CHESTER CATHEDRAL.

In the old edition of Britain, by Camden, of the date of 1610, is the following spirited passage relative to this Cathedral:

About the year of our Redemption, 1094, when, as in a devout and religious emulation, princes strove that cathedral churches and minsters should be erected in a more decent and seemly form; and when Christendom roused, as it were, herself, and casting away her old habiliments, did put on everywhere the bright and white robe of the churches, Hugh, the first of the Norman blood that was Earl of Chester, repaired the church which Earl Leofric had formerly founded in honour of the Virgin, St. Werburga; and, by the advice of Anselm, whom he had procured to come out of Normandy, granted the same unto monks. And now it is notorious for the tomb of Henry the Fourth, emperor of Almaine, who, as they say, gave over his empire, and lived here an eremite's life, and for the Bishop's See therein established; which See, immediately after the Norman Conquest, Peter, Bishop of Lichfield, translated from Lichfield hither; but when it was brought to Coventry, and from thence into the ancient seat again, West Chester lay a long time bereft of this episcopal dignity, until, in our father's days, King Henry the Eighth, having thrust out the monks, ordained prebendaries and restored a bishop again, under whom, for his diocese, he appointed this county, Lancashire, Richmond, &c., and appointed the same to be within the province of York. At its first foundation it was in the province of Canterbury.

Camden having supplied us with this concise history of the See of Chester, we may proceed to give some description of the fabric. The Cathedral consists of the following parts; a nave and choir, separated from their respective aisles by clustered columns; a central tower, resting on four massive piers; transepts; and a lady-chapel to the east. The western entrance is by a pointed doorway, from which two descents by steps lead into the nave. On one side is the Bishop's consistory court, on the other an entrance to the Bishop's palace. These were intended to have formed the bases of two western towers, and the foundation of them was laid with much ceremony by Abbot Birchenshaw in 1508. The south porch of the church is in the style of the same period. The transepts are of very unequal proportions, being uniform neither in size nor appearance. The north transept has an ornamented oak roof, supported by angels, bearing emblems of the crucifixion. At the south-east angle of this transept is an ancient vestry. The south transept, which is by far the larger of the two, is used as the parish-church of St. Oswald. In the Choir, opposite to the pulpit, is the stone case which formerly surrounded the shrine of St. Werburgh, now shortened, and used as the bishop's throne. It exhibits a rich specimen of Gothic architecture, in the style of the early part of the fourteenth century. Under the east window of the Choir is an arch, opening to the Lady-chapel.

arch at the south end; and by another, now closed, it formerly opened to a passage leading to the great square of conventual buildings. Another doorway, opposite to the south walk, closed by a pillar placed before it to support the present vaulting, led to an arched passage, forming the abbot's way to the church. Along the rest of this walk extends a kind of crypt, consisting of a double row of circular arches. The north walk contained the chief entrance into the refectory of the convent, under a rich semicircular arch; and at the east end was a doorway leading to the kitchen and its offices, and to the staircase of the dormitory. Along the greater part of the north side ran the refectory, a noble apartment, ninety-eight feet in length and thirty-four in height, with a roof of oak, resting on brackets, which was removed in 1804. The Chapter-house, the entrance to which is from the east side of the cloister, extends eastward, parallel with the choir of the church. Some portions of this interesting cathedral are assigned to the eleventh century. The north aisle of the choir, the chapterhouse, and the ancient refectory, are said to belong to the early part of the thirteenth century. The central

tower is stated to have been finished in 1210.

The length of the Cathedral from east to west, is three hundred and forty-eight feet; the width of the Choir and Nave is seventy-four feet six inches.

Chester Cathedral suffered great injury during the civil wars, and continued in a very dilapidated state till 1656. At the time the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth was in the city, the mob forced the doors, and destroyed most of the painted glass: they also injured the font, and some of the monuments, and committed several other outrages.

Before the Reformation this church was governed by abbots, of whom John Clarke, elected about 1537, may be reckoned the twenty-seventh abbot. Little more is known of him, than that he readily complied with the wishes of King Henry the Eighth in surrendering the monastery at the dissolution, in consideration of which he was suffered to retain the government of the dissolved abbey, under the character of dean of the new cathedral.

The diocese of Chester is of great extent; but, in pursuance of the regulations recommended by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, it will be relieved of a large portion of territory. The deaneries of Richmond, Catterick, and Boroughbridge, and part of the deanery of Kirkby Lonsdale, have been taken out of it, to constitute the greater part of the see of Ripon. It is also to lose the whole of the county of Lancaster, which, with the exception of the deanery of Furness, will go to form the see of Manchester; this latter deanery being assigned to the diocese of Carlisle. The archdeaconry of Salop, from the diocese of Lichfield, is, however, to be added to Chester.

Among the most eminent of the bishops of Chester, since the foundation of the episcopate by King Henry the Eighth, may be mentioned the following.

finished during the Commonwealth, at the house of Dr. Fuller, his father-in-law, in London. This

splendid work, which, while it reflected honour upon its learned editor and his coadjutors, was also a credit to the English press, was published in 1657, in six volumes folio, the sacred text being printed in the Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, Samaritan, Arabic, Æthiopic, Persian, Greek, and Latin languages. The preface, which was originally intended for Cromwell, and con. tained allusions to the Protector, was altered to suit the new reign. The republican copies are far more scarce than the royal; but the possessor of either edition may be proud of owning such a treasure. In September, 1661, Walton was presented to the bishopric of Chester, and on the 11th of that month was installed with great ceremony; "A day," says Wood, "not to be forgotten by all the true sons of the Church of England." But his honours were short-lived; he died in Aldersgate-street, London, in the November following, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. JOHN WILKINS, D.D., Oxford, was the son of a goldsmith, and was born in 1614, at Fawsley, near Daventry. Having taken orders, he became chaplain to Lord Say, and then to Charles, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Upon the breaking out of the civil war he joined the parliament, and took the oath of the solemn League and Covenant. The committee of parliament for reforming the University made him warden of Wadham. He afterwards married Mrs. French, a widow, sister of Oliver Cromwell; and though ejected at the Restoration from the mastership of Trinity College, Cambridge, to which he had been appointed in 1659 by Richard Cromwell, he soon became preacher at Gray's Inn, and rector of St. Lawrence, Jewry. About this time he was chosen one of the council of the Royal Society, and, in consequence of his great mathematical and scientific attainments, proved a highly valuable member of that distinguished body. He soon rose to be Dean of Ripon, and subsequently Bishop of Chester, the latter elevation being secured for him by the interest of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, whose patronage was not considered creditable to him. He died at the house of Dr. Tillotson, in Chancerylane, London, in 1672. Wilkins's works are very ingeaious, and some of them more entertaining than useful. When twenty-five years of age he published a whimsical little book, entitled "The Discovery of a New World; or a discourse tending to prove, that there may be another habitable world in the moon, with a discourse concerning the possibility of a passage thither." He was the inventor of the Perambulator, or MeasuringWheel. Of his theological works the principal was his Discourse on Natural Religion, published after his death by Tillotson.

"

JOHN PEARSON, D.D., Cambridge, " in all respects the greatest divine of his day*, celebrated for his admirable Exposition of the Creed, was born at Snoring, in Norfolk, in 1612. From Eton school, he proceeded to King's College, Cambridge, and took orders in 1639. Having been chaplain to Finch, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, he was presented to the living of Torrington, Suffolk. In 1650 he was made minister of St. Clement's, Eastcheap, London, where he preached the substance of his Erposition of the Creed. This noble work has gone through many editions: it is in itself a body of divinity, deep, clear, and accurate, and may well be consulted by the general reader, as well as by the student of theology; to the latter it is indispensable. Having passed through various stages of preferment, Pearson succeeded Dr. Wilkins in the see of Chester in 1673. He died at Chester in 1686. Dr. Bentley, the famous scholar and critic, used to say, that Bishop Pearson's "very dross was gold." * Bishop Burnet,

SIR WILLIAM DAWES, Bart., D.D., Oxford and Cambridge, a most excellent person, was born in 1671, and received his early instruction at Merchant Tailors' School, from whence he obtained a Scholarship, and afterwards a Fellowship, at St. John's College, Oxford. But his father's title and estate descending to him, he settled at Catherine Hall, Cambridge, of which college, after taking orders, and obtaining his Doctor's Degree, he was appointed Master. Through his interest with Queen Anne, he obtained an act of parliament for annexing a Prebend of Norwich to the Mastership of Catherine Hall for ever. As Rector and Dean of Bocking he discharged his duties in a very exemplary manner. He was afterwards appointed Bishop of Chester, and translated to the Archbishopric of York. He died in 1724, at the age of 53, respected and beloved by persons of all parties. In addition to more sterling qualities, he is described as having been a man of peculiarly fine person, and mild, agreeable manners, to whom honour came, as it were, naturally, and on whom it sat admirably well.

FRANCIS GASTRELL, D.D., Oxford, was born in Northamptonshire, about 1662, and having been brought up at Westminster school, was elected on the foundation of Christchurch, Oxford. In 1694 he became preacher at Lincoln's Inn, and on being chosen to preach the Boyle's lecture in 1697, powerfully maintained the truths of Christianity against the cavils of the deists. In 1707 he preached an admirable sermon in the church of St. Sepulchre, on the occasion of the grand Anniversary Meeting of the Charity Schools, before the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; and in the same year, he put forth his excellent work, entitled "The Christian Institutes, or the sincere word of God digested under proper heads, and delivered in the words of Scripture." On his promotion to the Bishopric of Chester, he resigned the preachership of Lincoln's Inn. Bishop Gastrell died in 1725, and was buried in the Cathedral of Christchurch, Oxford.

BEILBY PORTEUS, D.D., Cambridge, may be cited as another ornament of the see of Chester. He was one of nineteen children, and born at York, in 1731, of American parents, who had settled in this country. He was placed at a school at Ripon, and entered at Christ's College, Cambridge, at an early age. Having distinguished himself by his degree, and other academical honours, he became fellow of his college, and, for a short time, held the office of esquire Bedell. He was twenty-six years old on taking orders, and thirty-one when he was appointed domestic Chaplain. to Archbishop Secker. The posts which he successively occupied in the church were well and ably filled by him. These were, the rectory of Lambeth, the bishopric of Chester, and, lastly, the bishopric of London. He was a persuasive and energetic preacher, his sermons being so attractive as to occasion great crowds of persons of all classes to attend the church where it was understood he would preach. He died in 1809, in the 79th year of his age, and was buried in a vault in the churchyard of Sundridge, Kent, where a neat monument has been erected to his memory.

We may justly insert in this distinguished list the name of Dr. C. J. BLOMFIELD, Cambridge, who, after having been for some years the rector of an important parish in the metropolis, succeeded to the laborious charge of the diocese of Chester, and is now Bishop of London.

The see of Chester is at present filled by Dr. J. B. SUMNER, also of Cambridge, a prelate, whose high character entitles him to a respectful mention in this

short notice.

THE LAMPREY.

water, the Lamprey swims with a lateral undulating motion of the body, assisted by its fins; where the current is rapid, it makes successive plunges forward, attaching itself quickly to any fixed substance that offers, to secure the advantage gained.

Pennant states that it has been an old custom, for the city of Gloucester annually to present the sovereign with a lamprey-pie, covered with a raised crust.

THE SEA-LAMPREY. (Petromyzon marinus.) THE Lamprey tribe constitutes the last family of the fishes with a cartilagenous skeleton. There are four known British species; that figured above, which is found in salt-water, and three inhabitants of fresh water, namely, the Lampern, Petromyzon fluviatilis; the Fringe-lipped Lampern, Petromyzon planeri; and the Sand-Pride or Mud-Lamprey, Ammocætes branchialis. The Sea-Lamprey is found in all the seas of Europe, from the Mediterranean as far north as Scandinavia and Iceland; it is also met with in North America. In Spring and Summer this species frequents the mouths of most of our rivers, and ascends the stream for a considerable distance, for the purpose of depositing its spawn. Sir William Jardine says, speaking of the Scotch rivers, " They ascend our rivers to breed about the end of June, and remain until the beginning of August." They are not furnished with any elongation of the jaw, afforded to most of our fresh-water fish, with which the latter form the receiving furrows at this important but the want is supplied by their sucker-like mouth, by which they individually remove stones or other substances. Their power is immense; stones of a large size are removed by them, and a large furrow soon formed. This species remains in pairs, two in each spawning-place, and while there employed, retain themselves affixed to a large stone.

season;

The Fresh-water Lampern is about half the size of the species just described, and is believed to remain. in the rivers it frequents throughout the whole year. It is considered in best condition from October to March. Formerly it was in great request among the Dutch fishermen, as bait for turbot, cod, &c.; but the great demand so raised the price by making the fish scarce, that other substances have been resorted to. In the course of one season as many as 400,000 have been sold for bait, at 40s. per 1000. Formerly the Thames alone supplied from 1,000,000 to 12,000,000 Lamperns annually.

The right-hand figure below shows the flexible lip, concealing the mouth; the figure on the left hand represents the rounded mouth, the small and numerous tubercular teeth, and the central opening leading to the throat and stomach.

THE USEFUL ARTS. No. XXXV.

THE CARPENTER.

FOLLOWING the plan we have laid down, we shall first describe the principal materials made use of, by this most important of all mechanics. It is obvious that in every country the timber is employed that is either indigenous, and adapted to the work to be done, or which can be pro cured most readily from other countries. In Britain the first and most important of all trees is, of course, our own belonging to the genus Quercus. It is far less used in civil OAK, of which we have two species and several varieties, architecture than formerly, although there are certain purposes in building to which it is still applied: but owing to its value, and the demand for it for ships, and to the great labour required to work it, its place is now supplied by fir. The best oak is that which grows on cold, stiff, the colder the climate, or the higher above the level of the clayey soils, and is the slowest in arriving at maturity; and sea the tree grows, provided it be not stunted from severity of climate, the better the timber: hence Scottish and Welsh oak is more esteemed than that from the middle or

The Lampreys, like the sharks and rays, have no swimming-bladder, and being also without pectoral fins, are usually found near the bottom of the water. To save themselves from the constant muscular exertion which is necessary to prevent their being carried along by the current, they attach themselves by the mouth to stones or rocks, and from this circumstance they obtained the name of Petromyzon, Stone-sucker. The food of the Lamprey consists generally of any soft animal matter; and in the sea it is known to attack fishes even of large size, by fastening upon them, and with its numerous small, rasp-like teeth, eating away the soft parts down to the very bone.

southern counties of Britain. Our own island does not produce this timber in sufficient abundance to supply the demand, and large quantities of oak are imported from There are four kinds of oak used in the Royal Dock-yards, different countries, especially from Prussia and Canada. Welsh, Sussex, Adriatic, and Baltic, besides two others termed African oak, employed in different parts of the vessels, according to the qualities requisite for the particular purpose. Next to our own oak, that from the shores of the Baltic is by far the most esteemed.

The Marine Lamprey usually measures from twenty to twenty-eight inches in length. In slowly-running

In domestic architecture oak is only used in the largest and best buildings, occasionally for the principal beams; but its chief use is for door and window frames, cills, sleepers, king-posts of roofs, for trussing fir girders, for sashes, for gates of locks, sluices, posts, piles, &c. The timber called African oak, used in the navy, is wood of a different genus.

TEAK is the produce of a tree of the genus Tectona. Valuable as teak is found to be in ship-building, it has not yet been used in domestic building to any extent. From sixteen to eighteen thousand loads of teak are annually imported into Britain from India, principally for the Royal Dock-yards, this wood being used for certain beams and pillars in ships.

WAINSCOT is the wood of a species of oak, imported from Russia and Prussia in a particular form of log FIR, or PINE, ranks next to oak for its valuable qualities, and if its universal application be taken into consideration, it might be thought even superior in importance. The finest fir is that from Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the Baltic generally, the vast mountainous tracks of which countries are covered with dense forests of various species of in Britain the Scotch Fir, from its growing in great perpine. The best of these is the Pinus sylvestris, called also fection in the northern portion of our island. The fir from the southern shores of the Baltic, the timber from which is known as Memel, Riga, or Dantzic fir, from the several

localities whence it is imported, is next in value to that from Norway. Large quantities of fir timber are also annually brought from Canada, but this timber is greatly inferior to the European.

DEAL is the name given to the timber of the pine, when sawed into planks, in which form it is imported into this country from the north of Europe. Deal is the produce of the Pinus abies, Pinus alba, and Pinus nigra, and the best is that obtained from Christiana.

Fir timber is used for every part of houses, and extensively in ship-building, in the fittings-up, while it constitutes the only material for masts, for which purpose its lightness, and the great length and straightness of the trunk, peculiarly fit it.

Pine, or fir, is imported into this kingdom under the various names of timber, battens, deals, laths, masts, yards, and spars, according to the size or form into which the tree is sawed. It is called timber when the tree is only squared into a straight beam of the length of the trunk, and from not less than eight or nine inches square, up to sixteen or eighteen square; fifty cubic feet is a load of timber. Deals vary in length and thickness from eight to sixteen feet, eleven inches wide, and from one and a half to three and a half inches thick. Four hundred superficial feet of one and a half inch plank makes a load. Battens are small long pieces of fir about three inches wide and one inch thick. Masts, yards, and spars, are the trunks of small trees simply barked and topped.

BEECH is partially employed in ship-building for the keel and timbers near it; but it is not at all employed in civil architecture. The principal use made of this wood is in the construction of machines, mill-work, lock-gates, &c., and for handles to tools; it is also a good wood for the turner, being of a close grain. It will not, however, bear alternations of moisture and dryness, and is liable to be attacked by worms, so that it is not extensively employed. CHESTNUT belongs to the same order as the beech, but although a valuable wood, it is now little, if ever, used. Formerly it was extensively so, and the roofs of several ancient buildings are constructed of it. From some experiments, indeed, it seems to be as durable as oak itself.

ASH is the wood for the wheelwright and the maker of agricultural implements; it is one of the most valuable of ail timber trees, combining great strength with elasticity and lightness; it, however, splits easily. Ash is not used either by the shipwright or the common carpenter.

ELM is a coarse-grained wood, but strong and durable; it does not work readily, and is therefore but little used. It is, however, employed for certain parts of ships, and for making casks, chests, coffins, posts for mill-work, and a few other purposes.

Next to oak and fir, the foreign wood MAHOGANY is by far the most valuable, and that most extensively used; it is the growth of the West Indies and South America, and the tree, the Swietenia mahogani, is, perhaps, the most majestic of all timber-trees for the enormous dimensions its trunk attains, its vast height and size, and its dark beautiful foliage. The mahogany of the island of Cuba, and that from the bay of Honduras, is first in estimation. There are two East Indian species, but they are not imported in any quantities into this country.

The best mahogany is that which grows in dry, cold, and exposed situations. Such wood is fine-grained, hard, and dark in colour, richly variegated, causing it from its beauty to rank among the most ornamental of fancy woods, while the light, coarse-grained wood, which grows in warm moist climates is sufficiently abundant to be used for ordinary purposes, and yet possesses admirable properties for all, where no great strength or tenacity is wanted.

Within the last twenty years the use of this wood has increased amazingly, and some ships have many of their upper timbers above the water-line constructed of Honduras mahogany. Its use in furniture and cabinet-making is well known, and, indeed, it may be said to be the principal wood used for this purpose, and to have entirely supplanted our own walnut, which was formerly in universal use for the same purposes.

The woods above enumerated are those most extensively or largely used by the carpenter; but there are several others employed for small articles, and for particular purposes, which deserve mentioning.

Box is the wood of the Buxus sempervirens, a hardy evergreen plant, indigenous in all the southern parts of Europe and Western Asia, and long domesticated in our shrubberies. Box is especially the wood for turning, it

being closer-grained, denser, and tougher than perhaps all others, except iron-wood, LIGNUM VITE, and one or two rarer woods. Box is used for rules, scales, and for small cabinet works; but that which gives it particular importance is its universal use for wood engraving.

LANCE is the name given to the wood of the Guatteria virgata, a tree indigenous to Jamaica, and one of the most important that are so, from the valuable qualities of its timber, lance-wood far exceeding our ash in lightness, strength, and elasticity; hence it is admirably calculated for shafts to carriages, handles to spears, and for all purposes where straight, light, flexible, and tough wood is required. It is neither so close-grained as box nor so hard, but it turns well, and does not split; in colour it is lighter than box.

EBONY is the name given to the wood of several different trees, which agree in being dark-coloured, dense, and durable; it is used for inlaying and for making rules or scales, as not being liable to warp. It is an excellent wood for turning, but except for these purposes, it is less in request now than formerly, when it was much used in cabinetmaking.

LIGNUM VITE is the wood of the Guaiacum officinale, a large tree indigenous in the West Indies. This wood is the hardest and heaviest known, and can only be worked in the lathe. It is much used for making the sheaves, or pullies of blocks used in shipping, and for frictionrollers, &c.

There are a variety of foreign woods which, from their beautiful grain and varied tints, are used in cabinet-making. But as these woods are too valuable to be used solid, they are sawed into thin leaves, called veneers, which are glued down on a backing of ordinary mahogany. The principal of these fancy woods are

ROSE-WOOD, which is produced by a tree, a native of Brazil. This wood is much used for furniture, both as a veneer, and solid for legs of tables, chairs, &c.

KING-WOOD is also the produce of Brazil; it is a dark chocolate wood, veined with fine black veins.

BEEF-WOOD comes from New Holland, is of a pale red even tint, and intensely hard and heavy. It is used for inlaying and bordering.

TULIP-WOOD is a wood of a clouded red and yellow colour, and very hard, and used for bordering to larger woods. The tree is unknown to our botanists.

ZEBRA-WOOD is a large-sized tree, and abundant enough to be used as a veneer in large furniture, like rose-wood; it is more curious than elegant.

SATIN-WOOD is well known for its glossy yellowish tint, from which it derives its name; there are two varieties.

MAPLE, from our own indigenous tree, is a very elegant wood of a light colour, or else, near the root, variegated with knots and twisted grain. It is much used in fancywork.

Or the great number to whom it has been my painful professional duty to have administered in the last hour of their lives, I have sometimes felt surprised that so few have appeared reluctant to go to the undiscovered country "from whose bourne no traveller returns!" Many, we may easily suppose, have manifested this willingness to die from an impatience of suffering, or from that passive indifference which is sometimes the result of debility and bodily exhaustion. But I have seen those who have arrived at a fearless contemplation of the future, from faith in the doctrine which our religion teaches. Such men were not only calm and supported, but cheerful, in the hour of death; and I never quitted such a sick chamber without a hope that my last end might be like theirs.-SIR HENRY HALFORD. We know, and what is better we feel, inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort. We know, and it is our pride to know, that man is by his constitution a religious animal; that atheism is against not only our reason, but our instincts, and that it cannot prevail long. But if in the moment of rest, and in a drunken delirium from the hot spirit drawn out of the alembick of hell, (which, in France, is now so furiously boiling.) we should uncover our nakedness, by throwing off that Christian religion, which has hitherto been our boast and comfort, and one great source of civilization among us, and among many other nations, we are apprehensive (being well aware that the mind will not endure a veil) that some uncouth, pernicious, and degrading superstition might take place of it.-BURKE.

ON EMPLOYMENTS WHICH INJURE THE
EYE-SIGHT.
No. IV.

INSPECTORS LINEN-INSPECTORS BANK-NOTE BURNISHERS- PAINTERS MINERS AND COLLIERS-EFFECT OF HEAT UPON THE EYE-SIGHT -CASTING OF STEEL-BURNING OF PAINTED GLASS.

We now proceed to notice a few employments wherein too much or too little light proves injurious to the eye.

It is of course known that the value of cloth depends upon the fineness of its material, and the degree of closeness with which it is put together. In the process of weaving, the threads, whether of silk, cotton, or wool, &c., cross each other at right angles, and constitute what is technically termed the warp and the woof. The value of the cloth therefore is tested by the number of threads contained within a given space-the larger the number, the more valuable becomes the article. There is a class of persons called linen-inspectors, whose business it is to test the value of cloths in this way, and such persons suffer loss of visual power, in consequence of the constant application of the eye to this kind of work. Those engaged in examining white linen cloths suffer more than when dark colours are the subject of investigation; and among the coloured cloths the scarlet, with which our army is clothed, produces the worst effects. The reader is probably aware that white cloth reflects most light; and that of all the colours of the spectrum red is the least refrangible and although yellow and orange colours afford most light, yet red affords most heat, and is, from causes not well understood, productive of irritability to the eyes of most animals. Scarlet is a compound colour, containing a large proportion of red, combined with yellow*. Manufacturers of bright colours also suffer injury to the eyes.

It is said also that at the Bank of England a new issue of bank-notes is productive of ocular disease among the clerks, whose employment it is to examine, sign, and counter-sign an immense number of these documents per day. The money counters also, in the same establishment, are said to be peculiarly liable to amaurotic affections, especially at every new issue of coinage, when the pieces are highly polished, and consequently reflect much light.

Burnishers form another class of persons peculiarly liable to this disease, particularly such as are engaged in producing upon metallic surfaces a high degree of polish. One of the results of the simple, and otherwise admirable, principle of the division of labour, is certainly attended in some cases with its evils, by splitting up one branch of business into a large number of collateral shoots, it reduces man to a machine, and often deprives him of the power of exercising his invention; and, as in this case, proves positively hurtful. Hence we have an additional proof of the value of automatic machinery in effecting those processes by which man is injured, and his powers impaired.

In the instances we have given, the hand and the eye are chiefly employed, while the mind rests; but Nature is not partial in her rewards or her punishments. A high degree of mental cultivation does not

• The bull, the turkey, and other animals, manifest great impatience and anger at the sight of a red colour. This is probably due to an irritation of the optic nerve, induced by this particular colour: this is, however, only a surmise of the writer. A young man was recently killed by holding out his tongue to an adder which he had caught, and doubting whether it was a snake or an adder, put out his tongue to test the fact. The animal, irritated by the red appearance of the tongue, bit it; and the bite was fatal, for the young man died some hours afterwards.

exempt a man from the penalties due to transgression : the disciple of Claude, or of Galileo-of Hunter, or of Watt, is exposed (as we shall see) in the exercise of his high calling to the inconveniences of the humblest artisan. Nothing, in fact, proves so well to us the dependent and even coequal condition of man in the scheme of creation as the universality and individuality of the application of the natural laws to which we are all alike subject. We have heard the case of an eminent landscape-painter, who in the ardent pursuit of his profession became troubled with confusion and dimness of vision. He abandoned his practice for a time, and gave rest to his eyes, the inflammation of which yielded to proper medical treatment. Upon attempting to resume his occupations he was much alarmed to find that he no longer possessed the power of discriminating shades of colour from each other: he had, in fact, apparently lost the faculty necessary to his profession. He had again recourse to medical treatment, and after a time was restored to perfect sight.

The above instances occur, as it will be seen, in employments where too much light is admitted to the eye, whereby it becomes irritated and fatigued. On the other hand its occupation in a dim uncertain light is productive of results equally disastrous. In this case it is strained as it were beyond its powers, in endeavouring to exercise its function in the absence of the only necessary means, namely, a moderate and steady supply of light. Such persons are the numerous class of miners and colliers, whose employment is underground, amid the fitful gleams of a few lamps or candles, which the very position of the workmen prevent from being other than weak and almost inadequate sources of illumination; while in the collieries the lamps are necessarily surrounded with wire-gauze to prevent the firing of the gas which often issues from the apertures (blowers) laid open by the workman's pick, and thus the already feeble illumination is enfeebled. The exposure then of the eye to this bad light for several hours, and the transition into the light of day above when the miners' daily toil is done, is in many cases productive of the disease we have described. In the stupendous mines of Southern America immense numbers of the natives were, while under Spanish dominion, kept entirely in the mines, together with their wives and children; and thus, as an ingenious Frenchman observes, those very persons whose ancestors worshipped the sun are born, live, and die, without ever having been blessed with a sight of his rays.

Ah! what avail their fatal treasures, hid
Deep in the bowels of the pitying earth,
Golconda's gems, and sad Potosi's mines;
Where dwelt the gentlest Children of the Sun ?

THOMSON.

The united effect of the dim light in which colliers are constrained to perform their daily labour, and of the contaminated atmosphere which they breathe, is thus alluded to by Mr. Thackrah, in his work on the Effects of Trades, Professions, &c. on the Health.

The eyes of colliers are small, affected with chronic inflammation, and intolerant of full light. Boys enter the pit at the age of six or seven, and are employed in opening the trap-doors, driving the horses, propelling the trucks, &c.; and finally, when of sufficient age, they become col liers. Sickness and vomiting sometimes affect persons at their commencing the employ, and many after a few years' trial are obliged, by the injury which their health has sustained, and especially by the weakness of the eyes, to leave

the mine.

(3.) As the exposure of the eye to too much light is injurious, it almost follows that too much heat is equally so. It is painful to reflect that many of our