The Mirror of
LiteratureMirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction
(1822–47)
Mirror Monthly Magazine
(1847–49)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >> has redeemed its initial pledge to 'afford the most
useful instruction, and the most amusement, at the lowest price possible'. In
addition, its example has now 'led to the throwing open the gates of knowledge
to the humblest classes of society'. The author quotes in support of this claim
the comments of
Henry P
BroughamBrougham, Henry Peter, 1st Baron Brougham and
Vaux
(1778–1868)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> in his recent
'pamphlet on the Education of
the Lower Classes'Brougham, Henry
Peter 1825a. Practical Observations Upon the Education of the
People: Addressed to the Working Classes and their Employers, London:
Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green [...] for the benefit of the London
Mechanics Institution
CloseView the register entry >>.
The writer responds to the claims of an earlier correspondent respecting the
probability of the circulation of the blood having been known to the author of
Ecclesiastes. He asks: 'Is not your correspondent aware that modern
physiologists all allow that the ancients were acquainted with that fluid
having motion, and which they compared to the tides of the sea?' The writer
also seeks to correct an anatomical error in the earlier letter.
Medical Practitioners, Religion, Magic, Medical Treatment
In the narrative,
King Richard IRichard I, King of England, Duke of Normandy and of Aquitaine,
and Count of Anjou ('Richard Coeur de Lion')
(1157–99)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> having
become ill,
SaladinSaladin (properly Salad al-Din al-Ayyubi)
(1137–93)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> sends his personal
physician, 'Adonebec el Hakim', to effect his cure, which he does, almost
miraculously, using a 'holy elixir' made by dipping a talisman into water. The
'physician' proves to have been Saladin himself. The talisman is reported to
have survived in an ancient Scottish family, 'and though charmed stones have
been dismissed from the modern Pharmacopœia, its virtues are still
applied to for stopping blood, and in cases of canine madness.'
[2] The Origin of the Story of the Talisman
Subjects:
Medical Treatment, Magic, Religion
The writer explains the history of the 'Lee-penny' or talisman on which the
preceding tale is based, noting religious attempts in Scotland to suppress it
as one of the 'devil's inventions'.
Among other replies to correspondents, the editor observes: 'We really can
give no more articles on Arithmetic at present, though we thank our
correspondents for their contributions.'
The writer observes that the author of Tales of the Crusaders has
'availed himself of the traditionary superstitions' respecting the Dead Sea,
'which the progress of science and investigations of travellers have exploded',
and consequently proposes giving 'a description of the lake, free from ancient
fable or the charms of modern romance'. In conclusion, the writer observes that
the time is 'near at hand' when the lake will be 'more philosophically
examined'. The 'thirst of knowledge, and the love of travel' mean that such
countries cannot 'long continue unexplored'.
P T W, pseud.
[Peter T Westcott]
Westcott, Peter Thomas
(1782/3–1845)
Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
CloseView the register entry >>Timbs, John
1871.'My Autobiography: Incidental Notes and Personal Recollections',
Leisure Hour (1871), 20–23, 85–88, 181–84,
212–15, 266–69, 293–95, 347–51, 394–98,
420–24, 469–72, 500–03, 596–600, 612–15,
644–48, 685–88, 692–96, 730–33, and 794–99
CloseView the register entry >>
Genre:
Extract
Publications extracted:
[Lobb] 1800[Lobb, Richard]
1800. The Contemplative Philosopher; or, Short Essays on the Various Objects
of Nature Throughout the Year: With Poetical Illustrations, and Moral
Reflections on Each Subject, 2 vols, London: G. G. and J. Robinson
CloseView the register entry >>
Describes a number of medicinal charms in common usage. It is reported that
'the great
BoyleBoyle, Hon Robert
(1627–91)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>' recommended,
'for certain diseases, "a little bag hung about the neck, containing the poder
made of a live toad, burnt in a new pot" (58)'.
A spider pleads for mercy, having been cornered by the maid during cleaning.
The petition includes the lines: 'Your great grandmother held it good, / And
used our wefts to stop the blood; / Its healing pow'r did ease impart, / Nor
sought the surgeon's skilful art. / Thrice three of us, when bruis'd, they say,
/ Will charm the ague far away; / And many virtues yet unknown, / May be found
out when we are gone.'
Beckford 1790Beckford,
William 1790. A Descriptive Account of the Island of Jamaica:
With Remarks upon the Cultivation of the Sugar-Cane, throughout the Different
Seasons of the Year, and Chiefly Considered in a Picturesque Point of View.
Also Observations and Reflections upon What Would Probably be the Consequences
of an Abolition of the Slave-Trade, and of the Emancipation of the Slaves,
2 vols, London: T. and J. Egerton
CloseView the register entry >>
Discussing the difference between dignity and pride, the author observes
that 'the pride of the understanding is the least equivocal description of
idolatry', and that faith is the 'prostration of reason before the throne of
revelation' (85). Noting that the pagans 'shut out the light of nature', though
the 'finger of providence was, to them, clearly discernible in all his works',
the writer contrasts this with the present day, when few 'refuse to offer the
sacrifice of awe and admiration at the shrine of the universe, yet are there
not wanting those, who seem unwilling to pay that deference to a moral
dispensation which they do not withold from those immutable laws by which the
natural world is governed'? (85–86).
Instruments, Display, Health, Hydropathy, Medical
Practitioners
A number of newspaper advertisements are extracted with humorous headings
and comments added. Noting that it has 'hitherto been believed that our
Earth was, with a few trifling defects pretty well finished', the writer
introduces an advertisement of 'Messrs. Addison and Co.Addison and Co. (Messrs), firm CloseView the register entry >>, Globemakers'
stating that the 'TERRAQUEOUS GLOBE' is
'completed' and available at their manufactory for viewing by the
subscribers and by 'all scientific ladies and gentlemen'. Another advertisement
offers board and lodging 'in the immediate vicinity of a fine mineral,
whose medicinal properties are Antiscorbutic'. (87) A third reads: 'Wanted, by
a surgeon residing at Guildford, two apprentices who will be treated as
one of the family' (88).
Fraser 1825Fraser, James
B. 1825. Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan, in the Years 1821
and 1822. Including some Account of the Countries to the North-East of Persia;
with Remarks upon the National Character, Government, and Resources of that
Kingdom, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green
CloseView the register entry >>
Steam-power, Aeronautics, Commerce, Engineering, Patents, Military
Technology
Considering the 'vast powers which man is rapidly acquiring, by means of
steam, gas, &c.', the author thinks that air transport should be possible,
using a 'boat' with steam-driven wings. As the times are 'ripe for associations
for all kinds of improvements', he or she proposes forming an 'Aerostation
Company'. (94) The writer considers some of the advantages that would follow
from such innovation.
A brief note on bees reflects on their assiduous and skilled labour, and on
the centring of their attentions and affections 'in the person of the queen or
sovereign of the hive'.
Childhood is considered in terms of an extended organic metaphor. The author
notes: 'It has been [...] said by an author of varied research into the wonders
of creation, and with pious reverence for the great first Cause, that a tree
which has borne the most beautiful blossoms, but which is found destitute of
fruit when the ripeness of summer arrives [...] is viewed with indifference'
(99). The analogy is made with human development.
After an introduction stating that there have been 'great opinions to
maintain that the faculties of men and brutes differ rather in degree than in
kind', the writer recounts an anecdote in which a dog attempts to gain
admission to an Oxford common-room.
The narrator describes the fashion for having drawing-rooms 'lumbered with
every species of trumpery rubbish known by the name of nick-nacks and
curiosities', and refers to his wife's desire for pre-eminence in this respect.
Among the items she has collected are 'wild beasts', which led the narrator to
compare his rooms to 'Noah's Ark'. There are also shells, gemstones,
'geological specimens arranged in frames by
Mr. MaweMawe, John
(1766–1829)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> [...] and
everything, in short, that can be either named or imagined, provided always
that it be neither useful nor ornamental' (107). The narrator confesses: 'I
actually look forward with pleasure to the time when, my means becoming
exhausted sooner than my wife's rage for collection, my museum must come to the
hammer' (108).
The article includes an anecdote concerning the period when ballooning '(now
all the rage) was first introduced' (120). Johnson was quizzed about using a
balloon to test his claim that 'a fool will ever be a fool in whatever
atmosphere you place him'.
The account of the causes of accidental fires is given as if it were a set
of instructions for carrying out an experiment. One method is recommended as
being 'elegant': 'Being founded on optical principles, it cannot fail to be
acceptable to the ladies who have learnt their Ologies, who know the length of
Captain Kater'sKater, Henry
(1777–1835)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
pendulum, think
Captain Basil HallHall, Basil
(1788–1844)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> a
greater man than
CookCook, James
(1728–79)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>,
FrobisherFrobisher, Sir Martin
(1535?–94)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>,
and
RaleighRalegh (or Raleigh), Sir Walter
(1554–1618)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> united'.
The writer observes that other 'scientific and chemical means of producing the
same results, such as by a phosphorus bottle, or a bottle of oxymuriatic
matches', are 'too vulgar to be introduced into so profound a treatise as this'
(124).
P T W, pseud.
[Peter T Westcott]
Westcott, Peter Thomas
(1782/3–1845)
Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
CloseView the register entry >>Timbs, John
1871.'My Autobiography: Incidental Notes and Personal Recollections',
Leisure Hour (1871), 20–23, 85–88, 181–84,
212–15, 266–69, 293–95, 347–51, 394–98,
420–24, 469–72, 500–03, 596–600, 612–15,
644–48, 685–88, 692–96, 730–33, and 794–99
CloseView the register entry >>
Genre:
Miscellaneous
Subjects:
Acclimatization, Horticulture
After detailing the introduction of various fruit species, the writer refers
to
Miller 1724Miller, Philip
1724. The Gardeners and Florists Dictionary; or, A Complete System of
Horticulture; to which is Added a Catalogue of Curious Trees, Plants and
Fruits, 2 vols, London: Charles Rivington
CloseView the register entry >>, observing that
it is 'a work of great celebrity' which 'may be said to have laid the
foundation of all the horticultural taste and knowledge in England' (132).
Education, Observation, Theology of Nature, Piety, Reading,
Biblical Authority
The writer claims that, 'Observation is one of principal ways by which
knowledge is obtained, and nature the book, which is given to all, and suited
to every capacity'. The divine attributes are displayed in all aspects of
creation, great and small: 'Thus knowledge may be acquired without labour or
expense. Those who have time and means may enter more deeply into these
subjects by perusing books which treat of them'. The writer considers, however,
that true wisdom must be sought in revelation.
The writer summarizes his experiments concerning the tendency of the human
body to sink or float in water, which were originally published in the
Monthly
MagazineMonthly Magazine
(1796–1843)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >> in 1818. The writer also criticises
'Doctor Franklin's Advice to
Bathers'Anon. [181–?]. The Art of Swimming Rendered Easy:
With Practical Directions to Learners [...] To which is Added, Dr. Franklin's
Advice to Bathers, London: printed for the booksellers
CloseView the register entry >> and another anonymous cheap publication on swimming
('Instruction for Swimming') for incorrectly stating that the eyes cannot be
opened once under water because of the hydrostatic pressure.
Gives a calculation of the amount of agricultural land liberated from the
purpose of feeding horses by the use of steam engines in Britain.
Mirror of Literature, 6 (1825), 135–36.
The Migration of Birds. Observations on the Migration of Birds that
Frequent the Sea Shores, Marshes, and Hedges, near King's Lynn, in the County
of Norfolk. By J. Llangirb, During Thirty Years Strict Attention
P T W, pseud.
[Peter T Westcott]
Westcott, Peter Thomas
(1782/3–1845)
Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
CloseView the register entry >>Timbs, John
1871.'My Autobiography: Incidental Notes and Personal Recollections',
Leisure Hour (1871), 20–23, 85–88, 181–84,
212–15, 266–69, 293–95, 347–51, 394–98,
420–24, 469–72, 500–03, 596–600, 612–15,
644–48, 685–88, 692–96, 730–33, and 794–99
CloseView the register entry >>
Genre:
Miscellaneous
Subjects:
Natural History, Aesthetics, Physiology
Publications cited:
[Lobb] 1800[Lobb, Richard]
1800. The Contemplative Philosopher; or, Short Essays on the Various Objects
of Nature Throughout the Year: With Poetical Illustrations, and Moral
Reflections on Each Subject, 2 vols, London: G. G. and J. Robinson
CloseView the register entry >>
The ode particularly praises the Mirror's accounts of far-flung
people and places. One passage reads: 'The Polar ices—(ParryParry, Sir William Edward
(1790–1855)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> did not find them
/ So pleasing to his taste as those we eat [...]) / The Polar ice—Afric's
burning sands, / All, all, thou shew'st us when it suits our leisure'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The extract reflects on the limited extent to which Wales is known by the
English, who all know 'something of foreign parts'. The author observes: 'I
sometimes cannot avoid thinking John Bull a very long-sighted personage, who
sees with more accuracy the objects which are placed at an immense distance,
than those which lie immediately under his eye; I doubt not, if Wales were
situated at the North Pole, that he would have numberless ships fitted out for
numberless expeditions to our outlandish region, and some of the chief people
[...] brought to the English capital as living curiosities'.
The narrator recounts a journey by steam-ship, and includes a 'eulogy of
steam'. The article contains a poem concerning the other travellers, beginning
with the lines: 'A MOTLEY group enjoy promiscuous chat, /
Whose faces prove an index to the mind; / Nor
GallGall, Franz Joseph
(1758–1828)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> nor
SpurzeheimSpurzheim, Johann Christoph
(1776–1832)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> need he here consult, / In each
their ruling passion may be traced' (186).
A Cartesian and a Newtonian having argued in a Parisian coffee-house to the
point of fighting, the Newtonian complained of the blows he had received, only
to be given a Newtonian explanation of them by a wag.
The author regrets the destruction of 'those places with which some of our
most pleasing recollections are associated', but is pleased by the continued
survival of the 'residence of the greatest of philosophers, and one of the best
of men'. The house is now used as a school, and the old observatory as a
library.
The author declaims in strong terms against cruelty to animals, concluding
that he has been led to do so 'from a consideration of several brutal
exhibitions which are of late become too common. Among others,' the writer
observes, 'a Frenchman has recently shown some revolting trials upon dogs,
under a plea of scientific improvements'.
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
The poem recounts aspects of modern London life. 'Boats that go to Spain by
steam, / America, or Ireland; / Gas-lights that above us gleam, / Enough, I'm
sure, to fire land'. 'Ex'ter
ChangeExeter Exchange—Royal Menagerie
CloseView the register entry >>—hyenas squall / For their hour of feeding'. 'Roads
improv'd, and mended ways / By Macadamization'. 'Phrenology,
which plainly shows / Every organ human'.
Lady Blue and Lady Brown cannot agree where to go to for the summer: they
consider the respective merits of landlocked Tonbridge and coastal Worthing.
Lady Brown proposes to Lady Blue that they should go to Tonbridge and 'leave
geology'; but Lady Blue, being 'intellectual' in her own view, is not prepared
to do so. She observes: 'I love to look at cliffs and sail, / And rear a
theory: / And always find well-paid my toil, / When studying near the sea'. In
the end, they decide to go to Tonbridge since 'Sir Gregory', who taught Lady
Blue 'To make the circle square', will be there. (218)
Mirror of Literature, 6 (1825), 218–19.
On the Danger of Drinking Cold Water in Hot Weather. By an American
Physician
Núñez
1825Núñez,
Ignacio 1825. An Account, Historical, Political, and Statistical,
of the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata: With an Appendix, Concerning the
Usurpation of Monte Video by the Portuguese and Brazilian Governments,
London: R. Ackermann
CloseView the register entry >>
The article presents a personal letter by Markham Sherwill reporting his
successful ascent of Mont Blanc with
Edmund ClarkClark, Dr Edmund
(fl. 1825)
ML1/6/164/1 CloseView the register entry >>,
accomplished between 25 and 27 August.
The article includes extracts from an unfinished comedy, including the
following: '"Will you be at Lady ——'s?—I'm told the Bramin is
to be there, and the new French philosopher."—"No—it will be
pleasanter at Lady——'s conversazione—the cow with two
heads will be there."' 'The loadstone of true beauty draws the heaviest
substances—not like the fat dowager, who frets herself into warmth to get
the notice of a few papier mâché fops, as you rub Dutch
sealing-wax to draw paper.' (285)
The writer reflects on the importance of the communication of inventions,
and the harm caused by a 'selfish' attitude to knowledge. It is important that
'no check should be offered to any fresh openings likely to encourage that
inestimable treasure, knowledge' and that 'no impediments should be raised to
any inventions or improvements'. (292) Both the steam-engine and gas lighting
were ridiculed only half a century before, but they are now productive of much
good. These reflections have been prompted by an article in the European
Magazine, which is extracted. The extract gives a lengthy report of the
rejection of a 1671 bill for building a bridge over the River Thames at
Putney.
The author argues that the 'art' of freemasonry is 'coeval with the
creation of the world, when the great and glorious architect of the
universe, upon masonic principles, formed from chaos this beauteous
globe, and commanded that master science, geometry, to lay the rule for the
planetary orbs, and to regulate, by its unerring laws, the motions of that
stupendous system in just proportion, rolling round the central sun' (308).
A brief note reports that 'this useful and necessary mineral' was first
discovered near Newcastle in 1234, and that, on its first being used in London
in the reign of
King Edward IEdward I, King of England and Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine
(1239–1307)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, the
monarch banned it because 'the smoke was supposed to corrupt the air so much'
(311).
The article reports on a
'sort of advertisement'Bulmer, John
[1647]. The Propostion of Captaine John Bullmer: Remaining upon Record in
the Office of Assurance, London, for the Blowing of a Boate with a Man or Boy
in Her, over London-Bridge in Safety, [London: n.p.]
CloseView the register entry >> among
the 'King's pamphlets in the British Museum', offering to try an experiment
with the intention of safely blowing a boat over London Bridge using an
'engine'. The author does not know if the feat was carried out, but, if so, it
'seems to give place to none of modern days'.
On a trip by sea to the ruins at Reculver (site of the Roman station
Regulbium), the narrator reports that the 'mixed expression of delight and
apprehension apparent in the countenances of the ladies of our party would have
amused a physiognomist' (325). The encroachment of the sea on the ruins had
exposed human remains. The narrator reports: 'Whether the precautions of the
Trinity CompanyTrinity House
CloseView the register entry >>
(who have been at some expense in strengthening its feeble towers for nautical
purposes) will arrest the hand of Time [...] it is hard to say.'
The author responds to criticism of his or her earlier article on sugar and
makes additional comments on the positive and negative physiological effects of
'ardent spirits'.
An account of a Methodist minister,
Henry PeckhamPeckham, Rev Henry
(fl. early 19th century)
ML1/6/169/2 CloseView the register entry >>,
who died after the cut finger with which he touched one of the dead bodies in a
dissecting room became infected.
[8] The Learned Horse
Subjects:
Menageries, Animal Behaviour, Magic
Recounts from
Digby 1644Digby, Kenelm
1644. Two Treatises: In the One of Which, the Nature of Bodies; in the
Other, the Nature of Mans Soule, is Looked into. In Way of Discovery, of the
Immortality of Reasonable Soules, Paris: Gilles Blaizot
CloseView the register entry >> the history of a
showman called 'Banks' [i.e.
William BanksBanks, William
(fl. 1591–1637)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>],
whose horse carried out apparent feats of intelligence, and who was
consequently accused of wizardry.
Invention, Astronomy, Ancient Authorities, Reading
Reports: 'JosephusJosephus, Flavius
(c. 37–c. 100)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> speaks of two columns, the one of
stone, the other of brick, on which the children of Seth wrote their inventions
and astronomical discoveries' (341).
Following the recent escape to the ocean of
Charles Green'sGreen, Charles
(1785–1870)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
balloon, a wag is reported to have said that it was 'nothing extraordinary that
Mr. C. Green's balloon should elope towards the green sea'
(374).
P T W, pseud.
[Peter T Westcott]
Westcott, Peter Thomas
(1782/3–1845)
Gentleman's Magazine, n.s. 23 (1845), 328
CloseView the register entry >>Timbs, John
1871.'My Autobiography: Incidental Notes and Personal Recollections',
Leisure Hour (1871), 20–23, 85–88, 181–84,
212–15, 266–69, 293–95, 347–51, 394–98,
420–24, 469–72, 500–03, 596–600, 612–15,
644–48, 685–88, 692–96, 730–33, and 794–99
CloseView the register entry >>
Genre:
Miscellaneous
Subjects:
Music, Instrument-makers
The writer notes that bell-ringing 'has been reduced to a science, and peals
have been composed, which bear the names of the inventors'. Some of the most
celebrated were composed 'about 50 years ago, by
Mr PatrickPatrick, Mr
(fl. 1775)
ML1/6/172/3 CloseView the register entry >>, so well
known as "the maker of barometers"'. (391)
The author reflects on the refreshment to mind and body given by a country
visit. He notes that 'the calm serenity of an autumnal evening may cause to
glow with feelings of delight and rapture, the heart of him who is neither
naturalist, botanist, or philosopher' (391).
Baines
1824–25Baines,
Edward 1824–25. History, Directory, and Gazetteer, of the
County Palatine of Lancaster: With a Variety of Commercial & Statistical
Information, 2 vols, Liverpool: Wm. Wales & Co.; London: Longman,
Hurst, & Co.
CloseView the register entry >>
One of the anecdotes describes a 'gentleman farmer from a distant part of
the country' as 'wishing, after having seen the other sights of the metropolis
to visit one of its principal lions, viz. Mr. Abernethy'.
The anecdote relates to a party in which 'it was proposed, on discussing the
question of Phrenology, to have casts taken of all the heads present'. A
'rather antique dandy' with dyed hair resisted the plan until persuaded by a
lady, who then produced the impromptu: 'Love triumphs, and the struggle's past;
/ To seem less queer in beauty's eye, / He'll "set his fate upon a cast,
/ And stand the hazard of the dye."'
The diary includes various humorous dealings with 'Doctor Jalap' (who
'recommended care, shook his spindles, and prescribed an antidote') and
'Surgeon Positive' (who recommended bleeding 'with antifebrile
administrations'). A friend reports that, having, in a duel, 'received a bullet
(in the fascia superficialis, against which, as a first-rate but
eccentric Leech observed, a bullet having struck might by its strong tendinous
sheath, be warded off, and by the action of the muscles pass round the body and
come out at the point it entered. N. B. within the bounds of possibility, but
not of probability—mercy on us!) he has resolved to disavow his former
course of living' (426).
Section: The Selector; or, Choice Extracts from New Works
An extract from
Edmund BurkeBurke, Edmund
(1729/30–97)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> reads:
'The age of chivalry is gone, and one of calculators and economists has
succeeded' (427).