented he found the sensibility nearly the same as in ordinary sleep. The lightest touch applied to one of the spines of a hedgehog immediately roused it to draw a deep and sonorous inspiration. The gentlest shake of the bat induced repeated inspirations. The power of moving the muscles remains, like the sensibility

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It is a very surprising fact that during their state of hybernation, animals almost wholly cease to breathe. Dr. Hall made an experiment with a bat, which clearly proves this to be the case. He prepared a vessel for the reception of the animal, in which no absorption of air could possibly take place without his being able to ascertain it. The bat remained in this vessel a whole night, and when the air came to be examined it was found precisely the same as the evening before. The bat was then roused to some degree of activity, and immediately there occurred a consumption of air, exactly in proportion to the time the bat remained active. The various experiments made on lethargic animals give us the certainty that they can exist, when in their torpid state, not only in confined portions of air, but in a total abstraction of atmospheric air, and that they can even live for several hours in carbonic acid gas, which causes instant death to an animal in its active state. Spallanzani kept a marmot for four hours in this gas without injury to the animal, while a rat and a bird, placed in it at the same moment, died immediately.

The circulation of the blood in hybernating animals proceeds uninterruptedly, but more slowly, and the blood not being acted on by the air in the process of breathing is what is called venous blood. The heart of the animal, in its active state, is precisely like that of other animals, but when the lethargy ensues it becomes quite altered, and is called veno-contractile.

This phenomenon (says Dr. Hall) is one of the most remarkable presented to me in the animal kingdom. It forms the single exception to the most general rule, amongst animals which possess a double heart. It accounts for the possibility of immersion in water, or a noxious gas, without drowning or asphyxia, and it accounts for the possibility of a suspended respiration, without the feeling of oppression or pain, although sensation be unimpaired. It is, in a word, this peculiar phenomenon which, conjoined with the peculiar effect of sleep in inducing diminished respiration in hybernating animals, constitutes the susceptibility and capability of taking on the hybernating state.

The different species of dormouse present examples of hybernating animals, and are interesting from the elegance of their forms, and the activity of their habits. They belong to the great order rodentia, or gnawers, and occupy an intermediate station between mice and squirrels. The dormouse resembles the squirrel in its favourite haunts, in the situation which it chooses for its nest, in its sudden leaping motion, its feathered tail, and acute black eye. Its food like

wise consists of nuts and grain, as well as of other |
vegetable productions. In size and form, however,
it is inferior to the squirrel, and nearly resembles the
field-mouse. The dormouse inhabits woods, thickets,
and plantations, and makes a nest of grass, for the
reception of its young, on the low forked branches
of a spreading bush, or in the recess of a hollow tree.
The Common Dormouse is found in England, but
not very plentifully. Its haunts and habits are such
as we have described above. It is smaller in size
than some of the allied species, being little larger
than a common mouse. The result of the experi-
ments which have been made on this species seems
to prove that the common dormouse is of all animals
the most disposed to lethargic habits; that a tempe-
rature either too high or too low rouses it; that as
soon as it is awakened it takes some food, though
moderately; that it passes from its lethargic to its
active state in less than half an hour; that the time
it takes in waking thoroughly is quick in proportion
to the elevation of the temperature. M. Mangili, in
examining a dormouse of this species, found that
when exposed to a great degree of artificial cold,
during its lethargic state, it died in twenty minutes.
When opened he found a great quantity of blood in
the ventricles of the heart, and in the principal ves-
sels which supply and receive from the lungs. He
also found the lungs, the veins of the neck, head, and
especially of the brain, considerably distended with
blood.

ferent animals. The dormouse often wakes and takes a small portion of its easily-acquired food, which consists of grain, &c. The hedge-hog, whose supply of snails and worms would be more difficult to obtain, in seasons of frost and snow, does not awake so frequently; and the bat, which depends upon insects for its nourishment, remains in cold weather more firmly asleep than the other two; and though sensible of warmth, and easily excited, does not appear to rouse itself from a desire to take food.

In lethargic animals in general the vital principle termed irritability has been proved, by a series of delicate and elaborate experiments, to be increased in proportion to the profoundness of the torpor. Were not this the case, as respiration is nearly suspended, vitality would soon cease. Here we have another added proof of the wisdom and design to be found in the works of creation, by which provision has been made for the wants of every living thing, and a guard placed, as it were, to ensure the preservation of the meanest and most insignificant creatures.

.

Or late years education has become a subject of genera! care and attention. But there may be excess even in so amiable a feeling as the devotion of a parent to a child; that very devotion may be productive of mischief to its object. No pains are spared in cultivating talents, in giving graces, accomplishments, useful information, deep learning; but it may be a question whether the wholesome training of the feelings is as judiciously attended to as that of the under standing. May not the very importance attached to all concerning the young lead them to think too much of feelings of others, is not one strong motive for controlling themselves? Unless they are early taught to consider the their own, (that most difficult and most necessary of all lessons), utterly neglected?MRS. SULLIVAN.

The Loir, or Fat Dormouse, is nearly as large as the squirrel; the cheeks are covered with whitish hair; the mustachios are long; the upper part of the body is ashy-gray brown, the under whitish; the tail is covered with long hairs, of the same colour as the body, and disposed in a similar manner to those of YOUR devotion may be earnest, but it must be unconstrained the squirrel. When the cold approaches, the loir and, like other duties, you must make it your pleasure too, rolls itself into a ball, and in this state may be found or else it will have very little efficacy. By this rule you may in winter in hollow trees, or clefts of rocks, or injoys it is an evidence of their being sincere, but when they best judge of your own heart. Whilst those duties are holes in walls exposed to the south. It may be taken and rolled about without rousing it: nothing, indeed, seems to wake it from its lethargy but gradual heat. If exposed suddenly to the heat of a fire it will soon die. Although apparently insensible, with the eyes closed, and the limbs most curiously folded together, the loir is sensible of pain, and manifests by slight convulsive movements its consciousness of the infliction of a wound or a burn.

This animal is confined to the temperate parts of the continent of Europe, but does not frequent the mountainous regions where the marmot is found. In Italy the loir is used for food, and esteemed a delicacy. The way in which it is taken is by simply preparing a place for its winter-quarters in the wood. This retreat is made large enough to hold a number of the animals, and there they are sure to be found assembled towards the end of autumn. The Roman epicures were very fond of these animals: they kept and fattened them for their tables in receptacles called gliraria.

There is a species common on the continent called the Garden Dormouse, or Lerot, which very much resembles the loir, but is smaller and thicker. It inhabits gardens, as its name imports, and also finds its way into houses. The food which it selects is the best and choicest fruit, in search of which it mounts the espalier trees with great dexterity. It sometimes makes its bed of moss and leaves, and hybernates in orchards, in the clefts of trees. This species is not eatable, like the loir, but gives a scent resembling

that of the common rat.

Hybernating animals take very little food during their time of repose, but the quantity differs in dif

are a penance it is a sign that your nature maketh some re-
sistance, and whilst that lasteth you can never be entirely
secure of yourself.-The Lady's New Year's Gift.
Morea, into which the Turks were never able to penetrate,
THE province of Maina, at the southern extremity of the
continues in a state of almost primitive barbarism. Their
extraordinary notions of justice are whimsically displayed
in the following incident:-A Mainote had just been cited
before the attorney-general, for killing a man in his pro-
vince. The man frankly acknowledged the affair, and said
that his reason for the act was, that the deceased had killed
one of his relations; that through the death of his relative,
his clan had been reduced to thirty-five, and that the clan
of the deceased, a rival one, was thirty-six in number; he
therefore killed the man in question solely with the view of
reducing the antagonist's clan to the same number as his
own!-COCHRANE's Wanderings in Greece.

A PLAGUE ENCAMPMENT.
NOTHING ever thrilled me more than when I once came

suddenly, during my wanderings, upon an encampment of
the plague smitten. The huts are generally erected on a
hill-side, and the tents pitched among them; and you see
the families of the infected basking in the sunshine within
their prescribed limits, and gazing eagerly at the chance
passenger, whom his ignorance of their vicinity may con-
duct past their temporary dwellings; the children rolling
half-naked upon the grass; and the sallow and careworn
parent hanging out the garments of the patients on the
trees of the neighbourhood. Such was precisely the case
with that into which I had unconsciously intruded: and
whence I was very hastily dislodged by the shouts of the
guard, stationed to enforce the quarantine of the mountain
It is difficult to look upon such a scene, and upon such a
colony; and the alarmed exclamations of my companions.
sky, and to believe in the existence of this frightful scourge!
It is the canker at the core of the forest-tree-the serpent in
the garden of Eden. MISS PARDOE'S City of the Sultan.

[Our attention has been directed to a problem contained in the Saturday Magazine, Vol. XII., p. 92, which, in consequence of a typographical error, has embarrassed some of our readers. We here insert the corrected problem.]

To draw a right angle, without any other instrument than a straight stick and two or three pegs. Draw the straight line FAC B, and make FA, A C, and CB, equal to each other; from c draw the straight line CDd in any direction, make CD equal to CA, and draw the line Dh through the point a; make FE and EA equal to each other: draw the line FG, and make EG equal to EF. The point & will be exactly perpendicular to A, and will be at right angles with AB, and consequently the angle a is a right-angle.

F

D

B

FISH DECOYS.-The Malay fishermen are of opinion that fish are gifted with the faculty of hearing; for each canoe is provided with a rattle made of a gourd filled with pebblestones, which is struck at intervals against the side of the boat for the purpose of attracting the fish. If fish really possessed the disputed sense, this noise, which can be heard on a calm day at the distance of several miles, must arrest their attention, were they even at the bottom of the sea; but one would suppose that it would have the effect of frightening them away, rather than alluring them to the spot. The Malay evidently entertains a contrary opinion, since he would as soon think of going to sea without his hooks as without his rattle.-EARLE'S Voyage to the Eastern Seas.

COLCHESTER.

COLCHESTER is a very considerable and ancient town in the north-east part of the county of Essex, about fifty-one miles from London, and on the high road to Harwich. The history of this town extends back to a remote period.

It was the capital of a province under the ancient Britons, by the name of Cam-a-laün-uïdun, Latinized Camulodunum. The town formed one of the first settlements of the Romans in this country, and was decorated with numerous buildings, such as a senatehouse, a theatre, &c. After this, Colchester became the chief military post in the county of Essex; and there are still to be traced the lines of fortification in different parts of the county, intended to defend the Romans from the Iceni of Suffolk.

Under the Saxon kings, this town, which had now obtained the name of Colon-ceaster (it being situated on the river Colne), lost some of its importance, partly on account of the increasing influence of London. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Danes, who committed many depredations there; but in the year 921 it again passed into the power of the Saxons, who retained it till the Norman Conquest. At the latter period, the property of the town was chiefly divided between the Crown and the Bishop of London. Under the reign of William Rufus, the town, at the request of the inhabitants, was placed under the governorship of Eudo Dapifer, who soon afterwards built the Castle of Colchester, on the site of the ancient palace.

During the next few reigns, the town received various privileges:-such as the liberty to the townsmen to choose bailiffs from among themselves; freedom from scot and lot; exemption from toll-passage, pontage, and other dues; none of the royal or any other family should lodge within the walls without the consent of the inhabitants, &c. The town was besieged two or three times during the reign of John and of Henry the Third. A very curious record is still in existence, respecting a subsidy which the inhabitants gave to Edward the First to assist him in carrying on his wars. This subsidy was a fifteenth of the

townsmen's possessions; and the account relative to one "Roger the Dyer" was as follows:

Roger the Dyer had, on Michaelmas Day, in his treasury or cupboard, 1 silver buckle, price 18d; 1 cup of mazer (maple), pr. 18d. In his chamber, 2 gowns, pr. 20s.; 2 beds, price half a mark; 1 napkin and 1 towel, pr. 2s. In his house, 1 ewer with a basin, pr. 14d.; 1 andiron, pr. 8d. In his kitchen, 1 brass pot, pr. 20d.; 1 brass skillet, pr. 6d.; 1 brass pipkin, 8d.; 1 trivet, pr. 4d. In his brewhouse, 1 quarter of oats, pr. 2s.; wood-ashes, pr. half a mark; 1 great vat for dyeing 2s. 6d. Item 1 cow, pr. 5s.; I calf, pr. 2s.; 2 pigs, pr. 2s., each 12d.; 1 sow, pr. 15d.; billet-wood, and faggots, for firing, pr. 1 mark. Sum =71s. 5d.: fifteenth of which, 4s. 9d.

During the reign of Edward the Third, a powerful baron in the neighbourhood attempted to rob the burgesses of some of their privileges; but after a stout contest, he was forced to yield to the law, which was decidedly in favour of the townsmen. All the successive monarchs confirmed, and many of them enlarged, the privileges which previous charters had granted to Colchester.

As a return for these fa

yours, the burgesses on many occasions assisted, by their purses or by their personal services, the monarchs in the expensive wars which the latter were so frequently carrying on. For instance, for the war which Henry the Eighth entered into against the Emperor, the burgesses of Colchester agreed to supply—

The nombre of xv hable fotemen, well furnyshed for the warres; whereof three to be archers, everye oone furnyshed with a good bowe in a case, with xxiii good arrowes in a case, a goode sworde and a dagger; and the rest to be billmen, having besydes theyre bills a good sworde and a dagger.

On the destruction of monastic establishments in the reign of Henry the Eighth, the poorer inhabitants of the town suffered greatly from the cessation of that charity which was wont to be shown to them by the religious establishments: this was, indeed, one of the few evils which lessened the great good produced by that change in the religious arrangements of England, and which shortly after gave rise to a poorlaw in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Charles the First granted the title of Mayor to the bailiff or chief magistrate of Colchester; but it does not appear that this favour won the attachment of the townsmen to the unfortunate king, for throughout the civil war, Colchester furnished large supplies of men, military stores, and money, to the parliamentarian army; and Oliver Cromwell placed great dependence on the support he received from Colchester. After this, the town became, in 1648, the scene of a desperate conflict between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. A Royalist army had possession of, and defended, the town; while a parliamentarian army, under Fairfax, besieged it: the mayor and inhabitants of the town being for the assailants rather than for the defenders. After a siege of seventy-six days, the Royalist garrison, to the amount of upwards of 3000 men, surrendered; their stock of ammunition being reduced to a barrel and a half of powder, and their provisions being nearly exhausted. St. Botolph's Church, together with 183 houses, were destroyed during the siege; and after it the walls were destroyed, and the inhabitants had to pay a fine of 12,0007.

The great plague of 1665 destroyed nearly 5000 persons in Colchester. Since that period nothing of an historical nature need be recorded here, except that various charters and confirmations of pre-existing charters, have been given to the town by successive monarchs.

We must now speak of the situation and aspect of the town. The principal part of Colchester occupies

the summit, and northern and eastern sides of a fine eminence, rising gradually to the height of 112 feet above the River Colne. The situation is pleasant and healthy, and allows of an extensive prospect over the country in various directions. The Colne is a river that rises a few miles westward of Colchester, and falls into the German Ocean at a distance of fifteen miles south-east of the town; a constant supply of oysters, soles, and other kinds of fish, is brought to Colchester up the river. The soil within the town is a dark-coloured sand; but without, it is a dry gravelly loam, well calculated for the culture of turnips. Many gardeners near Colchester supply the town with vegetables, and also send a supply of seeds to London and other places.

The town, with its liberties, is divided into sixteen parishes, eight of which have their churches within the ancient walls, four without, and four in the liberties. The parish of St. Mary at the walls contains, among other buildings, the church, which was so much injured during the siege, that it was found necessary to rebuild it in the beginning of the last century. It is a plain building, consisting of a nave, and two aisles, whose length is seventy feet, exclusive of the chancel, which is ten feet by fifteen. The church-yard, surrounded by rows of shady lime-trees, forms a favourite place of resort in the summer season.

The parish of St. Peter contains a very ancient church, in which the episcopal and archidiaconal visitations are held, and which the members of the corporation attend, once a fortnight, in their robes, it being the principal church in the town. The church had a narrow escape from earthquake in 1692.

Colchester was governed by a portreeve in the time of William the Conqueror; afterwards by a bailiff and burgesses; and subsequently by a mayor and corporation. Colchester was one of the very first towns that sent members to parliament; it even preceded the city of London in this respect; for Colchester

first obtained that privilege in the twenty-third year of Edward the First; and London in the twenty-sixth. The borough has continued, both before and since the Reform Act, to send two members to parliament.

The chief source of wealth to Colchester arises from the supply of the agriculturists of the neighbourhood with manufactures, in return for the productions of the earth. In former times there were certain manufactures carried on, which have since been discontinued. As long ago as the time of Edward the Third, the woollen manufacture was caried on to a considerable extent at Colchester. In the reign of Elizabeth, some Dutch refugees settled in the town, and introduced what is called bay and say making, being a particular branch of the woollen manufacture. The inhabitants considered these persons as interlopers, and for some time treated them rather roughly; but the government interfered, and restored harmony between the two parties. The Fleming weavers continued their manufacture with a good deal of spirit and success, until the Spanish war in the reign of Queen Anne, when it began to decline; after the peace of Utrecht in 1728 the Flemings dissolved their fraternity; and the manufacture afterwards became insignificant.

The oyster-fishery has always been of considerable importance to Colchester. The fish are found in abundance in the Colne, and the management and property of the fishery have been vested in the town ever since the reign of Richard Coeur de Lion. Licences are sometimes granted by the corporation to private persons, allowing them to fish and dredge oysters; and a court of conservancy is occasionally held, to regulate all matters pertaining to the fishery. The manufacture of silk was established at Colchester some years ago, and continues in a respectable, though not very extensive state *.

*See the Saturday Magazine, Vol. VI., p. 199, for an account of the interesting ruins of St. Botolph's Priory Church.

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LONDON: Published by JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND, and sold by all Booksellers.

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II.

THE OLD HALL AND WHITTINGTON'S LIBRARY.

In the first article on this subject we gave a brief sketch of the train of circumstances which preceded and were preparatory to the founding, by Edward the Sixth, of the charitable institution of Christ's Hospital: we must now detail the gradual developement of the benefits which it was intended to afford. Within five months after the death of Edward, the buildings belonging to the old Grey Friars' convent were sufficiently restored to accommodate three hundred and forty children, who were admitted in November, 1553 Besides these, two hundred and sixty children were daily fed at Christ Church. During the infancy of the institution, the Hospitals of St. Thomas and Bridewell were so far connected with Christ's Hospital, that the expenses were defrayed out of one common fund; but afterwards, from the necessity of appointing separate boards of governors, and from the particular bequests of individuals, they became three distinct corporations, united with, and yet in some degree independent of, the corporation of London. This separation was so far beneficial, that benevolent persons were enabled to select, from among these charitable institutions, that one which appeared to them most deserving of their bounty. From this time, constant additions were made to the revenue of Christ's Hospital, by donations, bequests, and legacies. Richard Casteller, a shoemaker in Westminster, left lands which, though worth only forty-four pounds per year at that time, VOL. XVII,

have now become very valuable. The revenues accruing from Blackwell Hall were about this time made over to Christ's Hospital by the corporation: this hall was, according to the ideas of those times, intended for the protection of the woollen trade, as no woollen cloth was allowed to be sold in London until it had been entered at Blackwell Hall. Various fines and penalties, derived from different sources, were also to be payable into the funds of the hospital, so that its revenues assumed a heterogeneous character. Monthly collections were also made in the different city parishes; and the proceeds handed over to the hospital.

There have occasionally been complaints made, that the Blue Coat School, as at present managed, does not fulfil the purposes of the original founder, and that it was intended for the poor and destitute only. Such certainly appears to be the case at a cursory examination of the subject; but the Rev. W. Trollope, in his excellent history of the institution, traces the various circumstances which led to gradual changes in the plan of proceeding; changes which seem to show that the spirit, though not the letter, of the founder's intentions has been always observed. The estates originally vested in the hospital were by no means adequate to its support when the number of the inmates became large, and it was necessary, in accepting gifts from other quarters, to attend to the conditions on which those gifts were made, most of which conditions were, that poor persons, coming from

539

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