436 Original Poetry. [VOL.? away. But the sixth also went, and empty, the waiter went to the guest to disappeared in the saloon. The seventh awake him; but who can describe his remained, but seemed to be asleep. This affright, when he found the sitting peris the paymaster! said the waiter, and son a man of straw! kept his eye constantly upon him. The The next day, however, the amount man still seemed to sleep. After many of the bill was sent, the whole having hours had elapsed, and the rooms and been meant only as a joke upon saloon began to become deserted and landlord. POETRY. the now, Rose palace proud, and sparkling pinnacle: On pomp and festival beam'd morning's glow; On pomp and festival the twilight fell. Lovely, and splendid all ;---but SODOM's soul Was stained with blood, and pride, and perjury; Long warned, long spared, till her whole heart was foul, And fiery vengeance on its clouds came nigh. And still she mocked, and danced, and taunt- Her sportive blasphemies against the It came !--the thunder on her slumber broke, Yet, in her final night, amid her stood Immortal messengers, and pausing Heaven Pleaded with man, but she was quite embrued! From the Literary Panorama, November 1817. [See the "Anecdotes of Arab Hospitality," Her last hour waned, she scorned to be for LTD of the Sun! on whose swart brow given ! 'Twas done !---down poured at once the sulphurous shower; Down stooped in flame the heaven's red canopy; Oh, for the arm of God in that fierce hour! They rush, they bound, they howl! the men of Still stooped the cloud, still burst the thicker blaze; The earthquake heaved! then sank the hideous din-- Yon wave of darkness o'er their ashes strays. PARIS! thy soul is deeper dyed with blood, And PARIS, it were well for thee, that flood away. PULCI. 10 The beams of cloudless splendour glow, Pursues the chace, nor fears to stray, Where generous feelings strongly beat 30 40 50 50 437 "And fills, with soft complaints, the burthen of her song. 5. "His spirit floats upon the perfumed gale, "Listen! his sighs steal o'er th' enamour'd vale, It paus'd--that voice so sweet and clear, The rock-the stream---the hill---the grove Till the last echo gently died Where the fresh stream bright sparkling shoots Each telis his tale; each asks of news :-- Around the willow's silvered roots, As thus the beauteous minstrel sung :- 1. 70 80 "Seest thou the moonbeam on yon silver stream? "Calmly it slumbers on the dimpled wave; "Such and so bright is passion's tender dream, "It decks the morn of life, and smiles upon the grave! 2. "The beam of blooming youth's unsullied brow, "The trembling light of beauty's downcast "Behold the rose upon her waving throne→→ 4. "List to the warbling nightingale--she soars "Far from the haunts of man, the bustling throng, "Love breathes in every thrilling note she pours, The Pacha's force---the Pacha's views: 130 140 Calmed not his soul, he cursed her ray Th' impatient courser paws the sand, {VOL. 2 And like the eagle o'er his prey, The splendour of its blushing zone; "The life-stream of my father's blood! No! ev'ry drop that thou hast shed Yonder the camp's white tents are spread, Nearer and nearer o'er the plains From the European Magazine. [By the Author of Courcy, Legends of Lampidosa,&c.] BEHOLD the real spirit was a skull Once of ethereal spirit full ! This narrow cell was lite's retreat: Say, did these fingers delve the mine, From the Monthly Magazine, Nov. 1817. TRANSLATION FROM HORACE ODE XIV. LIB. 2. POSTHUMUS! alas, alas! V. How swift the fleeting moments pass; Retard fell Death's resistless blow, Or thwart our fatal hour. TOL. 2.] Intelligence: Literary and Philosophical. No---should'st thou, each succeeding day, A three-fold hecatomb; For all who Nature's bounty share--- In vain we shun the autumnal gale, (To Pluto's realms we speed ;) Thy wife, thy land, thy groves of trees, Their short-liv'd lord shall have ; Their fragrance o'er thy grave, I Better than feasts pontifical, (Or those of sewer or seneschal) From the European Magazine. N Laura's bosom blush'd a rose, ON 439 Fresh bath'd in dew of summer's morn g Which youthful beauty's cheek adorn, So wildly bright,---so purely clear. LONDON INTELLIGENCE. From the New Monthly Magazine, Nov. 1817. ful Arts, Natural History, and the Application N one of our late numbers we announced the intended publication of the ENCYCLOPÆDIA METROPOLITANA, and are now desirous to call the attention of our readers to some of the peculiar claims which this undertaking prefers to public patronage. The most striking is the arrangement.---It is justly observed in the Prospectus that---" the inapplicability of a strictly scientific method to a modern Encyclopædia, has led to the abandon ment of all principle of rational arrangement; and it may be safely asserted of all our Universal Dictionaries hitherto, that the chief difference between them, in respect of their plan, consists in the more or less complete disorganization of the Sciences and Systematic Arts. Nor has the imperfection rested here, The position of those alphabetical fragments into which the whole system of human know ledge has been splintered, was but too frequently determined by the caprice or convenience of the compiler. The division of parts into minor parts had no settled limit; and the arrangement became neither properly scientific, nor properly alphabetical. It had the inconveniences of both, without the advantages of either." To remedy these inconveniences, of which those who, like ourselves have had frequent occasion to refer to such collections, must be thoroughly sensible, it is propoThe following important discoveries of sed to give to the forth-coming work the twofold advantage of a philosophical and alpha- uses to which the Potatoe-plant may be apbetical arrangement. To the Introduction plied, have been lately made in France. The "On the Laws and Regulative Principles of preparation of Potass is a simple process, and Education," will succeed the Pure Sciences, promises the greatest advantage to the cultiWe trust the experiment will be Grammar and Philology, Logic and Mathe- vators. matics: Metaphysics, Morals and Theology, tried in England; its success would be of inin 2 vols. finite utility to our manufactures :--The Mixed Sciences, Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Optics and Astron- On the Distillation of Spirits of Wine (Alcohol) omy, will occupy one volume; the Applied Sciences, 5 volumes, divided between Experimental Philosophy, the Fine Arts, the Use 1818. From the European Magazine. from Potatoes. The A French lady, the Countess de N****, whom political events compelled to change 440 London Literary and Philosophical Intelligence. her chateau, on the banks of the Saone, for a Cottage eight leagues from Viana---has established, on the small farm she occupies, a distillation of brandy from potatoes; which she has found to be very lucrative. The brandy of 20 degrees of Reaumur is very pure, and has neither taste nor smell different from that produced by the distillation of grapes. The method she employs is very simple, and within every person's reach. Take 100lb. of potatoes, well washed, dress them by steam, and let them be bruised to powder with a roller, &c. In the mean time, take 4lb. of ground malt, steep it in lake-warm water, and then pour it into the fermenting back, and pour on it twelve quarts of boiling water; this water is stirred about, and the bruised potatoes thrown in and well stirred about with wooden rakes, till every part of the potatoes is well saturated with the liquor. Immediately six or eight ounces of yeast is to be mixed with 28 gallons of water, of a proper warmth to make the whole mass of the temperature of from 12 to 15 degress of Reaumur; there is to be added half a pint to a pint of good brandy. The fermenting back must be placed in a room to be kept, by means of a stove, at a temperature of fifteen to eighteen degrees of Reaumur. The mixture must be left to re main at rest. The back must be large enough to suffer the mass to rise seven or eight inches, without running over. If, notwithstanding this precaution, it does so, a little must be taken out, and returned when it falls a little: the back is then covered again, and the fermentation is suffered to finish without touching it---which takes place generally in five or six days. This is known by its being perceived that the liquid is quite clear, and the potatoes fallen to the bottom of the back. The fluid is decanted, and the potatoes pressed dry. Tae distillation is by vapour, with a wooden or copper still, on the plan of Count Rumford. The product of the first distillation is low wines. When the fermentation has been favourable, from every 100lb. of potatoes six quarts and upwards of good brandy, of 20 degrees of the erometer, are obtained; which, put into new casks, and afterwards browned with burnt sugar, like the French brandies, is not to be distinguished from them. The Countess de N. has dressed and distilled per diem 1,000lbs. of potatoes at twice, which gives 50 to 70 quarts of good brandy. We may judge from this essay what would be the advantages of such an operation, if carried on on a grand scale, and throughout the year. Tae residue of the distillation is used as food for the stock of her farm, which consists of 34 horned cattle, 60 pigs, and 60 sheep; they are all excessively fond of it when mixed with water, and the cows yield abundance of milk. The sheep use about five quarts per diem each; viz, one half in the morning, and one half at night. The malt must be fresh ground---the Countess has it groɗnd every week. On the means of extracting Potass from Pota- [VOL. 2 periments, the truth of his conclusions. The French Society of Agriculture, and the Society for Encouragement of National Industry, have both named Commissioners to frame official reports; in the mean time, we feel it important to give an account of the process, in the hope that, even in the present season, it may be turned to account--as it interests landlords, tenants, merchants, and manufac turers. It is necessary to cut off the potatoe-tops the moment that the flowers begin to fall, as that is the period of their greatest vigour; they must be cut off at four or five inches from the ground, with a very sharp knife. Fresh sprouts spring, which not only answer all the purposes of conducting the roots to maturity, bat tend to an increase of their volume, as they (the sprouts) demand less nourishment than the old top. The tops may be suffered to remain on the ground where cut; in eight or ten days they are sufficiently dry without turning and may be carted, either home or to a corner of the field, where a hole is to be dug in the earth, about five feet square, and two feet deep (the combustion would be too rapid, and the ashes cool too quick, and thereby diminish the quantity of alkali, were they burnt in the open air.) The ashes must be kept red hot as long as possible: when the fire is strong, tops that are only imperfectly dried may be thrown in, and even green ones will then burn well enough. The ashes extracted from the hole must be put in a vessel, and boiling water poured upon it, and then the water must be evaporated: for these two operations potatoe-tops may be used alone as firing in the furnace, and the ashes collected. There remains after the evaporation a dry saline reddish substance, known in commerce under the name of saliu ; the more the ashes are boiled, the greyer and more valuable the salin becomes. The salin must then be calcined in a very hot oven, until the whole mass presents a uniform reddish brown. In cooling it remains dry, and in fragments---bluish within, and white on the surface: in which state it takes the name of potass. Tae ashes, exhausted of their alkaline principle, afford excellent manure for land intended to be planted with potatoes. The following is a table of the results obtained in France :-- An acre planted with potatoes. at one foot distance, gives 40,000 Salin The salin loses 10 to 15 per cent. 120,0001b. 40,000lb. 7,500lb. 5,000lb. 2,500lb. 2,2001b. All these estimates are taken at the lowest, by which it is evident that upwards of 2,000lb. of potass may be obtained, in addition to an increased crop, from every acre of potatoes, or a value far exceeding that of the crop itself. Farmers, of course, will next year turn this discovery to the best account, in planting those potatoes which yield the greatest quantity of tops. The expenses of preparing the potass as above described, including every thing, is about six guineas per acre. |