depth of winter, if danger pressed, they often took refuge in a morass, and remained there a great length of time without the slightest injury. The mount on which we stand was exclusively inhabited by chiefs of various ranks and character, and, as I have before remarked, Galgacus was renowned among them for his generosity and prowess. We cannot identify the precise spot where stood his stone-built dwelling, yet still that same unreal whispering which speaks in poets' ears, tells that yonder stunted hawthorn grows upon its site, and that in the vale beneath extended the ample farm, which he diligently cultivated, where he often invited his brother chiefs to look upon his fields, and to share with him the ripe fruits which his orchards yielded in autumn. Galgacus had married a princess of German birth; he preferred her to a rough daughter of his tribe, because her countrymen exhibited a partial degree of civilization, to which the natives of Grimsby had not then attained; moreover, marriage was considered by them a strict and sacred institution, and no chief ever thought of marrying more than one wife. In this respect the Germans differed from all other savage nations; and hence originated in the wife, not only affection for her husband, but a reverence for the marriage state. Valeda, for such was the name of the German maiden on whom Galgacus had fixed his regard, was the only daughter of a chief, distinguished by the nobility of his rank and character. She possessed beauty, youth, and riches; but these were not her sole attractions that inexplicable sympathy, which neither moralist nor poet has defined, which seems to act with a magnetic in fluence in drawing together those who had never met before, was felt both by Galgacus and Valeda; when, therefore, according to the custom of her nation, a dowry was proffered by the youth in the presence of Valeda's parents and relations, the presents were cheerfully accepted. This was the nuptial ceremony, the bond of union. In the choice of those symbolic presents, female vanity was not consulted; there were no frivolous trinkets whereby to adorn the future bride; Galgacus produced a yoke of oxen, a caparisoned horse, a shield. a spear, and a sword. The bride brought no portion, but the bridegroom tendered part of his wealth; and lest the wife should deem her sex an exemption from the exercise of every fitting duty-nay, even from the toils of war-she was forewarned of her standing by the marriage gift: from this she learned, that she was to share with her husband in toil and danger, to accompany him, if required, to the field of battle, and to labour with him in peace. The yoked oxen told of husbandry, the accoutred horse the arms and shield of war; they each inculcated important duties, and by them she was prepared to live or else to die. The presentation and acceptation of these significant gifts formed the simple, yet touching ceremony, which united Galgacus and Valeda; the armour was received by the maiden as a sacred treasure, to be preserved inviolate, and transmitted with honour to her sons-a portion for their wives, and from them descending to her grandchildren. Characters have arisen, in all ages, which act powerfully on those by whom they are surrounded; and thus it was with the chief and Valeda. Uncertain rumours had reached Grimsby concerning the probable marriage of Galgacus with the daughter of another people; and no small displeasure was excited among the damsels of his native place; and when a strange vessel was seen upon the coast, with streamers flying, and loud instruments of music waking up the echoes from hill and wood, they rushed tumultuously to the beach, and after them came running nearly all the population of the seven hills. They cared not, however, to pay the bride those customary honours which awaited the instalment of a British matron under her husband's roof; they came rather to cast looks of defiance on Galgacus, and to scrutinize his wife. But when they saw the stranger meet them with a beaming smile, and contrasted her flowing linen vestment, made fast by a glittering clasp, and the rich fur mantle thrown gracefully over the shoulders of the bridegroom, with their own shaggy hair garments, their feelings experienced a strange revulsion. Blithely then was sung the simple strains which maidens chant at marriage festivals; and the bards, who heard from their three-peaked hill the mirthful strains that announced the landing of Galgacus, came trooping forth, each one robed in white, and carrying branches of oak; they, too, burst forth in an inspiring chorus-for this was the manner of those sons of song. Thus welcomed and attended, went up the bride and bridegroom to their spacious stone-dwelling on the chieftain's mount; and from that day both Galgacus and Valeda sought to humanize the rugged natives of Grimsby. Valeda had acquired the art of spinning from a Scandinavian matron, by name Cimbrides, who first taught her countrywomen to plait the thread into a kind of riband, which afterwards, being wrought like matting, was formed into broad pieces of different degrees of fineness, and sewed together. Her own bridal dress was constructed in this manner, and the art which she had acquired was cheerfully imparted to her neighbours; hair garments were consequently soon discarded, and young women prided themselves in flowing vestments, which equalled those of Valeda. Galgacus, in like manner, won many a stern or listless fellow-chief to occupy himself in husbandry. Mindful of his wedding gift, he trained oxen for the plough, and introduced implements for field labour, which hitherto had been unknown in Britain. Clearings were speedily made in forests; and, where a dense growth of intermingling boughs had, till then, impeded the sun's rays, extended fields of and meadows where cattle grazed. Apple orchards, which afterwards became the boast of our woad-dyed ancestors, and were mentioned in the coronation of Saxon kings, owed their introduction to Galgacus; and water-mills, for the grinding of corn, superseded the ponderous machines of former days. corn, of their parents, till one fatal year, upon the occurrence of that memorable day, when every householder was compelled by Druidic law to extinguish his fire, and to rekindle it from the blazing altar on Tootes Hill, where the well-known signal of flame by | night, and a dense cloud of smoke by day, was ever to be seen. Galgacus had uniformly attended to his duty on that day; he well knew the dreadful penalty that awaited its neglect; but this evening, surrounded by his family, and reciting, as was frequently his wont, the Druidic triads, in which he was accustomed to instruct them, time passed on, unwittingly, till each one retired to his couch in peace. Not so the Druid whose office it was to watch the beacon, and to note whoever might be absent. His heart sunk within him, when he found that Galgacus was not among those who purchased fire from the consecrated branch: he would have warned him, but death awaited such a dereliction of his duty. That night, the fitful flame gleamed with unwonted brightness, for the air was calm, and the heavens cloudless; it rendered visible the morasses, with their deep, dark mud-polluted and sluggish waters, and its light fell upon the mounds, covered by the wattled cabins of the natives, the huts of the Druids built of unhewn stones, and the awful circle of upright masses, starting forth amid the heather. Far around, through the clear air, the light of the beacon shed its beams upon the varied country. The attendant Druid heaped up his fuel, and looked anxiously towards the dwelling of Galgacus: Surely he has forgotten that this is the last day of October; I cannot let him perish, for he saved Gradually, the face of the country assum- my only son;" and with a sudden impulse, ed a very different aspect. It had hitherto the Druid was preparing to go in quest of his presented, for the most part, either gloomy friend, hoping that no one was within sight forests, or widely extended marshes-over or hearing, when suddenly he heard a heavy which contending winds often swept with re-tread coming in the direction of the beacon; sistless fury. But now many of the woods and presently the stern blue eyes of the Arch-Druil rested solemnly upon him"Have all been here, my son ?" The attendant Druid remained silent.-"Give me thy reply?—who then is absent?" No answer was returned, and the eye of the Arch-Druid assumed a character stern and unearthly, expressing such a fiendness of purpose, and unrelenting cruelty, that the attendant shook like an aspen leaf before him. too well knew that concealment was impos were destroyed by fire, and wattled dwellings arose upon their sites, especially within reach of Grimsby, where most of the chieftains had small farms, cultivated after the example of Galgacus; and cheering it was to look from the summit of the elevated ridge, on the smiling and pastoral scene. Years passed on, and youths and maidens grew up beside the hearthstone of Galgacus, glad at heart, and following the injunctions 66 He sible, and the name of Galgacus trembled on his lips. "To-morrow!" said the Arch-Druid, as he strode away. To-morrow came, and Galgacus, with his wife and children, were led forth to receive judgment from the Arch-Drud; and with them assembled the whole population of the seven hills, and the occupants of every stone or wattled dwelling throughout the once cheerless waste, that the industry or example of Galgacus had rendered a fertile territory. 66 Galgacus and Valeda, on you and on your children be the doom of cold and darkness. You failed to extinguish the household fire, and to rekindle it with a consecrated branch taken from off the altar. Henceforth no gleam of fire shall cheer or warm your dwelling; your flocks and herds are yours no longer; and the same fearful doom awaits whoever may seek to aid you. The earth may be frozen deep, and storms of rain or snow may rage over your cold home-ye doomed ones; but on you be the awful sentence that changeth not!" and yet more ominous, was the mingled murmur of that vast multitude, till one wide tumultuous roar burst forth, and stentorian voices shouted-"They shall not die-the father of our country shall not perish!" The Mount of Judgment, which you see yonder, rising in its loneliness above the valHeard you ever the deep majestic sound ley, with a large area immediately in front, of the ocean before a coming storm, or was the theatre of this imposing scene; you the rush of mighty winds in woods, heraldmay yet discern a few grey stones, that lifting that tempests are abroad? Deeper, their heads among the withered grass-there stood the Arch-Druid attired in a robe of purest white, with numerous attendants clad in the same sacerdotal vestments, himself bearing the breast-plate of judgment suspended from his neck, and holding in his hand a branch of oak. He carried, likewise, a wand or staff, the insignia of his office; and the mysterious egg, suspended in a golden case of serpent birth. This case was regarded with profound superstitious reverence, as it was said to have been obtained by horsemen, who, although mounted on swift coursers, had yet to flee at their fullest speed, pursued by the enraged serpents until they were stopped by a running stream, over which the horsemen leapt, but across whose pure waters the unholy creatures might not pass. Every eye rested on the majestic figure of the presiding Druid, who stood thus adorned within the place of judgment. Before him appeared the doomed ones, awaiting the dread sentence of eternal cold; and right and left were ranged a vast multitude of chiefs and people. Stern old men were there, clad in the hair garments of past times; young chiefs, with flashing eyes, who, emulating the example of Galgacus, were gracefully attired in linen mantles; and women, who wept and trembled when they looked on the benefactors of their country. No one dared to speak, but you might have heard the deep breathing of the excited people-so unbroken was the silence. At length a solemn voice pronounced the dreaded sentence: The Arch-Druid heard, and trembled with rage and apprehension. His hand, by an involuntary movement, advanced towards the secret spring of the terrific breast-plate; he thought for a moment of the power which its unfolding was wont to exercise. But prudence restrained him; the wily minister of that most hateful of all reptiles, the slimy and crawling serpent, who was openly worshipped by some at Grimsby, dared not to venture; he felt that her chiefs and people would not endure the destruction of Galgacus, and he craftily gave way. Lifting on high his giant oak-branch, the well-known symbol of peace and protection, he silenced by that act the exasperated multitude. "Rash men," he said, "why thus dare ye to forestall the sentence of him who has long presided over you. It was needful that Galgacus and his family should know the fate to which they have subjected themselves; but his faithful services to this, our father-land, has pleaded for him in our hearts, and his sentence shall not be enforced against him. Go then, Galgacus, and you, Valeda; expiate by lives of devotedness to the Druid, who, with his brethren, remits your sentence, whatever you have done amiss. Return to your dwell ng, and bethink you of the doom which awaits all future violation of our laws." FAMILIAR LECTURES ON CHEMISTRY. be exhibited in a variety of pleasing experiments. A balloon filled with this gas. rises rapidly in the air. Small balloons for ex LECTURE IV.-HYDROGEN, continued. A MIXTURE of oxygen and hydrogen takes fire on the approach of flame, because the gaseous matter of the flame being at a very high temperature, communicates to the particles of the mixed gases the heat required to make them combine. The combination may, however, be brought about by contact with bodies at temperatures much lower than that of flame-an iron wire, even at a dull red heat, being able to determine it. But, what is still more remarkable, the combination may be effected without the direct application of heat, merely by contact with certain metals. Platinum produces this effect with great facility, especially when in that peculiar porous state called spongy platinum. A ball of this spongy metal, introduced into a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen in the proportions to form water, quickly becomes red-hot, and then explodes the mixture; it likewise sets fire to a jet of hydrogen directed on it. The same property is exhibited, though in a minor degree, by platinum in its ordinary state, provided its surface be perfectly clean. If a plate of platinum-cleaned by first boiling it in sulphuric acid, then in strong solution of potash, and afterwards washing it in distilled water-be introduced into a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, it will cause the gases to combine. The combination is usually slow and gradual, but sometimes the platinum becomes red hot, and then the mixture explodes. These singular effects appear to be due to a power possessed by the platinum, of condensing the gases near its surface in a very considerable degree, thereby bringing their particles into sufficiently close contact to cause them to enter into chemical union. Gold, silver, and one or two other metals likewise produce this effect, though not so quickly. Hydrogen is the lightest of all known substances. Its specific gravity (referred to air as unity) is 0.6926; in other words, it is nearly fourteen and a half times lighter than air, and sixteen times lighter than oxygen. The great levity of hydrogen may hibiting this effect, are made out of the lining membrane of a turkey's crop; they may be filled by attaching the neck to a tube proceeding from a vessel in which the hydrogen is generated, (Fig. 8.) Larger balloons for the same purpose are made of gold-beaters' skin. Hydrogen was the gas origiFig. 8. nally used to inflate balloons for aeronautic voyages; but coal gas is now used for that purpose, on account of the greater facility of procuring it. This gas is, however, much heavier than hydrogen, and consequently a larger balloon is required to produce the same amount of buoyant power. Soap-bubbles blown with hydrogen, rise with great rapidity: the best method of blowing them, is with a tobacco-pipe attached by a perforated cork to the stopcock of a bladder containing the gas. A cylindrical jar filled with hydrogen, and then turned with its mouth upwards, is instantly emptied of the gas, as may be shown by the application of a light; but the same vessel may be carried with its mouth downwards, from one end of a long room to the other, without allowing the gas to escape, because it can only get go out by sinking through the air, which is much heavier than itself. As a further illustration, take two cylindrical vessels-common tumblers will do very well; fill one of them with hydrogen, and holding both of them with their mouths downwards, bring the first close to the second, Fig. 9. and turn it up as represented in Fig. 9, till you bring the mouths of the two together; you will then find, on application of a light, that the hydrogen has all left the first vessel, and entered the second. H component gases, arranged in the order of their densities; the lighter floating on the heavier, as oil floats upon water. We shall have more to say of this law of diffusion hereafter. In several experiments in this and the preceding lecture, I have spoken of transferring gases into bladders: it is necessary to describe the method of doing this. The transference is most easily effected by means of a glass jar, (Fig. 12,) to the neck of which is affixed a brass cap, having a screw turned in it to re cock (a.) It Hydrogen, and other light gases, may often be conveniently collected, without the aid of the pneumatic trough, by simply holding the receiving vessel over a vertical tube proceeding from the generating vessel, so that the gas may displace the air in the receiver, and fill it (Fig. 10). But though hydrogen exhibits so strong a tendency to rise through the air, neverthe-ceive a stopless, portions of air (or oxygen) and hydrogen, piaced in communicating vessels with the hydrogen uppermost, will, after a while, diffuse them. reselves uniformly through both Fig. 10. the vessels. Thus, take two strong bottles, (soda-water bottles,) fill one with hydrogen, and the other with oxygen; connect them by a narrow glass tube, about three feet long, passing air-tight through the corks, and set them upright with the hydrogen uppermost, as shown in Fig. 11. In a few hours, the gases will have diffused themselves so completely, though in opposition to their specific gravities, that the gas in each bottle will explode violently, on the application of a light. This experiment affords a striking example of a universal property of gases, by virtue of which they diffuse themselves through each other 0 with perfect uniformity. This law is of the utmost importance in the economy of nature; for upon it depends the uniformity of construction of the atmosphere, which would otherwi e consist of successive layers of its Fig. 11. these stopcocks, and also Fig. 12. Hydrogen gas is a component part of that most important substance and plentiful liquid-water. Though this Lecture is briefer than usual, I must reserve what I have to say upon this subject till the next occasion on which we meet, as it would require greater space than can now be given to it. |