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CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL.

the one it is necessary to study the other. Literature,
besides, is a sort of free-masonry, which sets aside con-
ventionalities, and brings individuals together on a com-
mon ground, and with a more than common sympathy;
and thus it happened that in that quiet room, where
Sir Vivian was only occasionally present, the waif of
the common and the high-born and high-spirited woman
of fashion came very soon to stand upon equal terms.
Claudia at first attempted to play the dictator, and was
surprised, and, indeed, a little ruffled, to find that she
was unsuccessful. But what could she do? The con-
ventionalism that was by turns her tyrant and her
The unsel-
tool, was here wanting, and in its stead a straightfor-
ward simplicity there was no getting over.
fish views, the noble aspirations, which met her at
every point, could not be treated with ridicule here.
They must be encountered, and with no other defensive
armour than the cold materialism of the world. And
what was even worse, she must stand the calm soft
gaze of his eyes, which, instead of being awed or con-
fused, plunged through the most brilliant flashes of
hers, and seemed to penetrate to her very soul. She
became, in fact, afraid of him; but her fear had the
effect of fascination, and the haughty beauty, whose
presence would have been looked upon as an illumina-
tion in any drawing-room in the kingdom, came hither
day after day to gleam like a taper by the side of a
torch.

On his part, Robert was far from underrating this
He found in her
charming and accomplished woman.
knowledge of the world everything he himself wanted,
and relied with absolute confidence upon her nice tact
and exquisite discrimination. But he felt that there
was something between them-something apart from
station and worldly distinction. Claudia felt this too;
and she was curious to know what it was that enabled
this strange young man to gaze calmly into eyes that
had confounded before now the noble and the proud.
Not that the young man could be to her anything
more than an object of abstract speculation: the idea
was preposterous, and the high-born and haughty beauty
flushed with shame as it was suggested by her father
remarking casually one day on the interest she appeared
to take in his protégé. The interest, notwithstanding,
did not diminish, and she would have given much to
know what the impassible being really thought of her.
'I sometimes wonder, Mr Oaklands,' said she at
length, what your real opinion is of one you have found
so different from yourself. It can hardly be compli-
mentary, yet I am able to stand the truth, and I am
sure from you I shall hear it.'

'I flatter myself,' replied Robert, 'that the difference between us is far from being great-that, irremediable as it may be, it is merely accidental. I see many bright and glorious things in your original nature, which I would fain have some part in myself. I see the germs of high thoughts and noble actions, requiring only opportunity to spring; and I see the mental faculties, keen, polished, perfect, ready for the loftiest But'

which is the barrier between our souls-is there no
'By force it might be broken in pieces: by the same
chemistry to dissolve-no force to break it in pieces?'
force that shattered your fortunes, that hurled you
from station and power, and placed you on the low
platform of life to struggle with the common crowd.
As for chemistry, the romancers would tell you, on
that point, of the Universal Solvent, a delusion, in its
material form, of the dreaming alchemists, but existing
as an actual entity in moral science-a power fit to
disintegrate your moral self, to precipitate as dregs
everything incidental, artificial, conventional, and leave
unguent that, when applied to those radiant eyes, would
your original nature pure, sparkling, and beautiful-an
enable them to see treasures in the earth richer than
the hoards of a thousand kings. And to this enchant-
ment the romancers would give a name you have met
with in poetry and fiction, admiring without feeling,
the name of Love. But'-
worshipping without faith the idolum it designated-
'Ah, but again!'-

'But I am no romancer.'

SHOTS AND SHELLS.

Ir the world will go a-fighting, we of the peaceable
are about. With this view we have inquired curiously
and
class may at least try to understand what the Quixotes
into the nature of the missiles which, with the aid of
villainous saltpetre, they let fly at one another;
the replies we have received enable us to give some
'hurtle through the darkened air,' under the name of
account of those diabolical messengers of battle that
shots and shells.

The term shell, in military language, signifies a hollow globe of cast iron, the central cavity being destined to contain either gunpowder alone, or a mixture of gunpowder and bullets: if the latter, the shell is termed a shrapnell from the gallant captain, its inventor; and also a 'spherical case-shot.' When filled with gunpowder alone, it is simply a shell, or occasionally a bomb-shell.

The ordinary shell, or bomb-shell if the reader pleases, is a very old invention, dating from at least the bestrong probability, to the Venetians, who employed ginning of the sixteenth century, and attributed, with this missile with great effect against their enemies the Turks. Its construction is sufficiently simple, consisting as it does of a hollow cast-iron sphere, with an aperture The contents of this round iron bottle are gunpowder; plugged at pleasure, just as a bottle is with a cork. and the intention is, that at a certain given period, the powder shall ignite, and burst the shell into fragments. These fragments spreading far and wide, commit sad devastation by virtue of their projectile force; in addition to which, the ignited gunpowder sets fire to any When the shell is projected from a gun, and has combustible body with which it may come in contact. to be struck, the ignition is accomplished by means of arrived at, or at anyrate very near, the object intended a contrivance termed the fuse. Now, every child who All this I see through an incrustation, that has has amused himself with a squib or a blue-light, will gathered round them, forming no part of your real easily comprehend the nature of a fuse, which is a character, entirely distinct from your actual nature, hollow cylinder of wood or metal stuffed hard with a and the result alone of the gradual deposits of the con- comparatively slow-burning gunpowder or composition ventional world in which it has been your lot to live-not capable of explosion, but occupying a certain from childhood; yet an incrustation-though of crystal- definite number of seconds before it can reach the line transparency to the eyes that are privileged to internal charge. When shells were first introduced, observe you in your unguarded moments-as hard and and for a long time subsequently, they were shot out of smooth and strong as adamant. For myself, my nature short stumpy pieces of artillery denominated mortars. is sufficiently like your own to enable me at least to At present, they are not thus restricted, all but the appreciate and admire it; but the circumstances in very largest being now shot out of cannons and howitzwhich I have had my being have left me to some extent ers-the latter a sort of compromise between a cannon or timing of a fuse-in other words, the adjustment of in the state of unsophisticated rudeness in which I was and a mortar. It will be perceived that the regulation born.' its length, in such a way that its fire may communicate

uses.

'Ah, that but!'

'But that incrustation,' said Claudia in a low voice,

with the central charge exactly at the proper instantis a matter requiring much delicacy of hand, much calculation, and much experience. If explosion takes place too soon, the whole effect of the discharge is lost; if too late, then the missile is no better than a common round shot. Thus, at Waterloo, many of the French shells did no further harm than bespatter our troops with dirt, on account of the too great length of their fuse. The shells failing to explode in the air, fell, and buried themselves in the ground, where, finally bursting, they spouted up torrents of mud; and that was the extent of the damage they effected.

Perhaps, now, the reader will ask how the fuse is lighted? Why, by the blast of the gun itself-although the discovery that it might thus be lighted was the result of accident. For a long time subsequent to the introduction of shells, the fuse had to be lighted as a preliminary operation-a perilous arrangement, for if the gun missed fire, wo to the gunner!

Many attempts have been made, within the last few years, to effect the ignition of shells without the aid of a fuse-that is to say, to ignite them on the principle of the percussion-cap; and if this could be accomplished, they would acquire a great accession of power for many special purposes. Many cases may be imagined in which a shell of this kind would possess a manifest advantage over the common sort; for example, when brought to bear upon ships. The mere bursting of a shell near a ship, is not necessarily attended with serious consequences; but the great point to be achieved would be the explosion at the very moment of contact. The explosion of so large a quantity of gunpowder upon or within a ship's timbers, would be productive of an effect so easy to understand, that it need not be described. This consummation is scarcely likely when shells with fuses are employed, seeing that the very force of concussion has a tendency to extinguish the fuse, to say nothing of the chances in favour of a shell's bursting before it arrives in dangerous propinquity to the ship. All attempts to apply the percussion principle to shells have, so far as relates to artillery, been futile. If the problem of rifling the bore of cannon, however, was solved, there would be no difficulty in the case, for these projectiles, as a matter of curiosity, have been frequently shot from rifled small-arms, and have exploded on striking their object with almost unfailing certainty.

Having described the ordinary shell, it might seem natural that we should proceed at once to the shrapnell; but certain reasons, the nature of which will be presently evident, induce us to preface that description with some notice of canister-shot. Has the reader ever seen a tin case of preserved provisions? No doubt he has; and he will, therefore, be at no loss to understand the nature of a canister-shot. Instead of a mere case of tin plate, let him imagine one of sheet iron; instead of dainty provisions, let him fancy the case stuffed full of small iron balls, something larger than musket-balls; and he will then have a good notion of canister-shot.

159

that is to say, if a musket properly charged, screwed in a vice for the purpose of maintaining its exact line of aim, pointed at a target about a yard square, and 100 yards distant, be fired many times in succession, the target will be invariably hit, although not by any means in the same spot. yards, the bullet might be deflected to the extent of At a distance of 600 or 700 100 yards in any direction; and at the distance of a mile, its deflection would be so great, as to go beyond calculation. Nothing like accuracy of aim, we repeat, can be depended upon with the musket beyond a discircumstance, it follows that artillerymen, with comtance of 100 yards. From a consideration of this parative impunity, may discharge canister-shot against a platoon of musket-armed infantry. The Minié rifle, however, and, indeed, many other varieties of rifle, are capable of hitting a mark at 800 yards' distance, and even more, with greater certainty than a musket at 100 could be brought up within canister-range, its horses yards; and therefore, long before a piece of artillery or gunners would be crippled or killed, and the gun thus rendered ineffective. canister-shot are far less than they formerly were under the introduction of the Minié rifle, the advantages of Hence it follows, that since the old musket system.

tion of shrapnell-shells, or spherical case-shot. Let We are now prepared to enter upon the considerathe reader picture to himself a common bomb-shell, not filled with gunpowder alone, but with a mixture of gunpowder and bullets; as many of the latter being first inserted as the shell will hold, and gunpowder thrown in afterwards until all the interstices are filled up. Let him furthermore imagine an instrument of this description to be supplied with a fuse, and he will have case-shot. From a consideration of the various parts a true notion of the terrible shrapnell-shell, or spherical of which this missile is composed, he will see that, being discharged from a cannon, it first travels like a common and the burning fuse having ignited the gunpowder round shot; but a certain range having been described, within, it will burst in pieces, with all the effect of a canister-shot.

regarded as a canister-shot intended to take effect at The shrapnell, then, admits of being in apportioning the effective length of the fuse to that a very long range; and the greatest nicety is requisite distance. In practice, this apportionment is effected by means of a 'fuse auger' or borer, which scoops out range of such shells is very great: they will do good determinate lengths of the composition. The effective execution at 1000 or 1400 yards, and are highly dangerous at still greater distances; thus, as it would seem, conferring on artillery a preponderating advantage over the Minié rifle. Still, we must not conceal the fact, that the question as to this comparison is still open. The Minié rifle has scarcely been tried in the open field of war. During the progress of the siege of Rome, it did good execution against artillery; the Chasseurs de Vincennes, armed with the Minié rifle, having kept up such a destructive fire against the Roman embraNow, the sheet-iron canister, although quite strong guns. In the open field, it is argued by the opponents sures, that the artillerymen could not stand to their enough to withstand all the knocks, bumps, and other of the Minié rifle, cannon would have the advantage, disturbing contingencies of transport, is by no means inasmuch as the latter, instead of being stationary, strong enough to withstand the explosive force of gun- and thus affording a constant mark for the sharppowder; hence, no sooner is it discharged from a shooters, would be constantly altering their distance, cannon, than its walls, splitting asunder, liberate the and thus disturbing the aim of the enemy. No doubt, bullets, which are then scattered just like a charge of the remark has much truth in it—but how much, only small-shot. The devastating effect of this projectile actual practice in the field can determine. The fact, may be readily imagined; but its range is insignificant. however, is certain, that the general introduction of Perhaps a distance of 300 yards may be considered Minié and other long-range rifles, will rob canister-shot the most effective. Many of us have doubtless heard of much of its terrors; indeed, some experienced men the assertion made, that a musket will kill a man when urge the total abandonment of the latter in favour fired at the distance of a mile; nor, perhaps, is the of shrapnell - shells, the fuses of which can now be assertion incorrect, if we make one trifling proviso-regulated with such accuracy, that their explosion at namely, that the man aimed at be hit. But the effective any given distance, compatible with their range, may range of a musket is scarcely more than 100 yards; be absolutely depended upon.

On some future occasion, since we have donned our fighting-gear, we purpose offering a few remarks on the Congreve Rocket, another terrible instrument of destruction, concerning the nature and powers of which very little is popularly known.

NEGRO SATURNALIA.

On the festival of Nosso Senhor do Rozario, the slaves elect from their own body a king and queen, whose dignity is confirmed by their masters. They must be bona fide slaves; no free negroes are eligible, although many coloured freemen take part in the festivity. However, not only the royal pair are elected by the populace, but a whole series of princes and princesses, together with ministers, courtiers, and ladies of honour, swell the state of the new potentate. All these dignitaries are decked out as finely as possible with old uniforms, cast-off court-dresses, silk shoes, cloaks, and indeed whatever they can scrape together-real gold and diamonds being held in especial respect. In the residence of Dr Lund, I saw a little princess, the daughter of his major-domo, who was literally burdened with gold chains, and thus wore a considerable amount of precious. metal. Much of this belonged to her parents, and much had been borrowed. On these occasions, the negroes willingly assist each other, for only the dignitaries, not the voluntary participators in the festival, are allowed to be thus finely adorned. The king has a paper crown on his head, and a gilt sceptre in his hand; the queen is adorned with a diadem, and the officials generally wear laced hats. With this pomp and circumstance, the monarch, accompanied by all his subjects, standard-bearers, minstrels, guards, &c., marches to church to the sound of the drum, and of a sort of tin rattle, there to be consecrated by the priest. This ceremony is followed by a solemn procession through the village, terminating in a general banquet. The expenses of the banquet are usually defrayed by the owner of the queen; but the other expenses, especially the fees of the church, are usually covered by the voluntary contributions of the persons present. After dinner, there is a general merry-making at the expense of the parties themselves, which lasts till a late hour of the night, and often leads to another procession by torch-light. The festivities are continued even to the second and third day, until the purse is drained, and a general exhaustion follows, as the natural consequence of overexcitement. Then all gradually return to their old habits. The king and queen lay down their dignities, ministers and ladies of honour put off their court-dresses, and the gold ornaments repose, once more in their caskets, or in the hands of their real owners. Vain and unmeaning as all this solemnity must appear to the cultivated spectator, who will see in it nothing but empty grimace and poor wit, the festival is of the utmost importance in the eyes of the negro, who would not, even for a handsome remuneration, consent to work on the great day of rejoicing.-Burmeister's Travels to Brazil.

A REASONING FOX.

rapidity of thought, darted down from his perch upon one of them, and in the twinkling of an eye bore it in triumph on to the fastness he had so providently prepared beforehand. Confounded at the shrieks of her offspring, the old sow returned in fury to the spot, and until late in the night, made repeated desperate attempts to storm the murderer's stronghold; but the fox took the matter very coolly, and devoured the pig under the very nose of its mother; which at length, with the greatest reluctance, and without being able to revenge herself on her crafty adversary, was forced to beat a retreat.-Lloyd's Scandinavian Adventures.

A GHOST AT THE DANCING.
A WIND-WAVED tulip-bed-a tinted cloud
Of butterflies careering in the air—
A many-figured arras quick with life
And merry unto midnight music dumb
-So the dance whirls. Do any think of thee,
Amiel, Amiel?

Friends greet, and countless rills of pleasant talk
Meander round, scattering a spray of smiles.
-I know 'twas false! I know, one minute more
And thou wilt stand there, tall and quiet-eyed,
And all these fair shew black beside thy face,
Amiel, Amiel!

Many here loved thee-I nor loved, scarce knew.
Yet in thy place I see a shadow rise,
And a face forms itself from empty air,
Watching the dancers, grave and quiet-eyed-
Eyes that do see the angels evermore,
Amiel, Amiel !

On such a night as this, midst dance and song,
I bade thee carelessly a light good-by-
'Farewell,' thou saidst-' A happy journey home!'
Did the unseen death-angel at thy side
Mock those low words: A happy journey home,'
Amiel, Amiel ?—

Ay-we play fool's play still-thou hast gone home.
While these dance here, a mile hence o'er thy rest
Drifts the deep New-year snow. The cloudy Gate
We spoke of, thou hast entered. I without
Grope ignorant, but thou dost all things know,
Amiel, Amiel!

What if, I sitting where we sat last year,
Thou cam'st-took'st up our broken thread of talk,
And told'st of thy new home-which now I see,
As children wandering o'er dark winter fields,
See on the hill the father's window shine,
Amiel, Amiel?

No! Thy fair face will glad me nevermore.
Thy pleasant words are ended. Yet thou livest;
"Tis we who die.-I too shall one day come,
And, viewless, view these shadows, quiet-eyed:
Then flit back to thy land-the living Land,
Amiel, Amiel!

A certain Jägare, who was one morning keeping watch in the forest, observed a fox cautiously making his approach towards the stump of an old tree. When sufficiently near, he took a high and determined jump on to the top of it; and after looking around awhile, hopped to the ground again. After Reynard had repeated this knightly exercise several times, he went his way; but presently he returned to the spot, bearing a pretty large and heavy piece of dry oak in his mouth; and thus burdened, and as it would seem for the purpose of testing his vaulting powers, he renewed his leaps on to the stump. After a time, however, and when he found that, weighted in No. 5, was extracted from an article in the Leader newspaper. as he was, he could make the ascent with facility, he desisted from further efforts, dropped the piece of wood from his mouth, and coiling himself upon the top of the stump, remained motionless as if dead. At the approach of evening, an old sow and her progeny, five or six in number, issued from a neighbouring thicket, and, pursuing their usual track, passed near to the stump in question. Two of her sucklings followed somewhat behind the rest, and just as they neared his ambush, Michel, with the

The striking paragraph, entitled 'Errors there is no Rectifying,'

The omission of the quotation was the effect of a blunder which took place in the correction of the proof of the number. It is, of course, our earnest desire to quote where quotation is due, in order that the public may know when we are original, which is the case

in nineteen-twentieths of our sheet.-ED.

Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, 3 Bride's Passage,

Fleet Street, LONDON, and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. Also sold by J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street, DUBLIN, and all Booksellers.

Science and Arts.

CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS.

SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1854.

and flower-plots. As every stranger in London goes to see St Paul's, so all who visit Montreal require to see the Mountain. Of this mountain, the inhabitants are not a little proud; and they have some reason for being so. The hill, which forms a kind of background to Montreal, sheltering it most agreeably from the north, is covered with a profusion of orchards, gardens, and masses of forest trees, and having the lower part disposed in small farms and villa enclosures. Some years ago, the hill and country beyond were scarcely approachable on account of the state of the roads; but now the thoroughfares are kept in the best order by revenues drawn from toll-bars. The establishment of these bars by an ordinance of Lord Sydenham, was loudly exclaimed against by the rural habitans, who, in coming to market, greatly preferred jolts to the dispensing of coppers; but I was told that the tide of opinion against toll-paying had lately undergone a considerable change among these ancient settlers; as they had discovered by the saving of time and other advantages, that the money they paid to the toll-keeper was by no means thrown away.

committed extensive ravages. A crop of handsome amidst lines of detached villas embowered in gardens new buildings has sprung up; but with few exceptions, they follow the line of the old and narrow streets, instead of expanding over a larger space of ground. The best street is the Rue Notre Dame, along the centre of the low ridge on which the city has been placed; but it is exceeded in breadth and in elegance of architecture by St James's Street, a little further west. At an open species of square that intervenes between these two streets, we find some of the more important public edifices of the city, including a Roman Catholic cathedral. Everybody has of course heard of this lastmentioned structure, which is said to be the largest place of public worship in the medieval style of architecture in America. Built of gray stone, with pointed windows, and lofty square towers, seen at a great distance, it is unfortunately plain to baldness, and must give the Canadians but an imperfect notion of such edifices as the cathedrals of Rouen and Antwerp -things of beauty to be remembered for ever. Inside, everything has been sacrificed to congregational accommodation. Fitted with pews and galleries, in order to afford sittings for 10,000 people, it has no pretensions to congruity of character, and with roof and pillars coarsely coloured, it may be said that an effort has been successfully made to render it valueless as a work of art.

At a short distance, in this quarter, there are some good buildings in the Grecian style, among which are more particularly observable two banks and a large new court-house. Montreal, it is proper to state, is a centre of considerable banking operations. From the Bank of British North America (an English concern) and of Montreal, both of a highly respectable character, branches are extended to every town of any importance in Canada. Each issues notes of as low a value as 5s. currency or 4s. sterling; and a note of this kind is popularly equivalent to an American dollar. The maintenance of what is termed currency, in the present advanced state of things, is not very intelligible to travellers from the old country. One might see some meaning in the denomination, if there was a correspondingly depreciated coinage in circulation. But excepting the small notes just referred to, and occasionally American dollars, the entire circulating medium consists of English money. Why an ordinary shilling is spoken of as fifteenpence, or how storekeepers, in asking sevenpence-halfpenny for an article, should mean sixpence, is a mystery in finance not easily explained. In my ignorance, I ventured respectfully to suggest to a respectable colonist, that I thought it would only be reasonable to call a shilling a shilling, and change the nominal prices of things accordingly. But I felt, by the reply, that I had trodden on dangerous ground. The method of computation, in which the pound sterling is considered equivalent (strictly) to L.1, 48. 4d. currency, could not, it seems, bear criticism. Perhaps, then, it is hardly advisable in me to hint to the Canadian and other British American provinces, the propriety of assimilating their money-reckoning to the sterling standard, or of adopting the simple dollar and cent system of the United States, which, for most practical purposes, would be more convenient.

Conducted, first through several banks of an imposing appearance, and then visiting some large libraries, reading-rooms, and other public institutions, I had next a pleasant drive out of town towards the Mountain-the road in a northerly direction taking us

By one of these improved roads, carried at a moderate height, we are enabled to make a circuit of the whole mountain, and obtain some remarkably fine views over the surrounding country. The scene on the northern side embraces an extensive tract of land, laid out in farms, and dotted over with villages, distinguishable by their churches with tin-covered steeples. From the summit, the eye is able to trace out, in the generally level country, the outlines of the Isle of Montreal, and the Isle Jesu beyond it on the north, as well as the valley of the Ottawa. The river Ottawa, coming out of a region rich in timber, and abounding in picturesque scenery, joins the St Lawrence in a somewhat broken manner, by parting into separate branches, and intersecting the land so as to form the two above-mentioned islands. The Isle of Montreal, about thirty miles in length, and celebrated for its beauty and fertility, was originally gifted by the king of France to the seminary of St Sulpice, to which body the superiority still principally belongs, and is a source of large annual income. Along the southern slopes of the mountain, and favoured by the high temperature in summer, grow those fine varieties of apples-the Fameuse, Pomme Gris, and others--which are the admiration of all strangers. The view from the higher parts of the hill on the south embraces the city and environs in the foreground, with the broad St Lawrence and its shipping, and the extensive tract of country beyond, which includes the pleasant valley of the Richlieu.

The society in Montreal which I had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with, did not differ from what one sees in a respectable English town; and from all I could learn, it appeared that notwithstanding many bitter political and religious animosities, the city in its various concerns was making signal progress. The population had increased to about 60,000; and trade of all kinds had been extended in the current year. The completion of the Atlantic and St Lawrence Railway, by opening up a ready means of transit to Portland and Boston, had already given an impetus to improvement; and as steamers will now ply direct to and from England during summer, the opening of a new traffic was confidently anticipated. On many accounts, therefore,