POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



717 



and twenty-third year of Rome. It is also 

 common among the negroes of the Guinea 

 coast and in Persia. The idea was to drive 

 the prayer into the body of the idol, the 

 god, the sacrosanct and worshiped tree ; 

 and a form of the practice survives in Brit- 

 tany, where saints' statues have replaced 

 primitive idols, and women's pins do duty 

 for nails. About six miles west of Tokio, at 

 Ilabashi, is the stump of an old yc-tree 

 {Cellis Willdenoioiaiia), so covered with ex- 

 volos that its fame must be surpassing. Mor- 

 sels of its decayed wood are sold to those 

 who have grown weary of their loves. The 

 force of the remedy lies in the application 

 of it. The tinder is boiled, the damsel is 

 got to drink of the charm unawares, and 

 immediately she goes her ways, and leaves 

 her charmer to sing " Joy go with her ! " The 

 bunches of spindles which grow on the great 

 bosses or tumors of the shh-aja-matsu {Pinus 

 Thunhergii) are still revered as the nests or 

 lairs of the Tcn-gu, or heavenly dog, which 

 inhabits mountains or lonely spots, has a 

 long snout, two claws on each foot and 

 hand, and a pair of wings. 



Protective Charms.— Charms against al- 

 most any of the ills and dangers of life can 

 be obtained in Burmah from the Buddhist 

 priests, for a ti'ifling consideration. One of 

 these Wise Men will furnish a charm war- 

 ranted to protect the wearer against being 

 shot, for five or six rui^ees (between two and 

 three dollars). One of these charm?, ob- 

 tained by an English officer, consisted of a 

 tiny figure of Gaudama, in a sitting posture, 

 not much exceeding a large pea in size, carved 

 in ivory. In order to become proof against 

 sword-wounds, a medicine made by the priest 

 must be eaten. A specimen of this medi- 

 cine resembled in appearance and odor dried 

 leaves or bark finely powdered. Charms for 

 other purposes consist of curious devices 

 tattooed on various parts of the breast and 

 shoulders ; also of bits of ivory, silver, lead, 

 etc., inscribed with magic spells, inserted 

 under the skin. The Burman's faith in these 

 charms is very deep-rooted, and in spite of 

 frequent and painful proofs of their fallibil- 

 ity he does not seem to lose confidence in 

 their magical properties. The injured man 

 himself is generally the first to find an ex- 

 cuse for the failure of his tali-man to pro- 



tect him. Holders of gun-charms assert con- 

 fidently that a gun fired at them will not go 

 off, or will burst, but their faith is not so 

 strong that they will consent to an experi- 

 mental test. 



Dr, Jfansen's Greenland Expedition » — 



Dr, Frithiof Nansen has successfully accom- 

 plished the experiment which we described 

 several months ago as about to be under- 

 taken, of crossing Greenland from the east- 

 ern to the western side, and arrived at Godt- 

 haab on the 3d of October last. The party 

 had some difficulty, owing to a southerly 

 drift in which they were caught, in making 

 a landing on the eastern coast as far north 

 as they desired, but finally started to cross 

 the inland ice from Umiavik, latitude 64° 30', 

 on the 15th of August. A course was at first 

 set toward the northwest for Christianshaab, 

 in Disco Bay; but much time being lost 

 through severe northerly snow-storms. Dr. 

 Nansen was compelled to turn to the west- 

 ward for the nearer settlement of Godt- 

 haab. The western coast was reached after 

 forty-six days' traveling, the distance from 

 the point of departure being 280 geographi- 

 cal miles. For several weeks the explorers 

 were at an altitude of more than 9,000 feet 

 above sea-level, and suffered from snow- 

 storms and loose snow, and a temperature of 

 between 40° and 50° below freezing. As 

 the last Danish ship of the season was not 

 able to wait for them to be embarked upon 

 it, the party will have to spend the winter 

 in Godthaab. 



Longevity of Professional Men. — The 



comparative longevity of professional men 

 may be accounted for by reference to the 

 exceptionally favorable conditions under 

 which they exist. While the man who is in 

 trade is tormented by anxiety over the un- 

 certainties of the morrow, and the man who 

 has made a fortune and retired is, unless he 

 has cultivated a hobby, a prey to inanition, 

 and liable to feel that he has no longer a 

 welcome place in the world, the professional 

 man of fifty has learned what he can do, and 

 has adjusted himself to a career for which 

 he is fitted. If he is making a fortune, his 

 life is full of interest and brings little trouble 

 or anxiety to himself. It is not his own case 

 that the lawyer pleads, the physician com- 



