The subject of this observation was an officer in the expedition to Louisburg in 1758, who had this peculiarity in so remarkable a degree, that his companions in the transport were in the constant habit of amusing themselves at his expense. They could produce in him any kind of dream by whispering in his ear, especially if this was done by a friend with whose voice he had become familiar. One time they conducted him through the whole progress of a trial, which ended in a duel; and when the parties were supposed to have met, a pistol was put into his hand, which he fired, and was awakened by the report. On another occasion they found him asleep on the top of a locker in the cabin, when they made him believe he had fallen overboard, and exhorted him to save himself by swimming. They then told him that a shark was pursuing him, and entreated him to dive for his life. He instantly did so, and with so much force as to throw himself from the locker upon the cabin floor, by which he was much bruised, and awakened of course. After the landing of the army at Louisburg, his friends found him one day asleep in his tent, and evidently annoyed by the cannonading. They then made him believe that he was engaged, when he expressed great fear, and showed an evident disposition to run away. Against this they remonstrated, but at the same increased his fears by imitating the groans of the wounded and the dying; and when he asked, as he often did, who was hit, they named his particular friends. At last they told him that the man next himself in his company had fallen, when he instantly sprung from his bed, rushed out of the tent, and was only roused from his danger and his dream by falling over the tent-ropes. A remarkable thing in this case was, that after these experiments he had no distinct recollection of his dreams, but only a confused feeling of oppression or fatigue, and used to tell his friends that he was sure they had been playing some trick upon him. It has been observed that we seldom feel courageous or daring in our dreams, and generally avoid danger when menaced by a foe, or exposed to any probable peril.
MUSIC OF THE SEA.
The mysterious music that is heard in the bay at West Pascagoula, is described by those who have listened to it as being singularly beautiful. "It has, for a long time," says Mrs. Child, an American authoress, "been one of the greatest wonders of the south-west. Multitudes have heard it, rising, as it were, from the water, like the drone of a bagpipe, then floating away, away, away, in the distance, soft, plaintive, and fairy-like, as if Æolian harps sounded with richer melody through the liquid element; but none have been able to account for the beautiful phenomenon. There are several legends touching these mysterious sounds; but in these days few things are allowed to remain mysterious." These strange sounds, which thus assume the beauty and the harmony of regular music, are stated to proceed from the cat-fish. A correspondent of the Baltimore Republican thus explains the phenomenon:—"During several of my voyages on the Spanish main, in the neighbourhood of Paraguay and San Juan de Nicaragua, from the nature of the coast, we were compelled to anchor at a considerable distance from the shore; and every evening, from dark to late night, our ears were delighted with Æolian music, that could be heard beneath the counter of our schooner. At first I thought it was the sea-breeze sweeping through the strings of my violin (the bridge of which I had inadvertently left standing); but after examination I found it was not so. I then placed my ear on the rail of the vessel, when I was continually charmed with the most heavenly strains that ever fell upon my ear. They did not sound as close to us, but were sweet, mellow, and aerial, like the soft breathings of a thousand lutes, touched by fingers of the deep sea nymphs, at an immense distance. Although I have considerable "music in my soul," one night I became tired, and determined to fish. My luck, in half-an-hour, was astonishing. I had half filled my bucket with the finest white cat-fish I ever saw; and it being late, and the cook asleep, and the moon shining, I filled my bucket with water, and took fish and all into my cabin for the night. I had not yet fallen asleep, when the same sweet notes fell upon my ear; and, getting up, what was my surprise to find my cat-fish discoursing sweet sounds to the sides of my bucket! I examined them closely, and discovered that there was attached to each lower lip an excrescence, divided by soft wiry fibres. By the pressure of the upper lip thereon, and by the exhalation and discharge of breath, a vibration was created, similar to that produced by the breath on the tongue of the Jews' harp."
THE ROCK OF CASHEL.
Any work which professed to be a record of what is rare and curious, would surely be incomplete if it did not contain an account of the celebrated Rock of Cashel; for the venerable buildings which crown its summit are, from their number, variety, preservation, and site, decidedly the most interesting ruins in the Emerald Isle, and, to use the words of Sir Walter Scott, "such as Ireland may be proud of." Cashel, which is distant about one hundred miles from Dublin, appears to be a place of high antiquity, and was long the residence of the kings of Munster; but as its early history is involved in much obscurity, it is uncertain at what period it became a diocesan site. It is stated that previous to the year 1101 the buildings on the Rock were occupied as a royal residence, and that in that year the hitherto royal seat was dedicated solely to ecclesiastical uses.
The buildings consist of a round tower, Cormack's chapel, cathedral, castle and monastery; the latter is a few yards detached, and the least remarkable of the number; all the former are closely connected. The Round Tower, the date and uses of which are in common with those of all other similar structures involved in much obscurity, raises its tall and yet scarce dilapidated head far above its younger and more decaying companions. It is fifty-six feet in circumference, and ninety feet in height. Cormack's Chapel, which, with the exception of the Round Tower, is the most ancient structure of the group, was built by Cormack M'Carthy, king of Munster, in 1136. It is roofed with stone, and in its capitals, arches, and other features and details, the Norman style is distinctly marked. The numerous ornaments, grotesque heads, and other curious sculptures, which adorn the arches, columns, and pilasters, are all in uniformity of style. The building altogether is a perfect gem, and the architectural antiquary and the artist will find in it a most valuable addition to their studies. The cathedral is a noble remnant of what is usually termed the pointed Gothic, and contains many interesting relics.
The rock, which is here presented as it appears from the plain below, has the buildings we have just mentioned on its very summit; it rises abruptly from a widely extended fertile country, to a considerable height above the town, and from many parts at a distance it forms a very striking object. On the top of the rock, and around the ruins, an area of about three acres has been enclosed, which is open to the public.
INSTANCE OF INCREMATION.