attitudes exactly like those of insects drowned in water. This is more curious, as those found involved in the resin of pines now growing, have their limbs bent and their wings rolled up and crushed. It also appears that few of these insects belong to entirely new genera, and most of them agree with species still living in Europe, and even in the regions where the amber is now found. Some of them have, however, been referred to species which now frequent the woods of Brazil or New Holland. The more common are beetles, flies, gnats, spiders, curiously formed, and very different from those now living; ants with large heads, and distinct from existing kinds, grasshoppers, moths, and millipeds. Among the rarer specimens are caterpillars and small scorpions of an extinct race, but so beautifully preserved, that no doubt exists as to their true character. Doubts were at one time entertained of the genuineness of the fossils said to be enclosed in amber. The great request in which such specimens stood, and the high price readily given for them, gave rise to many deceptions and imitations. Remains of animals were introduced into pieces of amber with so much art, as to be readily mistaken for true fossils. Fragments of the gum were cut in two, hollowed out, filled with gum mastix, containing not only the greatest variety of insects, but also small fishes, lizards, tree-frogs, and other objects, and again skilfully conjoined. Pieces of copal and other kinds of gum enclosing insects were also sold for amber. These falsifications can, however, in most cases, be distinguished from the genuine specimens, and the character of the insects shows that they are truly fossil. The vegetable remains found in the same or other fragments, confirm the true origin of the animals. Though longer of attracting attention, they have also been recently investigated with great skill and success by Goeppert, well known for his acquirements in fossil botany. In the amber he has found flowers of coniferæ and cupuliferæ, and fragments of junipers and pines, mingled with those of the cypress, thuja, and chesnut. These remains show a vegetation different in some respects from that which now covers the shores of the Baltic, though perhaps implying no very extensive change of climate, as other species of the same genera, though not indigenous to that part of Europe, yet grow in gardens or in the woods when planted. This similarity of climate is also shown by the fragments of moss or peat earth occasionally found inclosed in amber.

These statements form a sufficient answer to many questions which have been asked in regard to the origin of this substance. The trees producing it have been long extinct, and no longer flourish in any known part of the globe. How they were destroyed, or in what vast catastrophe they were swept from the earth, no record remains to tell. Amber is usually connected with the most recent tertiary formations, but still seems to have been produced in the very earliest period of the world's existence. The rudely carved rings and amulets of this substance, sometimes mixed with the rough native pieces, appear to have come there by accident, and to be long posterior to the first formation of this gum. No tree now growing in the north produces resin in such profusion, but in South America similar substances are well known; as in Chili, where the trunk of a tree is seen covered nearly a foot thick with a kind of resin not unlike amber. The tree was, however, a pine, and not a variety of palm, as some have affirmed. This is shown by the nature of the fragments enclosed in the amber, and thoroughly penetrated, or, so to speak, soaked, in this precious juice. Even distinct fir cones, containing amber between their scales, have been found in the north of Germany. Many circumstances also prove that the amber was formed on the surface of the earth, and neither below ground nor in the sea, as has been supposed. Thus, the insects contained in it are all terrestrial species which live in the open air, and the fruits and seeds also belong to land-plants.

Amber is usually found either on the shore of the sea. or connected with a formation of brown coal very common in the north of Germany. This coal is of a nature almost intermediate between peat or moss and the stone coal of this country. It consists of a brown-coloured mass of

fragments of wood and leaves of trees compressed together, and partly converted into an earthy substance. Great beds of this imperfect fuel are spread over the chalk rocks forming the substratum of the southern shore of the Baltic. Out of this formation the amber is occasionally dug, and especially along the banks of the Vistula, in the former kingdom of Poland. In one place here, an immense number of trees are found, partly turned into earthy brown coal, partly into bituminous wood, but with their structure so entire that the annual rings may be counted. Some stems are ninety feet long, and hence must have been many years in growing. The whole forest seems to have been levelled in one great catastrophe, as the tops of the trees are all directed to the north-west, and hence were probably overwhelmed by a flood from the opposite quarter. In this bed of fossil wood amber is frequently found. In the duchy of Posen there is a place of some forty or fifty square miles in extent, with a soil composed of a black earth mixed with clay and sand, where, in digging, amber is almost sure to be found; and a small lake in it usually throws some fragments on shore after storms. In other places on the shore of the Baltic, amber is dug out of the sandhills, but with considerable danger and very uncertain success, so as to give rise to many superstitions, of which the author of the fiction of the Amber Witch' has made good use. It is curious to find the same mineral dug for on the opposite extremity of the old world-in the valley of Hukong in Birma. Here it is contained in a reddish or yellowish earth, forming low hills about fifty feet high. The best is found at a depth of about forty feet from the surface, and the newly turned up soil has an aromatic or bituminous odour. We have no information to enable us to determine whether the tree producing it here was of the same species with that in the north of Europe.

But by far the larger portion of amber is procured from the Prussian coast, between the Curische-haff and the Frische-haff. During 'favourable' winds, particularly storms from the north and north-west, in which the sea is kept in constant violent motion for many days, and agitated to a great depth, much amber is cast on the shore. No certain knowledge of the manner in which it exists in the bottom of the sea can of course be obtained. The amber-weeds,' as they are called, thrown on shore with it, furnish but little information. These consist of various marine plants or fuci, fragments of wood, broken reeds, roots, and brushwood. Some of these are merely accidentally associated with the amber; like it for a time consigned to the ocean, and again thrown out with it on the shore. When the amber forests were destroyed, much of this substance would be washed northward into the low valley now occupied by the Baltic, and this may again be cast back on the land. But the constancy with which, for nearly two thousand years, one portion of the shore, between Danzig and Memel, has furnished this mineral in greatest abundance, shows that there must be some special store of it in that quarter. Probably some stratum of brown coal, very rich in it, forms the bed of the sea in that place, and as it is gradually wasted by the waves, permits the amber to be cast on the shore.

The amber found on the Prussian coast belongs, with some exceptions, to the crown; and before 1811, it was collected under the inspection of a royal officer. The ease with which this precious material might be concealed and disposed of, has led to very harsh regulations, which have proved a great annoyance to the people who dwell on the coast honoured by producing this substance. They cannot enjoy a walk along the shore without being liable to be searched by the officers in charge; they are only allowed to bathe at one place, and that the most melancholy-looking and disagreeable in the vicinity, but possessing the advantage of seldom producing amber. The unfruitful soil also drives most of the inhabitants to the sea and fishing for a livelihood, and here again they are subjected to much inconvenience. They dare not leave or return to the shore except in particular spots, and if found out of the prescribed limits, are liable to be taken to Konigsberg for examination, and detained for one or more days. To remedy this it was

proposed in 1809 to let the amber fishery to the people themselves, but some difficulty arose; and in 1811, it was rented by a Mr Douglas for ten thousand dollars, or about fifteen hundred pounds, per annum. For such a trifle it is hardly worth the while of the government to subject its subjects to so much annoyance, and there is no prospect of the amount increasing. Tables of the produce from 1535 to 1811 have been drawn up, which show that the annua! gathering has been very nearly uniform; the whole fluctuations arising from more or less favourable storms, and greater faithfulness in the collectors. The yearly average from 1661 to 1811 was 150 tons, each containing 87 stof, a measure about equal to the English quart. The amber is preserved in large vaulted magazines with iron doors to prevent the risk of fire. In 1829, when its sale in Turkey had been much diminished from particular circumstances, 150,000 pound weight was accumulated in these magazines. It was arranged in boxes and baskets according to the size, four or five kinds being distinguished. The best consists of species which weigh 5 loths (2 ounces nearly) or upwards, but these do not form 1 per cent. of the whole. Of the second quality, 30 to 40 pieces make a pound, and these form nearly 10 per cent. of that collected. In the amber procured by digging, there is a greater proportion of the larger sizes than in that thrown out by the

sea.

In fishing amber, a small but strong net, fastened to a long pole, is made use of. Armed with this, the men wade into the sea to meet the waves, and draw on shore the mass of sea-weed and wreck with which they are loaded. This is spread out and examined by their wives and children. This employment is by no means free from danger, as it must be carried on during stormy weather, and in opposition to the cold north winds. Sometimes boats are used; and in calm weather the sailors occasionally look for it on the bottom, or throw in their nets merely by chance. In 1837, the shore was covered with ice, on breaking through which and drawing out the mud and weeds below, a rich harvest of amber was found. This too was of unusual size, one piece weighing about three pounds five ounces, though evidently worn by washing in the sea, and formerly much larger.

The aspect of this mineral is too well known to require any long description. It is usually of a yellow colour, varying in purity and transparency. Some is of a hyacinth red, other fragments brown or white, and pieces have been found with several tints united. The perfectly transparent pieces are most valued in the west, and next to these the milky white opaque kinds; but in the east, the pale, dull kinds are in most request. As might be expected from its mode of origin, it assumes various external formsround or flat lumps, small grains like drops, stalactitic, or other shapes. The pieces named pins are the most curious, having apparently been drops, which, in falling, were drawn out into a fine thread, as may be seen in any viscous substance. The outside is rough, uneven, and often covered with a brown opaque coat. In the fragments cast out by the sea, this is of course often worn off by friction, but this is merely accidental. In Sicily, where this mineral also occurs, pure transparent pieces, just as if they had newly flowed from the tree, are sometimes found. The largest pieces are procured by digging, and in this way a mass, the most considerable known, now in the Royal Collection in Berlin, was obtained. It was found in 1803, in Lithuania, about 55 miles from the Baltic coast, and measures 14 inches long by 8 broad and 4 to 5 thick, and weighs 134 pounds, but was originally heavier, a portion having been broken off by the person who discovered it before he knew what it was. It is transparent, but clouded in some places; and the person who found it received a reward of £150, which, according to the law, should be

one-tenth of its real value.

This mineral is chiefly employed as an object of luxury. At Danzig, Catania in Sicily, and Constantinople, many artists are employed in fashioning amber into various forms. Paris is also celebrated for the elegance of the articles formed of this material, and many of these find

their way back to Germany. Ear-rings, lockets, crucifixes, rosaries, chessmen, and similar wares are carved as neatly and delicately as from ivory or mother-of-pearl. Amber necklaces are in special favour among the Egyptian ladies; large, flat, shapeless corals go principally to India. In Germany it is most in request for mouth-pieces to the tobacco-pipe. In one of the Russian palaces near St Petersburg is a room thirty feet square, whose walls are covered from top to bottom with amber, the gift of a Prussian king to the Czar. The effect by no means corresponds to the expense, the whole having an extremely gloomy aspect, and distinguished neither by beauty nor splendour. But the uses of this substance are not yet exhausted. In Europe it is employed in manufacturing its peculiar acid and also a kind of oil. It is also used as a varnish of a beautiful shining nature, and impervious to air and water. A large portion of the smaller kinds is exported to the east, where it is burned as a perfume, the Chinese, Japanese, and Persians preferring its smell to that of the numerous odoriferous substances common in these warm climates. It is not only consumed in the temples as an acceptable offering to their gods, but in private houses when any guest is present to whom particular honour is wished to be awarded. In China, the splendour of the feast is often estimated by the quantity of amber consumed. Such are a few particulars regarding this remarkable substance. One other property must, however, be mentioned. This is its power of becoming electric when rubbed, and then attracting small fragments of paper and other light bodies. The investigation of this property has led to the science of electricity, named from electron, the Greek term for this body. On the various facts of this extensive, important, and interesting science, this is no place to dilate. We may only mention that this property forms one of the best means of distinguishing genuine amber from its various imitations, which seldom possess this power of attraction in so high a degree.

1

MOSSES FROM AN OLD MANSE.* THOUGH there may be something like affectation in the title of these volumes, we can assure our readers that nothing of this characterises their contents. If the style of the work has a charm at all, it is its dignified simpli- | city and truthfulness to nature. The title had its origin, ¦ we learn, in the circumstance of the author having become the inhabitant of a dwelling which, through many generations, had been the secluded abode of a race of holy occupants. To use Mr Hawthorne's words in de- | scribing the old manse, a priest had built it; a priest had succeeded to it; other priestly men, from time to time, had dwelt in it; and children, born in its chambers, had grown up to assume the priestly character. It was awful to reflect how many sermons must have been written there.' What effect these sermons produced upon the minds of the auditors at the time they were delivered we may conjecture, but it is of course impossible to decide. That these volumes, if attentively and thoughtfully pondered, must be productive of a sound and healthy moral influence on the minds of all who may peruse them, is beyond question. The pieces which the volumes contain are at once detached and varied. The ordinary class of tales, several of which we had marked for insertion, are exceedingly well told; and even the most humorous of them have a decidedly moral bearing. These, however, after a careful perusal, are not the portions of the volumes which deserve the highest praise. The allegorical pieces are, in our estimation, superior to anything of the kind which has been presented to the public since the days of the Spectator' and the 'Vision of Mirza.' It may be proper to remark, too, that several of the tales, though not positively laid in fairyland, are constructed on principles similar to those which have guided the genius of Tieck and other German writers. Incredible as some of

By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, London: Wiley & Putnam. Two vois. 1816.

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the characters may appear, they are introduced for other purposes than merely to excite wonder or gratify a love for the marvellous-adorning the author's tale, they also aid him in pointing a decided moral. In these days, when utility is too frequently sacrificed at the shrine of mere gratification, if not of positive vice, it is refreshing in no ordinary degree to meet with such a work. In justification of our remarks, we present our readers with the following allegorical sketch. We have been so much pleased with these volumes that, should space permit, we may in an early number present our readers with an additional extract; meantime we give

THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICE.

A grave figure, with a pair of mysterious spectacles on his nose and a pen behind his ear, was seated at a desk in the corner of a metropolitan office. The apartment was fitted up with a counter, and furnished with an oaken cabinet and a chair or two, in simple and business-like style. Around the walls were stuck advertisements of articles lost, or articles wanted, or articles to be disposed of; in one or another of which classes were comprehended nearly all the conveniences, or otherwise, that the imagination of man has contrived. The interior of the room was thrown into shadow, partly by the tall edifices that rose on the opposite side of the street, and partly by the immense show-bills of blue and crimson paper, that were expanded over each of the three windows. Undisturbed by the tramp of feet, the rattle of wheels, the hum of voices, the shout of the city-crier, the scream of the news-boys, and other tokens of the multitudinous life that surged along in front of the office, the figure at the desk pored diligently over a folio volume of ledger-like size and aspect. He looked like the spirit of a record-the soul of his own great volume-made visible in mortal shape. But scarcely an instant elapsed without the appearance at the door of some individual from the busy population whose vicinity was manifested by so much buzz, and clatter, and outery. Now it was a thriving mechanic, in quest of a tenement that should come within his moderate means of rent; now a ruddy Irish girl, from the banks of Killarney, wandering from kitchen to kitchen of our land, while her heart still hung in the peat-smoke of her native cottage; now a single gentleman, looking out for economical board; and now-for this establishment offered an epitome of worldly pursuits-it was a faded beauty inquiring for her lost bloom; or Peter Schlemihl for his lost shadow; or an author, of ten years' standing, for his vanished reputation; or a moody man for yesterday's sunshine.

At the next lifting of the latch there entered a person with his hat awry upon his head, his clothes perversely ill-suited to his form, his eyes staring in directions opposite to their intelligence, and a certain odd unsuitableness pervading his whole figure. Wherever he might chance to be, whether in palace or cottage, church or market, on land or sea, or even at his own fireside, he must have worn the characteristic expression of a man out of his right place.

This,' inquired he, putting his question in the form of an assertion, this is the Central Intelligence Office ?' 'Even so,' answered the figure at the desk, turning another leaf of his volume; he then looked the applicant in the face, and said briefly, 'Your business ?'

'I want,' said the latter, with tremulous earnestness, 'a place!'

A place! and of what nature?' asked the Intelligencer. There are many vacant, or soon to be so, some of which will probably suit, since they range from that of a footman up to a seat at the council-board, or in the cabinet, or a throne, or a presidential chair.'

The stranger stood pondering before the desk, with an unquiet dissatisfied air-a dull vague pain of heart, expressed by a slight contortion of the brow-an earnestness of glance that asked and expected, yet continually wavered, as if distrusting. In short, he evidently wanted, not in a physical or intellectual sense, but with an urgent moral

necessity that is the hardest of all things to satisfy, since it knows not its own object.

Ah, you mistake me!' said he at length, with a gesture of nervous impatience. Either of the places you mention, indeed, might answer my purpose; or, more probably, none of them. I want my place! my own place! my true place in the world! my proper sphere! my thing to do which nature intended me to perform when she fashioned me thus awry, and which I have vainly sought all my lifetime! Whether it be a footman's duty or a king's, is of little consequence, so it be naturally mine. Can you help me here?'

'I will enter your application,' answered the Intelligencer, at the same time writing a few lines in his volume. But to undertake such a business, I tell you frankly, is quite apart from the ground covered by my official duties. Ask for something specific, and it may doubtless be negotiated for you on your compliance with the conditions. But were I to go further, I should have the whole population of the city upon my shoulders; since far the greater proportion of them are, more or less, in your predicament.'

The applicant sank into a fit of despondency, and passed out of the door without again lifting his eyes; and, if he died of the disappointment, he was probably buried in the wrong tomb; inasmuch as the fatality of such people never deserts them, and, whether alive or dead, they are invariably out of place.

Almost immediately, another foot was heard on the threshold. A youth entered hastily, and threw a glance around the office to ascertain whether the man of intelligence was alone. He then approached close to the desk, blushed like a maiden, and seemed at a loss how to broach his business.

'You come upon an affair of the heart,' said the official personage, looking into him through his mysterious spectacles. State it in as few words as may be.' 'You are right,' replied the youth. I have a heart to dispose of.'

You seek an exchange?' said the Intelligencer. Foolish youth, why not be contented with your own?' 'Because,' exclaimed the young man, losing his embarrassment in a passionate glow, because my heart burns me with an intolerable fire; it tortures me all day long with yearnings for I know not what, and feverish throbbings, and the pangs of a vague sorrow; and it awakens me in the night-time with a quake, when there is nothing to be feared! I cannot endure it any longer. It were wiser to throw away such a heart, even if it brings me nothing in return!"

'Oh, very well,' said the man of office, making an entry in his volume. Your affair will be easily transacted. This species of brokerage makes no inconsiderable part of my business; and there is always a large assortment of the article to select from. Here, if I mistake not, comes a pretty fair sample.'

Even as he spoke, the door was gently and slowly thrust ajar, affording a glimpse of the slender figure of a young girl, who, as she timidly entered, seemed to bring the light and cheerfulness of the outer atmosphere into the somewhat gloomy apartment. We know not her errand there; nor can we reveal whether the young man gave up his heart into her custody. If so, the arrangement was neither better nor worse than in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, where the parallel sensibilities of a similar age, importunate affections, and the easy satisfaction of characters not deeply conscious of themselves, supply the place of any profounder sympathy,

Not always, however, was the agency of the passions and affections an office of so little trouble. It happenedrarely indeed in proportion to the cases that came under an ordinary rule, but still it did happen-that a heart was occasionally brought hither, of such exquisite material, so delicately attempered, and so curiously wrought, that no other heart could be found to match it. It might almost be considered a misfortune, in a worldly point of view, to be the possessor of such a diamond of the purest