{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54839/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54839","id":"gutenberg_54839","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54839","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Architecture","Category: History - British","Category: Journals","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Nature/Gardening/Animals","Ireland -- Periodicals"],"text":"THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL.\n\n       NUMBER 34.      SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1841.      VOLUME I.\n\n[Illustration: BARRACK BRIDGE AND THE MILITARY GATE, DUBLIN.]\n\nThough our own good metropolis is confessedly one of the most ancient\ncities in the empire, yet there are few towns of any importance either\nin England, Scotland, or Ireland, that have so little appearance of\nold age; we have indeed a couple of venerable cathedrals, which is\nmore, we believe, than any other city in her Majesty\u2019s dominions,\nexcept London, can boast of; and we have a few insignificant remains of\nmonastic edifices, but hid in obscure situations, where they are only\nknown to zealous antiquaries:--with the exception of these, however, we\nhave nothing that has not a modern look, though too often a tattered\none; nor is there, we believe, a single house within our Circular Road\nthat has seen two hundred years. Our bridges and other public edifices\nin like manner are all modern--specimens of mushroom architectural\naristocracy--very dignified and imposing, no doubt, in their aspect, but\nwithout any hallowing associations connected with remote times to make us\nrespect them.\n\nIt is owing, perhaps, to these circumstances that we have always had a\npleasure in seeing the old-looking bridge and gateway which form the\nsubject of our prefixed illustration--we say old-looking, for in reality\nneither is very old: but they have an antique appearance about them which\nprevents us from thinking our city a mere creation of yesterday. They are\nvery picturesque also, and contrast well with the other bridge scenes\nalong our quays, which, though more splendid and architectural, are as\nyet too new-looking and commonplace.\n\nThough Barrack Bridge, or, as it is more popularly called, Bloody Bridge,\nis now the oldest of the eight bridges which span the Liffey within our\ncity, its antiquity is no earlier than the close of the seventeenth\ncentury: and yet this very bridge is the second structure of the kind\nerected in Dublin, as previously to its construction there was but one\nbridge--_the_ Bridge, as it was called, connecting Bridge-street with\nChurch-street--across the Liffey. And this fact is alone sufficient to\nprove the advance in prosperity and the arts of civilised life which\nDublin has made within a period of little more than a century.\n\nBarrack Bridge was originally constructed of wood, and was erected in\n1670; and its popular name of Bloody Bridge was derived, as Harris the\nhistorian states, from the following circumstance, which occurred in\nthe year after. The apprentices of Dublin having assembled themselves\nriotously together with an intention to break down the bridge, it became\nnecessary to call out the military to defeat their object, when twenty\nof the rioters were seized, and committed to the Castle. It happened,\nhowever, afterwards, that as a guard of soldiers were conveying these\nyoung men to the Bridewell, they were rescued by their fellows, and in\nthe fray four of them were slain; \u201cfrom which accident it took the name\nof Bloody Bridge.\u201d In a short time afterwards, this wooden structure\ngave place to the stone bridge we now see, which is of unadorned\ncharacter, and consists of four semicircular arches. Its rude and antique\nappearance, however, harmonizes well with the military gateway placed at\nits south-western extremity, on the road leading to the Royal Hospital\nat Kilmainham. This gateway, which was designed by the late eminent\narchitect, Francis Johnston, Esq. P.R.H.A., and erected for government,\nunder his superintendence, in 1811, consists of a square tower, having\nsmaller square towers projecting from three of its angles, and a circular\none of greater diameter and altitude at its fourth or north-eastern\nangle. The object for which this gateway tower was erected, as well as\nthe period of its erection, is indicated by escutcheons on its east and\nwest sides, bearing the arms of the Duke of Richmond and the Earl of\nHarrington, the lord-lieutenant and the commander of the forces of the\ntime. A similar shield on its north side facing the river, sculptured\nwith the armorial bearings of the family of Johnston, indicates the name\nof its architect; and it is worthy of mention as a characteristic of the\nlove for posthumous fame of Mr Johnston, that this tablet was not known\nto exist till within a few years back, and after he had himself paid the\ndebt of nature; having been concealed from view by a box of wood fastened\nagainst it, and which was suffered to remain--a strange mystery to the\ncurious observer--till it fell off from decay.\n\n                                                                       P.\n\n\n\n\nON THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING TO THE QUALITIES OF SEED, AND THE\nCONDITION OF THE SOIL, IN THE SOWING SEASON.\n\nBY MARTIN DOYLE.\n\n\nAmong the common Irish farmers, indifference to the quality of all seeds\nis still remarkable. Even in respect to wheat, that most valuable grain,\nstupidity and carelessness are observable, though the loss sustained in\nconsequence, both in the quantity and quality of the produce, is very\ngreat. It is no doubt principally owing to the superiority of climate\nthat wheat and other corn crops grown in the midland counties of England\nare so far superior to our grain productions; but much of the excellence\nwhich we perceive is attributable to the care taken in changing seed, and\nusing that only which is really good. An English farmer will send his\nwaggon a considerable distance for the seed which will best answer for\nhis land, and he is willing to pay an advanced price for it, as he knows\nthat his advantage will be proportional.\n\nWe do not import from the principal wheat counties of England a\nsufficient quantity of seed: degeneracy rapidly takes place in the\nquality of that which we do sow of imported grain, and on that account\na regular and frequent change is necessary, and by the more economical\ndistribution of this, the difference between the prices of home-grown and\nimported seed would be scarcely felt. Not that I would recommend, except\nin some of our most calcareous inland counties, those _white_ varieties\nwhich flourish in Kent, or Suffolk, or Buckinghamshire, but the hardier\nred Lammas kinds which succeed with us in general, but which require\nfrequent renewal, else they become thick skinned and dark coloured, and\nconsequently of inferior value to the miller. By substituting the drill\nsystem for the broad-cast in fit seasons, and on land perfectly suited to\nit, one part in four, certainly one in five, is saved, even by those who\nsow in the narrowest possible drills, and thickly.\n\nI shall detail the mode by which the land is prepared for sowing, and\nthe process of sowing, in Buckinghamshire, on clover ley, the most\ntroublesome for the purpose:--\n\nFarm-yard manure being spread upon the surface, wheel ploughs drawn by\nthree powerful horses are set to work to plough the land in the usual\nBritish way. In wide lands or stitches, after the sod has been turned and\nlaid at an angle of forty-five degrees, the seed is sometimes then sown\nand harrowed down. But the neatest farmers, instead of sowing at this\nstage of the work, employ a compressing implement formed of two parallel\nmetal wheels at one end of an axle, and very close to each other, and\na guide wheel of the same diameter at the other end. The interior rims\nof the compressing wheels (or rollers) are four inches wide, and nearly\ntouch each other; the exterior surfaces are narrowed to two inches; these\nwheels sink into the earth at the junctions of the furrow slices, and\nby pressing down the grassy edges, and forming perfect grooves at the\nintervals of seven or nine inches, the seed may be sown with extreme\nexactness, and without the loss of a single grain, and at a uniform\ndepth. But though the seed is frequently sown with the preparation just\nstated, the practice of the neatest and most judicious farmers is to\nharrow down these drills after the rollers have formed and completed\nthem, and then to sow with the Suffolk drill-machine in the free and\npulverized surface. This implement forms and sows several shallow drills\nat each bouting, and with perfect precision; the experienced eye of the\nman who follows in the rear, enabling him in an instant to perceive any\npossible irregularity in the movement of the hoppers and distribution of\nthe seed.\n\nThe great advantage derived from the action of these compressing wheels\nis, that the grassy edges of the furrow slices are prevented altogether\nfrom vegetating by the depth to which they are removed from the surface,\nand that the pressure of the portions into which the rollers sink, is\nfar more effective and consolidating than if an ordinary broad roller\nwere to pass over the entire area. In preparing any loose fallow land for\nvetches, these compressing rollers are very serviceable. By following two\nploughs, and in the same tracks, the ploughing and the perfect formation\nof the drills by pressure are accomplished in the same space of time, the\ntwo wheels obviously describing double the number of furrows described by\neach plough in the same period.\n\nIn heavy clay soils this compression is at least unnecessary, and in\nstony land drilling is difficult and unadvisable, but in light open\nsoils the advantages of this system are considerable. The proper season\nfor sowing is also a point of great consideration, both as regards the\neconomy of seed of any kind, and the productiveness of the crop.\n\nSome people labour to effect their seed-sowing on a particular day or\nweek without other calculations, and are quite satisfied that all is\nwell if the seed is in the ground at the precise time which they have\nappointed for the purpose. Now, any rule as to _time_ alone is especially\nabsurd in our variable climate; even in the midland counties of\nEngland, where extreme vicissitudes of weather are less frequent, it is\ninjudicious to fix any certain rule as to the exact time for committing\nthe various sorts of corn to the ground. Experience has taught those who\nhave considered the subject, that it is unwise to _force a season_. For\nexample, the middle of October is considered in Buckinghamshire to be\nthe best time for sowing wheat; but the earth at that time may be so dry\n(and actually was so in the past year) as to be more fit for barley than\nwheat; or it may then be so wet as to be equally unfit for the reception\nof the seed. In either case the judicious farmer waits for the correct\nseason, which experience has taught will have a corresponding harvest.\n\nAfter a wet cold summer the light dry soils of that county being firm and\nconsolidated, it is perhaps desirable to sow wheat at a very early period\nof the autumn; and after a hot dry summer, when the land is in a contrary\ncondition, it would be better to wait for the autumnal rains to obtain a\nfirm seed bed. Again, with barley on the same soil, the first of April\nis considered a good time; but the farmer who should persist in sowing\njust then in spite of the weather or the unprepared state of the land,\nwould be a fool indeed, and would discover the effect of his blunder\nin the shortness of his crop. It is true that the superstitions of the\nancients which so ridiculously influenced the affairs of husbandry, have\nlong since ceased to be regarded. No one in these days would think it\nexpedient to steep his seed in the juice of wild cucumbers; nor to bring\nit into contact with the horns of an ox, for luck; nor to cover the seed\nbasket with the skin of a hy\u00e6na, to keep off by its odour the attacks of\nvermin; nor to sprinkle corn before sowing with water in which stags\u2019\nhorns or crabs had been immersed; nor to mix powdered cypress leaves\nthrough the seed--though pickles and solutions for destroying insects\nare not to be despised. Neither are the planetary influences now much\nrespected; yet there are many foolish old farmers who attach no little\nimportance to the state of the moon, the dark nights in November being a\nfavourite season, without the really important considerations that the\nearth and the weather are in an appropriate and congenial state.\n\nI have stated that the drills formed by the Suffolk drill-machine are\nvery shallow; they are merely sufficient to afford about an inch of\ncovering to the grain; but I have been assured by the best judges that\nthe natural tendency of the cereal grains to strike their fibres is such\nthat a heavy covering is unnecessary. _Our_ national opinion is in favour\nof a heavy covering, and our wheat especially is actually imbedded deeply\nin the ground with a plough.\n\nThe practice in Great Britain universally is to _harrow in_ the grain.\nThe same practice is universally prevalent in France, where the land is\nleft roughly harrowed (in the case of winter wheat), in order that the\nmouldering of the clods in spring may afford a kind of earthing to the\nplants, and prevent the running together of the earth in the wet winter\nmonths, as is too frequent on tenacious soils too finely harrowed.\n\nIt is not very long since the advantage of compressing the soil, for\nwheat in particular, was discovered in Buckinghamshire, by the accidental\ncircumstance of a roller (which had been used for some different purpose)\nhaving been drawn in a zig-zag direction across a wheat field. The\nplants tillered better, looked far more vigorous during their advance to\nmaturity, and yielded a far better return on the part of the field so\ndistinguished by the course of the rollers, which soon after became a\nfavourite implement in the culture of grain crops.\n\nThere is no doubt that all seeds are frequently sown with wasteful\nprodigality, because they are cheap or indifferent in quality. How much\nbetter then is it to have those of superior quality, though at a higher\nprice, and to encourage the distribution of them in the soil by a careful\n_mode_ of sowing!\n\nGrains of corn of superior excellence are frequently selected with great\ncare, as by Colonel le Couteur, in Jersey, and then sown with a dibble\nin seedling beds. The plants thus carefully treated tiller surprisingly,\nand produce accordingly; after two or three seasons, a fine variety, or\na _renovation_ of some previously established one, is obtained, and the\nseed is anxiously sought for.\n\nDo any of our farmers ever dream of going through their corn fields in\nharvest, and thus obtain choice seeds? And yet what is there to prevent\nsuccess in this respect? A poor farmer who cannot afford to purchase\ncelebrated varieties at a high cost, may become his own seedsman, by care\nand assiduity, in an incredibly short time. Let some of our readers make\nthe desired experiments for their own sakes.\n\n\n\n\nSUSPENSION BRIDGES.\n\n    On the Theory of Suspension Bridges, with some account of their\n    early history. By Mr G. F. FORDHAM. Head at the Scientific\n    Society, March 12, 1840.\n\n\nSuspension Bridges appear to be of very ancient origin: travellers have\ndiscovered their existence in South America, in China, in Thibet, and in\nthe Indian peninsula. They are most frequently met with in mountainous\nregions, and being suspended across a deep ravine, or an impetuous\ntorrent, permit the passage of the traveller where the construction\nof any other kind of bridge would be entirely impracticable. Humboldt\ninforms us that in South America there are numerous bridges of this kind\nformed of ropes made from the fibrous parts of the roots of the American\nagavey (_Agave Americana_). These ropes, which are three or four inches\nin diameter, are attached on each bank to a clumsy framework composed\nof the trunk of the _Schinus molle_; where, however, the banks are flat\nand low, this framework raises the bridge so much above the ground as to\nprevent it from being accessible. To remedy this inconvenience, steps\nor ladders are in these cases placed at each extremity of the bridge,\nby ascending which all who wish to pass over readily reach the roadway.\nThe roadway is formed by covering the ropes transversely with small\ncylindrical pieces of bamboo. The bridge of Penip\u00e9 erected over the\nChamboo is described as being 120 feet long and 8 feet broad, but there\nare others which have much larger dimensions. A bridge of this kind will\ngenerally remain in good condition 20 or 25 years, though some of the\nropes require renewing every 8 or 10 years. It is worthy of remark, as\nevincing the high antiquity of these structures, that they are known to\nhave existed in South America long prior to the arrival of Europeans.\nThe utility of these bridges in mountainous countries is placed in a\nstriking point of view by the fact mentioned by Humboldt, of a permanent\ncommunication having been established between Quito and Lima, by means of\na rope bridge of extraordinary length, after 40,000_l._ had been expended\nin a fruitless attempt to build a stone bridge over a torrent which\nrushes from the Cordilleras or the Andes. Over this bridge of ropes,\nwhich is erected near Santa, travellers with loaded mules can pass in\nsafety.\n\nBut suspension bridges composed of stronger and more durable materials\nthan twisted fibres and tendrils of plants, are found to exist in these\nremote and semi-barbarous regions; in Thibet, as well as in China, many\n_iron_ suspension bridges have been discovered, and it is no improbable\nconjecture that in countries so little known and visited by Europeans,\nothers may exist, of which we have as yet received no accounts. The most\nremarkable bridge of this kind of which we have any knowledge in Thibet,\nis the bridge of Chuka-cha-zum, stretched over the Tehintchieu river,\nand situated about 18 miles from Murichom. Turner, in his Embassy to the\nCourt of Thibet, says, \u201cOnly one horse is admitted to go over it at a\ntime: it swings as you tread upon it, re-acting at the same time with a\nforce that impels you every step you take to quicken your pace. It may be\nnecessary to say, in explanation of its construction, that on the five\nchains which support the platform, are placed several layers of strong\ncoarse mats of bamboo, loosely put down, so as to play with the swing of\nthe bridge; and that a fence on each side contributes to the security of\nthe passenger.\u201d The date of the erection of this bridge is unknown to\nthe inhabitants of the country, and they even ascribe to it a fabulous\norigin. The length of this bridge appears to be about 150 feet.\n\nTurner describes in the following terms a bridge for foot passengers of\nan extraordinary construction. \u201cIt was composed of two chains stretched\nparallel to each other across the river, distant four feet from each\nother, and on either side resting upon a pile of stones, raised upon each\nbank about eight feet high; they were carried down with an easy slope\nand buried in the rock, where, being fastened round a large stone, they\nwere confined by a quantity of broken rock heaped upon them. A plank\nabout eight inches broad hung longitudinally suspended across the river\nby means of roots and creepers wound over the chains with a slackness\nsufficient to allow the centre to sink to the depth of four feet below\nthe chains. This bridge, called Selo-cha-zum, measured, from one side of\nthe water to the other, 70 feet. The creepers are changed annually, and\nthe planks are all loose; so that if the creepers give way in any part,\nthey can be removed, and the particular part repaired without disturbing\nthe whole.\u201d\n\nNumerous suspension bridges formed of iron chains exist also in China;\nand though the accounts which travellers have transmitted respecting\nthem are less detailed and explicit than would have been desirable,\ndescriptions of two of them have been furnished, which are sufficiently\nminute and intelligible to excite considerable interest. The first to\nwhich I refer is contained in Kircher\u2019s China Illustrata. The following\nis a translation of the author\u2019s words: \u201cIn the province of Junnan, over\na valley of great depth, and through which a torrent of water runs with\ngreat force and rapidity, a bridge is to be seen, said to have been\nbuilt by the Emperor Mingus, of the family of the Ham\u00e6, in the year of\nChrist 65, not constructed of brickwork, or of blocks of stone cemented\ntogether, but of chains of beaten iron and hooks, so secured to rings\nfrom both sides of the chasm, that it forms a bridge by planks placed\nupon them. There are 20 chains, each of which is 20 perches or 300 palms\nin length. When many persons pass over together, the bridge vibrates to\nand fro, affecting them with horror and giddiness, lest whilst passing it\nshould be struck with ruin. It is impossible to admire sufficiently the\ndexterity of the architect Sinensius, who had the hardihood to attempt\na work so arduous, and so conducive to the convenience of travelling.\u201d\nAnother suspension bridge in this country is described in the 6th vol.\nof the \u201cHistoire Generale des Voyages.\u201d The following is a translation:\n\u201cThe famous _Iron_ Bridge (such is the name given to it) at Quay-Cheu, on\nthe road to Yun-Nan (Junnan?) is the work of an ancient Chinese general.\nOn the banks of the Pan-Ho, a torrent of inconsiderable breadth, but of\ngreat depth, a large gateway has been formed between two massive pillars,\n6 or 7 feet broad, and from 17 to 18 feet in height. From the two pillars\nof the east depend four chains attached to large rings, which extend\nto the two pillars of the west, and which being connected together\nby smaller chains, assume in some measure the appearance of a net. On\nthis bridge of chains a number of very thick planks have been placed,\nsome means of connecting which, have been adopted in order to obtain a\ncontinuous platform; but as a vacant space still remains between this\nplatform and the gateways and pillars, on account of the curve assumed\nby the chains, especially when loaded, this defect has been remedied by\nthe aid of planking supported on trusses or consoles. On each side of\nthis planking small pilasters of wood have been erected, which support\na roof of the same material, the two extremities of which rest on the\npillars that stand on the banks of the river.\u201d The writer proceeds to\nremark, that \u201cthe Chinese have made several other bridges in imitation of\nthis. One, on the river Kin-cha-Hyang, in the ancient canton of Lo-Lo,\nwhich belongs to the province of Yun-Nan, is particularly known. In the\nprovince of Se-Chuen there are one or two others, which are sustained\nonly by ropes; but though of an inconsiderable size, they are so\nunsteady and so little to be trusted that they cannot be crossed without\nsensations of fear.\u201d\n\nWhile our attention is directed to early accounts and to the origin of\nsuspension bridges, it may be proper to remark, that although, as we have\nseen, the inhabitants of the mountainous districts of South America,\nor the wild and barbarous regions of Thibet, appear to have been well\nacquainted with the purposes for which these structures are best adapted,\nand to have practised their construction from the most remote ages,\nneither the Greeks, the Romans, nor the Egyptians, according to all we\nknow of those nations, had any knowledge of their uses or properties,\nor ever employed them as a means for crossing a river, or other natural\nimpediment. It is not, therefore, from these celebrated nations of\nantiquity that the engineer has derived his first hints for the\nconstruction of suspension bridges, but from those rude and unpolished\npeople, the results of whose ingenuity have just been described.\n\nBut it will now be interesting to inquire how far we can trace back the\nantiquity of suspension bridges in more civilized countries--on the\nContinent, in the British Isles, and in the United States of America.\nScamozzi speaks of suspension bridges existing in Europe in the beginning\nof the seventeenth century, but it is very questionable if he employed\nthat term to designate the same structure to which it is now applied;\nand this is rendered the more improbable, as no such bridges are now\nin existence, and other writers are totally silent upon the subject.\nIt does not appear, then, that suspension bridges of other than recent\nerection have existed on the Continent, and in England the oldest of\nwhich we have any account has not been constructed more than a century.\nThe first suspension bridge in the United States was erected in the\nyear 1796. In England the oldest bridge of the kind is believed to have\nbeen the Winch Chain Bridge, suspended over the Tees, and thus forming\na communication between the counties of Durham and York. Mr Stevenson\n(Edinburgh Philosophical Journal) expresses his regret at not having\nbeen able to learn the precise date of the erection of this bridge; from\ngood authority, however, he concludes it to be about the year 1741. It\nmay also be mentioned here, that at Carric-a-rede, near Ballintoy, in\nIreland, there is a rope bridge, which in 1800 was reported to have been\nin use longer than the present generation could remember.\n\nIn the years 1816 and 1817, some _wire_ suspension bridges were executed\nin Scotland, and, though not of great extent, are the first example of\nthis species of bridge architecture in Great Britain. As, however, full\ndescriptions of these bridges are to be met with elsewhere, it will not\nbe necessary to notice them further.\n\nIn 1818, Mr Telford was consulted by government as to the practicability\nof erecting a suspension bridge over the Menai Strait, and was\ncommissioned to prepare a design, if upon an examination of the\nlocalities he found the project feasible. Having accordingly surveyed the\nspot, he was led to propose the construction of a suspension bridge near\nBangor Ferry, and in 1819 an act was obtained, authorising the erection\nof the bridge, a sum of money having been previously voted by Parliament\nfor that purpose. This structure, which will always be regarded as a\nmonument of the engineering abilities of Telford, was commenced in August\n1819, and opened to the public on the 30th January 1826, having occupied\nsix and a half years in its erection. The Union Bridge across the Tweed\nwas designed and executed by Captain Brown, and was the first bar chain\nbridge of considerable size that was completed in this country. It was\ncommenced in August 1819, and finished in the month of July 1820. After\nthe completion of the Menai Bridge, bridges on the suspension principle\nbegan to be universally adopted throughout Europe; but it was not till\n_iron wires_ had been proved to be more _firm_ than bars _of a greater\nthickness_ that these bridges received their most extensive applications.\nSince 1821, Messrs Sequin have constructed more than fifty wire bridges\nin France with the most complete success. The wire suspension bridge at\nFreyburg, in Switzerland, the largest in the world, was erected by Mons.\nChalley, and depends across the valley of the Sarine. It was commenced in\n1831, and thrown open to the public in 1834. A suspension bridge has also\nbeen erected at Montrose, the size of which is scarcely inferior to that\nof the Menai Bridge. At Clifton a very large suspension bridge is now in\nprogress of erection by Mr Brunel, and a suspension bridge of 1600 feet\nin length is about to be erected over the Danube, between Pest and Offen,\nthe design for which is the production of Mr W. Tierney Clark, and under\nwhose able superintendence its construction will be effected.--_Civil\nEngineer and Architect\u2019s Journal._\n\n\n\n\nREMONSTRANCE WITH THE SNAILS.\n\n\n            Ye little Snails,\n            With slippery tails,\n            Who noiselessly travel\n            Along this gravel,\n    By a silvery path of slime unsightly,\n    I learn that you visit my pea-rows nightly.\n      Felonious your visit, I guess!\n        And I give you this warning,\n        That, every morning,\n            I\u2019ll strictly examine the pods;\n          And if one I hit on,\n          With slaver or spit on,\n            Your next meal will be with the gods.\n\n    I own you\u2019re a very ancient race,\n      And Greece and Babylon were amid;\n    You have tenanted many a royal dome,\n      And dwelt in the oldest pyramid;\n    The source of the Nile!--Oh! you have been there!\n      In the ark was your floodless bed;\n    On the moonless night of Marathon\n      You crawl\u2019d o\u2019er the mighty dead;\n        But still, though I reverence your ancestries,\n        I don\u2019t see why you should nibble my peas.\n\n    The meadows are yours--the hedge-row and brook,\n      You may bathe in their dews at morn;\n    By the aged sea you may sound your _shells_,\n      On the mountain erect your _horn_;\n    The fruits and the flowers are your rightful dowers,\n      Then why--in the name of wonder--\n    Should my six pea-rows be the only cause\n      To excite your midnight plunder?\n\n    I have never disturbed your slender shells,\n      You have hung round my aged walk;\n    And each might have sat, till he died in his fat,\n      Beneath his own cabbage-stalk;\n    But now you must fly from the soil of your sires,\n      Then put on your liveliest crawl;\n    And think of your poor little snails at home,\n      Now orphans or emigrants all.\n      Utensils domestic, and civil, and social,\n        I give you an evening to pack up:\n    But if the moon of this night does not rise on your flight,\n        To-morrow I\u2019ll hang each man Jack up.\n      You\u2019ll think of my peas and your thievish tricks,\n      With tears of slime when crossing the _Styx_.\n\n    POSTSCRIPT.\n\n    If darkness should not let thee read this,\n                  Furtive Snail,\n    Go ask thy friend, the Glow-worm,\n                  For his tail.\n\n                                                    --_From a Newspaper._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThat man should be happy, is so evidently the intention of his Creator,\nthe contrivances to that end are so multitudinous and so striking,\nthat the perception of the aim may be called universal. Whatever tends\nto make men happy, becomes a fulfilment of the will of God. Whatever\ntends to make them miserable, becomes opposition to his will.--_Harriet\nMartineau._\n\n\n\n\nIRISH SUPERSTITIONS.--No. III.\n\nGHOSTS AND FAIRIES.\n\nBY W. CARLETON.\n\n\nWhen a superstition is once impressed strongly upon the popular\ncredulity, the fiction always assumes the shape and form which the\npeculiar imagination of the country is constituted to body forth.\nThis faculty depends so much on climate, temperament, religion, and\noccupation, that the notions entertained of supernatural beings, though\ngenerally based upon one broad feature peculiar to all countries, differ\nso essentially respecting the form, character, habits, and powers of\nthese beings, that they appear to have been drawn from sources widely\nremoved. To an inquiring mind there can be no greater proof than this of\ntheir being nothing but the creations of our own brain, and of assuming\nthat shape only which has uniformly been impressed upon our imagination\nat the precise period of life when such impressions are strongest and\nmost permanent, and the reason which ought to combat and investigate\nthem least capable of doing so. If these inane bugbears possessed the\nconsistence of truth and reality, their appearance to mankind would be\nalways uniform, unchangeable, and congruous; but they are beheld, so to\nspeak, through different prejudices and impressions, and consequently\nchange with the media through which they are seen. Hence their different\nshape, character, and attributes in different countries, and the frequent\nabsence of rational analogy with respect to them even in the same.\n\nWhere now are the multitudinous creations of the old Greek and Roman\nmythologies? Where are their Lares, their Penates, their Fauns, Satyrs,\nNymphs, Dryads, Hamadryads, Gods, and Goddesses? And yet the peasantry\nof the two most enlightened nations of antiquity were so firmly fixed in\na belief of their distinct and individual existence, that the worship of\nthem formed an essential part of their religion. Where are they now? And\nwho believes in the existence of a Faun, a Dryad, or a Hamadryad? They\nmelted into what they were--nothing--before the lustre of Revelation,\nwhich, by bringing the truth of immortality to light, banished the whole\nhost of such incongruous monsters from the earth, and impressed the\nimagination of mankind with truer notions and simpler imagery. The pure\nbut severe morality of the Christian religion, by making man sensible of\nhis responsibility in another life, opened up to the good and rational\nthe bright hopes of future happiness. But we have our fears as well as\nour hopes, and as these preponderate in proportion to our fitness for\ndeath, so will we view the world that is to come either with joy or\nterror. Every truth is abused and perverted by man\u2019s moral delinquencies:\nand the consequence is, that an idle fear of ghosts and apparitions is an\nabuse of the doctrine of our immortality. Judgment and eternal life were\nbrought near us by Revelation, but we fear them more than we love them,\nand hence the terrors of our imagination on thinking of any thing that\nis beyond the grave. As the old monsters of the mythologies disappeared\nbefore reason and religion, so also will ghosts, fairies, and all such\nnonsense, vanish when men shall be taught to reason upon them as they\nought, and to entertain higher notions of God than to believe that his\npurposes could be thwarted by the power or malignity of a fairy. Why,\nwhat, for instance, is every ghost story that we have heard, granting\nthem to be true, but a direct revelation, and so far antiscriptural and\nimpious? What new truth has the information of a spectre ever conveyed\nto us? What knowledge of futurity beyond that which we already know have\nthese dialogues with the dead ever brought to light? What view of our\nmoral, religious, or social duties, with which we were not acquainted\nbefore, have apparitions ever taught us? None. Away, then, with these\nempty and pusillanimous chimeras, which are but the mere hallucinations\nof a weak judgment, acted upon and misled by a strong fancy or a guilty\nconscience.\n\nThe force of imagination alone is capable of conjuring up and shaping\nout that which never had existence, and that too with as much apparent\ndistinctness and truth as if it was real. We all know that in the ease of\na female who is pregnant, a strong impression made upon the imagination\nof the mother will be visible on the body of the child. And why?\nBecause she firmly believes that it will be so. If she did not, no such\nimpression would be communicated to the infant. But when such effects\nare produced in physical matters, what will not the consequence be in\nthose that are purely mental and imaginative? Go to the lunatic asylum\nor the madhouse, and there it may be seen in all its unreal delusion and\npositive terror.\n\nBefore I close this portion of my little disquisition, I shall relate\nan anecdote connected with it, of which I myself was the subject. Some\nyears ago I was seized with typhus fever of so terrific a character,\nthat for a long time I lay in a state hovering between life and death,\nunconscious as a log, without either hope or fear. At length a crisis\ncame, and, aided by the strong stamina of an unbroken constitution, I\nbegan to recover, and every day to regain my consciousness more and\nmore. As yet, however, I was very far from being out of danger, for I\nfelt the malady to be still so fiery and oppressive, that I was not\nsurprised when told that the slightest mistake either in my medicine or\nregimen would have brought on a relapse. At all events, thank God, my\nrecovery advanced; but, at the same time, the society that surrounded me\nwas wild and picturesque in the highest degree. Never indeed was such\na combination of the beautiful and hideous seen, unless in the dreams\nof a feverish brain like mine, or the distorted reason of a madman. At\none side of my bed, looking in upon me with a most hellish and satanic\nleer, was a face, compared with which the vulgar representations of the\ndevil are comeliness itself, whilst on the other was a female countenance\nbeaming in beauty that was ethereal--angelic. Thus, in fact, was my\nwhole bed surrounded; for they stood as thickly as they could, sometimes\nflitting about and crushing and jostling one another, but never leaving\nmy bed for a moment. Here were the deformed features of a dwarf, there an\nangel apparently fresh from heaven; here was a gigantic demon with his\nhuge mouth placed longitudinally in his face, and his nose across it,\nwhilst the Gorgon-like coxcomb grinned as if he were vain, and had cause\nto be vain, of his beauty. This fellow annoyed me much, and would, I\napprehend, have done me an injury, only for the angel on the other side.\nHe made perpetual attempts to come at me, but was as often repulsed by\nthat seraphic creature. Indeed, I feared none of them so much as I did\nthe Gorgon, who evidently had a design on me, and would have rendered my\nsituation truly pitiable, were it not for the protection of the seraph,\nwho always succeeded in keeping him aloof. At length he made one furious\nrush as if he meant to pounce upon me, and in self-preservation I threw\nmy right arm to the opposite side, and, grasping the seraph by the nose,\nI found I had caught my poor old nurse by that useful organ, while she\nwas in the act of offering me a drink. For several days I was in this\nstate, the victim of images produced by disease, and the inflammatory\nexcitement of brain consequent upon it. Gradually, however, they began\nto disappear, and I felt manifest relief, for they were succeeded by\nimpressions as amusing now as the former had been distressing. I imagined\nthat there was a serious dispute between my right foot and my left, as\nto which of them was entitled to precedency; and, what was singular, my\nright leg, thigh, hand, arm and shoulder, most unflinchingly supported\nthe right foot, as did the other limbs the left. The head alone, with\nan impartiality that did it honour, maintained a strict neutrality. The\ntruth was, I imagined that all my limbs were endowed with a consciousness\nof individual existence, and I felt quite satisfied that each and all\nof them possessed the faculty of reason. I have frequently related this\nanecdote to my friends; but, I know not how it happened, I never could\nget them to look upon it in any other light than as a specimen of that\nkind of fiction which is indulgently termed \u201cdrawing the long bow.\u201d It\nis, however, as true as that I now exist, and relate the fact; and,\nwhat is more, the arguments which I am about to give are substantially\nthe same that were used by the rival claimants and their respective\nsupporters. The discussion, I must observe, was opened by the left foot,\nas being the discontented party, and, like all discontented parties, its\nlanguage was so very violent, that, had its opinions prevailed, there\nis no doubt but they would have succeeded in completely overturning my\nconstitution.\n\n_Left foot._ Brother (addressing the right with a great show of\naffection, but at the same time with a spasmodic twitch of strong\ndiscontentment in the big toe), Brother, I don\u2019t know how it is that you\nhave during our whole lives always taken the liberty to consider yourself\na better foot than I am; and I would feel much obliged to you if you\nwould tell me why it is that you claim this superiority over me. Are we\nnot both equal in every thing?\n\n_Right foot._ Be quiet, my dear brother. We _are_ equal in every thing,\nand why, therefore, are you discontented?\n\n_Left foot._ Because you presume to consider yourself the better and more\nuseful foot.\n\n_Right foot._ Let us not dispute, my dear brother; each is equally\nnecessary to the other. What could I do without _you_? Nothing, or at\nleast very little; and what could you do without _me_? Very little\nindeed. We were not made to quarrel.\n\n_Left foot_ (_very hot_). I am not disposed to quarrel, but I trust you\nwill admit that I am as good as you, every way your equal, and begad\nin many things your superior. Do you hear that? _I_ am not disposed to\nquarrel, you rascal, and how dare you say so?\n\nHere there was a strong sensation among all the right members, who felt\nthemselves insulted through this outrage offered to their chief supporter.\n\n_Right foot._ Since you choose to insult me without provocation, I must\nstand upon my right----\n\n_Left_ (_shoving off to a distance_). RIGHT!--there, again, what right\nhave you to be termed \u201c_right_\u201d any more than I?--(\u201cBravo!--go it,\n_Left_; pitch into him; we are equal to him and his,\u201d from the friends of\nthe Left. The matter was now likely to become serious, and to end in a\nrow.)\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter there below?\u201d said the Head; \u201cdon\u2019t be fools, and make\nyourselves ridiculous. What would either of you be with a crutch or a\ncork-leg? which is only another name for a wooden shoe, any day.\u201d\n\n_Right foot._ Since he provokes me, I tell him, that ever since the world\nbegan, the prejudice of mankind in all nations has been in favour of the\nright foot and the right hand. (Strong sensation among the left members).\nSurely he ought not to be ignorant of the proverb, which says, when a man\nis peculiarly successful in any thing he undertakes, \u201cthat man knew how\nto go about it--_he put the right foot foremost_!\u201d (Cheers from the right\nparty.)\n\n_Left._ That\u2019s mere special pleading--the right foot there does not mean\nyou, because you happen to be termed such; but it means the foot which,\nfrom its position under the circumstances, happens to be the proper one.\n(Loud applause from the left members.)\n\n_Right foot._ You know you are weak and feeble and awkward when compared\nto me, and can do little of yourself. (Hurra! that\u2019s a poser!)\n\n_Left._ Why, certainly, I grant I am the gentleman, and that you are very\nuseful to me, you plebeian. (\u201cBravo!\u201d from the left hand; \u201cours is the\naristocratic side--hear the operatives! Come, hornloof, what have you to\nsay to that?\u201d)\n\n_Right hand_ (_addressing his opponent._) You may be the aristocratic\nparty if you will, but we are the useful. Who are the true defenders of\nthe constitution, you poor sprig of nobility?\n\n_Left hand._ The heart is with us, the seat and origin of life and power.\nCan you boast as much? (Loud cheers.)\n\n_Right foot._ Why, have you never heard it said of an excellent and\nworthy man--a fellow of the right sort, a trump--as a mark of his\nsterling qualities, \u201chis heart\u2019s in the _right_ place!\u201d How then can it\nbe in the _left_? (Much applause.)\n\n_Left._ Which is an additional proof that mine is _that_ place and not\nyours. Yes, you rascal, we _have_ the heart, and you cannot deny it.\n\n_Right._ We admit he resides with you, but it is merely because you\nare the weaker side, and require his protection. The best part of his\nenergies are given to us, and we are satisfied.\n\n_Left._ You admit, then, that our party keeps yours in power, and why not\nat once give up your right to precedency?--why not resign?\n\n_Right._ Let us put it to the vote.\n\n_Left._ With all my heart.\n\nIt was accordingly put to the vote; but on telling the house, it was\nfound that the parties were equal. Both then appealed very strenuously to\nMr Speaker, the Head, who, after having heard their respective arguments,\nshook himself very gravely, and informed them (much after the manner of\nSir Roger De Coverley) that \u201cmuch might be said on both sides.\u201d \u201cBut one\nthing,\u201d said he, \u201cI beg both parties to observe, and very seriously to\nconsider. In the first place, there would be none of this nonsense about\nprecedency, were it not for the feverish and excited state in which you\nall happen to be at present. If you have common sense enough to wait\nuntil you all get somewhat cooler, there is little doubt but you will\nfeel that you cannot do without each other. As for myself, as I said\nbefore, I give no specific opinion upon disputes which would never have\ntaken place were it not for the heat of feeling which is between you.\nI know that much might and has been said upon both sides; but as for\nme, I nod significantly to both parties, and say nothing. One thing,\nhowever, I do say, and it is this--take care you, _right foot_, and you,\n_left foot_, that by pursuing this senseless quarrel too far it may not\nhappen that you will both get stretched and tied up together in a wooden\nsurtout, when precedency will be out of the question, and nothing but a\nmost pacific stillness shall remain between you for ever. I shake, and\nhave concluded.\u201d\n\nNow, this case, which as an illustration of my argument possesses a good\ndeal of physiological interest, is another key to the absurd doctrine of\napparitions. Here was I at the moment strongly and seriously impressed\nwith a belief that a quarrel was taking place between my two feet about\nthe right of going foremost. Nor was this absurdity all. I actually\nbelieved for the time that all my limbs were endowed with separate life\nand reason. And why? All simply because my whole system was in a state\nof unusually strong excitement, and the nerves and blood stimulated by\ndisease into a state of derangement. Such, in fact, is the condition in\nwhich every one must necessarily be who thinks he sees a spirit; and\nthis, which is known to be an undeniable fact, being admitted, it follows\nof course that the same causes will, other things being alike, produce\nthe same effects. For instance, does not the terror of an apparition\noccasion a violent and increased action of the heart and vascular system,\nsimilar to that of fever? Does not the very hair stand on end, not merely\nwhen the imaginary ghost is seen, but when the very apprehension of it is\nstrong? Is not the action of the brain, too, accelerated in proportion to\nthat of the heart, and the nervous system in proportion to that of both?\nWhat, then, is this but a fever for the time being, which is attended by\nthe very phantasms the fear of which created it; for in this case it so\nhappens that the cause and effect mutually reproduce each other.\n\nThe conversation detailed above is but a very meagre outline of what was\nsaid during the discussion. The arguments were far more subtle than the\nmere skeletons of them here put down, and very plentifully sprinkled\nover with classical quotations, both of Latin and Greek, which are not\nnecessary now.\n\nHibbert mentions a case of imagination, which in a man is probably the\nstrongest and most unaccountable on record. It is that of a person--an\ninvalid--who imagined that at a certain hour of the day a carter or\ndrayman came into his bedroom, and, uncovering him, inflicted several\nheavy stripes upon his body with the thong of his whip; and such was the\npower of fancy here, that the marks of the lash were visible in black and\nblue streaks upon his flesh. I am inclined to think, however, that this\nstands very much in need of confirmation.\n\nI have already mentioned a case of spectral illusion which occurred in\nmy native parish. I speak of Daly\u2019s daughter, who saw what she imagined\nto be the ghost of M\u2019Kenna, who had been lost among the mountains. I\nshall now relate another, connected with the fairies, of which I also\nwas myself an eye-witness. The man\u2019s name, I think, was Martin, and he\nfollowed the thoughtful and somewhat melancholy occupation of a weaver.\nHe was a bachelor, and wrought journey-work in every farmer\u2019s house where\nhe could get employment; and notwithstanding his supernatural vision\nof the fairies, he was considered to be both a quick and an excellent\nworkman. The more sensible of the country-people said he was deranged,\nbut the more superstitious of them maintained that he had a _Lianhan\nShee_, and saw them against his will. The Lianhan Shee is a malignant\nfairy, which, by a subtle compact made with any one whom it can induce\nby the fairest promises to enter into, secures a mastery over them by\ninducing its unhappy victims to violate it; otherwise, it is and must be\nlike the oriental genie, their slave and drudge, to perform such tasks\nas they wish to impose upon it. It will promise endless wealth to those\nwhom it is anxious to subjugate to its authority, but it is at once so\nmalignant and ingenious, that the party entering into the contract with\nit is always certain by its man\u0153uvres to break through his engagement,\nand thus become slave in his turn. Such is the nature of this wild and\nfearful superstition, which I think is fast disappearing, and is but\nrarely known in the country. Martin was a thin pale man, when I saw him,\nof a sickly look, and a constitution naturally feeble. His hair was a\nlight auburn, his beard mostly unshaven, and his hands of a singular\ndelicacy and whiteness, owing, I dare say, as much to the soft and easy\nnature of his employment, as to his infirm health. In every thing else\nhe was as sensible, sober, and rational as any other man; but on the\ntopic of fairies, the man\u2019s mania was peculiarly strong and immoveable.\nIndeed, I remember that the expression of his eyes was singularly wild\nand hollow, and his long narrow temples sallow and emaciated.\n\nNow, this man did not lead an unhappy life, nor did the malady he\nlaboured under seem to be productive of either pain or terror to him,\nalthough one might be apt to imagine otherwise. On the contrary, he\nand the fairies maintained the most friendly intimacy, and their\ndialogues--which I fear were woefully one-sided ones--must have been a\nsource of great pleasure to him, for they were conducted with much mirth\nand laughter, on his part at least.\n\n\u201cWell, Frank, when did you see the fairies?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhist! there\u2019s two dozen of them in the shop (the weaving shop) this\nminute. There\u2019s a little ould fellow sittin\u2019 on the top of the sleys, an\u2019\nall to be rocked while I\u2019m weavin\u2019. The sorrow\u2019s in them, but they\u2019re the\ngreatest little skamers alive, so they are. See, there\u2019s another of them\nat my dressin\u2019[1] noggin. Go out o\u2019 that, you _shingawn_; or, bad cess to\nme if you don\u2019t, but I\u2019ll lave you a mark. Ha! out, you thief you!\u201d\n\n\u201cFrank, aren\u2019t you afear\u2019d o\u2019 them?\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it me? Arra, what \u2019ud I be afear\u2019d o\u2019 them for? Sure they have no\npower over me.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why haven\u2019t they, Frank?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecaise I was baptized against them.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean by that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, the priest that christened me was tould by my father to put in\nthe prayer against the fairies--an\u2019 a priest can\u2019t refuse it when he\u2019s\naxed--an\u2019 he did so. Begorra, it\u2019s well for me that he did--(let the\ntallow alone, you little glutton--see, there\u2019s a weeny thief o\u2019 them\naitin\u2019 my tallow)--becaise, you see, it was their intention to make me\nking o\u2019 the fairies.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it possible?\u201d\n\n\u201cDevil a lie in it. Sure you may ax them, an\u2019 they\u2019ll tell you.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat size are they, Frank?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, little wee fellows, with green coats an\u2019 the purtiest little\nshoes ever you seen. There\u2019s two o\u2019 them--both ould acquaintances o\u2019\nmine--runnin\u2019 along the yarn beam. That ould fellow with the bob wig is\ncalled Jim Jam, an\u2019 the other chap with the three-cocked hat is called\nNickey Nick. Nickey plays the pipes. Nickey, give us a tune, or I\u2019ll\nmalivogue you--come now, \u2018Lough Erne Shore.\u2019 Whist, now--listen!\u201d\n\nThe poor fellow, though weaving as fast as he could all the time, yet\nbestowed every possible mark of attention to the music, and seemed to\nenjoy it as much as if it had been real. But who can tell whether that\nwhich we look upon as a privation may not after all be a fountain of\nincreased happiness, greater perhaps than any which we ourselves enjoy? I\nforget who the poet is who says,\n\n      Mysterious are thy laws;\n    The vision\u2019s finer than the view;\n    Her landscape Nature never drew\n      So fair as fancy draws.\n\nMany a time when a mere child not more than six or seven years of age,\nhave I gone as far as Frank\u2019s weaving-shop, in order, with a heart\ndivided between curiosity and fear, to listen to his conversation with\nthe good people. From morning till night his tongue was going almost as\nincessantly as his shuttle; and it was well known that at night, whenever\nhe awoke out of his sleep, the first thing he did was to put out his hand\nand push them as it were off his bed.\n\n\u201cGo out o\u2019 this, you thieves you--go out o\u2019 this, now, an\u2019 let me alone.\nNickey, is this any time to be playin\u2019 the pipes, and me wants to sleep?\nGo off, now--troth if yez do, you\u2019ll see what I\u2019ll give yez to-morrow.\nSure I\u2019ll be makin\u2019 new dressins; and if yez behave dacently, maybe I\u2019ll\nlave yez the scrapin\u2019 o\u2019 the pot. There now. Och! poor things, they\u2019re\ndacent crathurs. Sure they\u2019re all gone barrin\u2019 poor Red-cap, that doesn\u2019t\nlike to lave me.\u201d And then the harmless monomaniac would fall back into\nwhat we trust was an innocent slumber.\n\nAbout this time there was said to have occurred a very remarkable\ncircumstance, which gave poor Frank a vast deal of importance among the\nneighbours. A man named Frank Thomas, the same in whose house Mickey\nMcGrory held the first dance at which I ever saw him, as detailed in a\nformer number of this Journal--this man, I say, had a child sick, but of\nwhat complaint I cannot now remember, nor is it of any importance. One of\nthe gables of Thomas\u2019s house was built against or rather into a Forth or\nRath called Towny, or properly Tonagh Forth. It was said to be haunted\nby the fairies, and what gave it a character peculiarly wild in my eyes,\nwas, that there were on the southern side of it two or three little green\nmounds, which were said to be the graves of unchristened children, over\nwhich it was considered dangerous and unlucky to pass. At all events, the\nseason was mid-summer; and one evening about dusk, during the illness\nof the child, the noise of a handsaw was heard upon the Forth. This\nwas considered rather strange, and after a little time, a few of those\nwho were assembled at Frank Thomas\u2019s went to see who it could be that\nwas sawing in such a place, or what they could be sawing at so late an\nhour, for every one knew that there was none in the whole country about\nthem who would dare to cut down the few whitethorns that grew upon the\nforth. On going to examine, however, judge of their surprise, when, after\nsurrounding and searching the whole place, they could discover no trace\nof either saw or sawyer. In fact, with the exception of themselves, there\nwas no one, either natural or supernatural, visible. They then returned\nto the house, and had scarcely sat down, when it was heard again within\nten yards of them. Another examination of the premises took place, but\nwith equal success. Now, however, while standing on the forth, they heard\nthe sawing in a little hollow, about a hundred and fifty yards below\nthem, which was completely exposed to their view, but they could see\nnothing. A party of them immediately went down to ascertain if possible\nwhat this singular noise and invisible labour could mean; but on arriving\nat the spot, they heard the sawing, to which were now added hammering\nand driving of nails, upon the forth above, whilst those who stood on\nthe forth continued to hear it in the hollow. On comparing notes, they\nresolved to send down to Billy Nelson\u2019s for Frank Martin, a distance only\nof about eighty or ninety yards. He was soon on the spot, and without a\nmoment\u2019s hesitation solved the enigma.\n\n\u201c\u2019Tis the fairies,\u201d said he. \u201cI see them, and busy crathurs they are.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what are they sawing, Frank?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are makin\u2019 a child\u2019s coffin,\u201d he replied; \u201cthey have the body\nalready made, an\u2019 they\u2019re now nailin\u2019 the lid together.\u201d\n\nThat night the child certainly died, and the story goes, that on the\nsecond evening afterwards, the carpenter who was called upon to make\nthe coffin brought a table out from Thomas\u2019s house to the forth, as a\ntemporary bench; and it is said that the sawing and hammering necessary\nfor the completion of his task were precisely the same which had been\nheard the evening but one before--neither more nor less. I remember the\ndeath of the child myself, and the making of its coffin, but I think that\nthe story of the supernatural carpenter was not heard in the village for\nsome months after its interment.\n\nFrank had every appearance of a hypochondriac about him. At the time\nI saw him, he might be about thirty-four years of age, but I do not\nthink, from the debility of his frame and infirm health, that he has\nbeen alive for several years. He was an object of considerable interest\nand curiosity, and often have I been present when he was pointed out to\nstrangers as \u201cthe man that could see the good people.\u201d With respect to\nhis solution of the supernatural noise, that is easily accounted for.\nThis superstition of the coffin-making is a common one, and to a man like\nhim, whose mind was familiar with it, the illness of the child would\nnaturally suggest the probability of its death, which he immediately\nassociated with the imagery and agents to be found in his unhappy malady.\n\n[1] The dressings are a species of sizy flummery, which is brushed into\nthe yarn to keep the thread round and even, and to prevent it from being\nfrayed by the friction of the reed.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nANTIQUITY OF RAILWAYS AND GAS.--Railways were used in Northumberland\nin 1633, and Lord Keeper North mentions them in 1671 in his journey to\nthis country. A Mr Spedding, coal-agent to Lord Lonsdale, at Whitehaven,\nin 1765, had the gas from his lordship\u2019s coal-pits conveyed by pipes\ninto his office, for the purpose of lighting it, and proposed to the\nmagistrates of Whitehaven to convey the gas by pipes through the streets\nto light the town, which they refused.--_Carlisle Journal._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTHE HUNGARIAN NOBILITY.--There is no country under heaven where nobility\nis at so low a par, or rather perhaps I should say, on so unequal a\nbasis; and I was so much amused by the classification lately bestowed\non it by a humorous friend of mine, to whom I had frankly declared my\ninability to disentangle its mazes, that I will give it in his own words.\n\n\u201cThe nobility of Hungary are of three orders--the mighty, the moderate,\nand the miserable--the Esterhazys, the Batthyanyis, and such like, are\nthe capital of the column--the shaft is built of the less wealthy and\ninfluential; and the base (and a very substantial one it is) is a curious\ncongeries of small landholders, herdsmen, vine-growers, waggoners,\nand pig-drivers. Nay, you may be unlucky enough to get a _nemes_ as a\nservant; and this is the most unhappy dilemma of all, for you cannot\nsolace yourself by beating him when he offends you, as he is protected by\nhis privileges, and he appeals to the Court of the Comitat for redress.\nThe country is indebted to Maria Theresa for this pleasant confusion;\nwho, when she repaid the valour of the Hungarian soldiers with a portion\nof their own land, and a name to lend it grace, forgot that many of these\nindividuals were probably better swordsmen than proprietors; and instead\nof limiting their patent of nobility to a given term of years, laid the\nfoundation of a state of things as inconvenient as it is absurd.\u201d\n\nI was immediately reminded by his closing remark of a most ridiculous\nscene, which, although in itself a mere trifle, went far to prove the\ntruth of his position. My readers are probably aware that none pay tolls\nin Hungary save the peasants; and it chanced that on one occasion, when\nwe were passing from Pesth to Buda over the bridge of boats, the carriage\nwas detained by some accidental stoppage just beside the tollkeeper\u2019s\nlodge, when our attention was arrested by a vehement altercation between\nthe worthy functionary, its occupant, and a little ragged urchin of 11 or\n12 years of age, who had, as it appeared, attempted to pass without the\npreliminary ceremony of payment.\n\nThe tollkeeper handled the supposed delinquent with some roughness as he\ndemanded his fee: but the boy stood his ground stoutly, and asserted his\nfree right of passage as a nobleman! The belligerent party pointed to the\nheel-less shoes and ragged jerkin of the culprit, and smiled in scorn.\nThe lad for all reply bade him remove his hand from his collar, and let\nhim pass at his peril; and the tone was so assured in which he did so,\nthat the tollkeeper became grave, and looked somewhat doubtful; when\njust at the moment up walked a sturdy peasant, who, while he paid his\nkreutzer, saluted the young nobleman, and settled the point.\n\nIt was really broad farce. The respectably clad and comfortable looking\nfunctionary loosed his hold in a moment, and the offending hand, as it\nreleased the collar of the captive, lifted his hat, while he poured\nout his excuses for an over-zeal, arising from his ignorance of the\npersonal identity of this young scion of an illustrious house, who\nwas magnanimously pleased to accept the apology, and to raise his own\ndilapidated cap in testimony of his greatness of soul, as he walked away\nin triumph. Cruikshank would have had food for a _chef d\u2019\u0153uvre_.--_Miss\nPardoe\u2019s Hungary._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAFRICAN ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.--On coming out of my hut at Fandah\none morning, I saw the king seated at the gate of his palace, surrounded\nby his great men, administering justice. At a little distance, on the\ngrass, were two men and two women, who were charged with robbery. The\nevidence had already been gone through before my arrival. The king was\nthe principal speaker, and when he paused, the whole court murmured\napprobation. The younger woman made a long defence, and quite astonished\nme by her volubility, variety of intonation, and graceful action. The\nappeal, however, seemed to be in vain; for when she had finished, the\nking, who had listened with great patience, passed sentence in a speech\nof considerable length, delivered with great fluency and emphasis. In\nmany parts he was much applauded, except by the poor wretches, who heard\ntheir doom with shrieks of despair. The king then retired, the court\nbroke up, and the people dispersed. None remained but the prisoners and a\ndecrepit old man, who, with many threats and some ceremony, administered\na small bowl of poison, prepared, I believe, from the leaves of a\nvenerable tree in the neighbourhood, which was hooped and propped all\nround. The poor creatures received the potion on their knees, and before\nthey could be induced to swallow it, cast many a lingering look and last\nfarewell on the beautiful world from which a small draught was about to\nseparate them. They afterwards drank a prodigious quantity of water; and\nwhen I next went out, the dose had done its deadly work. I cannot tell\nhow far justice was truly administered, but there was a great appearance\nof it; and I must say that I never in any court saw a greater display of\ndecorum and dignity.--_Allan\u2019s Views on the Niger._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTHE PLANING-MACHINE ROOM IN MESSRS FAWCETT AND CO.\u2019S ENGINE FACTORY,\nLIVERPOOL.--In this room are valuable and elaborately contrived machines\nfor the planing or levelling of large plates, or other pieces of iron\nor brass, so as to give them a smooth, true, and polished surface. The\narticle or piece to be planed is securely fixed by screw-bolts, &c. to\na horizontal iron table, perforated with holes for the insertion of the\nbolts from beneath it in any required point, to suit the size or form\nof the article. This table, when put in motion, travels backwards and\nforwards with its load on two iron rails, or parallel slides. Over the\ncentre is perpendicularly fixed what is called the \u201cplaning tool,\u201d an\ninstrument made of steel, somewhat in the form of a hook, with the point\nso inclined as to present itself towards the surface of the metal to be\nplaned, as it approaches it on the table, so as, when all is adjusted,\nto plough or plane it in narrow streaks or shavings as it passes under\nit. The extremity of the tool is about half an inch to three quarters\nin breadth, and being of a round form at the under side, and ground or\nbevelled on the upper, presents a sort of point. If a plate of iron is to\nbe planed, the operation commences on the outer edge, and each movement\nbackwards and forwards of the table places it in such a position under\nthe tool, that another small parallel cut is made throughout its whole\nlength. The tool, in ordinary machines of this kind, is fixed so that\nit cuts only in one direction, as the plate is drawn against its edge\nor point, which is raised to allow of the backward motion of the plate.\nA new patent has however been obtained for a great improvement in this\nrespect by Mr Whitworth, of Manchester, and several of his machines are\non Messrs Fawcett and Co.\u2019s premises. In these, by a peculiarly beautiful\ncontrivance, the cutting instrument, the moment the plate passes under\nit, \u201cjumps\u201d up a little in the box or case to which it is attached, and\ninstantly \u201cturns about\u201d in the opposite direction, and commences cutting\naway, so that both backwards and forwards the operation goes on without\nloss of time. The workmen very quaintly and appropriately call this new\nplaning tool \u201cJim Crow.\u201d A workman attends to each of the machines; and\nwhen the piece to be cut is fixed with great exactness on the moving\ntable by a spirit-level, he has nothing to do but to watch that it remain\nso, and that the machinery work evenly and correctly. Where a very\nsmooth surface is required, the operation of planing is repeated, and\ntwo plates thus finished will be so truly level, that they will adhere\ntogether. It should be added, that so perfect are these machines, that\nin addition to planing horizontally, they may be so adjusted as to plane\nperpendicularly, or at any given angle.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe planet revolves for ever in its appointed orbit; and the noblest\ntriumph of mechanical philosophy is to have ascertained that the\nperturbations of its course are all compensated within determined\nperiods, and its movement exempted from decay. But man, weak and erring\nthough he be, is still progressive in his moral nature. He does not move\nround for ever in one unvarying path of moral action. The combinations of\nhis history exhibit not only the unity of the material system, but also\nthe continually advancing improvement belonging to beings of a higher\norder.--_Miller\u2019s \u201cModern History philosophically considered.\u201d_\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTO PREVENT HORSES\u2019 FEET FROM CLOGGING UP WITH SNOW.--One pound of lard,\nhalf a pound of tar, and two ounces of resin, simmered up together. Stop\nthe horses\u2019 feet, just before starting, with this, which will prevent the\nfeet from balling.--_Suffolk Chronicle._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nConscience is merely our own judgment of the moral rectitude or turpitude\nof our own actions.--_Locke._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n    Printed and published every Saturday by GUNN and CAMERON, at the\n    Office of the General Advertiser, No. 6, Church Lane, College\n    Green, Dublin--Agents:--R. GROOMBRIDGE, Panyer Alley, Paternoster\n    Row, London; SIMMS and DINHAM, Exchange Street, Manchester;\n    C. DAVIES, North John Street, Liverpool; SLOCOMBE & SIMMS,\n    Leeds, FRASER and CRAWFORD, George Street, Edinburgh; and DAVID\n    ROBERTSON, Trongate, Glasgow.","title":"The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 34, February 20, 1841","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":11562}