The Book Of Curiosities Part 56

CHILTERN HUNDREDS.--Frequent mention is made of members of parliament accepting the Chiltern Hundreds. The following is the explanation:--

The Chiltern Hundreds are hundreds, or divisions of counties, parcelled out by the wise Alfred, and now annexed to the crown; they still retain their peculiar courts.

The stewards of these courts are appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer; their salary is 20s. a year. As the law enacts that a member of parliament who receives a place under the Crown, may not sit, unless re-elected,--accepting the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds is merely a formal manner of resigning a seat, when the member wishes to be rechosen.

ORIGIN OF THE TERM "JOHN BULL."--Dr. John Bull was the first Gresham professor of music, and organist and composer to Queen Elizabeth. John, like a true Englishman, travelled for improvement; and having heard of a famous musician at St. Omer's, he placed himself under him as a novice; but a circ.u.mstance very soon convinced the master, that he was inferior to the scholar. The musician shewed John a song, which he had composed in _forty parts_! telling him at the same time, that he defied all the world to produce a person capable of adding another part to his composition.

Bull desired to be left alone, and to be indulged for a short time with pen and ink. In less than three hours, he added forty parts more to the song. Upon which the Frenchman was so much surprised, that he swore in great ecstasy, he must be either the _Devil_, or _John Bull_; which has ever since been proverbial in England.

Origin of the Old Adage, "IF IT RAINS ON SAINT SWITHIN'S DAY, IT WILL RAIN FOR FORTY DAYS AFTERWARDS."

In the year 805, St. Swithin, bishop of Winchester, dying, was canonized by the then pope. He was singular in his desire to be buried in the open church-yard, and not in the chancel of the minister, as was customary with the bishops; which request was complied with: but the monks, on his being canonized, taking it into their heads that it was disagreeable for the saint to lie in the open church-yard, resolved to move his body into the choir, which was to have been done in solemn procession on the 15th of July. It rained, however, so violently on that day, and for forty days succeeding, as had hardly ever been known, which made them set aside their design, as contrary to the will of Heaven; and instead of removing the body, they shewed their veneration by erecting a chapel over his grave.

Origin of the Saying, when people speak improperly, "THAT'S A BULL."--This became a proverb from the repeated blunders of one Obadiah Bull, a lawyer of London, who lived in the reign of king Henry VII.

CURFEW BELL.--The curfew bell (called, in the low Latin of the middle ages, _ignitegium_, or _peritegium_, and in French, _couvrefew_) was a signal for all persons to extinguish their fires at a certain hour. In those ages, people made fires in their houses in a hole or pit in the centre of the floor, under an opening formed in the roof; and when the fire was burnt out, or the family went to bed, the hole was shut by a cover of wood or earth. This practice still prevails among the cottagers in some parts of Scotland, and perhaps in other parts of the kingdom. In the dark ages, when all ranks of people were turbulent, a law was almost every where established, that the fire should be extinguished at a certain time in the evening; that the cover should be put over the fire-place, and that all the family should retire to rest, or at least keep within doors.

The time when this ought to be done, was signified by the ringing of a bell, called therefore the curfew bell, or _ignitegium_. This was the law of William the Conqueror, who first introduced the practice into England, and which was abolished by Henry the First, in 1100.

The ringing of the curfew bell gave rise to the Prayer Bell, as it is called, which is still retained in some Protestant countries. Pope John the Twenty-third, with a view to avert certain apprehended misfortunes which rendered his life uncomfortable, gave orders, that every person, on hearing the _ignitegium_, should repeat the _Ave Maria_ three times. When the appearance of a comet, and the dread of Turks, alarmed all Christendom, Pope Calixtus the Third increased these periodical times of prayer, by ordering the prayer bell to be rung also at noon.

CHAP. LXIV.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE CUSTOMS OF MANKIND.--(_Concluded._)

_Romish Indulgences--Act of Faith--Baptism of Bells--Curious Baptism--Kalmuck Praying Machines--Curious Penance at Calcutta._

RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS.

ROMISH INDULGENCES.--In the Romish church, indulgences are a remission of the punishment due to sins, granted by the church, and supposed to save the sinner from purgatory. According to the Romish doctrine, all the good works of the saints, over and above those which were necessary towards their own justification, are deposited, together with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in one inexhaustible treasury. The keys of this were committed to St. Peter, and to his successors the popes, who may open it at pleasure, and by transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any particular person, for a sum of money, may convey to him either the pardon of his own sins, or a release for any one in whom he is interested, from the pains of purgatory. Indulgences were first invented in the eleventh century, by Urban II. as a recompense for those who went in person upon the glorious enterprise of conquering the Holy Land. They were afterwards granted to those who hired a soldier for that purpose; and in process of time were bestowed on such as gave money for accomplishing any pious work enjoined by the pope. This power of granting indulgences was greatly abused.

Pope Leo X. in order to carry on the magnificent structure of St. Peter's at Rome, published indulgences, and plenary remission, to all who should contribute money towards it. Finding the project take, he granted to Albert, elector of Mentz, and archbishop of Magdeburg, the benefit of the indulgences of Saxony and the neighbouring parts, and farmed out those of other countries to the highest bidders; who, to make the best of their bargain, procured the ablest preachers to cry up the value of the _ware_.

The form of these indulgences was as follows: "May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy pa.s.sion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy Pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred, then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may be, even for such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see, and as far as the keys of the holy church extend: I remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you possessed at baptism; so that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened; and if you shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

The terms in which the retailers of indulgences described their benefits, and the necessity of purchasing them, are so extravagant, that they appear almost incredible. They maintain, that if any man purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest secure with respect to its salvation. That the souls confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are purchased, as soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape from that place of torment, and ascend into heaven: That the efficacy of indulgences is so great, that the most heinous sins, even if one should violate (which was impossible) the Mother of G.o.d, would be remitted and expiated by them, and the person be freed both from punishment and guilt: That this was the unspeakable gift of G.o.d, in order to reconcile men to himself: That the cross erected by the preachers of indulgences was equally efficacious with the cross of Christ. "Lo! (say they) the heavens are open; if you enter not now, when will you enter? For twelve-pence you may redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory; and are you so ungrateful, that you will not rescue your parent from torment? If you had but one coat, you ought to strip yourself instantly, and sell it, in order to purchase such benefits, &c."--This monstrous abuse of indulgences contributed greatly to the Reformation of religion in Germany, where Martin Luther first began to declaim against the preachers of indulgences, and afterwards against indulgences themselves. Since that period, the popes have been more sparing in the exercise of this power: however, they still carry on a great trade with them to the Indies, where they are purchased at two rials apiece, and sometimes more. The pope likewise grants indulgences to persons at the point of death; that is, he grants them, by a brief, power to choose what confessor they please, who is authorized thereby to absolve them from all their sins in general.

We proceed to another custom of the Romish church, called the ACT OF FAITH.--_Auto da Fe_, in the Romish church, is a solemn day observed by the Inquisition, for the punishment of heretics, and the absolution of the innocent persons who have been accused. It is usually contrived to fall on some grand festival, that the execution may take place with the greater pomp and solemnity. At least, it is always on a Sunday. The auto da fe may be considered as the last act of the inquisitorial tragedy; it is a kind of gaol delivery, appointed as often as a sufficient number of prisoners in the Inquisition are convicted of heresy, either by their own voluntary or extorted confession, or on the evidence of witnesses. The process is as follows:--In the morning they are brought into a great hall, where they are clothed in certain habits, which they are to wear in the procession, and by which they know their doom. The procession is led on by the Dominican friars, who enjoy this privilege, because St. Dominic, their founder, inst.i.tuted the Inquisition. Before them is carried the standard of the holy office, in which the image of the founder is wrought in rich embroidery, holding a sword in one hand, and an olive branch in the other, with the inscription, "Justice and Mercy." These friars are followed by the penitents, who have narrowly escaped burning, and who over their black coats have flames painted, with their points turned downwards. Next come the negative and relapsed who are intended to be burnt, and who have flames on their habits pointing upwards. After these follow such as profess doctrines contrary to the faith of Rome, and who, besides flames pointing upwards, have their pictures painted on their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and surrounded by dogs, serpents, and devils, all open-mouthed. Each prisoner is attended by a familiar of the Inquisition; and those intended to be burnt, have also on each side a Jesuit, who is continually advising them to abjure. After the prisoners, follow a troop of familiars on horseback; after them, the Inquisitors, and other officers, upon mules; and lastly, the inquisitor-general, upon a white horse, led by two men with black hats and green hatbands. A scaffold is erected sufficiently large for containing two or three thousand people; at one end of the scaffold are the prisoners, at the other end the inquisitors. After a sermon, consisting of encomiums on the Inquisition, and of invectives against heretics, a priest ascends a desk near the scaffold, and, having received the abjuration of the penitents, recites the final sentence of those who are to be put to death, and delivers them to the secular power, at the same time earnestly beseeching _that their blood be not touched, nor their lives put in danger_!!!

The prisoners being thus in the hands of the civil magistrate, are immediately loaded with chains, and carried first to the secular gaol, and thence, in an hour or two, brought before the civil judge. After inquiring in what religion they intend to die, the civil judge p.r.o.nounces sentence on such as declare they die in the communion of the church of Rome, that they shall be first strangled, and then burnt to ashes; on such as die in any other faith, that they be burnt alive. Both are immediately carried to the place of execution, where as many stakes are set up as there are prisoners to be burnt, and about each stake is laid a quant.i.ty of dry furze. The stakes of the professed, or of such as persist in their heresy, are about four yards in height, and towards the top have a small board, on which the prisoner is seated. The negative and relapsed being first strangled and burnt, the professed mount their stakes by a ladder; and the Jesuits, after repeatedly exhorting them to be reconciled to the church, part with them, and say that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at their elbow to receive their souls, and to carry them with him to the flames of h.e.l.l. On hearing this, a great shout is raised by the people, who cry, 'Let the dogs' beards be made!' This is performed by thrusting flaming furze, fastened to long poles, against their chins, till their faces are burned to a coal. This inhuman act is accompanied with the loudest acclamations of joy. At last, fire is set to the furze at the bottom of the stakes, over which the professed are chained so high, that the top of the flame seldom reaches higher than the seat upon which they sit, and they seem rather roasted than burnt. There cannot be a more lamentable spectacle: the sufferers continually cry out, while they are able, 'Pity, for the love of G.o.d!' Yet it is beheld by all ages, and by both s.e.xes, with transports of joy and admiration!

Another curious custom in the same church, is, THE BAPTISM OF BELLS.--"Being come to Veletre, the abbot took up his lodging with one of his friends, and I betook myself to an inn, near the Piazza. My host asked me if I had not a mind to see the ceremony which was to be celebrated the next day at the _dome_, (so they call the cathedral churches in Italy;) he told me there was a bell to be baptized, whereof a great lord was to be the G.o.dfather, and a lady of quality the G.o.dmother; and that there would be a great appearance of the n.o.bility, who had been invited to the solemnity from all parts. I had before this seen bells baptized in France; but because I knew that the Italians surpa.s.s all other nations in the magnificence of their ceremonies, and that they commonly season them with a double portion of superst.i.tion, I resolved with myself to see it baptized, and with that design I staid all the next day at Veletre. I went to the church in the morning, to take a view of the preparatives that had taken up a whole week's time, which I found to be great and sumptuous indeed. The bell was placed at the lower end of the body of the church, hanging upon two gudgeons, covered with rich hangings of velvet of a violet colour, and the bell itself was accoutred with a kind of robe of the same stuff. There were two theatres built on each side of it for the musicians, and an amphitheatre for the ladies who were to be present at the ceremony. The pillars and walls of the church were richly adorned with curious sheets of silk, and pictures. Near to the bell was erected an altar very neatly set forth, and on it lay a white satin robe, which was to be put upon the bell as soon as it should be baptized, with a great and choice garland of flowers: there was also upon the altar a Roman ritual, a censer, and a vessel with holy water, and round about the altar rich elbow chairs for the priests who were to perform the ceremony. Just over against it a throne was seen, most magnificently hung, for the G.o.dfather and G.o.dmother of the bell.

"About ten o'clock the company came, and having taken their several places, the priests began their function. He who officiated was a bishop _in partibus_, whom the bishop of Veletre, being at that time very sick, had deputed for this purpose, and his chair was placed upon the steps of the high altar. He struck up the first Psalm, which was continued by the music. The psalms, by the way, which may be seen in the Roman ritual, have as much reference to the baptizing of the moon, as to the baptizing of a bell: for the prophet David very probably had not the least notion of the baptism of bells. After the psalms were ended, the bishop began the blessing of holy water, to sanctify it in the first place, to the end that afterwards it might sanctify the bell also. This benediction is very long, and no less ridiculous; which being finished, the bishop and priests dipped spunges in it, with which they rubbed over the bell, from the top to the bottom, within and without, being in this regard certainly much better baptized than children are, upon whose heads only they pour or sprinkle it. They repeated, in the mean time, abundance of prayers, which speak of nothing else but heavenly blessings, that are to purify, sanctify, and consecrate the bell. _Ut hoc tintinnabulum_ (say they) _coeleste benedictione perfundere, purificare, sanctificare, et consecrare digneris_: 'That thou wouldest be pleased to rinse, purify, sanctify, and consecrate this bell with thy heavenly benediction.'

"The bell being thus washed, they dried it with clean napkins; and the bishop having taken the vial of holy oils, which are those they bless on Holy Thursday for the whole year following, he therewith anointed the cross of metal, which is on the top of the bell, in order to make the devils flee at the sound or ringing of it: _Ut hoc audientes tintinnabulum, tremiscant et fugiant ante crucis in eo depictum vexillum_: 'That hearing this bell, they may tremble and flee before the banner of thy cross designed upon it.' He afterwards made seven other crosses with the said oil upon the outside of the bell, and four on the inside. This done, he made the G.o.dfather and G.o.dmother draw near, and demanded of them in Italian, 'Whether they were the persons that presented this bell to be consecrated?' Who having answered that they did, he then asked them, 'Whether the metal of the bell, and the workmanship of it, had been paid for to the artificers?' To which they answered, 'Yea.'--They make this demand, because it had sometimes happened, that for want of proper payment, the workmen have seized and fetched away their bells the same day, or the day after they had been baptized, and have melted them down to be employed to profane uses. The third question he asked of them was, 'Whether they believed all that the Catholic apostolic churches believes concerning the holiness and virtue of bells?' The answer to which was affirmative also. In the last place, he demanded of them, 'What name they desired should be put upon the bell?' To which the lady replied, 'Mary.'

Then the bishop took two great silk ribands, which had been fastened to the gudgeons of the bell, and gave each of them one in their hands, and p.r.o.nounced, with a loud intelligible voice, the words of consecration, which are these,--_Consecretur et sanctificetur signum istud, in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen._ 'Let this sign be consecrated and sanctified in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.' Then turning himself to the people, he said, 'The name of this bell is Mary.'

He then takes the censer, and censeth it on the outside round about, and afterwards puts the censer under the bell, filling it with sacred fumes, and repeating prayers and invocations, that it might be filled with the dew of the Holy Spirit, that at the sound of it the enemy of all good may take his flight.

"The office was carried on with a great number of psalms, which they repeated, the music all the while performing wonders; and then the bishop, to sum up the whole ceremony, arrayed the bell with the white robe of a proselyte, or convert, and with a loud voice read the gospel of 'Mary and Martha.' I supposed at that time that the reason of their reading this gospel was, because the bell was called Mary; but I have since seen, in the Roman ritual, that the same gospel is read at the consecration of all bells, whatever their names be. This is what I am astonished at, because that gospel hath no reference at all to the ceremony. The whole solemnity being thus ended, the bishop gave his benediction, and the priests received great presents from the G.o.dfather and G.o.dmother."

A CURIOUS BAPTISM, which took place at DUBLIN, in the year 1807.--A Moor, a native of Mogadore, in Africa, a strict observer of the religion of Mahomet, wearing always, of course, the costume of his country, resided a few months in the above city. A family, where he occasionally visited, being about to baptize their infant, solicited the stranger to stand G.o.dfather, which was immediately consented to; and on the appointed day, he appeared splendidly arrayed in his turban and robes, at the sacred font, where, with due solemnity, he answered to the accustomed interrogatives,--"All this I stedfastly believe." To add still further to the oddity of the circ.u.mstance, the father was a member of the Roman Catholic church, and the mother of the Established one.

Some account of KALMUCK PRAYING MACHINES: from Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia.--"Among the most remarkable of the sacred utensils of the temples, is the _Kurda_, a cylindrical vessel of wood or metal, either very small, or of immense size. In its centre is fixed an iron axle; but the interior of the cylinder, which is quite hollow, is filled with sacred writings, the leaves of which are all stuck one to another at the edge, throughout the whole length. This paper is rolled tightly round the axis of the cylinder till the whole s.p.a.ce is filled up. A close cover is fixed on at each end, and the whole kurda is very neatly finished, painted on the outside with allegorical representations, or Indian prayers, and varnished. This cylinder is fastened upright in a frame by the axis; so that the latter, by means of a wheel attached to it below, may be set a-going with a string, and with a slight pull kept in a constant rotatory motion. When this cylinder is large, another, twice as small, and filled with writing, is fixed for ornament at the top of it. The inscription on such prayer-wheels commonly consists of ma.s.ses for souls, psalms, and the six great general litanies, in which the most moving pet.i.tions are preferred for the welfare of all creatures. The text they sometimes repeat a hundred, or even a thousand times, attributing, from superst.i.tion, a proportionably augmented effect to this repet.i.tion, and believing that by these frequent copies, combined with their thousands of revolutions, they will prove so much the more efficacious. You frequently see, as well on the habitations of the priests, as on the whole roof of the temple, small kurda placed close to each other, in rows, by way of ornament; and not only over the gates, but likewise in the fields, frames set up expressly for these praying-machines, which, instead of being moved by a string, are turned by the wind, by means of four sails, shaped and hollowed out like spoons.

"Other similar kurda are fastened to sticks of moderate thickness; a leaden weight is then fastened to the cylinder by a string, which, when it is once set a-going, keeps it, with the help of the stick, in constant motion. Such like prayer-wheels, neatly wrought, are fastened upon short sticks to a small wooden pedestal, and stand upon the altars, for the use of pious persons. While the prayer-wheel is thus turned round with one hand, the devotee takes the rosary in the other, and at the same time repeats penitential psalms.

"A fourth kind of these kurda is constructed on the same principle as those which are turned by wind, only it is somewhat smaller, and the frame is adapted to be hung up by a cord, in the chimneys of the habitations or huts of the Monguls. When there is a good fire, they are likewise set in motion by the smoke and the current of air, and continue to turn round as long as the fire is kept up.

"A fifth kind of kurda is erected on a small stream of water, upon a foundation like that of a mill, over which a small house is built to protect it from the weather. By means of the wheel attached to it, and the current, the cylinder is in like manner kept in a constant circular motion. These water kurda are commonly constructed on a large scale, and maintained at the joint expense of the inhabitants of a whole district.

They have a reference to all aquatic animals, whether alive or dead, whose temporal and eternal happiness is the aim of the writings contained in them, in like manner as the object of the fire. Kurda is the salvation of the souls of all animals suffering by fire."

CURIOUS ACCOUNT OF AN EXPIATORY PENANCE AT CALCUTTA.--About a mile from the town is a plain, where the natives annually undergo a very strange kind of penance on the 9th of April; some for the sins they have committed, others for those they may commit, and others in consequence of a vow made by their parents. This ceremony is performed in the following manner. Thirty bamboos, each about the height of twenty feet, are erected in the plain above-mentioned. On the top of these they contrive to fix a swivel, and another bamboo of thirty feet or more crosses it, at both ends of which hangs a rope. The people pull down one end of this rope, and the devotee, placing himself under it, the brahmin pinches up a large piece of skin under both the shoulder blades, sometimes in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and thrusts a strong iron hook through each. These hooks have lines of Indian gra.s.s hanging to them, which the priest makes fast to the rope at the end of the cross bamboo, and at the same time puts a sash round the body of the devotee, laying it loosely in the hollow of the hooks, lest, by the skin giving way, he should fall to the ground. The people then haul down the other end of the bamboo: by which the devotee is immediately lifted up thirty feet or more from the ground, and they run round as fast as their legs can carry them. Thus the devotee is thrown out the whole length of the rope, where, as he swings, he plays a thousand antic tricks; being painted and dressed in a very particular manner, on purpose to make him look more ridiculous. Some of them continue swinging half an hour, others less. The devotees undergo a preparation of four days for this ceremony.

On the first and third, they abstain from all kinds of food; but eat fruit on the other two. During this time of preparation they walk about the streets in their fantastical dresses, dancing to the sound of drums and horns; and some, to express the greater ardour of devotion, run a wire of iron quite through their tongues, and sometimes through their cheeks.

Happy are Christians in being delivered from the darkness, absurdities, and horrors of superst.i.tion, by the bright effulgence of the Sun of righteousness!

CHAP. LXV.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING VARIOUS PHENOMENA OR APPEARANCES IN NATURE.

----------------A wand'ring fire Compact of unctuous vapour, which the night Condenses, and the cold environs round, Kindled through agitation to a flame, (Which oft, they say, some evil spirit attends,) Hovering, and blazing with delusive light, Misleads th' amaz'd night-wanderer from his way Through bogs and mire.

_Milton._

ON THE IGNIS FATUUS.

The _Ignis Fatuus_ is a luminous appearance, which is most frequently observed in boggy districts and near rivers, though sometimes also in dry places. By its appearance, benighted travellers are said to have been sometimes led into imminent danger, taking it for a candle at a distance; from which seemingly mischievous property it has been thought by the vulgar to be a spirit of a malignant nature, and been named accordingly, _Will-with-a-Wisp_, or _Jack-with-a-Lantern_; for the same reason that it had its Latin name _Ignis Fatuus_. This light is frequently seen about burying-places and dunghills. Some countries are also remarkable for it, as about Bologna in Italy, and some parts of Spain and Ethiopia. Its forms are so uncertain and variable, that they can scarcely be described, especially as philosophical observers seldom meet with it. Dr. Derham, however, one night perceived one of them, and got so near that he had a very advantageous view of it. This is very difficult to be obtained; for, among other singularities of the ignis fatuus, it avoids the approach of any person, and flies from place to place as if it were animated. That which Dr. Derham observed, was in some boggy ground betwixt two rocky hills; and the night was dark and calm, by which means he was enabled to advance within two or three yards of it. It appeared like a complete body of light without any division, so that he was sure it could not be occasioned by insects. It kept dancing about a dead thistle, till a very slight motion of the air, occasioned, as he supposed, by his near approach to it, made it jump to another place; after which it kept flying before him as he advanced.

Beccari obtained information, that two of these lights appeared in the plains about Bologna, the one north, the other south of that city, and were to be seen almost every dark night, especially that to the eastward, giving a light equal to an ordinary f.a.ggot. The latter appeared to a gentleman of his acquaintance, as he was travelling; moved constantly before him for about a mile, and gave a better light than a torch which was carried before him. Both these appearances gave a very strong light, and were constantly in motion. Sometimes they would rise, sometimes sink; but commonly they would hover about six feet from the ground; they would also frequently disappear on a sudden, and appear again in some other place. They differed also in size and figure, sometimes spreading pretty wide, and then contracting themselves; sometimes breaking into two, and then joining again. Sometimes they would appear like waves, at others they would seem to drop sparks of fire: they were but little affected by the wind; and in wet or rainy weather, were frequently observed to cast a stronger light than in dry weather: they were also observed more frequently when snow lay upon the ground, than in the hottest summer; but he was a.s.sured, that there was not a dark night throughout the whole year, in which they were not to be seen. The ground east of Bologna, where the largest of these was observed, is a hard chalky soil mixed with clay, which retains moisture long, but breaks and cracks in hot weather. On the mountains, where the soil is looser, the ignes fatui were less. From the best information, M. Beccari found that these lights were very frequent about rivers and brooks. He concludes his narrative with the following singular account.--

"An intelligent gentleman travelling in the evening, between eight and nine o'clock, in a hilly road about ten miles south of Bologna, perceived a light which shone very strongly upon some stones which lay on the banks of the Rio Verde. It seemed to be about two feet above the stones, and near the water. In size and figure it had the appearance of a parallelo-piped, above a foot in length, and half a foot high, the largest side being parallel to the horizon. Its light was so strong, that he could plainly see by it part of a neighbouring hedge and the water of the river; only in the east corner of it the light was rather faint, and the square figure less perfect, as if it were cut off or darkened by the segment of a circle. On examining it a little nearer, he was surprised to find that it changed gradually from a bright red to a yellowish, and then to a pale colour, in proportion as he drew nearer; and when he came to the place itself it quite vanished. Upon this, he stepped back, and not only saw it again, but found that the farther he went from it, the stronger and brighter it grew. When he examined the place of this luminous appearance, he could perceive no smell, nor any other mark of fire," Another gentleman informed M. Beccari, that he had seen the same light five or six different times in spring and autumn; and that it always appeared of the same shape, and in the very same spot. One night in particular, he observed it come out of a neighbouring field to settle in the usual place.

A very remarkable account of an ignis fatuus is given by Dr. Shaw, in his Travels to the Holy Land. It appeared in the valleys of mount Ephraim, and attended him and his company for above an hour. Sometimes it appeared globular, or like the flame of a candle, at others it spread to such a degree as to involve the whole country in a pale inoffensive light, then contracted itself, and suddenly disappeared, but in less than a minute it would appear again; sometimes, running swiftly along, it would expand itself at certain intervals over more than two or three acres of the adjacent mountains. The atmosphere from the beginning of the evening had been remarkably thick and hazy; and the dew, as they felt it on the bridles of their horses, was very clammy and unctuous. Lights resembling the ignis fatuus are sometimes observed at sea, skipping about the masts and rigging of ships; and Dr. Shaw informs us, that he has seen these in such weather as that just mentioned, when he saw the ignis fatuus in Palestine. Similar appearances have been observed in various other situations; and we are told of one which appeared about the bed of a woman in Milan, surrounding it, as well as her body, entirely. This light fled from the hand which approached; but was at length entirely dispersed by the motion of the air.