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1. King Alfred's Lantern. 2. Cresset used by the old Watch. 3. Method of Lighting Old London. 4. The Moon; an old description of Lantern. (See page 204.) tion of water clock. Another clock on a service. Many of the preachers in former similar principle consisted of a funnel filled times measured their discourses by the hourwith water which was allowed to escape glass. A well known preacher being trouinto a receiver; as the water ran from the bled with a congregation which was partly funnel its passage was registered either on addicted to intemperance, having employed the funnel or the receiver, and thus they the time of the running of one glass, said— had another modification of the water clock." and now speaking of the indulgence in The Romans, however, who went to Greece strong drinks, let us, dear brethren, take "nobs" went to college, picked up another glass;" and turning the sand upsome of their science as well as their tongue, wards proceeded to improve the occasion. and as the dwarf on the giant's shoulders can see farther than the giant himself, they (the Romans) constructed a water dial that showed the hours by the rise or fall of a float and rod bearing upon a pinion that carried the hour hand round the dial plate. Hour-glasses are of more recent date, we meet with drawings of them in Saxon and other ancient illuminated books, and were once familiar things in most households; on the pulpits and in some conspicuous parts of the churches the hour-glass was placed for The introduction of clocks and watches the purpose of regulating the length of the have caused these old hour-glasses to be

But few of the hour-glasses and the stands on which they were placed now remain. In the London churches we know but one which is left in its original position; and in the country districts, this instrument tur telling the time is very rarely to be met with. Many of the stands, some of beautiful hand wrought iron work remain, and persons who have charge of those places often do not know the purposes to which they have been put.

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amongst the things of the past; they are, however, still carefully kept by the curious. Some beautiful examples of workmanship has been bestowed on these objects, which are of the date of from the reign of Henry the VIIth to that of Queen Elizabeth, when clocks began to be placed in numbers of the churches. In the works. of Skakespeare and other contemporary dramatists and poets, frequent allusions are made to the hour-glass-that silent chronicler of passing time. Clocks are, also, referred to by Shakespeare, who made Sir John Falstaff fight a good hour by Shrewsbury clock, "if he may be believed." In the reign of Henry the IVth, we believe that there was no clock to be heard in the picturesque and ancient town of Shrewsbury.

LIGHTING OLD LONDON.

great, for it depended on the will of each citizen whether they hung out a lighted lantern or not. Certain of the parishes finding the evils which arose from the want of light, [caused standards to be raised in important situations, on which were raised fire grates, which, in the absence of the moon, blazed during the night. In consequence of the numerous robberies, murders, and other crimes, which were so constantly occurring, it was enacted that each inhabitant should be obliged to hang a lantern at his door, in the manner shown in the engraving. Notwithstanding the evident benefit which resulted from the improved manner of lighting, which proved that this arrangement rendered life and property more safe than the example of the gallows, many were obstinate and refused to comply with this necessary regulation.

The words of the enactment referred to, ordered that "lanterns should be hung out." Some complied with the letter of the lantern without candle.

The lantern said to have belonged to king Alfred, and which is certainly of contemporary date with the reign of this famous English monarch, is still preserved at Ox-law, and put out ford, and is a curious example of ancient English workmanship.

It is mentioned that Alfred the Great suggested the use of candles for the purpose of measuring time, as the buildings of that date were less perfectly built than they are in these days, the cracks in the wood work, &c. allowing currents of air to pass freely about, would by blowing the candles prevent them from burning with any certainty; it is, therefore, evident that in order to make candles in any way useful as time measurers, that they must be protected from drafts by lanterns, and it is supposed that the lantern now engraved has been used for this purpose.

The globe like lantern, called "the Moon," is still preserved, and was formerly carried on state occasions, at night time, before the members of the corporation of Chichester. There was another lantern of similar construction, but larger than this, called the Sun, which was kept exclusively for the use of the mayor.

In remote country places it has a singular effect upon those accustomed to the glare of the gas lights to wander into the dark streets, and yet the chief towns of the kingdom were in a similar condition a little more than forty years ago. Then lanterns and torch lights were necessary institutions, and many a picturesque scene was formed in the old fashioned days-at the times of assizes and on other important occasions. In other periods, in London, when there was no regular enactment for the lighting of the metropolis, the inconvenience was

In order to remedy this another enactment was made, which directed that "lanterns and candles should be hung out." This was not found to be sufficient, for those who delighted in using ingenuity in stopping improvement, hung out their lanterns and candles, but without lighting them; and it was necessary to issue a third order to the effect, that "lanterns with lighted candles should be used for lighting the streets." This spirit seems curious, but it is still present and exhibits itself in the opposition to those sanitary and social improvements which the advanced intelligence of the age has shewn to be necessary.

The Cressets carried by the old London watch are now preserved as curiosities in the Tower. These and the horn lanterns and other means of street lighting, were generally driven out of use by the introduction of the globular glass lamps lighted with oil, about Queen Anne's reign; the latter, like those less perfect methods which have preceded them, has now been driven out of use by the more brilliant power of gas light.

THE SANCHI TOPE.

Under the name of topes are included the most important class of Buddhist architecture in India. They consist of detached pillars, towers, and tumuli, all of a sacred or monumental character. The word is a corruption of the Sanscrit sthupa, meaning a mound, heap, or cairn.

By far the finest as wel as the most perfect tope in India is that of Sanchi, the

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these were laid a coating of cement nearly 4 inches in thickness, which was, no doubt, originally adorned either with painting or ornaments in relief.

principal one of those opened near Bilsah, | exterior is faced with dressed stones. Over in Central India. It is uncertain whether it ever contained relics or not, as it had been dug into in 1819 by Sir Herbert Maddock, since which time it has remained a ruin, and may have been plundered by the natives. At any rate it must have been a spot of peculiar sanctity, judging both from its own magnificence, and from the number of subordinate topes grouped around it. In fact there are a greater number of these monuments on this spot, within a space not exceeding 17 miles, than there are, so far at least as we now know, in the whole of India from the Sutlej to Cape Comorin.

The general appearance of the Sanchi Tope will be understood from the annexed view of it. The principal building consists of a dome somewhat less than a hemisphere, 106 feet in diameter, and 42 feet in height, with a platform on the top 34 feet across, which originally formed the basis of the tee or capital, which was the invariable finish of these monuments.

The dome rests on a sloping base, 14 feet in height by 120 in diameter, having an offset on its summit about 6 feet wide. This, if we may judge from the representations of topes on the sculptures, must have been surrounded by the balustrade, and was ascended by a broad double ramp on one side. It was probably used for processions encircling the monument, which seems to have been among the most common Buddhist ceremonials. The centre of this great mound is quite solid, being composed of bricks laid in mud; but the

The fence by which this tope is surrounded is extremely curious. It consists of stone posts 8 ft. 8 inches high, and little more than 2 ft. apart. These are surmounted by a plain architrave, 2 ft. 4 in. deep, slightly rounded at the top. So far this enclosure resembles the outer circle at Stonehenge; but between every two uprights three horizontal cross-pieces of stone are inserted of an elliptical form, of the same depth as the top piece, but only 9 in. thick in the thickest part. This is the only built example yet discovered of an architectural ornament which is found carved in every cave, and, indeed, in almost every ancient Buddhist building known in India. The upright posts or pillars of this enclosure bear inscriptions indicating that they were all given by different individuals.

Still more curious, however, than even the stone railing are the four gateways. One of these is shown in our view. It consists of two square pillars, covered with sculptures, with bold elephant capitals, rising to a height of 18 ft. 4 in,; above this are three lintels, slightly curved upwards in the centre, and ending in Ionic scrolls; they are supported by continuations of the columns, and three uprights inserted in the spaces between the lintels. They are covered with elaborate sculptures, and surmounted by emblems. The total height is 33 ft. 6 n.

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ONCE upon a time there grew beneath the waters of the sea a delicate looking little plant. It had a spreading base, and a stem, surmounted by many branches; yet so tiny were its dimensions, that the piece of gold which mortals call a "sovereign," would be sufficient to cover half a dozen such miniature trees. There it grew, surrounded by the strange and varied forms that deck the ocean bed, and visited by divers creatures that crept or swam at pleasure. Here the noise of the tempest never penetrated, and the sea at that region of depth was at all seasons calm as a sleeping infant. Yet the little tree was not content. It longed to see those wonders of which it had only heard. It wished to rise to the surface, and feel the rippling breeze as it passed along, and to know from its own experience what was meant by "tossing billows." It had heard from a communicative beroë, of the glories of a summer sky, and a diminutive jelly-fish had told of the starry splendour of an autumn night. A star-fish had given origin to a rumour that there was a limit to the waters of the ocean; and a crab, who had been a great traveller, asserted, that he had walked upon the place where the sea ended, and what he called "land" began; but this was set down on all hands as a traveller's story. The discontent of the little tree increased; and we all know that this is a feeling which " grows by what it feeds on." It sought out information about its predecessors, and the collateral branches of its family; but what it learned rather increased its dejection, for it discovered that some ancient members of the family had been giants, compared with its own diminutive proportions. This went on for some time, until one of those beneficent seanymphs, that had not then forsaken the waters of our globe, asked it so kindly what were its troubles, that the little tree made a frank and full confession of them all. "I cannot," said the compassionate nymph, cause your root to loosen, and bid you and your posterity be free; neither can I restore to you the stature that other members of your race enjoyed in an earlier period of this earth's history; but what lies within the compass of my power shall be done. I

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shall remove from your stem the spreading head with all its arms uninjured. I shall endow it with new life, and give it powers of motion, so that it may rise to meet the upper air, swim where it listeth, and even visit the boundary of the sea, though perilous it is to do so. I give to you power of growth, that your arms may increase to fifty times their present size. These gifts shall be continued to your offspring; but each of them must, like yourself, pass the early stages of its life fixed to one spot, and present the same tree-like aspect that you yourself exhibit." The nymph smote with her wand the upper part of the stem; it broke off-ten boughs, suddenly gifted with power and flexibility, became converted into arms; the head of the little tree changed into a swimming animal, and went on its way rejoicing. Its progeny, to this

Fig. 36.

day, assume at first the plant-like appear. ance of their parents, and at &ertain state of maturity are changed, like it, into free and independent creatures.

Some Fadladeen of criticism may, perhaps, exclaim-What nonsense is all this! Why should the pages of the Family Friend be occupied with a nursery tale? Pardon, most learned critic; I have, under the guise of a fairy tale, been telling some of the sober facts of science.

The foregoing figure (Fig. 36) is the little tree in its young state; you may count, if you please, its ten spreading arms; or, to speak more correctly, five arms, that become forked near the base, and appear as ten. The other figure (Fig. 37) is the animal in its mature condition, at which time it is known to naturalists as the "Rosy

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Fig. 37.

Not only is my tale true as regards the changes which the present race undergoes, but true also as to the dimensions of those that lived in remoter periods of the world.

as we went along, when suddenly I was desired to look at some curious little things that were waving amid the common coralline of the pools. I did so; and found the were the arms of a small-sized star-fish (Ophiocoma neglecta). Many of my readers may not have the opportunity of seeking for them in such situations, yet by enlisting the aid of their cook, they may now and then procure species of great rarity. One of these, a minute species, with long arms and a body only one-eighth of an inch in diameter (Ophiocoma punctata), is thus mentioned by Professor Forbes, in his History of British Star-fishes:

"The stomachs of fishes are often zoological treasuries. The haddock is a great conchologist. In his travels through the country of the mermaids, he picks up many curiosities in the shell way. Not a few rare species have been discovered by him; and the ungrateful zoologist too frequently describes novelties, without an allusion to the original discoverer. As haddocks are not in the habit of writing pamphlets or papers, the fraud remains undiscovered. They lived and died rooted to one spot; greatly to the detriment of science; for had and large tracts of land are composed wholly the describer stated to whom he was inof their remains. The beautiful appearance debted for his specimens, we could form their skeletons present, has caused them to some idea of its habitat and history, whebe popularly known as "Stone-lilies." The ther littoral or deep sea-very important naturalist adopts the idea, and entitles them points in the economy of Mollusca-im"Crinoid," that is to say, "Lily-like" portant not only to the malacologist, but star-fishes. All possessing a similar struc- also to the geologist. Like the haddock, ture, whether fixed like those of Old Time, the cod also is a great naturalist; and he on our own coasts, and some tropical species too carries his devotion to our dear science yet living; or fast-moored at one period, so far, as occasionally to die for its sake, and free at another, like those now found in with a new species in his stomach; probably European seas, are included in this family. with a view to its being described and The arms are composed of perforated cal- figured by some competent authority. The careous joints, which when found as fossils, cod is not so much devoted to the Mollusca and in detached fragments, are known by as to the Echinodermata; and doubtless his the common English name of "Wheel-knowledge of the Ophiuræ exceeds that of stones;" and in some parts of the north of England, by that of "St. Cuthbert's Beads."

The Star-fishes belonging to the next family have a roundish central body, and five long tapering arms, each of which bears some resemblance to the tail of a serpent. From this circumstance the name Ophiuride has been applied to the group; the word ophiura meaning a serpent's tail. These star-fishes differ exceedingly in size; and some of them are so small, that if the creature would be so obliging as to pull in his arms when you desired it, a silver fourpence would cover the body and the five tapering arms. One evening towards sunset, I was strolling with some children on the beach, prying into the little rock-pools

any biped. He has a great taste for that tribe. It was a cod that communicated the pretty little species I am about to describe, to my friend, Mr. Henry Goodsier, at Anstruther; and as far as that gentleman could learn, it would appear the industrious animal had observed and entrapped this new Ophiocoma in the North Sea, near the Dogger Bank.'

But although some star-fishes may be got in rock pools, and some may be found "quietly inurned" within the stomach of fishes, the great field on which they are to be sought is the ocean bed. By means of the dredge figured at page 47, you may be able to examine them in their living state. One of the most abundant species in certain localities, is that represented in fig. 38.

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