inhabits the southern part of France, even there it is rare; in the north it is entirely unknown. In Italy, where it is more common, it is known by the name of Cicella or Ciciqua. The scales of its belly are separated from those of its back by three lines. This reptile is not dangerous, for nature has not bestowed upon it any venom, and even if it possessed any, its mouth is too small for it to bite a man, or any other large animal. We know that whenever man has presumed to deem any created object as incomplete or useless, experience or science has, sooner or later, proved that it is man who, in the infirmity of his judgment, has erred. Surely we should do wisely to apply this important fact to the question of usefulness, which arises from the scantiness of the feet of the reptile under consideration. It is evident that the feet of the Seps no more enable him to walk on the earth, than the wings of the Penguin to cleave the air; but in either case, shall we say that these members are superfluous, because they do not answer the end for which we suppose them to be invariably intended* Has the Creator failed in his work, or has man misjudged the end of that work? I confidently expect that every sensible man will justify the wisdom of the Almighty.-FROSSARD. For instance, might we not suppose, that the little paws of the Seps assist it to turn itself, when any accident may have placed it on its back, or to prevent it from getting into that uneasy position. WHAT APPEARS USELESS, NOT ALWAYS TO BE DESPISED. I CAN Scarcely condemn mankind for treating with contempt a virtuoso, whom they see employed in poring over a moss or an insect day after day, and spending his life in such seemingly unimportant and barren speculations. The first and most natural reflections that will arise on this occasion must be to the disadvantage of such pursuits. Yet were the whole scene of nature laid open to our views, were we admitted to behold the connexions and dependencies of every thing on every other, and to trace the economy of nature through the smaller as well as the greater parts of this globe, we might, perhaps, be obliged to own we were mistaken; that the Supreme Architect had contrived his works in such a manner, that we cannot properly be said to be unconcerned in any one of them; and therefore, that studies which seem upon a slight view to be quite useless, may in the end appear to be of no small importance to mankind. Nay, were we only to look back into the history of arts and sciences, we must be convinced, that we are apt to judge over hastily of things of this nature. We should there find many proofs, that he who gave this instinctive curiosity to some of his creatures, gave it for good and great purposes, and that he rewards with useful discoveries all these minute researches. It is true this does not always happen to the searcher, or his contemporaries, nor even, sometimes, to the immediate succeeding generation; but I am apt to think that advantages of one kind or other always accrue to mankind from such pursuits. Some men are born to observe and record what perhaps by itself is perfectly useless, but yet of great importance, to another who follows and goes a step further still as useless. To him another succeeds, and thus by degrees, till at last one of a superior genius comes, who laying all that has been done before his time together, brings on a new face of things, improves, adorns, exalts human society. Many instances might be produced to prove, that bare curiosity in one age is the source of the greatest utility in another. And what has frequently been said of chemists, may be applied to every other kind of virtuosi. They hunt, perhaps, after chimeras and impossibilities, they find something really valuable by the by. We are but instruments under the Supreme Director, and do not so much as know, in many cases what is of most importance for us to search after. But we may be sure of one thing; namely, that if we study and follow nature, whatever paths we are led into, we shall at last arrive at something valuable to ourselves and others, but of what kind we must be content to remain ignorant.-BENJAMIN STILLINGFLEET. POPULAR LEGENDS AND FICTIONS. THE most remarkable, but not the most peculiar, The superstitious ceremonies used at such wells, and the respect with which they are frequented, must be of very remote antiquity, since as early as the time of Joshua the name of En-shemesh, or the Fountain of the Sun, was given to a well, which manifestly indicates that the well was dedicated to the sun, and the name of another En-rogel, or the Fountain of Secret Inquiry intimates, that it was used for some purpose of divination. To these may be added En-dor, or the Fountain of Circular Revolution and in these three names the three principal superstitions are discernible, which are denoted by practices not even at this time wholly fallen into disuse. The origin of these superstitions must undoubtedly be looked for in a hot climate, where a well of pure water affords one of the greatest blessings of life; and thus the Hebrew word for a tank, which is of less value than a well, with the slight variation of a vowel point, signifies a blessing; and when the sun became an object of worship, the dedication of a well to it, as of the earthly to the heavenly source of comfort, was simple and natural. From this reference a higher estimation of a well opening and flowing eastward may have arisen, and such wells were formerly thought in Wales to afford the purest water. The purifications necessary, first for health, and secondly preparative to religious ceremonies, were additional motives for a regard to wells; but above all, where the waters were found to possess medical virtues, those virtues were readily believed to be conferred some benevolent and superintendent divinity. Whatever be the religious system, deprecation of the wrath of the Deity must form one part of it, and humiliation must precede an act of supposed purification. It is the course which nature and reason, even in its most feeble efforts, would dictate. Accordingly it appears, that in Ireland the votaries of some holy wells crawl around them several times on their hands and knees, and such, it has been supposed, was the custom at En-dor in the time of Joshua. The expression of gratitude for benefits received was another natural sentiment of religion; and hence, probably, arose the custom of leaving some token of it, however small, such as the dropping of a pin into the well, or hanging up a rag on some bush near it. served shreds, or bits of rags, upon the bushes that overhang a well in the road to Benton, a village in the neighbourhood of Newcastle. It is called, The Rag-well. The spring has been visited for some disorder or other, and these rag-offerings are relics of the then prevailing superstition. Thus, Mr. Pennant tells us, they visit the well of Spey in Scotland, for many distempers, and the well of Drachaldy for as many more, offering small bits of money, and bits of rags. Brand says, "I have frequently ob In the third of the excellent letters of Columbanus, a very interesting account is given of the well-worship as practised in Ireland, a worship justly censured by the worthy author. In this account he says, "Wheu I pressed a very old man, Owen Hester, to state what possible advantage he expected to derive from the singular custom of frequenting in particular such wells as were contiguous to an old blasted oak, or an upright unhewn stone; and what the meaning was of the yet more singular custom of sticking rags on the branches of such trees, and spitting on them: his answer, and the answer of the oldest men, was, that their ancestors always did it; and that it was a preservative against the sorceries of the Druids ;-and so thoroughly persuaded were they of the sanctity of these pagan practices, that they would travel bareheaded and barefooted from ten to twenty miles, for the purpose of crawling on their knees round these wells, and upright stones, and oak trees, westward, as the sun travels, some three times, some six, some nine, and so on, until their voluntary penances were completely fulfilled. A passage from Hanway leads directly to the Oriental custom of these Druidical superstitions. We arrived at a desolate caravanserai, where we found nothing but water. I observed a tree with a number of rags to the branches; these were so many charms, which passengers coming from Ghilaw, a province remarkable for agues, had left there, in a fond expectation of leaving their disease also in the same spot.' From Chaldea and Persia well-worship passed into Arabia, where the well of Zimzim at Mecca was celebrated from the remotest ages," &c Some of the wells are celebrated for producing a salutary effect, but that of St. Elian, near Beltiss in Denbighshire, is equally notorious for possessing an opposite influence. It is not only an opinion, but a firmly rooted belief, among the peasantry, that if any one be put into the well, as they call it, he will be afflicted with any malady or misfortune, which his enemy may desire. "I will put you into St. Elian's well, and have my revenge of you!" said a choleric mountaineer to Mr. Pennant, in return for some trifling offence; and it was only so lately as April 1820, that a person of the name of John Edwards, of the parish of Northop, in Flintshire, was tried at the great sessions, for defrauding one Edward Pierce, of Llanelyrnig, in Denbighshire, of the sum of fifteen shillings, under the pretence (to borrow the classical language of the indictment), "that the said Edward Pierce was put into Fynnon Elian (Elian's Well), and that some great evil and misfortune would, in consequence, befall the said Edward Pierce; and that he, the said John Edwards, could avert the said evil and misfortune, by taking him, the said Edward Pierce, out of the said well, if he, the said Edward Pierce, would pay unto the said John Edwards, the sum of fifteen shillings." This "the said Edward Pierce" was silly enough to do, as well as to accompany the arch enchanter to the well, where several mystic ceremonies were to be performed, to the no small satisfaction of both parties; and the ignorant dupe returned home with a full persuasion that his affairs, which had been long going cross," would thenceforth be in a more proDeceived in this, however, sperous state than ever. 66 said he brought the offender to justice, and the John Edwards" was rewarded for his ingenuity by an imprisonment for twelve months. The mode which was usually adopted, to secure the good or evil influence of St. Elian's well, was, in truth, sufficiently formal and elaborate to inspire the credulous with a perfect belief in its efficacy. Near the well, resided some worthless and infamous woman, who officiated as priestess. To her, the person who wished to inflict the curse, applied, and for a trifling sum, she registered, in a book kept for the purpose, the name of the individual upon whose hapless head A pin was then dropped the malediction was to fall. into the well, in the name of the victim, and the report that such a one had been thus put into the well, soon reached the ear of the devoted person. If the individual were cursed with a credulous disposition, the idea, like that of the West Indian Obi, soon preyed upon his spirits, and at length terminated in his destruction: for the poor unhappy object pined himself to death, unless a timely reconciliation should the take place between the parties, in which case, priestess, for a suitable fee, erased the name from her book, and took the poor wretch out of the well! ART. WHEN from the sacred garden driven, And crossed the wanderer's sun.ess path. 'Twas Art! sweet Art! New radiance broke, Where her light foot flew o'er the ground; And thus with seraph voice she spoke, "The curse a blessing shall be found." She led him through the trackless wild, Where noontide sunbeam never blazed :The thistle shrunk-the harvest smiled, And nature gladdened as she gazed. Earth's thousand tribes of living things, At Art's command to him are given, The village grows, the city springs, And point their spires of faith to heaven. He rends the oak-and bids it ride, To guard the shores its beauty graced; He smites the rock-upheaved in pride, See towers of strength, and domes of taste. Earth's teeming caves their wealth reveal, Fire bears his banner on the wave, He bids the mortal poison heal, And the destroying knife to save. He plucks the pearls that stud the deep, He breaks the stubborn marble's sleep, In fields of air he writes his name, And treads the chambers of the sky; He reads the stars, and grasps the flame That quivers in the realms on high. In war renowned, in peace sublime, He moves in greatness and in grace; His power subduing space and time, Links realm to realm, and race to race. -SPRAGUE. THE common blessings of God are not dispensed without a directing Providence. Nature works not without the God of nature.-CARYL. THE Arabians distinguish a man of honour, true nobility, and figure, as having "a fair unspotted countenance." On the contrary, "a face as black as a coal," is imputed to the base dishonourable person.-CHAPPELOW. Ir must be owned that we are not able to account for the method of Divine Providence in many instances; and whosoever is not abandoned of all modesty, must readily acknowledge that it is reasonable it should be so.-BRAD FORD. As a father should provide for the religious education of his children, so should a government for the instruction of its subjects. This should teach us to look for edification only from legitimate sources, and to expect it most in the path of humble and implicit obedience. SINCLAIR. NOTES ON FOREST TREES. No. XIX. These pieces the timber easily detaches the former. of bark are generally eight or ten feet in length, and from two to three feet in width. To form a canoe, they are joined together, with the assistance of an awl, by the fibrous roots of the white spruce, of about the thickness of a quill. But before they are used, they are stripped of their outer rind, split in half, and steeped in water. The seams are then rendered water-tight, by being smeared with the resin of the balm of gilead tree. These canoes, which are much used by the Indians and the Canadian hunters in their long journeys in the interior, are extremely light, and can be carried on a man's shoulders from one lake or river to another. A canoe capable of holding four persons and their baggage, will weigh from forty to fifty pounds only. Other vessels are made of the same material, which are sufficiently large to contain fifteen people. These are the advantages derived from the Birch in America; but in Sweden and Russia, the European species, the White Birch, is of still greater service. The Russia leather, which is so well known for its valuable property of resisting the attacks of insects, is prepared with a kind of balsamic extract from the Birch. The Laplanders use the same extract to tan the hides of the Rein Deer, and they stain their cordage of a red colour with an infusion of the leaves. A good vinegar is made from the sap, as well as an intoxicating drink; the Finlanders use the young leaves as tea, and the Laplanders and natives of Greenland peel off the inner cellular portion of the bark, and mix it with their food. THE WHITE BIRCH, (Betula alba.) THIS well-known and elegant tree, is, in England, merely regarded as an ornamental addition to the shrubbery, but in the northern parts of Europe and of North America, it is of the most extensive use to the inhabitants. Of The bark of this tree has the property of being more firm and durable than the wood it invests. this, the peasants of Sweden, Lapland, &c., take advantage, and shaping it like tiles, cover their houses with it. Maupertuis, in traversing Lapland, to measure a degree of latitude, had to pass through vast forests composed entirely of Birch. The soil in some parts being very loose, more than half the trees had been blown down. He examined several of them, and was surprised to see, in such as had lain long, the substance of the wood was entirely gone, but the bark remained a hollow trunk without any signs of decay. The Betula papyracea, or Canoe Birch, is the name of the American species, whose bark is employed for the same purposes. The bark of this tree, in the younger specimens, is of a beautiful white; this bark is employed by the country people of Canada, to close the openings in the roofs of their houses. Baskets and boxes are made of it, and even portfolios, which are ornamented with different coloured silks and embroidery; and, split into very thin leaves, it has been used for writing on. It is placed between the soles of shoes, and formed into a lining for a hat, to keep out the wet; but the most important use to which it is applied, is in the construction of pirogues and canoes. To obtain the pieces of bark of which these are composed, they select the largest trees, and those which have the smoothest rind. In the Spring they make two circular incisions on the bark, at some feet distance from each other, and one longitudinal incision on each side of the tree, when the introduction of a thin piece of wood between the bark and LEAVES AND CATKINS OF THE WHITE BIRCH The Birch is raised from seed, which is sown in the beginning of March, in beds three feet and a half wide; the seeds are to be pressed down with the spade, but not covered with the earth; if the weather is dry and frosty, they are to be protected for a few weeks by a covering of peas-haulm or matting. The next March remove the young plants, shorten their top roots, and plant them at two and a half feet distance, and let them remain in this state for two or three years before they are again moved. THE EAGLES' NEST. THE hoary Peak with Heaven's bright azure crowned, Here his dread seat the royal Bird hath made, EVERY one has heard of the Lakes of Killarney; their reputation has been spread as wide as that of our most celebrated English or Scottish lakes. Ireland is very remarkable for the number and extent of its lakes; in this respect neither England nor Scotland can be compared with it. But without the Lakes of Killarney, Ireland would be far from competing with either England or Scotland, in that grand and picturesque scenery, of which the lakes of each afford such striking examples. In some remarks upon the scenery of the South of Ireland, in his interesting Researches, Mr. Crofton Croker says, The western districts of the county Cork, and the entire of Kerry, are wild and mountainous; and the Galtees, an extensive range of many miles, stretch along the borders VOL. XI. of the counties Limerick, Cork, Tipperary, and Waterford, conferring a dignity upon the landscape which level or unbroken ground cannot possess. The general outline of these mountains is happily varied; though heavy and inelegant shapes are by no means uncommon, yet they are seldom found alone, and rather improve than injure the effect of the sharp and irregular forms with which they are combined. Dame Nature drew these mountaynes in such sort, As though the one should yield the other grace. Many of their glens and passes possess a sublime sterility that inspires feelings of awe and reverence. Masses of rock are heaped together in unprofitable barrenness, clothed only with the humble lichen, and unyielding to changes of rain and sunshine. A stream broken into vegetation, receive from year to year in vain, the alternate several little falls often foams along the centre of these rugged defiles, or tumbles precipitately over a steep crag with ceaseless plash. In some places, vast stones rounded by the action of the atmosphere, hang in fantastic elevation, as if ready to be rolled down with overwhelming crash upon the spectator beneath, and have been poetically Nature played with, when they were young, and the world described in Irish song, as the marbles that Time and in its infancy. Surrounded by some of the grandest of these mountains, lies Killarney, Where woody glens in sweetness smile The Lakes of Killarney are situated nearly in the centre of the maritime county of Kerry, on the con 328 can find way. Its course is devious; sometimes it runs for a considerable distance close to the mountains, under immense masses of rocks; sometimes meandering through the centre of the defile, or dividing into branches, which again unite, after encircling numerous little islands. The scenery throughout the whole passage is of the most picturesque description, and highly varied, although there is but | little change in the distant objects; for towards the upper part, the prospect downwards is invariably bounded by the Turk Mountain, and in the opposite direction, or upwards, by the mountains which surround the Upper Lake. fines of a chain of lofty mountains. The space included between this chain and the ocean on the west, containing upwards of thirty square miles, is entirely occupied by other mountains of still greater magnitude, amongst which are those called Macgillicuddy's Reeks, the most elevated in Ireland. In general, the disposition of these mountains is very irregular; but as they approach the sea, they form short ridges, terminating on the coast in bold and rugged headlands. This mountainous region abounds with lakes. They are mostly found in the depths of the valleys, but some are situated in the sides of the mountains, at a great elevation, in cavities, resembling the craters of volcanos. In the vicinity of Killarney, on the sum- The mountains rising on each side of the defile, or mit of the mountain called Mangerton, there is one valley, through which the river takes its course, are of these lakes many hundred feet above the level of not of great elevation; nor, with the exception of one the sea, the natives style it the Pit of Hell, but it is called the Eagles' Nest, are they distinguished for familiarly known by the names of the Devil's Punch- the gracefulness or boldness of their outline. But Bowl. After heavy rains, it discharges a large stream, "the great diversity and wildness of their surface are which precipitates itself down the mountain in a suc-inexhaustible sources of gratification," which keep the cession of cataracts, distinguishable by their white eye constantly engaged during the whole passage to foam at the distance of many miles. Of all the lakes the Upper Lake. of Kerry, however, the largest and the most remarkable are those of Killarney. They may be considered, indeed, as Mr. Weld observes, as an immense reservoir for the waters of the surrounding country, supplied by the overflowings of other lakes, by rills from the adjoining mountains, and by rivers which fall into them, after having been augmented during a long course by countless tributary streams. The only outlet to this extensive basin is the clear and rapid river Laune, which conveys the surplus water into the Atlantic Ocean, through the Bay of Dingle. In beauty, the Lakes of Killarney surpass the other lakes of Kerry, as much as in extent; for while the shores of the latter are rarely distinguished by any striking features from the dreary wastes which surround them, the enchanting banks of the former, Singled out, as it were, by nature, for the display of some of her choicest productions, present the charming variety of a rich and adorned landscape, contrasted with the pic turesque wildness of mountain and forest scenery. The Lakes of Killarney are three in number,—that is to say, there are three distinct bodies of water; each of them, however, communicates with the other two. We have said that these lakes are upon the confines of a range of mountains. One of them is, indeed, on the mountains-completely embosomed within lofty heights; the others lie at the foot of the mountains. These two lower lakes are bounded on one side only by mountains; in the opposite direction they are open to a cultivated country, whose surface is diversified by innumerable hills. They are nearly upon the same level, and lie contiguous to each other, being separated merely by a narrow peninsula and some small islands, between which there are channels passable for boats. The Upper Lake lies on the mountains above, at the distance of three miles from the Lower Lakes; a navigable stream, however, descends from it, and communicates with each of them, by dividing into two branches. This lake on the mountains is called, from its situation, the "Upper Lake;" of the others below, the larger one is called the "Lower Lake," and the smaller, "Turk Lake," from an adjacent mountain bearing the name of "Turk." The river which runs from the Upper Lake to the Lower Lakes, generally preserves a placid course, except in a few places, where the channel is contracted between rocks, or obstructed by bars and shoals. When not swollen by floods, its breadth seldom exeeeds fifteen yards, and at some of the passes it is so reduced by the opposing rocks, that only one boat They display immense precipices, and deep glens overhung with woods; each glen affords a channel to a mountain-stream, and each stream supplies a cascade. Many of these falls appear with inconceivable beauty sparkling through the trees which shade their gloomy recesses; whilst the existence of others is only known by the sound of their gushing waters. Now tumbles o'er some rock their crystal pride; Now plaintive tinkle in the secret shade. The defile, strictly speaking, commences with the Eagles' Nest, from the Lower Lakes up to that point; an extensive tract of low, swampy ground spreads on the left bank of the river. Throughout the defile, indeed, the land between the banks of the river and the approaching mountains is of the same character; but there are several elevated spots, which, yielding a coarse herbage, are annually mown. According to Mr. Weld, however, the floods with which the valley is liable to be overwhelmed, seldom allow the husbandman to enjoy the fruits of his labour without many disappointments; the hay is commonly removed several different times before it can be taken home, and it often receives so much damage as to be rendered totally unfit for use. I once counted (adds that gentleman,) upwards of fifty large stacks of hay, which had been made on the banks of the river, very nearly covered with water. The valley is much better adapted to pasturage; and numerous herds of cattle are fed in it, whose varied groups contribute to the little pools which spread between the rushes; others rerural charms of the scene, some cooling themselves in the posing on the grassy banks; while many of a more intractable and rambling disposition may be descried on the very summit of the mountains: Who rove o'er bog and heath, and graze or browse, O'er the bleak wild the thinly-scattered meal. The lowing of these animals occasionally produces the most astonishing effect, owing to the numerous echoes for which the place is distinguished above every other part of Kil-. larney. The rock, or lofty cliff, of the "Eagles Nest," is so designated, from an eyry situated on one of its projecting cliffs, which has been annually frequented by the eagle during time immemorial. Well, to use the language of Mr. Weld, may it be styledHis fort, the towering seat, For ages, of his empire, which in peace Unstained he holds, while many a league to sea He wings his course, and preys in distant isles. The exact position of the eagles' residence may be distinguished by a black mark near the vertex of the rock, or "a horizontal fissure, which resembles a |
