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sixty thousand, of whom four thousand reside in | alarm being given, when the monks are drawn up by Argostoli, and five thousand in Lixuri.

CERIGO.

We now direct our attention to the most southerly of the Ionian Islands. If we look at the map of Greece, we see a small island, distant a very few miles from the extreme south point of the Morea: this island is Cerigo, and may perhaps be considered as the most southern point of Europe.

The island is of an irregular oval shape, about twenty miles long, twelve broad, and fifty in circumference. At the north is Cape Sparti, having a chapel on its extremity; to the south is Cape Capello, close to which is situate the harbour, and immediately above is the chief town, called Kapsali, containing about five thousand inhabitants. The streets are few and badly built, the houses being mostly constructed of wood. The shops display no tempting merchandize; and the whole appearance of the town shows it to be inferior to those on the other islands. The island is in general covered but scantily with soil: it is barren and little cultivated. Consequently the population are indebted to the Morea for nearly all the necessaries of life, even wood itself. Their diet is chiefly fish; and the greater part of the natives either turn pirates, or enter as mariners in the service of the merchantmen who frequent the Archipelago. The oil produced on the island is said to be exquisite in its quality, and esteemed more than that in any of the other islands. The demand for it occasions this article to be comparatively dearer than any other; insomuch that the inhabitants have often imported a cheaper oil, to enable them to part with their own. The rocky soil is extremely favourable for the growth of olive-trees.

While speaking of olive-plantations, we may allude to an opinion expressed by Dr. Davy respecting them generally, as connected with these islands:

The capabilities of the Ionian Islands are very great, and their advantages, in relation to soil, climate, and situation, were they what they might be, would surpass most other regions of the globe. At present, with the exception of the currant islands, their population is scanty, and the people generally are poor, and a large proportion of them wretched and ignorant. The olive-plantations which, during the best times of the Venetians, constituted the wealth of Corfu, are now almost its curse. The island is almost overrun with them, and requiring but little cultivation, they have given rise to habits of indolence, which have been the ruin of the people, especially associated with habits of carelessness, partly perhaps owing to the uncertainty of the crop of olives, which of all crops is the most precarious, depending on circumstances of weather of a very delicate nature, and on a succession of circumstances baffling all calculation.

means of baskets, after the manner of the Copt
monasteries in Egypt. The establishment consists of
about sixty brothers, with a grand and sub-prior, &c.,
who are supported by a revenue derived from landed
possessions in Greece and Russia. There are several
noblemen and well-educated gentlemen among the
brothers of the order, who have a good library, and
comfort that a seclusion from the world will
every
admit of.

We will close this paper with a description of the mode in which the marriage ceremony is performed to the usage of the country, the girl who is to become at Cerigo, as witnessed by Mr. Kendrick. According a wife is conducted by her mother, accompanied by a number of friends, in front of her intended husband's house. On the threshold of the door are

placed several agricultural instruments. The mother presents them, one after the other, to the bride, with these words "With these implements must thou children, with whom the Panagia may, in her bounty, work equally with thy husband, for the benefit of thy think fit to bless thee both." Afterwards, a piece of bread, made from the corn common to the island (maize) is presented to her, which she eats, whilst her mother pronounces a kind of benediction in these words: "May the Panagia, in her bountiful mercy, never fail of sending thee sufficient for the family's sustenance, and mayest thou have grace enough to return thanks for such bounty."

THERE is even room for philosophy in the courts of princes, but not for that speculative philosophy that makes everything to be alike fitting at all times; but there is another philosophy that is more pliable, that knows its proper scene, accommodates itself to it, and teaches a man, with propriety and decency, to act that part which has fallen to his share.-SIR THOMAS MORE.

THERE are more than ten thousand stations in the land

from which is proclaimed aloud every seventh day, that there is a God above, a Providence, a judgment, a heaven, there is a settled impression on men's minds that these a hell. It is mainly through this constant iteration, that things are true. They may disregard or attempt to stifle it, but then the belief is fixed, and is more efficient to prevent crime than the most vigilant system of human law. But how much more is that moral influence increased, when we consider the peculiar doctrines of the cross; when we remember that, week after week, and day after day, God's the Gospel,-telling men of the purity of God, who marks ministers are employed in inculcating the great truths of setting forth to awakened consciences the true nature and not only our deeds, but our very words and thoughts,— that if "the wicked man will turn from his sin, he shall sure consequences of sin,-and promising, in God's name, save his soul alive,"-shall have pardon for the past through But to return to Cerigo. To the north of the a crucified Saviour, and grace to lead a new life in godliharbour is a ruin called "Pales Castro," which stands ness and honesty. Consider that there is in every district on the ancient town of Menelaus. There is still to in the land, a minister of religion commissioned by God, be seen the remains of a bath, which by the inhabit-human authority is of course infinitely inferior in value to and authorized by the State, to proclaim these truths. His ants is said to be that of Helen, the faithless wife of that which he receives from God; still, practically, and Menelaus, and who caused the famous siege of Troy. with reference to its effect on human nature, it is of great To the south-east of a mountain named Santa Sophia, importance. He, and he alone, is authorized to administer from a church dedicated to her, which stands at its the sacraments of the Church; publicly on the Lord's day, basis, there is a cavern of immense proportions, the and privately every day, to preach to the people the doctrines and duties of Christ's religion; to admit children to the Christian Church, instruct the ignorant, reprove the ungodly, console the afflicted, bless and sanctify the marriage vow, and consign the dead with decent honour to the grave: in short, to invest all the incidents of life with the sacred garb of religion. Without an establishment, more than half of the country would be destitute of these advantages; parish churches would fall to ruin; no divine worship would be offered in them; no marriages solemnized, no infants baptized; the dead would be buried in ditches, with barbarous irreverence. Surely such a change would fling us back into worse than Druidical barbarism.-GRESLEY.

entrance to which leads to a number of chambers cut into the rock, adorned naturally by stalactites.

Near Cerigo are one or two small islands. One of these is called Strophades, and is about five miles in circumference. On its eastern coast is situate the celebrated convent of the Redeemer, built of white freestone, resembling marble, to a height of ninety feet, divided into four parts, each protected by a tower. The access is only by means of a door leading to the vaults, which is closed up immediately on an

THE CROW.

THE ROOK, (Corvus frugilegus.)

Ir is remarked by Bishop Stanley, that people who live in towns, or who are not much versed in matters relating to natural history, are very apt to consider the rook and the crow as one and the same bird, alike as they are in size and colour, and seen, as they sometimes are, spread over our fields, or uttering their well-known cawings on the top of some hedge: yet they are as distinct in their characters and habits as a rabbit and a hare. In order to assist the reader in distinguishing between the external appearance of the two birds, we give representations of them both, but the difference in size is not quite so great as is here indicated. In the course of the following description of the crow, many remarks will serve to illustrate the chief points of difference between these two members of the corvus tribe, as to habits, &c.

By referring to the Saturday Magazine, Vol. XVI., p. 150, the reader will perceive what are the average dimensions of a rook. The common black crow, or carrion crow, is a little larger than a rook, being about twenty inches in length, twenty-six in the breadth of the expanded wings, and twenty ounces in weight. The plumage of this species is wholly black, with the exception of a slight greenish tint on the upper part. The carrion crow appears to unite the dispositions of two or three species of the same family. In form, colour, and predatory habits, it resembles the raven; in restlessness, and a disposition to hoard, it is like the jackdaw; and in general cunning and sagacity it has some traits of the magpie. This bird is less commonly seen amongst us, and far less sociable in its habits than the rook, nestling in retired places, and generally passing the summer in extensive forests, whence it issues only for the sake of procuring food for its young.

The general food of the crow consists of young birds, eggs, and carrion, and its habits are so gross that it has been described as a bird which plunders all that it can find, kills all that it can master, and feeds greedily upon any garbage that comes in its way. Crows frequently appear in small flocks, and act as scavengers in the neighbourhood of towns and villages, eating up the refuse which would otherwise be offensive. The same thing often occurs on seashores, where the dead fishes and birds which are cast up by the waves are greedily devoured by the crows: if they meet with a muscle or a cockle, and fail in the attempt to break through the hard shell, they have been seen to seize the shell in their bill, mount to a great height in the air, and let it fall on a hard rock, by which the shell is broken, and the fish exposed as a prey to the bird. This circumstance must have been known in early times; for we read in an ancient author of a crow, which, having taken up an oyster to a considerable height, dropped it on the

bald head of a philosopher who was walking on the beach, thinking it to be a stone, and that the unfortunate possessor of the bald pate was killed thereby. The accident itself is within the verge of probability; but we much doubt whether a keen-eyed crow would make such a blunder as is here attributed to him. It has been said that James Watt, a philosopher of more modern times, might have had his head broken by similiar means, for he was once a witness of the carrying up, by a crow, of a crab, which was then let fall with great force on the beach.

Crows have a tendency to linger about preserves, warrens, pastures, and other spots where timid or weak animals are collected together, and, on any favourable opportunity, to pounce on their unfortunate prey, peck out their eyes, and, if too heavy to be removed from the spot, leave them dead, and return to the carrion at pleasure. In some places the destruction of eggs and young birds is very great, and the crows will even peck the seed-corn and seed-potatoes out of the ground. On one occasion, a person walking near a plantation, heard a shrill cry, and on running to see from whence it arose, discovered a crow fastening itself on a young rabbit, weighing nearly three-quarters of a pound, which was making great efforts to release itself, but in vain; for the crow succeeded in bearing it over two or three fields. From living chiefly on animal food, the sagacity of the carrion crow appears to be rendered acute in discovering not only a dead carcase, but also animals which are weak and sickly: when one of these birds, therefore, is seen lingering about alone in any unusual spot, it may be generally suspected that a dying animal is not far from that place: as the animal weakens, the crow approaches nearer, and when the devoted prey is no longer able to defend itself, the crow pecks out its eyes and then easily masters it. It was remarked by Sir E. Home, that the crow is often accused of destroying the grass, by pulling it up by the roots; but that this is not really the case, the circumstances being as follows:-In searching for grubs which are concealed in the earth, and which live on the roots of the grass, the crow pulls at the blade of grass with its bill; and when the grass comes up, the bird knows that there are under it insects which have destroyed the roots, and in this way detects them; but if the blade of grass remains firm, the crow goes to another part of the field; the plucking of the grass, therefore, is only a means for attaining a particular end, that end being the collecting of insects as food. In a field where grubs are very abundant, the crows scatter the grass on every side, so as to give the appearance of having rooted it up.

Such are a few of the most prominent points respecting the food of the crow: we will now proceed to other details illustrative of its habits and instincts. It is said that the crow may be easily tamed, and converted into an entertaining inmate of a house, capable of distinguishing at a glance, a stranger from one of the family, and also capable of something like grateful recognition. In proof of the last-mentioned remark, the following anecdote is given::-A crow which had been reared and kept by a gentleman for a long time, suddenly disappeared, and was supposed to have been killed; but as the owner was walking out about a year afterwards, a crow flying over his head, in company with others, left them, and, flying towards him, perched upon his shoulder. He soon recognised it to be his lost crow; but the crow appeared to be too fond of his twelvemonths' liberty to wish to return to friendly captivity again.

One of the most remarkable circumstances in the history of the crow, is the large assemblies of these

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hovering over, and watching for the opportunity of carrying off a prize. The moment the crows made one of their periodical assaults, the whole tribe of gulls was set in commotion, some crouching down on the nests, to protect the eggs, and others raising a shrill cry to daunt the intruders. The crows however generally succeeded in their object, thrusting their beaks into the gulls' eggs, and bearing them off. In one particular season, the female crow being shot, the male disappeared, but returned again in a few days, bringing with him a new mate, to assist in the work of depredation.

Crows were so numerous in England in the reign of Henry the Eighth as to be thought an evil worthy of parliamentary redress: an act was passed for their destruction, in which rooks and choughs were included. Every hamlet was to provide crow-nets for ten years, and all the inhabitants, at certain times during that space, were to assemble and consult on the best means for their extirpation. It was formerly called the gor-crow, to distinguish it from the rook, and was considered a bird of unlucky omen.

birds which sometimes congregate in one spot, for | two crows were perpetually on the look-out, frequently some purpose which is yet a matter of discussion among naturalists. These assemblies have attracted the more attention on account of the generally solitary habits of the bird; and some curious instances of them have been given in a popular little work on British Birds. In the northern parts of Scotland, as well as in the Feroe Islands, extraordinary meetings of crows are known to occur; the birds collect in great numbers, as if they had been all summoned for the occasion: a few of the flock sit with drooping heads, and others seem as grave as judges, while a third party are exceedingly active and noisy; in the course of about an hour they disperse, and it is not unusual, after they have flown away, to find one or two left dead on the spot. There seems every reason to believe that these meetings partake of a judicial character, for Dr. Edmonston states that they will sometimes continue, for a day or two, before the object, whatever it may be, is completed;-crows continuing to arrive from all quarters during the "session:' as soon as they have all arrived, a very general noise ensues, and shortly after the whole of them fall upon one or two individuals, and put them to death; after which they quietly disperse. Another instance of the same kind is related with respect to an assembly of storks as having occurred near the small village of Oggersheim, on the banks of the Rhine;-this we mention here as illustrative of the peculiar animal instinct under discussion. In a large meadow near the village a number of storks assemble in the autumn, previous to the annual migration. At one of these meetings, about fifty were observed, formed in a ring round one individual, who appeared greatly alarmed. One of the party then seemed to address the conclave, by clapping its wings for several minutes. He was followed by a second, a third, and a fourth, in regular succession, each one seeming, as far as we can understand such dumb language, to express his opinion by a similar clapping of wings. At last they all joined in the same act, and then, pouncing on the poor culprit, speedily despatched him: after this they departed. Somewhat similar habits have been observed to [4 Familiar History of Birds: their Nature, Habits, and Instincts prevail among herons, magpies, starlings, and other birds; and the nature and objects of these assemblies are attracting the notice of many ingenious naturalists.

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black-thorn branches.

The nest of the crow very much resembles that of others of the corvus tribe, but differs from that of the rook in this circumstance, that the latter bird lines its nest with long fibrous roots, which are neatly interwoven into a sort of fine basket-work; whereas the crow prefers to line its nest with a thick mattress of wool, rabbits' fur, and similar soft matters, laid over a clumsy wall of clay, which is built within a strong basketing of birch twigs and The crow may, however, be said to be more attentive to the nests of other birds than to its own, for the purpose of plundering them of their eggs. A curious instance of this kind is described as having been observed, year after year, off the coast of Wales. Near the South Stack Lighthouse some gulls, who had been driven away by the proceedings of the workmen engaged in building the lighthouse, ventured to return and to build their nests on various parts of the rock near the lighthouse. Here they remained in quiet, until two crows came, and built a nest directly opposite the spot where the gulls' nests were situated in greatest number: this they appeared to have done for the express purpose of stealing the gulls' eggs; for no sooner did the gulls begin to lay, than the

THE CROW, (Corvus corone.)

By EDWARD STANLEY, Lord Bishop of Norwich.]

AN attribute so precious, that, in my consideration, it becomes a virtue, is a gentle and constant equality of temper. To sustain it, not only exacts a pure mind, but a vigour of understanding which resists the petty vexations and fleeting contrarieties which a multitude of objects and events are continually bringing. What an unutterable charm does it give to the society of the man who possesses it! How is it possible to avoid loving him whom we are certain always to find with serenity on his brow, and a smile on his countenance?

AMONG the virtues which ought to secure a kind regard, we universally assign to modesty a high rank. A simple and modest man lives unknown, until a moment, which he could not have foreseen, reveals his estimable qualities and his generous actions. I compare him to the concealed flower, springing from an humble stem, which escapes the view, and is discovered only by its perfume. Pride quickly fixes the eye, and he who is always his own eulogist, dis penses every other person from the obligation to praise him. A truly modest man, emerging from his transient obscurity, will obtain those delightful praises which the heart awards without effort. His superiority, far from being importunate, will become attractive. Modesty gives to talents and virtues the same charm which chastity adds to beauty.

We are guilty of the whimsical contradiction of judging our own ideas with complacency, and of pronouncing upon those of others with severity; while we every day sacrifice principles which we esteem, through fear of being blamed by people whom we despise.

GARDEN HERBS. No. VII.

BALM. Marigold.

Fresh balm and marigold of cheerful hue.

In almost every garden we find the handsome-looking herb called balm, which is ornamental as well as useful, and is particularly attractive to bees from the abundance of honey which is obtained from its flowers. The Greek name Melissa (a bee) has been given to the plant on this account, and it has also been called apiastrum, from apis, the Latin word for a bee. The herb was used equally with mint for rubbing the hives previously to taking a swarm, and appears to have had the effect of attaching the colony to its new settlement. Pliny speaks of this method of securing bees, and says, that where there is plenty of balm in the garden, there is no fear of the swarms straying. Virgil also notices the effect of this herb in bringing back bees that have strayed

from their hive.

When you the swarms 'scaped from the hive descry
Like a dark cloud blown through the summer sky
Swimming the boundless ocean of the air,
They still to pools and leafy bowers repair:
There juice of balm and woodbine sprinkle round,
Strike jingling brass, and tinkling cymbal sound;
The loved perfume will sudden rest inspire
And they, as usual, to their hives retire.

LAUDERDALE. 'Balm was first cultivated in this country about the year 1573. It is a perennial plant flowering in June and July, and looks very pretty when in blossom, especially the species called great-flowered balm, which has purple flowers of a pleasing odour. The herb commonly cultivated in our gardens is a native of the mountains of Geneva, Savoy, and Italy. It belongs to the natural order Verticillate, and is a member of the same family as the common calamint (Melissa calamintha), which stands in the rourteenth class and first order of Linnæus. There is a very handsome plant called bastard-balm, or balm-leaved archangel (Melittis), which is commonly introduced in flower-gardens, and which like the true balm yields a great deal of honey. Both plants may be readily propagated by parting the roots so as to leave five or six buds to each, and planting them out in the spring and autumn in beds of common garden-mould.

Balm has an aromatic odour and taste, and is esteemed by some persons as a substitute, as pleasant as it is innocent, for foreign tea. The infusion made from the green herb, is much better than from the dry, which is contrary to the general rule in regard to other plants.

The medicinal virtues of this herb are greatly lauded in the old English herbals, but as they are much the same as those ascribed to several other herbs, it is useless to repeat them. As a grateful and cooling drink in fevers, we are willing to give balm tea a particular notice, and to recommend it to the attention of our readers. It may be made still more refreshing by the addition of a little lemon juice.

Evelyn tells us of another way in which to employ this herb. He says, "this noble plant yields an incomparable wine,"-also, that "sprigs of freshgathered balm put into wine in the heat of summer give it a marvellous quickness."

An essential oil may be obtained from the flowering tops of this plant, which is very fragrant, and which may be used in preparing an imitation of eau de Cologne.

MARIGOLD.-Calendula.

When with a serious musing, I behold The grateful and obsequious Marigold,

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How duly every morning she displays

Her open breast, when Titan spreads his rays;
How she observes him in his daily walk,

Still bending towards him her small slender stalk:
How when he down declines, she droops and mourns,
Bedew'd (as 'twere) with tears till he returns;
And how she veils her flowers when he is gone,
As if she scorned to be looked on
By an inferior eye; or did contemn
To wait upon a meaner light than him.
When this I meditate, methinks the flowers
Have spirits far more generous than ours;
And give us fair examples to despise
The servile fawnings and idolatries,
Wherewith we court these earthly things below,
Which merit not the service we bestow.

GEORGE WITHER. 1635,

The property of closing the petals at sunset, which is possessed by the marigold, in common with other plants belonging to the same class, (syngenesia,) has attracted the attention of several of our poets. Browne, in his Pastorals, and Shakspeare, in his Winter's Tale, allude to the circumstance; and Chatterton mentions The Marybudde, that shutteth with the light.

But it is not this property of the plant which claims our notice here; for we are to consider it merely as one of the usual inhabitants of the herb garden, and to inquire into its uses as such.

The marigold is a native of the south of Europe, and was introduced and cultivated here at about the same period, or a little prior to the introduction of balm. Its botanical name of calendula is supposed to be derived from calenda, the Latin for the first day of every month, and to have been given to it on account of its long continuance in blossom.

Gerard describes five sorts of marigold, which were known to him before the year 1597; but it would seem that they differed from each other only in consequence of accidental difference of soil or culture, and were not distinct species; for he says, "All these five, which formerly had so many figures, differ nothing but in the bignesse and littlenesse of the plants and flowres, and in the intensenesse and remissnesse of their colour, which is either orange, yellow, or of a straw-colour." The species now alluded to, Calendula sativa, he says, was so much used in Holland, that "the yellow leaves of the flowres are dried and kept throughout Dutchland against winter, to put in broths, in phisicall potions, and for divers other purposes, in such quantities, that in some grocers' or sellers of spices' houses are to be found barrels filled with them, and retailed by the pennie, more or lesse, in so much that no broths are well made without dried marigolds." The custom still prevails in Holland, and marigolds are greatly valued by all ranks of persons in that country.

The flowers of this plant were formerly esteemed of use in various complaints, such as jaundice, measles, small-pox, &c., and patients suffering from pestilential fever were sometimes tormented with a plaister, made with the dry flowers in powder, lard, turpentine, and rosin, applied to the breast, which was said to "strengthen and succour the heart infinitely!" leaves were likewise used in salads, and were said to be a proper food for persons of a scorbutic habit.

The

The principal medicinal use of the herb, however, appears to have been as an alleviation of ague, and we have testimony of its usefulness in this respect at the present day, when taken frequently in the form of tea. The petals, or rather the yellow florets which compose the ray of this flower, have an aromatic smell, and, when chewed, are found to be warm and somewhat pungent in taste: hence they derive their sudorific virtues, in which they are said to be scarcely inferior to saffron itself. The resemblance between

the colour of marigold and saffron, in the dried state, is sufficiently near to allow of the former being used as an adulterant to the latter.

Marigolds are cultivated in the neighbourhood of London to some extent, and have a beautiful appearance when in blossom, which may be almost said to be all the year round, for during a mild winter the plants are continually putting forth their buds. The uses to which they are applied are chiefly for the flavouring of soups and broths, in which the florets are boiled, and communicate a pleasing taste. Virgil notices the marigold in the second eclogue

of his Bucolics.

Cassia and Dill are added to the store,
With cowslips, marigolds, and many more
In order wove, a garland to complete,
Adorned with every flower and every sweet.
And Gay, in his burlesque Pastorals, asks,

What flower is that which bears the Virgin's name, The richest metal joined with the same? Nothing can be more common or familiar than this plant, and the provision which is made for its propagation will ever cause it to be so. The seeds are numerous, and sow themselves every year, even if the ground is frequently disturbed; so that where marigolds have once been, there they will appear again and again, unless care be taken to eradicate them ere the seed is perfected. These self-sown plants, however, gradually degenerate, and become smaller and weaker than those which are produced from annual sowings. To procure the flowers in their greatest perfection, the seed should be sown early in April, in a light soil, and when the young plants come up, they should be hoed out to six or eight inches apart, and afterwards removed into another bed, and placed at a similar distance from each other. Nothing more is required to keep them healthy than that they should be cleared of weeds occasionally. The plants come early into flower, and, when fully expanded, the blossoms should be gathered on a dry day, separated from the stalk and calyx, spread on a cloth in an airy room to dry, and, after a few days, during which they should be frequently turned, they will be sufficiently dry to be placed in drawers, or in paper bags, for

use.

CONFIDENCE AND DISTRUST.

RIGHTEOUSLY have jealousy and suspicion been ever regarded as among the meanest and most hateful features of the human character, as features which cannot coexist with any gentle or generous feeling. And as they poison the heart in which they lurk, so do they not only blight the happiness, but degrade the character, of those who come under their shadow. To think and believe ill of our brethren is the very way to make them what we believe them to be: to think and believe well of them encourages them and makes them better. Your despair of them drives them also to despondence: your hope of them fills them with hope. The one dismays them, almost as if they saw the spectre of their sins stalking abroad in the sight of the world; the other is like the angel of their better nature, cheering them and beckoning them forward. The most conspicuous examples of this are those of such frequent occurrence in war; where there is the most immediate occasion for combined energy; and where the noblest, and perhaps the most valuable quality in the character of a general is confidence in his soldiers. Your hearts must have glowed, when you heard of that heroic and sublime battle-cry, England expects every man to do his duty. What then must have been its power on those who heard it, with the enemy full in sight! The spirit that gave it could not but conquer: well might he feel that in giving it he had done the utmost he could do: and the shout that replied to it from the whole fleet was an instantaneous assurance of victory. This too was one of the victories of Faith, So will it ever be. -HARE.

ON POISONS AND SECRET POISONING. No. I.

THE word poison is a relative, not an absolute term; for while substances, ordinarily considered as poisonous, cease to be so under some circumstances, so other bodies, usually of an innocuous nature, sometimes, by reason of the presence of constitutional peculiarities, produce the most serious or fatal results. Thus the most virulent poisons, as prussic acid, arsenic, and corrosive sublimate, become, when employed in minute doses by the skilful physician, valuable means of restoring health: the power too acquired by habit of resisting the effects of poisons is seen in the opium-eating Turk; but perhaps the most extraordinary example of this on record is that of the man seen by M. Pouquerville at Constantinople, in 1798, known by the name of Suleyman, the corrosive sublimate taker. He was then nearly a century old, had long habituated himself to the use of opium, and finding at last that this drug did not produce the effect desired, he had recourse to corrosive sublimate, which he had taken, when M. P. saw him, for a period of thirty years, his dose at that time being a dram daily. Examples of an opposite kind are numerous, but we will only mention that Morgagni relates an instance of poisoning by bread made from the farina of a chesnut, and Donatus another of the ill effects which always attended an individual whenever he partook of eggs.

The branch of science which treats of the history, detection, and treatment of the effects of poisons, is called Toxicology, than which none has profited more by the great progress made in modern times in chemistry, and other portions of medical knowledge. The result attained is an improved method of treatment, which has rescued many a life rashly hazarded, and a nicety of analysis, which has been repeatedly instrumental in detecting criminal design, and in defending reputation, where this has been unjustly im| puted.

Poisons might be arranged according as they are derived from the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms, but it has been found more practically useful to class them according to the effects they produce upon the animal economy, as originally recommended by Foderé: he made five classes, but more recent writers have reduced these to three, viz., 1st, irritant or acrid poisons, which produce irritation, inflammation, or corrosion of the parts with which they come into contact when swallowed; 2nd, narcotic poisons, which show their effects chiefly upon the brain, causing a deprivation of sensibility; 3rd, narcotico-acrid poisons, which may produce either or both of these effects. The poisons of the first class are found in the mineral kingdom, as arsenic, mineral acid, lead, &c.; in the vegetable, as hellebore and savine; and in the animal kingdom, as cantharides and poisonous fish: those of the two other classes are derived solely from the vegetable kingdom, as opium and henbane, hemlock and nux vomica. Much controversy has occurred respecting the mode in which poisonous bodies affect the system, but it would seem to result, from the experiments of Sir Benjamin Brodie, Professor Orfila, and other inquirers, that, although poisons may sometimes act by being absorbed into the blood, yet they ordinarily produce their effects by the impressions they make upon the nerves with which they come into contact.

Sismondi observes that the terrible art of poisoning is the first branch of chemistry acquired by barbarous nations. All states, having any pretensions to civilisation, have always held it in just abhorrence, as the most cruel and cowardly of all modes of assas

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