Читать книгу: «The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 582, December 22, 1832», страница 7
THE GATHERER
Fleurus is a village in France, in the department of the Sombre and Meuse, where the Austrians and the French fought a battle in the year 1794, in which the former were defeated. This victory is ascribed to the information obtained in consequence of reconnoitering the army of the enemy by the elevation of a balloon. The balloon employed on this occasion was called the Entreprenent; and it was under the direction of M. Coutel, the captain of the aeronauts at Meudon, accompanied by an adjutant and a general. He ascended twice in the same day, to the height of 220 fathoms, for the purpose of observing the position and manoeuvres of the enemy. He continued each time four hours in the air, and corresponded with General Jourdan, who commanded the French army, by means of pre-concerted signals. The enterprise was discovered by the enemy; and a battery opened its fire against the ascending aeronauts, but they soon gained an elevation which was beyond the reach of their fire. This balloon was prepared under the direction of the Aerostatic Institute, for the use of the army of the north; as were also another, called Céleste, for the army of the Sombre and Meuse; and the Hercûle and Intrepide, for the army of the Rhine and Moselle. Another, thirty feet in circumference, and weighing 160 lbs., was destined for the army of Italy. A new machine, invented by M. Coutel, the director of the Aerostatic Institute, was designed to aid the aeronauts in communicating intelligence, and denominated the Aerostatic Telegraph.
P.T.W
Muscular Strength.—It is asserted by travellers, that a Turkish porter will run along carrying a weight of 600 lbs. Milo, of Crotona, is said to have lifted an ox, weighing upwards of 1,000 Ibs. Haller mentions that he saw an instance of a man, whose finger being caught in a chain at the bottom of a mine, by keeping it forcibly bent, supported by that means the weight of his whole body, 150 lbs., till he was drawn up to the surface, a height of 600 feet. Augustus II., king of Poland, could with his fingers roll up a silver dish like a sheet of paper, and twist the strongest horse-shoe asunder. An account is given in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 310, of a lion who left the impression of his teeth upon a solid piece of iron. The most prodigious power of the muscles is exhibited by fish:—A whale moves with a velocity through the dense medium of water that would carry him, if he continued at the same rate, round the world in little more than a fortnight; and a sword-fish has been known to strike his weapon quite through the oak plank of a ship.
W.G.C
Beauties of Chatsworth.—Marshal Tallard, who was entertained a few days at this place by the Duke of Devonshire, on leaving, made this declaration—"When I return," said he, "into my own country, and reckon up the days of my captivity, I shall leave out those which I spent at Chatsworth." And Quin once said that he had nearly broken his neck in coming to it, and he should break his heart on his return.
SWAINE
Origin of the Discovery of Peru.—Balboa, the famous Spanish adventurer, in one of his expeditions, met with a young cazique, who expressed his astonishment at the high value which was set upon the gold, which the Spaniards were weighing and distributing. "Why do you quarrel," said he, "about such a trifle? If you are so passionately fond of gold as to abandon your own country, and to disturb the tranquillity of distant nations, for its sake, I will conduct you to a region where the metal, which seems to be the chief object of your admiration and desire, is so common, that the meanest utensils are formed of it." Transported with the intelligence, Balboa eagerly inquired where this happy country lay, and how they might arrive at it. The cazique informed them, that at the distance of six suns, or six days' journey to the south, they would discover another ocean, near which this wealthy kingdom was situated; but if they intended to attack it, they must assemble forces far superior in number and strength to those which now attended them.—This was the first information which the Spaniards received concerning the great southern continent, known afterwards by the name of Peru.
P.T.W
Cholera Morbus.—Dr. James Johnson, in his interesting book entitled, Change of Air, or Pursuits of Health, &c., says—"The cholera morbus ought to be denominated the high-police of scavengers. It has cleared away more filth, in Europe and England, than all the municipal edicts that ever issued from the constituted authorities. On this, and on some other accounts, it will save more lives than it has destroyed."
Patriotism.—When the Chancellor d'Auguesseau, who constantly resisted the encroachments of Louis XIV. on the liberties of the people, was sent for to Versailles by that monarch, he was thus encouraged by his amiable wife: "Go," said she, "forget in the king's presence your wife and your children,—sacrifice everything except your honour."
SWAINE
His late Majesty, when Prince of Wales, was looking out of a window with Tom Sheridan, when the "Dart," with four grey horses passed by. "Is not that a handsome coach, Tom?" observed the Prince. "Yes, your highness," replied Tom, who was suffering under a headach from the champagne of the previous night, and was rather in a sombre and meditative humour, "it certainly is; but," continued he, pointing to a hearse going by at the same time, "that's the coach after all."
A Knowing Seaman.—A rough-hewn seaman being brought before a wise justice for some misdemeanour, was by him ordered to be sent to prison, and was refractory after he heard his doom, insomuch as he would not stir a foot from the place where he stood, saying it was better to stand where he was than go to a worse place.—Bacon.
P.T.W
Expensive Fishing.—In 1609, the Dutch were compelled to pay a tribute for fishing on our coast; in 1683, they paid 30,000l. for liberty to fish. Welwood, in his answer to Grotius, says, "that the Scots obliged the Dutch, by treaty, to keep eighty miles from shore in fishing, and to pay a tribute at the port of Aberdeen, where a tower was erected for that and other purposes; and the Dutch paid the tribute, even in the memory of our forefathers."
