professor Liebig, though not the work of a countryman, yet, as it was prepared at the instance of the British Association, is some illustration of the interest which is taken in the advancement of agriculture by men of science in our own land. It abounds in original and highly interesting speculations, and contains much, likewise, of great practical importance; though sometimes we think the tendency to theorize has somewhat induced its learned author to stray without the bounds of what admits of satisfactory proof. Professor Johnston's work is entirely of English growth; it is, we conceive, the best systematic work upon the principles of scientific agriculture that we possess; and perhaps the soundness and practical nature of its statements are more fully to be relied on than some of the more imaginative, but highly ingenious views of the former author.-British Quarterly Review.

THE YOUNG PHILOSOPHER.

"TELL me, father, what is meant by geometry?" Such were the words of a child of nine years old, one summer evening, in the year 1632. They were uttered in a large room in a house in Paris, and addressed to a pale, intelligent-looking man in the prime of life. He was seated at a table covered with books, maps, etc., and the shade which deep thought and incessant study had cast over his brow, was dissipated by the well-pleased smile with which he gazed on the upturned face of his little son. It was no common countenance to look on childish as were the features, mind had stamped them, and a fervent soul looked through those bright young eyes, as the boy anxiously awaited his father's reply.

"Geometry, my child, is the science which considers the extent of bodies; that is to say, their three dimensions-length, breadth, and depth; it teaches how to form figures in a just, precise manner, and to compare them one with another." "Father," said the child, "I will learn geometry!"

Nay, my boy, you are too young and sickly for such a study; you have been all day poring over your books-go now into the garden with your cousin Charles, and have a pleasant game of play this fine evening."

"I don't care for the playthings that amuse Charles, and he does not like my

books: let me stay here with you; and tell me if the straight and round lines you often draw are part of geometry."

The father sighed, as he looked at the slight and delicate form and flushed cheek of his son, and taking the little burning hand of his son, and putting aside his books, "Well, Blaise," he answered, "I will take a walk with you myself, and breathe the fresh air, and smell the sweet flowers; but you must ask me no more questions about geometry."

Such was one of the first manifestations of Blaise Pascal's intellect; the early dawning of that mathematical genius, destined in a few years to astonish Europe, and would probably have achieved wonders in science, rivalling the subsequent discoveries of Newton and La Place, had he not, while still young, abandoned the pursuit of earthly knowledge, and dedicated all his powers of mind and body to the service of religion and the good of his fellow men.

His father, Etienne Pascal, was a man of talent, well known and esteemed by the literati of the day. Having himself experienced the absorbing nature of mathematical pursuits, he did not wish his son to engage in them, until his mind should be matured, and his body in greater vigour; and as Blaise did not again mention the word geometry, and ceased to linger long in the study, his father hoped that balls and hoops had at length chased circles and triangles from his brain. At the end of a long corridor in M. Pascal's house, there was apartment which was only used as a lumber-room, and consequently seldom opened. He one day entered it, in search of some article, and what was his surprise to see little Blaise kneeling on the floor, and with a piece of charcoal in his hand, busily occupied in drawing triangles, circles, and parallelograms. The child was so much absorbed in his employment, that he heeded not the opening of the door, and it was not till his father spoke, that he raised his head.

"What are you doing, child?"

an

"Oh, father, don't be angry; indeed, I could not put geometry out of my mind; every night I used to lie awake thinking of it; and so I came here to work away at these lines.'

Having passed some years in these studies and recreations, he suddenly resolved to devote the remainder of his life to an exposition of the Christian religion. For this purpose he returned to Paris,

where, amid the interruptions caused by frequent attacks of illness, he conceived and partly executed a comprehensive work on Christianity, its nature and evidences. This he did not live to complete; but some of its detached fragments, found after his death, were published as his Thoughts." About this period of his life, he published the "Provincial Letters," which have been characterized by competent judges as the most perfect prose work in the French language. They treat of the points in dispute between the Jansenists, whose cause Pascal espoused, and the company of Jesuits. We find in them the pointed wit and dramatic powers of Moliere, mingled with the sublime eloquence of Bossuet. When the latter was asked which book in the world he would choose to have been the author of, he replied, the "Provincial Letters."

Pascal, in his thirtieth year, already exhibited the symptoms of premature decay. He had been for many years under the care of medical men. Perceiving that the cure of their patient could not be effected, so long as he persisted in the indulgence of his sedentary and studious habits, the physician advised him to take as much exercise as possible, which would at once strengthen his enfeebled frame, and divert him from his mental fatigue. His fondly loved sister, Madame Perier, one morning in October, 1654, accompanied him in his accustomed drive. The day was lovely, and he seemed to receive strength from the balmy air. He spoke of the folly of national antipathies, and the sin of war.

"Fancy," said be, "a Frenchman addressing an Englishman, and asking him, 'Why do you want to kill me?' 'What!' the other answers, " don't you live at the other side of the water? My friend, if you lived on this side, I should be an assassin, and it would be most unjust to kill you; but as you live at the other side, I'm a brave fellow, and feel quite justified in taking your life!""

The gentle and fervent charity of his nature shone forth all the more brilliantly for his bodily sufferings. He gave alms to an extent which appeared folly to his acquaintances. One of them lectured him one day on his imprudent expenditure, which he affirmed would bring him to poverty. Pascal smiled, and quietly replied, "I have often remarked, that however poor a man may be when dying, he always leaves something behind him."

The life of Blaise Pascal drew near its

termination. A fatal disease was preying upon him, brought on by the intense working of a mighty soul, enshrined in a feeble body. "Its shell the spirit wore.' A deep shade of gloom and despondency, arising from physical causes, often clouded his mind. But his sufferings were soothed by the fond attentions of his sister. She brought her family to Paris, and having taken a house near his, devoted herself to him with anxious affection. One day, while still able to walk out, he was accosted in the street by a wretchedlooking man, holding a little boy by the hand. His countenance showed marks of suffering, and his tale was a sad one. He had been a journeyman shoemaker, and lived happily with his little ones, inhabiting a small house in the outskirts of Paris. A fire broke out one night; his little dwelling, with all that it contained, was consumed. He and his family escaped with their lives; but, from exposure to cold and anxiety, his wife and two children fell victims to fever; and he, only just recovered from the same disease, was forced, with his remaining child, to beg a morsel of bread. Pascal's heart was touched by his tale, and, not satisfied with relieving his immediate wants, he took him into his own house, and desired him to make it his home until his health should be re-established, and he should be able to procure work. Some days passed on, and Pascal became rapidly worse he could with difficulty leave his room, and was forced to discontinue his accustomed walks. His sister's fond cares were indispensable to his comfort: every day she passed in his chamber, ministering to his wants, and learning holy lessons of patience and resignation, springing from love to God and submission to his holy will. The poor shoemaker also tried by every means in his power to serve his benefactor; and the pleasant laugh and winning ways of his little son George, often soothed and cheered Pascal, who dearly loved children.

This little boy was shortly after taken with the small-pox, and as he could not be removed from the house without danger, Pascal proposed to remove to apartments at his sister's residence. He was borne to her house; where, on the 19th of August, 1662, at the age of thirtynine years, his gentle and humble spirit returned to Him who gave it!

THE STEAM-VESSEL. No. II.

THREE years after the construction of the "Comet, "to which allusion has recently been made in the Visitor,† a number of first-rate engineers combined to obtain a patent for the application of a new kind of moving power to turn paddle-wheels; but it ultimately proved unsuccessful, and they returned to the original model. In 1812, the "Elizabeth," of about ten-horse power, was employed as a rival to the "Comet," being nearly sixty feet long and twelve broad; and she succeeded in accomplishing, with about one hundred passengers, the distance between Glasgow and Greenock, at an average speed of nine miles an hour.

Competition being thus excited, steamvessels increased both in number and quality. Bell established them on the Clyde, the waters of Ireland bore the steamy monsters, and in 1813, a packet ran between London and Gravesend; but the determined opposition made by the metropolitan watermen rendered it neces

The section of the Red Rover, built by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, from Tredgold on the "SteamEngine."

↑ Visitor, Sept. 1848, p. 337.

sary to return her, by means of the canal, to her old station on the Severn. Some, however, declare that the first steamer employed on the Thames was the "Margery," of fourteen-horse power, which had been previously on the Clyde. George Dodd undertook a considerable voyage in a steam-boat built on the Clyde, and tested her powers during rough weather on the Irish Channel.

The name of David Napier will be also long remembered in connexion with the history of navigation from the 1818 year to 1830. Previously to that period, steam vessels rarely ventured beyond rivers and the coasts of friths; but he did not hesitate to attempt the establishment of regular communication between England, Ireland, and the continent. To become acquainted with the difficulties that might be encountered, he undertook a passage, during a stormy period of the year, in one of the sailing-packets between Glasgow and Belfast, which often required a week to perform the journey, now accomplished by steam in a few hours. The captain of the packet in which he sailed well remembers a young man, whom he afterwards knew as Mr. Napier, being found, during one of the wintry passages

to Belfast, constantly perched on the bows of the vessel, and fixing an intent gaze on the sea where it broke on the side of the ship, heedless of the waves and spray that washed over him.

Russell states that from this occupation Napier only ceased at intervals, as the breeze freshened, to ask the captain whether the sea might be considered as rough, and being told that it was by no means unusually so, he resumed his study of the effects of the beating of the waves on the stern of the ship. Some hours afterwards, as the breeze freshened, and the sea increased in fury, he put the same question, and received a similar reply. Apparently disappointed, he resumed his employment at the bow of the vessel. At last, however, to his great satisfaction, he was favoured with a storm; and while the sea, breaking over the vessel, swept her from stem to stern, he found his way back to the captain, and repeated his inquiry, "Do you call it rough now?" On being told that the captain did not remember ever to have faced a worse night, the young man appeared quite delighted; and muttering as he turned away, "I think I can manage, if that 's all," went down contentedly to his cabin, leaving the captain not a little astonished at the strange freak of his passenger.

On returning home, Napier set to work; and great improvements both in the strength and speed of his vessels resulted. In 1818, the "Rob Roy" ran regularly between Greenock and Belfast; and in the following year the "Talbot," which he had built of sixty-horse power, was placed on the line between Holyhead and Dublin, where she was soon accompanied by the "Ivanhoe," of one hundred and seventy tons.

The application of steam-vessels for sea service made from this period a very rapid advance. The subject of transatlantic navigation occupied much time

and attentive consideration before it was attempted. Difficulties were suggested, which to many appeared insuperable; and Dr. Lardner, in the most unqualified manner, affirmed before the British Association that it was impossible for any steam-vessel to traverse the Atlantic. He computed that for each horse-power of steam one ton of coal would be required for every 14.25 miles; and taking these as correct data, and allowing onefourth as spare fuel, the tonnage necessary for fuel and machinery on a voyage from England to New York, would be

3.70 tons per horse-power, which, for a vessel with engines of four hundred horsepower, would be 1,480 tons. Now as the ship to which he referred was only to be 1,200 tons, which was afterwards increased to 1,340 tons, the voyage would be impracticable. Instead, however, of carrying the amount expected, the "Great Western" took with her only 660 tons, of which 450 tons were consumed; so that though Dr. Lardner's computations were correct, the data from which he drew his conclusions were entirely wrong.

Yet, despite all this discouragement, in 1838, the following advertisement appeared in the daily papers:-"Steam to New York. The well-known steam-ship, 'Sirius,' lieutenant Roberts, R. N., commander, is intended to leave London for New York, on Wednesday, 28th March, calling at Cork Harbour, and to start from thence on Monday, the 2nd April, returning from New York the 1st May.' The great problem was by these means solved, for though the "Sirius" had not been constructed for transatlantic navigation, and was only 700 tons burden, she had successfully performed her work. Three days after her starting, the "Great Western,' built expressly for the purpose, followed her; the "Sirius" arriving in seventeen days, and the "Great Western" in fifteen. They again set out on their return, and the Great Western maintained her supremacy by performing the journey in two days less than her rival. The extension of steam-navigation from that time to the present day has been unprecedented for rapidity and success.

The advance of steam-navigation in British waters has been truly extraordinary. In the year 1814, two steamers were afloat of the united burden of 456 tons; in 1815, they had increased to ten; in 1820, to nearly seventy; in 1831, to nearly three hundred and fifty; while at the close of the year 1839, there belonged to the mercantile marine of Great Britain 760 vessels of 140,718 tons burden, and 56,490 horse-power. From that period to the present, the ratio has been on the increase, and the national and mercantile building-yards are now crowded with those in course of construction.

Having thus made a brief historical sketch of steam-navigation, it will be well to observe the method in which this most powerful and useful agent is now practically applied. When Fulton and Livingstone constructed their first steamvessel on the banks of the Seine, they