that renders the solitary use of a nutritive substance (of starch, gum, or sugar) less favourable to assimilation, and to the reparation of the losses, which the human body undergoes. Opium, which is not nutritive, is employed with success in Asia, in times of great scarcity; it acts as a tonic. But when the matter which fills the stomach can be regarded neither as an aliment, that is, as proper to be assimilated, nor as a tonic stimulating the nerves, the cessation of hunger is probably owing only to the secretion of the gastric juice. We here touch upon a problem of physiology, which has not been sufficiently investigated. Hunger is appeased, the painful feeling of inanition ceases when the stomach is filled. It is said that this viscus stands in need of ballast; and every language furnishes figurative expressions, which convey the idea, that a mechanical distention of the stomach causes an agreeable sensation. Very recent works of physiology still speak of the painful contraction, which the stomach experiences during hunger, the friction of its sides against one another, and the action of the acid gastric juice on the texture of the digestive apparatus. The observations of Bichat, and more particularly the fine experiments of Mr Magendie, are in contradiction to these superannuated hypotheses. After twenty-four, forty-eight, or even sixty hours of abstinence, no contraction of the stomach is observed; it is only on the fourth or fifth day that this organ appears to change, in a small degree, its dimensions. The quantity of the gastric juice diminishes with the duration of abstinence. It is probable that this juice, far from accumulating, is digested as an alimentary substance. If a cat or dog be made to swallow a substance, which is not susceptible of being digested, a pebble for instance, a mucous and acid liquid is formed abundantly in the cavity of the stomach, somewhat resembling, by its composition, the gastric juice of the human body. It appears to me very probable, according to the analogy of these facts, that, when the want of aliments compels the Otomacs and the inhabitants of New Caledonia to swallow clay and steatite during a part of the year, these earths occasion a powerful secretion of the gastric and pancreatic juices in the digesting apparatus of these people. The observations which I made on the banks of the Oroonoko have been recently confirmed by the direct experiments of two distinguish ed young philologists, Messrs Hippolyte Cloquet and Breschet. After long fasting, they ate as much as five ounces of a silvery green and very flexible laminar tale. Their hunger was completely satisfied, and they felt no inconvenience from a kind of food, to which their organs were VOL. IX. unaccustomed. It is known, that great use is still made in the East of the bolar and sigillated earths of Lemnos, which are clay mingled with oxid of iron. In Ger many, the workmen employed in the quarries of sandstone worked at the mountain of Kiffhæuser spread a very fine clay upon their bread, instead of butter, which they call steinbutter, stone butter; and they find it singularly filling, and easy of digestion." pp. 641–654. We have already noticed the fable of El Dorado, and we could quote many passages from this volume relating to it. There is commonly some foundation for the most extra vagant fictions. The whole of this mythology seems to have been founded on the existence of rocks of mica slate, and of a lake which is studded and bordered with these rocks, and on the custom adopted by the natives, of decorating their bodies with plates of the mica, after they had rubbed these over with a particular kind of grease. So simple was the foundation of the story of the gilded king El Dorado. "I have now examined, in a geographical point of view, the expeditions on the Oroonoko, and in a western and southern direction on the eastern back of the Andes, before the tradition of el Dorado was spread among the conquistadores. This tradition, as we have noticed above, had its origin in the kingdom of Quito, where Luis Daza (1535) met with an Indian of New Grenada, who had been sent by his prince (no doubt the zippa of Bogota, or the zaque of Tunja) to demand assistance from Atahualpa, inca of Peru. This ambassador boasted, as is usual, the wealth of his country; but what particularly fixed the attention of the Spaniards, who were assembled with Daza in the town of Tacunga, (Llactacunga,) was the history of a lord, who, his body covered with powdered gold, went into a lake amid the mountains." This lake may have been the Laguna de Totta, a little to the east of Sogamozo, (Iraca,) and of Tunja, (Hunca, the town of Huncahua,) where two chiefs, ecclesiastical and secular, of the empire of Cundinamarca, or Cundirumarca, resided; but no historical remembrance being attached to this mountain lake, I rather suppose that it was the sacred lake of Guatavita, on the east of the mines of rock salt of Zipaquira, into which the gilded lord was made to enter. I saw on its banks the remains of a staircase hewn in the rock, and serving for the ceremonies of ablution. The Indians said, that powder of gold and golden ves sels were thrown into this lake, as a sacrifice to the idols of the adoratorio de Gua. tavita. Vestiges are still found of a breach, which was made by the Spaniards for the purpose of draining the lake. The Temple of the Sun at Sogamozo being pretty near the northern coasts of Terra Firma, the notions of the gilt man were soon applied to a high priest of the sect of Bochica, or Idacanzas, who every morning, before he performed his sacrifice, caused powder of gold to be stuck upon his hands and face, after they had been smeared with grease. Other accounts, preserved in a letter of Oviedo addressed to the celebrated Cardinal Bembo say, that Gonzalo Pizarro, when he discovered the province of cinnamon trees, sought at the same time a great prince, noised in those countries, who was always covered with powdered gold, so that from head to foot he resembled a una figura d'oro lavorata di mano d'un buonissimo orifice. The powdered gold is fixed on the body by means of an odoriferous resin; but as this kind of garment would be uneasy to him while he slept, the prince washes himself every evening, and is gilded anew in the morning, which proves, that the empire of et Dorado is infinitely rich in mines.' It seems probable, that there was something in the ceremonics of the worship introduced by Bochica, which gave rise to a tradition so generally spread. The strangest customs are found in the New World. In Mexico the sacrificers painted their bodies, and wore a kind of cope with hanging sleeves of tanned human skin. I have published drawings of them made by the ancient inhabitants of Anahuac, and preserved in the hooks of their rituals. "On the banks of the Caura, and in other wild parts of Guyana, where painting the body is used instead of tatooing, the nations anoint themselves with turtle fat, and stick spangles of mica with metallic lustre, white as silver, and red as copper, on their skin, so that at a distance they seem to wear laced clothes. The fable of the gilded man is perhaps founded on a similar custom; and as there were two tovereign princes in New Grenada, the lama of Iraca, and the secular chief or zaque of Tunja, we cannot be surprised, that the same ceremony was attributed sometimes to the prince, and sometimes to the high priest. It is more extraordinary, that, as early as the year 1535, the country of Dorado was sought for on the east of the Andes. Robertson is mistaken in admitting, that Orellana received the first notions of it (1540) on the banks of the Amazon. The history of Fray Pedro Simon, founded on the memoirs of Quesada, the conqueror of Cundirumarca, proves directly the contrary; and Gonzalo Diaz Pe Pineda, as carly as 1536, sought for the gilded man beyond the plains of the province of Quixos. The ambassador of Bogota, whom Daza met with in the kingdom of Quito, had spoken of a country situate toward the east. Was this because the table-land of New Grenada is not on the north, but on the north. east of Quito? We may venture to say, that the tradition of a naked man covered with powdered gold must have belonged originally to a hot region, and not to the cold table-lands of Cundirumarca, where I often saw the thermometer sink below four or five degrees; however, on account of the extraordinary configuration of the country, the climate differs greatly at Gua tavita, Tunja, Iraca, and on the banks of the Sogamozo. Sometimes also religious ceremonies are preserved, which took rise in another zone; and the Muyscas, according to ancient traditions, made Bochica, their first legislator and the founder of their worship, arrive from the plains situate to the east of the Cordilleras. I shall not decide whether these traditions expressed an historical fact, or merely indicated, as we have already observed in another place, that the first lama, who was the offspring and symbol of the Sun, must necessarily have come from the countries of the East. Be it as it may, it is not less certain, that the celebrity, which the expeditions of Ordaz, Herara, and Speier, had already given to the Oroonoko, the Meta, and the province of Papamene, situate between the sources of the Guaviare and the Caqueta, contributed to fix the fable of el Dorado near to the eastern back of the Cordilleras. "The junction of three bodies of troops on the table-land of New Grenada spread through all that part of America occupied by the Spaniards, the news of an immensely rich and populous country, which remained to be conquered. Sebastian de Belalcazar marched from Quito by way of Popayan (1536) to Bogota; Nicolas Federmann, coming from Venezuela, arrived from the East by the plains of Meta. These two captains found already settled on the table-land of Cundirumarca the famous adelantado Gonzalo Ximenez de Quesada, one of whose descendants I saw near Zipaquira, with bare feet, attending cattle. The fortuitous meeting of the three conquistadores, one of the most extraordinary and dramatic events of the history of the conquest, took place in 1538. Belalcazar's narratives inflamed the imagination of warriors eager for adventurous enterprises; and the notions communicated to Luis Daza by the Indian of Tacunga were compared with the confused ideas, which Ordaz had collected on the Meta respecting the treasures of a great king with one eye, (Indio tuerto,) and a people clothed, who rode upon lamas. An old soldier, Pedro de Limpias, who had accompanied Federmann to the table-land of Bogota, carried the first news of Dorado to Coro, where the remembrance of the expedition of Speier (1535-1537) to the Rio Papamene was still fresh. It was from this same town of Coro, that Felipe von Huten (Urre, Utre) undertook his celebrated voyage to the province of the Omaguas, while Pizarro, Orellana, and Hernan Perez de Quesada, brother of the adelantado, sought for the gold country at the Rio Napo, along the river of the Amazons, and on the eastern chain of the Andes of New Grenada. The natives, in order to get rid of their troublesome guests, continually described Dorado as easy to be reached. and situate at no considerable distance. It was like a phantom, that seemed to flee before the Spaniards, and to call on them unceasingly. It is in the nature of man wandering on the earth, to figure to himself happiness beyond the region which he knows. El Dorado, similar to Atlas and the islands of the Hesperides, disappeared by degrees from the domain of geography, and entered that of mythological fictions." pp. 812-819. in a more striking, and consequently in a more interesting form. But this is the age when knowledge is more varied, though not perhaps more profound, than it has ever been before; and, perhaps, he who has done more than any other individual to disclose the wonders of distant and savage countries, must also be allowed the privilege of writing a book commensurate with his personal labours, or of saying as much as he thinks necessary either for illustrating his subject, or for displaying the wonderful variety of his own stores of information. PICTURES OF COUNTRY LIFE. Old Isaac. "BRING me my pike-staff, daughter Matilda, the one with the head turned round like crummy's horn, I find it easiest for my hand. Anddo you hear, daughter Matty?-Stop, I say; you are always in such a hurry. Bring me likewise my best cloak, not the tartan one, but the grey marled one, lined with green flannel. I go over to Shepherd Gawin's to-day, to see that poor young man who is said to be dying." There are a number of other curious things in this volume, such as the account of pine apples growing in the open air, along the borders of Savannahs, as our common docks and thistles are found variegating our haughs. Such also is the account given by our author of the flames which in so many countries, are found playing on the summits of mountains. We have also some curious traditions respecting the "I would not go, father, were I deluge, when Amalivaca, his brother you. He is a great reprobate, and and his wife, were saved from the will laugh at every good precept that universal inundation, and when he you inculcate; and, more than that, attemped, while regenerating the face you will heat yourself with the walk, of the earth, to give the Oroonoko a get cold, and be confined again with double slope, so that it might be as your old complaint." easy for voyagers to pass up as down the water. There are lastly many curious notices respecting the domestic habits of the natives, particularly relating to their custom of living in huts suspended from the branches of trees. In these huts they kindle their fires, so that the forest seems sometimes to glow with innumerable lights, and the solitude of these immense wildernesses is cheered by this aspect, however unusual or uncouth, of the abodes of men. Still it is much to be regretted that Mr Humboldt has not better compacted his interesting materials. For we are convinced that half the number of volumes might have contained all that is important in the Narrative, and that within that space, too, it might have been given "What was it you said, daughter Matilda? Ah, you said that which was very wrong. God only knows who are reprobates, and who are not. We can judge from nought but external evidence, which is a false ground to build calculations upon, but he knows the heart, with all our motives of action, and judges very differently from us. You said very wrong, daughter. But women will always be speaking unadvisedly. Always rash! always rash! Bring me my cloak, daughter, for as to my getting evil from my walk, I am going on my Master's business; my life and health are in his hands, and let him do with me as secmeth good in his sight; I will devote all to his service the little while I have to sojourn here." "But this young man, father, is not only wicked himself, but he delights in the wickedness of others. He has ruined the principles of all his associates, and often not without toiling for it with earnest application. Never did your own kind and bencvolent heart yearn more over the gaining of an immortal soul to God and goodness, than this same young profligate's bosom has yearned over the destruction of one." "Ah! it is a dismal picture, indeed! but not, perhaps, so bad as you say. Women are always disposed to exaggerate, and often let their tongues outrun their judgments. Bring me my cloak, and my staff, daughter Mat. Though God withdraw his protecting arm from a man, are we to give all up for lost? Do not you know that his grace aboundeth to the chief of sinners?" "I know more of this youth than you do, my dear father; would to heaven I knew less; and I advise that you stay at home, and leave him to the mercy of that God whom he has offended. Old age and decrepitude are his derision, and he will mock at and laugh you to scorn, and add more pangs to the hearts of his disconsolate parents. It was he, who, after much travail, seduced the principles of your beloved grandson, which has cost us all so much grief, and so many tears." "That is, indeed, a bitter drug for this poor frail and fading flesh to swallow; nevertheless it shall down. I will not say the Lord reward him according to his works, although the words almost brooded on my tongue; but I will say in the sincerity of a Christian disposition, may the Lord of mercy forgive him, and open his eyes to his undone state before it be too late, and the doors of forgiveness be eternally shut. Thanks to my Maker, I now feel as I ought. Go bring me my cloak, daughter Matilda; not that tartan one, with the gaudy spangles, but my comfortable grey marled one, with the green flannel lining." "Stay till I tell you one thing more, father." Well, what is it? Say on, daughter, I'll hear you. Surely you are not desirous that this young man's soul should perish? Women's prejudices are always too strong, either one way er another. But I will hear you, daughter, I will hear you. What is it?" "You knew formerly somewhat of the evil this profligate youth did to your grandson, but you do not know that he has most basely betrayed his sister, your darling Euphemia." Old Isaac's head sunk down toward his knee, on which some tears involuntarily dropped; and to conceal his emotion, he remained silent, save uttering a few stifled groans. Natural affection and duty were at strife within him, and for a time neither of them would yield. His daughter perceived the struggle, and contented herself with watching its effects. "Where is my cloak, daughter Matilda?" said he, without raising his head. "It is hanging on one of the wooden mags in the garret, Sir," said she. "Ay. Then you may let it hang on the mag where it is all day. It is a weary world this! and we are all guilty creatures! I fear I cannot converse and pray with the ruthles seducer of both my children." "Your resolution is prudent, Sir. All efforts to regain such a one are vain. He is not only a reprobate, and an outcast from his Maker, but a determined and avowed enemy to his laws and government.' "You do not know what you say, daughter," said old Isaac, starting to his feet, and looking her sternly in the face." If I hear you presume to prejudge any accountable and immortal being again in such a manner, I shall be more afraid of your own state than of his. While life remains, we are in a land where repentance is to be had and hoped for, and I will not hear the mercy of God arraigned. Bring me my cloak and my staff instantly, without another word. When I think of the country be yond the grave, and of the eternal fate that awaits this hapless prodigal, all my injuries vanish, and my trust in the Lord is strengthened anew. I shall at least pray with him, and for him, if he will not hear me, my Father who is in heaven may hear me, and haply HE will open the victim's eyes to the hope that is set before him; for the hearts of all the children of men are in his hands, and as the rivers of water he turneth them whithersoever he pleaseth." So old Isaac got his staff in his hand that had the head turned round like the horn of a cow, and also his cloak round his shoulders, not the tartan one with its gaudy spangles, but the grey marled one lined with green flannel. Well might old Isaac be partial to that cloak, for it was made for him by a beloved daughter who had been removed from him and from her family at the age of twentythree. She was the mother of his two darlings, Isaac and Euphemia, mentioned before; and the feelings with which he put on the mantle that day can only be conceived by those who have learned to count all things but loss save Jesus Christ, and him crucified; and how few are the number who attain this sublime and sacred height! "The blessing of him that is ready to perish shall light on the head of my father," said Matilda, as she followed with her eye the bent figure of the old man hasting with tottering steps over the moor, on the road that led to Shepherd Gawin's; and when he vanished from her view on the height, she wiped her eyes, drew the window screen, and applied herself to her work. Isaac lost sight of his own home, and came in view of Shepherd Gawin's at the same instant, but he only gave a slight glance back to his own, for the concern that lay before him dwelt on his heart. It was a concern of life and death, not only of a temporal, but of a spiritual and eternal nature, and where the mortal concerns are centered, on that place, or toward that place, will the natural eye be turned. Isaac looked only at the domicile before him-all wore a solemn stilness about that dwelling that had so often resounded with rustic mirth, the cock crowed not at the door as was his wont, nor strutted on the top of his old dunghill, that had been accumulating there for ages, and had the appearance of a small green mountain; but he sat on the kailyard dike, at the head of his mates, with his feathers ruffled, and every now and then his one eye turned up to the sky as if watching some appearance there of which he stood in dread. The blithesome collies came not down the green to bark and frolic half in kindness and half in jealousy; -they lay coiled up on the shelf of the hay-stack, and as the stranger ap proached, lifted up their heads and viewed him with a sullen and sleepy eye, then uttering a low and stifled growl,-muffled their heads again between their hind feet, and shrouded their social natures in the very depth of sullenness. "This is either the abode of death, or deep mourning, or perhaps both," said old Isaac to himself as he approached the house; " and all the domestic animals are affected by it, and join in the general dismay. If this young man has departed with the eyes of his understanding blinded, I have not been in the way of my duty. It is a hard case that a blemished lamb should be cast out of the flock, and no endeavour made by the shepherd to heal or recal it,-that the poor stray thing should be left to perish, and lost to its master's fold. It behoveth not a faithful shepherd to suffer,and yet-Isaac, thou art the man! May the Lord pardon his servant in this thing." The scene continued precisely the same until Isaac reached the solitary dwelling.-There was neither ingress nor egress by the door, nor any human creature to be seen stirring, save a little girl, one of the family, who had been away meeting the carrier for some medicines, and who approached the house by a different path. Isaac was first at the door, and on reaching it he heard a confused noise within like the sounds of weeping and praying commingled. Unwilling to break in upon them, ignorant as he was how matters stood with the family, he paused, and then with a soft step retreated to meet the little girl that approached, and make some inquiries at her. She tried to elude him by running past him at a little distance, but he asked her to stop and tell him how all was within. She did not hear what he said, but guessing the purport of his inquiry, answered, "He's nae better, Sir." "Ah me! still in the same state of suffering?" -no ae grain,-I tell ye he's nae better ava." And with that she stepped into the house, Isaac following close behind her, so that he entered without being either seen or announced. The first sounds that he could distinguish were the words of the dying youth; they had a hoarse whistling sound, but they were the words of wrath and indignation. As he "Ae no, |