It has often occurred to the author of these pages, during his reveries, that the means of conveying intelligence with immense rapidity may be hereafter invented by the Electrician.--Should a system of railways be established throughout the country, it might lead to some expedient by which such a desideratum could be accomplished through the medium of electrical discharges. Upon this subject we have accidentally fallen upon a curious notice in Arthur Young’s Travels in France (vol. i. p. 65). “M. Lomond has made a very curious discovery in electricity; you write two or three words on a paper, he takes it with him into his room, and there turns a machine inclosed in a cylindrical case, at the top of which is an electrometer of pith balls; by means of a wire, a connexion is made with a similar cylinder and electrometer in a distant apartment, and his wife, by remarking the corresponding motions of the balls, writes down the words they indicate; from which it appears that he has formed an Alphabet of Motion. As the length of the conducting wire makes no difference in the effect, a correspondence might be carried on at any distance, as, for example, within or without a besieged town; or for purposes much more interesting and useful. Whatever the uses may be, the invention is beautiful.”
Note 52, p. [368].--Carrier pigeons.
The carrier is a variety of the common domestic pigeon, and which, from the superior attachment that it shows to its native place, is employed in many countries as the most expeditious courier. The letters are tied under its wing, it is let loose, and in a very short space returns to the home it was brought from, with its advices. This practice was much in vogue in the East; and at Scanderoon, till of late years, it was used on the arrival of a ship, to give the merchants at Aleppo a more expeditious notice than could be done by any other means. In our own country, these aerial messengers have been employed for a very singular purpose, having been let loose at Tyburn at the moment the fatal cart was drawn away, to notify to distant friends the departure of the unhappy criminal.
In the East, the use of these birds seems to have been greatly improved, by having, if we may use the expression, relays of them ready to spread intelligence to all parts of the country; thus it is stated by Ariosto (canto 15), that the governor of Damiata circulated the news of the death of Orrilo. “As soon as the commandant of Damiata heard that Orrilo was dead, he let loose a pigeon, under whose wing he had tied a letter. This fled to Cairo, from whence a second was despatched to another place, as is usual; so that, in a very few hours, all Egypt was acquainted with the death of Orrilo.”
But the simple use of them was known in very early times. Anacreon tells us (ode ix.) that he conveyed his billet-doux to Bathyllus by a dove.
Taurosthenes also, by means of a pigeon he had decked with purple, sent advice to his father, who lived in the isle of Ægina, of his victory in the olympic games, on the very day he had obtained it.[[86]] And, at the siege of Modena, Hirtius without, and Brutus within the walls, kept, by the help of pigeons, a constant correspondence; baffling every stratagem of the besieger, Antony, to intercept their couriers. In the times of the crusades, there are many more instances of these birds of peace being employed in the service of war: Joinville relates one during the crusade of Saint Louis, and Tasso another, during the siege of Jerusalem.--Pennant’s British Zoology.
The Dutch variety is the most valuable; a pair of the best kind being worth from five to eight pounds. It is lighter than the English pigeon, and flies nearly as fast again. It proceeds at the rate of 60 miles an hour, and has been known to complete a journey of 800 miles, but this; it is presumed, is not continuous, but assisted by occasional rest. The bird learns but one lesson; it may carry from Antwerp to London, or to any other place, but it will only pass between two such places. It evidently travels by sight; when tossed, it circles, then rises in a spiral, observes its route and darts off. It will not fly at night; and, should the day be foggy, it is delayed, and sometimes lost.
[86]. Ælian. Var. Hist. lib. ix. c. 2. Pliny, lib. x. c. 24, says that swallows have been made use of for the same purpose. Their rate of flight has been estimated at a mile in a minute, for ten hours, or 600 miles per day.
Note 53, p. [371].--Origin of popular ceremonies.
The soothsayers attributed many mystic properties to the coral; and it was believed to be capable of giving protection against the influence of Evil Eyes: it was even supposed that coral would drive away devils and evil spirits; hence arose the custom of wearing amulets composed of it around the neck, and of making crowns of it. Pliny and Dioscorides are very loud in the praises of the medicinal properties of this substance; and Paracelsus says that it should be worn round the necks of infants, as an admirable preservative against fits, sorcery, charms, and even against poison. It is a curious circumstance that the same superstitious belief should exist among the negroes of the West Indies, who affirm that the colour of coral is always affected by the state of health of the wearer, it becoming paler in disease. In Sicily it is also commonly worn as an amulet by persons of all ranks; as a security against an evil eye, a small twisted piece, somewhat resembling a horn, is worn at the watch-chain, under the name of Buon Fortuna, and is occasionally pointed at those who are supposed to entertain evil intention. His late Sicilian Majesty was celebrated for his faith in, and frequent use of, the buon fortuna.--But to return to the coral usually suspended around the necks of children in our own country. In addition to the supposed virtues of the coral, it may be remarked that silver bells are usually attached to it, which are generally regarded as mere accompaniments to amuse the child by their jingle; but the fact is, that they have a different origin, having been designed to frighten away evil spirits. For the same superstitious objects were bells introduced into our churches as a species of charm against storms and thunder, and the assaults of Satan.