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1Q86 THE LEADER. [No. 496. Sept. 24, 185...
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A GhALXOP TO THE ANTII>OD!ES, returning ...
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LETTERS FROST ALABAMA (US), CHIEFLY KELA...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Through Norway With A Knapsack. By W. Ma...
ha « been « o long dead ^ might buried ; and the mental health of our modern youth would be much benefited by such disposal of the carcass . The fact that a language , spread by conquest to such an unprecedented extent , should so soon hare died , and died bo hopelessly , in spite of popes , and priests , and pedants , is a-proof of its inherent unfitness for human speech . The sweet and vigorous Italian , and the gorgeous Spanish , which have risen from its ashes , are as much superior to the dead parent as modern social institutions are to those of ancient Rome . " Mark , too , how our traveller explains the mystery of the great sea serpent .
" At about eight in the evening , as we approached the Satten fiord , lat . 67 , I observed a curiouslyshaped ship , and tried to define it with the telescope . Presently it diminished to half its former size , then rose again , but was then seemingly undermined by a sort of notch , or open angle , formed by one portion of it with the surface of the horizon . Further examination showed that it could not be a ship , and many opinions were expressed concerning it ; but at last I discovered its real nature . It was the head of the veritable " JKraken , " the great Scandinavian sea-serpent : the angle being the monster ' s mouth his upper jaw only being above water . The folds of bis enormously long body were seen stretching along the horizon now rising now sinking , all in continuous motion . At the most moderate calculation , its length mast have been three or four miles , from the
uplifted head to the last visible folds ; and how far the point of its tail might be from that I will venture to conjecture . It continued moving , and sometimes the greater part of it disappeared all at once : at one moment the head disappeared almost entirely , at another time only the head and the extreme folds were visible , then more than half of the tail end had gone . Why , then , have neither gedlogistsnor fishermen found any fossil or recent remains of this creature ? Simply because they have not properly sought for them : the petrifactions exist abundantly . They may be found hereabbuts— -in the form of low rocky ridges , stretching in long lines with spaces of sea between them , like the Hestmann ' s messengers Some start abruptly out of the water , and rise to fifty , a hundred , or more feet in' height ; these are the heads , the low ridges are the coils of the body ; of the Kraken .
" Towards the end of a long , clear , glaring summer ' s day , after the sun ' s rays ( which here are powerful to a degree incredible to those who have not felt them ) have been for eighteen or twenty hours continually pouring' upon these rocks , which from the nature of their surface are excellent absorbers of heat , they become considerably hotter than the surrounding sea , and are covered with a layer of rarefied air , continually ascending and waving about , and refracting the light very differently from the denser air over the intermediate sea . Now let us suppose a line of these low rocks just -visible above the horizon , and between them and the spectator ' s eye a number of other low rocks , which
he , raised on a ship ' s deck , looks over . It is evident that as he moves along he will see a particular point on the horizon sometimes over an unbroken line of sea , or sometimes over one or more of these low , warm rocks , with a rarefied atmosphere above them . Any one who is acquainted with the rudimentary principles of optics will perceive that , under these circumstances , an apparent undulating motion would be given to objects on the horizon ; they would appear to rise or fall , according as ho viewed them through a denser Or a rarer atmosphere ; and thus the waving of the coils of the serpent ' s body is accounted for . This may be illustrated by holding a hot poker between the eye and a . distant object a * vT * 5 jtl * jn annvt I *^ a 4 > Avrnn 4 > TiA Vk «* v 1 r * A *»
1 TJU * VJU AP RCW Jft * K > M VT « WAV |/ WA . WA « " But how about the undermining of the head-rock forming the serpent ' s uplifted jaws P This is as easily accounted for , though the , principles upon ¦ which it depends are not so popularly understood . One of the most beautiful illustrations of the mathematical consistency—so to speak—of nature ' s laws is a curious consequence of the law , that in a given body the sine of the angle of ordinary refraction bears a fixed ratio to that of the angle of incidence . I will not enter into the mathematics of this , but merely state the fact ; which is , that light cannot pass at all from a dense into a rare medium at angles certain of the law
exceeding a degree obliquity , as of refraotion could not . under such circumstances , be fulfilled ; thus all the light is turned back , for If it cannot go through in its own way it wdn't go through at all . Hence under circumstances the thinnest film of air is absolutely Opaque ; more opaque , than a dense metal , for gold leaf allows some light to pass through it . Such ft film of air admitting the passage of no light whatever , but reflecting 1 all tlmtJ falls i » pon It , shines likp . the brightest polished silver . By taking advantage of , the remarkable power * mch . carbon in some of Its forms possesses , ofcUng-» ng tonooiously to a film of air , I have devised a
simple experiment which illustrates this in a striking manner . Take a piece , of sheet metal , as copper , brass ,. iron , or any other , arid hold . it oyer the'flame . pfa candle or lamp until its surface is- uniformly blackened j then let it cool , taking care not to touch the blackened surface with the fingers . Now plunge this in a tumbler , or other convenient vessel of water , and look at it obliquely through the water :. the dull black carbon surface disappears , and a bright , glistening , silvery mirror takes its place . Then take the plate out of the water , and ( if the experiment has been carefully ebnducted ) the blackened surface will be quite dry : the water has not touched the carbon , for it carried down a thin adhering film of
air ; and it . Tvaathat which shone like silver , and by its opacity concealed so completely the black surface beneath . It is because you looked through a dense medium , the water , very obliquely npOn the surface of a rare one , the film of air , that this effect was produced . If you take a tumbler of water , and look up obliquely through the water to its surface , the surface appears mirror-like , and reflects objects that are in theatvater ; but your finger , held just above the surface of the water , is invisible , on account of the perfect opacity of the air under these conditions . Many water-Beetles and water-spiders have the power of carrying under water a film of air adhering to their bodies , which appears like a
coat of polished mail . If the blackened plate be laid horizontally at the bottom of a glass vessel—such as an aquarium tank—and viewed through the sides , an explanation of the mirage of the desert is at once exhibited : the black surface disappears , and a mirror takes its place ; such a mirror as the thirsty traveller sees upon the distant sands , and mistakes for a sheet of water . The hot sand rarefies the film of air in contact with it ; the spectator ' s head is immersed in a denser stratum of air , and looking from that , -very obliquely to the rarer film upon the sand ,
he sees the mirror just as you may see it on the airfihli of the blackened plate ; but he sees it only afar off , near the horizon , and not at his feet : and as he advances , the bright illusion advances also ; the reason of this being , that the difference is so small between the density of the film upon the sands and the Stratum enveloping his'head , that a very great obliquity is necessary for this total reflection to take place . Many other explanations of the mirage have been given , but this I believe to be the true one , The common explanation that it is reflection from vapour will not bear examination .
« The reader , however , may still be at a loss to see how this bears upon our sea-serpent and his- uplifted jaw . It is thus : let us suppose one of these island rocks to have a sloping shore , or that there is a reef of low rocks close to it ; these , being heated , will . be covered with a film of rarefied air clinging to them for a while before ascending . Such rocks , or sloping cpast , when near the horizon , will be seen at an obliquity sufficient to produce a mirage ; this , the necessary obliquity , will be maintained up to a certain height of the slope , and , so far , the dark rock will be invisible , and its place occupied by a bright reflecting surface . The ; light , thus reflected , will be scarcely distinguishable from the transmitted light of the horizon , and hence it appears ( unless carefully observed ) that the bright part of the rock or shore is transparent , or that the rock is cutoff from below : hence the gaping jaw . "
Pull of moident , interest and character is this same book of travels in Norway ; minute and precise as might be expected from a pedestrian traveller , and demonstrating the advantages of such a mode of travel . Grand and desolate scenery is described with an artist ' s feeling ; and well presented also in coloured engravings , with which the book is handsomely illustrated .
1q86 The Leader. [No. 496. Sept. 24, 185...
1 Q 86 THE LEADER . [ No . 496 . Sept . 24 , 9
A Ghalxop To The Antii>Od!Es, Returning ...
A GhALXOP TO THE ANTII > OD ! ES , returning Overland tliroufirJ ^ India . By . Dr . Jojin Shaw . —J . F . Hope . The author , having made more than one visit to Australia , speaks with more of authority than if his book had been merely tho result of hasty impressions . His visit was made in 1857 , as a passenger in a ship for female emigrants . His experiences abroad were ^ somewhat curious . On arriving at Melbourne , we are taught to regard it as " the wonder of the modem world ; " but we find
afterwards but it ranks as tho " second wonder . " Victoria with her capital being justly to be considered the first . There are men both in Victoria and New South Wales worth their . £ 50 , 000 a year , whose manners , education , and parentage are Of the lowest . Buildings that wore of wood at the diggings in 1851 were in 1857 converted into absolute towns , with their public buildings , and many of the oonvenionoes of civilised life ; and eoon they would be amply provided with a oomplete network of railroad . We are told there arc
40 , 000 Chinese in Australia ; their presence < n * es rise to much controversy : — ° " The real fact of the matter is , " says Dr . Shaw" that the European miner begrudges even his lea v ' ings to a Chinaman . He would rather the gold should remain among the dirt than be raised by a Celestial . He is put to shame by the steady plodding industry that extracts a competency from the old pillars of ground which he declares he left because it would not even grub him . He hates to have a practical lesson in perseverance , economy , and sobriety , ^ constantly taught him ; by ' a yellow-skin
His envy of his competitors , soon begets hatred which is speedily conjoined with malice . He is ready to believe and circulate anything to their disadvantage , no matter'how calumnious : and if he does not himself commit overt acts of violence he gives his moral support to any movement for their detriment , applauding its execution by others the more highly , according as he may dread the personal consequences of a similar deed . That which , when practised wholesale by a European , is looked upon as merely ah every-day occurrence , when perpetrated by a Chinaman becomes a serious crime , and calls for direct retribution . "
It will be impossible to follow our author from Melbourne to New Zealand , Queen Charlotte ' s Sound , to Cloudy Bay and Port Underwood , or to the Nelson diggings . The latter half of his book shows him wandering from Wellington to Sydney , from Sydney to Calcutta , and presents us with remarks on India , and journeyings in the Orient , Spain , and Portugal . In these , however , there is not sufficient originality to authorise comment . But the book , on the whole , contains much information .
Letters Frost Alabama (Us), Chiefly Kela...
LETTERS FROST ALABAMA ( US ) , CHIEFLY KELATING TO NATURAL HISTOIIY . By Philip Henry Gosse , F . R . S . —Morgan and Chase . The author is an American entomologist , and , particularly as regards insects , has much information to bestow on his readers . This he gives in an epistolary shape , which has many advantages , and enables the writer to treat his ^ subject in an agreeable manner . One anecdote is told at the beginning of this book which amply illustrates the difference between the scientific and unfurnished mind . At Philadelphia the author met-with ah old man who knew Wilson , the ornithologist ,
who nevertheless had not many personal anecdotes to tell of his fKend ; but , said he , " Wilson and I were always disputing about the sparrows ; he would nave it that the sparrows here were different from those of the old country ; I knew well enough they were just the same , but I could not persuade him of it . " "It is scarcely necessary to say , " adds Mr . Gosse , " that the American sparrows are quite distinct from the European species . " Yet the old man in question , confident in his own blindness , could not see the difference , and would not allow it to Wilson ' s experience . It requires scientific insight to make the most
ordinary distinctions ; and to those who have « not , the latter appears very absurd . The old man evidently triumphed , in his supposed superiority , over the ornithologist , and pitied the weaKness that could so delude itself in seeing what to him had no existence . Wilson had a sense more than the old man , and thus to him was but as a ghost seer , whom he might reasonably reckon mad for having a special vision denied to men . in general . Here is , in fact , the stumbhng-blocfc which makes the-world so difficult to the aavan and the sago . They who have not " the open vision" must confide in those who havo , or porisu
in their ignorance . . , . . Our author ' s scientific sight was vital and volant . To him land and ocean are alike prolific m the manifestations of life . On the latter , as wo find him , in his introductory lot tor , he contemplates the great variety of brilliant formsi onu animal existences with astonishment , as uo iooks over the vessel's side Into the watore : — « That splendid oroaturo , the coryphono , or dolphin of mariners , was a frequent visitant fj > our Uttw oraftj tho spotted rudder-fish , ^ V'lS : banded pilot , were often seen beneath the , ™» that strange fish , tho remora , would occosion ^ y fasten itself by the curious , meohanism of its oorpn * shield to the vessel ' s quarter , or to th , ? « id ? ° ^ affl lurking , shark , thus , taking a ride , liko those ^ cu honest boys who jump up behind » pass ing w « jj without expense . Shoals of playful porpoises wwua gambol round us , and presently troop oir m nj » ^ as suddenly as they cauio , and tho direful enw *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 24, 1859, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24091859/page/18/
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