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came so fatal, that when an officer was appointed to the command, he arranged his affairs previous to setting out. "Things continued thus until the month of August. Some skirmishing occurred, without changing the positions of the armies; but there was no prospect of a general engagement. About a week before the twentieth, the Bohemian, from whom I had occasionally purchased supplies, appeared before me. She entered my tent, and requested I would bequeath her a legacy, in the event of my death happening on the day which she had pointed out as the completion of my destiny. She even offered to make me a present of a hamper of Tokay, if her prediction failed. This wine was very rare and precious. The fortuneteller seemed to me bereft of understanding. In the situation I was placed in, a proximate death was not improbable, but I had no reason to apprehend it precisely on the twentieth. I agreed, however, to pledge two chargers and fifty ducats against the Tokay; and the paymaster of the regiment, not without laughter, reduced the wager into writing.

"The twentieth of August arrived; and it happened to be our turn to provide the piquet; two of my comrades, however, had to take the command before it fell to me. The evening advanced, and the hussars were mounted and ready to march, when the surgeon arrived to announce the sudden and dangerous illness of the officer on duty; he, who succeeded the invalid, and was immediately a bove me, received orders to replace him; he hastily armed himself and joined the detachment; but his horse, which was uncommonly gentle and docile, reared of a sudden, plunged incessantly, and dismounted his master, who, in falling, fractured his leg. Behold my time come; and I departed; but, I must candidly confess, not in my usual spirits.

"I commanded 80 men, who were joined by 120 from another regiment. Our position was nearly a mile in advance of the left wing, and, as we were protected by a deep and extensive morass, covered with lofty reeds, we did not consider videttes necessary. No one, however, quitted his saddle, and the orders were, to remain till morning, sword in hand, and carabines loaded. All continued pro

foundly tranquil for an hour and three quarters, when an approaching noise was heard, and in an instant, amidst loud shouts of Alla, Alla, our front rank was charged and overthrown, partly by the fire, partly by the shock, of 700 or 800 Turks. An equal number of the enemy were dismounted by their own impetuosity and our carabines; but they were completely acquainted with the ground, and we were thrown into disorder, surrounded, and defeated. I received many wounds, and my charger fell under me, fixing my right leg immoveably to this field of blood, where, all around, scenes of the most savage butchery were partially revealed by the appalling and momentary illumination of the fire-arms. Our troops fought with the courage of despair; while the Turks, superior in number, and stimulated by opium, made a horrible slaughter; and in a little space not a single Austrian remained capable of resistance. Such was the twentieth of August.

"The conquerors, having seized the horses, which were still fit for service, and pillaged the dead and dying, finally began to cut off the heads, and place them in sacks which they had brought for the purpose. The corps of Czekler had ample means to know the ferocious disposition of the enemy, and my situation was consequently not very enviable, especially as I heard them urging dispatch, lest succour should arrive, and that the night's work ought to produce two hundred ducats,—so very accurate was their information.

"In the meantime, they passed and repassed over me; and, while legs, arms, and bullets, flew around, my horse received another wound, and his convulsive struggles enabled me to extricate my leg. I instantly arose, and resolved to throw myself into the morass, in the hope of being sheltered among the reeds. I had observed several of our people make the attempt unsuccessfully, but the firing had, in a great measure, ceased, and the darkness gave me confidence. Although the distance was trifling, the danger of being whelmed in the waters was imminent; nevertheless, I sprung over men and horses, and overthrew more than one Turk who attempted to cut me down. My good star, and my agility, enabled me to attain the morass,

6

into which I only ventured to the depth of my knee, crouching as I advanced among the reeds, until fatigue compelled me to pause, when I heard an exclamation that an Infidel had escaped, let us seek him.' Other voices replied, that cannot be ventured on in the morass.' I know not if the attempt was made, as loss of blood, extreme weakness, and intense anxiety, produced a faintishness which lasted several hours; and when I recovered my senses, it was broad day-light.

"I was buried in the mud to the middle; my hair rose erect at the horrible images of the night, and the twentieth of August was one of my first thoughts. I counted my wounds, to the number of eight, but none appeared dangerous, as they were chiefly sabre cuts on my arms and body. The evenings of autumn in that country are very chill; I had, therefore, worn a thick pelisse, which had materially protected me; at the same time, I was very feeble.

"I listened to ascertain if the enemy had departed, but nothing came o'er the ear but the groans of the wounded horses. As to the riders, the Turks had rendered them quiet enough.

"I exerted myself to get out of my place of concealment, which I accomplished in about an hour, the traces which I had left among the reeds forming a safe guide; but, although this sanguinary warfare had peculiarly hardened the feelings, still in my lonely and defenceless state, I could not subdue a movement of apprehension, when I first advanced from this sylum. My regards were naturally and immediately attracted to the scene of massacre, where, of all my comrades, I singly stood in safety. But how shall I describe the horror and alarm of finding myself, at the very moment of supposed emancipation, rudely seized by the arm. On looking up, I saw an Arnaut of gigantic stature, armed to the teeth, who had returned to examine if there was yet any remaining plunder. Never was hope so bitterly disappointed. I addressed him in the Turkish language, "Take my watch,-my purse, -my uniform, but do not kill me.' "All these," he replied, "are mine; and, what is more, thy head;" and he deliberately began to unfasten the

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chin-piece of my Hussar cap. I was without arms, incapable of defending myself, and, on the slightest resistance, he threatened to bury his sabre in my breast; yet I clung to his waist, while he was employed in baring my neck, and continued to supplicate his compassion. "My family is rich,-make me your prisoner,-you shall have a large ransom.' "That would take too much time," he rejoined, "keep thyself quiet; all will soon be over;" and he had now drawn the breast-pin from my shirt Still I held him embraced; and, whe ther he was proudly confident in his superior strength and the advantage of his arms, or that a fleeting remnant of pity had for an instant weighed on his heart, which the avail of a single ducat soon outbalanced, he did not seem to notice my actions. Just, however, as he took out the breastpin, I felt something heavy near his waist; it was a steel hanmer, occasionally used instead of the battle-axe in close combat. Already he held up my head with one hand, brandishing his enormous sabre with the other, coolly repeating, " keep thyself quiet, that I may cut it off the more easily for thee.' Assuredly these were the last words I should ever have heard, but that nature, revolted at such a death with so irresistible an impulse, that, in the same moment, I sprung from his grasp, tore the hainmer from his girdle, and dashed it, with my whole strength, full in his face. The attack was unexpected, the weapon was massive,-the blow did not fail, and it was repeated with almost incredible celerity. The Arnaut reeled and fell, and his sabre escaped from his relaxed hold; I seized it, and I need scarcely add, plunged it repeatedly into his body.

On recovering my breath, I made to the outposts, directed by the glitter of their arms in the sun; but all fled from me as a spectre; and I was the same day seized with a high fever, and carried to the hospital.

"At the expiration of six weeks I recovered both of the fever and my wounds, and returned to the camp. On my arrival, the Bohemian brought me the Tokay, and I learnt from my companions, that, during my confinement, this extraordinary woman, by her predictions, which were in almost every instance accomplished to the

Observations on the Natural History of Birds." [Feb.

110 Strictures on 66 very letter, had acquired paramount influence, obtained many legacies, and was universally consulted as to the decrees of fate. This was very strange. "At length two deserters came over from the enemy, and recognized our fortuneteller as well known in the camp of the Turks, to whom, they said, by means of nocturnal visits, she had communicated our movements and intentions. This also created much astonishment, as she had often been of important service to us, and we had wondered at the address and ability with which she had executed the most perilous commissions. But the deserters persisted in their evidence; they had frequently been present when she communicated our positions and strength,-betrayed our plans, and enabled the enemy to succeed in their attacks. The events which had actually happened afforded strong presumptions against her; and a Turkish cypher, which served as a passport, being found in her possession, rendered her death indispensable.

"I then urged the Bohemian as to her predictions, and she avowed, in general, that, by acting alternately as a spy for each party, she had obtained double emolument, with complete personal security. By this means she learnt the secret plans of both; and she knew precisely what was to be attempted by either. Those who consulted her on their destiny confided to her all the dangers they were to encounter. The most secret projects were thus revealed to her in detail. Her calculation was almost always a demonstration; and sometimes, where she did not possess these advantages, chance befriended her.

"In my particular instance, she was desirous to impress an irresistible belief in her unerring knowledge. I was selected as a striking example of her skill; and, by fixing my fate at a remote period, and in utter disregard of all ordinary hazards, even of the immediate and constant skirmishes of the cavalry, the hair-breadth scapes, which, in my situation, were an every day occurrence, she trusted to obtain unbounded confidence.

"From her information, our centinels were cut off, and our piquets overthrown; but the attacks upon our night guards were arranged so as to suit her predictions, and especially

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THE "Observations on the Natural History of Birds," which appeared in your Miscellany in September last, having failed to draw forth the opinions of your ornithological friends on the subject, the following remarks are, in consequence, submitted to the consideration of your readers.

Your correspondent A. states, as the result of his own experience, that "if the nest (of the lapwing) is discovered as soon as the bird has begun to lay, and you remove an egg, so as to allow only one or two to remain in the nest, the bird will continue to lay for ten or twelve days, nay, for weeks, successively. If, however, you allow the number to reach four, it immediately begins to hatch, and there is no further deposition of eggs." By thus robbing the nest, he has induced this bird to lay ten eggs, while the ordinary number is four. He has tried the same experiment with the common lark, and with equal suc

cess.

The opinion, that some birds will lay more than their ordinary number of eggs, by daily abstracting one from the nest, has received considerable support from the learned author of the British Zoology, who, when speaking of the house or chimney swallow, says,-" It lines the bottom (of its nest) with feathers and grasses, and usually lays from four to six eggs, white, speckled with red; but, by taking away one of the eggs daily, it will successively lay as far as nineteen, as Dr Lister has experienced."-Pennant's Brit. Zool. Vol. I. p. 400. London, 1776. But the experience of Lister stands in opposition to the positive testimony of the late Mr Montagu, who, when speaking of this opinion respecting incubation, says,➡

"We believe there never was an instance, (of a bird laying more eggs successively, by taking one from the nest daily,) at least we have never been fortunate enough to discover one in the great variety of experiments we have tried on various birds, amongst which was the swallow, which has been declared to lay as many as nineteen." Mont. Ornithological Dictionary, Vol. I. Introd. xi. Now, it is well known to every student of British ornithology, that Montagu paid very great attention to the habits of birds, so that his testimony on such a subject should be received with confidence.

In our younger days, we gave credit to the efficacy of robbing a nest in making a bird lay more than her usual number of eggs, because such an opinion was current among our school companions. Our experiments, however, tried on the Magpie, Sparrow, and Wren, were invariably unsuccessful, so that, at last, we ranked this current belief in the list of popular errors. Indeed, were such a habit to prevail in birds, it would stand in opposition to all our notions of the laws of reproduction. On this subject the reasoning of Montagu appears conclusive. Those who suppose a bird capable of producing eggs at will, or

that

any bird is excited to lay more eggs than usual by daily robbing their nest, are certainly mistaken. In a domesticated fowl, it is probable the desire of incubation may be prolonged by leaving little or nothing in the nest to sit on. It will, therefore, lay the number allotted by Nature, which is determined before the first egg is produced. If it is prevented from incubation by any means whatever, it may begin again to lay in five or six days; but there is always an interval of a few days, and sometimes as many weeks, which must wholly depend on age and vigour of the bird. When it happens that a fresh lot of eggs is laid, with only a few days interval, and that, perhaps, in the same nest, it is deemed a continuation, for want of nice observation; but we are not to look to domesticated animals for natural causes, for those are taken from their state of nature. Let us look to birds in their natural wild state, and see if any well-attested instances are to be found where they have laid more eggs successively, by taking one from the nest daily; for instance, the num

the

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ber laid by a Hedge Sparrow is commonly five, sometines only four, and rarely six-will the taking away the daily laid egg produce a seventh or an eighth? No.”—Ibid.

From this view of the matter, your correspondent A. must excuse our want of confidence in his boyish recollections, since they thus stand in opposition to the high authority of one whose opinion on the subject was the result of numerous and diversified experiments. We would, however, earnestly recommend the repetition of these experiments to those whose situations are favourable for making such observations.

Although we have thus opposed the doctrine which your correspondent A. thinks he has established, we have had no other object in doing so, than to communicate the few historical notices of the subject in our possession; and we hope he will continue to favour your readers with those facts in the history of animals which he has ascertained. PHYSICUS.

CURIOUS FACTS IN NATURAL HISTORY.

MR EDITOR,

In one of your early numbers I observe some remarks on the Natural History of Birds, which are extremely curious. I wish your correspondent would continue his anecdotes, for his facts are most interesting, and, I am convinced, they are not generally known among the learned, however familiar they may be to every herdboy in Scotland. A great many years ago, a worthy farmer of my acquaintance, in the lower district of Annandale, took it into his head to rob a wild duck of her eggs, which he had accidentally discovered, and to place them under one of his tame ducks that was hatching at the same time. The young brood (twelve in number) came into the world at the usual period, but, notwithstanding the attention which he paid to them, they were all lost or destroyed, except one which continued with her step-dame. This singular bird never perfectly acquired the habits or dispositions of her domestic sisterhood,—she never would submit to the embraces of a tame drake,-and every spring she left the farm-yard and proceeded to the wilds in quest of a mate. She seemed to

have a malicious pleasure, if I may so
express it, in leading her lovers into a
snare; and was at great pains to draw
them into such situations as admitted
of their being easily shot. I have of
ten known two or three of her follow-
ers killed in the course of a day. She
always hatched her young in a peat
moss at some distance from the house,
but never failed to bring them to the
farm-yard as soon as they were able
to follow her. During the whole
time of rearing them, she was unu-
sually tame, and with difficulty could
be kept out of the kitchen, endeavour-
ing, as it were, by every means in her
power, to make her wild progeny fa-
iniliar with man. I need not tell you
that this duck became a great pet with
all the neighbourhood; and many a
wild duck was spared by the fowler
lest he should kill the favourite Jen-
ny. When this duck was about four
years old, my friend was visited by a
kinsman of his from Fife, who was so
much taken with her that he begged
for and obtained her as a present. She
was put into a cage, and by him con-
veyed to Edinburgh, where he had a
small silver collar made for her, with
his name and address engraven upon
it; and with this he carried her in
triumph to his house near Kinross.
She was kept in confinement for a
night and a day; when, seeming per-
fectly contented, she was let out into
the yard. She set about adjusting
herself for sometime, then suddenly
took wing, and, in the course of a few
hours, was among her old companions
in Annandale. She was a second time
conveyed to Fife, and her wings clipt.
She continued perfectly happy to ap-
pearance till her feathers grew, when
she again bade her new friends fare-
well. It would appear that she was
obliged this time to rest by the way,
as she was shot in the neighbourhood
of Biggar by a gentleman, who com-
municated the circumstance to the
owner, with the collar which was
found about her neck with his name
and place of abode. We have often
heard, Mr Editor, of the sagacity of
dogs, and even of cats; and I know
myself several instances where these
animals have found their way back to
their original dwellings, after being
conveyed to very great distances; but
this case proves that the feathered
tribe have also some degree of instinct.
It is a well known fact, that all emi-

grating birds return not only to the
same district or town, but the swal-
low, for instance, if not prevented, to
the same house, and even to the same
window where it was hatched, there
to bring forth its young. I know this
from actual experiment. I would say
the same thing of fishes; and I think
this fact is pretty well ascertained,
both with regard to the salmon and
the herring. Independent of the
great difference between the herrings
on the east and west coasts of Scot-
land, there are few of your Scots read-
ers, I should suppose, who are unac-
quainted with the superior excellence
of the Lochfine herring; and it is
well known, that fish of the same size
and quality are found on no other part
of our coasts. I consider them, then,
as a particular tribe, that return regu
larly to their own breeding ground.
In the Western Islands, the experien-
ced fishermen will tell the particular
loch from which a parcel of herrings
are taken,-so marked is the difference
between the several tribes, even when
the neck of land which separates the
two arms of the sea does not exceed a
mile or two in breadth. To condescend
upon particulars,-there is a marked
difference between the herrings caught
in Lochbuy and those caught in Loch-
scridden, which lie both on the west
coast of Mull, and not many miles
asunder. The fishermen on the Sol-
way Firth, I believe, could easily tell
you, when they kill a salmon, whether
it was a native of the Annan or the
Nith. If these remarks are consider-
ed worthy of a place in your Miscel-
lany, you may perhaps hear again
from
AN INQUIRER.

Jan. 12, 1818.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE AGAMEMNON
OF ESCHYLUS, ILLUSTRATED WITH
TRANSLATIONS.

(Concluded from page 31.)

UPON the conclusion of the speech which was last quoted, Cassandra enters into the fatal palace, going, as the poet afterwards expresses it,

"Like a swan to death, singing her dirge,”

and, in a few moments after her departure, redoubled shrieks behind the scene announce the murder of AgaThe Chorus, upon this ocmemnon.

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