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Page 5
_The Chestnut_.--The description of the walnut may be applied to
this, as they are natives of the same climate; and their flowers are
alike impatient of frost. The fruit of this is, however, inferior to
that of the walnut, and seldom arrives at the same degree of perfection.
The tree grows to a great size, and is one of the most valuable of our
forest trees. In "days of yore," it must have been much more plentiful
in this country, or more plentifully imported, than it now is; as the
principal timbers of abbeys, cathedrals, and other ancient buildings,
are chiefly formed of it: being equally durable as the oak, which it so
much resembles, that they can hardly be distinguished from each other,
but by the test of the wet edge of a chissel being stained by the oak,
and not at all by the chestnut.
_The Melon and Cucumber_.--These exotic fruits are extensively
cultivated; the latter takes various shapes in our bills of fare; the
former is more a luxury than a fruit for general use; their culture on
hot-beds forms a material branch of modern gardening, and with that of
the gourd, pumpkin, squash, vegetable marrow, &c., is well known.
_The Pine-Apple_.--This sovereign of fruits is, and can only be, in
this country, an appendage to opulence and rank. Several varieties are
cultivated in our forcing-stoves, and grace the tables of the rich, and
in as great perfection as they can be had between the tropics. In their
wild state, they affect the sides of rivulets, and often under the shade
of lofty trees; but are of inferior flavour, unless the weather is very
dry when they are ripening off; and when cultivated, they receive little
or no water during the last stage of their growth.--_Quarterly Journal
of Science, &c._
* * * * *
ANECDOTES OF THE MARVELLOUS.
_A Prediction Fulfilled._
At the time of the American war, a gentleman (a mere youth) entered the
army, and saw some little service. One day, during an engagement, he
was, in the hurry and confusion of it, knocked down; and a soldier,
setting his foot upon his chest in passing over him, hurt him so
exceedingly that he became senseless; upon recovering, he found himself
still stretched on the ground, and a singular, looking female stood
beside him, who, as he opened his eyes, exclaimed in an ill-boding
voice, "Ay, young man, mark my words: _that_ hurt will be the
death of you in your forty-second year." He immediately recognised in
this old raven one of those _soothsayers_ who usually followed the
army, and gained a livelihood by their oracular powers. Mr. L. certainly
did _mark_ her words, inasmuch as returning to England, he quitted
the army, entered the church, and amongst other red-coat reminiscences,
used frequently to mention (and mention but to ridicule) the American
soothsayer's prediction. Nevertheless, true it is, that he did die in
his forty-second year, and of a disease in his _chest_ too,
although he had never suffered from the hurt beyond the period at which
he received it.
_Imagination._
The measles (it is pretty well known to all voyagers) is at St. Helena a
hideous and fatal disorder, although generally mild at the Cape, which
is about a fortnight's sail from the former island: every ship,
therefore, from the Cape, upon touching at St. Helena, undergoes
examination, and, if the measles are known to be prevalent at the former
place, is put into quarantine, and no officer, however urgent his
business may be, allowed to land without making oath or affidavit that
he has not been on shore at the Cape, or approached an infected person.
Some years since, a naval officer, acquainted with the then governor of
St. Helena, General P----n, was invited to dine with him, and met at
dinner another officer from another vessel, who, it is to be presumed,
had eluded undergoing the usual precautionary measures, and was perhaps
ignorant of their existence, since he mentioned, during the repast, that
the measles were prevailing at Cape Town, and admitted that he had
entered it. Now, he had just arrived at St. Helena, and though he
expressly stated that he had not gone near any infected person, poor
Mrs. P----, uttering a shriek, fled from the table, exclaiming that she
knew she should have the measles; in fact, she immediately fell sick of
that disorder, (and died, I think I understood.) All her family took it,
and it raged through the island, proving dreadfully destructive.
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