462 Domestic 
took from the Bishop, out of this castle, 
treasure (40,000 marks) sufficient to pur- 
chase a marriage for his son Eustace with 
Constantia, sisterto Louis, King of France. 
Ocular demonstration has been afforded 
to those who doubted the existence of the 
Floating Island on Derwent Lake; it 
has appeared above water for the length 
of sixty yards, in a place where a few days 
ago boats sailed without interruption, 
although the surface of the lake has been 
‘mhuch raised by heavy showers. 
Since the death of the Earl of Carlisle, 
the Duke of Gordon and Earl Fitzwilliam 
are the only noblemen living, who were in 
possession of their titles and estates in the 
reign of George IT. ‘ 
The celebrated Prynne’s “‘ manner of 
studie”’ was thus:—He wore a long quilt 
cap, which came two or three inches 
least over his eies, which served him as an 
umbrella to defend his eies from the light : 
about every three hours his man was to 
bring him a roll and a pott of ale to re- 
focillate his wasted spirits; so he studied 
and drank, and munched some bread ; and 
this maintained him till night, and then he 
made a good supper. ‘‘ Now,” adds old 
Aubrey, “ he did well not to dine, which 
breakes off one’s fancy, which will not pre- 
sently be regained.” 
Territory and Population.—The five prin- 
cipal monarchies of Europe are, according 
to recent calculations, stated to contain :— 
Sq. miles. Inhabitants. 
Russia. in Europe 75,154 47,660,000 
Out of ditto ...... 292,339 11,714,000 
England in Europe 5,554 21,400,000 
Out of ditto...... 176,971 115,141,000 
France in Europe 10,086 30,749,000 
Out of ditto ...... 667 469,000 
Austria....se-+s0 12/265 29,691,000 
Prussia......22-- » 3,014 11,400,000 
Total.. 578,050 268,224,000 
More than one-half of this population— 
i.e. 136,541,000,—being under British do- 
minion. 
If the earth’s superficial content be 
2,512,000 square miles, and its inhabitants 
938,000,000, then do these fiye soyereign- 
ties extend over nearly one-fourth part, and 
command more than two-sevenths of the 
human race. The surface of our European 
portion (properly so called) of the globe, 
presents 155,220 square miles, and its in- 
habitants are 206,780,000 ; therefore, these 
five powers possess more than two-thirds 
of the territory and population of the world. 
The empire of China is very extensive, and 
more densely populous than all Europe. 
Spain did reckon 30,000,000 of people. - 
It is not perhaps generally known, that 
persons of either sex, who are engaged as 
domestic servants underthe Royal Family, 
take an oath not to divulge any thing con- 
nected with the -private habits. of their 
masters or mistresses. So says a book 
a. | Seen ies ‘higlo 
Varieties. 
(Dee. 4, . 
lately published, and there are reasons 
good and cogent, no doubt, for the regula- 
tion. Unquestionably, the divinity, that 
doth hedge a king to the multitude, is but 
a tattered robe in the eyes of the valet-de- 
chambre, who can discern through it a full 
share of those frailties which the prince on 
the throne is heir to, equally with the 
beggar on the dunghill. Royalty would 
fare badly in this gossiping world, were 
means not used to tie up the tongues of 
such witnesses. 
A Walrus, or sea horse, was encountered 
in the beginning of June last, by the crew 
of aboat in the opening of Pentland Frith ; 
and, having followed the boat up the har- 
bour towards Stromness, it went out W. 
through Hoymouth. It afterwards appear- 
ed in many places to the west of the islands ; 
it was beheld with terror by the fishermen, 
some of whom, howeyer, ventured to fire 
at the animal as it approached the shore, 
but the shot evidently lodged in its skin: 
it seemed scarcely to heed these proceed- 
ings. It was at last wounded severely by 
a shepherd of Mr. Laing, of Papdale, on 
the rocks of the Isle of Ely, after which 
it was made a prize by some of his com- 
panions, and towed ashore. One of the 
men thus employed, had the temerity to 
seize hold of the hind leg, or paw of the 
brute, and was immediately pulled out of 
the boat, dragged to the bottom, and with 
difficulty saved, on his return to the sur- 
face. Before Mr. Laing’s apprisal of the 
circumstance, the ignorant shepherds had 
skinned the walrus, taken off its head, and 
otherwise prevented the preservation of 
the entire skeleton; it is the first instance 
of any of these formidable inhabitants of 
the Polar seas haying been met with on 
our coasts. The animal was very lean; 
but some idea of its immense size may be 
formed from the measurement of the body, 
(15 feet by 13, and more than an inch 
thick) having been dried and shrunk. 
The Tarantula.—So late as at the begin- 
ning of the eighteenth century it was gene- 
rally believed, ‘‘ that the bite of the taran- 
tula, although at first not more painful than 
the sting of a bee, soon occasioned great 
anguish, stupefaction, &c.; and that death 
would speedily ensue without prompt sue- 
cour; that when a person, who had been 
bitten, was lying insensible, if a musician 
tried various tunes on different instru- 
ments, till he hit upon certain suitable 
modulations, the patient would exhibit a 
slight motion, beat time with his fingers, 
arms, feet, and eventually stand up 
and begin to dance; and this treatment 
being repeated, in the course of a week or 
ten days the venom would cease to operate, 
and the patient awake, as it were, from a 
sound sleep, without any recollection of 
what had passed. For these and a thou- 
sand other like consequences of this bite, 
‘physiologists have attempted to account. 
Mead believed that the venom first operated 
upon 
