with their armorial bearings, descents, and services to the State; a chronicle of the Count's administration in Peru; the story of the cure of the Countess, and of the introduction of the febrifuge into Europe; a history of the castle and town of Chinchon, where the Countess dispensed her healing bark; and a topographical and botaniical description of the surrounding country. second part contains a Plea for the Correct Spelling of the Name of the Genus which commemorates the debt of gratitude that the world owes to this Spanish lady. The Memoir is illustrated by coats of arms, maps, and views of the castle and town of Chinchon.

SCIENCE AND ART.

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WHOM SCIENTIFIC MEN REPRESENT.- A very interesting and suggestive book, entitled Histoire des Sciences et des Savants depuis deux Siècles, has been published by Mr. Alphonse de Candolle of Geneva, in which he shows what has been done during the last two hundred years in recognition of scientific merit among foreigners by the Royal Society of London, the Academy of Sciences at Berlin, and the Academy of Sciences at Paris. The men chosen by these three learned bodies would be acknowledged as fairly representing the science of the day, and Mr. de Candolle has sought to identify the class of society to which those men belonged. Taken a given number of the English and German associates of the Academy at Paris, he makes out that thirty-seven belong to the aristocratic or wealthy class, forty-nine to the middle class, and six only to the working class; from which it appears that the largest amount of scientific brain was contributed by the class lying between the extremes. To compare this result, Mr. de Candolle takes a given number of names of Frenchmen who were foreign members of the Royal Society and of the Academy at Berlin, and shows that ten came from the aristocratic or wealthy class, seventeen from the middle, and nine from the working class. Here the proportion in favor of the working class is the more remarkable, seeing that generally scientific pursuits are not lucrative, but necessitate expense, that they require great patience, perseverance, and self-denial, and are incompatible with the pleasures of the world. The satisfaction of having discovered a new truth, and the esteem of a few philosophical minds, is often the only recognition or recompense of a life devoted to science.

Mr. de Candolle extends his inquiry into the domain of religion, and taking the same period (1666-1872), and the same body of foreign associates of the Academy at Paris, as are referred to above, he finds that seventy-three were Protestants, and sixteen Roman Catholics. Of this it may be said that the population of Europe is more than one-third Protestant; but applying the same test to France, a country almost entirely Catholic,

we see that of the French foreign members of the Royal Society, the number of Protestants and Catholics is about equal. Omitting the population of the British Isles, this shows that the Protestants, in proportion to their numbers, have produced three times as many scientific men as the Catholics. Noteworthy is it that in the list of names of the foreign associates of the Paris Academy, here in question, there is not a single Catholic among the English, Irish, Swiss, or Austrian, and but very few among the Germans. And from the same list it appears that, in the majority of instances, the fathers of the men therein signalised were Protestant pastors.'

Mr. de Candolle cites a list of names of eminent men of science born in Holland and Switzerland, and shows that, by descent, they belong to France, and would have been reckoned among Frenchmen, had not their parents been driven forth by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

Subjecting nationality to the same test, Mr. de Cadolle finds that Germany advances, England remains stationary, and France declines.

FIRE AND BUILDING-STONES.-Which kind of building-stone best resists the action of fire? is a question which has attracted a good deal of attention since the great fires in Chicago and Boston; and Dr. Ott, of New-York, shows that limestones, as a class, are the most unsuitable for building purposes, owing to the rapidity with which they calcine when exposed to a high temperature. And among the limestones, those which contain magnesia give way the soonest, and are therefore to be avoided. Of the primitive rocks

granite, gneiss, and mica are untrustworthy, for they crack to pieces even when exposed to radiant heat. In their natural state they contain water, and the stone explodes by the raising of its temperature. For these reasons, Dr. Ott gives the preference to the sandstones, which have an enormous heat-resisting quality; and with the sandstones he ranks those artificial stones which contain lime and alumina silicate, which, as is known, withstand almost any amount of heat.

GIGANTIC FOSSIL BIRD.-Fossil bones of a gigantic bird of prey have been discovered in NewZealand, exceeding in size any yet known. Dr. Haast, F.R.S., the government geologist, says, in describing these bones, that the phalanges are nearly as large as those of lions and tigers in the longed must have been of prodigious strength. present day, and that the bird to which they be

And after having seen its curved talons, he adds, the fable of the bird roc no longer seems so very extravagant and strange. A human being would have stood a very poor chance against so formidable a foe. It is believed that this gigantic bird hunted down and ate that other big bird known as the Moa.

THE AURORA.-The aurora has long been regarded as a mysterious phenomenon, subject to

no law, and too capricious to be associated with other appearances. But within the past few years physicists have discovered a certain periodicity in displays of auroræ, and that the grandest occur at intervals of about sixty years. Since then, attempts have been made to show a dependence between aurora and sun-spots, or to connect them with phenomena of magnetism, both of which, as many readers are aware, have an eleven-yearly period of maxima and minima. Professor Loomis, of Cambridge, who has well considered the question, says, in a recently published paper, we are not to suppose that a black spot on the sun exerts any direct influence on the earth's magnetism or electricity, but that the spot is evidence of some disturbance on the sun's surface, which instantly affects the earth's magnetism, and occasions a flow of electricity wherein the auroral light is produced. It may be that there is a direct flow of electricity from the sun; and if light and heat are the result of vibrations of a rare ether which fills all space, electricity may be assumed to be similarly produced, or to be at least a force capable of being propagated through the ether with a velocity equal to that of light. While travelling through the void celestial spaces, it develops no light; but as soon as it reaches the earth's atmosphere, which appears to extend to a height of five hundred miles, it then does develop light, and its movements are controlled by the earth's magnetism, in a manner analogous to the influence of an artificial magnet upon a current of electricity circulating around it.

Thus, we may provisionally accept as the latest theory on this interesting question, the conclusion that there is some relation between the mean daily range of the magnetic declination, and the number of aurorae observed, and that these phenomena, again, are related in some way to the appearance of spots on the sun. It is a theory which may well engage the thoughts of all who take interest in the progress of physical science.

SEWAGE CONTAMINATION.-A scientific writer says, if half a pint of water be placed in a perfectly clear glass bottle, a few grains of the best white sugar added, and the bottle freely exposed to the daylight in the window of a warm room, the liquid should not become turbid, even after exposure for a week or ten days. If the water become turbid, it is open to grave suspicion of sewage contamination; but if it remain clear, it is almost certainly safe.

SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE COLOR OF HAIR.

Two sudden changes of the color of hair from black to white are reported in a foreign medical magazine. It appears that a physician of Berlin, a strong, healthy, and less than middle-aged man, sent his wife and one daughter to spend last summor at a watering-place. The day that he expected a letter informing him of their arrival, there came one saying that his daughter had been taken sick very suddenly, and was already dead.

The shock was terrible, and instantly his hair became entirely grey. He had to visit some patients that same afternoon, and they scarcely recognised him. Their peculiar actions revealed the change to him. The other case was that of a man 35 years old, living in the Netherlands. He was one day passing the canal in Rotterdam, when he saw a child struggling in the water. He plunged in and brought it to land, but it was already dead by the time he had rescued its body. Bending over to try to restore life, he discovered that the dead child was his own son. The blow, so sudden and unexpected and coming upon him when he himself was so much exhausted, turned his hair entirely grey, and left him scarcely recognisable.

NEW PHOTOMETER.-A simple arrangement, which may prove exceedingly useful for many purposes, has been devised by M. Yvon. A piece of paper or card is folded in the middle, and placed upright on a table in such a manner that the two halves form right angles. In the line bisecting the angle thus formed, and at some little distance from its apex, is placed a tube, blackened in the interior, through which the observer looks at the edge of the paper or card. The sources of illumination to be compared are placed at opposite sides of the card. So long as the two surfaces are unequally illuminated, the observer has a perception of relief; when, however, the light falling on each is perfectly equalized, he sees what appears to be a plane surface.

ALCOHOL IN BREAD.-It has been generally stated that the alcohol formed in dough during the process of fermentation is all expelled in the baking, but some earnest teetotallers may pained to learn, says the London Medical Record, that Mr. T. Bolas finds that a perceptible amount of the intoxicating fluid may be obtained from so small a quantity as two ounces of ordinary bread. From the report of his investigations, published in the Chemical News, it appears that six samples of new bread, bought at shops in London, yielded from 221 to 401 of one per cent. of alcohol. After the bread had been exposed to the air in a moderately warm room for a week, two-thirds of the alcohol had evaporated. Mr. Bolas remarks that "the amount of alcohol contained in bread is too small to be of any dietetic importance, but it may be perhaps worth while to notice, that forty-two pound loaves are about equal in alcoholic strength to an ordinary bottle of port. hopes soon to determine the amount of alcohol which dough loses while baking.

PROPER COMBINATIONS IN SOAPS.-According to Mignot, a perfect soap is one in which the fatty matters and the alkaline have been so thoroughly combined as to leave no excess of either component; a desideratum which is very seldom reached, as the soap is either too alkaline, in which case it parches and dries up the skin, or it is too

fat, and thus makes the skin greasy, so that the dust readily adheres to it. The former inconvenience is the more serious of the two, as it very soon leaves its impress upon the skin. For this reason soap-makers are in the habit of employing an excess of fat, notwithstanding the inconve nience mentioned. Mignot now informs us that silica introduced into the soap, in the form of infusorial earth, will tend to neutralize any excess of the alkaline elements of the soap, as it is soluble both in soda and in potash, and it will at the same time take up the surplus of fatty matter by absorbing it, and combining with it to a certain extent. Infusorial earth, as is well known, occurs in different parts of the world in great quantity, and immense deposits are known in various portions of the United States, especially in Idaho, Nevada, and California.

PERAMBULATORS.-In a recent issue of the Medical Times and Gazette, M. Latour calls attention to the mischief which may arise from the now almost universal employment of perambulators for the transport of children. He chiefly dwells upon what happens to young infants, who, in place of resting on the nurse's arm and gradually bringing the muscular system which supports the trunk erect into use by exercise, and accustoming their senses to the perception of surrounding objects, now lie recumbent and somnolent in a state of dangerous quiescence. Woman, he believes,

is thus abdicating yet another of her functions, which, in all eyes but her own, render her attractive; and although she may relieve herself of some fatigue, it is at the risk of the welfare of her child. "Certain I am that an enfant à équipage is a retarded infant it will walk later, talk later, and smile later."

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VARIETIES.

HOW INDIANS WERE CREATED.-The Indian account of their creation is briefly this. They say that one late and severe spring-time many thousand snows ago, there was a great storm about the summit of Shasta, and that the Great Spirit sent his youngest and fairest daughter, of whom he was very fond, up to the hole in the top, bidding her speak to the storm that came up from the sea, and tell it to be more gentle or it would blow the mountain over. He bade her do this hastily, and not put her head out, lest the wind would catch her in the hair and blow her away. He told her she should only thrust out her long red arm and make a sign, and then speak to the storm without. The child hastened to the top, and did as she was bid, and was about to return, but having never yet seen the ocean, where the wind was born and made his home, when it was white with the storm, she stopped, turned, and put her head out to look that way, when lo! the storm caught in her long red hair, and blew her out and away down and down the mountain side. Here

all the land even

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she could not fix her feet in the hard, smooth ice and snow, and so slid on and on down to the dark belt of firs below the snow rim. Now, the grizzly bears possessed all the wood and down to the 'sea at that time, and were very numerous and very powerful. They were not exactly beasts then, although they were covered with hair, lived in caves, and had sharp claws; but they walked on two legs, and talked, and used clubs to fight with, instead of their teeth and claws as they do now. At this time, there was a family of grizzlies living close up to the snow. mother had lately brought forth, and the father was out in quest of food for the young, when, as he returned with his club on his shoulder and a young elk in his left hand, he saw this little child, red like fire, hid under a fir bush, with her long hair trailing in the snow, and shivering with fright and cold. Not knowing what to make of her, he took her to the old mother, who was very learned in all things, and asked her what this fair and frail thing was that he found shivering under a fir bush in the snow. The old mother Grizzly, who had things pretty much her own way, bade him leave the child with her, but never mention it to

any one, and she would share her breast with her, and bring her up with the other children, and maybe some great good would come of it. The old mother reared her as she promised to do, and the old hairy father went out every day with his club on his shoulder to get food for his family till they were all grown up, and able to do for themselves. "Now," said the old mother Grizzly to the old father Grizzly, as he stood his club by the door and sat down one day," our oldest son is quite grown up, and must have a wife. Now, who shall it be but the little red creature you found in the snow under the black fir-bush." So the old grizzly father kissed her, said she was very wise, then took up his club on his shoulder, and went out and killed some meat for the marriage feast. They married, and were very happy, and many children were born to them. But, being part of the Great Spirit and part of the grizzly bear, these children did not exactly resemble either of their parents, but partook somewhat of the nature and

likeness of both. Thus was the red man created; for these children were the first Indians.-From Life among the Modocs," by Joaquin Miller.

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CHINESE GAMBLERS.-The front, or principal room, is a very large one; paintings decorate its walls, and a number of very handsome Chinese lanterns are suspended from the ceiling. Long rows of small tables are on each side-a crowd round every one of them. At the foot of every table sits a pale, hollow-eyed, cadaverous-looking individual, with a countenance so perfectly expressionless, he might be a statue, but for the few words that drop from his lips of stone, and proclaim his profession-gambler. In front of him lies a quantity of copper cash, or round coins with holes in them, a tea-cup, and two small pieces of

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wood like Joss-sticks. In the middle of the table is a board; on it are marked squares with Chi. nese characters, and at the sides of the board are slips of paper, with corresponding numbers upon them. The person who wishes to bet takes one of the numbered slips of paper, and places it on the same figure on the board. For instance, if he puts one dollar on number six, he can double it by covering it with a corresponding number. The board is filled with the slips of paper, and when all is ready the keeper of the bank removes from the pile of cash as many as he can cover with the tea-cup. They are shuffled about under the cup for a minute; it is then raised, and the cash carefully removed one by one with the thin sticks and counted. Should it come out an even number, all who have betted on even numbers win and the rest lose. The room is generally filled to overflowing. I have seen from six to eight hundred gambling at one time in it. Silence profound reigns from one end of the place to the other, all intently watching the game. have carefully studied their countenances, but could not judge from them who won or lost. The same stolid look on every face, not a muscle moved. Sometimes after losing his ready cash, a Chinaman will stake his whole stock and trade -and lose. I remember an instance of this reckless gambling mania. A shop close to my house was owned by a very respectable Chinaman, a quiet fellow, who had his place well-stocked with groceries, wines, &c., and owned one assistant, a boy of about twenty, as quiet and steady as his master. For a few days his shop was shut, much to the inconvenience of his neighbors; and on inquiry, I found it was the annual festival, and both master and man had attended it. At length Mr. Lung-fo reopened, but, to every one's astonishment, he was busy sweeping out the shop, and weighing out charcoal and lard to the customers, while the youngster sat leisurely smoking and making up the day-books. It appeared they had been gambling from the time they left home. Lung-fo had lost to his servant all his money, his whole stock and house; and then having nothing more, he wagered himself, and if he lost he was to be servant to the other and he did lose. But there was no appearance of triumph on the boy's face; master and servant reversed their places with the most perfect sangfroid.-From "Sub-Tropical Rambles," by Nicholas Pike.

CAPTURED GODS.-In the days of Numa, the people were much dismayed by the heavy rains and the lightning which fell thickly and frequently. So that the priest-king consulted the goddess Egeria on the occasion. She bade his calm his fears, and told him that the lightning was to be averted by atonement, referring him for further instructions to Picus and Faunus, Roman divinities, at the same time telling him that they would afford him no information except by compulsion,

and that he must secure them with chains when he caught them. At the foot of the Aventine hill there was a grove of oak, in the centre of which was a grassy plot and a constant stream of water trickling from the rock, which was covered with green moss. At this stream Faunus and Picus were accustomed to drink. Here Numa sacrificed a sheep, and then placed cups of wine about the fountain, concealing himself in a neighboring grotto. Presently the forest gods came to refresh themselves, but instead of water, drank the wine that had been laid for them; afterwards going to sleep. Then Numa issued from his hiding-place and fixed their hands in manacles. When the gods awoke they struggled in vain to free themselves. Then Numa stepped forwards, and, asking forgiveness for what he had done, begged them to tell him how the lightnings might be averted. Faunus replied that he asked them a question which they could not answer, but promised to summon Jove himself to his assistance if he would only free them from their bonds. Upon this Numa set them at liberty; whereupon the tops of the Aventine forest trembled and the earth yielded to the feet of Jove. Numa at first was overcome by the vision, but presently recovering himself, stated his desire. Jove then told him that he must "cut off a head." "Of an onion in my garden," said Numa. "Nay, but of a man," said Jupiter. "Yes, the topmost hairs," said the other. "You must take a life," said Jove. "The life of a fish," replied Numa. Jove, diverted with the ingenious answers of Numa, laughed, and said, "See to it, then, that with these thou dost propitiate my missiles, thou man not to be daunted in a conference with the gods. Moreover, when to morrow's sun shall have risen I will give thee the sure pledge of empire." This promise was fulfilled the next day in the fall of the celestial shield, which was supposed to contain in its safety the welfare of the empire: so that in order that it might not be carried away, Numa caused a number of counterparts to be made, preserving the secret of the true one. shields were periodically carried through the streets of Rome with dancing, festivities, and great rejoicings.-From "The Pilgrimage of the Tiber," by William Davies.

The

DEATH OF A POPE.-As soon as a Pope dies, the cardinal-chamberlain, or camerlingo, calls out to him three times in the presence of several members of the council, addressing him by his proper name, "Art thou dead?" Then answering for the deceased, he exclaims, "He is dead!" and taking the fisherman's ring, as the seal of the Pope is called, breaks it. The bell of the capitol is tolled, and the news is despatched to foreign governments and absent cardinals, which latter are invited to the conclave for a new election. While the vacancy continues, the camerlingo exercises the supreme authority. The cardinals who have been created by the defunct pon

tiff put on as mourning serge robes of a violet color, while such as were created by his predecessors wear green faced with red. The dead body is washed and embalmed, and taken to the Pauline chapel of the Vatican, where it is arrayed in the pontifical habits, after which it is taken to St. Peter's and placed in the Sistine chapel, on a splendid bed of state, surrounded by burning tapers night and day, and by priests who pray for the soul of the departed. The people meanwhile crowd to kiss his feet. On the ninth day after death the body is put into a coffin with coronation medals in gold, silver, and brass, to show that death equals all things. After the funeral ceremonies, the cof. fin is removed to a church which is said to have been founded by Constantine the Great, and there left till it is deposited in the tomb prepared for it. After the nine days of funeral rites, all cardinals who can possibly be present in Rome meet together to go into conclave. Before entering, they visit St. Peter's, where the mass of the Holy Spirit is sung, and an oration delivered on the election of a pontiff. They then return to the Vatican, where the hymn, "Veni, Creator," is sung, and certain prayers are rehearsed, and the bill for the election is read.-Leisure Hour.

LOUIS XIV.-If adversity be the true touchstone of greatness of soul, few princes have stood the test so well as Louis XIV. In the days of his cloudless prosperity, when flushed with the insolence of victory, or drunk with the fumes of adulation, he may occasionally have forgotten he was a mere mortal. It is at the melancholy close of his career, when the declining glories of the great monarchy, which had thrown surrounding nations into dim eclipse, were clouded by disaster; when the old King, having survived the great statesmen and generals of his prime, having survived three generations of his own descendantshis armies routed, his fleets destroyed, his treasury bankrupt, his people perishing from famine and pestilence, and uttering cries of anguish and despair, which he could only answer with tears of pity and remorse-confronted the ungenerous

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foes, who, having vanquished, insisted on dishonoring him, with a grand fortitude which half redeemed his fatal ambition-that he most commands our admiration. The conduct of Louis towards the unfortunate James II. of England reflects a purer glory on his name than the most brilliant achievements of his arms or his policy. There was little in the character or proceedings of James to conciliate affection or esteem. nary prudence, when the storm of invasion that overwhelmed him was yet sleeping in the distant thundercloud, ordinary firmness, when it had burst upon his kingdom, would, in all human probability, have saved his crown. Smitten, however, with the infatuation which seizes those dynasties which Providence has doomed, he was deaf to the French King's warnings and proffers of aid, while the danger might have been warded off; equally deaf to the voice of honor when it should have been boldly confronted. The imbecile recklessness with which he risked his throne was only to be equalled by the imbecile poltroonery through which he lost it. But from the moment James landed a fugitive upon the soil of France, Louis no longer saw the weak sovereign. He saw only fallen majesty, which calamity had but scathed in order to sanctify, and whose blemishes it would have been sacrilege to scan too curiously. The noble friendship which shielded the last years of the ill-fated James, so chivalrous, so tender, which no reverses could weary, which no lapse of time nor considerations of interest could chill, is without parallel in history.— From "The Great Condé and the Period of the Fronde," by Walter FitzPatrick.

RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN ALGIERS.-One is constantly hearing of the engine, followed by one or two carriages, running off the line and sticking in the sand at Hussein-Dey, because the pointsman happens to be engaged at a game of piquet in the neighboring wine-shop when the train arrives; and it is no uncommon thing to see the engine-driver and the stoker coolly drinking absinthe while the guard is whistling for the train to go on. I remember on one occasion the carriage in which I was seated stopping exactly opposite the buffet at Beni-Mèred. Wondering why the stoppage was so long, I put my head out of the window just as the guard was blowing his whistle for the third or fourth time. At the door of the buffet was the stoker. Il faut partir," he exclaimed, turning to his companion as he perceived the guard looking about and heard the repeated shrill sound of his whistle. "Des bêtises," answered the other. "Qu'il siffle," he added, after a pause, shrugging his shoulders. Then they both had a good laugh, and leisurely finished their absinthe before sauntering in the direction of the locomotive. In A'geria there are but few people who ever think of travelling first-class; firstly, because there is but little difference between the two classes insomuch as ordinary comfort is concerned;