most fertile valleys in the world. Its air, from being dry and healthful, from that time became very unwholesome; and the small part of the country, that, from being higher than the rest, escaped the deluge, was soon rendered uninhabitable, from its noxious vapours. This country continued thus under water for some centuries; till the sea, at last, by the same caprice which had prompted its invasion, began to abandon it, and has continued, for some ages, to relinquish its former conquests. Of inundations of the like kind, concerning which history has been silent, we have numberless testimonies of another nature, that prove it beyond the possibility of doubt: we allude to those numerous trees, that are found buried at considerable depths, in places which the sea, or rivers, have accidentally overflowed. But the influence which the sea has upon its shores is nothing to that which it has upon that great body of earth which forms its bottom. It is at the bottom of the sea that the greatest wonders are performed, and the most rapid changes produced. It is there that the motions of the tides and currents have their whole force, and agitate, the substances of which their bed is composed. But these are almost wholly hidden from human curiosity: the miracles of the deep are performed in secret; and we have but little information from its abysses, except what we receive by inspection at very shallow depths, or by the plummet, or from divers, who are known to descend from twenty to thirty fathoms. The eye can reach but a very short way into the depth of the sea, and that only when its surface is glassy and serene. In many seas, it perceives nothing but a bright sandy plain at bottom, extending for several hundred miles, without an intervening object. But in others, particularly in the Red Sea, it is very different; the whole body of this extensive bed of water is, literally speaking, a forest of submarine plants, and corals formed by insects for their habitation, sometimes branching out to a great extent. Here are seen the madrepores, the sponges, mosses, sea-mushrooms, and other marine productions, covering every part of the bottom. The bed of many parts of the sea, near America, presents a very different though a very beautiful appearance: this is covered with vegetables, which make it look as green as a meadow; and, beneath, are seen thousands of turtles, and other sea-animals, feeding thereon. With the following noble reflections on the sea, by Lord Byron, we close this interesting subject. There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, His steps are not upon thy paths,-thy fields And shake him from thee; the vile strength he wields And dashest him again to earth:-there let him lay. The armaments which thunderstrike the walls Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee- Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form Calm or convulsed-in breeze, or gale, or storm, Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime NOUEMBER. Remarkable Days In NOVEMBER 1820. 1.-ALL SAINTS. IN the early ages of Christianity the word saint was applied to all believers, as is evident in the use of it by Saint Paul and Saint Luke; but the term was afterwards restricted to such as excelled in Christian virtues. In the Romish church, holy per 'Childe Harold, 8vo, Canto iv, p. 92. sons canonized by the Pope are called saints, and are invoked and supplicated by the professors of that religion. The church of England instituted this festival in memory of all good men defunct, proposing them as patterns for Christian imitation, but not allowing any prayers to be addressed to them. For some rural customs on this day, see T.T. for 1814, pp. 278-9. 2. ALL SOULS. In Catholic countries, on the eve and day of All Souls, the churches are hung with black; the tombs are opened; a coffin covered with black, and surrounded with wax lights, is placed in the nave of the church, and, in one corner, figures in wood, representing the souls of the deceased, are halfway plunged into the flames. *2. 1818.-SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY died. He was one of the few men, who, while they have the unbounded confidence of their own party, command the respect of their political adversaries. Though he treated most questions with the candour that is inseparable from a love of truth, and with all the fervour by which zeal in a cause is characterised, he never excited the least suspicion of his motives, even when his reasons were urged with most force and warmth. His opponents seemed invariably to respect his intentions when they combated his arguments with the greatest vehemence. Sir Samuel's opinion upon any subject made a deep impression, not so much from the ability he displayed, uncommon as it was, as from the high respectability of his character. He was impressed with a deep reverence for our excellent Constitution, which will account for the extraordinary zeal with which he resisted every thing which had the appearance of being inconsistent with its practice or spirit. He had errors, no doubt; but they were not of the heart. But that he loved his country warmly, is beyond dispute. If he erred, the fault lay in the limitation of human mind; but his motives were unimpeached. His profound judgment, various acquirements, his skill in forensic and parliamentary speaking, and his astonishing industry, which enabled him to attend to the weighty business of his profession and to his duties in the Senate, are well known. 5.-KING WILLIAM LANDED. The glorious revolution of 1688 is commemorated on this day, when the throne of England became vested in the illustrious House of Orange. Although King William landed on the 5th of November, the almanacks still continue the mistake of marking it as the fourth. 5.-POWDEr plot. This day is kept to commemorate the diabolical attempt of the Papists to blow up the Parliament House. The best account of this nefarious transaction is detailed in Hume's History of England, vol. vi, pp. 33-38 (8vo edition, 1802.)-See also T.T. for 1814, p. 280. 6. SAINT LEONARD. Leonard, or Lienard, was a French nobleman of great reputation in the court of Clovis I; he was instructed in divinity by Remigius, Bishop of Rheims, and afterwards made Bishop of Limosin. Several miraculous stories are told of him by the monks, not worth relating. He died about the year 559, and has always been implored by prisoners as their guardian saint. *6. 1817.-PRINCESS CHARLOTTE died. Hark! forth from the abyss a voice proceeds, A long, low, distant murmur of dread sound, With some deep and immedicable wound: Through storm and darkness yawns the rending ground, She clasps a babe, to whom her breast yields no relief. |