CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
_The boat;—progress in the abode of rocks._
Our Arcadia being entirely completed, what remained to be done
was to fix on a tree fit for my project of a boat. After much
search, I at length found one of prodigious size, and in most
respects suitable to my views.
It was, however, no very encouraging prospect I had before me,
being nothing less than the stripping off a piece of the bark
that should be eighteen feet in length and five in diameter;
and now I found my rope ladder of signal service; we fastened
it by one end to the nearest branches, and it enabled us to work
with the saw, as might be necessary, at any height from the ground.
Accordingly, we cut quite round the trunk in two places, and
then took a perpendicular slip from the whole length between
the circles; by this means we could introduce the proper utensils
for raising the rest by degrees, till it was entirely separated.
We toiled with increasing anxiety, at every moment dreading that
we should not be able to preserve it from breaking, or uninjured
by our tools. When we had loosened about half, we supported it
by means of cords and pulleys; and when all was at length detached,
we let it down gently, and with joy beheld it lying safe on the
grass. Our business was next to mould it to our purpose, while
the substance continued moist and flexible.
The boys observed that we had now nothing more to do, than to
nail a plank at each end, and our boat would be as complete as
those used by the savages; but, for my own part, I could not
be contented with a mere roll of bark for a boat; and when I
reminded them of the paltry figure it would make following the
pinnace, I heard not another word about the further pains and
trouble, and they asked eagerly for my instructions. I made them
assist me to saw the bark in the middle, the length of several
feet from the ends; these two parts I folded over till they ended
in a point, naturally raised; I kept them in this form by the
help of the strong glue I had before made from fish-bladders,
and pieces of wood nailed fast over the whole: this operation
tended to widen the boat in the middle, and thus render it of
too flat a form; but this we counteracted by straining a cord
all round, which again reduced it to the due proportion, and
in this state we put it in the sun, to harden and fix. Many things
were still wanting to the completion of my undertaking, but I
had not with me proper utensils: I therefore dispatched the boys
to Tent-House, to fetch the sledge, and convey it there for our
better convenience in finishing.
Before our departure for Tent-House we collected several new
plants for the kitchen-garden; and lastly, we made another trip
to the narrow strait at the end of the wall of rocks, resolved,
as I before mentioned, to plant there a sort of fortification
of trees, which should produce the double effect of discouraging
the invasion of savages, and of allowing us to keep our pigs
on the other side, and thus secure our different plantations
from the chance of injury. We accomplished all these intentions
to our entire satisfaction, and in addition we placed a slight
draw-bridge across the river beyond the narrow pass, which we
could let down or take up at pleasure on our side. We now hastened
our return to Arcadia, and after a night’s repose we loaded the
sledge with the boat and other matters, and returned to Tent-House.
As soon as we had dispatched some necessary affairs, we resumed
the completion of the boat: in two days she had received the
addition of a keel, a neat lining of wood, a small flat floor,
benches, a small mast and triangular sail, a rudder, and a thick
coat of pitch on the outside, so that the first time we saw her
in the water, we were all in ecstasies at the charming appearance
she made.
Our cow in the mean time had brought forth a young calf, a male;
I pierced its nostril, as I had so successfully practised with
the buffalo, and it gave promise of future docility and strength.
We had still two months in prospect before the rainy season,
and we employed them for completing our abode in the grotto,
with the exception of such ornaments as we might have time to
think of during the long days of winter. We made the internal
divisions of planks, and that which separated us from the stables,
of stone, to protect us from the offensive smell occasioned by
the animals. Our task was difficult, but from habit it became
easier every day. We took care to collect or manufacture a sufficient
quantity of all sorts of materials, such as beams and planks,
reeds and twigs for matting, pieces of gypsum for plaster, &c.
&c. At length the time of the rainy season was near at hand,
and this once we thought of it with pleasure, as the period that
would put us in possession of the enjoyments we had procured
by such unremitting industry and fatigue. We had an inexpressible
longing to find ourselves domiciliated and at leisure to converse
together on the subject of all the wondrous benefits bestowed
upon us by an ever-watchful and beneficent Providence!
We plastered over the walls of the principal apartments on each
side with the greatest care, finishing them by pressure with
a flat smooth board, and lastly a wash of size, in the manner
of the plasterers in Europe. This ornamental portion of our work
amused us all so much, that we began to think we might venture
a step further in the question of European luxury, and we agreed
that we would attempt to make some carpets with the hair of our
goats. To this effect, we smoothed the ground in the rooms we
intended to distinguish, with great care; then spread over it
some sail cloth, which my wife had joined in breadths, and fitted
exactly; we next strewed the goats’ hair, mixed with wool obtained
from the sheep, over the whole; on this surface we threw some
hot water, in which a strong cement had been dissolved; the whole
was then rolled up, and was beaten for a considerable time with
hard sticks; the sail cloth was now unrolled, and the inside
again sprinkled, rolled, and beaten as before; and this process
was continued till the substance had become a sort of felt, which
could be separated from the sail-cloth, and was lastly put in
the sun to harden. We thus produced a very tolerable substitute
for that enviable article of European comfort, a carpet: of these
we completed two; one for our parlour, and the other for our
drawing-room, as we jocosely named them, both of which were
completely fit for our reception by the time the rains had set in.
All we had suffered during this season in the preceding year
doubled the value of the comforts and conveniences with which
we were now surrounded. We were never tired of admiring our warm
and well-arranged apartments, lighted with windows, and well
secured with doors from wind and rain, and our granary filled
with more than a sufficient winter supply of food for ourselves
and for our cattle. In the morning, our first care was to feed
and give them drink; and both these were now constantly at hand,
without the pains of fetching or preparing: after this we assembled
in the parlour, where prayers were read, and breakfast immediately
served: we then adjourned to the common room, where all sorts
of industry went forward, and which contained the spinning-wheel
and loom I had, though with indifferent success, constructed
to gratify my wife. Here all united in the business of producing
different kinds of substances, which she afterwards made into
apparel. I had also contrived to construct a turning machine,
having used for the purpose one of the small cannon wheels, with
the help of which the boys and I managed to produce some neat
utensils for general use. After dinner, our work was resumed
till night, when we lighted candles; and as they cost no more
than our own trouble in collecting and manufacturing the materials,
we did not refuse ourselves the pleasure of using many at a time,
to admire their lights splendidly reflected by the crystals every
where pendent. We had formed a convenient portion of our dwelling
into a small chapel, in which we left the crystals as produced
by nature; and they exhibited a wondrous assemblage of colonnades,
porticos, altars, which, when the place was lighted to supply
the want of a window, presented a truly enchanting spectacle.
Divine service was performed in it regularly every Sunday: I
had raised a sort of pulpit, from which I pronounced such discourses
as I had framed for the instruction of my affectionate group
of auditors. The remainder of this day of rest was employed as
before, in such recreations as tended to sustain cheerfulness,
and fortify the bodily health of all. Jack and Francis had a
natural inclination for music. I did the most I could in making
a flageolet apiece for them of two reeds, on which they so frequently
practised as to attain a tolerable proficiency; they accompanied
their mother, who had a sweet-toned voice, the volume of which
was doubled by the echoes of the grottos, and they produced together
a very pleasing little concert.
Thus, as will be perceived, we had made the first steps towards
a condition of civilization: separated from society, condemned
perhaps to pass the remainder of life in this desert island,
we yet possessed the means of happiness; we had abundance of
all the necessaries, and many of the comforts desired by human
beings! We had fixed habits of activity and industry; we were
in ourselves serene and contented; our bodily health and strength
increased from day to day; the sentiment of tender attachment
was perfect in every heart: we every day acquired some new and
still improving channel for the exertion of our physical and
moral faculties; we everywhere beheld, and at all times acknowledged,
marks of the divine wisdom and goodness; our minds were penetrated
with love, gratitude, and veneration for the celestial Providence
who had so miraculously rescued and preserved us, and conducted
us to the true destination of man—to provide for the wants of
his offspring by the labour of his hands: I trusted in the same
goodness for restoring us once more to the society of our fellow-men,
or for bestowing upon us the means of founding in this desert
a happy and flourishing colony of human beings, and waiting in
silence for the further manifestation of his holy will, we passed
our days in a course of industry, innocent pleasures, and reciprocal
affection. Nearly two years have elapsed without our perceiving
the smallest trace of civilised or savage man; without the appearance
of a single vessel or canoe upon the vast sea, by which we are
surrounded. Ought we then to indulge a hope that we shall once
again behold the face of a fellow-creature?—We encourage serenity
and thankfulness in each other, and wait with resignation the
event!
Postscript by the Editor.
I have presented the public, and in particular the sons of families,
with the part I had in my possession of the journal of the Swiss
pastor, who, with his family, were shipwrecked on a desert island.
It cannot escape the observation of the parents who will read
the work, that it exhibits a lively picture of the happiness which
does not fail to result from the practice of moral virtues:—thus,
in a situation that seemed calculated to produce despair, we see piety,
affection, industry, and a generous concern for fellow-sufferings,
capable of forming the basis of an unexpected state of serenity
and happiness. We also see the advantage of including in the
education of boys, such a knowledge of the natural productions
of the earth, of the various combinations by which they may be
rendered serviceable, and of the use of tools of every kind,
as may qualify them to assist others, or preserve themselves
under every possible occurrence of adversity or danger. It now
remains for me to inform the reader by what means the journal
of the Swiss pastor came into my possession.
Three or four years subsequent to the occurrence of the shipwreck
of the pastor and his family, an English transport was driven
by the violence of a tempest upon the same shore. The name of
the vessel was the _Adventurer, Captain Johnson_: it was on a
voyage from New Zealand to the eastern coast of North America,
by Otaheita, in the South Seas to fetch a cargo of skins and
furs for China, and to proceed from Canton to England. A violent
tempest of several days’ duration drove it from its track. The
vessel beat about in unknown seas for many days, and was now
so injured by the weather, that the best hope of the captain
and his company was to get into some port where they might refit.
They at length discovered a rocky coast; and as the wind had
somewhat abated, they made with all speed for the shore; when
within a short distance, they cast their anchor, and put out
a boat containing some of the officers, to examine the coast
and find a place for landing: they rowed backward and forward
for some time without success, from the rocky nature of the soil;
at length they turned a promontory, and perceived a bay whose
calm waters seemed to invite their approach; this was the _Safety
Bay_ of the wrecked islanders; the boat put on shore, and the
officers with astonishment beheld the traces of the abode of
man. A handsome well-conditioned pinnace and a small boat were
there at anchor: near the strand, under a rock was a tent, and
further on, in the rock, a house-door and windows announced European
comforts and workmanship. The officers advanced towards the spot,
and were met half-way by a man of middle age, dressed like a
European and armed with a gun; the stranger accosted them with
friendly tones and gestures; he spoke first German, and then
some words in English. Lieutenant Bell, one of the English officers,
who spoke the German language, answered. A mutual confidence
immediately ensued. We need not add, that the stranger was the
Family Robinson, whose wife and children happened at the moment
to be at Falcon’s Stream:—he had discovered the English ship
in the morning with his glass; and unwilling to alarm his family,
he had come, perceiving she bore that way, alone to the coast.
[Illustration: The officers advanced towards the spot, and were
met halfway by the Pastor]
After an interchange of cordial feelings, and a hospitable reception
of the officers at the grotto, the Swiss pastor put his journal
into the hands of Lieutenant Bell, to be conveyed to Captain
Johnson, that he also might become acquainted with the story
of the solitary islanders. After an hour’s conversation the newly
found friends separated, in the pleasing expectation of meeting
again on the following day.—But Heaven had otherwise ordained.
During the night the tempest revived with new terrors. The Adventurer
could not be held at anchor, but was obliged to steer for safety
to the bosom of the ocean. As there was no favourable change
of weather for several days, the vessel was driven so far from
the coast of Safety Bay, as to leave no possibility of returning,
and Captain Johnson was compelled to renounce the gratification
of seeing this extraordinary family, or of proposing to convey
them all to Europe.
Captain Johnson brought the journal of the Swiss pastor to England,
from whence it was transmitted to a friend in Switzerland, who
has deemed its contents an instructive lesson to the world. There
was found attached to the journal a rough sketch of the features
of the island, which Lieutenant Bell thinks the Swiss pastor
informed him was executed by his son Fritz.—The editor subjoins
it, supposing it will be considered an object worthy of the interest
of his young readers.
NOTES.
[1] _Penguin_; a bird of the goose kind, found near the Straits
of Magellan. It is about the size of the Indian cock; the feathers
on the back are black, and on the belly white. It has a large
neck, circled round with a white collar. Properly speaking, it
has no wings, but two pinions hang like two little arms from
its sides, having no feathers beyond the joint. These pinions
serve the purpose of fins in enabling the penguin to swim with
ease, but it cannot fly. The tail is short, the feet black; the
beak narrow, and rather larger than that of the raven. The bird
carries its head erect in walking, and the pinions fall at its
side; so that when many of them are seen in a line along the
shore, where they are accustomed to assemble in large numbers,
they may from a distance be mistaken for little men. Their flesh
is well-tasted, but their skin is so tough that, but for the
extreme stupidity of their nature, it would be difficult to destroy
them.—See _Valmont de Bromare_.
[2] _Great bustard_; of the gallinaceous order. This is the largest
bird of European climates, the male being four feet in length
from the beak to the tail, seven in breadth with the wings extended,
and weighing about thirty-five pounds. The females are commonly
a third less in every respect. Though the wings of the bustard
are small in proportion to the body, yet the bird can raise and
sustain itself in the air, but, cannot proceed out of a straight
direction. It loves open, spacious plains, and avoids the water.
The bustard is timid and difficult of approach; it however defends
itself furiously when attempted to be caught, by beating the
enemy with its legs. If taken when young, it is easily tamed,
and brought to feed with other poultry. The most common colour
of this bird is black, slightly tinged with red on the back,
and the under parts white mixed with fawn-colour; a down of bright
pink appears at the roots of the feathers. There are many kinds
of this animal, both indigenous and exotic: the African; the
tufted; the blue; the white bustard, &c.—See _New Dictionary
of Natural History_.
[3] _Yguana_; a reptile of the family of lizards; it is found
in South America and its islands. The animal is from four to
six feet in length, of which the tail makes at least half. The
head is small, flattened at the sides, covered with scales, and
provided with large jaws and sharp-pointed teeth. A protuberance
like a wen appears in the front of the neck. The body is every
where clothed with hard scales. The colour of this creature is
variable; its most common hue is green tinged with yellow; sometimes
it exhibits gray or blue tints, and at others a mixture of all
these colours together, like the cameleon, which the yguana greatly
resembles.—See _New Dictionary of Natural History_.
[4] _Lizards_; The whole family are found to love music passionately;
a sure means of attracting them is by musical sounds or whistling; in
this manner the yguana is subdued. When the musician is sufficiently
near, he plunges the end of a switch into the nostril of the
animal, who dies instantly without pain.—_Dictionary of Natural
History_.
[5] _Tetrix. (Canadian Heath Cock.)_ This bird is found also
in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and adjacent parts. Its modes of life
are similar to the heath-cock of Europe, and is called by some
authors simply the _crested heath-cock_. The head and neck are
of a deep glossy black, which in all other parts is tinctured
with green. The bill is covered with a yellow skin, except at
the extremity, where it is bare and black; the eyes are also
encircled with a skin of the same colour. On the top of its head
there is a crest formed of several handsome feathers two inches
and a half in length. The feathers on the neck, which are also
of a beautiful fibre form, fall gracefully down; but when the
creature is agitated, they as well as those on the head become
erect. When he wishes to call his females round him, the feathers
assume this state; he trains his wings on the ground and spreads
his tail into the form of a wheel, and in the velocity of his
motions makes a singular kind of noise like distant thunder or
a muffled drum.—_New Dictionary of Natural History._
[6] _Myrica cerifera_, or _Waxtree_; it grows in Louisiana, and
a smaller kind in Carolina. It is a pretty aquatic shrub and
bears whitish-coloured flowers, the fruit of which hangs in small
clusters. It is about the height of a very small cherry-tree,
and in the form and smell of the leaves resembles the myrtle. The
berries are of a gray colour, contain kernels which are covered with
a kind of wax, of which the natives make good candles. Naturalists
are of opinion that it might be easily made to flourish in other
climates.—See _Valmont de Bromare_, and _Dictionary of Natural
History_.
[7] _Tuiete_. This is the smallest kind of Brazilian parrot.
There is an infinite variety in their plumage.
[8] Among others, M. Huber of Geneva: he has published a volume
of his observations upon ants, no less agreeable than instructive
in the perusal.
[9] See _History of the Insects of America_. By Mademoiselle
Merian.
[10] _Caoutchouc_; The tree which furnishes _elastic gum_; it
is called by the natives of Brazil, where it is produced, _Hhevé_.
[11] Of all the palm-trees which are natives of Asia, the _sago-palmist_
is one of the most useful and interesting: a liquor runs from
incisions made in its trunk, which readily ferments, and is Both
salutary and agreeable for drinking. The marrow or pith of the
tree, after undergoing a slight preparation, is the substance
known by the name of sago in Europe, and so eminently useful in
the list of nutritious food for the sick. The trunk and large leaves
of the palmist-sago are a powerful resource in the construction
of buildings; the first furnishes planks for the carpenter, and
the second a covering for the roof. From the last are also made
cord, matting, and other articles of domestic use.
[12] This species of the _orange_, or rather of the _citron-tree_,
originally a native of Medea and Assyria, reaches in those countries
to the astonishing height of sixty feet.—Dictionary of Natural
History.
[13] _Cabbage palmist_.—Palmist is the generical and vulgar name
for all palm-trees which bear at their tops a vegetable production
which may be eaten before it has arrived at a state of maturity.
What is called cabbage, is the closely-folded leaves, which assume
the form of that plant, at the summit of the tree, which attains to
a prodigious height in the Society Islands. This cabbage substance,
when young, has a delicate flavour not unlike an artichoke, and
is excellent fried; but the tree dies when the cabbage is cut
off. This kind of palm, and indeed all others, has numerous uses.
On cutting the cabbage, the tree yields some pints of a liquor
similar to champaign, and which by the process of fermentation
will afterwards produce good vinegar; and by distillation, a
strong alcohol or brandy. Its seed or kernel furnishes a thick
sweet oil or vegetable butter. The covering of the kernels is
made into vessels and cups of all sorts, and is as strong as
porcelain. The leaves are used as tiles on the roofs of houses,
for parasols and coverings for the head, and may be written upon,
like paper. Its ligneous stalk produces large threads for sewing,
and for string. Some of the palms, the cocoa-palmist in particular,
yields cool sweet liquid which by evaporation leaves a sugar
of a tolerably good quality. In a word, the palm is a far-extended
good, an inestimable treasure bestowed by a bountiful Providence
on the inhabitants of the soil which produces it.
[14] _Buffalo_; a ruminating quadruped of the ox species, which
it nearly resembles in form and stature; the head is larger,
the snout longer, and its horns, which almost touch at the root,
spread to a distance of five feet at their extremities: its ears
are also larger and pointed. The whole form of the buffalo, and
no less its motions, announce amazing vigour and strength; but
the enormous size of the head, the singular curvatures of its
long horns, under which appears a large tuft of bristly hair
of a yellowish white colour, give a terrific ferocity and wildness
to its physiognomy. The animal inhabits hot countries. It is
used in Italy as a domestic beast for tillage and drawing. The
method adopted for taming the buffalo is by fixing a ring in
the nostril when about three years old. The operator contrives
to entangle the legs with a string, and the animal falls to the
ground; several men fall upon it and confine the legs, while
others make the wound and pass the ring; it is then left: it
runs furiously from place to place, and endeavours to get rid
of the ring; in a short time it begins to be accustomed to its
fate, and by degrees to learn obedience. A cord is fastened to
the ring to lead the buffalo; if it resists, it suffers pain;
it therefore prefers to yield, and thus is brought to follow
a conductor willingly. After a certain time, the ring falls off,
but the creature has, ere this, become attached, and will follow
its master. Nothing is more common than to see a buffalo return
from a distance of forty miles to seek him. Their young keepers
give them a name, which they never fail to answer to, and on
hearing it pronounced they stop short in the midst of a company
of their species. Troops of buffaloes are found together in the
plains of America and Asia that are washed by rivers; they do
not attack men unless provoked; but the report of a gun renders
them furious, and extremely dangerous: they run straight to the
enemy, throw him down with their horns, and do not desist till
he is crushed to death in the struggle. A red colour irritates
them, and they are hunted with infinite care and precaution.
—_Dictionary of Natural History_.
[15] _Prickly palm_, or _Adam’s needle_.—The leaves of this tree
are sometimes ten feet in length; they are winged in form, and
the petals are furnished with long sharp thorns, which stay on
the trunk even when the leaves are decayed, and form, from their
numbers and strength, a sure defence against being approached.
The fruit of this tree is larger than a pigeon’s egg, of an oblong
shape, of a yellow colour, and like velvet to the touch. A yellow
oily substance is found in the covering of the fruit, which is
greedily eaten by monkeys, cows, and other animals. An oil for
cooking or for the lamp is also extracted from it.
_Dwarf palm_.—The fruit is yellow, and contains grains inclosed
in a cuticle, somewhat sour to the taste. Savages make an agreeable
kind of beverage from them. The leaf, like the former, is thorny.
—_Dictionary of Natural History_.
[16] _Malabar_ or _Indian Eagle_, is small; not above the size
of a large pigeon; but in the smallness of its volume elegance
of symmetry and beauty of plumage are united; the animation of
its eyes, its lively movements, the boldness of its look and
attitudes, give to its whole physiognomy the appearance of pride
and courage. The Malayese have made it one of their idols, and
offer it a kind of worship. A tuft of large feathers of a dazzling
white, the lower part of which is of a deep shining black, covers
the head, the neck, and all the breast of this handsome bird;
the rest of the plumage is of a very bright chesnut-colour, with
the exception of the tip of the six first feathers of each wing,
which is black. The beak is ash-coloured, and of a yellowish
green at the point; its membrane is blue, feet yellow, talons
black. This species is found in Malabar, Visapour, the Mogul
Empire, &c. In voracity it does not fall short of any other.
—_Dictionary of Natural History_.
[17] Mr. Huber Lullin, of Geneva, has published an excellent
treatise on the economy of _bees_ he has given the most singular
and best-attested circumstances of the queen bee; but what more
astonishes is, that he, who has thrown such lights on this attractive
object of natural history, is blind.
[18] _Onagra_, _Œigitai_ and _Koulan_;—apparently different names
for the same animal, varying according to the countries where,
it is found and authors who have spoken of it: in shape and structure
it holds the midway betwixt the horse and ass; its head is strong
and erect in the state of rest; it proudly snuffs the air in
its course, which is more fleet than the swiftest horse. Its
neck finely turned, chest full and open, back long, spine concave
and rough, haunches taper, hoofs like the ass, mane short and
thick, the jaw containing thirty-four teeth, tail two feet long,
and exactly like a cow’s, shoulders narrow and bare of flesh:
it has great suppleness in all its members and motions. The hair
is mostly of a yellowish brown; a reddish yellow covers the fore-part
of the head, and between the legs; the mane and tail are black.
Along the back is a dark-brown stripe, that grows broader from
the loins upwards, and becomes narrower towards the tail. In
winter its hair is long, curled, waving; in summer short and
glossy. These animals stray in numbers over the vast deserts
and open plains abounding with saline herbage: they never approach
the woods or mountains. They have the senses of hearing and smelling
in perfection. Their neighing, somewhat peculiar, is much louder
than that of the horse. They are timid and wild, and their chief
defence is in their speed; yet they are of a peaceful, social
nature. They commonly troop together from twenty to thirty, sometimes
a hundred: each troop has its leader that watches over its safety,
conducts it, and gives the signal of flight when danger is near.
The token of alarm is bounding thrice round the object of their fear.
If their leader is killed, (and he frequently is, by approaching
closer to the hunters than the rest,) the troop disperses, and
it is easy to kill and take them. The Mongou Tartars highly prize
the flesh, which they find delicious; but the œigitai has not
yet been tamed, even when taken young. Could it be domesticated,
it would doubtless be a prime beast for the saddle, but it is
of an untameable disposition; when the utmost attempts have been
made to subdue them, they have died in breaking rather than submit to
the restraint. If our Swiss Robinson succeeded by the extraordinary
means he specifies, it was a complete triumph. The name of œigitai,
applied to the onagra or wild ass in the countries where it is
most common, comes from the word _dshiggetei_, which in the Tartar
language means _long ears_ in fact its ears are very long, but
more erect, and better shaped, than those of the ass.
[19] _Phormion_, or _Flax-plant_;—a plant of New Zealand made
known by Cook. The inhabitants of that island get from its leaves
a very strong flax, with which they make stuffs, nets, ropes,
&c. They are two or three feet long, two inches broad, shaped
like a sword. Steeped in water, they produce fibres longer and
stronger than those of flax, and which are equal in fineness.
The climate where this useful plant is found, inclines one to
think it might be cultivated with success in Europe, and turned
to considerable account. When these leaves are opened upon the
plant, an inodorous gum issues from them, which is transparent,
of a straw-colour, and in every respect similar to gum arabic.
[20] _Sal-gem_;—a name given to a kind of salt harder than common
salt, and which sometimes has the transparency and colour of
precious stones. It is found invariably in the same soil as gypsum,
in the neighbourhood of which constant observation has proved
it to be never wanting; and even the strata of salt and gypsum
frequently alternate. The sal-gem forms itself sometimes into
large undivided beds, sometimes it runs in large detached cubes,
behind beds of clay and rock. The mines (I may say the quarries)
of sal-gem are found at every height, and now and then on a level
with the plains. In all parts of the known world no production
of nature is more abundant than salt. Most of the sal-gem mines
in Spain and England are of several hundred feet extent. The
town of Cardona in Spain is situated at the foot of a rock of
solid salt, rising almost perpendicular to the height of four
or five hundred feet, without interstice, fissure, or separate
layer. This immense mass of salt is about a league in circuit:
its depth, and consequently the bed on which it rests, is unknown.
From top to bottom the salt is of the purest white, or of a light
transparent blue. This prodigious mountain of salt, quite free
from gypsum and other extraneous matter, is the only one of the
kind in Europe. In the county of Chester in England, near the
Irish sea, is a very extensive mine of sal-gem behind a ledge
of rock; and after having worked through twenty-five feet of
salt, in several places of a fine deep red, from twelve to fifteen
feet of rock again appeared, and salt under that; a fact which
destroys the hypothesis of sal-gem being produced from saline
lakes dried up.—_Dictionary of Natural History_.
[21] _Sea Dog_; a sea fish; partakes in some respects of the
nature of the shark.—See _Dictionary of Natural History._
[22] _Gypsum_.—A mineral substance composed of chalk and sulphurous
acid: in strictness it may be considered as a neutral salt; but
being soluble only in a small degree, and having the external
character of stone, mineralogists class it as a stony substance.
It has abundance of varieties.
[23] _Black Swan_;—Discovered by M. de la Billardiere on a lake
of New Zealand.
[24] _Beast with a bill_.—This singular creature was, like the
last, discovered in a lake of New Zealand; a particular account
of it may be found in Blumenbach’s Natural History, published
in Germany.
[25] _Arcadia_, according to the poets was the most beautiful
and the happiest of all countries.
THE END.
_Printed by Richard and Arthur Taylor, Shoe-Lane, London._
ERRATA.
The following obvious typographical errors have been corrected:
Part I, Volume I
On page 9: Changed “asistance” to “assistance”.
On page 39: Changed “said my father” to “said I”.
On page 47: Added missing “Chapter III” header.
On page 94: Added missing “to” in “Fritz whispered to me”.
On page 95: Removed errant comma from “sharpened, at one end”.
On page 138: Changed “the metal and the thread” to “the leather
and the thread”.
On page 139: Changed “permittted” to “permitted”.
Part I, Volume II
On page 4: Changed “sowing” and “sow” to “sewing” and “sew”.
On page 13: Added comma in “such as the turkey, the peacock”.
On page 61: Changed “betwen” to “between”.
On page 62: Changed “tress” to “trees”.
On page 69: Changed “of my wood” to “of dry wood”.
On page 78: Changed “durnig” to “during”.
On page 102: Changed “ourseves” to “ourselves”.
On page 113: Added missing quotation mark in “‘He, who in his
Earthly Abode”.
On page 114: Changed “acionst” to “actions”.
Part II
On page 15: Changed “meriment” to “merriment”.
On page 69: Changed “acccompanying” to “accompanying”.
On page 120: Changed “fetras” to “tetrix” (per an original Erratum
editor’s note, which has been removed).
On page 204: Changed “Falcoln’s Stream” to “Falcon’s Stream”.
On page 247: Deleted repeated word in “whom he at at once loved”.
On page 269: Added “to” in “gave it to me”.
On page 312: Changed “albatrossas” to “albatrosses”.
On page 336: Deleted repeated word in “with a draught of of a
cool refreshing liquid”.
On page 351: Changed “soeffe ctually” to “so effectually”.
On page 354: Changed “exmine” to “examine”.