refinement of cruelty was practised. A crowd of wretched fugitives were forced into the church of the Holy Ghost, and there detained, whilst their persecutors set fire to the roof above them, and taking a demoniacal pleasure in their distress, released them only for fresh torments when the danger threatened to become positive destruction. At length, when scarcely an article was left to plunder, nor a human being to destroy, the whole town was given over to the flames. All that now remained was the castle, which, surrendering in a few days, fared no better than its unfortunate neighbour. The valuable furniture was stolen or destroyed, the graves of the electors broken open, and their bones scattered; at the same time, the chief towers and fortifications, surviving the previous struggle, were undermined and blown up, the Otho Henry's building burnt to the shell it now presents, and in short, every species of destruction adopted which tyranny and brutality could suggest. On the news of the destruction of Heidelberg, and the devastation of the Palatinate, reaching the French capital, Louis the Fourteenth, the pride of modern chivalry, and model of every gallant, ordered a public Te Deum in the principal churches, and caused a medal to be struck with the ruins of Heidelberg, with the inscription, Rex dixit, et factum est.—(The king said it, and it was done.)-General Heydersdorf, whose cowardice or treachery had involved such sad consequences, was summoned by his countrymen before a council of war, and condemned to death. The Emperor, however, granted him his life, but banished him from the Austrian and Suabian circle, beyond the barriers of which he was transported in a butcher's cart, with every mark of ignominy. In 1697, peace was signed at Ryswick, and the Palatinate again began to raise her fallen head; the town emerged from its ashes, the various public buildings commenced erecting, and the University, which had existed but as an empty name around the ruins of its schools, at the beginning of 1700, once more became the resort of the youth of Germany

John William was succeeded, 1716, by his brother Charles Philip, who took up his residence at Heidelberg, and directed his attention to the restoration of the castle; and financial records which still exist, show that much was laid out in repairing the out in repairing the damages of this ancient palace. Not satisfied with these necessary preliminaries, this elector entertained magnificent plans for its further embellishment and increase, which, had they been prosecuted, would have doubtless preserved it to this day, as the proudest of royal residences. But a fatality seemed to attend all efforts for its re-instatement, and those naturally most interested in its preservation, proved its greatest enemies. Among the improvements projected for the town, it was proposed to fit up the church of the Holy Ghost, (which then, and to this day, by means of a trumpery partition-wall, serves for both Catholic and Protestant services,) entirely for the former worship; the Elector promising to erect in its stead a new church for the Reformed portion of the community. This, however, necessitating a trifling alteration in the Heidelberg catechism, and interfering with some old German dogmas, the Burghers made every opposition, and Charles Philip, in a fit of disgust, removed his residence to Manheim, and employed the enormous sums appointed for Heidelberg, in the erection of a palace, and in making extensive additions to that city. Too late did the citizens repent their shortsighted obstinacy; the workmen were withdrawn from the castle, and much traffic from their town; and the solitude of the ruined walls was alone interrupted by the water-cart,

which daily fetched its load from the royal fountains for the court at Manheim.

Charles Philip, dying the 31st of December, 1742, Charles Theodore, of the house of Sulzbach, undertook the government, the 1st of January, 1743. Twenty years elapsed before this Elector visited the crumbling halls of his predecessors, when, charmed with its regal grandeur and romantic beauty, he determined to repair a portion for a temporal residence. Again, though from a different quarter, were the plans of restoration frustrated; that very night a thunder storm broke over the ruins, and a flash of lightning taking effect, reduced the castle to the state wherein we now see it.

On Charles Theodore's death, Maximilian of Bavaria assumed the Palatinate; but under the division of Europe by that arch king-maker and deposer, Napoleon, it was allotted to Charles Frederic, Grand Duke of Baden, then a man of seventy-two, who directed that every care should be bestowed in preserving the beautiful ruins, and appointed the laying out of the gardens in the style they now present. In 1811, he was succeeded by his grandson Charles, who dying in 1832, his eldest son, Leopold, a prince of the highest worth, was unanimously declared successor. The charge of preserving the castle is vested in the hands of the Heidelberg corporation, who, although doubtless worthy citizens and excellent members of society, were the last men fitted for such a trust. Big with self-importance, and guided neither by love of antiquity, or feeling for the picturesque, they have continued year by year officiously picking at the castle, endeavouring to make old new, and crooked straight, till much that had survived the violence of its foes, has fallen before the scarcely less destructive civilities of its friends. Such was the extent of the subter ranean cellars, groined passages, chambers and dungeons, that it were hard to say whether the castle occupied most space above or below ground. The writer had personally explored this portion, and regretted the destruction of some of its most interesting compartments;-now, by a late corporation edict, all the entrances to this lower world have been beaten down or filled up, and thus it will probably remain, till the plough of some future generation again lay it open to the light of day. Further, the gorgeous pillars, and architectural ornaments interspersed in the building, and especially in the suite of apartments called the Knights' Hall, have been sawn in pieces, and used for different purposes, and many a wooden bench in the surrounding gardens, is supported upon a capital, whose exquisite elegance reminds us, that its form was dictated by the taste of a Raphael.

Nevertheless, Heidelberg Castle still offers, and must for centuries offer, a powerful attraction to all true lovers of antiquity and beauty, and among the thousands who yearly throng through its empty portals, not a few imbibe an impression of symmetry, strength, gorgeousness, and grandeur, which can never be effaced.

HE that does not know those things which are of use and necessity for him to know, is but an ignorant man, what ever he may know besides.-TILLOTSON.

EXCELLENCE is never granted to man, but as the reward of labour. It argues, indeed, no small strength of mind to persevere in the habits of industry, without the pleasure of perceiving those advantages which, like the hands of a clock, whilst they make hourly approaches to their point, yet proceed so slowly as to escape observation.-SIR JOSHUA REYNOlds.

Israelites, after their settlement in Canaan, appear to have neglected archery, for we read that, immediately after his accession, David "bade them teach the children of Israel the use of the bow." (2 Samuel i. 17.) From the brief narrative in the book of Chronicles, it seems that the Hebrews in Goshen enjoyed a qualified independence; they made wars upon their own account, and retained all their pastoral usages. In some of their expeditions they were unsuccessful, and perhaps subjected to very severe reprisals.

Manetho now becomes our sole guide; he informs us in substance, that a nomade race, settled on the north-eastern frontier of Egypt, invited the Hyksos, who had been anciently overcome and expelled, to return into Egypt, and that these barbarians obeyed the summons, subdued Lower Egypt, and reduced the inhabitants to slavery. Many circumstances recorded in Scripture, lead us to believe that the Pharaoh who tyrannized so cruelly over the Egyptians, belonged to this intrusive dynasty of the Hyksos; he is described as "a king who knew not Joseph," consequently, he must have been a stranger unacquainted with the benefits which Egypt had derived from the enlightened administration of that patriarch, for it is scarcely credible that any native Egyptian could have been ignorant of those circumstances. This Pharaoh also asserts, "the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;" which is scarcely credible if it be understood of the whole body of the Egyptian nation, but it is very possible, nay very probable, that the savage race of conquerors may have been inferior in number to the smallest division of the races which inhabited Egypt. At this very hour, the Turks are the least numerous part of the Turkish population, and the jealousy with which they consequently regard all the other races subject to the Sultan, is the greatest obstacle to the regeneration of their empire. Finally, one of the tasks which this monarch imposed on the Hebrews, was the erection of treasure cities, that is, fortresses to secure the plunder which had been wrested from the native Egyptians. When Joseph, under a native Pharaoh, had received all the money of Egypt in exchange for corn, we do not find that he was compelled to erect any fortresses for its security; such a precaution was necessary only under the iron rule of a barbarous foreigner and conqueror.

The tyranny of Pharaoh commenced by his setting "task-masters" over the Israelites, "to afflict them with their burdens." We find many representations of these cruel task-masters on the monuments; they are armed with formidable whips.

"The Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour, and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; all their service wherein they made them serve, was with rigour." (Exod. i. 13, 14). The manufacture of bricks was so very toilsome and painful an employment, that it was usually the work of slaves and captives. Among the monumental paintings, we find representations of different races of people employed in this degrading labour. Some of them being bearded, and otherwise pourtrayed with characteristics strikingly different from those of the Egyptians, it can hardly be doubted that the Jews are meant, and such paintings may, therefore, be taken as historical records of the state of bondage of the Jews in the land of Egypt. These representations, too, are the more worthy of note, because, we see some native Egyptians, also compelled to endure the same toil, whence the picture may fairly be regarded as the memorial of a time, when both the Israelites and the native Egyptians were forced to become the slaves of a foreign conqueror, just as both the Arabs and the Fellahs of modern times were equally subjected to the tyranny of the Turks.

The clay before being wrought was tempered with water, and broken into small particles by an instrument resembling the hand-plough, described in a former article of this series. This process was equally painful and unwholesome under the burning sun of Egypt, where the moist exhalations from humid clay have always been found very deleterious.

When the clay was properly tempered, it was moulded in a shape, as is still the practice in the modern manufacture of bricks. Indeed it is scarcely possible to avoid remarking, how very similar the processes of the necessary arts of life, represented on the Egyptian monuments, are to those which we see every day around us. It does not appear that the Egyptians burned their bricks, though, as we shall hereafter see, they were acquainted with the use of

kilns. They preferred drying them in the sun, a custom not wholly disused in Britain, though the lower temperature of our climate renders it far less efficacious than in Egypt. The piling of the bricks, and the mode of their transport, are represented in the accompanying engravings.

A VISIT TO

THE SCHOOL FOR THE INDIGENT BLIND, IN ST. GEORGE'S FIELDS, SURREY.

Ir is an old and common remark, that places and objects of interest which we have constant opportunities of visiting, frequently remain unseen, and are, therefore, unknown to us, except from the reports of others. It is equally true, that in order to form a just estimate of many of the admirable institutions with which this country abounds, it is necessary to make a personal inspection of them. The quantity of accurate information which is thus derived from the fountain-head, cannot but be improving to the mind; nor does it fail to increase the materials for profitable and engaging conversation. But we are not ashamed to own, that a far better result is, or ought to be produced, by such scenes as we will now endeavour to describe. The heart is touched: every benevolent feeling is called into play: with pity for the distressed is mingled the joy at witnessing the mitigation of their sorrows: a sentiment of gratitude arises to the Giver of all good, for the several compensations He has granted in special cases of infirmity, as well as for our own positive blessings: and, above all, the effect on the kind and thoughtful visiter will be a desire to aid, according to his means, in the glorious work of Christian charity.

These remarks have been suggested by a survey I have just made of the School, established in 1799, for the support and instruction of the Indigent Blind. The object of this Institution is to teach the inmates a trade, by which they may be qualified to provide, either wholly or in part, for their own subsistence. Applicants who have a greater degree of sight than will enable them to distinguish light from darkness, cannot be placed on the list of candidates for admission. Of the description of persons totally blind there are now sixty males and sixty-two females in the school, some of whom were born blind; others, whose claim on the compassion of their fellow-creatures is stronger, and more affecting, from their having once possessed the precious gift of sight, and lost it by illness or accident.

After passing through the rooms of the new building, which is a very handsome fabric, calculated, when finished, to accommodate an increased number of pupils, I entered a large apartment in which the males, ranged at intervals along each side, were busily occupied in making baskets, of different degrees of texture, large hampers, cradles, &c. It was impossible not to be struck with the air of cheerfulness which pervaded the forms as well as the faces of these persons; so that seeing them active and industrious over their respective tasks, one might easily forget, for a time, their peculiar privation. The predominant expression, however, in their physiognomy is repose, or tranquillity of features, owing, probably, to their regular habits, and freedom from a variety of those disturbing causes which necessarily operate upon the many, particularly in the busy pursuits of a large and crowded city. In the basket-room I noticed only one painful instance of unfitness for even the easiest branch of work. It was that of a poor youth, whose

brain seemed to be oppressed, and whose mental ray was probably dimmed, if not extinguished, by the same cause that had produced his physical blindness.

I next proceeded to an apartment belonging to the Shoemakers, some of whom were learning their craft from superintendents appointed for the purpose; while the majority showed a readiness and execution which were perfectly astonishing. A strong well-finished shoe was placed in my hands, which I thought would have served any gentleman's foot this wet wintry day; while the smiling artist, whose name, if I remember right, is Wallenger, had the fellow to it on his lap, nearly completed.

The impression being fresh upon my mind, I now venture, at the hazard of wearying some of my readers, to mention the Mat-room, where all sorts of brown and white rope door-mats, fine bright mats, bordered with coloured worsted, worsted rugs for hearths and carriages, were being carried on in such a regular and business-like style, that if, for a moment, in admiration of the articles, I ceased to remember the condition of those who wrought them, I was instantly reminded of this truth," That where one sense is defective, another is generally more perfect." So delicate is the touch of these blind persons, and so strikingly do they illustrate that wonder, to which public attention has recently been called in a remarkable manner, the wonder of the human hand!

But it is time to say a few words respecting the female part of this excellent Institution. The girls were all assembled in a large airy room, and employed in knitting stockings, in needle-work, and in preparing household linen, and linen for the scholars. A few of them were as busy as bees, in platting a singularlyconstructed patent sash-line, clock and clothes-lines, on a machine adapted to the use of the blind. I was informed, that since the first manufacture of these different kinds of line, a very material improvement has taken place, and that the sash-line, thus made, has been approved by eminent builders.

From a review of this slight sketch of the steady career of industry within these walls, the reader will learn with more gratification than surprise, that the articles made in the year 1836 by the hands of the blind persons, were sold for 17907. 17s. 6d.

On passing through a gallery to the room in which the females were assembled, I was pleased to hear the sound of sacred music growing more and more clear; till, on entering, I distinguished the words of the 149th Psalm, beginning,

O praise ye the Lord, Prepare your glad voice!

which was well sung by the blind girls in the midst of their work. One of them,-who was pointed out to me by my benevolent guide as a very good girl,— afterwards, on being requested, threaded her needle much more easily, as I told her, than I could have done. She smiled, and modestly answered, that she had been for some time in the school. Another young woman, whose sight had been destroyed, about three years since, by the shameful heedlessness of a fellow-servant in firing a large pistol at her, unconscious of its being loaded, assured me, that God had been very good to her; that she was entirely reconciled to her lot, and contented in the station which she now filled. This declaration from her own lips was peculiarly gratifying, because I remembered her forlorn and desponding condition at about the time the accident occurred, when she thought she never should have been happy again.

I was now shown some books, printed in embossed types, for the use of blind persons, and designed

to be read by the touch. The letters in the several specimens were of various character; but of all the different plans, the simplest struck me as the best. This was Mr. John Alston's, the Treasurer of the Glasgow Asylum for the Blind, who has recently added to that Institution a fount of types and a printing-press, and has completed the whole of the Four Gospels in relief, in two large quarto volumes, at 9s. 6d. per volume. The teaching of the blind to read has engaged the attention of the benevolent for some time past: and Mr. Alston's plan, which consists in using the common Roman capitals, sharply-formed, has proved the most successful; the children, if tolerably apt scholars, learning it in a very short time. Thus, though "knowledge is, by one entrance, quite shut out," they are instructed in the inestimable truths contained in the word of God.

Their hands can read, their fingers trace

The page of Truth and Love;
And thus they joyfully embrace
The message from above.

The most affecting part of the visit, however, yet remained. I well knew the taste for music possessed by blind persons generally; indeed it has frequently been a pleasure to me to reflect, that such a delightful resource should have been placed so completely within their reach. "The Hymn of Eve" was played and sung correctly, and with considerable feeling. After a short pause, one of the girls was desired to recite that beautiful chapter of Isaiah, beginning,-" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." As soon as she had ended, one of her companions repeated with just emphasis, and in a pleasing tone of voice, the 8th chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans; and certainly two portions of Scripture more consolatory, or more abounding in passages of deep and universal concern to all, be their outward circumstances what they may, it would be difficult to select. The 18th verse sounded uncommonly affecting:-" For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." All, or nearly all, the female pupils, as I was informed, know the Psalms, (the prose version, used in our Liturgy,). throughout, and some can repeat any part of the Four Gospels. Listening to the inspired passages, my mind stretched onward to the period, when this mortal shall have put on immortality, and to that city which hath "no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the LAMB is the light thereof; for there shall be no night there." In that perfect day, thought I, shall not this desolate being, who walks by faith now, be gifted with a clear view of the Divine majesty; whilst many of those, who, humanly speaking, are walking by sight, and whose inward gaze of a future world is dimmed and uncertain, shall be pronounced blind? Yes; although, independently of their privations, these sad objects doubtless have their trials; yet, removed as they are from the temptations of a densely-peopled and vicious metropolis, brought up in regular habits, taught to read and to pray, they possess privileges, they enjoy advantages, the value of which it is difficult to calculate. With such reflections, I listened with pleasure to the following lines composed by one, who, if I mistake not, was formerly an inmate of the School, and addressed to the friends of the Institution. I never can forget" the deep, the low, the pleading tone," in which they were recited. And with these I shall conclude my narrative,

FROM Chaos sprang the teeming Earth,
At the Divine command;

And the untiring Sea had birth,

'Neath the Almighty hand. But darkness lowered upon the deep: Creation's first, long, silent sleep

Still hid the world in night: Till, with a voice that pealed through space, From His most high and holy place,

God said, "Let there be light." "And there was light!" and with it grew The glory of the day:

The vast, the wonderful, the new,
Were seen beneath its ray.
Not hidden was the meanest root,
The lowliest flower, the humblest fruit,
All burst upon the sight:
For unto each, as if to prove
His universal care and love,

The Lord had yielded light.

Praise be to God! another ray,
Not less divinely given,

Points, through his blessed Son, the way

To happiness and heaven.

And thus your boundless charities
Have spread before our sightless eyes,

Locked in eternal night,

That holier radiance, mild and pure,
Which makes our soul's salvation sure,-
The glorious Gospel light!

We cannot thank you as we ought,
But were our hearts laid bare,
You'd see each fond and grateful thought
Pour'd out in silent prayer.

And when we meet before the throne
Of Him to whom all deeds are known,
How shall we hail the sight

Of the pure glory, that will bind
The brows of those, who taught the blind
To seek the living light!

AMUSEMENTS IN SCIENCE. No. V.

ARITHMETIC.-Part 2.

M.

NUMBERS which increase by what is termed arithmetical progression, for instance, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, each succeeding term increasing by 2; or 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, in which the terms increase by 3, or any other number, possess some curious properties.

In every arithmetical progression, the sum of the first and last terms is equal to that of the second and last but one, and to that of the third and last but two, &c.; or to the sum of the two middle terms, when the number of terms is even; or to double that of the middle term when the number of terms is odd. For instance, if the number of terms are even, as 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16,

16 and 1 are equal to 17, and the two middle terms, 7 and 10, are also equal to 17: if the series is uneven, as 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19,

19 and 1 are equal to 20, and twice 10, the middle term, produces the same amount. In the last series the