oaths, "am I blind?"-"Bliud!" exclaimed one of the company; what should make you blind?"—" Why, I can see nothing," answered the sinner.-"That is your own fault," coolly observed his friend; "for my part, I can see well enough;" and he drank a toast, as if nothing whatever had happened. This convinced the blasphemer that he had lost his sight; and to add to his horror, it struck him that Providence had inflicted the blow as a punishment for his intolerable wickedness. Under this impression he began to rave and cry, and he finally fell a praying, uttering such expressions as made his two companions ready to burst with restrained laughter. When they thought they had punished him sufficiently, and began to fear that his mind might be, affected if they continued the joke any longer, one of them went to the door, and admitted the light. He was, of course, overwhelmed with shame at the exhibition he had been compelled to make, which had such an effect that, from that time forward, he entirely abandoned his abominable habit.-Cabinet of Curiosities. THE TOOTHLESS COMPANY. A VERY old gentleman told me that he was once invited to dine with a lady of some distinction at Bath, about his own age, where he met a party of inmates to the number of eight, the lady herself making one. On sitting down to the table, the seven guests looked at the dinner with some surprise, there being nothing solid to be seen in any one of the dishes; no joint of any sort, but soups, minced meats, stewed vegetables. jellies, syllabubs, creams, &c. This old lady amused herself a short time with witnessing the strange looks of her company, before she explained to them the mystery. She then told them that, having an exact knowledge of their circumstances, and a sympathetic feeling towards them, she had resolved to make a feast for the whole party, suited to their condition; that she had reason to know, that though eight in number, they had not one tooth amongst them all, and she had therefore ordered a dinner, upon which they need not bestow a thought upon the, lost power of mastication. Such an odd piece of kindness, as the old gentleman told me, kept them so laughing at dinner time, that they found the toothless meat almost as difficult to swallow as if it had consisted of bones.-Heraldic Anomalies. RAINBOW RUFFS. In a sermon preached at Whitehall, before King James the First, on the occasion of the nuptials of James, Lord Hay, with the only daughter of Lord Denny, on Twelfth Day, 1607-8, the author, Robert Wilkinson, derived his text from the Proverbs, chap. xxxi. verse 14, namely, She is like a merchant's ship, she bringeth food from afar;" and the grand object of his discourse was, to trace points of resemblance between a woman and a ship. The following extract, having a direct reference to the female fashions of that period, will exemplify the manner in which this comparison was made: "But of all qualities, a woman must not have one quality of a ship, and that is too much rigging. Oh! what a wonder it is to see a ship under full sail, with her tacklings and her masts, and her tops and top-gallants, with her upper decks and her nether decks, and so be-deckt with her streamers, flags, and ensigns, and I know not what: yea, what a world of wonders it is to see a woman created in God's image so miscreate oft times with her French, her Spanish, and her foolish fashions, that he that made her, when he looks upon her, shall hardly know her, with her plumes, her fannes, and a silken vizard, with a ruffe like a saile, yea, a ruffe like a raine-how, with a feather in her cap like a flag in her top, to tell (I think) which way the wind will blow." lb. Times of general calamity and confusion have ever been productive of the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm.-Lacon. None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them; such persons covet secrets, as a spendthrift covets money, for the purpose of circulation.-Ib. If things were to be done twice, all would be wise. If all the fools wore white caps, we should look like a flock of geese. If you would have a good servant, take neither a kinsman nor a friend. If it were not for hope, the heart would break. If you cannot bite, never show your teeth. If you would wish the dog to follow you, feed him. If you would have a thing kept secret, never tell it to any one; and if you would never have a thing known of you, never do it. ITEMS OF NEWS. The state of things in Great Britain seems verging towards a tremendous crisis. The tories are struggling for their lost power. The whigs are not sufficiently republican for the radicals. And the latter, for the sake of overthrowing them, and accomplishing a thorough reform, appear disposed to play a most consummate game, by uniting with the tories to oust the whigs, and then, by putting the tories in their place, to incite the people to revolution. The effective force of the French army for the present year, is stated officially to be 512,000 men. It is said that Talleyrand has expressed the opinion that Joseph Bonaparte will within one year be seated on the throne of France. An Austrian officer has lately been condemned to three years confinement in a fortress, and to be struck off the list of the army, for having acted as second to a friend in a duel. in England, of whom but 4 were executed. During the last year, 583 individuals received sentence of death The accession which has been made to the population of Michigan, since the opening of navigation this season may be estimated at between 5000 and 6000. One of the Mormonites has become dissatisfied with his new faith and brethren, and has denounced them all, in a Westfield N. paper, in the words following:-"And now I testify to you beexercises different from other times, since I joined the Mormons; fore God and these witnesses, that I never had any impression or that the tongues spoken by me are of my own invention; and that, as far as my knowledge extends, the whole is a farce: and may my fate be like that of Annanias and Sapphira, if I do not speak the truth honestly before God." Col. AARON BURR, (who is now between 75 and 80 years old,) was married lately to the rich widow of Stephen Jumel, at Haerlem Heights, N. Y. here, free of postage, will be furnished with four copies for one Companies of four individuals, sending FIVE DOLLARS, current year. Companies of ten, sending TEN DOLLARS as above, will be furnished with ten copies. single subscriber, cannot conveniently be sent by mail, it will be As the sum of $1 50, which is the price of the Magazine to a necessary that two subscribers at least send payment in a letter together. IF Schools adopting the Magazine will be supplied at ONE DOLLAR per annum for each copy. The postage on the Magazine is 3-4 of a cent under one hundred miles, and 1 cent and 1-4 for any distance over [From the Tourist.] THE FOUR NEW PLANETS-VESTA, CERES, PALLAS, mers on account of their smallness: their orbits are between those of Mars and Jupiter. The nearest of these to the Sun is called VESTA, and it is calculated that her mean distance from him is 222,000,000 of miles. She is very small, but no accurate admeasurement has yet been made of her diameter. THE BOOK OF JASHER: with Testimonies and Notes, WITHIN the present century, four new planets have Critical and Historical, Explanatory of the Text.-been discovered, which had escaped the notice of astronoTranslated into English from the Hebrew by FLACCUS ALBINUS, of Britain, Abbot of Canterbury. 4to. WE have the pleasure of introducing to our readers, in this volume, a work of no small interest, whether its pretensions to antiquity be genuine or spurious. It purports to be the Book of Jasher, quoted in the Old Testament, in the books of Joshua and Samuel. Every document which refers to so early and obscure a period of the world's history, and which records events previously known to us only on the testimony of Divine revelation, must be an object of much curiosity; and this we will endeavour, in the present instance, to gratify, by bringing before our readers the evidences which attest its authenticity, and some account of the subjects on which it treats. The Editor, to whom we owe the publication of the volume before us, states in the outset that he is unable to assert any thing respecting it of his own knowledge, further than the account given by Alcuin, the discoverer and translator of it; which, he says, carries with it such an air of probability and truth, that he does not doubt of its authenticity. This account we have con-densed into the following narrative : I, Alcuin, was desirous of travelling into the Holy Land and into Persia, in search of holy things, and to see the wonders of the East. I took with me two companions, Thomas of Malmesbury, and John of Huntingdon, who learned with me the languages necessary to be known, under able teachers; and, though we went as pilgrims, yet we took with us considerable riches. We embarked at Bristol, and went first to Rome, where the Pope blessed us, and encouraged us in our undertaking. From Rome we went to Greece, and thence to the Holy Land. After having visited every part of the Holy Land, particularly Bethlehem, Hebron, Mount Sinai, and the like, we crossed an arm of the Persian Gulf at Bassora, and went in a boat to Bagdad, and thence by land to Ardevil, and so to Casbin. Here we learned from an ascetic, that in the furthermost part of Persia, in the city of Gazna, was a manuscript in Hebrew of the Book of Jasher, which he reminded them was twice mentioned in the Bible, and appealed to as a book of testimony.We immediately undertook the journey to Gazna, and on arriving there we laid aside the pilgrim's dress; and I hired a house, where we dwelt during our stay in the city-a period of three years. I soon became acquainted with the keeper of the library, which belongs to the community of this city, and inquired of him concerning the Book of Jasher, of which the recluse at Casbin bad told us. He said he had read of such a manuscript in the catalogue of the library, but had never seen it, though he had been custos for forty-five years; that it was locked up in a chest and kept among the antiquities in a separate part of the library. [To be Continued.] Alcuin flourished in the eighth century. He was one of the most distinguished ornaments of the court of Charlemagne, and founded the University of Paris in the year 800. Vesta performs her revolution round the Sun in five years and twenty-three days. The length of her day and night is unknown. Vesta was discovered by DR. OLBERS of Bremen, March 29, 1807. The next of these planets is Ceres, which is 265,000,000 of miles from the Sun, and performs her revolution round him in 4 years, 21 days and a half. Her diameter has been estimated at 160 miles. CERES was discovered Jan. 1, 1801, the first day of the present century, by M. PIOZZI of Palermo, in Sicily. This planet was so named in honour of Ceres Ferdinandez, King of Naples. PALLAS, discovered by DR. OLBERS, March 28, 1802, is exceedingly small, being, according to Dr. Herschel, not more than thirty miles in diameter, though by others she is estimated at 110. She is 265,000,000 of miles from the Sun, and makes a circuit of her orbit in the same time as Ceres does. JUNO, discovered September 1, 1804, by M. HARDING, of Lilienthal, near Bremen, revolves at about 290,000,000 of miles from the Sun, and is 5 years, 182 1-2 days performing her course. She appears like a star of the eighth magnitude, but the measure of her diameter has not yet been ascertained. Her orbit lies between the orbits of Mars and Ceres. TELESCOPIC APPEARANCE OF JUPITER. FROM the contemplation of these diminutive planets we turn to the mighty JUPITER, which, from his immense bulk, is very probably named after the fabulous king and father of the gods and men. This immense planet is 89,170 miles in diameter, and is about 1400 times larger than the Earth. His mean distance from the Sun is computed at 490,000,000 of miles, and he moves in his orbit at the rate of about 25,000 miles an hour, or about one-fourth of the velocity of Mercury. But while his motion in his orbit is thus comparatively slow, his diurnal rotation on his axis is amazing, being not less than 26,000 miles an hour. The time of Jupiter's revolution in his orbit is 11 | years, 315 days, 14 hours; and on his axis, 9 hours, 56 minutes: his year is therefore 12 of ours, but his astronomical day is not half so long as that of the Earth. JUPITER, when viewed through a telescope, appears to have a luminous atmosphere in which spots and streaks are seen, the latter of which are denominated Belts. That these are formed in some fluid substance is evident from their frequently varying their number, their form, and their direction. Sometimes several belts are seen across the body of the planet; sometimes these coalesce into one broad belt; sometimes the belts are in a diagonal* direction, but this is a rare occurrence. If we may hazard a conjecture, it seems probable that this luminous atmosphere is intended by its GREAT CREATOR to supply the want of light to Jupiter, occasioned by his great distance from the Sun; for as the Sun appears to Jupiter forty eight times less than he does to us, his light must be so small in proportion; and if the satellites of Jupiter reflect only the light they receive from the Sun, the assistance they afford must be trifling indeed. If, on the contrary, we suppose Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, to be thus provided with a supply of light in addition to that which they receive from the Sun, the spots and belts on their surface will be rationally accounted for, as well as the brilliancy of their satellites, which are at too immense a distance to be completely illuminated by the Sun's rays. The openings in the atmosphere of Jupiter, by which his opaque body is partially seen, assume the form of belts, probably in consequence of the great swiftness of his rotation on his axis. The form of Jupiter is that of an oblate spheroid, his equatorial diameter exceeding his axis by six thousand miles; this, however, is so small in comparison with his bulk, as to detract but little from his rotundity. he is in his apogee, or greatest distance: as this is about a quarter of an hour, light traverses the diameter of the Earth's orbit in that time, and consequently from the Sun to the Earth in between seven and eight minutes. The difference of longitude between two places may be found by a person at each of the places observing the same eclipse of one of Jupiter's satellites; the difference of the computed time being turned into degrees and minutes, reckoning an hour equal to fifteen degrees, will give the difference of longitude between the two places. Both the planets and their satellites appear to move in a different direction at different times; at one period seeming to move from west to east, and at another from east to west; the former is called their direct, and the latter their retrograde motion. When a planet is arrived at the eastern or western extremity of its orbit, it seems for a time to be stationary, though it is in reality moving with its usual velocity; these appearances are merely the result of the situation of the planet's orbit as it respects the Earth. The satellites of Jupiter sometimes transit his disc, but are too distant to be observed in that situation, unless with a very powerful telescope, especially as their illuminated side is then wholly or partially turned towards the Earth. Notwithstanding the different periods of their revolution, these satellites sometimes rise at the same time, and sometimes all are on the meridian together. In these positions they must present a very interesting spec tacle. The satellites of Jupiter were first discovered by Galileo, in 1610, who called them Medicean stars, in honour of the family of Medici, his patrons. NATURAL HISTORY. The axis of Jupiter is nearly perpendicular to the plane of his orbit, so that he has no variety of seasons; this is another proof of infinite wisdom in the arrangement of Before leaving the subject of Phrenology, we will inthe planetary worlds; for had his axis been much introduce as a matter of curiosity an antique cut repreclined, vast tracts round the poles would have been de-senting the phrenological scheme of the celebrated prived of the Sun's influence for six of our years together. Jupiter is attended by four secondary planets or satellites, which revolve round him as their primary, and with him round the Sun; the first of these, which is rather more distant from him than the Moon from the Earth, performs its revolution in 1 day, 18 hours, 27 1-2 minutes; the second about 420,000 miles distant, revolves in 3 days, 13 hours, 133-4 minutes; the third about 676,000 miles distant in 7 days, 3 hours, 42 1-2 minutes; and the fourth about 1,200,000 in 16 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes. Imagination cannot picture to itself a more magnificent and sublime object than Jupiter, when viewed from his satellites. The Earth appears exceedingly large and splendid to the inhabitants of the Moon, it being fortynine times the bulk of that satellite. But what must this be compared with the view of Jupiter from the nearest satellite; the distance is but little more than that of the Moon from the Earth; yet, the bulk of Jupiter is 68,000 times that of the Moon. The satellites of Jupiter are at certain times hidden from the view of the Earth in two ways; either by their passing through the shadow of their primary, which constitutes an eclipse of the satellite, or by passing behind his body, which is denominated an occultation. By accurate observations made on these Eclipses and occultations, the distance of Jupiter from the Earth, the progressive velocity of light, and the longitude of places may be determined. The velocity of light may be discovered with tolerable accuracy, by observing how much sooner an eclipse of one of his satellites may be seen when Jupiter is in his perigee, or nearest distance from the Earth, than when the ninth century. It will be perceived that his system Johannes Scotus Erigena, who flourished in Ireland in was much more simple than that of the modern phrenologists, but that it contains, notwithstanding, the phrenological principle, in that it divides the brain into different departments, assigning to each a particular faculty of the mind. olfac Gusta. No. 1. Fantasia. 2. Sensus Communis. 3. Imaginativa. 4. An inscription which cannot be deciphered. 5. Cogitativa. 6. Es timativa. 7. Memonrativa. We will now proceed from the brain to other parts of the human system; in doing which, we will resume our extracts from "Goodrich's Family Encyclopedia." THE THORAX or Chest consists of the upper portion of the trunk of the human body; it is enclosed by the ribs, having the sternum or breast bone in the front, and a portion of the bones of the back behind. It is separated from the liver, stomach, intestines, &c. by the diaphragm, or midriff. The thorax contains the lungs, heart, &c. and numerous blood vessels, nerves, and absorbents. It is also separated by a membrane called mediastinum, into a right and left portion. The RESPIRATION is that action of the lungs and diaphragm consisting of the process of inspiration and expiration, by which air is received into and expelled from the thorax or chest. The quantity of air taken into the lungs at each natural inspiration, is supposed to be about 15 or 16 cubic inches; the number of respirations made in a minute is about 20. The WINDPIPE is a cartilaginous and membraneous canal, through which the air passes into and from the lungs. It is divided by anatomists into three parts,the larynx, the trachea, and the bronchia. The larynx is a hollow cartilaginous organ at the top of the trachea. The air which passes through it during the respiration produces the voice. The trachea is that portion of the windpipe which extends from the larnyx to the bronchia. The bronchia is a term given to the trachea after it has entered the thorax or chest; here it separates into two branches, one of which communicates with the right and the other with the left lung. The LUNGS are two viscera situated in the thorax, by means of which we breathe. The lung in the right cavity of the chest is divided into three, that in the left cavity into two lobes. They hang in the chest, attached at their superior part by means of the trachea, and are separated by a membrane called mediastinum. They are funished with innumerable cells, which are formed by a continuation of the trachea, the bronchial tubes of which communicate with each other; the whole appears not unlike a honey-comb. The most important use of the lungs is for the process of respiration, by which the circulation of the blood appears to be immediately supported; and, doubtless, by their alternate inflation and collapsing, they contribute with the diaphragm to promote the various functions of the abdominal viscera, such as digestion, &c. For the change which the blood undergoes in its passage through the lungs, see the following articles. The HEART is a hollow, strong, muscular viscous, having the shape of a cone or pyramid reversed. Its size varies in different subjects; it is generally about six inches long, and, at the base, about four or five wide. The younger the subject, the larger is the heart in proportion to the body. It is often smaller in tall and strong men than in others. It is situated on the left side of the thorax, and is surrounded by a membrane called pericardium or heart purse; it is also imbedded, as it were, in the left lung. Its weight, with the pericardium, is usually from ten to fifteen ounces. It is the centre of the circulation of the blood: of course, from it all the arteries arise, and in it all the veins terminate. It is divided internally into a right and left ventricle; these are divided by a fleshy septum. Each ventricle has two orifices; one auricular, through which the blood enters, the other arterious, through which the blood passes out. These four orifices are supplied with valves. There are also two cavities adhering to the base of the heart called auricles. The heart has, in the living subject, an alternate motion, consisting of contraction and dilation, called systole and diastole, by means of which the blood is circulated throughout the body. The heart is said to contract 4000 times in an hour; hence, as each ventricle contains one ounce of blood, there passes through the heart every hour 4000 ounces, or 350 pounds of blood. The whole mass of blood is about twenty-eight pounds, so that this quantity passes through the heart thirteen or fourteen times in an hour, or about once in An ARTERY, or a pulsating blood-vessel, is a cylindrical canal conveying the blood immediately from the | heart to all parts of the body for the purposes of nutrition, preservation of life, generation of heat, and the secretion of different fluids. The motion of the blood in the arteries is called the pulse: it corresponds with that of the heart. The pulse may be felt in various parts of the body, but the most usual place of feeling is at the wrist. From seventy to eighty pulsations in a minute are commonly the number which in the adult subject is considered, as far as the pulse is concerned, to constitute health. In children, however, the pulse is much quicker than this; and in old persons slower. Wounds in arteries are always dangerous, and very frequently mortal; hence the wisdom evinced in the structure of man: all the arteries are deeply imbedded in flesh, or other surrounding media, while the veins, a wound in which is comparatively unimportant, are plentifully scattered on the surface of the body. The blood in the arteries is of a florid red colour. A VEIN is a blood-vessel, which returns the blood from the various parts of the body to the heart. The veins do not pulsate; the blood flows through them very slowly, and is conveyed to the heart by the contractility of their coats, the pressure of the blood from the arteries, the action of the muscles, and respiration; and it is prevented from going backwards in the veins by valves, of which there are a great number. The blood in the veins is of a much darker red than that in the arteries. Before we treat of the blood itself, it may be useful to know the component parts of atmospheric air, so essential to the life of all warm blooded animals. AIR was for many ages considered as a simple homogeneous fluid; and it was not till towards the end of the last century that it was found to be a compound body. Common air is composed chiefly of two gases, of which one, oxygen, forms of it 24 parts by weight, and the other, nitrogen, forms of it 76 parts; or about 21 parts of the former, and 79 of the latter by bulk. These proportions are found the same in whatever part of the world the experiments are made, or from whatever height in the atmosphere the air is obtained. It ought however to be mentioned, that besides these ingredients, common air contains a very minute portion of carbonic acid gas, but that portion is in general so small as not indeed to be considered of any moment. Of the two portions of atmospheric air, the oxygen only supports animal life or combustion. Thus, if an animal be inclosed under a bell glass, containing atmospherical air, it will live in it till all the oxygen is absorbed by its breathing, and then it instantly dies; the same takes place when a lighted candle is inclosed under similar circumstances; hence the necessity and importance of this fluid to animal existence. But although only about one fourth of atmospheric air can support life, it yet appears that such a mixture is more advantageous for animal life than oxygen alone; thus evincing the wisdom of that mixture found every where as atmospheric air. In what state of combination the two gases are which constitute common air, is not exactly known; but we well know that a more intimate union of the same materials produces most powerful agents, namely, the nitrous and the nitric acids. The BLOOD is a red fluid of a saltish taste, of a somewhat urinous smell, and glutinous consistence, which circulates in the heart, arteries, and veins, conveying nutrition, heat, and excitement to the whole body. The quantity of blood in the human body is estimated to be about twenty-eight pounds in an adult. Of this, four parts are contained in the veins, and a fifth in the arteries. The blood being returned by the veins, of a dark red color, to the heart, is sent from that viscous into the lungs, to undergo some material change by coming in contact with atmospheric air in the air-cells of the lungs; after which, as has been stated, it is returned to the heart again, of a much more florid color, and then impelled into the arteries, to be distributed over the body. The heat of the blood is usually about 98 degrees. THORACIC DUCT, an important vessel, called the trunk of the absorbents. It is attached to the bones of the back, and extends from the lower opening of the midriff or diaphragm (a membrane which separates the heart and lungs from the stomach, bowels, and other abdominal viscera,) to the angle formed by the union of the left subclavian and jugular veins, into which it opens and evacuates its contents, there to be mixed with the blood. Those contents consist chiefly of chyle, a whitish or milky fluid, separated from the food by the process of digestion, and taken up by the absorbents thickly spread over the intestines, and by them conveyed to the thoracic duct. INTERIOR OF THE OPERA HOUSE IN LISBON, Now that we are on the ravages of the earthquake at Lisbon, we will introduce several extracts from another account of the same event, for the purpose of giving several additional cuts by way of illustration of that tremendous scene. These extracts are from "Davy's Letters on Literature," purported to have been communicated to him by an English merchant resident at the time in that ill-fated city. They follow. There never was a finer morning seen than the 1st of November; the sun shone out in its full lustre; the whole face of the sky was perfectly serene and clear; and not the least signal or warning of that approaching event, which has made this once flourishing, opulent, and populous city a scene of the utmost horror and desolation, except only such as served to alarm, but scarcely left a moment's time to fly from the general destruction. It was on the morning of this fatal day, between the hours of nine and ten, that I was set down in my apartment, just finishing a letter, when the papers and table I was writing on began to tremble with a gentle motion, which rather surprised me, as I could not perceive a breath of wind stirring. Whilst I was reflecting with myself what this could be owing to, but without having the least apprehension of the real cause, the whole house began to shake from the very foundation; which at first I imputed to the rattling of several coaches in the main street which usually passed that way at this time from Belem to the palace; but on hearkening more attentively, I was soon undeceived, as I found it was owing to a strange frightful kind of noise under ground, resembling the hollow distant rumblings of thunder. All this passed in less than a minute, and I must confess I now began to be alarmed, as it naturally occurred to me that this noise might possibly be the forerunner of an earthquake, as one I remembered, which had happened about six or seven years ago, in the island of Madeira, commenced in the same manner, though it did little or no damage. Upon this I threw down my pen, and started upon my feet, remaining a moment in suspense, whether I should stay in the apartment or run into the street, as the danger in both places seemed equal; and still flattering myself that this tremor might produce no other |