of these terrible instruments of war, as a proof of the great force with which they are driven.

This rocket was first used at the bombardment of Copenhagen, and is so celebrated in modern warfare, that it deserves a more particular description.

The case of the Congreve-rocket is formed of iron instead of paper, and many advantages arise from this circumstance; the resistance of the air to its passage is less, on account of the combination of a greater weight, with a smaller diameter, so that the range of the missile is extended; the hard pointed end of the rocket also enables it to penetrate solid substances. The case of the rocket is formed of a cylinder of very soft iron, which is dovetailed together and soldered; if it is three inches in diameter, the thickness of iron requisite is but the fifteenth of an inch, and so in proportion. The inside of the case is lined with cartridge paper, pasted in. The pointed conical head is also of iron, but much thicker, and, according to the service it has to perform, is armed with hooks or otherwise.

The uses to which these rockets have been applied, are various; if they are intended to set fire to buildings, they carry with them a case containing highly combustible substances, which can be ignited after the lapse of any space of time, by means of a slow match; in other cases they are loaded with shells or grape shot, which, when they explode, commit dreadful havoc.

The distance to which a rocket will reach, of course depends on its weight and the charge with which it is loaded; it may be stated at from two to three thousand five hundred yards. In discharging the Congreverocket, metal tubes, fixed in a frame, are used: these tubes are of sufficient size to allow the rocket free motion. The inclination at which the tubes are placed directs the course of the missile; for these rockets are not fired perpendicularly, but in a slanting direction, according to the distance they are intended to reach.

Specimens of the different kinds of shot are found near these last: as canister-shot, consisting of a tincase, filled with a number of bullets or small round shot. Grape-shot, nine or more small round shot tied up in a canvas bag and corded round; the number of the balls being generally odd, gives the mass something the appearance of a bunch of grapes.

CHAIN-SHOT,

BAR-SHOT.

Chain-shot consists of two round shots linked together by a jointed bar of iron. Bar-shot, connected by a solid bar of iron, instead of one jointed. The two last are used for the purpose of dividing the masts and spars of an enemy; besides others of various forms and sizes contrived for the destruction of life. There are models, also, of several large cannon, one taken at Agra that weighed sixteen tons, and another at Beejapoor weighing forty tons. The models of guncarriages are very numerous, from the rudest to the most perfect. Those representing the Russian artillery are accompanied by models of the horses by which they are drawn, and of the mode of harnessing

them.

A BALLAD.

SIR EUSTACE sate, at midnight's hour,
Within his tent alone,

And the spell of memory's silent power
Was o'er his spirit thrown:

It bore him from Salem's leaguered wall
To her he had left in his castle-hall.
For Ermengarde, his only child,
The beautiful and young,
Had often at that hour beguiled
His spirit as she sung;

Bidding her father's heart rejoice

With the magic sound of her silver voice. And on his harp he used to play

To her in that old hall;

He had brought his harp with him away, But now 'twas silent all;

It hung in his tent by the cresset's lignt,
And his eyes as he viewed it with tears were bright.
That cresset's light grew pale and dim,

On his ear a sound there stole,

The echo of a dirge-like hymn

Poured for a parted soul:

And the strings of that harp, which in silence slept,
As if by a spirit's hand, were swept.
He shed no tear, he heaved no sigh,
And not a word he said;

He knew, from that mystic melody,

Her soul from earth was fled:

So he threw by his lance, and sword, and shield,
And at break of day left the tented field.

He reached once more his castle hall,
He entered the chapel fair;

A marble tablet hung on its wall,

And a withered rose was there :

He knelt him down, and in silence prayed,

And died a monk in the cloister's shade.-BARTON.

LIFTING OF THE KREMLIN BELL.

In the month of July, 1836, a successful attempt was made to raise the enormous bell which had been so long buried in the earth, in the Kremlin, at Moscow. This bell*, one of the wonders of Moscow, was cast in 1733, at the command of the Empress Anne, by a Russian founder, Michael Motorine. It is, according to Clarke, 21 feet 4 inches high; at two feet from the bottom its circumference measures 67 feet 4 inches; its diameter at that height is consequently about 21 feet 6 inches. Its thickness, at the part intended to be struck by the hammer, 23 inches. The Russians estimate the weight at 12,000 poods, which is nearly 200 English tons. The reputed elegance of its form, the style of its bas-reliefs, and the richness of its metal, composed of gold, silver, and copper, contributed to make it remarkable as a specimen of the advanced state of the art of casting in Russia, at the epoch of its execution.

M. Montferrand, a gentleman greatly distinguished in Petersburgh by the numerous works he has executed, was intrusted with the direction of the operations. As the bell was lying in a cavity in the ground, and more than thirty feet below the surface, a large excavation was made to clear it. Over this was constructed a strong and lofty scaffold for the attachment of the blocks, and for the temporary suspension of the bell at a proper height. At half-past five in the morning, the authorities of Moscow, and a large number of spectators being assembled on the spot, prayers were offered up for the success of the attempt, and the operations commenced on a signal given by M. Montferrand. Six hundred soldiers instantaneously set-to at a large number of capstans. The enormous weight was mastered, and the bell was soon seen to rise slowly in the pit. Forty-two minutes elapsed during its elevation to the necessary height. No accident occurred. The first operation being finished, the next was to build a platform beneath the suspended bell. This was completed in eight hours, and the bell lowered upon it. On the following day it was placed on a sledge, and drawn by means of an inclined plane, up to the pedestal intended to support it, and there finally left, on the 26th of the same month.

This colossal work of art is, after all, but a mere curiosity. Its use as a bell is impossible, from a fracture, about seven feet high and two feet wide, in the lower part, where it is 23 inches thick. The cause of this gigantic injury rests entirely upon conjecture.-Magazine of Popular Science, See Saturday Magazine, Vol. III., p. 117.

WRITING MATERIALS.

No. VIII.

ON INKSTANDS.

estimated her rare talents, which were also employed to commemorate the gift in the following beautiful lines, entitled,—

PETRARCH'S INKSTAND.

By beauty won from soft Italia's land,

Here Cupid, Petrarch's Cupid, takes his stand.
Arch suppliant, welcome to thy fav'rite isle,
Close thy spread wings, and rest thee here awhile;
Still the true heart with kindred strains inspire
Breathe all a poet's softness, all his fire;
But if the perjured knight approach this font,
Forbid the words to come as they were wont;
Forbid the ink to flow, the pen to write,

And send the false one baffled from thy sight.

The discovery of the sepulchred cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, has tended to throw much light on the domestic manners and customs of the ancient inhabitants of Italy. In the museum at Naples are preserved large quantities of domestic implements, and among the rest, of writing materials. The information they convey has already assisted us in the present series, and the following figures will give the reader an accurate idea of the Inkstands of the Romans.

Fig. 2 represents a double Inkstand, formed of two cylinders joined together; the one intended for black and the other for red ink: each cylinder is furnished with a cover. Near this stand lies the calamus or reed, cut to a point, which served the purpose of a pen.

PETRARCH'S INKSTAND.

THE above sketch will convey a tolerably correct idea of the beautiful Inkstand of Petrarch, whose genius and classical purity of mind diffused a lustre around him, which contributed greatly to promote the revival of learning, and the love of the arts and the elegancies of life, in the fourteenth century. We can fancy him composing some of his immortal poetry, or transcribing some of the manuscript works of minds congenial with his own, with the above Inkstand before him: thinking of the golden age of Augustus, of Horace, Virgil, and Ovid: thinking as they thought; imbibing a full draught from the same Pierian spring; enjoying similar honours, (for Rome crowned him with laurel and with myrtle,) and enduring similar pains.

I delight, (says Petrarch,) in my pictures; I take great pleasure also in images; they come in show more near unto nature than pictures, for they do but appear; but these are felt to be substantial, and their bodies are more durable. Amongst the Grecians, the art of painting was esteemed above all handicrafts, and the chief of all the liberal arts. How great the dignity hath been of statues, and how fervently the study and desire of men have reposed in such pleasures, emperors and kings, and other noble personages, nay, even persons of inferior degree, have shown, in their industrious keeping of them when obtained.

The fine arts and literature constituted the charm of his life. In reference to his books, many of which were transcribed by himself, the admirable art of printing not being then invented, he says,-"Great is my delight in beholding such a treasure. **** I have great plenty of books: where such scarcity has been lamented, this is no small possession: I have an inestimable many of books."

Fig. 2.

ordan Fig. 3.

We come now to notice the Inkstands of our own

When good ink is once provided, it may appear to most persons to be a matter of indifference what description of vessel is employed to contain it, so as to answer the daily occasions of the writer. An Inkstand is, however, an important article among writing materials, since its office is, or ought to be, not only to hold the ink, but to preserve it from dust, and in such a state of limpidity as to allow of an easy flow from the pen, and to produce written characters of a uniform degree of blackness.

If dust be allowed access to ink, thickness is produced, a quality which never belongs to good ink. Thickness is also produced by exposure to the air, from another source, which is evaporation. The latter process depends for amount upon temperature; the liquid portion of the ink passing off in the form of vapour, in quantities proportionate to the heat of the room and the extent of liquid surface exposed. Now, as evaporation affects only the aqueous portion of the ink, and the solid colouring particles are suspended in a liquid medium which is constantly decreasing, a thickening of the ink, as it is called, is a necessary result. By continued evaporation the whole of the water will pass off, and the colouring matter will alone remain in the Inkstand, as a hard dry mass. This circumstance is pleasantly, but not quite correctly, alluded to by Cowper, in his Ode to Apollo, on an Inkglass dried in the Sun.

Ah why, since oceans, rivers, streams,
That water all the nations,

Pay tribute to thy glorious beams

In constant exhalations

Why, stooping at the noon of day,
Too covetous of drink,

Apollo, hast thou stol'n away,

A Poet's drop of ink?

A very simple and efficient form of Inkstand is shown in fig. 5, in which ink may be preserved for several months without thickening. It consists of a glass bottle open only at s, where there is a small mouth large enough to receive the pen. This bottle is filled by inclining the closed part, A в, downwards, and pouring in the ink at s: the ink will displace a portion of air in the bottle equal to its own bulk, and will not overflow at s, on account of the atmospheric pressure balancing the liquid column in the bottle. In this example, evaporation is small, because the surface at s is small, and a very minute portion of the ink being exposed to dust, no thickening occurs. Bird-cage fountains are constructed on similar principles.

A few improved Inkstands have, of late years, been made the subject of patents. One of these, by Mr. Edwards, is a useful and elegant invention. It consists of an external cylinder of bronze, containing a cylinder of glass, in which an accurately fitting glass piston moves by a very ready adjustment: below this piston is the ink, imbibed by a quantity of loose hair or wool. From the lower part of the stand proceeds a tube and a conical cup, which is filled with ink by slightly depressing the piston, and thus the pan is supplied. When not in use, this cup can be emptied in an instant, by giving a slight upward motion to the piston, and the wool being relieved from pressure, re-absorbs the ink. Should any of the ink flow over the conical cup, it is received into a saucer below, and can be returned into the reservoir.

Mr. Doughty, the inventor of pens with ruby nibs, has contrived an Inkstand which is lined with Indiarubber, to prevent the nibs of his pens being injured by striking against the glass of common Inkstands. For a description of his peculiar pens we must refer to our article on steel-pens.

One of the best forms of portable Inkstands is the subject of Messrs. Horsley and Cooper's patent, which affords a convenient and air-tight stand, and not liable to corrosion, as most portable Inkstands are. This object is effected by bringing into contact two circular disks of glass, the flat surfaces of which are perfectly plane. These are fixed at the centre to a bar of metal, placed across the mouth of the stand. Each plate has a hole large enough to admit the pen, and the stand is opened by sliding the upper plate upon the under one, so as to make the two holes coincide; and this coincidence is ensured by means of two studs fixed to the upper plate. The aperture is closed by sliding the unperforated part of the upper plate over the hole of the lower plate, and in this state the stand may be carried about in the pocket, or packed with linen and books, without any fear of leakage. The simplicity of this invention, and the ease with which it is opened and closed, justly entitle it to the highest praise that can be bestowed upon a portable Inkstand.

ON THE

LIGHT OF THE MARINE ANIMALS. LIGHT diminishes rapidly in passing through water. At a certain depth, the sun itself would be invisible, as if a plate of iron had been interposed. Experi ments have been made to ascertain what thickness of water excludes all light; but as yet without success. But while these estimates refer to the full light of the sun, and as the light of a cloudy day, of twilight, and of night, are successively far inferior, there must be many and long periods in which darkness reigns at very small depths, since the quantity transmitted is proportioned to the intensity.

It is also familiar, that many fishes reside in the deeper parts of the sea, as is true of the Ling among others, and on the bottom, as occurs in the flat fishes; while, moreover, many are nocturnal, sleeping in the day, and seeking their food in the night. On the land, absolute darkness is a very rare occurrence, while the nocturnal animals have a peculiar provision for discovering their prey, in a large pupil and highly sensible nerve. But under the entire want of light, that must often exist in the sea, no such power could be a compensation; while in minor cases, the great velocity of these tribes, and the frequent consequent distances between the pursuer and the pursued, must also be an obstacle to distinct vision. Under any view, it must have been impossible to prey at night; since our own least visible light must be pure darkness, even near the surface.

Here then is a world without light, the habitation of myriads of the most active and rapacious animals of creation: often social, performing various functions, moving over great distances with the rapidity of birds, and, above all, provided with organs of vision. Did naturalists never reflect on such a world, or ask themselves how such pursuits were carried on in utter darkness? They had not thought on the darkness alone of that world: and when they knew it, and did not inquire how the inconvenience to its inhabitants was remedied, is it not because they too often forget to view creation as they ought, to inquire of intentions and final causes, to look higher, and think more deeply of Him who has neglected nothing essential to the good of his creatures? He who sees God, wise, beneficient, and governing, will find a clue to his studies, and the solution of his difficulties.

A remedy for the interception of the sun and the absence of light, was wanted: day could not be brought into the depths of the ocean, for the laws of

The never-failing wisdom and power of the Creator have established an independent source of light beneath the ocean; and it has been disposed in the precise manner required to answer the intended purposes. The animal itself was to be seen amid utter darkness; and it is rendered luminous, or becomes, itself, a source of light. Nor can we doubt the design and the purpose here, when we find the provision universal and the purpose necessary, and when we also can conjecture of no other mode in which it could have been attained. The great pursuit of all animals is food, and the food has here been rendered luminous, that it might be discovered. But for this provision, the deep-residing fishes could not have found the means of existing at the bottom of the sea, and the night-preying ones would have been for ever helpless: while my own investigations have shown, that there are predatory kinds immoveably fixed to the bottom, at depths of 6000 feet, where darkness is eternal.

The truth of this view is confirmed by the effect of luminous bodies on fishes. Even in ordinary dayfishing, it is a brilliant object, not a definite form, or a fish, which is the subject of pursuit, and it is so especially, as might be expected, among the swift fishes. It is the bright silvery skin of the bait which is the attraction, and familiarly so in the mackerel, equally ready to seize a shining piece of metal or a brilliant feather. Thence, also, the use and effect of nocturnal lights in fishing: well known to our remote predecessors among the ancients, to the inhabitants of the Mediterranean, and even to savage nations; all profiting by that knowledge which we disdain or neglect. If adopted in the fraudulent salmon fishery, and there only, no one seems aware that the light, supposed to aid ourselves in seeing the fish, is in reality its bait. It is the object of pursuit, because it is the expected prey.

But this is not all of the Divine contrivance on this subject while, if the object is the same, the discovery of prey by the means of light, the mode of attaining that end is different, as there is some difference also in the nature of the prey itself. How far the chemical sources of the light might coincide or differ, we do not know: but the one at least belongs to vital action, while the other is engaged with dead matter.

In all the living marine animals, the light is brilliant, often of different colours, commonly confined to a certain portion, or organ; or, at farthest, to the surface, under the command of the will, and dependent on life, since it disappears at the death or capture of the subject, as the interior parts also show no signs of it. But shortly after death, the whole body becomes luminous, displaying a pale uniform light; and the luminous matter can be detached and dif

fused through water, while the living light cannot.

monly attributed to putrefaction, it commences long before this process, and even ceases as that is established. And if the purpose of this second contrivance is plain, so ought it always to have been. The dead animal, in this condition, is still food: by putrefaction it would be wasted, and might be injurious, as such matters are, in the atmosphere: it becomes an object of attraction under this new expedient, as it had ceased to be, in losing its former powers of producing light with the loss of its life. And the wisdom is not less shown in conferring this new property anterior to putrefaction: since it is then more valuable as food. Here, again, we see the utility of final causes in the discovery of truth: since naturalists had always considered this as a mere result of putrefaction, and thus given a false view of a fact in nature, from neglecting its Author.

Of the living lights we are even more ignorant than of the dead; since we cannot detach the luminous substance, if there be one, nor discover the organs by which it is produced. In the larger fishes, it seems to exist over the entire surface, as it is evidently the temporary produce of an act of volition; though it is not easy to judge correctly of the facts, as it is possible that the light around them may, partly at least, be produced by the disturbance of minute animals in contact with them. This, however, will not of itself explain the appearances: since, in that case, it should attend every movement, whereas it is but occasional, and is excited, among other things, by a noise or an alarm. And that the luminous property does not belong to the water itself, we are assured, by finding that it never exists unless animals are present; while if the crowds of the nearly microscopic ones are the cause of that general light which seems to have given rise to this error, so does it require an equally minute investigation to detect those hitherto almost unsuspected myriads. Seamen, knowing the difference between blue and green water, know also that the former very rarely contains such animals, and is as rarely luminous. With some noted exceptions in the ocean, it is on the shores chiefly, that we find highly luminous water prevailing.

I believe the power of producing light to be an universal property in the marine tribes; and that belief is confirmed by the fact, that I have never found a species, however microscopic, in which it did not exist. I except the shell-fishes, however; and if there are obvious reasons why the display should there be difficult, so must I plead ignorance of what is of no easy investigation. Yet the Pholades are known to be luminous, and the places of others are generally marked out by luminous parasites. But in all others of the marine animals which are not fishes, from the largest Medusa or Holothuria, down to the most minute Beroe, Cyclops, Vorticella, or Vibrio, there seems a particular point, or organ, adapted for this purpose, which, however, we cannot discover, as the light which is our only guide for it, disappears in that which is necessary for its examination; as also we cannot find any organs in many of these, beyond the stomach and ovaria, and the tentacula or other appen. dages. And the reason for this conclusion is, that in Medusæ of a foot in diameter, the light will sometimes not exceed a pea in size, though in others, as in the Cyclops very often, its brilliancy causes it to appear larger than the whole body. The colour of the light varies; it is sometimes snow white, or else of the electric blue, or of a greenish tinge, or reddish, or yellow, or even scarlet.

Such then is the true source of those often brilliant, sometimes terrific appearances, so frequently observed