Foreign Notes [pp. 154-155]

154
artist to that of Schnetz. "The works of Hildebrandt," says one of
them, "without belonging to a very vast sphere, have all the serious ness of history. He tells a tale marvellously well, and passes alter nately, and with equal success, from gqenre to history."
THE newest contribution to that class ofliterary productions which has
for its aim the elucidation of the origin of man, is a volume by the
Duke of Argyll, entitled "Primeval Man: an Examination of Some Re cent Speculations." It would seem that the object of the author was to
show that the "Darwinian theory," or that of gradual development, was
not sustained by a sufficient weight of evidence to warrant its being
considered as any more credible than the Mosaic account. One of the
arguments of the author is, that all fossil remains fail to yield any traces
of intermediate races, while perfect specimens of man are by no means
wanting; so also with mollusca and fishes, each of which are found, in
their appropriate periods, fully developed, without any traces of interme diate or connecting links. Another argument is, that the direction in
which the human frame diverges from the structure of the brute is in
that of greater physical helplessness and weakness-a divergence the
most impossible to ascribe to " natural selection; "i the gift of reason
being the divine compensation for the absence of those physical qualifi cations for offence, defence, and self-sustenance found in the brute. A
writerin Tl/e Spectator, reviewing this book, quotes at length the passage
in reference to the physical divergence, and adds: " It seems to us
scarcely possible to state the orthodox side of the argument more clearly
or incisively than that, nor can we perceive either the answer or the
direction in which an answer may ultimately be sought. That a race,
or family of animals should, in defiance of development, become feebler,
and yet attain not only a higher brain, but a brain of radically different
capacities, is a miracle at least as great as creation. It is as if a piece of
silver ore, untouched from without, were to develop itself into a highly sensitive photographic plate. The argument is no proof that the Mosaic
account is correct, nor does the Duke advance it as proof; but it is surely
a reason for not assuming that the theory of development has disposed
of every other."
Claxton, Remnsen & Haffelfinger, of Philadelphia, have published a
little volume of " Gems of German Lyrics," with metrical translations,
by Henry D. Wireman, the poems and the translations being printed
on alternate pages. Few, if any, of these poems have ever been translated, and, as the author has displayed good judgment in the selections
he has made, and considerable ability in his versification, the book is
noth new and pleasing. Many of the poems are perfect gems; yet,
among them all, there is not one more touchingly pathetic than the following, by Hebbel. The translator has, as nearly as possible, followed
the exact language of the original, and has succeeded in giving a closer
copy than is usual in poetical translations:
"On death's cold bier the mother lay
In garments pure and white,
Her little child comes full of play
And wonders at the sight.
"Those roses in her golden hair,
The child, with joy do fill;
On bosom cold, the flowers fair,
Do please it,-ay, more still.
"It calls in tones caressing, mild,
' Mother, dear mother, pray,
A flower give thy darling child,
But one, from thy bouquet!'
"But, since no sound the silence breaks,
It thinks and whispers low:
'Dear mother sleeps, when she awakes,
She'll give it me, I know I'
"On tiptoe then it quits the bier,
Her slumber not to break,
And comes, from time to time, to hear
If mother's not awake."
" The Reasoning Power in Animals," by the Rev. John Selby Watson, M. A., M. R. S. L., has been recently published by D. Appleton
& Co. It is a volume of over four hundred and sixty pages, and is a
collection of anecdotes tending to show a degree of intelligence, higher
than mere instinct, in the dog, the elephant, the horse, the cat, the fox,
monkeys and apes, rats and mice, and other animals, as well as in birds,
bees, and fishes. While most of these anecdotes have previously appeared in different books and journals, we believe that there has never
been so complete a collection published, or one from which so much entertainment can be derived. The tractability of white mice is universally known, but the common brown mouse is not thought to be so intelligent or so easily instructed, and yet the following incident, which
[SEPTEMBER 1I,
wie copy from the book of which we are writing, goes to show a decided
power of reasoning and calculation: " A few years ago, the Rev. Mr.
North, rector of Ashdon, in Essex, placed a pot of honey in a closet, inll
which, as it had been recently built, a quantity of plaster-rubbish had
been left. It chanced, from some cause, that he did not go to the closet
for the honey till some months afterward, when he was surprised, as the
closet had been locked, to see a mound of the rubbish piled against the
sides of the pot, nearly to the top of it. He delayed removing it till hc
should try to discover how it could have been heaped up. He set a trap
and caught a mouse, which he had no doubt was the builder. On examining the honey, too, he found that a quantity of the rubbish had been
thrown into it, so as to raise it nearly to the edge of the vessel, just as
the crow is said to have raised water in a jar by throwing in pebbles."
The phenomena of phosphorescence are, many of them, familiar to
every one; but the causes and variations, as well as the different substances and gases which are phosphorescent in a greater or less degree,
are comparatively unknown. T. L. Phipson, Ph. D., F. C. S., etc., has
recently put in book-form a series of papers upon this subject, which
originally appeared in a European scientific journal, in 1858, and which
is now republished by D. Appleton & Co. The four parts into which
the book is divided are: 1. Mineral Phosphorescence; 2. Vegetable
Phosphorescence; 3. Animal Phosphorescence; and 4. Historical.
Theoretical, and Practical Considerations. The work, while sufficiently
scientific to be of value to the student, is not too technical to interest
the casual reader. The investigation of this subject is yet comparatively in its infancy; still, from its very nature, it presents a wide field
for the researches of the student, and will probably prove a fertile topic
for discussion in our various scientific associations.
Ioartign 4bltts.
FIVE expeditions are now on their way to the extreme north-three
German, one Scotch, and one English-composing in all seven ves sels. The first, commanded by Captain Hagens and M. Dorst, intending to
explore the sea between Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Gillis's Land, set
sail, on the 21st of February last, from Bremerhaven. The second,
fitted out and commanded by Mr. Lamont, of Glasgow, is composed of
two screw-steamers, specially constructed for the voyage, of unusual
strength, and abundantly supplied with every requisite for a long ab sence. Mr. Lamont enjoys the reputation of being a first-rate sailor, as
well as a first-class geologist. His two steamers left the Clyde on the
20th of April last, with the intention of proceeding to the strait that
separates Spitzbergen from Nova Zembla, and afterward exploring Gillis's Land. The third, under Captain Palliser, intends exploring Nova
Zembla. Having spent three months of 1868 in Spitzbergen, the captain is already acquainted with the Arctic Seas. His two ships, a
steam-sloop and schooner, left England on the 30th of April last. Captain Hashagen, commanding the fourth expedition, sailed from Bremerhaven on the 23d of May last, in a screw-steamer of seven hundred tons'
burden. He purposes pushing as far as possible in the direction of Gillis's Land, and will afterward follow the coast of Siberia, and search
for mammoth-beds, being amply provided with supplies for wintering
in the northern latitudes. The fifth expedition is composed of the Germania, a steamer, and the Hansa, a brig of two hundred tons' burden,
which sailed from Bremerhaven on the 15th of June last, under the
command of Captains Koldewey and Hegemann, with the object of exploring the east coast of Greenland, discovering the north-pole, and
measuring an arc of the meridian.
M. Trouv6 has just invented an ingenious probe to prove the presence of metallic bodies in the interior of deep wounds. M. TrouvS's
apparatus is only about the size of a large cravat-pin, weighs nine
ounces, and can be placed or carried in the waistcoat-pocket. It is
formed of two isolated conductors, viz., a pile of hardened rubber, and
a bobbin, with vibrator. The current, proceeding from a single bisulphate-of-mercury element, cannot affect the vibrator when it is weakened by the resistance of organic liquids; but it sets it at once in motion whenever the extremities of the conductors meet with a metallic
body. After the first search, the operator introduces a hollow and flexible probe into the sinuosities of the wound, capable of taking and retaining their exact form, and which penetrates to the metallic body
sought for. The internal hollow of this probe then receives the flexible
shank formed by the two conductors; this shank penetrates to the ball,
and the steel points at the end of the conductors reach the metal through
the layers of oxidation with which it may be covered. The current is
then established, and affects the vibrator in the surgeon's hands, thus
revealing the fact sought for in the plainest manner imaginable.
M. Bertant makes use of zinc blades to preserve iron ships. Undei
the influence of salt water, an electric current is produced, which determines the dissolution of the zinc; the iron is thereby secured against
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