A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies Part 11

2 Weys --- 1 Last --- last.

_Land Measure_.

40 Square Perches --- 1 Rood 4 Roods ---- 1 Acre

Note, 5 feet is a geometrical pace, and 1056 geometrical paces 1 English mile.

_Long Measure_.

12 Inches ---- 1 Foot 3 Feet --- 1 Yard 5 Yards and --- 1 Pole or perch 40 Poles --- --- 1 Furlong 8 Furlongs or 1760 yards 1 English mile

_A MULTIPLICATION TABLE_.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81

THE use of this table is to find how many any one figure multiplied by another will make: suppose I wanted to know, how many seven times eight is, I look into the table for 7 in the first rank of figures on the left hand, and for 8 in the top line; then carrying my finger strait from 7 in the first rank of figures, till I come to that which has the figure 8 on the top of it, I there find 56, which is the exact number of 7 times 8, or 8 multiplied by 7. So in all other instances look for the first figure in the left-hand rank or column, and for the figure you want to multiply by in the first or top line, and which ever square these two meet in, there is the amount.

_The_ PENCE TABLE.

20 Pence is 1 shilling and 8 pence 30 --- 2 ---- 6 40 --- 3 ---- 4 50 --- 4 ---- 2 60 --- 5 ---- ---

70 --- 5 ---- 10 80 --- 6 ---- 8 90 --- 7 ---- 6 100 --- 8 ---- 4 110 --- 9 ---- 2 120 --- 10 ---- --- 130 --- 10 ---- 10 140 --- 11 ---- 8 150 --- 12 ---- 6 160 --- 13 ---- 4 170 --- 14 ---- 2 180 --- 15 ---- --- 190 --- 15 ---- 10 200 --- 16 ---- 8 210 --- 17 ---- 6 220 --- 18 ---- 4 230 --- 19 ---- 2 240 --- 20 ---- ---

The above table shews how many shillings are contained in any number of pence from 20 to 240, and likewise how many pence there are in any number of shillings from 1 to 20; which will be found a great use in reckoning ma[letter corrupted]ll money, and ought to be learned by heart, os [so as? (letters apparently dropped)] to be ready on all occasions.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE _SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD_.

THO' the Pagans were grossly ignorant of the most important truths, with respect to G.o.d and religion; yet the virtuosi of this and preceding ages have been forced to acknowledge, that their tastes were elegant, sublime, and well-formed, with respect to works of sculpture, statuary, and architecture. As a proof of this, in behalf of the ancients, 'tis only requisite we should take a cursory view of those n.o.ble and magnificent productions of art, commonly called THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

_The_ TEMPLE _of_ EPHESUS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Temple of Ephesus]

THE first of these Seven Wonders was the Temple of Ephesus, founded by Ctesiphon, consecrated to Diana, and, (according to the conjectures of natural philosophers) situated in a marshy soil, for no other reason than that it might not be exposed to the violent shocks of earthquakes and volcanos. This n.o.ble structure, which was 425 feet long, and 220 feet broad, had not its bulk alone to raise it above the most stately monuments of art, since it was adorned with 127 lofty and well proportioned pillars of Parian marble, each of which had an opulent monarch for its erector and finisher; and so high did the spirit of emulation run in this point, that each succeeding potentate endeavoured to outstrip his predecessor in the richness, grandeur, and magnificence of his respective pillar. As it is impossible for a modern to form a just and adequate idea of such a stupendous piece of art, 'tis sufficient to inform him, that the rearing of the Temple of Ephesus employed several thousands of the finest workmen of the times for 200 years: but as no building is proof against the shocks of time, and the injuries of the weather, so the Temple of Ephesus falling into decay, was, by the command of Alexander the Great, rebuilt by Dinocrates, his own engineer, the finest architect then alive.

_The_ WALLS _of_ BABYLON.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Walls of Babylon]

THE works of the cruel, though ingenious and enterprising Semiramis, next command our wonder and admiration. These consisted of the walls erected about Babylon, and the pleasant gardens formed for her own delight. This immense, or rather inconceivable profusion of art and expence [sic], employed 30,000 men for many years successively, so that we need not wonder when we are told by historians, that these walls were 300 or 350 stadia in circ.u.mference (which amount to 22 English miles), fifty cubits high, and so broad that they could afford room for two or three coaches a-breast without any danger.

Though ancient records give us no particular accounts of the gardens, yet we may reasonably presume, that if so much time and treasure were laid out upon the walls, the gardens must not have remained without their peculiar beauties: thus 'tis more than probable that the gardens of Semiramis charmed the wondering eye with unbounded prospect, consisting of regular vistas, agreeable avenues, fine parterres, cool grottos and alcoves, formed for the delicious purposes of love, philosophy, retirement, or the gratification of any other pa.s.sion, to which great and good minds are subject.

_The_ TOMB _of_ PHAROS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Tomb of Pharos]

WE shall next take a view of the splendid and sumptuous Tomb of Pharos, commonly called the Egyptian Labyrinth [sic]. This structure, though designed for the interment of the dead, had nevertheless the pomp of a palace designed for a monarch, who thought he was to live for ever; since it contained sixteen magnificent apartments, corresponding to the sixteen provinces of Egypt; and it so struck the fancy of the celebrated Dedalus, that from it he took the model of that renowned labyrinth which he built in Crete, and which has eternized [sic] his name, for one of the finest artists in the world.

_Of the_ PYRAMIDS _of_ EGYPT.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Pyramid of Egypt]

IF the amazing bulk, the regular form, and the almost inconceivable duration of public or monumental buildings call for surprize [sic]

and astonishment, we have certainly just reason to give the Pyramids of Egypt a place among the Seven Wonders. These buildings remain almost as strong and beautiful as ever, 'till this very time. There are three of them; the largest of which was erected by Chemnis, one of the Kings of Egypt, as a monument of his power when alive, and for a receptacle of his body when dead. It was situated about 16 English miles from Memphis, now known by the name of Grand Cairo, and was about 1440 feet in height, and about 143 feet long, on each side of the square basis. It was built of hard Arabian stones, each of which is about 30 feet long. The building of it is said to have employed 600,000 men for twenty years. Chemnis however was not interred in this lofty monument, but was barbarously torn to pieces in a mutiny of his people. Cephas, his brother, succeeding him, discovered an equally culpable vanity, and erected another, though a less magnificent pyramid. The third was built by King Mycernius according to some, but, according to others, by the celebrated courtesan Rhodope. This structure is rendered still more surprising, by having placed upon its top a head of black marble, 102 feet round the temples, and about 60 feet from the chin to the crown of the head.

_The_ TOMB _of_ MAUSOLUS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Tomb of Mausolus]

THE next is the celebrated monument of conjugal love, known by the name of the Mausoleum, and erected by Artemesia, Queen of Caria, in honour of her husband Mausolus, whom she loved so tenderly, that, after his death, she ordered his body to be burnt, and put his ashes in a cup of wine, and drank it, that she might lodge the remains of her husband as near to her heart as she possibly could. This structure she enriched with such a profusion of art and expence, that it was justly looked upon as one of the greatest wonders of the world, and ever since magnificent funeral monuments are called Mausoleums.

It stood in Halicarna.s.sus, capital of the kingdom of Caria, between the King's Palace and the Temple of Venus. Its breadth from N. to S. was 63 feet, and in circ.u.mference 411, and about 120 feet high.

Pyrrhus raised a pyramid on the top of it, and placed thereon a marble chariot drawn by four horses. The whole was admired by all that saw it, except the philosopher Anaxagoras, who, at the sight of it, cried, "There is a great deal of money changed into stone."

_The_ COLOSSUS _of the_ SUN.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Colossus of Rhodes]

THE Colossus of Rhodes, is justly accounted the sixth Wonder; a statue of so prodigious a bulk, that it could not have been believed, had it not been recorded by the best historians. It was made of bra.s.s by one Chares of Asia Minor, who consumed twelve years in finishing it. It was erected over the entry of the harbour of the city, with the right foot on one side, and the left on the other. The largest ships could pa.s.s between the legs without lowering their masts. It is said to have cost 44,000l.

English money. It was 800 feet in height, and all its members proportionable; so that when it was thrown down by an earthquake, after having stood 50 years, few men were able to embrace its little finger. When the Saracens, who in 684 conquered the island, had broken this immense statue to pieces, they are said to have loaded above 900 camels with the bra.s.s of it.

_The_ IMAGE _of_ Jupiter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: woodcut of Image of Jupiter]

THE last, most elegant, and curious of all these works, known by the name of the Seven Wonders, was the incomparable statue of Jupiter Olympus, erected by the Elians, a people of Greece, and placed in a magnificent temple consecrated to Jupiter. This statue represented Jupiter sitting in a chair, with his upper part naked, but covered down from the girdle, in his right hand holding an eagle, and in his left a sceptre. This statue was made by the celebrated Phidias, and was 150 cubits high. The body is said to have been of bra.s.s, and the head of pure gold. Caligula endeavoured to get it transported to Rome, but the persons employed in that attempt were frightened from their purpose by some unlucky accident.

_Thus having given an Account of the Seven Wonders of the World, let us take a View of the Burning Mountains, or Volcanos, called Mount Vesuvius and Mount aetna; than which there is, perhaps, nothing in the whole Course of Nature more worthy our Notice [sic], or so capable of raising our Admiration; and which, when considered in a religious sense, may, with Justice, be said to be one of the wonderful Works of_ G.o.d.

MOUNT VESUVIUS stands about six miles from the city of Naples, and on the side of the Bay towards the East. The plains round it form a beautiful prospect, and on one side are seen fruitful trees of different kinds, and vineyards that produce the most excellent wine; but when one ascends higher, on the side which looks to the South, the face of things is entirely changed, and one sees a tract of ground, which presents only images of horror, viz. a desolate country covered with ashes, pumice-stones, and cinders; together with rocks burned up with the fire, and split into dreadful precipices. It is reckoned four miles high, and the top of it is a wide naked plain, smoking with sulphur in many places; in the midst of which plain stands another high hill, in the shape of a sugar-loaf, on the top of which is a vast mouth or cavity, that goes shelving down on all sides about a hundred yards deep, and about four hundred over; from whence proceeds a continual smoke, and sometimes those astonishing and dreadful eruptions of flame, ashes, and burning matter, that fill the inhabitants around with consternation, and bear down and destroy all before it. Among the many eruptions which it has had, at different times, we need instance only one, which happened on the fifth of June, 1717, and is thus related by Mr. Edward Berkley, who was present at the time, in his letter to Dr. Arbuthnot in England, viz. That he with much difficulty, reached the top of Vesuvius on the 17th of April, 1717, where says he, I saw a vast aperture full of smoke, and heard within that horrid gulph certain odd sounds, as it were murmuring, sighing, throbbing, churning, dashing of waves; and, between while, a noise like that of thunder or cannon, attended constantly, from the belly of the mountain, with a clattering like that of tiles falling from the tops of houses into a street. After an hour's stay, the smoke being moved by the wind, I could discern two furnaces, almost contiguous; one on the left, which seemed to be about three yards diameter, glowed with red flames, and threw up red hot stones with a hideous noise, which, as they fell back, caused the fore-mentioned clattering.

On May 8, ascending to the top of Vesuvius, I had a full prospect of the crater, which appeared to be about a mile in circ.u.mference, and a hundred yards deep, with a conical mount in the middle of the bottom, made of stones thrown up and fallen back again into the crater: And the left-hand furnace, mentioned before, threw up every three or four minutes, with a dreadful bellowing, a vast number of red hot stones, sometimes more than a 1000, but never less than 300 feet higher than my head, as I stood upon the brink, which fell back perpendicularly into the crater, there being no wind. This furnace or mouth was in the vortex of the hill, which it had formed round it. The other mouth was lower, in the side of the same new-formed hill, and filled with such red hot liquid matter as we see in a gla.s.s-house furnace, which raged and wrought as the waves in the sea, causing a short abrupt noise, like what may be imagined from a sea of quicksilver dashing among uneven rocks. This stuff would sometimes spew over, and run down the convex side of the conical hill, and appearing at first red hot, it changed colour, and hardened as it cooled, shewing the first rudiments of an eruption, or an eruption in miniature: All which I could exactly survey by the favour of the wind, for the s.p.a.ce of an hour and a half; during which it was very observable, that all the vollies [sic] of smoke, flame, and burning stone, came only out of the hole to our left, while the liquid stuff in the other mouth worked and overflowed.

On June 5, after a horrid noise, the mountain was seen, at Naples, to spew a little out of the crater, and so continued till about two hours before night on the 7th, when it made hideous bellowing, which continued all that night, and the next day till noon, causing all the windows, and, as some affirm, the very houses in Naples (about six miles distant) to shake. From that time it spewed vast quant.i.ties of melted stuff to the South, which streamed down the side of the mountain, like a pot boiling over.

On the 9th, at night, a column of fire shot at intervals out of its summit.

On the 10th, the mountain grew very outrageous again, roaring and groaning most dreadfully, sounding like a noise made up of a raging tempest, the murmur of a troubled sea, and the roaring of thunder and artillery, confused altogether. This moved my curiosity to approach the mountain. Three or four of us were carried in a boat, and landed at Torre del Greco, a town situate at the foot of Vesuvius to the S.W. whence we rode between four and five miles before we came to the burning river, which was about midnight; and as we approached, the roaring of the volcano grew exceeding loud and terrible. I observed a mixture of colours in the cloud over the crater, green, yellow, red, and blue. There was likewise a ruddy dismal light in the air, over the tract of land where the burning river flowed; ashes continually showering on us all the way from the sea-coast, which horrid scene grew still more extraordinary, as we came nearer the stream. Imagine a vast torrent of liquid fire rolling from the top down the side of the mountain, and with irresistible fury bearing down and consuming vines, olives, fig-trees, houses, and, in a word, every thing that stood in its way.

Death, _in a thousand forms, destructive frown'd,_ _And_ Woe, Despair, _and_ Horror _rag'd around_.

aeneid II. by Pitt.

The largest stream of fire seemed half a mile broad at least, and five miles long. During our return, at about three o'clock in the morning, we constantly heard the murmur and groaning of the mountain, which sometimes burst out into louder peals, throwing up huge spouts of fire, and burning stones, which, falling down again, resembled stars in our rockets. Sometimes I observed two, and at others three distinct columns of flames, and sometimes one vast one, that seemed to fill the whole crater; which burning columns, and the fiery stones, seemed to be shot 1000 feet perpendicular above the summit of the volcano.