Poetry. LINES ADDRESSED TO MISS B, ON THE DAY OF HER NUPTIALS. The cloud at length hath pass'd away That veil'd this heart of mine, On hearts thus bright with joy, Should beam but to destroy; As sorrow but more closely clings To breasts which shrink not from its stings. I lov'd thee! how these words recal Too bright, too fair to last, They're sunk to earth, but why should I The fires that in my bosom burn, Which rose from Friendship's broken urn,- BALLAD STANZAS. Fare thee well, and for ever! I once thought thee kind; I lov'd but the more, when the tempest wild raved, Fare thee well, and 'mong troops of the reckless and gay, THEY KNOW NOT MY HEART. [From Moore's New Melodies.] They know not my heart, who believe there can be G. ON THE DEATH OF MR. JOHN BOLTON (FORMERLY OF CHESTER-LE- I hope he's landed on the Elysian shore. It might be written for the world to read- I held a friendship with this man in life, In death his skill can hardly be diminish'd; 2 3 The literal translation of this Round is:-Arise, shepherds, the cuckoo sings; and already the heavens announce to us a new morning. Miscellanies. THE KING AND LORD BYRON. The story of the Prince Regent's gracious notice of Lord Byron, and the singular return it met with, is not a little characteristic. The occurrence took place in 1811, and is thus related in Mr. Dallas's Recollections of Lord Byron: Lord Byron (says Mr. D.) was the wonder of gray. beards, and the show of fashionable parties. At one of these, he happened to go early, when there were very few persons assembled; the Regent went in soon after; Lord Byron was at some distance from him in the room. On being informed who he was, his Royal Highness sent a gentleman to him to desire that he would be presented. The presentation, of course, took place: the Regent expressed his admiration of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and continued a conversation, which so fascinated the Poet, that, had it not been for an accidental deferring of the next lever, he bade fair to become a visitor at Carltonhouse, if not a complete courtier. Defoe-In the centre of Whitechapel market is a little dirty alley, called Harrow-alley, opposite to which is a hair-dresser's shop, kept by Mr. Lunsun. In this house, above 150 years ago, dwelt that prince of wits and excellent man, Daniel Defoe; here he wrote that much-read, and excellent moral work, Robinson Crusoe, and here he wrote a memorable melancholy journal of the plague in London, of which he was an eye-witness.-Economist. Amongst all the inventions of human wit, there is none more admirable than writing; by means whereof a man may copy out his very thoughts, utter his mind without opening his mouth, and signify his pleasure at a thousand miles distance, and this by the help of twenty-four letters. The several ways of combining these letters amount, as Clarus, the Jesuit, has taken the pains to compute, to 5,852,616,738,497,664,000 ways. The autograph of Edward, the Black Prince, which antiquaries have been in search of for many years, has at length been found on the roll of the Artillery Company, where the names and hand-writing of some of the most illustrious patriots and heroes of early times are inscribed. "I called on him on the morning for which the levee Fad been appointed, and found him in a full dress court-posted up near the Law Courts in Westminster, that not Increase of Attorneys.—It appears, from the notices suit of clothes, with his fine black hair in powder, which fewer than 154 persons intend to apply in the approaching by no means suited his countenance. I was surprised, as term to be admitted as attorneys at law. Of these, seven He had not told me that he should go to Court; and it eemed to me as if he thought it necessary to apologize for been attorneys before. are applications for re-admission from parties who have His intention, by his observing, that he could not in decency but do it, as the Regent had done him the honour to say that he hoped to see him soon at Carlton-house. In spite of his assumed philosophical contempt of royalty, and of his decided junction with the opposition, he had not been able to withstand the powerful operation of royal praise; which, however, continued to influence him only till flattery of a more congenial kind diverted him from the enjoyment of that which, for a moment, he was disposed to receive. The levee had been suddenly put off, and he was dressed before he was informed of the altera-pectation, returned safe and sound. tion which had taken place. "It was the first and the last time he was ever so dressed, at least for a British Court. A newly-made friend of his • Lord Byron was more than half prepared to yield to this influence; and the harsh verses that proceeded from his pen, were, I believe, composed more to humour his new friend's passions than his own. Certain it is, he gave up all ideas of appearing at Court, and fell into the habit of peaking disrespectfully of the Prince." At the siege of St. Jean d'Acre, in Egypt, Bonaparte had three aides-de-camp, or officers, killed in advancing with his orders to the same point. It was necessary to send a fourth. He had no officers near him but Eugene Beau harnois and Lavalette; he called the latter, and without being overheard by the former, said to him, "Il faut y aller; je ne veux pas y envoyer cet enfunt, et le faire tuer si jeune; sa mere me l'a confié; vous savez ce que c'est que la vie." Lavalette set off, and, contrary to every ex Natural Curiosity.-Mr.Gall, chemist, of Woodbridge, has in his possession a toad and a mouse, which were discovered in a garden a day or two since. It appears, from the manner in which they were found, that they had killed each other in battle. The toad, in trying to subdue his enemy, has several wounds; and the mouse, which was fastened on the toad's back, with his teeth near the jaws, is supposed to have died from the reptile's poison. The ladies of Paris formerly, in order to keep their bouquets fresh, placed the stems in a small tin funnel, filled with water, and covered with green ribbon. It was found, however, that colds and sore throats were the consequences of the occasional overturning of these reservoirs, and the nosegays were left to their fate. late Mr. Kirkland, surgeon, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, which, A provincial paper advertises the "Museum" of the among other articles of vertu, contains "many halters used in the execution of noted characters." hazel eye. Dr. Harvey told me it was like the eye of a "Lord Bacon," says Aubrey, "had a delicate, lively, viper." Buried Forest.—At Lawrence Park, four miles beyond Linlithgow, there is a piece of ground lower than the adjoining country, and covered with moss, but tolerably dry, which the proprietor has opened with the view of forming a pond. About four feet under the surface a great number of large trees have been discovered, which wood is still fresh and fit for use; and there has also been the country people have pronounced to be oak. The found, strewed upon the soil, among the trees, a vast quanity of nuts, conceived to be those of the hazel. They are te empty; but have preserved their form very perfectly. It is much to be wished that this curious deposit were examined by some well-informed geologist, who ould be able to note facts and circumstances which escape common observer. It is, for instance, of much imporHow to arrive at Perfection-Regularly read the sporting nce to know whether the trees lie confusedly, in all diactions, with roots some higher some lower in the soil. Sunday newspapers-visit the fancy houses-blow your steamer every night at a lush crib-associate with its freThis would indicate that successive forests have grown up nd fallen to the ground, one after another, from natural quenters-wear a poodle upper benjamin, mother-of-pearl decay or common accident. But if the tops of these trees buttons, a lilly shallow, and a bird's-eye wipe-chaff at Il point in one direction, this would show that the forest the Fives Court, and be present at the mills-carefully ad been levelled, at once, by some great catastrophe, mix up all the slang phrases in your ordinary conversation much as a sudden irruption of vast currents of water.call a shilling a bob-a coachman a Jarvie your uncle or your father a rum old cove; and if you find yourself at a loss, take half a dozen lessons from any Paddington stagecoachman; you cannot fail becoming a perfect BLACKGUARD.-London paper. Scotoman. A gentleman in Edinburgh is in possession of the cap which the Earl of Argyle, who was beheaded in 1685, upon an iniquitous sentence, wore upon the scaffold. It is of white satin, lined with linen, and having a border beauti fully wrought. It is also much stained with the blood which flowed from the veins of the noble martyr. The gentleman is a Tory, but feels a profound and becoming veneration for this sad relic of one of Scotland's greatest and most upright patriots. Numerous Family.—According to an authority quoted by Browne Willis, Dame Hester Temple, wife of Sir Thomas Temple, Lord of the Manor of Stow, lived to sec above 700 of her own descendants, among whom are no fewer than nine daughters, all married to gentlemen of good fortunes and families. She was born at Latimers, in 1569, and died in 1656." General Otway had been many years in the service; during which time several junior Colonels had got regiments over his head. He was at length prevailed upon, by his friends, to state his case to his Majesty George III by petition, and employed the chaplain of the regiment to draw up the document. This was accordingly done; but observing that it concluded with the words" and your petitioner shall ever pray," he told the chaplain he had made a mistake, and imagined he was presenting a petition from himself; and he insisted on the word fight, for pray, which was accordingly done" and your petitioner shall ever fight." The King was amused with the honest bluntness of the old officer, and soon conferred upon him the command of a regiment. Planting Trees.-He who plants trees upon his paternal estate, repays a debt to his posterity which he owes to his ancestors. A gentleman, whose lands were more extensive than fertile, used to plant 1000 trees, on the birth of every daughter, upon his waste grounds, which were, on an average, worth one pound each, on her coming of age; thus enabling him to give her a fortune of £1000 without any extraordinary economy on his part, the regular thinning of the trees, at proper seasons, with barking, &c. paying off all the current expenses, besides yielding him a small rent for the land. In the year 1758, ninety-two fir trees were planted upon a piece of ground, about three-quarters of an acre in extent. The land was waste and poor; no extra expense was incurred, and no further attention was paid to the young trees. In 1813 they were cut down, and yielded ninety tons of timber, then worth £4 per ton, giving a round sum of £360, which years. Can a more convincing proof be given of the faciwas equal to a rent of £6 10s. during the intervening 55 lity with which a man may save a fortune for his grandchildren? The remains of a whale have been found, four feet deep, property that had been covered with moss. under the carse clay at Blair-drummond, on a part of the We underbones to Edinburgh, to be placed in the museum.-Sterstand it is the intention of the proprietor to remove the ling Journal. American Spider.-[From the Mirror, printed at Hart. ford, Connecticut.]-We found, the other day, the following remarkable account of the feats of a spider:-" One day, last week, the workman of Mr. Peck's machine factory, in Southington, discovered under one of the benches, a black snake, of the white-throat species, and about six inches long, suspended by the web of a spider. The spider was of the common house sort, and not uncommonly large. When first discovered, the little insect had raised its victim about half a foot from the floor, and had hung him by a single thread. The ingenuity and power of the spider were truly wonderful. Passing rapidly down his line, he back to his own nest, on the under surface of the bench, would fasten his cordage round the neck of the snake, pass then, going again down, cast a hitch' around the tail, and, returning to his nest, would avail himself of the con tortions of the snake, alternately hauling up his lines, so as to bring his game nearer home. In this manner he continued his labour until evening, leaving the snake alive, but so completely exhausted and secured as to be safe for the night: in the morning it was dead." Cæsar, having married a young lady called Rome, a wag A Pun from Germany.-A young man, of the name of wrote upon his door, "Cave, Casar, ne tua Roma fiat republica. The Albanians have a very extraordinary method of killing fowls; seizing the animal by the neck, they dash head in their hands, separated from the body, which for it down with so sudden and violent a jerk as leaves the some time runs about the yard with a stream of blood running from the trunk.-Hughes's Travels in Greece. the sixth day, at nine in the morning; that he fell about Precision.-Lightfoot says, that Adam was created on noon, that being the time of eating; and that Christ was promised about three o'clock in the afternoon! Change of Rings.-Two lovers bound themselves by mutual faith to separate during the latter part of the seven years' war; they agreed, however, to consider themselves as engaged, and accordingly exchanged rings, and swore eternal and inviolable constancy. On the ring of the lady, which she had given her lover, were the follow. ing letters: A. I. L. T. N. A. F. A. Alas! I languish truly; now, adored friend, adieu. Hold thy faith thy pains endure. After an absence of eighteen months, the officer returned at the end of the war, in expectation of marrying the lady, but found her wedded to another. He went to her, to reproach her with her infidelity, but was received with raillery. On his mention of the ring, and the verses on it, she desired him to read the letters backwards on the ring she had given him, and he would find their true meaning Adieu for ayé; no true lover is absent. On hearing this he was so enraged, that he begged the same favour of her to read his ring likewise in the inverse order of the letters, and she would also discover their true signification. Egregious perfidy! thou'rt false, thou harlot !--Portfolio. Fast and Loose.-A person at a public dinner, whose masticating powers appeared not at all deficient, complained to one who sat near him, of several of his teeth being loose; "I am much surprised at what you say," replied his friend, "for you seem to eat with them very fast." The man who played the flute, by some accident broke it while in the orchestra of Covent-garden Theatre; Edwin, running into the Green-room, cried out, "Poor fellow, poor fellow!"" What's the matter, my dear Edwin?" eried Mrs. Webb. "Why, Madam," rejoined Edwin, "poor Mr. has just split his wind-pipe.” An actor of some humour was pressed by his tailor for the payment of a long bill. The debtor declared himself to be in what he called a state of impecuniosity. This being the case, the tailor very modestly asked for a bond, which the other expressed his readiness to grant, provided the matter was kept a secret. When the bond was produced, it was indignantly torn, and thrown in the tailor's face. "You rascal," said the enraged comedian, "you promised to keep the affair a secret, and now your paper begins, "Know all men by these presents!" A young sea nymph of Folkstone, whose father obtains a livelihood by ploughing the briny deep, was asked a few days since if she knew the names of the seasons of the year. The girl very readily replied "Yes, there are four,the Mackarel Season-the Whiting Season-the Herring Season-the Trawling Season."-Kent Herald. Mr. Smith. Every body knows that Smith is a very Common name, but hardly any body would have thought of turning its commonness to account in such a queer and cruel way as a "gentleman" did the other night at one of the theatres. Entering the pit at half-price, and finding every seat occupied, he bawled out-"Mr. Smith's house is on fire!" In an instant twenty Mr. Smiths rushed out of the pit, and the wicked wag, chuckling at the succes of his stratagem, coolly took possession of one of their vacated seats. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The great importance and almost universal interest attached to the new act, which, in May next, will effect ■ radical change in the weights and measures of Great Britain, has induced us to spare no pains to prepare the public for a great change, which, as we have already observed, will, at first, occasion much trouble and inconvenience, both to the legislature and to the community at large. The following abstract of the act carefully prepared, together with the original letters on the subject, have already appeared in the Liverpool Mercury; and, as ar supplemental half-sheet affords us the opportunity of presenting them to the readers of the Kaleidoscope, we ball avail ourselves of that facility. Whereas it is necessary for the security of commerce, and for the good of the community, that weights and meares should be just and uniform: and whereas notwithtanding it is provided by the great charter, that there shall be but one measure and one weight throughout the realm, and by the treaty of union between England and Scotland, that the same weights and measures should be used throughout Great Britain as were then established in England, yet different weights and measures, some larger, and some less, are still in use in various places throughout the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the no measure of the present standards is not verily known, which is the cause of great confusion and manifest frauds: of which, as aforesaid, the Imperial standard Troy pound 1. That from and after the first day of May, 1825, the 3. And whereas it is expedient that the said standard yard, if lost, destroyed, defaced, or otherwise injured, should be restored of the same length by reference to some invariable natural standard; and whereas it has been ascertained by the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the subject of weights and measures, that the said yard, hereby declared to be the Imperial standard yard, when compared with a pendulum vibrating seconds of mean time in the latitude of London, in a vacuum at the level of the sea, is in the proportion of thirty-six inches to thirty-nine inches and one thousand three hundred and ninety-three ten thousandth parts of an inch; be it therefore enacted and declared, that if at any time hereafter the said Imperial standard yard shall be lost, or shall be in any manner destroyed, defaced, or otherwise injured, it shall and may be restored by making, under the direction of the Lord High Treasurer, or the Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or any three of them, for the time being, a new standard yard, bearing the same proportion to such pendulum as aforesaid, as the said Imperial standard yard bears to such pendulum. 4. That from and after the first day of May, 1825, the standard brass weight of one pound Troy weight, made in the year 1758, now in the custody of the clerk of the House of Commons, shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, the original and genuine standard measure of weight, and that such brass weight shall be, and is hereby denominated, the Imperial standard Troy pound, and shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, the unit or only standard measure of weight, from which all other weights shall be derived, computed, and ascertained; and that one-twelfth part of the said Troy pound shall be an ounce; and that one twentieth part of such ounce shall be a penny-weight; and that one twenty-fourth part of such penny-weight shall be a grain; so that 5760 such be, and they are hereby declared to be, a pound avoirdugrains shall be a Troy pound, and 7000 such grains shall pois, and that one sixteenth part of the said pound avoirdupois shall be an ounce avoirdupois, and that onc. sixteenth part of such ounce shall be a dram. 5. And whereas it is expedient, that the said standard Troy pound, if lost, destroyed, defaced, or otherwise injured, should be restored of the saine weight, by reference to some invariable natural standard; and whereas it has been ascertained by the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the subject of weights and measures, that a cubic inch of distilled water, weighed in air by brass weights, at the temperature of 62 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, the barometer being at 30 inches, is equal to two hundred and fifty-two grains and four hundred and fifty-eight thousandth parts of a grain, 7. That the standard measure of capacity for coal, culm, lime, fish, potatoes, or fruit, and all other good and things commonly sold by heaped measure, shall be the aforesaid bushel, containing 80 pounds avoirdupois a water as aforesaid, the same being made round, with plain and even bottom, and being nineteen inches and half from outside to outside, of such standard measure a aforesaid. 8. That in making use of such bushel, all coals, and other goods and things commonly sold by heaped mea sure, shall be duly heaped up in such bushel, in the form of a cone, such cone to be of the height of at least six inches, and the outside of the bushel to be the extremity of the base of such cone; and that three bushels shall be a sack, and that twelve such sacks shall be a chaldron. 9. Provided always, and be it enacted, that any con tracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, made or had for or with respect to any coals, culm, lime, fish, potatoes, fruit, and all other goods and things commonly sold by heaped measure, sold, delivered, done, or agreed for, or to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for, by weight measure, shall and may be either according to the said standard of weight, or the said standard for heaped m sure; but all contracts, bargains, sales, and dealing made or had for any other goods, wares, or merchandi or other thing done or agreed for, or to be sold, delivered done, or agreed for by weight or measure, shall be ma and had according to the said standard of weight, or to t said gallon, or the parts, multiples, or proportions theref and in using the same, the measures shall not be heaped but shall be stricken with a round stick or roller, straight and of the same diameter from end to end. 10. Provided always, and be it enacted, that noth herein contained shall authorize the selling in Ireland, measure, of any articles, matters, or things, which b law in force in Ireland are required to be sold by veg only. 11. That copies and models of each of the said standard yard, pound, gallon, and heaped measure, &c. shall within direction of the Commissioners of the Treasury, and be three months from the passing the act, be made under the deposited in the Exchequer, and copies thereof sent to the Lord Mayor of London, the Chief Magistrates of Edinburgh and Dublin, and to such other places and perd as the said Commissioners shall direct. 12. That the justices of the peace in every county, ding, or division, in England, Ireland, or Scotland, and the magistrates in every city, town, or place, in England or Ireland, and in every city or royal burgh in Scotland, shall, within six months from the passing the act, purchase copies and models of the aforesaid standards, to be kept and produced by the keeper thereof upon reasonable netic in writing given by the person requiring it, and paying the reasonable charges of the same. 14. Provided always, and be it enacted, that is all set No. 11, TO THE EDITOR ANONYMOUS. of dispute respecting the correctness of any measure of ca- same denomination; that is to say, certain ancient statutes the customary weight of the kingdom, and had precedence of pacity, arising in a place where recourse cannot be con- or ordinances made previous to the reign of King Edward troy weight. veniently had to any of the aforesaid verified copies or the Third, but being of uncertain date, intituled or known Government has now established, by the late Act of Parmodels of the standard measures of capacity, or parts or by the names or descriptions following: "Assisa Panis et liament, the certainty of these two weights, but from a difmultiples of the same, it shall and may be lawful to and Cervisia," or " The Assize of Bread and Ale;" "Sta- ferent standard, viz. water, which, when pure, is unerring. for any justice of the peace, or magistrates having juris- tutum de Pistoribus, et cetera,' or Statute concerning The weight of a cubic foot of this element being the same all dction in such place, to ascertain the content of such Bakers, et cetera ;"" Assisa de Ponderibus, et Mensuris," over the world, and this cubic foot 1728 solid inches, and easure of capacity by direct reference to the weight of or Thactatus de Ponderibus," or "* Compositio de Pon-weighing, invariably, 1000 ounces, avoirdupois, it becomes pare or rain water, which such measure is capable of con- deribus," or "Assize of Weights and Measures;""Sta- extremely easy to deduce from this weight accurate data for Laining; ten pounds avoirdupois weight of such water, at tutum de Admensuratione Terræ," or Statute for the the capacity of all liquid measures, as fully stated in the Act the temperature of 62 degrees by Fahrenheit's thermome-measuring of Land;"" Compositio Ulnarum et Pertica- itself.-I am, &e. ter, being the standard gallon ascertained by this act, the rum; and also 14 E. 3, c. 12 and c. 21-18 E. 3, st. 2, same being in bulk equal to two hundred and seventy- c. 4-25 E. 3, st. 5, c. 9 and 10-27 E. 3, st. 2, c. 10-31 seven cubic inches and two hundred and seventy four E. 3, st. 1. c. 2, 5-34 E. 3, c. 5-4 R. 2, c. 1-13 R. 2, thousandth parts of a cubic inch, and so in proportion for st 1, c. 9-15 R. 2, c. 4-16 R. 2, c. 3-1 H. 5, c. 10-2 all parts or multiples of a gallon. H. 6, c. 11-8 H. 6, c. 5-9 H. 6, c. 6, Id. c. 8-11 H. 6, 15. That from and after the first day of May, 1825, all c. 8-18 H. 6, c. 17-22 E. 4, c. 2—1 R. 3, c. 13-7 H. 7, emontracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, which shall be made c. 4, Id. c. 8-11 H. 7, c. 4-12 H. 7, c. 5-23 H. 8, c. 4 o had within any part of the united kingdom of Great |—24 II. 8, c. G—12 Eliz. (1)—13 Eliz. c. 11, in part-23 Britain and Ireland, for any work to be done, or for any Eliz. c. 8, in part—43 Eliz. c. 14–16 C. 1, c. 19— 12 C. 2, goods, wares, merchandise, or other things to be sold, de- c. 23, in part-22 C. 2, c. 8-22 and 23 C. 2, c. 12-1 W. livered, done, or agreed for, by weight or measure, where and M. st. 1, c. 24, in part-5, 6 W. and M. c. 7, in part no special agreement shall be made to the contrary, shall | -7 W. 3, (1)—7, 8 W. and M. c. 81, in part-9, 10 W. be deemed, taken, and construed to be made and had ac3, c. 6-10, 11 W. 3, c. 21, in part-10, 11 W. 3, c. 22, cording to the standard weights and measures ascertained in part-11, 12 W. 3, c. 15-1 Anne, st. 1, c. 15, in part by this act; and in all cases where any special agreement Id. c. 21, in part-2 Ann. (1)-5, 6 Ann. c. 27, in part shall be made with reference to any weight or measure-9 Ann. c. 6, in part-9 Ann. c. 15-10 Ann. c. 6-1 G established by local custom, the ratio or proportion which 2, (1) in part-8 G. 2, c. 12, in part-9 G. 2, (1)-24 G. 2, every such local weight or measure shall bear to any of c. 31, in part-26 G. 3, (1)—38 G. 3, c. 89-and 43 G. 3, the said standard weights or measures, shall be express d, c. 69-shall, from and after the first day of May, 1825, be declared, and specified in such agreement, or otherwise repealed. rach agreement shall be null and void. 16. And whereas it is expedient that persons should be allowed to use the several weights and measures which they may have in their possession, although such weights and measures may not be in conformity with the standard weights and measures established by this act; be it therefore enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for any person or persons to buy and sell goods and merchandise by any weights or measures established either by local custom, or unded on special agreement; provided always, that in arder that the ratio or proportion which all such measures And weights shall bear to the standard weights and measures established by this act, shall be and become a matter of non notoriety the ratio or proportion which all such Customary measures and weights shall bear to the said standard weights and measures shall be painted or marked apon all such customary weights and measures respectirely; and that nothing therein contained shall extend, ot be construed to extend, to permit any maker of weights and measures, or any person or persons whomsoever, to make any weight or measure at any time after the first day of May, 1825, except in conformity with the standard weights and measures established under the provisions of this act. 17 and 18 direct inquisitions to be taken at the general quarter sessions of the peace for ascertaining rents, &c payable in grain, malt, &c. in England and Ireland. 20. And whereas the weights and measures by which be rates and duties of the customs and excise, and other is Majesty's revenue, have been heretofore collect d, are afferent from the weights and measures of the denomi tions directed by this act to be universally used; and hereas the alteration of such weights and measures may, ithout due care had therein, greatly affect his Majesty's venue, and tend to the diminishing of the same: for the revention thereof, be it therefore enacted, that so soon as mveniently may be after the passing of this act, accurate bles shall be prepared and published under the direction the said Commissioners of the Treasury for the time ang, in order that the several rates and duties of customs, teise, and other his Majesty's revenue, may be adjusted ad made payable according to the respective quantities of he legal standards directed by this act to be universally med; and that from and after the said first day of May, 1825, and the publication of such tables, the several rates and duties thereafter to be collected by any of the officers f his Majesty's customs or excise, or other his Majesty's evenue, shall be collected and taken according to the calulations in the tables to be prepared as aforesaid. NO. I. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. TO THE EDITOR. SIR,-As you have so promptly obliged the public by your department of Aube. The English were dissatisfied with this weight, because the pound did not weigh so much as the SIR, Having in my last letter given a brief account of the origin of our measures of weight, I shall now attempt to furnish you with a similar one of those of capacity; and here, as in the other, diversity of opinions prevails. The learned Mr. Ward, Chief Surveyor and Gauger General in the Excise, in 1706, has given, I think, the best explanation of any writer upon the subject: his words are,—“All measures of capacity, both liquid and dry, were at first made from troy weight;-see statutes 9th Henry III.; 51st Henry IIL; 12th Henry VII. &c. wherein it is enacted that eight pounds troy weight, of wheat, should make one gallon, wine met and corn, throughout this realm (vide statute 14th Edward III., 15th Richard II.) But time and custom hath altered measures, as they have done weights, for now we have three different measures, viz, one for wine, one for ale or beer, and one for corn. The beer or ale gallon (which are both one) is much larger than the wine gallon, it being, as I presume, made at first to correspond with avoirdupois weight, as the wine gallon did with troy weight; and as one pound troy is in proportion to the cubic inches in a wine gallon, so is one pound avoirdupois to the cubic inches in an ale gallon. That is, 1202. 231in 14 12-20oz : 282in. very nearly the capacity of the ale gallon. Dry measure is different both from the wine and ale measure, being, as it were, a mean betwixt both, though not exactly so; which, upon examination, I find to be in proportion to the aforesaid old standard (of 224 cuble inches) wine gallon, as avoirdupois weight is to troy weight; that is, as one pound troy is to one pound avoirdupois, so is the cubie inches contained in the old wine gallon to the cubic inches contained in the dry or corn gallon, viz. 12oz. 14 12-20oz., 224in. 2724, which is very near to 272, the common received contents of a corn gallon, although now it is otherwise settled by act of parliament, made in April, 1697: the words of that act tom, being made eighteen inches and a half wide throughout, are these; Every round bushel, with a plain and even botand eight inches deep, shall be esteemed a legal Winchester bushel, according to the standard in his Majesty's Exchequer Now, a vessel thus made, will contain 2150.42 cubic inches, consequently the corn gallon doth contain but 268 4-5ths cubie inches." So far the learned author now quoted, and I must sure; and as there should be but one measure for wine, alè, confess I have not yet met with any thing more clear and definite on the subject. In the report from the Select Com, mittee, of weights and measures, ordered to be printed by the House of Commons, May 28th, 1821, are these words; "la proceeding to measures of capacity, which, for convenience, your committee have postponed to those of weight, they find identical for all uses, and that the variations have arisen in some cases from accident, and in others from fraud. The definition of a Winchester bushel in the act of William, for laying a duty on malt, seems to have been made for the pur pose of facilitating the construction of cylindrical measures by a near coincidence without minute fractions. From this definition the dry gallon would consist of 268.835 cubie inches. The gallon measure, in the Exchequer, contains 270.4 cubic inches, and derived from the pint, quart, &c.; the gal lon will stand as follows: pound in use at that time in England; hence arose the term avoir du poids, or a restoration of the customary weight. By an ordinance of Edward III. A. D. 1327, it is enacted, "That an English penie, called a Sterling, round, and without any clipping, shall way 32 wheat cornes in the middes of the themselves embarrassed, as the commissioners have been, and 81b. shall make a gallon of wine, and 8 gallons of wine but by a discrepance in the multiples and sub-multiples of eare, and 20 pennies shall make an ounce, and 12 ounces 11b.not only by various measures designated by the same name, shall make 1 bushell London, which is the eight part of a the same measure, They are, on the whole, however, inquarter." These 32 grains of wheat being afterwards sub-duced to believe that the gallon of England was originally divided into 24 metal weights were termed grains; hence the precise establishment of the present troy weight, consisting of 12 ounces to the pound, or 5760 grains. But this weight, as Wingate observes, "served only to weigh bread, gold, silver, and electuaries, and to keep the money of England at a certain standard." For about 200 years before the Conquest, Osbright, a Saxon, being then King of England, caused an ounce troy of silver to be divided into 20 pieces, at the same time called pence, and so an ounce of silver, at that time, was worth no more than 20 pence, which continued at the same value till the time of Henry VI. who coined the ounce into 30 pieces: this continued till the time of Edward IV. who coined the ounce into 40 pieces; Henry VIII, coined it into 45 pieces; Queen Elizabeth coined it into 60 pieces, 21 and 22. That all the powers, rules, and regulations valuing the ounce at 60d. or 5s. at which rate it remained a force and contained in 29 Geo. 2, chap. 25,-31 Geo. 2, till the late new silver coinage, when the fb troy was coined 17,-35 Geo. 3, c. 102,-and 55 Geo. 3, c. 43, relating into 66 pieces or shillings From this deduction it will be weights, balances, and measures in Great Britain, and seen that troy weight was only used for the finer articles, and Anne,-11 Geo. 2,-25 Gco. 2,-27 Geo. 3,-28 Geo. 3, that another weight, we may presume, was used all along, tlating to the same in Ireland, shall be applied to this act. by the people, for all things of a coarse or drossy nature. 23. That the several statutes, ordinances, and acts, Accordingly, we find, in the year 1542, or 33d Henry VIII. nd parts of the several statutes, ordinances, and acts the butchers petitioning the King to establish the customary erein after mentioned and specified, so far as the same weight, called haberdepois, and to allow them to sell their late to the ascertaining or establishing any standards of" vittels" by this weight. This is the first Act, I believe, eights and measures, or the establishing or recognising which recognises this weight, and makes it lawful to sell by in differences between weights and measures of the it, though, as has been before observed, it was undoubtedly From the bushel.... From the definition by King William. From the pint. From the quart. 266.1 268.8 ..... 270.4 ........... 276.9 ...... 279.3 By an act of Parliament, made for revenue .... 282 By an act 42d George III. the Winchester gal- 2721 The wine gallon is supposod to have continued gradually shrinking in dimensions till its progress was arrested by fiscal definition at 231 cubic inches. This last measure differs so materially from all the rest, that it must either be retained as one quite distinct, and applicable to its peculiar uses, or, as seems most expedient, it must be abolished. But amidst the variations and uncertainty of the remainder, your committe t existed in this nation.-Yours, &c. November 18, 1824. ANONYMOUS. SIR H. DAVY'S IMPROVED COPPER SHEATHING, AND rience. DR. TIARK'S TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEYS. 66 agree with the commissioners in recommending that they Geology. We understand a very extraordinary discovery has been made by T. Northmore, Esq. during some geological investigations in the neighbourhood of Torquay; In the celebrated cavern of Kent's Hole, he has found under the stalagmitic incrustations, buried in the mould, several teeth of the hyena, wild boar, wolf, and various bones of other animals not yet identified. A letter has been written on the subject to the Rev. Mr. Buckland, professor of mineralogy and geology in the University of Oxford; and we hope, at some future period, to be able 40 gratify our antiquarian and geological readers with a further detail of this interesting discovery. These fossil remains are now in possession of Mr. Northmore.-Besley's Exeter News. Contraction by Cold-Some years ago, it was observed at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers at Paris, that the two side-walls of a gallery were receding from each other, being pressed outwards by the weight of the roof and floors. Several holes were made in each wall, opposite to one another, and at equal distances, through which strong bars of iron were introduced, so as to traverse the chamber. Their ends, outside of the wall, were furnished with thick iron disks, firmly screwed on. These were sufficient to retain the walls in their actual position; but, to bring them nearer together, would have surpassed every effort of human strength. All the alternate bars of the series were heated at once, by lamps, in consequence of which they were elongated. The exterior disks being thus freed from the contact of the walls, they could be advanced farther on the screwed ends of the bars. On the bars projecting on the outside of the walls, from the elongation, the disks were screwed up on removing the lamps, the bars cooled, contracted, and drew in the walls. The other bars hecame, in consequence, loose, and were then also screwed up. The first series of bars being again heated, the process was repeated; and, by several repetitions, the walls were restored to their original position. The gallery still exists, with its bars, to attest the ingenuity of its preserver, M. Molard.-Chemist. Theory of Body and Soul.-The Chevalier d'Angos, a learned astronomer, carefully observed, for several days, a lizard with two heads, and assured himself that this lizard had two wills, independent of each other, and possessing nearly equal power over the body, which was in one. When a piece of bread was presented to the animal, in such a manner that it could see it with one head only, that head wished to go towards the bread, while the other head wished the body to remain still.-Vollaire's Philosophical Dictionary, vol. 6. REMARKABLE GOOSEBERRY PLANT. Mr. Thomas Ayres, of Duffield, near Derby, communicated to the meeting, on the 27th of August, 1821, a description of a remarkably large gooseberry plant, growing that at Duffield is in the garden of Mr. William at Duffield, and of two others in the garden at Overton Bates, a market gardener. It is planted on the east side of a steep hill, the substratum of the soil being a hard grit stone. It is ascertained to have been planted at least fortysix years: the branches extend to twelve yards in circumference; and have produced several pecks of fruit annually for these last thirty years. It is usually manured with soap-suds and the drainings from the dunghill. The two others, in the garden at Overton Hall, near Chesterfield, the seat of the late Sir Joseph Banks, are both nearly of the same size. The younger plant is trained to a building, the north and west sides of which it has entirely covered. It was planted thirty years ago. It measures fiftythree feet four inches, from one extremity to the other; and yields, on an average, from four to five pecks of fruit annually. The other, whose age is not ascertained, is planted against a north wall. It extends fifty-four feet, and is now beginning to decay. The soil in which these grow is a brown or hazel-coloured light loam. Mr. Ayres was not able to ascertain the name of the variety in the garden at Duffield: those at Overton are said to be the Champagne.-Trans. of Hortic. Soc. vol. v. p. 490. METHOD OF GROWING EARLY CELERY. Mr. John Anderson, gardener to the Earl of Essex, at Cassiobury, communicated in a letter to the secretary, dated the 5th of November, his method of growing erly celery. He forms, in the ground, a trench, six feet and one foot deep; into this he puts six inches of r dung, mixed with a little road-grit, and mixes the con well with the soil, by digging it together. The celer then planted in cross rows, six inches apart, and eightee inches from row to row: as the plants advance they a earthed across the trench. By this means a much larg quantity of celery can be grown, in the same spect ground, than in the usual way; but the method is only plicable to early celery, for late crops, so grown, would b liable to rot and perish.-Trans of Hort. Soc. vol. v Dr. Hale, jun. of Boston, United States, has published the result of a curious experiment made upon hime by the injection of castor-oil into his veins. Before the injected that liquid, he raised it to the temperature of and, having opened a vein in his left arm, he, with the assistance of a friend, injected about an ounce of the oil. The operation lasted for about twenty five minutes, and he lost, about eight ounces of blood in it. For a short time after the operation was performed, he felt rating unusual. His first sensation was a taste of oilres in the mouth, soon after he felt a nausea, with belchings, and a commotion in the bowels, and a strange indescribable feeling ascending to the head. There was also a shru stiffness in the muscles of the face, which cut aber speaking in the middle of a word. After a short val, his pulse beat seventy-five in the minute. The pr to two o'clock, accompanied with a sensation in the the head, dizziness, and nausea, continued from we bowels as if he had taken a purgative, although c attempt to find relief in this way was unsucerste A about twenty minutes after two o'clock, his arm began bleed freely, and he had some difficulty in stopping Towards evening, his arm became painful and swee and continued so all night. There was a considerat heat and tension about the elbow, and at eleven o'cias his faculties, either of body or mind. This contiend his pulse was eighty-four, passed a restless night, in slept some. Next day he was too ill to make any d several days, and, on his recovery from it, his strengt was much diminished. After two days, the swelling his arm began to abate, but it was four days before la could raise his hand to his forehead. He felt his weak. ness more than a month afterwards. ་ New Invention.-An invention of great importance in the arts, and particularly in bank-note engraving, ington, in the United States, by which an endless var lately been perfected by Mr. William J. Stone, of Wast of figures can be produced, in a manner believed to be inimitable. The best idea of the powers of this macht is to compare it to a kaleidoscope, in forming combinat of the most beautiful figures that can be imagined. Th are formed of one continued line, crossing and entang themselves in the richest variety. This apparatus is c posed of two cylinders, on the surface of which levers attached, with moveable fulcrums, and as the cyl pass and repass each other, they shift the fulcrums in ta evolutions, which give motion to another lever of s construction, and to which a chisel is attached for cut the figure. Nothing in the whole circle of the arts and we are assured, that no two machines of this deseng pears to present such a formidable obstacle to forg tion can ever produce the same work, riors, in complete armour, have been found in a Substitute for Tallow.-We are informed that h Farmer and Mechanic." |