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instrumental cause. In the flourishing with which their sides are covered

times of the Roman republic, the most meritorious of her sons were wont to regard their country as the well-spring of all their honour and happiness, and to speak of her as the darling of all their delights. The philosophic and accomplished Cicero tells us, in an elegant chapter of his Offices, that our country embraces every thing that is dear to us, and has greater claims upon our self-devotion than parents or the dearest friend we have. A traveller has no need to, be informed that a mountain or hilly range is, in common phraseology, every thing to the surrounding country, for without it there is nothing sublime in scenery, nothing to give birth to rivers that water the plains, and become the medium of commercial intercourse. Hence we see that there is a peculiar fitness in the choice of a mountain as an emblem of a nation. Mountains that are liable to volcanic action, before an eruption takes place, are generally the most fertile, and the most attractive of all eminences. Illustrations of this remark are found upon a magnificent scale in Mexico, and among the rest, that of Jorullo in the extensive intendency of Valladolid, lying on the west coast of America, between the intendencies of Mexico and Quadalaxara (pronounced Quadalahàra.) Mechoacan, a part of it, is an expanse of table land, which enjoys a fine and temperate climate, and is intersected with hills and charming valleys, presenting an appearance unusual in the torrid zone, of extensive and wellwatered meadows. On the twentyninth of September 1759, from the centre of a thousand burning cones was thrown up the volcano of Jorullo, a mountain of scoriæ and ashes, seventeen hundred feet high, in an extensive plain and covered with most luxuriant vegetation. When we speak here of plains, hills, and valleys, the reader will please to bear in mind that these are all of them reared upon the lofty chain of the Andes, for volcanic eruptions only, so far as we know, take place in mountainous regions. But the most remarkable examples that have fallen under the writer's own observation, are to be met with in the Spice Islands, or Moluccas. The pointed and conical mountains, which characterize this group of islands, present a maximum fertility. Nothing can surpass the richness of vegetation

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nor the balmy healthfulness of th breezes that circle round them to tem per the heats of the sultry zone. Bu the geognostic nature of these mountain is closely connected with volcanic ac tion; so that in fearful apprehension we might look at each one of these beautiful peaks, as if it were destined one day perhaps to be torn from its station and thrown into the sea. It would not be fancy or groundless fear, if we were to think that a time may come when the threat will be executed literally upon the most beautiful among them. "I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain." We see that it has been fulfilled in reference to Ternate, one of the most lovely of the cluster. The top of the highest peak has been torn off, and thrown from a height of five or six thousand feet into the sea. A huge gap was left behind, which seemed to the writer, when standing upon the edge, like a deep valley or ravine betwixt two mountains. As the portion rent away in this tremendous struggle was split into fragments of various sizes, there is, besides a vast pile at the water's edge, a road, or causeway, strewed with half-vitrified pieces of rock and cinders, from the margin of the rift to the declivity of the mountain; so that the island, so lovely under other aspects, presents on this side a fearful scene of desolation. What a striking comment on the words, "I will make thee a burnt mountain!" I will tear off thy summit, shiver it into ten thousand pieces, and therewith overwhelm and destroy the natural verdure of thy sides, which once looked so goodly and so fair. Some time in March of the year 1839, another eruption took place at Ternate; so that long before these ejected matters could yield to the decomposing action or weathering of the atmosphere, and afford a pabulum for vegetable growth, another layer of the same forlorn and broken kind was scattered over them. When the writer read the account of this catastrophe, he could not help reflecting with some emotions of inward awe, that a few months before he had stood upon the brink and viewed the mighty hollow from which "a stream of red-hot lava" had been projected.

We have reason to suppose that the Chaldean or Babylonish nation at first

exercised a mild and protecting sway over the surrounding nations, and rescued and defended them from worse masters, the Assyrians. Something to this effect seems intimated in the beautiful language of Daniel :-" The beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it." And this was an allegoric representation of that king whose dominion then extended to the end of the earth. Of ancient Rome it was said, that her senate was a haven for shelter, a place of refuge for kings, states, and nations; regum, populorum, nationum portus erat et refugium senatus, (De Off. lib. 2, cap. 8. ii. ;) and that in better times magistrates and generals laboured to earn the greatest praise by protecting the allied nations with uprightness and impartiality. Neighbouring states oftentimes at variance with each other, or distracted with civil broils at home, found it to their interest quietly to submit to a foreign yoke and exchange the form of liberty for the blessings of a solid protection and peace. Babylon, it is probable, like the Romans, made war by policy, no less than by arms; and that policy consisted in part in allowing the conquered nations to share in her own prosperity. Whence the ground for the encouragement given by the gracious protector of Israel. "And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace," Jer. xxix. 7. She was then the guardian as well as the mistress of the countries that acknowledged her supremacy, and became the source of their wealth and happiness, like one of those spicebearing hills of which we have been speaking, till the Almighty visited her for the wrong done to his temple, and made her a burnt mountain.

The latter of the two verses we have selected for illustration deserves a comment. The rock, of which volcanic mountains are generally composed, is so liable to alteration, from the influence of the air, that it is unfit for building material where durability is required, especially for those parts on which the strength of the edifice chiefly depends. "And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations." We have seen temples where trap or volcanic rock is found, but the ma

terial had been brought from another country. Connected with this want of durability, trap is incapable of being wrought into any required nicety of form, or of receiving a good polish. Those qualities which render it so friendly to vegetation, its clay and its decomposable nature, are among the worst for architectural purposes. There is a peculiar aptness and propriety in the denunciation; so that with regard to this burden or sentence of Babylon, it might be said, "Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth." G. T. L.

GENTLE REPROOFS.-No. I.

THE WAGONER.

To walk abroad in quest of errors, and to mingle among mankind in the character of a reprover, would be little better than to act the part of a stingingnettle. But to rebuke with a kind and gentle spirit the faults of those who people our daily paths, may be attended with advantage. As the seed that is sown springs up after many days, so a prudent admonition, though at the time unheeded, may rise to remembrance in a future hour.

A wagoner as he passed along Cheapside, and turned along the Old Jewry with his loaded wain, lashed his horses unmercifully. The eyes of many persons were attracted to the spot, but no one ventured to interfere. There are cases wherein horses require the whip, but this was not one of them; and even had it been otherwise, nothing could have justified the vindictive cruelty exercised towards the poor brutes. On went the wagon, and on also went the wagoner, lashing without intermission the sides and flanks of his horses, in a manner so seemingly malicious that I could no longer patiently endure the sight of such barbarity.

Before I could overtake him, the driver had flogged his horses into a trot; but that circumstance by no means arrested his cruelty, for as he ran, he flogged away as savagely as before. At last, getting before him, I took down the name and address printed on the board in front of his wagon, and then asked him whether he would not be very angry if any one else should use his horses half so ill as he had had used them himself?

The man looked affrighted, especially when I inquired of him what reason he

could give me why I should not call upon his master, and procure his dismission from a place of trust which I feared he was altogether unworthy to

fill?

He began to throw the blame on one of his horses, but that gave him no advantage with me, inasmuch as he had unmercifully lashed them all. My mind, at the time, was nearly made up to go direct to his employer, and from him, should I fail in my object, to proceed to the office of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; but reading, | I suppose, determination in my countenance, the wagoner begged hard for mercy. He said that he had a good master; that he had kept his place for six years; and that if he lost it, he should be a ruined man. After some reasoning with him, in which I tried to convince him that I wished to do him good rather than harm, I promised to forgive him on condition that he would forgive his horses; leaving him to understand that, having his address, I should certainly take some little trouble to ascertain whether he did or did not use his horses kindly.

Some time after turning away, I failed not to put myself in a situation to observe unperceived his conduct to his team; but not a single wanton lash did he inflict on the poor brutes under his care. It is too much to expect that a cruel disposition will be corrected or effectually controlled by one gentle reproof; but sure I am, that if the benevolent passer-by would more frequently interfere in such cases, firmly yet kindly and forbearingly, rather than churlishly and angrily, much, very much might be done to limit the cases of cruelty that too generally abound.

In passion's tide and cruelty's excess
Rebuke thy brother, but with gentleness.
By mild reproof, in kindly words arrayed,
Meek as a lamb the lion may be made.

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TRUE CHARITY DIFFUSIVE.

IF God has bestowed his gifts upon us in the greatest abundance; if he have filled our granaries with corn, and multiplied our flocks in the fold, but has not enriched us with that fraternal affection wherewith we should support one another; if he has not given us a bountiful heart and a charitable hand to give some of our goods to the relief, and some of our bread to the nourishment of the poor-he hath given us but half a blessing. Wealth is but a confused lump, till bounty shape and put it into form; but a dead useless piece of earth, till charity animate and quicken, and by sending it abroad make it current, and by distributing it to several hands, give it heat and motion.—King.

COMFORT IN SORROW.

Miss Jewsbury thus wrote to Mrs. Hemans:-"I feel that you are sad, and I know that you are lonely, and by the time this reaches you,

Wishes, vain as mine, may be,
All that is left to comfort thee!'

But my hopes are strong for the future. So cheer up, or rather believe that you will cheer up-'Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' 'At even-tide there shall be light.' There was One, and in Him the hope of the world was centred, who said in an extremity of anguish, 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death:'-emphasize that my, and see what force it gives; and then, as an old poet says,

ness.

'Hang all your hopes upon his arm.'"

THE DESIGN OF THE GOSPEL.

It is the great design of the gospel to restore us to holiness as well as to happiHence the law, in the commands of it, runs through all the gracious dispensations of God to fallen man. Nor will God have any regard to them in a way of grace, who have no regard to his law in a way of obedience. The law constantly requires and points out our duty; it shows us our sin, it lays us under condemnation, and makes us seek a refuge in the gospel of forgiveness. Now the gospel is not prepared for such as knowingly and wilfully renounce the law of God, which is holy, and just, and good, and who persist in this practice, and abandon its precepts.-Dr. Watts.

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A WHALE ON THE BRITISH SHORES.

ON the 5th February, 1840, a large mass was observed by the coast guard, gently floating towards the Charmouth beach. At first it was mistaken for the hull of a wreck; but on grounding, it was perceived to be an immense fish. The moment it felt the ground it began the most desperate efforts to escape; the tail and fins were worked with such force that the water, sand, and stones intermingled flew about in showers to a considerable distance; but the tail being outwards, all this struggle only served to bring it further into the breakers, and there, as it became exhausted, the preventive men got a rope round the tail, by which it was brought broadside to the waves; and in about an hour from the first landing, it died. No effort of the men could then move it; but a mighty breaker reaching it, turned it over, and left it at high water mark, with its back to the sea, half buried in sand and stones. The inhabitants of the village were of course soon attracted, and among them the writer, who found the flesh still warm, and the tongue quivering. The whale was really a beautiful creature, although inanimate; the colour above was fine deep blue black, and beneath delicate cream white, with light pink, but with death it became less vivid.

As removal while whole was found to
FEBRUARY, 1841.

be impossible, and as there was danger of the prize being carried off by the next tide, the lord paramount of the manor, (to whom as a drift from the sea it belonged) directed it to be cut into five parts, which was effected by a large twohand saw, and this with great labour; after three days of continual effort, it was removed into the village, and exhibited as a curiosity to visitors from all parts of the country around for a week. The money obtained during the first three days, amounting, it was supposed, to between twenty and thirty pounds, after deducting expenses, was given to the preventive men, and others who laboured in securing and removing the monster of the deep.

It was pronounced by the naturalists, who flocked to the inspection, to be a whale of the kind called Balaenoptera boops, or acuto-rostrata, and not the common species. It had two fins at the side and one on the back, and was longitudinally wrinkled or furrowed, from the under jaw to the end of the abdomen; of course it was destitute of teeth, and furnished with whalebone in the upper jaw; there were about six hundred and thirty plates, averaging about two feet long and six inches wide at the largest part, terminated with fine fringe, through which the food can be strained of water and sand. The extreme length was forty-four feet, and the girth at the

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widest twenty-one feet. It was a young | for preserves, with special orders female, supposed not half grown; the fat was about four inches at the thickest; the skin very thin and pierced in many places on the back about an inch deep; the lean resembled coarse beef. After being exhibited for a few days, it was bought by an inhabitant of the village; the lean taken off for manure, and the fat, after hard labour of two days and two nights, converted into oil, sufficient to fill three hogsheads, and proving equal to a very good spermaceti. The bones were then buried in lime, and with great care made perfectly clean. The deserving speculator, with much ingenuity, contrived to fix the whole together into a perfect articulated skeleton, and has placed it under a long shed for exhibition to the curious. On dissection, only sixty vertebræ were found, being two less than the number assigned by naturalists. The accompanying plate is a faithful representation of the scene during the struggle, and may be depended on as giving a correct representation of the whale.

UNCLE BARNABY ON OPPORTUNITY.

My uncle's housekeeper, Mrs. Rogers, was a great stickler for doing things in their proper season. When myself a thoughtless boy, I sometimes felt half inclined to join Arthur Longley in his laugh at the old dame's particularities; but I was even then sometimes struck to observe, and all the experience of growing years has confirmed the observation, how greatly the comfort and usefulness of life are promoted by punctuality and promptitude in seemingly trivial matters. The old lady was by no means given to scolding; yet if she saw business neglected or property wasted, she was evidently discomposed; and it was with her no uncommon phrase of reproof, "You miss opportunities, and hence you are always in trouble." She was particular in giving her directions to the servants under her control, and specified not only the things required to be done, but the time, method, and order of doing. As these directions were the result, not of caprice, but of a judicious plan, if they were not duly observed, irregularity and. confusion would necessarily ensue. Once, I recollect her having, early in the forenoon, given orders for the gathering of some fruit

watch the weather, and bring in t fruit perfectly dry. About noon a heav rain came on. Mrs. Rogers hastened put a stop to the fruit gathering, and t take care of such as was already ga thered, when, to her great mortification she found that the whole crop still re mained on the trees; the man to whom she gave the order having intended t execute it in the afternoon, and em ployed the whole morning in cutting up wood. "Ah," said Mrs. Rogers, " you are a silly fellow, you will never do any good; for you squander opportunities. Those who do not make hay while the sun shines, are likely to beg and have nothing in winter, as they richly deserve. You might have chopped wood under shelter at any time; but perhaps another favourable opportunity for gathering the fruit may not occur all the season. So, indeed, it proved; for the rain which then set in continued, with little intermission, for two or three weeks: the raspberries became mildewed on the trees, and till raspberry season came round again, Mrs. Rogers had to complain, that there was not a bit of raspberry jam but what was bought; and all owing to that stupid, careless Richard, who wasted opportunities.

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It was on occasion of one of these trivial domestic occurrences, that my uncle took up the sentiment, and said to us boys,

"True enough; few people are aware how much good they let slip, both in trifles and in matters of importance, for want of seizing opportunities."

At the moment my uncle uttered these words, Frank was opening a letter which he had just received from a schoolfellow. It commenced with the oldfashioned and most unmeaning phrase, "I take this opportunity of writing you these few lines -"My friend Leslie," said Frank, "does not come within the compass of my uncle's remark; for he makes opportunities where none exist, and where none are needed. He can write at any day and hour that he pleases, and the post leaves town every day; so he need not wait for an opportunity, when he chooses to write; and when he does so, he need not congratulate himself on embracing a favourable opportunity." "True," said my uncle, "it is very silly to cram a sheet with unmeaning expletives, or to use any phrase or word, without a real and appropriate meaning and design. The

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