Of the tombs of Consular Rome nothing remains except perhaps the sarcophagus of Scipio; and it is only on the eve of the Empire that we meet with the well-known one of Cæcilia Metella, the wife of Crassus, which is not only the best specimen of a Roman tomb now remaining to us, but the oldest building of the imperial city of which we have an authentic date. It consists of a bold square basement about 100 ft. square, which was originally ornamented in some manner not now intelligible. From this rose a circular tower about 94 ft. in diameter, of very bold masonry, surmounted by a brace of ox-skulls with wreaths joining them, and a well-profiled cornice: 2 or 3 courses of masonry above this seem to have belonged to the original work; and above this, almost certainly, in the original design rose a conical roof, which has perished. The tower having been used as a fortress in the middle ages, battlements have been added to supply the place of the roof, and it has been otherwise disfigured, so as to detract much from its beauty as now seen. Still we have no tomb of the same importance so perfect, nor one which enables us to connect the Roman tombs so nearly with the Etruscan. The only addition in this instance is that of the square basement or podium, though even this was not unknown at a much earlier period, as for instance in the tomb of Aruns. The exaggerated height of the circular base is also remarkable. Here it rises to be a tower instead of a mere circular base of stones for the earthen cone of the original sepulchre. The stone roof which probably surmounted the tower was a mere reproduction of the original earthen cone.
POGONIAS.
These vocal fish differ from the umbrinas in having their jaws tagged laterally with many, in place of carrying but one barbel at the symphysis. Schœff reports of them that they will assemble round the keel of a vessel at anchor, and serenade the crew; and Mr. John White, lieutenant in the navy of the United States, in his voyage to the seas of China, relates to the same purpose, that being at the mouth of the river of Cambodia, the ship's company were "astonished by some extraordinary sounds which were heard around the bottom of the vessel. They resembled," he says, "a mixture of the bass of the organ, the sound of bells, the guttural cries of a large frog, and the tones which imagination might attribute to an enormous harp; one might have said the vessel trembled with it. The noises increased, and finally formed a universal chorus over the entire length of the vessel and the two sides. In proportion as we went up the river the sounds diminished, and finally ceased altogether." As the interpreter told Captain White, the ship had been followed by a "troop of fish of an oval and flattened form," they were most probably pogonias. Humboldt met with a similar adventure in the South Sea, but without suspecting its cause. "On February 20th, 1803, at seven P.M., the whole crew was astounded by a very extraordinary noise, resembling drums beaten in the air; we at first attributed it to the breakers; speedily it was heard all over the vessel, especially towards the poop, and was like the noise which escapes from fluid in a state of ebullition; we began to fear there might be some leak in the bottom. It was heard synchronously in all parts of the vessel, but finally, about nine P.M., ceased altogether." How these fish manage to purr in the deep, and by means of what organ they communicate the sound to the external air, is wholly unknown. Some suppose it to proceed from the swim-bladder; but if that be the drum, what is the drumstick that beats upon it? And cushioned as it is in an obese envelope and without issue, the swim-bladder cannot be a bagpipe or wind instrument.
CURIOUS ADVERTISEMENT.
The following appeared in the public papers of January 24th, 1737:—"Whereas Frances, wife of the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount Vane, has, for some months past, absented herself from her husband, and the rest of her friends:—I do hereby promise to any person or persons who shall discover where the said lady Vane is concealed, to me, or to Francis Hawes, esq. her father, so that either of us may come to the speech of her, the sum of £100, as a reward, to be paid by me on demand at my lodgings in Piccadilly. I do also promise the name of the person, who shall make such discovery, shall be concealed, if desired. Any person concealing or lodging her after this advertisement, will be prosecuted with the utmost rigour; or, if her ladyship will return to me, she may depend upon being kindly received. She is about twenty-two years of age, tall, well-shaped, has light-brown hair, is fair-complexioned, and has her upper teeth placed in an irregular manner. She had on, when she absented, a red damask French sacque, and was attended by a French woman, who speaks very bad English.
"Vane."
THE EYE OF THE CHAMELEON.
A most extraordinary aspect is communicated to chameleons by the structure and movements of their eyes. In the first place, the head is enormous, and, being three-sided, with projecting points and angles, makes a sufficiently uncouth visage; but the eyes which illuminate this notable head-piece must, indeed, to borrow for the nonce the phraseology of Barnum, "be seen to be appreciated." There is on each side an immense eye-ball, full and prominent, but covered with the common shagreened skin of the head, except at the very entre, where there is a minute aperture, corresponding to the pupil. These great punctured eye-balls roll about hither and thither, but with no symmetry. You cannot tell whether the creature is looking at you or not; he seems to be taking what may be called a general view of things—looking at nothing in particular, or rather, to save time, looking at several things at once. Perhaps both eyes are gazing upwards at your face; a leaf quivers behind his head, and in a moment one eye turns round towards the object, while the other retains its upward gaze: presently a fly appears; one eye rapidly and interestedly follows all its movements, while the other leisurely glances hither and thither, or remains steady. Accustomed as we are to see in almost all animals the two eyes move in unison, this want of sympathy produces an effect most singular and ludicrous.
DIVING FOR A WIFE.
In many of the Greek islands, the diving for Sponge forms a considerable part of the occupation of the inhabitants, as it has done from the most remote antiquity. Hasselquist says:—"Himia is a little, and almost unknown island directly opposite Rhodes. It is worth notice, on account of the singular method the Greeks, inhabitants of the island, have to get their living. In the bottom of the sea the common Sponge is found in abundance, and more than in any other place in the Mediterranean. The inhabitants make it a trade to fish up this Sponge, by which they get a living far from contemptible, as their goods are always wanted by the Turks, who use an incredible number of Sponges at their bathings and washings. A girl in this island is not permitted by her relations to marry before she has brought up a certain quantity of Sponges, and before she can give proof of her agility by taking them from a certain depth." In other islands the same custom prevails, but with reversed application, as in Nicarus, where the father of a marriageable daughter bestows her on the best diver among her suitors,—"He that can stay longest in the water, and gather the most Sponges, marries the maid."