which consists usually of a horse's bladder blown and cased with leather, is thrown into the midst of the ground, and the object of each party is to drive it through the goal of their antagonists, which being achieved, the game is won. The abilities of the players are best displayed in the attack and defence of the goals: sometimes when the players become excited, they so far lose sight of friendly feelings as to commence kicking each other's shins, in contesting at the goals.

Of the noble game of cricket we need say but little, partly because it is so universally known, wherever a free patch of green-sward is to be met with, and partly because it is our object to describe those games which were more in vogue in "the olden time" than at present. Cricket was probably never more prevalent in England than at the present day.

There are other ball-games which our younger readers will easily call to mind, but we cannot here devote space to them, for the reasons just assigned with reference to cricket.

STRUGGLE BETWEEN AN EAGLE AND A SALMON.

THAT the eagle is extremely destructive to fish, and particularly so to salmon, many circumstances would prove. Eagles are constantly discovered watching the fords in the spawning season, and are seen to seize and carry off the fish. Some years since, a herdsman, on a very sultry day in July, while looking for a missing sheep, observed an eagle posted on a bank that overhung a pool. Presently the bird stooped and seized a salmon, and a violent struggle ensued; when the herdsman reached the spot, he found the eagle pulled under water by the strength of the fish; and the calmness of the day, joined to his drenched plumage, rendered him unable to extricate himself. With a stone the peasant broke the eagle's pinion, and actually secured the spoiler and his victim, for he found the salmon dying in his grasp.

When shooting on Lord Sligo's mountains, near the Killeries, a gentleman says he heard many particulars of the eagle's habits and history from a gray-haired peasant who had passed a long life in these wilds. The scarcity of hares, which here were once abundant, he attributed to the rapacity of those birds; and he affirmed, that when in pursuit of these animals, the eagles evinced a degree of intelligence that appeared extraordinary. They coursed the hares, he said, with great judgment, and certain success; one bird was the active follower, while the other remained in reserve, at the distance of forty or fifty yards. If the hare, by a sudden turn, freed himself from his most pressing enemy, the second bird instantly took up the chase, and thus prevented the victim from having a moment's respite. He had remarked the eagles also while they were engaged in fishing. They chose a small ford upon the rivulet which connects Glencullen with Glandullah, and posted on either side, waited patiently for the salmon to pass over. Their watch was never fruitless-and many a salmon, in its transit from the sea to the lake, was transferred from its native element to the wild aëry in the Alpine cliff that beetles over the romantic waters of

Glencullen.-?

THE burning sands of hot climates, even at Carsfield, at the Cape of Good Hope, which are so arid and scorched that no water can be extracted from them, are the soil in which the most succulent vegetables of which we have any knowledge flourish. So deleterious, indeed, is a wet season to their growth, that they are destroyed by it. There are also various tribes of vegetables that are destitute of roots, and which can only be supported and nourished by the air, and the moisture which it contains. It is stated that the aërial Epidendron, (Epidendron flos aĕris,) which is a native of Java, is plucked up by the inhabitants, on account of the elegance of its leaves, the beauty of its flowers, and the exquisite odour it diffuses, and suspended by a silken cord from the ceiling of their apartments, where it continues from year to year to put forth new leaves, to display new blossoms, and exhale new fragrance, though fed only by

the air.-?

THE brief outline which we have given of the nature and cause of Echoes, will, we hope, enable our readers to understand the reason why Echoes are so different in their character and frequency, according to the circumstances under which they are produced.

If a person standing in a narrow passage, were to throw a ball forcibly against the wall, it would rebound against the opposite wall, be again reflected from thence, and perhaps a third and a fourth time, be reflected from side to side before it fell to the ground. The number of times that these rebounds would occur, would depend on two circumstances: first, the width of the passage; and second, the force with which the ball is thrown : of the truth of this any one can easily convince himself by experiment. Again, if a schoolboy strikes his marble against the side of a stone, and there be another projecting stone opposite to the first, the marble will rebound from one surface to the other and back again, and this would occur perhaps several

times.

Now exactly the same thing would occur, if there were a perpendicular wall, or rock, behind a person who utters a sound as well as one before him: the sound of his voice would be reflected from one surface (in the manner which we illustrated by reference to a racketball), and travelling backwards, would strike against the opposite surface, situated behind him, from which, being reflected again, it would once more travel to the weak to travel further. In every backward journey it opposite wall, and so on until the sound became too would strike upon the ear of the speaker, and as many Echoes as he could appreciate separately, so many times has the sound travelled to and fro.

This then is the cause of the oft-repeated Echoes which are heard of in different parts of the world. The two opposite walls of a building, or two perpendicular rocks, one on each side of a ravine or mountain-pass, or two lofty buildings separated by a wide space, may all, if they be parallel to each other, become the home of Echo: a sound will be reflected from one to the other: and if the surfaces be exactly opposite to each other, the reflexions will be nume. rous: and, as Dr. Arnott observes, a sound produced between them is repeated often, "playing like a shuttlecock between them, but becoming more faint each time, until it is heard no more. In some situations, particularly when the sound plays thus above the smooth surface of water, a pistol-shot may be counted forty times.

Addison mentions an Echo near Milan which will return the sound of a pistol, fifty-six times.

Lord Bacon describes an Echo in the church of Pont-Charenton, on the River Seine, in which he discovered the inability of an Echo to return the letter S, for having pronounced the word SATAN, the Echo replied VA-T-EN, which in French means "Be off" "Go away." From this circumstance the French priests concluded that some protecting angel prevented the walls of the sacred building from pronouncing the name of Satan.

or

The Rev. Gilbert White, in his Natural History of Selborne, has devoted one of his charming letters (the 34th.) to a description of an Echo at Selborne, in which however there is nothing remarkable, except in the manner in which it is treated.

On the banks of the Rhine, near Lurley, there is a remarkable Echo, produced by the singular disposition of the two elevated banks of the river following parallel lines in a serpentine direction, and thus presenting many reflecting surfaces to the rays of sound. When travellers pass near this spot it is usual for the postilions to sound their horns. The musical sounds

are soon repeated clearly and distinctly, and again a | second, a third, and even a fourth time, as if from a progressively-increasing distance, until they fade away. When this experiment is performed in a boat placed midway between the two banks, the repetitions of the sound are more numerous.

There is a legend connected with this Echo, at which, we are happy to say, the correct views of modern science, and its salutary effects on the mind, now enable us to smile. The legend informs us "that a beautiful nymph resided on the rock of Lurley, which overshadows a dangerous eddy; and often when the amazed boatmen sailed through the stream, listening to the mysterious voices around him, his bark was drawn within the Vortex, and he was left to perish under the dwelling of the siren. The reports of her beauty and the cruelty of her disposition, attracted the attention of the youthful son of the Count Palatine of a neighbouring country; and he determined on seeing her, and carrying her captive to his father's court. But his fate was sad; for on arriving, escorted by a few followers, in the troubled waters of Lurley, his boat whirled round and disappeared. Grieved at the loss of his son, the Count sent a small band to seize the relentless damsel, and they were about to do so; when a sudden hurricane swelled the stream, the waves crested with foam, rose to the top of the rock," and encompassing the lovely Undine *, saved her from the rude grasp of man, and carried her to the realm of her fathers. Her voice is still heard, returning the sounds of sadness and of mirth, but her form is no longer seen on the rocks of Lurley."

These instances are sufficiently interesting; but a remarkable addition to the effect of Echo is produced, when the surface from which the reflection occurs is concave or hollow. Here again we shall find a racket-ball useful as an illustration :-suppose a room, or a piece of ground, were perfectly circular, and surrounded by a high wall; if two players were within the space, and one of them occupied exactly the centre, wherever the latter one struck the ball, it would invariably return to him again; whichever part of the wall he directed the ball to, he would always fail in making it rebound to his companion (except when he made the ball pass over the head of the latter towards the wall), and the latter would find himself deprived of his share of play. The reason of this is, that no part of the wall slopes away from the person who occupies the centre of the room, as every part of it is equally distant from him (that being one of the properties of every circle).

If now, instead of a ball, the sound of his voice were the object reflected from the circular wall, all the reflection would return exactly to the spot occupied by him; and the multiplicity of these reflections or Echoes, would produce an extraordinary loudness of sound to his ear. But any other person in the room would be in the condition of the inactive racket-player, he would to be sure hear the sound of his neighbour's voice coming direct to him, but he would not hear one of the Echoes. Were it possible for the floor and ceiling of a room to be constructed as a hollow globe, that is, equally concave above, around, and below; a person placed in the centre would hear his own voice with most stunning effect, as an Echo would come from every conceivable point of the surface.

The shape of an egg is familiar to all our readers, and it is easy to conceive a flat surface, having the same shape as the outline of the egg: this is called an oval, or elliptical surface, and may be considered as a

* A German term for a sea-nymph, or water-nympn. There is a wild and beautiful tale, well known to the German Student, entitled "Undine," written by the Baron de la Motte Fouqué,

circle flattened on two of its sides. Many of our young friends are doubtless acquainted with the mode of forming an oval from pieces of two different-sized circles; and that, as well as simple inspection will show, the centre of the oval is not equi-disant from every part of the boundary. If, therefore, a room were of an oval shape, and a person standing in the middle were to throw a ball against the wall, it would not rebound to the spot occupied by him, except from the two points nearest, and the two points farthest from him; if he cast the ball in any other direction, it would rebound to some other part of the oval space. But it is remarkable, that a perfect oval contains two spots, both of which possess many of the properties which belong only to one centre. If two persons were standing, one on each spot, and one of them were to strike the ball, it would invariably rebound towards the other player: by no method of throwing the ball could he make it rebound to himself again, except from two points; viz., the one nearest to, and the one farthest from himself.

Let us now, as before, apply this reasoning to the reflection of sound. If the person situate at one of those favoured spots were to produce a sound, instead of throwing a ball; the Echoes would all congregate togards the other spot, while he himself would hear none of them. This singular effect of concentration after reflection would be beautifully shown, if we had an oval room, the wall of which was covered with looking-glass or polished metal. If a candle were placed in one of those centres, all the reflections, except two, of its light would assemble together at the other centre, so that a great brilliancy would be caused at that point, while the person who held the candle would see but two images of it in the polished surface. It is from this circumstance that the two centres have acquired the name of foci, (or fireplaces,) because wherever an accumulation of light exists, great heat exists also. In proportion as the oval approaches to a circular form, the two foci are nearer to each other; but if it be a long oval, they are further asunder, and approach nearest to the small ends of the oval.

If our readers have been able to follow this brief description of the mode in which Echoes accumulate, where the reflection takes place at a curved surface, they will be at no loss to understand the cause of some remarkable instances of Echo, which we shall adduce. There are on each side of Westminster Bridge several arched recesses, (intended as restingplaces,) and placed exactly opposite to each other, two and two. If in the stilly calmness of night, two persons place themselves in two opposite recesses (one in each), with their backs towards each other, and one of them whispers, the other will hear distinctly what he says. We may, without much impropriety, call those two recesses the two small ends of an oval, and that the whisperer is situated in one focus, and the listener in the other focus of that oval, and that the multiplied reflection produces a sound as loud as if the listener's ear were close to the speaker.

Great as this distance seems to be, it is much less than the diameter of the dome of St. Paul's, and yet a whisper uttered in the interior gallery of that stupendous dome is distinctly audible at the other side: this is due to two circumstances,-1st, the whisper. is reflected from side to side, and,-2nd, it is carried round the circular wall, and, therefore, not dissipated as it would be in the open air; for it is desirable here to observe, that if sound be prevented from spreading in one direction it will appear more

intense in another direction. Acting upon this prin- | ciple, (although it is very doubtful whether he could explain the cause of it,) the itinerant dealer in the public streets holds his open hand at the side of his mouth, while calling his wares for sale, in order that by acting as a wall it may carry the sound in any particular direction.

Mention is made of a clergyman in the country, who caused a concave surface, or sounding-board, to be placed behind him, in order that the sound of his voice might, after reflection from that surface, be carried to the remote end of his church; it was found, however, that his position in the pulpit was in the focus of that curved surface, and that the echoes returned to his own ear with a stunning effect, and it was found necessary to remove the sounding-board. Mention has been made more than once, of situations where the noise produced by a waterfall has been concentrated by the concave surface of a neighbouring cave, that a person accidentally bringing his ear into the focus, is suddenly astonished at the tremendous and apparently unaccountable roar of many waters. It is not an uncommon trick to place a chair in the cave in the focus, so as to invite the wearied stranger, who often exchanges his fatigue for perplexed astonishment.

The expanded sail of a ship, made concave by a gentle breeze, is often a good condenser of sound. It is related by Dr. Arnott, that a ship sailing along the coast of Brazil, far out of sight of land, the persons walking on deck, when passing a particular spot, heard very distinctly, during an hour or two, the sound of bells, varying as in human rejoicings. All on board came to listen, and were convinced, but the phenomenon was most mysterious. Months afterwards it was ascertained, that at the time of observation, the bells of the city of St. Salvador, on the Brazilian coast, had been ringing on the occasion of a festival; their sound, therefore, favoured by a gentle wind, had travelled over perhaps 100 miles of smooth water, and had been brought to a focus by the concave sail in the particular situation on the deck when it was listened to.

Before concluding, we may mention that Echoes will enable us to ascertain, with tolerable accuracy, the distance of an echoing surface from the person who produces the sound.

We have before stated, that sound travels at the rate of 1125 feet per second; if, therefore, a person utters a sound, and he hears its echo one second of time after the sound is produced, he will know that the sound has travelled 1125 feet, that is 562 to the echoing surface, and the same distanee back again.

The greatest number of distinct sounds that the ear can appreciate in one second, is about ten or twelve; beyond that number, they all seem to blend into one. If, therefore, a person were to utter ten syllables, or produce ten notes on a musical instrument in a second, and he could hear the Echo of the whole of these ten, he would know that the Echoing surface is not less than 562 feet from him: but if the Echo of the first notes reached him while he was producing the sixth, that would indicate a distance of only 281 feet, the half of the former. If the Echo of a single sound returned to him about 24 seconds after the sound was uttered, he would be able to calculate that the Echoing surface was about half a mile distant, and so of any other interval.

When Echoes are distinctly audible, it will generally be found that the distance between the reflecting surface and the ear of the observer, is not less than seventy or eighty feet; so that the sound, before it returns to the ear, travels not less than 140 or 160

feet.

Echoes are constantly occuring in all our apartments, and the reason that we do not hear them is, that as sound travels so quickly, it allows no appreciable interval of time between its motion from the mouth to the walls, and back again to the ear of the speaker, so that the original sound and its Echo become so blended as to appear only one sound. In very large rooms however, such as musicrooms, the separation of the original, and of the reflected sound, is often painfully evident. The best remedy appears to be to break the surface by mouldings and ornaments of various kinds.

The reason why thunder sometimes produces a sudden violent shock, and at other times, a rolling rumbling sound, is that in the latter case the original noise is echoed from cloud to cloud, and from cloud to earth, and that if large masses of cloud be situated at different distances from the hearer, he will hear a rapid succession of Echoes, those reaching him first which have the shortest distance to travel, and thus a lengthened sound is heard instead of a short and sudden sound.

It were much to be wished, that the timorous and superstitious feeling with which thunder is often regarded by the uneducated, were replaced by a more just, and cheerful tone of mind. Neither pure religion, nor a common course of reasoning, will justify the terror and mental dread so often experienced on the occasion. It should be regarded as one of those grand and sublime manifestations of the system by which the great Architect governs the worlds which he has created, and not merely as a means of striking terror into the hearts of his creatures. There is an inward monitor more powerful than thunder, which can better perform that office when necessary.

T.

THE laugh of the hyena greatly resembles that of a maniac, and has a startling effect as it steals through the still night, even under our windows, which it approaches in search of food. The power of imitation given to these animals is very extraordinary; for they not only cry like the quadruped whom they wish to lure within their reach, but they even seem to utter human sounds. The commandant of a fortress on the western coast of Africa assured a lady, that for several evenings he had been disturbed at his dinner-hour by the laughing and screaming of the native women, who passed under the walls in search of water. He sent his serjeant to them, who desired that they might take some other path, and they promised to obey. The highly irritated the commandant, and he desired the sernext evening, however, the noise was heard again, which jeant to lie in ambush on the third evening, and rushing suddenly out on them, with a few soldiers, secure the women, and bring them to him in the fortress. The men took their station as ordered, the laughing recommenced, and out they three hyenas standing in the path which had been fresallied, when to their great astonishment, they only saw quented by the women, and so well counterfeiting their voices, that they could not have been detected but by sight. These hyenas are not very formidable, and will, at any time, rather fly from, than attack a human being.

This species of the hyena are very common in American menageries, but they are so subdued and powerless, from keeper's eye, that they never manifest, as prisoners, any of constant confinement, and so fearfully watchful of the the peculiar imitative sounds which characterize them in their native regions.

WHEN the garden in the rising year begins to array itself in gold and purple-in youthful brilliancy, all nature joins in the scene of gladness. Twere ungrateful then for a man to stand alone in sullen apathy.-MAUND.

LONDON:

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS PRICE ONE PENNY, AND IN MONTHLY PARTS PRICE SIXPENCE.

Sold by all Booksellers and Newsvenders in the kingdom

WE concluded our last article with a notice of the Cathedral of Strasbourg; let us now proceed to the Church of St. Thomas, in which the most conspicuous object of curiosity is an elaborate monument to the memory of Marshal Saxe-it was the most celebrated production of Pegalle, and was erected at the expense of Louis the Fifteenth of France. Marshal Saxe was a great general, though rather a dissipated man, and his sovereign erected this monument,-not to the man, but to the general. The background of the monument is a broad, tall pyramid of grey marble, built against the wall of the church. The pyramid terminates below in a few steps, on the lowest of which is a sarcophagus. The marshal is represented in the act of descending the steps towards the tomb. On the right the symbolical animals of England, Austria, and Holland, are flying from him im in dismay; on the left, the banner of France is floating in triumph. The warrior's eye is fixed with an expression of tranquil contempt on a figure of Death standing below, thrusting out his raw head and bony arms from beneath a shroud. This figure is holding up to the marshal, in one hand, an hourglass, in which the sand has run out, and with the other, is opening the sarcophagus to receive him. VOL. XIV,

A female figure, representing France, throws herself between them, exerting herself at once to hold back the Marshal, and to thrust away death. On one side of the whole, a genius weeps over an inverted torch; and on the other is Hercules leaning on his club. The whole of these figures are as large as life; and are cut in marble.

The Town Hall is a large and noble structure, and has its façade ornamented with antique paintings. The edifices devoted to commercial purposes, though not elegant, are numerous and convenient, and fitted for the commerce of the town, which comprehends the usual description of imports, and the following exports :-corn, flax, hemp, wine, spirit, linen, sailcloth, blankets, carpets, hardware, leather, cotton, lace, tobacco, snuff, &c.

The Protestant academy is one of the best of that class in France: as a place of instruction it may rival the most celebrated in Germany. It possesses a good collection of philosophical instruments, and a museum of comparative anatomy, in which all the articles are arranged according to the most approved scientific method. There is a chemical laboratory, and a valuable collection of objects in different branches of natural history. Each faculty in the

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academyhas a separate library; but there are, besides, wo other libraries, one belonging to the observatory, and the other open to the public. The last-mentioned library contains 55,000 volumes; and as a relic of an honoured townsman, it is made the repository of the sword of General Kléber, and of the stiletto of his assassin.

The Medical School of Strasbourg, after being long an academy, was constituted an university in the seventeenth century. It was curtailed in the number and importance of its classes at the time of the French Revolution, but was replaced on its former footing in 1803. It was in the same year also that the Protestant University was established.

The once Royal Castle of Strasbourg, when Alsace was a province of political importance, is now the residence of the bishop.

There are perhaps few feelings more generally dif fused than an affectionate regard from the inhabitants of a particular town, towards any native of that place who may have raised himself in reputation for great or good actions. The truth seems to be, that the inhabitants feel as if part of the honour which devolves on the man, belongs to the town which gave him birth; and they feel proud in owning him as a brother townsman. Vanity may have something to do with this, but it is unquestionable that it is a kindly and praiseworthy feeling.

Strasbourg is not behind other cities in this respect. An obelisk to the memory of General Kléber is erected on a piece of ground near the town, at present a place for the exercise of artillery. Jean Baptiste Kléber was born at Strasbourg, in 1754. His father was a common labourer, and young Kléber was himself peacefully occupied as an architect, when the political events of the day turned his attention to a military life. From 1776 to 1783 he served in the Austrian army, against the Turks. Having entered as a simple grenadier, in a French volunteer corps, in 1792, his talents soon procured him notice; and, after the capture of Mayence, he was made General of Brigade. It is to the credit of Kléber, that although he continued to serve in the French army, he openly disapproved of the atrocities which were too often witnessed at Paris. He joined Napoleon in the Egyptian expedition, and so distinguished himself, that when Napoleon returned to Europe, he left Kléber in command of the French army. Here he had to contend against countless difficulties, and at last fell a victim to the stiletto of a Turkish assassin, on the 14th of June, 1800. The Strasbourgers, proud of the man who had raised himself from the rank of a peasant to that of commander of an army, erected an obelisk to the memory of their townsman.

There is also an obelisk to the memory of General Desaix, which rises behind the citadel, on an island opposite the village of Kehl. This spot seems to have been selected from the circumstance that in November, 1796, he greatly distinguished himself by his defence of the bridge at Kehl, while serving under Moreau, in the army of the Rhine.

Another distinguished native of Strasbourg, was General Kellerman, who was born there in 1735. He was a general in the French army, and one of the few who survived the eventful period of the revolution; and, when he died in 1820, ordered his heart to be buried on the field of Valmy, where he had greatly distinguished himself twenty-eight years before.

If we quit the arena of warfare, and enter upon the more tranquil and pleasing subject of mental improvement, we find Strasbourg to be distinguished as the first place in which the art of printing was carried

on with moveable types. John Gutenberg, whose real name was Henne Gaüsefleisch von Sorgenloch, was born in 1396 at a small village near Mentz, When a young man, he became implicated in an insurrection of the citizens of Mentz against the nobility, and he was forced to flee to Strasbourg. In 1436 he entered into a contract with Andrew Dreizehn, and others, binding himself to teach them certain secret arts, and to employ them for their common advantage. The death of Dreizehn, which happened soon after, frustrated the proceedings of the company, which is supposed to have had reference to the art of printing. Gutenberg became involved in lawsuits, but at last succeeded, in partnership with Faust, a rich citizen of Mentz, in putting his noble discovery into execution. But an interested party opposed itself to his progress, and succeeded in driving him from the town in exile, -a fate which too much resembles that of many other benefactors of mankind. Posterity has acknowledged his merits by erecting, in 1837, a splendid monument to his memory at Mentz.

The management of the Charitable Institutions, as well as prison discipline, at Strasbourg, is said to be highly creditable to the good sense and good feeling of the inhabitants, and worthy of the imitation of other towns.

There is perhaps no town either in France or in Germany, in which the manners, customs, and languages of both nations are more mingled together than at Strasbourg. There are many reasons for this. Strasbourg is the most eastern town in France, and is only separated from Germany by the width of the Rhine; the common intercourse of persons on the opposite sides of a river, for the purposes of commerce, would alone be sufficient to occasion a considerable admixture of customs in the place. But there are other circumstances tending to the same point. Strasbourg is altogether a German name, and the town formed a part of Germany for many centuries,-hence its German associations. On the other hand it has formed part of the territory of France for the last hundred and fifty years, and therefore has necessarily imbibed a large share of French manners. It appears, in this, as in many similar instances, that the wealthier part of the inhabitants adopt the modes and speak the language of the court to which they belong, while the humbler classes adhere, to a considerable extent, to the language and manners of their forefathers. This seems to be the case in Strasbourg: the educated inhabitants speak French, while the more simple and humble adhere to their original German.

The same mixture of two nations is visible in the diet and modes of cooking. Mr. Russell, speaking from a personal visit to Strasbourg, thus remarks on this subject :-" At Strasbourg you may dine on dishes as impenetrably disguised, or languish over entremets as nearly refined away to nothing, as at the tables of the great Parisian rivals, Very and Vegours ; or, on the other side of the street, for half the money, you may have German fat, plain boiled beef, and some cabbage. The German kitchen is essentially a plain, solid, greasy kitchen: it has often by far too much of the last quality. People of rank, indeed, in the great capitals, are as mad on French cookery, as the most delicate of their equals in London; but the national cookery, in its general character, is the very reverse of that of France; and it is by no means certain that the national cookery of a people may not have some connexion with its national character. The German justly prides himself on the total absence of parade, on the openness, plainness and sincerity which marks his character; accordingly he boils his