The Solar Eclipse of December 22.—Mr. Hind, the English astronomer, has published a Nautical Almanac Circular, showing the path of the total phase in regions which are conveniently accessible. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the shadow of the moon passes across the south of Portugal and the Straits of Gibraltar to Algeria, reaching its most southerly limits in about longitude 4° east of Greenwich, where the southern boundary of the shadow-path is in about 344° north latitude. Thence the shadow passes to Sicily, the northern limit passing slightly to the north of Mount Etna, and so, touching the extreme southern point of the Italian peninsula, by the south of Turkey, past Thessaly. The most important parts of the shadow's path are those across the south of Portugal and Spain, in Algeria, and across Sicily. An Aurora in Bagdad.-We become acquainted with the observations of the Aurora Borealis, at Bagdad, by the strange but not unaccountable circumstance that it deranged the transmission of our despatches over the Indo-European telegraph, and upset the telegraphic arrangements in the Ottoman dominions, where its appearance was very general. This circumstance not only prepares us for an extension of the phenomenon not generally, expected, but also for its occurrence in the past, when the rare display of the Aurora in the South must have furnished prodigies for the historian. The examination of these, as of recorded comets, is worthy of being pushed.-Athenæum. Directions of Temperatures.-The recent experiments of Dr. Dove lead him to believe that abnormally low temperatures travel from East to West, and abnormally high temperatures from West to East. He has proved this by various experiments during the past winter. The Action of Heat on Diamonds.-A very curious influence exerted by heat upon diamonds has been noticed at the works at St. Helen's, recently visited by the British Association. When a diamond is used to cut hot glass the diamond will only last for one day, and it assumes a milky appearance. The diamonds in constant use for cutting cold glass last about three months. Each diamond costs from 355. to 455., and is about three times the size of an ordinary glazier's diamond. Hot glass is cut more readily than cold glass. Are the two Sides of the Brain alike?-Dr. Brown-Séquard thinks not. In the course of his remarks, at the British Association at Liverpool, he said that the series of experiments he had made upon different animals led him to the belief that the right side of the brain was more important for organic life than the left side. Although the two sides of the brain were precisely alike when the animals were born, by greater development of the activities one side came to be quite different from the other. Calorific Value of certain Gases.—In a paper read before the American Association at Salem, by Professors B. Silliman and H. Wurtz, there are some conclusions which will be of interest to our readers. From the second table it is clear-I. That, of all known gases, the highest calorific effects, under ordinary atmospheric conditions, are obtainable from carbonic oxide, whose calorific value, above 100° C., is about 3,000° C. 2. That, in absolute calorific value, below Ico° C., in the atmospheric medium, hydrogen surpasses the volume of any other gas, giving a temperature of about 3,200° C. 3. That for all modes of application-that is, for producing both high and low temperatures-the total maximum calorific effectiveness of carbonic oxide is a constant quantity. 4. Compound condensed submultiple volumes of hydrogen, like that in marsh gas, have much less total calorific value in air than their volume of free hydrogen. 5. Condensed compound submultiple volumes of gaseous carbon, like that in olefiant gas, have no greater total calorific value in air, below 100 C., than their own volume of carbon gas in the form of carbonic oxide; while above 100° C. their value is even considerably less. ART. Restoration of Westminster Abbey.-While the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's are appealing to the public for a sum which seems only very slowly to be collected, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster are gradually, but effectively, doing much to arrest, or to repair, the ravages of time on their noble minster. The work on the chapter-house, tastefully and skilfully as it has been effected, is languishing for want, we believe, of funds. To the cleansing of the bronze monuments, and of the grille of Henry VII.'s monument, we have before called attention. The new step to which we now refer is the repair of the crumbled and decayed buttresses of the row of niches beneath the central arch of the great west door. The most dilapidated of these have been partly cut away, showing, we are happy to say, the inner part of the stone as fresh and sound as on the day it was built. Sound building-stone from the Chilmark quarries, in Wiltshire, some of which has before been employed in the abbey, is being cut to the exact dimensions and mouldings of the portions thus excised, and the result will be the exact restoration of this portion of the façade to a state closely resembling that in which it was left by the architect. The effect, for the first few months, will be harsh and unpleasing, and will suggest to many ready-made critics a reference to putting new cloth into old garments. With the lapse of a year or two, the discrepancy of tone will have disappeared beneath the levelling agency of the London atmosphere, and the fine front will be not only saved but renewed in its youth. Any of our readers who are inclined to visit the spot, should go a little farther for the sake of the fine view of the group of towers, the lined roof of the unfinished chapter-house, and the gable and buttresses of the south transept of the Abbey. Few city-scenes in Europe are so picturesque. The vista down the broad street is closed by what looks like one of the vast monasteries of southern Italy: a most un-London-like effect. It is the great pile to the south of the Thames, serving as a succursale to the India Docks. The small blank arches at the top give the effect of a row of dormitories. Mediæval London seems to be rising from the dust.-Art Journal. Our National Academy.-The Fourth Winter Exhibition of the National Academy of Design was opened with a reception on the evening of November 21st, and is now in progress. The display of pictures is rather better, on the whole, we think, than any that has been seen upon the walls at recent Exhibitions, though the best productions of our own artists are still held off, and the deficiency has to be supplied by foreign artists. These latter furnish most of the large pictures in the catalogue of the present Exhibition. The Academy has now passed entirely into the control of "the reformers," and the first result is a marked improvement in the disposition of the artists toward the institution, and a perceptible one in the quality of pictures sent in. Another good result is the announcement, which we take pleasure in making, that at the next Spring Exhibition the Academy will be open free to all comers for several days in the week. Unveiling of the Kepler Monument.—The following very interesting account of this is taken from Les Mondes (July 14). On the 24th of last June, the very small Swabian town named Weildiestadt, with hardly 2,000 inhabitants, was the scene of a festive gathering for the purpose of unveiling the statue of the celebrated Kepler, who was born in a humble cottage yet existing, and now known as Kylerhaus. The statue of the celebrated astronomer, executed in bronze, represents him seated on an arm-chair; in his left hand, supported by a celestial globe, he holds a scroll, upon which an ellipse is delineated; in his right hand he holds a pair of opened compasses. At the four corners of the pedestal, upon which the statue is placed, are smaller statues, representing Michel Mastin, the Tübingen professor who taught Kepler mathematics, and Nicholas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Jobst Byrg, who assisted Kepler in making astronomical instruments. On the centre of the pedestal is simply placed "Kepler;" the other sides of this portion of the monument are embellished with bas-relief representations of incidents of Kepler's life. Title pages to Music.-The London Art Fournal says:-Among the pleasantest indications of Art progress are the titles that music-publishers now issue with their songs. Though sometimes very meretricious, striving to catch the eyes of "the groundlings" by gaudy and highly-colored pictures, they are sometimes so pure in style, so good in composition, and so well drawn, as to deserve places in choice books of art-works. Mr. J. Robertson, the chief engraver of the Constantinople Mint, has received the third class of the Mejedie, in compliment to his twenty years' service, during which he has raised the coins of that mint to the English standard, besides producing many meritorious medals. He is also known as having contributed to the photography of Constantinople. Three curious Musical Scores have been found at Milan, amongst the old papers of a family of the name of Castelli, The scores, which are autograph, are:-"La Secchia Rapita," by Zingarelli, performed at La Scala in 1793; "Un pazzo ne fa cento," by Mayr, performed in 1798; and "La Fortunata Combinazione," composed by Mosca. A New Centre of Art Exhibition has been opened in London, which promises well, It is named after the celebrated "Palais Royal," is located in Argyle Place, Regent street, and the entrance fee of only one shilling shows that it is intended for popular use. The Course of Lectures which Prof. Ruskin will deliver in Oxford during the present term will be on the subject of sculpture. The first of them was delivered on November 24th, and was entitled, "The Division of Arts," An Exhibition of Pictures is now being held in the Royal Academy, London, for the benefit of the French peasants ruined by the Prussian invasion. A Bust of Daniel Maclise, R.A., is to be placed in the hall of the London Royal Academy. The work has been confided to the hands of Mr. Edward Davis. VARIETIES. Napoleon at St. Helena.-My residence, not far from Longwood, often gave me an opportunity, unobserved, of seeing any of the French party who appeared out of doors. In this way I have several times caught a glimpse of the ex-Emperor in his gray surtout or morning gown, occupied in directing garden operations, or rather the construction of some curious mounds of earth and sod walls, but what was his purpose.it would not be easy to say. Shortly before Napoleon's death, and contrary to all his prolonged habits of seclusion, he suddenly made a carriage excursion into the country. He was returning almost at a snail's pace-he was very ill-and the road being very narrow-placed me necessarily in closest proximity with his person. Being the only stranger at that moment standing wards me, and thus afforded me a near and fullthere, Napoleon, involuntarily perhaps, looked toface view. The face was never to be forgotten; the expression unquestionably at this time was eminently sad, if not sullen and unhappy. Poor man! he looked a picture of suffering, and short was the time before I again stood yet nearer-by his lifeless body. Ever memorable to me has been that spectacle. The features of Napoleon were then fixed in death--refined, perhaps, from the effects of wasting disease--but beautifully placid, if not expressive; then the very small and white hand-the fine, soft, and silken hair thinly lying over the forehead-the delicate and slight figure, altogether presented an appearance very far removed from the stern and iron frame and visage usually supposed to represent him during his lifetime. No one could contemplate those mortal remains without a feeling of indefinable melancholy. There now, on a small camp bedstead, lay the lifeless body of Napoleon, dressed completely in the very same military dress in which he fought and won the memorable victory of Austerlitz. For a moment he might have seemed even sleeping -so little deathlike appeared that calm reposewhile the face looked really youthful, as when in Indeed, such was the remark made at the time in early life he had commanded the army of Italy. my hearing, as a few followers of his last fallen fortunes stood grouped around. If sad, how touching also was the solemn scene. 128 "Gaze gently on that silent clay, Napoleon's once, 'tis death's to-day; I afterwards wandered into an adjoining room, and there were many things strange and precious, more or less, to be seen belonging to the eventful past; but stranger still to others probably would some of these costly relics have appeared in their present place. That priceless cloak of curious furs, the gift of the Emperor Alexander at Tilsit, could it have been imagined it should ever lie there? That magnificent Dresden China set, the gift of the city of Paris, each separate piece with vast cost and skill portraying some achievement "of glorious memory"-those golden remnants and relics of imperial plate-was it ever supposed they should one day be seen in that obscure room, upon that insignificant table-Sic transit gloria mundi.-Recollections of St. Helena," in the Leisure 66 Hour. Causes of Sudden Death. -Very few of the sudden deaths which are said to arise from "diseases of the heart" do really arise from that cause. To ascertain the real origin of sudden deaths, experiments have been tried in Europe and reported to a scientific congress held at Strasbourg. Sixty-six cases of sudden death were made the subject of a thorough post-mortem examination; in these only two were found who had died from disease of the heart. Nine of sixty-six had died from apoplexy, while there were forty-six cases of congestion of the lungs-that is, the lungs were so full of blood they could not work, there not being room enough for a sufficient quantity of air to enter to support life. The causes that produce congestion of the lungs are cold feet, tight clothing, costive bowels, sitting still chilled after being warmed with labor or a rapid walk, going too suddenly from close, heated rooms into the cold air, especially after speaking, and sudden depressing news operating on the blood. The causes of sudden death being known, an avoidance of them may serve to lengthen many valuable lives which would otherwise be lost under the verdict of "heart complaint. That disease is supposed to be inevitable and incurable; hence, many may not take the pains they would to avoid sudden death if they knew lay in their power. tired already, we at last proceeded to the Minster. On coming close to it, we saw many stone fragments at the foot of the tower. The beautiful entrance was not injured, nor the celebrated rosette. A piece of a column had fallen on the nose of one of the Emperors on horseback, and seemed ready to drop on the head of some less exalted mortal. Though soldiers only were permitted to ascend the tower on that day, our little company entered also. The beautiful towers containing the winding staircases were not much damaged; but some parts of the stone balustrades had suffered, and it was dangerous to pass. The whole roof of the nave is burned, but the vaults underneath fortu nately resisted, and kept the flames from the in- As the whole Minster was crowded with soldiers, we had some difficulty in descending the narrow stairs. We entered the interior of the church, and were glad to see that not much damage had been done. Some simple wooden chairs were burned; the upper part of the organ and some parts of stained windows were broken; but the celebrated clock was intact. I think, however, that the damage done will require 1,000,000 francs to repair it.-Temple Bar. A Probable Cataclysm.-The valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico, have anciently been again and again deluged and devastated by the overflow of submontane vaults; and an earthquake at this day, to break up the mountains in Mexico, so as to obstruct the course of these waters to the ocean, would open the ancient gates, and fill the ravines, and flood the whole meadow-lands of those valleys to the Gulf of Mexico. This cataclysm may again happen, souri valleys are consequently now but tenants at and the inhabitants of the Mississippi and Missufferance.-The Lifted and Subsided Rocks of America. Coins: their First Appearance.-Coins first make their appearance in the pre-Roman Iron Age. Those of Marseilles have been discovered in an old battle-field at Tiefenau, near Berne, along with a large number of objects made of iron, such as broken chariots, bits for horses, wheels, &c. Since Marseilles was founded B. C. 600, the coins must be later than that date, and probably before the conquest of Gaul by the Romans. Some of the villages in the Swiss lakes may also be assigned to the Iron Age; in that near La Tene, on the lake of Neufchâtel, fifty iron swords, five axes, four knives, and twenty-three lances have been found, unaccompanied by a single weapon of bronze; nine coins also were found, of which one bears on the reverse the Gallic horned horse. Mr. Evans has shown that the Gauls had a coinage of their own in B. C. 300, while in Britain the coins would therefore seem very probable that coins make their appearance about 150 years later. It were used to a considerable extent during the Iron originally from the East and South-from Greece Age, and their style implies that they are derived and Macedon, and not from Italy. Mr. Evans gold coins, in which the passage from the highlyhas in his possession a marvellous series of British finished Greek original is traced down to the almost meaningless emblems stamped on the rude Damage to Strasburg Cathedral.-Very much copies.-Sir John Lubbock's Pre-historic Times. India Rubber Inexhaustible.-The belt of land around the globe, 500 miles north and 500 miles south of the equator, abounds in trees producing the gum of India-rubber. They can be tapped, it is stated, for twenty successive seasons without injury; and the trees stand so close that one can gather the sap of eighty in a day, each tree yielding, on on average, three tablespoonfuls daily. Forty-three thousand of these trees have been counted in a tract of country thirty miles long by eight wide. There are in America and Europe more than 150 manufactories of India-rubber articles, employing some 500 operatives each, and consuming more than 10,000,000 pounds of the gum per year, and the business is considered to be still in its infancy. But to whatever extent it may increase, there will still be plenty of rubber to supply the demand. |