the Bayeux Tapestry, illustrative of the paper on English Armour, read by Mr. Pidgeon at last meeting.

Mr. PIDGEON exhibited a large Silver Medal, by J. Blum, struck May 16th, 1641, to commemorate the marriage of William, the second Prince of Orange, with Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I. The issue of this marriage was a posthumous son, afterwards William III.

Mr. PIDGEON also exhibited a curious Pocket Dial, and Tobacco Stopper, found several years ago in excavating on the site of the Monastery of Lion, near Brentford, Middlesex. The Tobacco Stopper was formed by joining a shank to a medal of brass, having on one side a head, with the motto, "Moriendo restituit rex ecclesiam ;" and on the other, a head with a papal crown, which, when reversed, became a fiendish head, with the motto, "Ecclesia perversa tenet faciam Diaboli." The dial consists of a circular brass box, with an inner rim, on which are marked the numbers 4 to 12, and up to 8. The needle turns on a pivot, and is apparently intended to be fixed by passing through a hole in the bottom of the box.

THE PAPER FOR THE EVENING WAS:

"A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF AN EXCURSION TO THE HOSPICE OF THE GREAT ST. BERNARD."

By Dr. HIBBERT TAYLOR.

After a few introductory remarks, descriptive of Alpine Scenery, and the feelings which it tends to awaken in those who are alive to the beauties and grandeur of external nature, the Author gives a brief historical sketch of the Hospice.

Its earliest founder was Charlemagne, in 768, according to some-Louis le Debonnaire, in 814, according to others; or, more probably still, Bernard an illegitimate son of Pepin, who inherited the kingdom of Italy from Charlemagne, and whose interest it would be to preserve a communication with Gaul by this passage of the Alps. There is evidence that a monastery existed on the Great Saint Bernard previous to the reign of Alfred the Great of England, in 872. The present Hospice was founded in 962, more than twenty years before the time of Hugh Capet, by Bernard, who was born of a noble family in Savoy. After suffering many alternations of fortune, the Hospice, in 1180, reached its climax of riches and importance, when it possessed no fewer than ninety-eight cures, besides priories,

chateaux, and farms; it also held lands in Sicily, Flanders, and England. From various causes, both religious and secular, the Convent has since been shorn of its possessions, and the Monks reduced to poverty, and compelled even to beg for the means of subsistence. A vineyard at Clarens, and a farm at Roche, both in the Pays de Vaud, are now their principal property; and these small resources are further aided by collections regularly made in the Swiss Cantons, and by the unsolicited bounty of travellers, who, to the number of 7 or 8000, annually visit the Hospice.

The Author then describes the route which he followed from the town of Martigny, in the Valois, to the Hospice, a distance of about 14 Swiss leagues, or 35 English miles, noticing as he passes along, various objects of interest, either observed on the journey or suggested by the different localities; among these the inundation of the Dranse in 1818, by which the greater part of the town of Martigny was swept away, and ruin and destruction carried over a wide extent of country, occupies a prominent place. The Convent was reached in ten hours and a half, without any serious obstacle having been encountered on the way.

The general appearance and position of the Hospice are next detailed. It is a large barn-like structure, situated upon the very summit of the Pass, in a narrow ravine, and at an elevation of 8,200 English feet above the level of the sea; and is the highest human habitation of the Old World which is regularly inhabited during the whole year. The chief building contains sleeping accommodation for 60 or 80 persons, and including an adjoining smaller house named the Hotel de St. Louis, as many as 500 or 600 persons may obtain shelter and assistance beneath the roof of the establishment.

The internal arrangement and aspect of the Hospice are then described, and the wild and dreary scenery by which it is surrounded lightly sketched. Supper is next passed in review, with the appearance and conversation of the Monks. The number actually resident at the Hospice is from twelve to fourteen. They enter upon their duties at the age of eighteen, and engage to devote fifteen years to works of active benevolence in these desolate regions, but few are robust enough to accomplish this term without experiencing its effects in impaired health and a broken constitution.

The brethren of St. Bernard are regular canons of the Order of Augustinian Monks, one of the four classes of mendicants, called also "Austin Friars." Their number is not limited, but usually varies from 20 to 30; of these, as

already noticed, 12 or 16 reside in the Convent, 8 occupy the cures attached to the establishment, and several disabled by age or infirmity are located at Martigny.

The Superior of the Convent bears the title of Provost, and is crossed and mitred; he is elected by the Chapter, and the post is held during life. Those alone are eligible to the dignity who have devoted their youth to the exercise of hospitality in the Convent, and when elected, permission is granted them to reside at Martigny. The subordinate officers rank in the following order and are thus named :The Claustral Prior, who resides constantly in the Hospice and governs the community; the Sacristan; the Cellerier, or Commissary; the Clavandier, or Steward, and the Infirmier, or Nurse. Those offices are held only for three years.

The dress of the Monks is of black cloth, reaching nearly to the ancle, and buttoned from top to bottom; and a black conical cap, surmounted by a tuft, is worn upon the head. The distinguishing badge of the order is, a very narrow white band or scarf, which by a slit is passed round the neck, and the ends are fastened before and behind in a girdle which encircles the waist. The whole costume is simple and becoming.

The dogs of St. Bernard, which have long been celebrated, are bred at Martigny, where they are allowed to remain till of sufficient age to be trained for their peculiar duties. There are never more than six kept at the Hospice, and when sent out upon the snow, they are always accompanied by one of the brethren, or a domestic.

The Author next gives some account of the climate which prevails at the Hospice. The cold in winter, which lasts during nine months of the year, is excessive, and thick fogs are almost perpetual. The thermometer has frequently been observed at 18° and 20° below Zero of Fahrenheit. The severest cold recorded is-29° of Fahrenheit, and the greatest heat 689; but, even in the height of summer, it always freezes in the morning. The snow-storms (named tourmentes) and the avalanches are shortly noticed, and some details given of accidents which have befallen members of the Convent from the latter.

The Author passed the night in the Hospice, and visited next morning the Museum, in which is preserved a tolerable collection of the natural products of the surrounding district, and various relics obtained from the ancient temple of Jupiter on this mountain-also the Library, which contains a good collection of books, some of them in English, and chiefly theological-and the Morgue, in which are deposited

the remains of those who have perished in the snow, interment being impracticable in the frozen and rocky soil.

He bade adieu to the Monks at half-past eight o'clock, and reached Martigny the same evening at five.

NINTH MEETING.

ROYAL INSTITUTION, February 23rd, 1846.

The PRESIDENT in the Chair.

The Rev. Dr. BOOTH presented to the Society a paper published in the "London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine," on "A New Class of Properties of Lines and Surfaces of the Second Order."

Mr. DAVIS read several letters from different persons on the Divining Rod. The writers concurred in thinking that in experienced hands the rod dipped where metallic veins existed.

Dr. HUME exhibited several articles found at the submarine forest at Hoylake-e.g., a multangular headed pin, a key, a fish-hook, a small bell hammer, a key, a brooch, &c., &c. Dr. Hume supposed them to be made of bronze, i.e., copper and tin, not of our ordinary brass.

Dr. JEFFREYS exhibited some walking-sticks, made from the tusks of the Elephant.

THE PAPER FOR THE EVENING WAS:

"ON THE HABITUAL EMPLOYMENT OF STIMULANTS AND NARCOTICS AS INTOXICATING AGENTS."-PART I. By Dr. TURNBULL.

From the earliest times the ingenuity of man has been exercised in the discovery of articles capable of tranquilising the system, or of renovating it when depressed by fatigue, mental anxiety, or the cares of life. The desire for stimulants and narcotics seems to be inherent in the constitution of man, and the habitual employment of

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them has become very extensive in every condition of life. Few subjects are, therefore, more worthy of consideration than the influence of such potent agents as alcohol, opium, and tobacco.

The number of narcotic plants found everywhere is very considerable, and chemistry has shown that fermented liquors may be prepared from a great variety of vegetable productions-two of the most common of the vegetable proximate principles, viz., starch and sugar, being capable, when subjected to a proper process, of yielding, first, a fermented, and afterwards a spirituous, liquor.

Mankind in general, and especially savage nations, become very easily habituated to the use of stimulants and narcotics; but we find that considerable variety of taste, probably dependent upon diversity of climate or temperament, exists among different nations, so that some have recourse to the narcotic stimulants, whilst others prefer the alcoholic, or more purely exciting. We generally find that nations inhabiting cold countries, as, for example, the Norwegians, Russians, and Highlanders of Scotland, prefer the most stimulating articles, such as distilled liquors, whilst the Persians, the Turks, the Chinese, and the Malay inhabitants of the Indian Archipelago, are fonder of the less stimulating but more narcotic, such as opium, which both stimulates and enlivens the powers of the imagination, and at the same time produces the repose of the body and tranquillity of mind so congenial to the character of many Eastern nations.

Wine, the fermented juice of the grape, seems to have been longer known than any other fermented liquor; and barley wine, or beer, orginated in Egypt at a very early period.

The ancient Greeks and Romans were altogether unacquainted with alcohol; and the process of distillation appears to have been discovered by the alchemists. Rhazes, an Arabian physician, who flourished in the ninth century, is the earliest medical writer who makes mention of the spirit of wine, and a later Arabian physician, Avicenna, particularly describes the method of conducting the process of distillation. This art was regarded as a discovery of immense importance to mankind, and the spirit of wine was looked upon as the universal panacea which had been so long sought for. For several centuries it was used only as a medicine, the physicians in those early times calling it aqua vitæ, and believing that it had the power of prolonging life.