he saw an instance of a man, whose finger being caught in
a chain at the bottom of a mine, by keeping it forcibly bent, supported
by that means the weight of his whole body, 150 lbs., till he was drawn
up to the surface, a height of 600 feet. Augustus II., king of Poland,
could with his fingers roll up a silver dish like a sheet of paper,
and twist the strongest horse-shoe asunder. An account is given in
the _Philosophical Transactions_, No. 310, of a lion who left the
impression of his teeth upon a solid piece of iron. The most prodigious
power of the muscles is exhibited by fish:--A whale moves with a
velocity through the dense medium of water that would carry him, if
he continued at the same rate, round the world in little more than a
fortnight; and a sword-fish has been known to strike his weapon quite
through the oak plank of a ship.

W.G.C.

_Beauties of Chatsworth_.--Marshal Tallard, who was entertained a
few days at this place by the Duke of Devonshire, on leaving, made this
declaration--"When I return," said he, "into my own country, and reckon
up the days of my captivity, I shall leave out those which I spent at
Chatsworth." And Quin once said that he had nearly broken his neck in
coming to it, and he should break his heart on his return.

SWAINE.

_Origin of the Discovery of Peru_.--Balboa, the famous Spanish
adventurer, in one of his expeditions, met with a young cazique, who
expressed his astonishment at the high value which was set upon the
gold, which the Spaniards were weighing and distributing. "Why do you
quarrel," said he, "about such a trifle? If you are so passionately fond
of gold as to abandon your own country, and to disturb the tranquillity
of distant nations, for its sake, I will conduct you to a region where
the metal, which seems to be the chief object of your admiration and
desire, is so common, that the meanest utensils are formed of it."
Transported with the intelligence, Balboa eagerly inquired where this
happy country lay, and how they might arrive at it. The cazique informed
them, that at the distance of six suns, or six days' journey to the
south, they would discover another ocean, near which this wealthy
kingdom was situated; but if they intended to attack it, they must
assemble forces far superior in number and strength to those which now
attended them.--This was the first information which the Spaniards
received concerning the great southern continent, known afterwards
by