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influence exercised by Kght m the production of carbonic acid in animals . Hiff experiments were perfbrmeH on frogs , and he gives the tabulated results , which we may sum up in a phrase : under equal conditions of temperature , ageysize ,. &c , frogs produce tV to £ more carbonic acid when subject to the influence of light than when kept in obscurity . This production of carbonic acid is in direct ratio to the intensity of the light . These results are important , as showing the enormous influence exercised by light on animals , and they help to corroborate the experiment of Milne Epvabds , who prevented the tadpole ' s development into a frog by keeping it excluded from light at a very low temperature ; an experiment we reversed : producing dwarf frogs by exposing tadpoles to unusual stimulus of light and heat . Moi . k 3 chott ' s results may also one day help us to explain the empirical practice of keeping animals in the dark when fattening them .
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PICTURES OF GERMAN LIFE . Memoirs of Frederick Perthes . From tte German of Clement Theodore Perthes . 2 vols . Thomas Constable and Co . Tins is a curious , and , in many respects ^ an interesting work ; to Germans we should imagine it would be fascinating , for most Germans have no conoeption that a book can . be slow and monotonous , whereas we busier and more impetuous Englishmen have not the time nor the patience to make foot journeys- of enormous distances unless the xoad be very attractive . For ourselves , we must confess to no little weariness in our progress through these two stout volumes : ; and yet , on looking back at the scenes through which we slowly passed , we remember thai ; we have followed the career of an entexprizing , honest , and remarkable man / througn very troubled times of political and religious disturbance , through private sorrows and domestic joyg . The personal and more strictly biographical pages interest us most . We learn to love his loving wife Caroline , one of those who unite the scheme
fulfil all ray engagements ; but in our country no one is in a position to pay and I dare not press ray demands in the French dominions , and thus I may not be able to avoid bringing others into difficulty ; this to me is a great cause of grief . " letters from creditoTa now came in from all parts , and there is none in whict such expressions as the following may not be found : " Do not think of my claims at present ; I know as well as you do , that when you can pay , you will ; you acted as you were ' in dutv bound to act . " By the help of the business books , which had been brought atrav Perfb . es managed to get a tolerable insight into his position , he made such arrange ^ ments as were possibU in the circumstances , and endeavoured , at all events , to secure the creditors , through the debtors of the house . By exerting himself to the utmost he accomplished this . " He works from morning to night , " wrote Caroline , " with the exception of an hour after dinner , which we devote to thinking over our poaition or rather to sleep ; for we rise at four o ' clock , and require some repose during the dav Perthes is perfectly clear and calm , and , I may say , in some respects more cheerful than formerly , and so am I , while he is with me . " Perthes received strength and encouragement from the expressions of respect and consideration that were conveyed to him from all sides . . The book has been reduced from the German original * but * it naio-Ut be reduced / still further with advantage . °
JSeeletOf practical sense , and domestic virtues , who can trouble themselves and others about ' the inner life , ' and yet make loving exemplary wives , food mothers " , and firm friends . Some of her letters are charming , and it is eautiful to see the youthful affection which after tSventy years of marriage inakea life for both of them a blessing . Perthes was a bookseller ; his talents and character not only made him conspicuous in active political life , but made him the intimate friend of many of toe leading- men of his time . These pages , therefore , give us glimpses of Niebubr , the Stolbergs , Jacobi , Claudius , Heeren , Arndt , Schlegel , Stein , ¦ Jjfan Paul , and other less known men ; but we prefer the rare glimpses they give us of German life and manners . Much—too much—of the book is occupied witli political and religious matters treated too minutely for the pages of biography , and yet without sufficient detail to be interesting as historical notices . The best of these is the story of the bombardment of Hamburg by Davouat , and his subsequent brutal occupation of the city :-
—Perthes now felt that his position in the Burgher-Guard required him to exert all Iris moral ana physical powers of endurance , all his elasticity of spirit , and all his influence over men ' s minds-, in order to stimulate the courage , and to increase the steadfastness of his fellow-citizena , under circumstances which , trying enough in themselves , were rendered still more so by the conduct of the military authorities . Now he afforded to "Von Hess—who in restless excitement passed from the boldest confidence to the moat abject despair , and from the most violent activity to a state of absolute torpor—the support of which he stood in need ; now he might he seen < juietin £ _ ihe citizens , when , -without any apparent cause , they had been summoned by th ^ eltwm bell , and were left to stand forgotten for hours together on the musterjground ; on otner occasions , and generally by night , he sought out the burghers on the more distant posts , to many of whom his presence \ ras a source of courage and of confidence . " From the 9 th of May , " wrote Caroline afterwards , " Perthes had
not undressed for on&-aad-twenty nights , and during that period had never lain down in bed- I was in daily anxiety for his life . He was only occasionally , and that half jm hour at a time , in the house . The three younger children were at Waridsbeck , with my mother , the four elder were with me , because they could not have been removed without force . I hod no man on the premises—all were on guard . " People were constantly coming in to eat and drink , for none of our acquaintances kept house in the city . I had laid sacks filled with straw , in the laTge parlour , and there , night and day , lay bnrghera , vrhb came in by turns to snatch a short repose . At the battle of Wilhelmstwrg ; we lost our "Webea " , and many of our friends . Day and night I was on the balcony to see if Pcrthea , or any of ovtr relations , were carried by among the wounded . At the time when the cannonading was loudest , and the greatest terror and anxiety prevailed , lest the French should land , Pertbes sent to desire that I would
instantly send him a . certain small box , that lay on his writing-table . As I was running down the ataits with the box in my band , I felt sure that it was filled with poison . I desired the messenger to wait , and went to ray room to decide what I ought to do , for this great matter was thus committed to me ; it was a dreadful moment . My horror , lest Perthes should fell alive into thft hands of the French , overcame me ; and it appeared to me that God could not be angry with him for not willing this ; and then the injustice of my deciding a matter between him and his God seemed bo great , that with , trembling hands and knees , I , in God a name , gave the box to the messenger . Many hours elapsed before I heard anything further . It was poison , and poison propared for the purpose I had feared , but not for Perthes , who assured me beforo God that he should not have thought it lawful , and was displeased with me for having so misunderstood him . " _ The straggle was yain . ^ Hamburg fell into the hands of the French , and Ptertheft had : to fly with his family , for his was one of the ten names excepted fromx the general amnesty . The following shows him in a more manly—we nattalinost Said more heroic—light , than -when ho was risking hia life in defending the city t—Perthes had lost everything . His shop in Hamburg was sealed , hia other property ^ aa B&oraestrated , and his dwelling-liouae , after being plundered of every wn £ T « T «]! IIS ^ K " * *» « French goneral . Ready money for the support of his fi ^ w ^ K y ^^ * ' "" Do not suppose that I complain , " ho wrote to hia ° , 7 i ? T * 1 " *• wKo haa nothing to repent of ha » alao nothing to complain r t ^ ml * Tfe 4 h * 3 w 5 < £ ?* ' nres « nce of God ; I have often risked my life , and why 2 S £ 111 I £ ^? ! £ i v * Te loflt » y ft » ttra « ? God ' s will be done I I do not Smotintttf lSL ^^ JSs ? : ?* ^ cTiiIdTea in foroi " e n land - In tUe nM < mtua « i £ Lneefcrebat UroHlurtb of m outstanding claims , I shall b <* able to
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A MATTER-OF-FACT METAPHYSICIAN-. The Science of 3 find ; or , Pneumatology . Vol . 1 .. Longman and Co . Ix _ is not often we look into a volume of philosophy so utterly and surprisingly removed from any conceivable plan of metaphysical investigation as this . It is ¦' certainly original , in the sense of being unlike another treatises . Whereas in psychological writings generally we « irc puzzled by a certain riot of ratiocination , in this work we are oppressed by merciless facts , of themost familiar kind for the most part , like stones tilted out of a cart , and without any attempt to link them 'together , or to show their bearing upon the argument which we presume they are meant to illustrate , but which is as yet the author ' s secret .
" The materials of the Science of Mind" we are told at starting , " have l > een in existence from the creation of man . We have in the Pentateuch a rich record of these materials , from the earliest ages . " This is promising for an opening . Our curiosity is further excitedfcy learning that the reason why a Pentateuchal science has not been elaborated is because , " unlike all other sciences , it is still unorganized . " The author has given very many years to this valuable Science , which only wants arrangement to rival Geometry , and the result of Iris meditations in this volume . We despair of being able to convey a correct idea of the book . It exceeds anything we leincmber in literature . To say that it is dull and commonplace would be saying nothing ; there is a deliberateness about its dulness , a conscientiousness in its stupidity , a iargo of commonplace never frittered away by any attempts at originality , never disturbed by speculation , never perplexed by indiscreet vivacity . The first part treats of " The influence and action of Matter upon Mind occasioning sensation . " In the hands of a metaphysician you know what problems would be stated and attempted to be solved under this head ; but our author is content to amass 150 pages 8 vo . of facts , such aa these '•
Cows milk , and , to a less extent , the milk of other animals , after being left some time , resolves itself into two parts , cream and thinner milk ; from the latter , by a moderate application of heat , more cream can be separated . The flavour of cream is richer than that of milk . . From cream , by agitation , the oily portion is separated ; this is called butter , and has a pleasant , peculiar flavour . ' . . ' . ¦ Or these : ¦—There are but limited moans of discriminating by phraseology the sounds which brute animals produce . As illustrations , merely a few may be noticed :-r ~ The agouti has a most plaintive cry when sensible of danger . The ass niakea a moat outrageous sound at times , which is called braying . The herds of wild asses ia Africa produce a concert which is horrific . The baboon . —These animals are warned by their sentinel , who raises a loud cry . Tlie babyroussa , or Indian hog , growls dreadfully . The bear has a fearful , interrupted growl . The lee . —The buzzing of the bee—a sound made bv their wings—is familiar . The bittern . —The boom of this bird is dismally hollow . The bvjfi ' alo bellows more loudly than the bull . The camel , when overloaded , sends fortli lamentable cries . . The canary bird ;—The melody and variety of its whistle or song ate very grateful . The cat purs , caterwauls , hisses , or spits , &c . The cock crows .
The cricket chirrups . The aukoo has a -well-known note , from which it derives its name . The dot ) barks and growla . These illustrations do not , perhaps , strike you as likely to throw much light on . the mystery of sensation , but the author is content to amiiss page after page of such facts , which he classifies with great rigour . Among the " inorganic sensations , " we arc taught : — The shock occasioned by the electrical eol or the torpedo to the person touching it is very violent and powerful . The cantharis , or Spanish fly , ia used in plasters to raise blisters , a painful operation . There is a touch of humour , if it be not sublime stupidity , in tho last phrase . The passage continues : — _ Many shrubs arc armed with thorns and prickles , which , cntoring tho flesh , occasion by the puncture acute pain , and frequently produce inflammatory sores . A . splinter entering tbe flesh occasions considerable pain . Tho vengeance and cruelty of the llonaan soldiers , who crucified our Saviour , was shown in platting a crown of thorns , and forcing it on hia brow . The pain of this must have been excruciating . The author has read many books in search of his facts , and talks of motor nerves ' familiarly as maidens do of puppy dogs , ' although he has read his books with but indifferent attention if he learned 7 his anatomy from them : — The motor nerves , or nerves of action , take their origin mostly , but not exclusivelyi in that portion of tho brain ' which is called tho cerebellum .
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906 THE LEADER , [ No . ^ 9 , J ^ £ kdayv
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 20, 1856, page 906, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2159/page/18/
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