Читать книгу: «The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 581, December 15, 1832», страница 4

Such is the story of the microscope, and no rightly judging person who hears it will require the further accumulation of proofs of a benevolent heart; nor can I, perhaps, better close these sketches than with that impression of the pure and genial beauty of Shelley's nature which this simple anecdote will bequeath.

[In parting with this very ingenious series of papers, we beg to concur in the well-expressed wish of the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine, "that their author could be tempted to give the world a complete history of one whose peculiar and subtle nature he so well comprehends."]

THE NATURALIST

NEW SPECIES OF BAT.—(VESPERTILIO AUDUBONI.)

(By Richard Harlan, M.D.)

Of the numerous creatures which attract our admiration, or excite our fears, the greater part display their appetites, or develope their instincts, during the day time only; especially—with few exceptions—all those remarkable for beauty of plumage, and vocal melody. Predacious animals are chiefly distinguished for their nocturnal habits; and ideas of rapine, terror and blood, are ever associated with the tiger, the hyena, and the wolf. Among the feathered tribes, the owl and the bat, also companions of darkness, are shunned by many, as horrible objects, and full of ill-omen. Haunted castles, ruined battlements, and noisome caverns, are the chosen abodes of these noctural maurauders, and it is to such associations that these animals are indebted for the unamiable character they have obtained. The prejudices conceived against that portion of these animals, with which we are familiar, are founded entirely upon these their habits; for small quadrupeds, reptiles and fish, constitute the food of the first, whilst insects and fruit suffice for the other. It is at the close of the day, when the hum of nature is beginning to subside, that the patient bat steals from his dark retreat, and spreads his leathery wings in search of his food.

The new species of this little flying quadruped, which we are now about to notice, belongs to a very large and respectable family. In the days of Linnaeus, they all—from their appearance at twilight—went by the family name of Vespertilio. They further belong to the order Carnivora, their teeth being constructed for masticating flesh; though some—and in this they resemble ourselves—are also fond of fruit. In one important point, the whole race has a common character, in their organ of flight. The bones of the fingers are extremely elongated, and united by a membrane, which is continued down the side of the body; and extending on the leg as far as the tarsus, also unites the legs and tail. Agreeing so universally in this particular, they form a very natural family, under the appropriate term. Cheiroptera, constructed from two Greek words, signifying hand and wing.

The vespertilio are again divided into GENERA and Species,—divisions which are grounded on certain peculiarities of dental structure, and various developements of the brachial, digital, and interfemoral appendages, with other modifications of the organs of progression. These genera include species which are discovered in every habitable part of the globe, of various magnitudes, from the size of a half grown cat, to that of a half grown mouse.

Of this numerous family only three genera, of modern authors, inhabit the United States, viz. RHINOPOMA, VESPERTILIO, and TAPHOZOUS. Seven species, exclusive of the present, are all that have been hitherto discovered in North America.

We propose to dedicate this new species, to our valuable friend the justly celebrated naturalist J.J. AUDUBON, as a small tribute of respect to his eminent talents, and the highly important services he has rendered science. The drawing which accompanies this paper, is from his inimitable pencil.

This species was first observed, during the summer of 1829, when an individual female flew into the apartment of the late Dr. Hammersly, then one of the resident physicians of the Pennsylvania hospital: on the subsequent evening a male individual, of the same species, was also taken in the same manner. In August 1830, a very fine specimen was brought to the Academy of Natural Sciences, and Mr. Audubon informs me that the species has very recently been observed in New York.

The natural characters of the species are—General colour black, sprinkled with gray above and beneath; ears black and naked; auriculum, short and broad or obtusely triangular; interfemoral membrane, sparsely hairy; last joint of the tail free: two incisors, with notched crowns, on each side of the canine teeth of the upper jaw, with a broad intervening space without teeth.

The dimensions are.—Total length 3 inches 7 tenths; tail 1.7; length of ear 0.5. breadth of ear 0.4; length of leg 1.7; spread of wings 10.7. inhabit Pennsylvania and New York, and probably the southern states.—Cab. of Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. (Abridged from Featherstonhaugh's Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science.)

FINE ARTS

MOSAIC PAVEMENT

The chief object of curiosity at Palestrina, (ancient Praeneste,) is the castle or palace of the prince, in the highest part of the city, to which there is an ascent by an excellent coach-road to the right, by the Capucin Convent, without entering the narrow street. Before it is a level space of considerable length; which formed the highest platform of the Temple of Fortune. Two flights of steps lead to an amphitheatre, or semicular staircase, in excellent preservation, which is the same that led to the sanctuary of the temple, on the foundation of which the palace is built: in the middle of the semicircle is a well; each step is about a foot and a half high, like the ancient steps of the capitol which led to the church of Ara Coeli, at Rome. Another short flight conducts to the hall of entrance, where there is a double staircase, and a recess closed by iron grates, which contains the celebrated antique pavement, of which Pliny speaks in the following terms, "The fine mosaic of small stones, placed by Sylla as a pavement in the Temple of Fortune at Praeneste, was the first thing of the kind seen in Italy." There does not seem to be the smallest room to doubt of this being the genuine mosaic he mentions; it is in excellent preservation, and appears to be about twenty feet by sixteen. It was found in the same cellar of the seminary, where is still the altar of Fortune, and may be considered as one of the most interesting relics of antiquity. Towards the upper part of it are mountains, with negro savages hunting wild beasts; animals of different sorts, with their names in Greek written below them, such as the rhinoceros, crocodile, and lynx. Lower down are seen houses of various forms, temples, vessels of different constructions, particularly a galley of 32 oars, manned with armed blacks, and commanded by a white man; a tent with soldiers, a palm tree, flowers, a collation in an arbour, an altar of Anubis; in short, almost every circumstance imaginable in life. The scene apparently lies in Egypt. The figures are well drawn, the light and shadows happily disposed, and the colouring harmonious. The stones which compose this very curious pavement are remarkably small which renders the effect peculiarly pleasing, from the neatness of its appearance.

W.G.C

PANORAMA OF STIRLING

Stirling, or Strivelin, and its storied environs have furnished Mr. Burford with a new Panorama, of more than usual interest in its details. The town is fraught with historical association, and the surrounding country is of picturesque and poetical character. A Scottish poet describes its attractions in these enthusiastic lines:

 
O! grander far than Windsor's brow!
And sweeter to the vale below!
Whar Forth's unrivalled windings flow
Through varied grain,
Brightening, I ween wi' glittering glow,
Strevlina's plain!
There, raptured trace, (enthroned on hie)
The landscape stretching on the ee,
Frae Grampian hills down to the sea—
A dazzling view—
Corn, meadow, mansion, water, tree,
In varying hue.
There, seated, mark, wi' ardour keen,
The Skellock bright 'mang corn sae green,
The purple pea, and speckled bean,
A fragrant store—
And vessels sailing, morn and een,
To Stirling's shore.
And Shaw park, gilt wi' e'ening's ray:
And Embro castle, distant grey;
Wi' Alva screened near Aichil brae,
'Mang grove and bower!
And rich Clackmannan rising gay
Wi' woods and tower.
 

Hector Macneill.

Stirling is seated on the river Forth, upon a precipitous basaltic rock, about one hundred feet from the level of the plain. Upon the rock stands the Castle, from the outer court of which the present Panorama was sketched. The town, in external appearance, bears a miniature resemblance to Edinburgh, being situate like the old town of that city, on the sloping ridge of a rock, running from east to west, the precipitous end of which is occupied by the Castle. But, of the town itself, little is seen in the Panorama. The view, as we have stated, is from the Castle, and is generally allowed to be one of the finest in Scotland. Its scenery has many sublime and picturesque features, and has moreover been the site of some of the most stirring incidents in Scottish history; no less than twelve fields of battle, including three important ones fought by the first and second Edwards, being distinctly visible. Beginning with the Castle, we find, from its situation commanding the passes and fords between the north and south of Scotland, it was in early times styled the Key, as Dumbarton was the Lock, to the Highlands. Its first fortification is referred to the time of Agricola; the Picts had a strong fortress here, which was totally destroyed in the ninth century by the Scots, under Kenneth II. Stirling formed part of the ransom of his brother and successor, who had been taken prisoner by the Northumbrians; they rebuilt the Castle, but subsequently restored the place to the Scots. In the twelfth century, it was considered one of the strongest forts in Scotland. It was often visited by the Scottish monarchs, but it did not become a royal residence until the accession of the Stuarts. Here was born James II., and in an apartment now forming part of the deputy-governor's lodging, this king perpetrated the murder of Earl Douglas. James III. made it his chief residence, erected the parliament-house, and a richly-endowed chapel, since destroyed. James V. was crowned here, and erected the palace. Mary was crowned here, as was James VI. when thirteenth months old; he was educated here by the celebrated Buchanan. During the regency of Mary of Lorraine, a strong battery was erected here; and in the reign of Queen Anne, the fortifications were strengthened and enlarged. In 1806, the rocky ground in front was converted into an esplanade; since which the towers have been repaired and castellated, it being one of the Scottish forts, which, by the articles of the Union, are always to be kept in repair. It mounts about 36 guns; but if regularly invested in modern warfare, it could not hold out many hours. To enumerate its sieges, dismantlings, and repairs would occupy too much space. Among the most memorable of its stormy annals, is its siege by Edward II. in 1301, for three months, when it was battered with stones of two hundred pounds weight each, thrown by engines, in the formation of which was used all the lead from the monastery of St. Andrew's. It was last besieged in 1746 by the Highlanders under Prince Charles. The chief parts of the building seen in the Panorama are the additions by Queen Anne, the parliament-house, (though not the unsightly, modern roof,) and the palace, a stately and curious structure of hewn stone, and embellished with grotesque sculpture. The latter building forms a quadrangle, the central court of which is called the lion's den, from the king's lions being formerly kept there. The whole is now used as barracks. From the Castle, looking over the town, towards the east, is a vast plain, nearly 40 miles in extent, called the Carse of Stirling, through which the Firth in meandering, forms a number of peninsulas, in places approximating so closely as to have an isthmus of only a few yards, the effect of which in the picture, reminded us of the contrived intricacies of a child's puzzle; in this direction is seen Alla, or Alloa, a thriving seaport town, with a Gothic church, and celebrated for its excellent ale; Clackmannan, a miserable town, where in a tower lived King Robert Bruce, and where an old Jacobite lady knighted Burns with a sword which belonged to Bruce, observing that she had a better right to do so than some folk; Falkirk, known for its trysts, or markets, where the country-people point out a battle-field, and a stream called the Red Burn, from its running with blood on the day of the conflict; Bruce lived near this spot, the view from which he said was not surpassed by any he had seen in his travels: next lies the Firth of Forth, and the country as far as Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills. Towards the south stands the ancient village of St. Ninian's, and Bannockburn, the battleground of the most celebrated and important contest that ever took place between English and Scots; the Torwood, where till lately stood a tree said to have sheltered Wallace; and the Carron, bounded by the green hills of Campsie. Towards the west are the plains of Menteith, a district, says Chambers, distinguished almost above all the rest of Scotland, for the singular series of beautiful and romantic scenes which it presents to the view of the traveller, and bounded by the majestic Grampians. On the north are the famous ruins of Cambuskenneth, and the precipitous Abbey Craig, beyond which lies the richly-cultivated vale of Devon; the moor on which the battle of Dumblain was fought; and Ochill Hills, clothed with blooming heath, and overtopped by the summits of Perthshire. Such is the artist's outline of the prospect: our task shall be to select a few of its most entertaining details.

To return to the Panoramic arrangement: next the castle is Gowlan Hill, the ordinary place of execution in times of wicked bloodshed, and thus apostrophized by Douglas, in the Lady of the Lake:

 
And thou O sad and fatal mound!
That oft hast heard the death-axe sound,
As on the noblest of the land,
Fell the stern headsman's bloody hand.
 

The hill has, however, less terrible association; it being after called Hurly Hacket, from James V. and his nobles there playing at that game, which consisted in sliding down the steep banks on an inverted cutty stool. This was, at least, more rational than cutting off heads. Next is Abbey Craig, a rock upon which Wallace defeated the English; Dollava, a village on a gloomy rock, almost insulated by two streams, whose Celtic names signify the glens of care and the burns of sorrow; Tillabody, the birthplace and property of Sir Ralph Abercrombie; the crumbling walls and bell tower of Cambuskenneth Abbey, wherein several parliaments were held, and at whose high altar the clergy and nobles swore fealty to Robert and David Bruce; Edinburgh, with its castle, thirty-eight miles from Stirling, whence it is discernable in clear weather; the Carron Iron-works; and the Carron, of more classic celebrity in Ossian, and the battles of the Romans and the Scots and Picts; the dome-shaped hill of Tinto, in Lanarkshire, 60 miles from Stirling, and 2,336 feet in height; Arthur's Hill, a circular mound of earth, surrounded by seats of turf in the royal gardens, sometimes called the king's knot, where the court held fêtes, and where James used to amuse himself with the pastime called the Knights of the Round Table; Ben Lomond, 3,240 feet above the lake, which is 32 feet above the level of the sea; Ben Venue, and Ben Ledy, or the hill of God, in Perthshire, 3,009 feet in height, so called from the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, in former times, meeting on its summit at the summer solstice, three days and nights for the purpose of devotion. These three mountains, with their vicinities are enshrined in Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake; and the village of Balquidder, at the foot of Ben Ledy, is the burial place of Rob Roy. We have just described the circle: over the garden wall of the Castle, at a considerable distance, is the well-wooded estate and mansion of Craig Forth, said to have once belonged to a blacksmith of Stirling: this man having placed the iron bars (which still remain to the windows of the palace), and done other work for James VI. when that monarch came to the throne of England, made a demand of one thousand pounds Scots,—but by some error, the accounts being paid in Stirling money, he with it purchased the estate and built the house of Craig Forth. Next, to the right is Blair Drummond, formerly the residence of the accomplished Lord Kaimes; and beyond are the celebrated ruins of Donne Castle; not the least interesting incident of its annals was the imprisonment there in 1745, of John Home, (the author of Douglas,) who has left a narrative of his clambering escape over the high walls.