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LARUS MINUTUS, THE LITTLE GULL. THIS bird, hitherto known in Great Britain only as an occasional and rare visitant, has now been added to the Fauna of Ireland-one of a pair seen between Shannon Harbour and Shannon Bridge having been shot in the month of May of the present year, by Walter Boyd, Esq. of the 97th regiment, and presented by him to the Natural History Society of Dublin. It has been stuffed by Mr Glennon of Suffolk Street, who continues to gratify the lovers of natural history by a free inspec

tion of it.

The Little Gull was first noticed with certainty as a British bird by Montague, who, in the Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary, published in 1813, described an immature specimen, the plumage being that of the yearling in transition to its winter garb. The Irish specimen, on the contrary, is invested with its full summer plumage, as described by Temminck. The head and upper portion of the neck are black; the lower portion of the neck and under parts of the body are white, and at first exhibited a rosy tint, which as is usual quickly faded after death; rump and tail white; upper parts pearl grey, the secondaries and quills being tipped with white; legs and toes bright red; bill of a reddish brown, rather than of the deep lake of Temminck, or arterial blood-red of Selby; its length ten inches, or somewhat more than one-half of that of the blackheaded gull (Larus ridibundus), its nearest congener. Little has been added to the history of this bird as briefly given by Temminck as follows:-"It inhabits the rivers, lakes, and seas of the eastern countries of Europe; is an occasional visitant of Holland and Germany; is common in Russia, Livonia, and Finland; and very rarely wanders to the lakes of Switzerland. It feeds on insects and worms, and breeds in the eastern and southern countries."

In America the Little Gull was noticed on the northern journey of Sir John Franklin, and it is numbered by Bonaparte amongst the rarer birds of the United States-rendering it probable that the American continent includes also its breeding habitats. To this we may reasonably add-considering the state of plumage of the Irish specimens, the season of their discovery, the inland locality in which they were seen, and the analogy in habits between them and the other blackheaded gulls with which they were associated a belief and hope that the Little Gull will yet be found to breed on some of the wide expanses of the Shannon, or on the lakes of Roscommon, Leitrim, and Sligo.

To understand the relation of this gull to the other species of the same genus, it is necessary that we should take a rapid survey of the whole family; and happy are we to indulge ourselves in such mental rambling, as many a gladsome reminiscence will be awakened both in our own and in our readers' minds by the mention of these well-known birds. Few indeed are there who at some period of their lives have not wandered to the sea-side to enjoy the exhilarating influence of the sea breeze, and to revel, perchance, on the rich feast of knowledge which the many strange but admirably formed creatures of the deep must ever present to the inquiring and contemplative mind. To them the sea-mew or gull must be familiar, both in those of the larger species, which are seen heavily winging their way over the waters, or poised in air, wheeling round to

approach their surface, and in those of lighter and more aërial form, which, in the words of Wilson, "enliven the prospect by their airy movements-now skimming closely over the wa tery element, watching the motions of the surges, and now rising into the higher regions, sporting with the winds;" and we may surely add, still in the words of that enthusiastic worshipper of Nature, that "such zealous inquirers must have found themselves amply compensated for all their toil, by observing these neat and clean birds coursing along the rivers and coasts, and by inhaling the invigorating breezes of the ocean, and listening to the soothing murmurs of its billows." Nor could they fail to notice how admirably the white and grey tints which prevail in the plumage of these birds harmonize with those of air and ocean-a species of adaptation which is manifest in all the works of nature, no colours, however varied, presenting to the eye an incongruous or disagreeable picture, and no sounds, however modified by the throats of a thousand feathered warblers, jarring as discord on the ear. Well may we judge from this that our senses were framed in unison with all created objects, and that the right test of excellence in music, painting, or poetry, is, "that it is natural."

The genus Larus (Gull) of the early writers included many birds now separated from it-the Skuos, or parasitic gulls; Lestris; the Terns, or sea-swallows; Sterna; and some others the consequence of increasing knowledge in natural science being the gradual limitation of genera by the use of more precise and restricted characters. All these genera now form part of the family of Laridae, or gull-like birds-the system of grouping together those genera which exhibit striking analogies in plumage or habits securing the advantages of a natural arrangement, without the danger of that confusion which so often results from loosely defined genera. The tendency is indeed to still further subdivision-the kittiwake Rissa (Stephens), and the blackheaded gulls classed together (Larus rissa) having been made the type of a new genus, as the genus Xema (Boie)-the periodic change of the colour of their heads from the white of winter to the black of summer, their more rapid and tern or swallow-like flight, and their inland habits, forming so many striking and apparently natural marks of distinction. To this genus, if finally admitted, will belong the Little Gull (Xema minuta).

The term Larus is adopted from the Greek, the ancient Latin name as used by Pliny being Gavia. Brisson (1763) applies Larus to some of the larger species, and Gavia to a multitude of others; but there is much confusion in his identifications of species, and the line of separation was not well considered. Modern writers also subdivide the gulls, for the sake of convenience, into two sections-the larger, or those varying from nineteen to twenty-six or more inches in length, the "Goelands" of Temminck; and the smaller, or "Mouettes' of Temminck. But this system of division is imperfect, as it veils the remarkable relation existing between many of the larger and smaller gulls, which should not therefore be separated from each other. This relation was noticed by some of the earlier writers. Willoughby designates under the name Larus cinereus maximus both the herring and the lesser blackbacked gulls; and under that of Larus cinereus minor, the common sea-gull. This kind of relation is indeed strikingly displayed amongst British gulls-as in the greater and lesser blackbacked gulls, the Glaucous and Iceland gulls, the herring and common gulls, and, we may add, the blackheaded and little gulls; and it is very probable that further research will show that it exists still more widely.

From Aristotle or Pliny little can be gleaned of the history of these birds. Aristotle states that the Gavia and Mergi lay two or three eggs on the rock-the Gaviæ in summer, the Mergi in the beginning of spring-hatching the eggs, but not building in the manner of other birds. Pliny says that the Gaviæ build on rocks, the Mergi sometimes on trees; from which remark it appears probable that the genus Mergus then included not merely the various divers, but also the cormorants, as was formerly conjectured by Turner. Whilst, therefore, the ancient Latin name of gull, Gavia, has been entirely removed from modern nomenclature, the word Mergus has obtained a signification very limited in comparison to that which it enjoyed among the ancients, being now applied to the Mergansers alone, although for a time restored by Brisson to the Colymbi, which, as possessing the property of diving in its highest perfection, seem most entitled to retain it, whilst the term Merganser might be judiciously applied to the genus now called by some, Mergus, as was done by Aldrovandus, Willoughby, Brisson, and Stephens.

The remarkable differences in the habits of gulls, which form in part the basis of separation, as suggested by Boie in the case of the blackheaded gulls, were early noticed. Old Gesner (1587) says that some gulls dwell about fresh waters, others about the sea; and from Aristotle, that the grey gull seeks lakes and rivers, whilst the white gull inhabits the sea. Every one indeed must have noticed the flocks of gulls which occasionally appear inland, and share with the rooks and other corvida the rich repast of grubs which is afforded by the fresh-ploughed land. The common gull (Larus canus) is one of those which indulge in these terrestrial excursions; but the blackheaded gulls (Xema) select even the inland marshes as their breeding-places. The more truly maritime gulls select islands or rocks, on the surface of which they deposit their eggs, as the kittiwake the narrow ledges of precipitous cliffs, the young being reared with safety, where it would seem that the least movement must plunge them from the giddy height into the abyss below. This beautiful illustration of the power of instinct to preserve even the nestling from danger, is admirably displayed on the northern coast of Mayo, where at Downpatrick Head the whole face of the perpendicular limestone cliff is peopled by line above line of gulls, flying, when disturbed by a stone thrown either from mischievous or curious hand, in screaming flocks from their eggs or young, and as quickly settling upon them again, without, as it were, disturbing the equilibrium of either in a place where to move would be to tumble into destruction. The clamour of the kittiwake is indeed so great on such occasions that it has given rise in the Feroe Islands to a proverb, "noisy as the Rita in the rocks." The eggs of several species of gulls are used as food, being regularly sought for as such on the coast of Devonshire and other maritime places, but those of the blackheaded gulls are considered the best, and often substituted for plover eggs. The flesh of gulls was considered by the ancients unfit for the food of man; not so by the moderns, who, though probably no great admirers of it, have not entirely rejected it. Hence Willoughby tells us (1678) that "the seacrows (blackheaded gulls) yearly build and breed at Norbury in Staffordshire, in an island in the middle of a great pool, in the grounds of Mr Skrimshew, distant at least 30 miles from the sea. About the beginning of March hither they come ; about the end of April they build. They lay three, four, or five eggs of a dirty green colour, spotted with dark brown, two inches long, of an ounce and half weight, blunter at one end. The first down of the young is ash-coloured, and spotted with black. The first feathers on the back, after they are fledged, are black. When the young are almost come to their full growth, those entrusted by the lord of the soil drive them from off the island through the pool, into nets set in the banks to take them. When they have taken them, they feed them with the entrails of beasts; and when they are fat, sell them for fourpence or fivepence a-piece. They take yearly about one thousand two hundred young ones; whence may be computed what profit the lord makes of them. About the end of July they all fly away and leave the island." And in Feroe, according to Landt (1798), the flesh of the kittiwake is not only eaten, but considered "well-tasted." As pets, gulls have always on the sea-coast been favourites, Gesner quotes from Oppian, "That gulls are much attached to man-familiarly attend upon him; and, when watching the fishermen, as they draw their nets and divide the spoil, clamorously demand their share." In our own boyish experience we knew one, poor Tom, which grew up under our care to maturity, and, unrestrained by any artificial means, flew away and returned again as inclination impelled it-recognising and answering our voice even when flying high in air above. But, alas! like too many pets, he fell a sacrifice to the loss of that instinct which would have led him to shun danger. He joined a crowd of water-fowl on a small lake on the Start Bay Sands. His companions, alarmed at the approach of the fowler, flew unharmed away; but poor Tom, with ill-judged confidence, left the water and walked fearlessly towards the enemy of all winged creatures, who could not allow even a gull to escape, and, alas! he was the next moment stretched lifeless on the sand. Here we shall arrest our pen. Perhaps we have dwelt too long on this interesting genus of birds, and yet we would hope that some of our readers may profit by our remarks, and be led to watch with an inquisitive eye the many animated beings which surround them, and thus to read in Nature's nevertiring, never-exhausted volume, new lessons of wisdom-new proofs of the exalted intelligence which has created every thing perfect and good of its kind.

J. E. P.

THE CHASE,

A POEM TRANSLATED FROM THE IRISH.

OISIN.

O son of Calphruin! thou whose ear
Sweet chant of psalms delights to hear,
Hast thou ere heard the tale,
How Fionn urged the lonely chase,
Apart from all the Fenian race,
Brave sons of Innisfail ?

PATRICK.

O royal born! whom none exceeds
In moving song, or hardy deeds,
That tale, to me as yet untold,
Though far renown'd, do thou unfold
In truth severely wise,
From fancy's wanderings far apart:
For what is fancy's glozing art
But falsehood in disguise?

OISIN.

O! ne'er on gallant Fenian race
Fell falsehood's accusation base:
By faith of deeds, by strength of hand,
By trusty might of battle-brand,
We spread afar our glorious fame,
And safely from each conflict came.
Ne'er sat a monk in holy chair,
Devote to chanting hymn and prayer,

More true than the Fenians bold:
No chief like Fionn, world around,
Was e'er to bards so gen'rous found,
With gifts of ruddy gold.

If lived the son of Morné fleet,

Who ne'er for treasure burned; Or Duiné's son to woman sweet,

Who ne'er from battle turned, But fearless with his single glaive A hundred foemen dared to brave: If lived Macgaree stern and wild,

That hero of the trenchant brand;
Or Caoilte, Ronan's witty child,

Of liberal heart and open hand;
Or Oscar, once my darling boy,
Thy psalms would bring me little joy.
If lived, the Fenian deeds to sing,

Sweet Fergus with his voice of glee;
Or Daire, who trilled a faultless string,
Small pleasure were thy bells to me.
If lived the dauntless little Hugh,

Or Fillan, courteous, kind and meek, Or Conan bald, for whom the dew

Of sorrow yet is on my cheek,

Or that small dwarf whose power could steep
The Fenian host in death-like sleep-
More sweet one breath of theirs would be
Than all thy clerks' sad psalmody.

PATRICK.

Thy chiefs renowned extol no more,
O son of kings-nor number o'er;
But low, on bended knee, record
The power and glory of the Lord;
And beat the breast, and shed the tear,
And still his holy name revere,
Almighty, by whose potent breath
Thy vanquished Fenians sleep in death.

OISIN.

Alas! for Oisin-dire the tale!
No music in thy voice I hear;
Not for thy wrathful God I wail,
But for my Fenians dear.
Thy God! a rueful God I trow,
Whose love is earned by want and woe!
Since came thy dull psalm-singing crew,
How rapid away our pastimes flew,

And all that charmed the soul!
Where now are the royal gifts of gold,
The flowing robe with its satin fold,

And the heart-delighting bowl? Where now the feast, and the revel high, And the jocund dance and sweet minstrelsy, And the steed loud-neighing in the morn, With the music sweet of hound and horn,

And well-armed guards of coast and bay?
All, all like a dream have passed away;
And now we have clerks with their holy qualms,
And books, and bells, and eternal psalms,
And fasting-that waster gaunt and grim,
That strips of all beauty both body and limb.

PATRICK.

Oh! cease this strain, nor longer dare
Thy Fionn, or his chiefs, compare
With him who reigns in matchless might,
The King of kings enthroned in light.

'Tis he who frames the heavens and earth;
'Tis he who nerves the hero's hand;
"Tis he who calls fair fields to birth,

And bids each blooming branch expand:

He gives the fishy streams to run,
And lights the moon and radiant sun.

What deeds like these, though great his fame,
Canst thou ascribe to Fionn's name?

OISIN..

To weeds and grass his princely eye
My sire ne'er fondly turned;
But he raised his country's glory high,

When the strife of warriors burned.
To shine in games of strength and skill,
To breast the torrent from the hill,
To lead the van of the bannered host-
These were his deeds and these his boast.
Where was thy God, when o'er the tide
Two heroes hither bore

Of Lochlin, king of ships, the bride,

And carnage heaped the shore ?
When Tailk on Fenians hacked his brand,
'Twas not thy God's, but Oscar's hand
That hero prostrate laid;

When rough-voiced Manus swept the coast,
If lived thy God, the Fenian host

Had triumphed by his aid.
When Aluin, Anver's son of fame,
Round Tara rolled the bickering flame,
Not by thy King's, but Oscar's glaive
The warrior sank in a bloody grave.
When haughty Dearg advanced in pride
With his shields of gold o'er Lochlin's tide,
Why lingered then thy cloud-borne Lord
To save our host from his slaughtering sword?
Oh! glorious deeds arise in crowds,

Of the gallant Fenian band;

But what is achieved by thy King of the cloudsWhere reddened he his hand ?*

PATRICK.

Here let this vain contention rest, For frenzy, Bard, inspires thy breast. Supreme in bliss God ever reigns: Thy Fionn groans in hell's domainsIn penal fire-in lasting chains.

OISIN.

Small glory to thy potent King
His chains and fires on our host to bring!
Oh! how unlike our generous chief,
Who, if thy King felt wrong or grief,
Would soon in arms, with valour strong,
Avenge the grief, redress the wrong.
Whom did the Fenian king e'er see
In thraldom, pain, or fear,
But his ready gold would set him free,
Or the might of his victor spear?
This arm, did frenzy touch my brain,

Their heads from thy clerks would sever,
Nor thy crozier here, nor white book remain,
Nor thy bells be heard for ever.
TO BE CONTINUED.

rubente

Dextera sacras jaculatus arces

Terruit urbem.-HOR.

Heaven's eternal Sire,

With red right-arm, at his own temples hurl'd

His thunders, and alarm'd a guilty world.-FRANCIS. Some of Oisin's expressions might justly shock the piety of St Patrick. But let it be remembered that Oisin is no convert to Christianity; on the contrary, he is opposed to it, principally because it had put an end to his favourite pastimes,

EGYPT AND SYRIA-MEHEMET ALI. THE boasted civilization which Mehemet Ali has introduced into the countries under his sway is entirely superficial, and has no origin whatever in any real improvement or amelioration in the condition or for the benefit of their respective populations; and the reason why a contrary impression has so generally prevailed amongst late travellers is as follows:When travellers arrive at Alexandria, and more particularly those of name or rank, they immediately fall into the hands of a set of clever persons, some of them consuls, who having either made their fortunes by the Pacha, or having them to make, leave no effort unemployed to impress them with favourable opinions of his government. They are then presented at the Divan, where, instead of a reserved austerelooking Turk, they find a lively animated old man, who con.. verses freely and gaily with them, talks openly of his projects to come, and of his past life, tells them that he is glad to see them, and that the more travellers that pass through Egypt, the better he is pleased; that he wishes every act of his government and institutions to be known and seen, and that the more they are so, the better will he be appreciated. He then turns the conversation to some subject personal to them, for he is always well informed of who and what they are, and what they know, and at last dismisses them with an injunction to visit his establishments with care, and to let him know their opinion of them on their return; and if they happen to be persons of distinction, he offers them a cavass to accompany them on their journey. All this is done in a simple pleasing manner, which can hardly fail to captivate when coming from so remarkable a man. Instructed by the clique, and won by the Pacha, they proceed on their journey to Cairo, where the delusion begun at Alexandria is completed; for travelling through the country is now easy, and comparatively safe to what it was, and establishments of various kinds, such as polytechnic schools, schools of medicine and general instruction, and manufactories, have been formed in Cairo and those parts of the country which are most frequently visited. These are under the direction of foreigners, chiefly Frenchmen, and are open to those who choose to visit them; consequently, as the greater proportion of travellers seek for sights more than instruction, these gentlemen, won at Alexandria, and delighted at the facility of their journey from that place, neither turn to the right nor the left from the beaten track, but, judging of what they do not see by that which is purposely prepared to be shown them, return to Europe, and on grounds such as I have above described, and without looking an inch beneath the surface, proclaim the Pacha the civilizer and regenerator of Egypt. How far such is the case, you will be able to judge from what follows, in which there is no exaggeration. The journey I made extended up to the second cataract on the Nile, throughout Egypt and Nubia, and then through Palestine, the whole of Syria, and the Libanus. I consequently visited very nearly all the countries under the domination of Mehemet Ali, and as I did not allow myself to be influenced at Alexandria, and missed no occasion of informing myself of the state of things whilst on my journey, I may fairly say that I can give an unbiassed opinion as to what is going on in that unhappy part of the world.

In Egypt the whole of the land belongs to the Pacha; be. sides himself there is no land-proprietor, and he has the absolute monopoly of every thing that is grown in the country. The following is the manner in which it is cultivated :-Portions of land are divided out between the fellahs of a village, according to their numbers; seed, corn, cotton, or other produce, is given to them; this they sow and reap, and of the produce seventy-five per cent. is immediately taken to the Pacha's depots. The remaining twenty-five per cent. is left them, with, however, the power to take it at a price fixed by the Pacha himself, and then resold to them at a higher rate. This is generally done, and reduces the pittance left them about five per cent. more; from this they are to pay the ca pitation tax, which is not levied according to the real number of the inhabitants of a village, but according to numbers at which it is rated in the government books; so that in one instance with which I was acquainted, a village originally rated at 200, but reduced by the conscription to 100, and by death or flight to 40, was still obliged to pay the full capitation; and when I went there, 26 of the 40 had been just bastinadoed to extort from them their proportion of the sum claimed. After the capitation comes the tax on the date-trees, raised

from 30 to 60 paras by the Pacha, and that of 200 piasters a-year for permission to use their own water-wheels, without which the lands situated beyond the overflow of the Nile, or too high for it to reach, would be barren. Then comes an infinity of taxes on every article of life, even to the cakes of camels' dung which the women and children collect and dry for fuel, and which pay 25 per cent. in kind at the gate of Cairo and the other towns. Next to the taxes comes the corvee in the worst form, and in continual action; at any moment the fellahs are liable to be seized for public works, for the transport of the baggage of the troops, or to track the boats of the government or its officers, and this without pay or reference to the state of their crops.

When Mehemet Ali made his famous canal from Alexandria to the Nile, he did it by forcibly marching down 150,000 men from all parts of the country, and obliging them to excavate with their hands, as tools they had not, or perhaps could not be provided. The excavation was completed in three months, but 30,000 men died in the operation. Then comes the curse of the conscription, which is exercised in a most cruel and arbitrary manner, without any sort of rule or law to regulate it. An order is given to the chief of a district to furnish a certain number of men; these he seizes like wild beasts wherever he can find them, without distinction or exemption, the weak as well as the strong, the sick as well as those in health; and as there is no better road to the Pacha's favour than showing great zeal in this branch of the service, he if possible collects more even than were demanded. These are chained, marched down to the river, and embarked amidst the tears and lamentations of their families, who know that they shall probably never see them again: for change of climate, bad treatment, and above all, despair, cause a mortality in the Pacha's army beyond belief; mutilation is not now considered an exemption, and the consequence of the system is, that from Assouan, at the first cataract, to Aleppo, you literally speaking never see a young man in a village; and such is the depopulation, that if things continue as they now are for two years more, and the Pacha insists on keeping up his army to its present force, it will be utterly impossible for the crops to be got in, or for any of the operations of agriculture to be carried on.

The whole of this atrocious system is carried into action by the cruelest means-no justice of any sort for the weak, no security for those who are better off: the bastinado and other tortures applied on every occasion, and at the arbitrary will of every servant of the government. In addition to this, the natives of the country are rarely employed-never in offices of trust and the whole government is entrusted to Turks. In short, the worst features of the Mameluke and Turkish rules are still in active operation; but the method of applying them is much more ingenious, and the boasted civilization of Mehemet Ali amounts to this: that being beyond doubt a man of extraordinary talents, he knows how to bring into play the resources of the country better than his predecessors did, but like them entirely for his own interest, and without any reference to the well-being of the people; and that with the aid of his European instruments he has, if I may say so, applied the screw with a master-hand, and squeezed from the wretches under his sway the very last drop of their blood.

Such is the state of these two countries. Syria is perhaps the worst off of the two: for the Egyptians used to oppression bear it without a struggle; whilst the Syrians, who had been less harshly treated in old times, writhe under and gnaw their chain.-From the Sun newspaper.

ROTATION RAILWAY.-This invention aims at effecting a complete revolution in the present mode of railway construction and locomotion. In place of having the ordinary rails and wheeled carriages, two series of wheels are fixed along the whole length of the road at about two yards apart, and at an equal distance from centre to centre of each wheel. These wheels are connected throughout the whole length of the line by bands working in grooved pullies keyed on to the same axle as the wheels, but the axles of one side of the line are not connected with those of the opposite line The axles

of the wheels are raised about one foot from the ground; the top of the wheel, which is proposed to be of 3 feet diameter, will be therefore elevated 2 feet above the surface. On these wheels is placed a strong framing of timber, having an iron plate fastened on each side in the line of the two series of wheels. A little within this bearing frame, so as just to clear

the wheels, is a luggage-box or hold, descending to within a few inches of the ground, in which it is proposed to stow all heavy commodities, for which purpose it is well adapted, opening as it does at either end, and its flooring close to the surface of the ground. At each end of the lower part of the framing of this luggage-box, are fixed horizontal guide or friction wheels, working against the supports of the bearing wheels and pullies, by which arrangement curves will be traversed with little friction, and it will be impossible for the framing to quit the track. The framing of timber will be about 19 feet in length, so that it will rest alternately on six and eight wheels, but never on less than six. On this framing the passenger carriages are erected, which, in its progression forward, it is thought will be kept steady and free from lateral motion by the weight in the luggage-box, assisted by the horizontal guide-wheels. Locomotion is produced by putting the wheels in motion by means of machinery at either end, which would be effected for an immense distance with a moderate power, as there would be very little more friction due to the wheels than that arising from their own weight ; and the frame which bears the carriage would not be run on to the bearing-wheels until the whole were in motion, when its weight would act almost after the manner of a flywheel, resting as it would on the periphery of the bearingwheels. It will be perceived that by this plan the bearings of the wheels must be kept perfectly in the direction of the plane of the road, whether inclined or horizontal; otherwise serious concussions would occur. But this would not be the case by the depression of one wheel, or even by its entire removal, as the framing will be constructed sufficiently stiff as not to deflect by having the distance of the bearings doubled. If this plan should be found to answer, it will present facilities of transport never before thought of, as carriages might be continually dispatched without a chance of collision, either by stoppage or from increased speed of the last beyond the preceding. It also promises to remove the present great drawback to railway progression, viz. the being able to surmount but very slight acclivities by locomotive power with any profitable load; but by the rotative system, inclines may be surmounted of almost any steepness without the chance of accident. If a band should break, the action of this railway would not be impeded, as the power being transmitted from either end, rotation would take place throughout its whole length, but the power would not be transmitted from either end past the disjunction. Even should two bands be destroyed at a distance from each other and on the same side of the track, its action would not be destroyed, for although the isolated portion of wheels would be dead, those on the other side of the track would be in action, which, with the horizontal guidewheels, would move forward the carriage, although, on such portion, at a diminished speed. Instead of an increased outlay being required in the formation of railways on this system, it is estimated that a very considerable saving will be effected, as a single track will be sufficient, with sidings of dead wheels at the termination of the several portions into which a long line would be divided. In crossing valleys, a framing of piles to support the bearing-wheels would be quite sufficient, and the road might be left quite open between each line of wheels, as it would be impossible for the carriage to quit the track, and therefore no necessity for making a solid road for safety sake.-Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal.

MAGNANIMITY.— -When the Spanish armies invested Malaga in 1487, when in possession of the Moors, a circumstance occurred in a sortie from the city, indicating a trait of character worth recording. A noble Moor, named Abraher Zenete, fell in with a number of Spanish children who had wandered from their quarters. Without injuring them, he touched them gently with the handle of his lance, saying, "Get ye gone, varlets, to your mothers." On being rebuked by his comrades, who inquired why he had let them escape so chins." An example of magnanimity (says the Curate of Los easily, he replied, "Because I saw no beard upon their Palacios) truly wonderful in a heathen, and which might have reflected credit on a Christian hidalgo.-Prescott's History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, Boston, 1839.

Printed and Published every Saturday by GUNN and CAMERON, at the Office of the General Advertiser, No. 6, Church Lane, College Green, Dublin.— Agents :-R. GROOMBRIDGE, Panyer Alley, Paternoster Row, London; SIMMS and DINHAM, Exchange Street, Manchester; C. DAVIES, North John Street, Liverpool; J. DRAKE, Birmingham; M. BINGHAM, Broad Street, Bristol; FRASER and CRAWFORD, George Street, Edinburgh; and DAVID ROBERTSON, Trongate, Glasgow.

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WE need hardly have acquainted our Irish readers that in the fully finished, and the very instrument made for Crump, the prefixed sketch, which our admirable friend the Burton has greatest of all the Munster pipers, or, we might say, Irish of made for us, they are presented with the genuine portrait of a modern times, and from which he drew his singularly delipiper, and an Irish piper too-for the face of the man, and cious music. Musical reader! do not laugh at the epithet we the instrument on which he is playing, are equally national have applied to the sounds of the bagpipe: the music of and characteristic-both genuine Irish in that well-pro- Crump, which we have often heard from himself on these very portioned oval countenance, so expressive of good sense, gen- pipes, was truly delicious even to the most refined musical ears. tleness, and kindly sentiments, we have a good example of a These pipes after Crump's death were saved as a national form of face very commonly found among the peasantry of the relic by our friend the worthy and patriotic historian of Galway west and south of Ireland a form of face which Spurzheim-need we say, James Hardiman-who, in his characteristic distinguished as the true Phoenician physiognomy, and which spirit of generosity and kindness, presented them to their preat all events marks with certainty a race of southern or sent possessor, as a person likely to take good care of them, Semitic origin, and quite distinct from the Scythic or northern and not incompetent to do justice to their powers; and the Indo-European race so numerous in Ireland, and character- gift was nobly and well bestowed! Yet, truth to tell, Paddy ized by their lighter hair and rounder faces. And as to the Coneely is not to be compared with John Crump, who, accordbagpipes, they are of the most approved Irish kind, beauti-ing to the recollections of him which cling to our memory,

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