The rough river ran,— Picture it-think of it, Dissolute Man! Lave in it, drink of it, Then, if you can! Take her up tenderly, Ere her limbs frigidly Smoothe, and compose them; And her eyes, close them, Staring so blindly! Dreadfully staring Perishing gloomily, Cross her hands humbly, Owning her weakness, Her evil behaviour, And leaving, with meekness, Her sins to her Saviour! [Among the MSS. connected with the Bridge of Sighs I find the following fragmentary verses.] BRIDGE OF SIGHS. PART II. WEARY with troubles That Death must deliver Away in the river The moon in the river shone And the stars some six or seven Poor child of sin, to throw it therein * Cover her, cover her, Throw the earth over her Victim of murder inhumanly done; With gravel and sod Hide-hide her from God, And the light of the sun! 209 THE MONSTER TELESCOPE. [WE feel infinite pride and gratification in being able to present the following letter exclusively to our Subscribers who will thus be in possession of discoveries, which for some days, probably some weeks, will not appear in the scientific journals. The astronomical reader will readily recognise the stupendous instrument referred to by our Correspondent, as the one constructed at the expense and under the direction of a nobleman of distinguished mechanical genius, and devoted to the sublime study of the stars. Its dimensions may be estimated from the fact that it is twice as long (eighty feet) as the famous telescope erected by Sir William Herschel at Slough. The diameter of the speculum is two yards!-EDITOR.] Since my last, an event has occurred here of unusual interest to the scientific world, and the astronomers in particular-nothing less than the testing of the monster telescope with results so extraordinary and of such thrilling interest, that, jaded as I am with fatigue and excitement, I cannot resist sitting down to give some account of our discoveries. It was my good fortune, you will remember, to be present at the casting of the great speculum, when his lordship so signally exhibited his skill, energy, and presence of mind: and on Friday last I was agreeably surprised by receiving a courteous invitation to assist, as the French say, at an experimental trial of the powers of the stupendous machine, at VOL. IX. 14 last happily completed after the expenditure of so much time, labour, and money. Finding that my friend Maclure, the well-known author of a Treatise on the Differential Calculus, had received a similar card, we hired a chaise and proceeded together to the appointed rendezvous, his lordship's country seat. To prevent interruption, or intrusion, the affair was a profound secret, except to the initiated—in all about a score of persons, several of whom had come over expressly from England, and one or two from the Continent. According to Maclure, there was even a Professor from the Swedish University of Upsala. The company being all mustered, we repaired in a body, led by our noble host, to the grounds, where we found the telescope erected pro tempore on a gentle eminence in the park; the abundant brass work glittering brightly in the moonbeams, and the huge frame throwing a complicated skeleton-like shadow across the smooth grass. Seen against the dark blue sky by the dubious lunar light, its dimensions seemed even greater than they really were. Altogether it looked more like some gigantic engine of war-a "hollow tube" of that artillery described by Milton as pointed by the rebellious angels against the host of Heaven, than a machine intended to aid in the peaceful achievements of science,-a quiet victory over space. Some minutes were spent in walking round the telescope, watching its singular appearance in different aspects, and then in testing and admiring the simplicity of its construction and the facility of the movements. The workmanship was perfect. Not a screw was loose; not a hinge was stiff; every joint and pivot moved as easily and silently as those of the human frame. So delicate was the adjustment, so nice the poise, a child could have turned the enormous tube, at will, in any direction. No vibration, no oscillation. None but the operatives of our country and our own times could have produced such a result. It was verily the triumph of modern Mechanic Art! At last we all congregated in a group round the inferior end of the machine. The huge brass cap over the larger disc had been removed; the covering of the smaller lens was now withdrawn, and the tube stood ready to disclose its wondrous visions to the human eye. Expectation was on tip-toecuriosity wound up to the highest pitch-anxiety on the rack -but nobody stirred or spoke. There was a dead, solemn pause of wonder, and I might say awe, for who knew what sublime revelations might be in store for us !-sights invisible to the mortal organ since the creation of the world! What perplexing problems were perhaps about to be solved! What long-cherished theories confirmed or overturned for ever! In the meantime the glass was carefully levelled at one "bright particular star," and through the intense silence came an emphatic whisper distinctly audible to us all. "Now then, gentlemen, for the first look through the virgin instrument." This honour was assigned to a personage who stood beside me :-the Astronomer Royal, probably, or Sir John Herschel; but my old infirmity prevented me from catching the name, and I am acquainted, personally, with very few of our sçavans. Possibly you will recognise him from my description-a large square-built man, very bald, with a bland countenance, and a peculiar hitch in his speech. He trembled visibly as he applied his eye to the glass, and to judge by myself we all quivered more or less with the same nervous excitement. By a stop-watch, his gaze would perhaps have occupied some forty or fifty seconds; but to my feeling, and doubtless to that of the rest of the company, the long, long look endured for several minutes. Nevertheless, nobody hurried to take his place when he |