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whipped him with rods so unmercifully that he would have been killed on the spot if some strangers, hearing his lamentable cries, had not hastened to his succour. The malefactors were at once handed over to the police; their deed called for immediate punishment, as otherwise the most dangerous consequences might have arisen in a town so large and populous as St Petersburg, where the bond-servants form the sixth part of the population. Orders were given to have the accused judged by a courtmartial. They were condemned to run the gauntlet through a line of 500 soldiers. The sentence was executed on one of the military parades, and all bond-servants had been called upon to be present. The culprits were unable to receive in one day the full punishment, and as soon as they are sufficiently cured in the hospital they will be submitted to it again. The survivors will then be transported to Siberia to work in the mines.-Augsburg Gazette, Jan. 22.

CHINA.Advices have been received from Mr Fortune, engaged in collecting seeds for the Horticultural Society in China, dated Chusan, Nov. 12. He describes the coast of China to the northward as consisting of bare rugged rock, barren sand, and burnt gravelly clay, but with beautiful plants here and there. He had met with bad weather in his passage to Amoy, but had had an opportunity of exploring the islands of Koo-long-soo and Amoy. On the voyage thence to Chusan the vessel was twice driven back, once to Chinchen, and once to Chamoo; this, however, gave him the opportunity of landing at those places, and exploring the country for several miles inland. On no occasion had he met with serious obstacles to penetrating the country, but found the natives particularly civil, much more so than on the coast further south and at Canton. Mr Fortune had fallen in with hills covered with Azaleas, and with several other good things, seeds of which, in very small quantities, were inclosed in his letters. He had met with a very beautiful Buddlea, with rich purple flowers, arranged in clusters like a Lilac; and a very fine Campanula ceous plant, with flowers as large as those of Lisianthus Russellianus. What he had seen of China gave him great hopes of fully realizing the anticipations of the society. He was about to proceed to Shang Hai and Ning-po.

The Gatherer.

Destroying Thistles by Salt.-If a small quantity of common salt, say about a teaspoonful, is taken between the fingers and thumb and placed on the centre of the thistle, in a day or two it will turn black, and in the course of nine or ten days the

root and every part of the plant will be destroyed. This is a cheap and certain method of destroying thistles on land. One person will salt as many as five or six will cut up in the usual way. The salt should be applied before the thistles have attained a large size, and great care must be taken that it is not dropped amongst the grass or other herbage, as it will destroy it also. J. M. T., Hillsborough, Ireland.

Old Drury. The pit door of old Drury Lane Theatre (not the late theatre) was in Catherine street, under what was then the Rose Tavern. The sign of that interesting flower, with the motto "Sub Rosa," appeared beneath it.

A Coffee-house at Damascus.-In this ancient city the coffee-houses claim particular notice. They are built on the bosom of the river, and supported by piles. The platform is raised only a few inches above the level of the stream. The roof is supported by slender rows of pillars, and it is quite open on every side; innumerable small seats cover the floor, and you take one of these and place it in the position you like best; the river, the surrounding banks of which are covered with wood, rushes rapidly by close to your feet. Near the coffee-houses are one or two cataracts several feet high, with a few trees growing out of the river beside them; and the perpetual sound of their fall, and the coolness they spread around, are exquisite luxuries in the sultry heat of day. At night, when the lamps, suspended from the slender pillars, are lighted, and Turks of different ranks, in all the varieties of their rich costume, cover the platform, just above the surface of the river (on which, and on its foaming waterfalls, the moonlight rests, and the sound of music is heard), the Arabian Nights' enchantments seem realized.

Cause of Slavery in the West Indies.-If there had been no warm regions in the New World, neither negro nor any other slavery would ever have existed there. Even the monopoly of colonial produce was absolutely necessary to the existence of slavery; for had sugar, and coffee, and cotton, been supplied from the beginning by free trade from the East, the West Indies would now have been peopled with Caribs, and the descendants or mixed descendants of Europeans, in a free state, as in some parts of the continent, and the negroes would have remained in Africa.Westminster Review.

Artesian Wells.-In 1824 a well was dug at Fulham, near the Thames, at the Bishop of London's, to the depth of 317 feet, which, after traversing the tertiary strata, was continued through sixty-seven feet of chalk. The water immediately rose to the surface, and the discharge was above fifty gallons per minute. In the garden of the Horticultural Society, at Chiswick, chalk was

reached at a depth of 329 feet, from which the water rose to the surface. At the Duke of Northumberland's, above Chiswick, the borings were carried to the extraordinary depth of 620 feet into the chalk, when a considerable volume of water was obtained, which rose four feet above the surface of the ground. In a well of Mr Brooks's, at Hammersmith, the rush of water from a depth of 360 feet was so great as to inun date several buildings, and do considerable damage.

The Land of Edom. - According to Burckhardt, the deserted temples and rockhewn palaces of Petra are the remains of the once proud but long-lost capital of Edom. The land, accursed of God, had for a series of centuries been untrodden by any foot but that of the wandering Arab. Now it is the mere common beaten track of vulgar tourists. English lords and Yankee lawyers, German princes and French petit-maîtres, ride their dromedaries through the very heart of Edom, take their wine and sandwiches, smoke their cigars among the tombs of the deserted city, and talk familiarly of Mount Hor and Aaron's grave. Old Paintings.-A letter from Leyden states that in the garrets of the Hôtel de Ville of that city, several paintings by the great masters, some paintings on glass by a celebrated master, and some rich tapestry had been discovered.

Dr Wolff-There is reason to hope that Dr Wolff's mission will prove successful, and he will find those who were supposed to have been murdered perfectly safe. A dervish from Bokhara, whom he encountered at Ashkalah, in Armenia, where he arrived on the 8th of December, since the last advices, being asked if he had seen English travellers at Bokhara, replied, "Yes; and it was reported that they had been killed. There was no truth in it; but one of them came from Kokan, with whom the King of Bokhara was angry, believing that he assisted the King of Kokan, and therefore put both the tall and short Englishman into prison, but let them out after some time, and they now teach the soldiers of Bokhara the European exercise." Dr Wolff gives the names and places of abode of these dervishes, and states that at Erzerum, a sheikh of Bokhara, named Schah Jemand Addeen, of the family of Nakshbanchi, called upon him and said that he wonld find his friends alive.

Bank Notes for Small Change.-In 1782, when hard money, as it is called, was very plentiful in the United States, being supplied from France and England to pay their troops then stationed in the country, and also by the trade to Cuba, the Bank of North America was established at Phila delphia, principally through the exertions of the well-known Robert Morris. A great

part of the capital of the Bank of North America was subscribed for and nominally paid in by the government. This bank, about the year 1790, issued promissory notes for one penny; the lowest sum probably that ever appeared on the face of a bank note.

Select Friends.-Books are at least the best companions; they instruct us in silence without any display of superiority, and they attend the pace of each man's capacity, without reproaching him for his want of comprehension.

Why so few are wise. If we subtract from the twenty-four hours the time spent in eating, sleeping, exercise, and the other indispensable cares of an existence, what a fraction of time is employed in our intellectual faculties. Again, there are few who have the means to enable them to study; fewer the talent requisite; and still fewer the inclination, if they have the ability.

Sir Walter Scott's Monument at Edinburgh. -A meeting of the contributors took place last week for the purpose of increasing the fund, which has fallen short on account of the expense attendant upon a proper preparation of the site. The height of the monument was designed to be 182 feet; the money in hand would only raise it 102 feet; thus leaving eighty feet of the upper part unbuilt, to complete which would require 3,000l. in addition to the funds subscribed. Upwards of 500/ was subscribed before the meeting broke up.

Roman Antiquities.-A bust of Parian marble in good preservation, and of excellent style, as it is said, has recently been dug up at Cherchell, in Africa, supposed to be that of Ptolemy, son of the second Juba, and last king of Mauritania Tingitana, which is valuable as being unique. Cherchell is the ancient Cæsarea. The bust is a portrait of a man in the freshness of youth, with the royal fillet on his brow; and has a striking resemblance to the likeness on the coins of the Ptolemy in question.

Character of the Natives of India.-Sir Henry Strachey thus accounts for the bad character of the natives of India, or at least those who are placed in official situations. "We place," he says, "the European beyond the reach of temptation. To the native, a man whose ancestors perhaps bore high command, we assign some ministerial office, with a poor stipend of twenty or thirty rupees per month (247. or 30 per annum). Then we pronounce that the Indians are corrupt, and that no race of men but the Company's European servants are fit to govern.'

The Model Prison at Pentonville.-Great complaints are made of the effects of the system adopted at the model prison at Pentonville. The object of the establishment was a benevolent one. On entering, the convict

is told that he will be taught an art which will enable him to earn his bread by honourable industry: that moral and religious knowledge will be imparted; that, at the end of eighteen months, he will be sent to Van Diemen's Land; there, if he behave well, to receive a ticket of leave, which is equivalent to freedom, with the certainty of abundant maintenance, the fruit of industry; if he behave indifferently he will be transported to Van Diemen's Land, there to receive a probationary pass, which will secure to him only a limited portion of his own earnings, and impose galling restraints; and if he behave ill he will be transported to Tasman's Peninsula, there to work in a probationary gang, without wages, an abject slave.

Lawyers turned Soldiers.-In the year 1798, when the Irish rebellion broke out, and the genius of loyalty martialized the various classes of the community, the ordinary business of the courts of law was discharged by barristers in regimentals.

A Hint for the Bar.-A lawyer will think, and wisely perhaps, that the acquisition of the embellishing faculties is seldom attended with sufficient opportunity for their display to compensate for the deviation which they require from the straightforward road to professional eminence, and will pursue his progress, like the American traveller, who, in journeying through vast prairies, passes, without regard, the fertile landscapes which lie adjacent, and never turns from his track for the sake of the rich fruits and the refreshing springs which, however delicious, may bewilder and lead him for ever astray from the final object of his destination.

Music favourable to Shaving.-Philip the Fifth of Spain fell once into such a fit of low spirits that for several months he refused to be shaved, until the soothing sweetness of Farinelli's strains induced him to submit his chin to the razor with great cheerfulness and resolution.

Wonders of our Time.-Time has evinced the achievement of apparent impossibilities. The Marquis of Worcester was laughed at for his 'Century of Inventions,' yet every day furnishes fresh proof of their feasibility. Who is there that does not remember the jokes and sarcasms levelled at Winsor when he first promulgated his scheme of lighting London with gas? Yet who that indulged in thus ridiculing what he could not comprehend, does not blush at the recollection?

Temperance necessary to Longevity.—Excesses precipitate their votaries into a premature grave. Boerhaave observed that few who are intemperate in the use of wine, brandy, and other spirituous liquors survive the age of fifty. With these votaries of Bacchus the votaries of Venus proceed

pari passu; and immediately after come the immoderate eaters. Plato and Socrates grew old upon very frugal fare; and Maimonides, the Arabian physician, says that it is necessary to avoid overloading the stomach with too much food. Bread and water are an admirable diet for those who would rival Methusalem, and fasting is an excellent promoter of their views.

Earthly Immortality has always been coveted. Artephius caused a youth to be killed, and, as we are told, extracted from his blood the magnet of the human spirit, by means of which he attained a great age, and, after he had become weary of life, laid himself down of his own accord in the grave, but not without taking along with him some of this volatile spirit in a bottle, to which he occasionally smells, merely to protract his life, which he thus prolonged for more than a thousand years.

Trade to China.-At a late meeting of the Liverpool cotton brokers and Manchester cotton spinners, the chairman, Mr Gardner, alluded to the state of the Indian and China trade. In 1842 the export of cotton yarn to those markets was 22,500,000 pounds, and in 1843, 23,800,000 pounds; which was not three millions of pounds more than the shipments of those markets in 1839. In 1842 there were 145,000,000 yards of calico sent to those markets, and in 1843, 230,000,000.

Hydropathy.-The French academy has decided against admitting hydropathy to be a part of the medical system of France; cold water, subject to rules, has long been known they say, among her students of physic.

Algiers.-A camel-mounted regiment has just been formed by the French Governor of Algiers. The animals seem as capable of being taught military exercises as horses are.

The Legitimate Drama.-At the Theatre Royal, Manchester, it is announced that the management is actively engaged in the preparation of several new and old plays, among which are-Massinger's 'Fatal Dowry;' Mr Jones's 'Spartacus, or the Roman Gladiator;' and the 'Provost of Bruges,' by Mr Lovell.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. We are obliged to Mr L., of Sloane square, for his hints, which will be duly attended to. All the subjects he mentions are suitable, and we shall be glad to hear further from him.

A letter will be left at the office for Mr Moore in a day or two.

A note will be left for L. M. S.
Answers to several correspondents must be deferred

till next week.

LONDON: Published by JOHN MORTIMER, Adelaide Street, Trafalgar Square; and sold by all Booksellers and Newsmen.

Printed by REYNELL and WEIGHT, Little Pulteney street, and at the Royal Polytechnic Institution.

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Original Communications.

PETERBOROUGH AND ITS

CATHEDRAL.

IN the days of old, even so early as the sixth century, Peterborough is believed to have been, if not a considerable town, at least a village of some importance. It was, however, not then called Peterborough. Medeshamstede, we are told by Britton, was its ancient name. He adds, "During the Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Norman dynasties, it was of great note when monachism and warfare occupied nearly all the time, resources, and attention of society. It was afterwards called Gildersburgh, from its riches or gilded minster; next it bore the name of Burgh, or Burigh, from its fortified walls; and lastly Petersburgh or borough, the minster being dedicated to St Peter. In the time of King Edgar, about 960, it was a sort of viceNo. 1205.]

K

papal see, or second Rome, and was afterwards visited by several of the English kings. Like many other rich monasteries in the eastern counties, this was often assailed, plundered, and burnt by the marauding Danes, and its inmates were either murdered or driven from their homes. No sooner did the barbarian pirates withdraw than the surviving monks returned to their ruined houses, and exerted all their powers and resources to re-edify their dwellings, reinstate their sacred church, and replenish their granaries and store cellars.'

The foundation of the abbey was laid by Penda, eldest son of Penda, king of the Mercians, in 655, or the following year, but he dying in the fourth year of his reign, it was completed, in 664, by Wolfere, his brother, who succeeded him, assisted by Etheldred, the remaining son of Kynesburga, and Kyneswitha, the two daughters of Penda and Saxulf, a pious [VOL. XLIV.

earl, who was made the first abbot. It was dedicated to St Peter, at an assembly of nobles and bishops, and endowed with large immunities and possessions, which were confirmed by the charter of Wolfere, in the seventh year of his reign. Pope Agatha ratified these endowments, and constituted it a vice-papal see, where persons might be absolved from their sins for a consideration, and receive the apostolical benediction. The monastery flourished for nearly 200 years, under a succession of seven abbots, when the Danes, in 870, after desolating the abbies of Croyland and Thorney, nearly annihilated Medeshamstede. In the year 1116 it experienced almost a repetition of the catastrophe from an accidental conflagration. John de Salisbury, in 1118, the abbot, commenced a new church, which was finished under Martin de Vecti, in 1144. Improvements and additions were made to it by William de Waterville. The abbots were called to the House of Peers in the time of Henry III, and made bishops in 1440. Katherine, the consort of Henry VIII, was buried here in 1535. The monastery was converted into an episcopal see in 1541, and the conventual church into a cathedral, the government of which was given to a bishop, a dean, and six prebendaries, whose juris diction extended over the city, and nearly over the counties of Northampton and Rutland. In the time of Queen Mary the church was again placed under the authority of the pope, but in the reign of Elizabeth this arrangement, as a matter of course, was set aside. In 1587 the obsequies of Mary Queen of Scotts, "few and brief," were here solemnized, unattended with the vain parade and splendour which in the case of royalty commonly marks the return of "dust to dust." The remains of the unhappy queen were removed to Westminster in the following reign, 1612. In the course of the civil wars which broke out thirty years afterwards, the cathedral was violently assailed by the parliamentarians. The stalls, organ, books, monuments, and decorations were destroyed. After remaining eight years in a state of ruin it was repaired, and divine service was again celebrated within its walls.

The architecture of this building has been erroneously called Saxon. It is in the Norman style, of which the circular arch, large columns, and analogous mouldings form the leading characteristics. Like most cathedrals, it presents a nave, with side aisles, a transept, a choir finish ing at the east end semicircularly with a continuation of the aisles. The whole is terminated at the east by what is called the new building of St Mary's chapel. In the centre is a tower rising from four large arches at the intersection of the nave, choir, and transept. The west front is formed

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The height of the nave from the floor to the ceiling 81, and of the central tower from the floor to the summit is 135, while externally its height is

The breadth of the nave and aisles, from the north to the south wall, is The breadth of the west front is

150

78

156

It appears the dates at which the various parts of this cathedral were erected are as follows. The choir, with its aisles, from the circular extremity at the east to the commencement of the transept, was begun in 1118, and finished in 1144. Between 1155 and 1177 the transept was erected, and between the latter year and 1193 the nave, with the aisles, were completed. An addition was made about the year 1288, when the space between the extreme western pillar and the door of entrance was finished, forming a projection on each side of the western extremity, and terminating by two towers. lady's chapel, said to have been on the east side of the north transept, was built by William Parys, the prior, in the fourteenth century. When the west portico, with its three arches, was finished, is not known, but it is supposed before the year 1274, as Abbot Richard de London raised one of the western towers before that year. The chapel in the centre arch is in the style of architecture of a much later date than the western front.

The

The building has a noble aspect. Mr Britton, from whose superbly embellished work we have copied the engraving which adorns our present number, observes"The cathedral, as seen from various points, groups well with the trees in its vicinity. Excepting the tower of the parish church, which is neither remarkable for altitude or beauty, there is no commanding edifice in the city to combine or contrast with the minster. Viewed from the west, the latter presents an august appearance from the exposition of the great arches of the front; and when lighted up by the setting sun, and relieved by a dark or hazy sky, it is peculiarly striking and impressive."

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