and passed a few yards when, on a second descent and shock, Mr. Sparrow was thrown out, and the balloon thus lightened, rose again, with Mr. Green, and at about a distance of 150 yards, Mr. Sparrow having recovered from the shock, and caught hold of the ropes, the netting and car became entangled in the tops of some very high trees; in this perilous situation immediate assistance was afforded by the labourers in Lady Stapleton's Park, where they had first fallen upon a rising ground, and within 300 yards of the mansion-house. Stapleton Park is two miles from Henley, and 22 from Oxford. The balloon was, by the exertions of a dozen strong fellows, soon secured, and Mr. Green descended down a rope to terra-firma. The car was dashed to pieces by the violence of the shock. Lady Stapleton instantly sent and invited the aeronauts to partake of some refreshments, and offered them every assistance in securing and conveying the balloon to Oxford, where they arrived about twelve o'clock on Friday night. A large sum of money was collected on the ground for admission to view the process of filling. THE CABINET. THE ICE-HILLS, OR RUSSIAN MOUNTAINS. (From Dr. Clarke's Travels.) The frozen Neva presents a crowded and busy scene. In one part, booths are erected on the ice, where brandy and drams of every kind are sold; in another direction are pedlars, mountebanks, and jugglers, and the pastimes of Bartholomew Fair; in a different place are dramatic representations of a burlesque and ridiculous nature, to which the spectators are admitted for a few copecks. The ice-hills afford an amusement to the populace, peculiar to the inhabitants of Russia. A scaffolding of wood is raised on the river, to the height of forty feet; from the summit, an inclined plane, having a steep descent, is covered with blocks of ice, firmly united together by water poured over them. The sides of the steps, or ladder, which lead by the back part of the scaffolding to the top, are decorated with fir-trees. The low sledge, resembling, in shape, a butcher's tray, descends the hill with a rapidity sufficiently great to carry the person seated in it over a large tract of ice cleared of the snow, to an opposite scaffolding, constructed in a similar manner. Here he takes his sledge on his back, mounts the steps, and proceeds as before. Those who do not wish to descend alone, have a guide, who seats himself in the sledge as far back as he can, raising his legs at the same time; the other person is placed before him, and between his legs, in a similar position. The sledges, horses, and carriages, moving about in various directions, and the crowds of spectators who assemble to behold this amusement, present a very striking and animated scene. BENEDICTION OF THE WATERS OF THE NEVA. From the same. A small temple, of an octagon form, made of wood, painted and adorned with crosses and pictures, representing parts of the history of John the Baptist, is erected on the Admiralty Canal: an inclosure is formed around it, and within is a hole cut in the ice. A platform, covered with scarlet cloth, leads from the palace to the temple along which the procession advances, consisting of the archbishop, accompanied by bishops and dignitaries of the church, the imperial family, and persons attached to the court. Having arrived at the temple, different prayers are recited; after which, the archbishop descends a ladder placed within the octagon building, and dips the cross thrice in the water; the benediction being pronounced at the same time. Some of the water is then taken up in a vessel, and sprinkled on the surrounding spectators. The military, with their standards; the religious orders, in their different dresses, the presence of the imperial family; and the crowds of people assembled together, form a very striking scene. The last occasion on which Peter the Great appeared in public, was at the celebration of this ceremony He was previously indisposed; a severe cold attacked him on the day of the benediction of the waters, increased his disorder, and in a short time brought on his death. At the celebration of a ceremony of the same kind, which was instituted in the early period of the empire at Moscow, an image of the Holy Virgin was plunged into the river; the water was blessed by the patriarch; and the Czar, and the persons of the court who were present, were sprinkled with it. SILVER MINES OF KONGSBERG. (From the same.) The silver occurs in lumps of native metal but so unusual is this circumstance, that when the mine was first discovered, many refused to give credit to the fact of such masses being actually brought to light. first is that preserved in the Royal Museum at CopenWe shall mention some of the most considerable. The hagen; its weight being five hundred and sixty Danish pounds, and its value five thousand rix-dollars. It is a mass of native silver, nearly six feet in length, and in one part above eighteen inches in diameter. Similar masses were discovered in the year 1630, and in 1719, and in 1727, which severally weighed from two hundred and fifty to two hundred and eighty, and three hundred pounds, each. In the shaft called St. Andrew, the name of J., but that he never told his most intimate friends what sums he expended in his literary pursuits." June 24th. E. E. THE TARANTULA. TO THE EDITOR," SIB,-Your correspondent S. has quoted Orfila on the poison of the Tarantula, and affirms that " Experiments have over thrown the opinion that the bite of the Tarantula is mortal, as some have maintained, and as to the agency of music in luring its effects, a serious attempt to refute it cannot be necessary." The writer of the accompanying extract was not remarkable for credulity; and, indeed, many popular philosophical dogmas seem, to disinterested inquirers, almost tottering before his objections. For my own part, I cannot admire mummery, but I do believe that important effects are very often produced by means which appear too simple for the developement of mechanical operation. To chance, or accident, we are indebted for many admirable discoveries; in the animal economy, instinct is often an unerring guide to certain antidotes; and the historical account of some of the chief articles of the Materia Medica shows that we have availed ourselves of much valuable informa However, as the opinion of the fatal effects of the Tarantula bite is very general, and I am (probably with others of your readers) wholly ignorant of the experiments alluded to by your correspondent, his favouring me with an account of one or two of the most conclusive, will oblige-yours, &c. Manchester, June 25th. a piece of pure silver was found, in 1727, weighing tion from people who possessed but little scientific knowledge. two hundred and seventy-nine pounds; and, in the same year, another, weighing three hundred and four pounds, was found in God's Blessing shaft. These occasional masses, occurring casually in the rock, and being soon interrupted in their passage through it, or dwindling gradually to nothing, the miner must continue to dig through the barren stone until he has the good fortune to meet with more of the same nature, which, in one day, may reward the fruitless labour of months, and perhaps of years. D. Manchester, June 23rd. "God, in creating the first individual of each species, animal or vegetable, not only gave form to the dust of the earth, but a principle of life, inclosing in each, a greater or smaller quantity of original particles, indestructible and common to all organized beings. These pass from body to body, supporting the life, and ministering to the nutrition and growth of each. And when any body is reduced to ashes, these original particles, on which death hath no power, survive and pass into other beings, bringing with them nourishment and life. Thus every production, every renovation, every increase by generation or nutrition, supposes a preceding destruction, a conversion of substance, an accession of these organical particles, which ever subsisting in an equal number, render nature always equally full of life. The total quantity of life in the universe is therefore perpetually the same. And whatever death seems to destroy, it destroys, no part of that primitive life, which is diffused through all organized beings." TO THE EDITOR, SIR,-In answer to your correspondent L. (in your last paper) I beg leave to hand you an account of the book he inquired after; I derived my information from Mr. R. Collier, a grandson of Old Tim's, and was once present at an interview between Mr. C. and the person alluded to which took place in a room near Mr. D. Holt's factory. Some years since the imperfect copy of Chaucer belonged to (I believe) a daughter of Tim's; at all events she was aunt to Mr. R. C.: during her life, it is said, she lent the work to some person for perusual, but the old lady died before it was returned; it was in the hands of Mr. J. to whom Mr. R. C. applied for the book after his aunt's death, but after repeated solicitations, and as many promises that it should be returned, he was never so fortunate as to obtain it.-A report reached Mr. C's. ear that the book had been sold to Earl Spencer (who was also possessed of an imperfect copy) to make his own complete, for £400 or guineas. On hearin this report Mr. C. directed an attorney to write to the Earl respecting it, who very politely replied "that it was true he had purchased the same from a person of A. Q. "A Tarantula is a kind of spider, chiefly found near the city of Tarentum, in Apulia. It is about the size of an acorn, and has eight eyes and eight feet. Its skin is hairy; from its mouth rise two trunks, a little crooked and exceedingly sharp. Through these it conveys its poison they seem likewise to be a kind of moveable nostrils, being in continual motion, especially when it is seeking its food. It is found in other parts. of Italy, but is dangerous only in Apulia. And there it does little hurt in the mountains (which are cooler) but chiefly on the plains. Indeed it is venomous but in the heat of summer, particularly in the dog-days. It is then so enraged as to fly upon any that come within its reach. "The bite causes a pain, like that by the stinging of a bee. In a few hours the patient feels a numbness, and the part is marked with a small livid circle, which soon rises into a painful tumour. A little after he falls into a deep sadness, breathes with much difficulty, his pulse grows feeble, and his senses dull. At length he looses all sense and motion, and dies unless speedily relieved. An aversion to blue and black, and an affection for white, red, and green, are unaccountable symptoms of this disorder. "There is no remedy but one. While he lies senseless and motionless, a musician plays several tunes. When he hits on the right, the patient immediately begins to make a faint motion. His fingers first move in cadence, then bis feet: then his legs, and by degrees his whole body. At length he rises on his feet, and begins to dance, which some will do for six hours without intermission. After this he is put to bed, and when his strength is recruited, is called up by the same tune to a second dance. "This is continued for six or seven days, at least till he is so weak, that he can dance no longer. This is the sign of his being cured; for if the poison acted still, he would dance till he dropt down dead. When thoroughly tired he awakes out of sleep, without remembering any thing that is past. And sometimes he is totally cured; but if not, he finds a melancholy gloom, shuns men, seeks water, and if not carefully watched, often leaps into a river. In some the disorder returns that time twelvemonth, perhaps for twenty or thirty years. And each time it is removed as at first. Can even Dr. Mead account for this? Equally unaccountable are the two relations published some years since, by a physician of undoubted credit. The first is, a gentleman was seized with a violent fever, attended with a delirium. On the third day he begged to hear a little concert in his chamber. It was with great difficulty the physician consented. From the first tune, his face assumed a serene air, his eyes were no longer wild, and the convulsions ceased. He was free from the fever during the concert; but when that was ended, it returned. The remedy was repeated, and both the delirium and fever always ceased during the concerts. In ten days, music wrought an entire cure, and he relapsed no more. "The other case is that of a dancing-master, who through fatigue, fell into a violent fever. On the fourth or fifth day he was seized with a lethargy, which after some time changed into a furious delirium. He threatened all that were present, and obstinately refused all the medicines that were offered him. One of them saying, that perhaps music might a little compose his im agination, a friend of his took up his violin, and began to play on it. The patient started up in his bed, like one agreeably surprised, and shewed by his head (his arms being held) the pleasure he felt. Those who held his arms, finding the effects of the violin, loosened their hold, and let him move them, according to the tunes. In about a quarter of an hour, he fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke he was out of all danger. "We have many other odd accounts of the power of music; and it must not be denied, but that on some particular occasions, musical sounds may have powerful effect. I have seen all the horses and cows in a field, where there were above a hundred, gathered round a person that was blowing a French horn, and seeming to testify an awkward kind of satisfaction. Dogs are well known to be very sensible of different tones in music; and I have sometimes heard them sustain a very ridiculous part in a concert. "The great old lion which was some years since kept at the infirmary in Edinburgh, while he was rearing with the utmost fierceness, no sooner heard a bagpipe, than all his fierceness ceased. He laid his ear close to the front of the den, nibbled his nose and his teeth against the end of his pipe, and then rolled upon his back for very glee. I have seen a German flute have the same effect on an old lion, and a young tyger in the Tower of London." VARIETIES. STARCH. A great improvement has been made in the manufacture of starch by M. Herpin, of Metz. In the ordinary method, for the purpose of decomposing and destroying the gluten which conceals the starch, flour is allowed to ferment for a fortnight or a month with a certain quantity of water; by which means ammoniac is disengaged, and a very fetid odour is spread through the manufactory. M. Herpin makes starch in the course of an hour, by a process by which he obtains at once both the gluten and the starch, without having to endure any odour whatever. To effect this, it is sufficient to knead the flour with a few drops of water, in a bag of fine linen. The water carries off the starch, and the gluten remains in the bag. The water and the starch are passed through a silk sieve, and are received into a vessel. When the starch is deposited, the water is poured off; and contains a quantity of saccharine matter, which may be advantageously employed in the preparation of some cheap beverage. ANATOMY.-The first part of a very fine anatomical work has lately been published at Paris, called "Anatomical Plates of the Human Body of the size of Nature, accompanied with Explanatory Observations by Dr. Antommarchi, (formerly Anatomical Professor at Pisa, and afterwards with Buonaparte at St. Helena,) edited by M. de Lasteyrie." The plates are admirably executed. The first three represent the entire body of an adult. The sub-cutaneous vessels, arterial and veinous, are all exhibited, as well as the nerves that cover the first layer of muscles. Each class of organs is distinguished by a particular mode of execution. Thus the muscles are represented by parallel series of lines and dots; the tendons by finer and eloser lines; the arteries by lines and little oblique hatchings; the veins by longitudinal and transverse lines, which very happily show their round forms; the nerves by straight lines; the lymphatics and their swellings by winding lines; and so on. It seems that the work has excited general admiration at Paris. Mr. Haydon's two great pictures, the Raising Lazarus, and Christ's Entrance into Jerusalem, have been sold; the former for 350 pounds, bought by Mr Binns ; and Christ's Entry for 220 pounds, bought by Mr. Mair. CHINESE RICE.-The Chevalier Rosa has been endeavouring, and with much success, to cultivate Chinese rice at Brescia, in Italy. In his first experiment, made in 1820, he obtained from only four grains, fifty-eight ears, containing 2680 grains. The harvests of the succeeding years have been equally productive. A SCRAP OF ANTIQUITY.-At a time when the custom of Ring wearing is of almost universal adoption, it may not be misplaced to admit the glittering fingered, within the pale of our locubrations. In a polyglot Dictionary, published in the year 1625, by John Minshew, are the following observations under the article-Ring-Finger. A Soldier, or Doctor to him was assigned the thumb. A Married or diligent person, the fourth or ring fiuger. A Lover, the last or little finger. TURKISH LOVE OF LITERATURE!-The Ottoman Porte has given orders to sell by weight all the fine libraries at Constantinople. Among others are mentioned those of the Princes Morusi, who have become the objects of the jealousy and hate of that despotic government, in consequence of their wealth, patriotism, and talents. NEW YORK. There are at New York fifty churches and places of worship. They are as follows:-1st, Catholics, 7; 2dly, Reformed Churches, 5; 3dly, Reformed German Calvinists, 1; 4thly, German Lutherans, 1; 5thly, Presbyterians, 7; 6thly, Reformed Presbyterians, 1; 7thly, Reformed Associated Presbyterians, 3; 8thly, Dissenters, (Seceders) 2; 9thly, Baptists, 6; 10thly, French Protestants, 1; 11thly, Ebenezers, 1; 12thly, Methodists, 7; 13thly, Moravians, 1; 14thly, Universalists, 1; 15thly, St. Peter, 1; 16thly, Cathedral of St. Patrick, 1; 17thly, Ancient Meeting of Friends, 1; 18thly, New Meeting of Friends, 1; 19thly, Jew Synagogue, 1; 20thly, African Baptists, 1.-Total, 50. BON MOT.-When Judge Day returned from India, the minister represented to his late majesty that knighthood was an honour to which the judge was entitled. Pob, poh,' said his majesty, I cannot turn day into night; At the next levee, which it is impossible.' was about Christmas, his majesty was again entreated to knight Mr. Day. The king enquired if he was married, and was answered in the affirmative. 'Well, well,' said the monarch, then let him be introduced, and I will work a couple of miracles; I will not only turn Day into Knight, but I will make Lady Day at Christmas,' FRENCH MONARCHY.-It is calculated that the French monarchy contains 29,800,000 inhabitants, of whom 108,000 speak Basque, 900,000 speak the Kymrique, or Low Breton, 160,000 speak Italian, 1,700,000 speak German, and the remaining 27,000,000 speak French. It is also calculated, that of these there are 26,400,000 Catholics, 2,300,000 Calvinists, 1,100,000 Lutherans, 60,000 Jews, 2,000 Herrnhutions, and 550 Quakers. ROMAN RELICS FOUND NEAR YORK.- The Mount, without Micklegate Bar, the principal entrance into York from the south, was, in Roman times, sacred to the interment of the dead-There, before the introduction of christianity amongst them, the bodies of deceased friends were burnt, and their ashes deposited in urns. A short time ago, as some workmen were digging a cellar on a piece of ground lately purchased by Mr. Knowlson, of that city, on the left hand side of the road, at the southern extremity of the Mount, they found eight Roman urns, of various sizes, four of which were quite perfect, but the others were broken-some containing burnt ashes, and one of them, which was larger than the others, containing a great number of bones. They found an old copper coin of one of the Roman emperors, but, with the description so much defaced, as to be scarcely legible. There were also, other human bones. at the same time, dug up, a great number of skulls and IMPROMPTU. The late Lord Salisbury made the following impromptu to a fly on a lady's lip : 'Oh happy, happy, happy fly! WATTIE AND JOHNNIE; OR the pleasureS OF THE GREEN-SWAIRD, A Scottish PASTORAL.-One of the most gifted of the poets of Scotland is, we understand, employed on a poem under the above title. He has chosen the dramatic form, in imitation, we suppose, of RAMSEY. The first scene is somewhat unpastoral-it is laid in a tavern, where a number of life and fortune men have met to display their loyalty and zeal for religion. After a few speeches, in which jobbing is shown to be essential to religion, and the denial of this grand truth is proved to be blasphemy, a number of obscene songs are sung for the entertainment of the reverend and learned party,-all things being permitted to the saints. Some scenes follow of rather an agitating nature; others in which the ludicrous preponderates. A soliloquy on booing embraces the leading qualifications of a court-sycophant ; but accident will sometimes frustrate the best laid plan-witness the broken wine-glass. The scene which gives the title to the poem, exhibits Johnnie alighting from the London mail, to join Wattie, who is waiting for his arrival on a green sward, near Edinburgh. Johnnie is crowned with laurel, and carries a newspaper in one hand, and in the other a picture, in which the members of a certain assembly are represented prostrate at his feet. While Wattie is congratulating bim on bis getting once more footing on the green sward of his native land, Johnnie, who carries bis head rather high, steps inadvertently into one of those deposits which profusely adorn most of the green-swards of that part of the island, loses his footing, and drags Wattie along with him into one of the many brooks which flow from Edinburgh into the Frith of Forth. The rest of the scene may be more easily conceived than satisfactorily described by us. It is enough to say that even the air of Edinburgh felt the entrance of Wattie and Johnnie. The pencil has been pressed into the service of the poet A vignette in the last page exhibits a Welshman (for so the leek in his hat denotes him to be) turning up his nose at Johnnie, and making some very siguificant gestures. MY EARLY YEARS. A stranger to the world-fair virtue's child, I pluck'd the blossom from yon hawthorn wild, TO CORRESPONDENTS. Johannes will oblige us by stating how we should mark his communications.-So far, we retain the original signature for the sake of uniformity; but having concluded our packet, we wish for his decision on this point with his next favour. O.'s favour is received, and shall appear in our next.-Frequent effusions from the same pen will be very acceptable. Juliana T-'s translation from the French does her much credit. -We shall be happy to hear from her again. Rusticus has no claims whatever upon us.-His essay is not sufficiently interesting for our pages; even had it the merit of originality (which is not the case) it is prolix and feeble. -We think he can favour us with something better. E. E.'s reply to the query of L. is considerably abridged.Knowing but little of the case, we should not have been justifiable in giving either names or the appropriation of the money in question. Communications from R.; S. T.; and N. Lawhecarsis—are received. A WEEKLY LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY. The extensive circulation of the Iais, renders it a very desirable medium for ADVERTISEMENTS of a LITERARY and SCIENTIFIC nature, comprising Education, Institutions, Sales of Libraries, &c. No. 75.-VOL. II. ARTS AND SCIENCES. [We are indebted to a small work recently published, entitled "Cottage Economy," for the following remarks and instructions respecting the kinds and preparation of Grass for Bonnets; we strongly recommend the book itself to the perusal of those persons who reside in the neighbourhood of towas where no manufacture is carried ou.-ED.] ENGLISH GRASS, And Grain Plants cut green, into Straw, for the purpose of making Plat for Hats and Bonnets. THE practice of making hats, bonnets, and other things, of straw, is perhaps of very ancient date; but, not to waste time in fruitless inquiries, it is very well known, that, for many years past, straw coverings for the head have been greatly in use in England, in America, and indeed in almost all the countries that we know much of. In this country the manufacture was, only a few years ago, very flourishing; but, it has now greatly declined, and has left in poverty and misery those whom it once well fed and clothed. The cause of this change has been, the importation of the straw hats and bonnets from Italy, greatly superior, in durability aud beauty, to those made in England. The plat made in England was made of the straw of ripened grain. It was, in general, split; but, the main circumstance was, that it was made of the straw of ripened grain; while the Italian plat was made of the straw of grain, or grass, cut green. Now, the straw of ripened grain or grass is brittle; or, rather, rotten. It dies while standing, and, in point of toughness, the difference between it and straw from plants cut green is much about the same as the difference between a stick that has died on the tree, and one that has been cut from the tree. But, besides the difference in point of toughness, strength, and durability, there was the difference in beauty. The colour of the Italian plat was better; the plat was brighter; and the Italian straws being small whole straws, instead of small straws made by the splitting of large ones, there was a roundness in them, that gave light and shade to the plat, which could not be given by our flat bits of straw. addition to these differences, there was, on our side, the further disadvantage of being compelled to use brimstone and other things, to bleach, or, rather, to clean and to give a colour to our straw. This caused In the articles made of our straw to change colour when they came to face the rain and sun; while the Italian articles, though usually somewhat clarified in the same way, remained unchanged, because the straw of which they were composed had been cut green, and bleached by scalding. And, It seems odd, that nobody should have set to work to find out how the Italians came by this fine straw. The importation of these Italian articles was chiefly from the port of Leghorn; and, therefore, the bonnets imported were called, Leghorn Bonnets. The strawmanufacturers in this country seem to have made no effort to resist this invasion from Leghorn. which is very curious, the Leghorn straw has now begun to be imported, and to be platted in this country. So that we had hands to plat as well as the Italians. All that we wanted was the same kind of straw, that the Italians bad and it is truly wonderful, that these importations from Leghorn should have gone on increasing, year after year, and our domestic manufacture dwindling away at a like pace, without there having been any inquiry relative to the way in which the Italians got their straw! Strange, that we should have imported even straw from Italy, without inquiring whether similar straw could not be got in England! There really seems to have been an opinion, that England could no more produce this straw than it could produce the sugar-cane. SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1823. Things were in this state, when, in 1821, a Miss Woodhouse, a farmer's daughter in Connecticut, sent a straw-bonnet of her own making to the Society of Arts, in London. This bonnet, superior in fineness and beauty to any thing of the kind that had come from Leghorn, the maker stated to consist of the straw of a sort of grass, of which she sent, along with the bonnet, some of the seeds. The question was, then, would these precious seeds grow and produce plants in perfection in England? A large quantity of the seed had not been sent; and it was therefore, by a Member of the Society, thought desirable to get, with as little delay as possible, a considerable quantity of this seed. It was in this stage of the affair that my attention was called to it. SORTS OF GRASS OR GRAIN.-The Engraving exhibits a pretty good representation of three sorts of Grass, just at the season when they are coming out into bloom. Figure 1. is the Sweet-scented Vernal Grass; Fig. 2. the Crested Dog's Tail; and Fig. 3. the Bennet Grass, or Ray Grass. By attentively looking at this Engraving, any one may soon learn to distinguish these sorts from others. But, the reader is not to conclude, that these are the only sorts that will PRICE 33d. answer the purpose; nor, indeed, is he to conclude that they are the best sorts that can be found. They are the best that I have yet found. They make very fine and beautiful straw; but, amongst the great multitude of sorts of grass, other sorts may be as well or better suited to the purpose. The grass made use of by Miss Woodhouse is, unquestionably, the common Couch Grass. It is a great mistake to suppose, that there is any sort of grass growing in Connecticut, that does not also grow in England. Not But, there are many other sorts of grass. The yellow oat-grass, particularly, is very fine; I think the finest of all. This straw would make plat a great deal finer than that of the bounet of Miss Woodhouse. only finer, but a great deal finer. Perhaps it is not more than half the size of the straw made use of by Miss Woodhouse, while the colour is as beautiful as it possibly can be. It is not, however, of the straw of grass only, or even principally, that I have to speak, Noue of the immense quantity of hats and plat imported from Leghorn, is made of the straw of grass. The Leghorn manufacture is made of the straw of grain, and principally of the straw of wheat, which, though not nearly so fine, in point of size, as the straw of many kinds of grass, is, perhaps, in point of colour, equal to the straw of even the best sorts of grass. This is what the Italians make their plat of. This is the material of which all those thousands upon thousands of bonnets are made that we see upon women's heads in England! How astonishing, then, is it, that English manufacturers in straw should have fallen into beggary, supposing all the while, that they could not make plat like that of the Italians for want of the materials to make it of, or for want of sun sufficiently bright to bleach those materials! The simple facts are these the Leghorn bonnets are made of wheat straw; but, this straw comes from plants that are very fine and spindling in consequenee of their standing very thick upon the ground; and, this Italian wheat is cut while it is green instead of remaining till it be dry. This makes it tough, instead of being rotten; and the smallness of the stalk enables the platters to make fine plat of the whole round straw, instead of making use of the straw when split. THE SEASON FOR CUTTING THE PLANTS.-As to the season of the year, all the straw, except that of one sort of coach grass, and the long coppice-grass, which two were got in Sussex, were got from grass cut in Hertfordshire on the 21st of June. A grass headland, in a wheat field, had been mowed during the forepart of the day; and, in the afternoon, I went and took a handful bere and a handful there out of the swaths. When I had collected as much as I would well carry, I took it to my friend's house, and proceeded to prepare it for bleaching according to the information sent me from America by my son; that is to say, I put my grass into a shallow tub, put boiling water upon it until it was covered by the water, let it remain in that state for ten minutes, then took it out, and laid it very thinly on a closely mowed lawn in a garden. But, I should observe, that, before I put the grass into the tub, I tied it up in small bundles, or sheaves, each bundle being about six inches through at the butt-end. This was necessary, in order to be able to take the grass, at the end of ten minutes, out of the water, without throwing it into a confused mixture as to tops and tails. Being tied up in little bundles, I could casily, with a prong, take it out of the hot water. The bundles were put into a large wicker basket, carried to the lawn in the garden, and there taken out, one by one, and laid in swaths as before-mentioned. It was laid very thinly; almost might I say, that no • Might not the same method prove beneficial in preparing fax before the process of steeping. stalk of grass covered another. The swaths were turned once a day. The bleaching was completed at the end of seven days from the time of scalding and laying out. PART TO BE USED.- No part of the straw is used for platting, except that part of the stalk, which you find between the upper joint and the seed-head, or tassel, or bunch of flowers, or, to speak in the language of the Botanists, the panicle. When the straw has been bleached in the sun, you pluck the top part of the stalk out of the upper joint. This pulling of the straw may be performed by the fire side. The way to go to work might be this. Here, I should say to a labouring man's wife, is a bundle of rough straw, weighing ten pounds. I have found, by experience, that every ten pounds of rough straw yield two pounds of pulled straw. Take this bundle, bring me back two pounds of pulled straw, and give you so much money. The pulled straw would have the seed-heads, or panicles, on it, and would probably be sold, in that state, to the platters, or the employers of the platters. This is the state in which the straw is now imported from Italy. THE PLATTING. There will scarcely be any difficulty in finding people to plat English straw, seeing that there are enough already found to plat the Leghorn straw, imported into this country. This work has been for some time carried on by the industrious and most praiseworthy inhabitants of the Orkney Islands. THE KNITTING OF THE PLAT TOGETHER.--The English straw plat is put together as boards are put on the side of a barn; that is to say, the plat, or lists of plat, are made one to cover a part of the other; and they are sewed through and through, the needle and thread performing the office of the nails in the case of the barn. Not thus is it with the Leghorn hats and bonnets. In order to make these, the plat is not lapped, a part of one list over a part of the other; but the lists are fastened to each other after the manner, or form, of boards put together by glue; that is to say, the edge of one list of plat is fastened to the edge of another list; and thus throughout the whole bonnet, just as boards, joined on to the edges of each other, form a table; and so neatly and so cleverly is this work of knitting the lists of plat performed, that you can no more discover the joinings of the plat in the one case, than you can the joinings of the boards in the other case. This is called knitting the plat; and there are at present, as far as I understand, not many persons in England, and those who are here are principally foreigners, who know how to do this business. Now, then for the honour of the girls of Old England! Shall we be compelled to send young fellows to Italy and Con necticut to fetch us Italians and Yankees to carry on this work of knitting together plat made of English straw? Recollect, the Yankee girls found out the way to knit the plat together. There were no foreigners to THE PHILANTHROPIST. ON POISONS. SECTION II.-ON ALKALIES. IN the last Section, which was the first of the of the chest were natural, therefore the difficulty of breathing must have been a mere sympathetic affection. The caustic preparations of soda and potash, all act as corrosive poisons; in a minor dose, they inflame the parts with which they come in contact; in a larger dose they produce a degree of inflammation, which will threaten a termination in mortification; and in a very considerable dose, they absolutely destroy the texture of the passage to the stomach, and portions of the stomach itself, by that caustic property which they possess, and of which their operation on the external surface of the body, is so decided a testimony. Quicklime is less intense in its effects than the alkaline salts; on giving it in powder to a dog, in the quantity of two or three drams, vomiting is excited in from five to ten minutes, and the animal seems to suffer much, the result may be death, but not immediately, for two or three days will elapse ere it takes place; when it happens the cause is inflammation of the stomach. Thus all the alkaline salts, and earths, act upon the animal economy nearly in the same way. TREATMENT OF PERSONS POISONED BY The reader may infer from what we said in our last paper on the antidotes to acids, as to the treatment applicable in cases of poisoning by alkalies. Our aim must be to destroy the chemical nature of the caustic by decomposition, and an acid is capable of effecting this. It is not materially important what acid we make choice of, but as vinegar, and lemon juice are always at hand, and simple to manage, we may mention them as being preferable to all the rest. The vinegar should be mixed with water if too powerful of itself; it should, however, have a marked acidity, therefore, unless very strong, the dilution may be dispensed with. We are then to employ vinegar, or lemon juice mixed with water, in those cases where soda, potash, ammonia, lime, or other alkaline substances have been accidentally swallowed in ing the caustic; but after-attention is necessary a dangerous quantity. They act by decomposhere, as in poisoning by acids, in order to prewhich the caustic made prior to the exhibition vent bad consequences from the impression A person was requested to make use of some aperient effervescing powders, and to prepare the same, three salts were given to him in three distinct papers; one of the papers contained the subcarbonate of soda, a second the tartaric acid, and a third the tartarized soda. He was told how to mix them, and what quantity of of the antidote; but to impart a little knowgo to do the work for them or to teach them to do it. each to employ; but through carelessness, in-ledge in the after-treatment would be to do There is Miss Woodhouse's Bonnet at the apartments stead of taking about a scruple of the subcarbo-harin. I am sure that he who lends himself as of the Society of Arts. That bonnet is knit together nate of soda, and two drams of the tartarized, a pillar to support empiricism, inflicts an injury after the Italian manner; and am I to have the cruel he reversed the doses, and swallowed the solu- observation must convince us of this awful fact. on society, and the cause of humanity; daily mortification of hearing one single English woman extion, after mixing it with a sufficient quantity press a doubt of her being able to do the same thing? of acid to neutralize a scruple of the subcarboTHE COST, TO THE IMPORTER OF LEGHORN PLAT AND STRAW. The Plat which is imported from Leg-nate of soda; thus full five scruples of the subborn in the shape of plat, pays a duty of seventeen shillings the pound weight, and stands the importer in about sixty shillings a pound, altogether. The plat which is imported in the form of hats, pays a duty of five and eight-pence per hat, unless the hat exceed twenty-two inches in diameter, and then the duty is double. What the prime cost of the hat is, when bought in Italy, and what the amount of the freight and insurance, I cannot say. Of Leghorn straw no great quantity appears to have been imported. Some, however, is imported, and it pays a duty of twenty per cent.; and probably stands the importer, all charges included, in three, four, or five shillings a pound. Now, I will pledge myself to furnish any quantity of straw of any degree of fineness, not finer than bog's bristles, to persons ready to contract with I should not be afraid to say that I would furnish straw, equal in all respects to Leghorn straw, me for it. for less than half the price which Leghorn straw costs. How cheaply, then, can such straw be furnished by persons who live in the country, who have the land, the grass, the grain, the barns, and, into the bargain, the labouring people, all ready to their hand! carbonate were taken into the stomach in a Manchester. THE FRIEND.-(No. II.) S. "It may be that my grey head may devise counsel and aid for young life." In fulfilment of the promise given in the first number of "The Friend," I shall proceed, after a few preliminary remarks, to state what are the principal objects I have in view in undertaking the office of periodical essayist. It is necessary to remind my readers that I have lived a considerable time in the world, and that I have not neglected to note down, on the tablet of my memory, those transactions of mankind which appeared to me worthy to be had in remembrance. With an attentive observance of the business of human life, and an accurate register of such things as made impressions on my mind, I may mention, as fitting me for the office of Friend, an ardent desire, which I have always felt, to pour oil on the boisterous waves which in their fury threaten shipwreck to the joys and happiness of my fellow-creatures. I have scrutinized too, the actions of those who are journeying through the world around me; and have traced, as far and as often as I was able, the I am induced from observation, to believe that spring, design, and issue of human conduct; and a great part of the misery said to be the lot of man, exists more in the imagination than is generally supposed. Indeed, I am convinced that he who would live happily in this state of exist pressing seductions of the change-house, hastened on to more remote accommodation. The great northern waggon, heaped houses high with the woollen treasures of the county, and drawn tediously along by ten fine horses, stood by the way-side, watched by a vigilant bull-dog, while its cautious conductors sat within sight, giving, at every mingled morsel of beef and ale they despatched, a wary glance at their travelling repository of English wealth. Nor was this caution without cause for a roving horde of ence, has only to act in agreement with the pure Addressed to one who seemed to doubt the eternal happiness gypsies had pitched their tent within sight, un dictates of the heart, and as conscience dictates, and all will then be well. The shoals and quicksands that often oppose our progress in the journey of life, and endanger our peace and happiness, would be avoided and probably unknown, did man always steer the course which has been pointed out by the hand that cannot err. "The Friend" addresses his lucubrations to the young and old-to the man of virtue and to the man of pleasure-to him who seeketh instruction, and also to him who readeth merely to beguile time. For all such persons, he proposes occasionally to cater, and as a moraliser, and a writer for amusement, he intends to avail himself of the advantages age brings with it. The pious man shall meet with nothing, in the subsequent papers, which can possibly offend. I am very far from wishing to stain the pages of the Manchester Iris, with any sentence I should blush to acknowledge in broad day-light as my own. I have a becoming regard for religion, and consequently admire its sincere and upright votaries. With respect to my means of amusement, I have only to say, that my subjects shall be properly diversified, and that I am in possession of à considerable number of untold tales and interesting adventures. Romances I detest, and there are very few novels that I approve. Nevertheless, to those who are fond of both, I say, fear not that "The Friend," by reason of his dislike of the trash that generally fills the shelves of our circulating libraries, will be unable to administer to your entertainment, or to cause you to while away a quarter of an hour, pleasantly and without a feeling of ennui. And lastly, my readers, themselves, must pronounce their verdiet, as to whether I am justified or not in saying that I am not altogether destitute of what will contribute to and promote their instruction. Old age, 'tis true, is often garrulous, and I know the adage, Garrula lingua nocet, but unlike many of my neighbours, I have learned, happily, in some measure to restrain the desire age feels to indulge offensive loquacity, and therefore hope the readers of "The Friend" will not have to complain that he said more than he performed. Sheffield, June, 1823. F. W. J. WRITTEN ON MY BIRTH-DAY, of those who die in Infancy. Oh! say not, in pity, a flame so bright, Oh! rather say that the spirit of light Ere it caught the taint of corruption's blight Ah! do ye not hear the voice of wail Ah! mark ye that eye with distraction wild? 'Tis a mother who weeps o'er her only child,-- Her blossom of beauty is torn from her side, Yet, mark, as she bends o'er her infant's bier, A smile disperses the gathering tear- For she feels that a heavenly hand shall nourish, Shall transplant it to bowers of bliss, to flourish And say would you blast a hope so pure? Ah no! then say not a flame so bright, Oh! rather say that the spirit of light, Bat weep no more-thy infant is not dead; Where cherubim and seraphim adore, THE YORKSHIRE ALEHOUSE. der the shelter of a holly-tree-the thin blue smoke from their little fire curled quietly upward into the twilight air, and half a dozen asses grazed at a short tether-length, with the double burthen of old brass, and tawny children, on their backs. A fair-haired girl waved the ringlets backwards on her shoulders, as she glided towards them, bearing a flagon of ale, and returned not without the assurance of a merry bridal, and a potent bridegroom, from the presiding sybil of the horde. I saw her look at her white palm, as she came smiling back; every step she took was lighter with increase of joy; while a head or two, with tawny visages and sun-burnt locks, looked after her with a suppressed laugh, enjoying the double. pleasure of having passed upon her credulous heart, and unpractised eye, imaginary happiness and a bad sixpence. The alehouse itself was not without its external attractions. It stood on the verge of an ancient forest, where the cultivated and uncultivated land met; and it presented to the highway a peaked and carved front of stone, of that mixed style common in the days of Queen Bess and King James. The architraves of door and windows had been covered with rich carving; and the heads of deer, and chace-dogs, and hunting horns and bows, might still be distinguished amid the profusion of leaf and blossom with which the skill of the carver had wreathed each window-lintel. An infant river was seen glimmering among the short massy shafts of a multitude of oak and elm-trees, which studded an extensive pasture land in front; while behind, a pretty abrupt bill, clothed to the summit with natural wood, interposed between the eastern blast and this ancient hunting-lodge of a branch of the house of Percy. I am not one insensible to the influence of ancient names; and I love those of our old English and Scotch worthies before the names of all meaner persons. I also know that a baron's hall in romance is a right hospitable place with an open door and a full table smoking with festal dinners; and that a palace in poetry is a place flooded with nectar, and strewn with couches, and filled with luxuriant feasting, and ringing with pleasant sounds. But by the honest faith of one who has travelled far, and proved the matter by that rough instructor-experience, I dales of merry old Yorkshire. To the entice- have ever found the best accommodation and comment of this homely sign and summer proverb, fort in places where aristocratical poesy, and the house held out the farther, but more dubious regal romance, had no colours to bestow; and inducement, of a mounted Saint George slaying I care not who hears me declare that to the pathe dragon, bearing a notice, in the manner of lace of a Percy, a Howard, or a Dacre, I prea legend, "entertainment for man and horse." fer the humble house of homely comfort before More comprehensible symbols of good and vari-me-and that, to the fellowship of lords, I preous cheer abounded; the burnished bottoms of fer that of Gilbert Gauntree, the owner of the pewter drinking-vessels were seen, elevating and George and Dragon, there where he stands fillelevated, within the open windows, and amid ing up the porch with his most portly personthe summer air-the smacking of palm on palm, a visible type of excellent ale and soft accomin friendly and clamorous salutation, was heard; modation-a personification of provincial jollity while before the door stood, with interlaced bri- and good cheer. dles, many horses, neighing an acknowledgment! over their corn to the anxious steeds of passing travellers, who, with eyes averted from the (From the London Magazine.) "A dusty road makes a drouthy passenger." Such was the motto which, written beneath an open mouth and a foaming tankard, seemed to frame an excuse for the wayfarer whom it sought (In imitation of Dr. Johnson's Lines to Mrs. Thrale to entice into an alehouse in one of the woody on her birth-day.) Sadness-mirth-have rolled o'er, Liverpool, June 28 1823. Ω. I might as well have said sooner, that I had been on the road from the rising of the sun, and it was now setting-that the day had been close |