Page images
PDF
EPUB

make you a captain, but you are a Hundsfoot (scoundrel) if you tell it to any body." As soon as the king was gone, they all came round the officer, and asked what the king had said to him, but he would not tell, and replied, "Nothing, nothing."

After a twelvemonth was passed, and not a word had transpired, finding the officer kept the secret, the king sent him a commission dated a year back.

JOHN CASPAR WURMSER.

(From the German.)

THE celebrated John Caspar Wurmser always swore by himself, and used no other oath, holding this so sacred that nothing could make him break it, or in the slightest degree depart from it; and when John Caspar said it, it was sure to be true, and certain of being performed, and nothing could shake the firm resolve which he had once sanctioned with his christian name. A soldier of bis regiment who had served 17 years, and during this period, had always demeaned himself in a most exemplary manner, by the seduction of his comrades, had un dertaken to do what in time of war was. atonable only by death, but otherwise excusable by corporal punishment.

It was unfortunate for this soldier, that when the report was made, the General was in a bad humour, and on hearing it, exclaimed, As sure as my name is John Caspar, this fellow shall be hanged.

The officers of the regiment pitied the poor man's case, but as the General had sworn by his forename, they did not dare speak a good word for him. The day of execution came, and the General was at the head of his regiment, and gave the word of command; when the delinquent was within the lists, he threw himself on his knees, and begged the General to grant him a favour; upon which the General said, If it be for any thing after your death you ask, you may be assured it shall be fulfilled, but hang you must. The soldier said, it was for something after his execution that he asked, but that he might suffer calmly, he begged the General to assure him on his oath that he would perform his petition. The General answered, As sure as my name is John Caspar, I will perform it. Then the soldier begged, that the General would after he was dead kiss his posterior. The General for his word's sake pardoned him, because he would have been, at all events, obliged to break one of his oaths.

NAVAL ANECDOTES. "There are three things," young gentleman," said Nelson to one of his midshipmen, in the war of 1793, "which you are constantly to bear in mid. First, you must always implicitly obey orders, without attempting to form any opinion of your own respecting their propriety. Secondly, you must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and Thirdly, you must hate a Frenchman as you do the devil."

At the reduction of Martinique the sailors served on shore transporting the artillery; and during a period of five weeks performed actions that almost exceed probability. Their laborious exertions were very great. One day, when the Commander-in-Chief of the army met Captain Harvey's detachment of seamen on the road, they, being ignorant that a battery was appointed for them to serve in, surrounded the general, and offered him their services, swearing they thought it d-d hard to have all work and no fighting; and hoped his honour would let them have some share in it. Upon the general replying, "Well, my lads, you shall have a battery to yourselves," they saluted him with three hearty cheers, and went readily to their work again.

THE FATAL LETTER.

THE following love adventure is re corded in Arthur Wilson's Life of James the First. To clear it of the faults of this author's vicious style, one must change his forced and unnatural express · sions.

When the daughter of James I. mar ried the Palatine, many English soldiers of fortune followed her: amongst these gentlemen was one Duncomb, who was an officer in the Earl of Oxford's company. He left a beautiful mistress behind him in England, to whom he had offered vows of the most faithful pas sion, accompanied by a promise of marriage. Her fortune was however small, and his father threatened to disinherit him if he carried his design into execution. To alienate his affections from this lady he sent him to the Palatinate, where he conceived time and absence would efface the impressions which love had made upon his heart. He charged him at his departure never to think of her more, if he wished to be remembered by him. Our loyer had been now absent for some time, and his heart breathed with undiminished affection. He resolved to give way to the pressure of his feelings, and for this purpose wrote to

ON REAPING CORE, &c.

his mistress, assuring her that no threats or anger of his unfeeling parents should ever banish the tender recollection of their reciprocal passion. Our youth, who was a careful lover, but a careless writer, having occasion to write to his father at the same time, addressed his father's letter, (in which he renounces his mistress for ever) to his mistress, and the letter of his mistress to his father, in which he promises a durable passion, The father, with harsh and cruel indignation, scat to his son a letter of the most unkind nature. Whether it was this letter, or a sense of shame for the mistake that had happened, that she should see that he had renounced her; the lover, alive to the finest sensibilitics, run himself on his sword, and his death was sincerely lamented by all the EngJish in the Palatinate.

A CRYSTAL SUMMER-HOUSE.

FURETIERE has given a description of a very curious crystal summer-house, invented for the king of Siam. The description was transmitted to him by a friend, who had the honour of a seat in it.

The king of Siam has, in one of his country palaces, a most singular pavilion. The tables, the chairs, the closets, &c. are all composed of crystal. The walls, the ceiling, and the floors, are formed of pieces of plate glass, of about an inch thick, and six feet square, so nicely united by a cement, which is as transparent as glass itself, that the most subtile water cannot penetrate. There is but one door, which shuts so closely, that it is as impenetrable to the water as the rest of this singular building. A Chinese engineer has constructed it thus, as a certain remedy against the insupportable heat of the climate. This pavilion is twenty-eight feet in length, and seventeen in breadth; it is placed in the midst of a great basin, paved and ornamented with marble of various colours. They fill this basin with water in about a quarter of an hour, and it is emptied as quickly: When you enter the pavilion, the door is immediately closed, and cemented with mastic, to binder the water from entering; it is then they open the sluices, and this great basin is soon filled with water, which is suffered to overflow the land; so that the pavilion is entirely under water, except the top of the dome, which is left untouched for the benefit of respiration. Nothing is more charming than the agrecable coolness of this delicious place, while the extreme fervour of the sun boils on the surface of the freshest fountains.

47

ON REAPING OF CORN. M. CADET de Vaux bas lately recom mended, as an important and useful innovation, the reaping of corn before it is perfectly ripe. This practice origi nated with M. Salles, of the Agricultural Society of Beziers: grain thus reaped (say eight days before it is ripe) is fuller, larger, finer, and is never attacked by the weevil. This was proved by reaping one half of a piece of corn-field, as recommended, and leaving the other till the usual time. The early reaped por tion gave a hectolitre of corn more, for half a hectar of land, than the latter reaped. An equal quantity of flour from each was made into bread: that made from the corn reaped green gave seven pounds of bread more than the other, in six decalitres. The weevil attacked the ripe corn, but not the green. The proper time for reaping is when the grain, pressed between the fingers, has a doughy appearance, like crumb of bread just hot from the oven, when pressed in the same way.

-LIQUID PHOSPHORUS.

THE best method of preparing this is, to boil, very gently, one part of phosphorus with six of oil of olives. The oil thus charged with phosphorus must be kept in a bottle well corked. It has the property of becoming luminous in the dark as soon as the phial containing it is unstopped, and opaque again when the phial is corked. This liquid may serve for shewing the hour of the night, by holding a pocket watch against the bottle, when unstopped. It may likewise be used for forming luminous writings or drawings, by means of a small brush. It also may be rubbed on the face, hands,&c. to make them appear luminous, without injury.

Liquid phosphorus may likewise be prepared by triturating phosphorus in a glass or earthenware mortar, with oil of cloves.

THE REAL STAGE TO GRAVESEND. A person accosting old Paddy, did say, "Hast seen, friend, the coach to Gravesend pass this way? I yesterday did an outside place engage, And lost is my money, if missed is the stage," "Arrah, honey," said Pat, "ye're not left in the lurch, For the Gravesend stage stands at the door of yon church."

vain,

Away posted the man, but his search was in
And he quickly returned to enquire again.
Said Patrick, "I say, as I told ye before,
That same stage now stands just close by the

church door;

And if you would wish me to make it more clear,
'Tis the "hearse"-that's the real stage to
Graves-end, my dear."
Q.

[graphic][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small]

LONDON:-WILLIAM CHARLTON WRIGHT, 65, Paternoster Row, and may be had of all Booksellers and Newsmen. [SEARS, Printer, 45, Gutter Lane, Cheapside.

[ocr errors]

7

The Portfolio,

Comprising

I. THE FLOWERS OF LITERATURE.

II. THE SPIRIT OF THE MAGAZINES.
III. THE WONDERS OF NATURE AND ART.

IV. THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN, AND DOMESTIC GUIDE.
V. THE MECHANICS' ORACLE.

No. LXXXVIII.]

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCT. 9, 1824.

1

THE NEW LONDON BRIDGE,

NOW IN PROGRESS OF ERECTION,
AND TO BE COMPLETED IN 1828.

[2d.

[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][ocr errors][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[merged small][ocr errors]

THE NEW LONDON BRIDGE,

t

new

Now in progress of erection, And to be completed in 1828. OUR engraving presents the bridge of the metropolis, as it will appear when completed to a spectator situated over the middle of the river nearly opposite the Tower, and a height above the water of about fifty feet, or the topmast head of an ordinary mer chant vessel. From that situation he will see the structure itself as we have depicted it, and with it the Southwark and Blackfriars bridges.

Of the necessity of the new bridge, to the credit of the first metropolis of Europe, as well as to the better safety of the labouring community, there is unfortunately no question at the present day; the average annual loss of thirty human beings, and twenty thousand pounds in actual property, which for thirty years has been the frightful consequence of its whirlpools and sweeping cataracts, satisfy every resident of London. Foreigners accustomed to the metropolitan buildings of the Continent, feel our old city bridge to be beneath their tread, and shrink from the prospect afforded by a glance through the crumbling fence which stands between them and the horrible chaos below. It is sufficient for us to gay in this place, that the old bridge has already stood upwards of 600 years, and has probably cost the Corporation more for repairs, than would have sufficed to employ the best talent of the country in the erection of ten new bridges!

The new bridge is building on the western side of the old one; and as near to it as is practicable. Its material is Scotch granite, which ensures the important points of durability and beauty. Its arrangement consists of five elliptical arches, the central one of which is of 150 feet span between the piers: the two next are of 140 feet each; and the two arches adjoining the abutments are of 120 feet each. The height of the middle arch on the under side, above the level of high-water mark, at spring tide, is 30 feet, and from the low-water mark at the lowest 48 feet. The great altitude thus given to the road-way, is an important desideratum, inasmuch as it enables vessels of 200 tons burthen to pass through its arches, by lowering topmasts. The acclivity to passengers on the road will, on the other hand, be reduced, by carrying the curve line farther each way from the river, reaching in all probability at least a quarter of a mile towards Gracechurch Street on one side, and to

[blocks in formation]

The scene to be imagined on the completion of this structure will surely improve the general appearance of the metropolis from the river; and if we may not then realize the picture which Milton drew,

"On each side an imperial city stood,

With towers and temples proudly elevate," we may look, at least, for an im 'provement which will bring us nearer the level to neighbouring France. We are as jealous as Englishmen ought to be of all national distinction, and are as desirous of generous emulation; but none of us, who have visited Paris, will deny that, in the architectural beauty of their metropolis, the French are probably a century and a half in advance of us.

If we might be allowed by the reader to pass from plain descriptive matter of fact, a few steps into philosophical reverie, we would observe, that, to us, there is much natural grandeur in the view of large and beautiful cities,-a beauty far surpassing the scenery of Nature in her own form. We greatly prefer the view of a large city, to the best Alpine scenery: let others admire whitening cataracts, and pyramidical mountains, hiding in the clouds their useless magnitude: we experience a more intense delight in the contemplation of the buildings of man,-of stones, which mind has moved, and shaped into habitations for myriads of men,-of rivers, which bridges yoke, and navigation beswims. The ages which have been neCessary to nurse and rear a large city into its present immensity; the quantity of human labour which has been euiployed to produce this vast, convenient, tenantable arrangement; the study, the refinement, the art, the intellect, which were required to impress so tasteful an exterior form, where the sculpture of every capital carrits back the imagination to Athens and to Rome; the thousand roads and water-courses; the extensive cultivation and commerce, which the habitations of so condensed and thronged a population imply; the great events of which those cities have been the nest and the seat; the imperial authority which they exercise over distant men and distant ages, in opinions, in laws, and in institutions,-all these crowd on the mind of the contemplative man, and become immediately associated with the walls and roofs, the pinnacles and bridges, above, about, and underneath.

« PreviousContinue »