from each other, but all adapted to excite emotions of But our object is to show the use, permanence, and 'A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.' circumstance, that in the course of a year the snow which tain is not a glacier. The common form of a glacier is falls is just melted, and no more. Now, a snow-clad mouna river of ice, filling a valley, and pouring down its of the Mer de Glace is calculated to convey an erroneous mass into the valleys yet lower. It is not a frozen ocean, but a frozen torrent; wherefore the appellation Its origin or fountain is to be sought for in the raminotion of the great glacier stream to which it is applied. fications of the higher valleys and gorges, which descend among the mountains perpetually snow-clad. But what gives to a glacier its most peculiar and characteristic feature is, that it does not belong exclusively or necessarily to the snowy region already mentioned. regularly as from that of the rocks which sustain its The snow disappears from its surface in summer as world above. Its gelid mass is protruded into the mass. It is the prolongation or outlet of the winter midst of warm pine-clad slopes and greensward, and The very huts of the peasantry are sometimes invaded sometimes reaches even to the borders of cultivation. by this moving ice; and many persons now living have gathered ripe cherries from the tree with one foot standseen the full ears of corn touching the glacier, or have ing on the ice. THE GARDEN OF THE GLACIERS. BEING at Chamouny, and the weather beautifully fine, I determined to lose no time, but to visit the Jardin immediately; for I had heard, from authority I could not doubt, what a gratifying excursion it was. Accordingly, on Monday, July 22, 1844, we left Chamouny, at an early hour in the morning, for the Montanvert, which we reached in such good time, that, after a moderate halt, we were able to set forth again at a quarter past eight o'clock. We were only two in party, but we were attended each by our guide; I by Ferdinand Tissay, who accompanied me to the Buet; and my companion inaccessible. The mean or middle portion is a gentlyThe lower end of a glacier is usually very steep and by the celebrated Joseph Coutet. After half an hour's sloping icy torrent, from half a mile to two miles wide, rough walking, we had to pass some precipitous faces more or less undulating on its surface, and this surface of slaty rock, called Les Ponts, where the footing is more or less broken up by crevasses, of a width of from very narrow, though firm, and where a fall would be times extends from side to side of the glacier. a few inches to many feet, and of a length which someattended with certain destruction. These once past, it its middle portion, too, is covered with blocks of stone, became our object to launch ourselves on the ice of the which move along with it, or rather are borne down This, Mer de Glace, a matter not always easy of accomplish-upon its surface. The motion of the glacier is inferred ment-for the glacier, far from presenting a smooth from the subsistence of the ice in valleys where the unbroken surface, running up to a regular and gently-tains its position; but its progress is also well-marked sloping shore, is rather to be likened to a tempes- by the displacement of great blocks of stone upon its daily waste is immense, and where yet the glacier maintuous sea, with gulfs and chasms fixed between it and surface, which, from their size or figure, cannot be misits inhospitable iron-bound coast; and our search for taken, and which may be watched from year to year a smooth point of ingress was precisely analogous to descending the icy stream, whose deliberate movement the waiting of seamen for a lull, before launching a they mark, as a floating leaf indicates the speed of a boat through the breakers. At last we found a smooth bridge of the unmelted winter's snow, reaching from cliffs, and may be seen to fall almost every summer's day, current of water! These rocks are detached from the the side of the rocky glacier-bed to the ice, by means hold together fragments previously wrenched asunder by of which we set foot on the Mer de Glace itself, and the irresistible expansion of freezing water. in consequence of the loosening of the icy bands which forthwith commenced the usual and inevitable march- borders now described are called moraines; which furings and countermarchings, to which the countless im- ther have the epithets lateral or medial applied to them, The stony pediments of the glacier give rise. But before we pro- according as they are formed by blocks detached at the ceed with the narrative of our day's excursion, it would sides of the glacier, or by blocks detached from the properhaps be better to give some general account, how- montory or common point of meeting of the sides of two ever brief and slight, for the benefit of those who never glacier streams that unite in one; a point manifestly in have seen or set foot upon one, of what a glacier actually is. It may make the detail of our narrative more or about the middle of the new glacier stream resulting from the union. intelligible. First, then, glaciers manifestly can exist only among snow-clad mountains; but snow-clad mountains do not necessarily produce glaciers. Why they do not, is not now the question. However, high mountains in every part of the world are covered with snow; for the fact is, that the atmosphere becomes colder as we ascend; so that, at a certain height called the snow-line, above the earth's surface, snow is always lying. This height is greatest at the equator-namely, 16,000 feet; which, in the Swiss Alps, is diminished to 8700 feet above the sea. In very high latitudes, the natural covering of the earth is snow. But it must be borne in mind that snow always lying on any spot does not lead to the inference that snow never melts there. If the snow never melted, a perpetual progressive accumulation would be the result. The position of the perpetual snow-line is nowhere the line of perpetual congelation. The snow-line is determined solely by this Persons who have never seen a glacier, may naturally by the snows which fall annually on its surface. This suppose that its middle or lower part is fed or increased is an error; for the snow as regularly disappears and melts from the surface of the glacier, as it does from the surface of the ground in its neighbourhood. Here and there, in shady nooks, we see patches of the last approximation to the character of ice. In whatever way the middle and lower glacier may be maintained, winter's snow, of a dull, dead white, and without an it is most assuredly not by the assimilation into its substance of the fallen snow of winter. The case, however, differs in the higher ice world; and thither our excursion to the Jardin is about to lead us. Of these upper regions it is to be observed, that the snow disappears more and more tardily as we ascend, until we reach a point where it never disappears at all; in a word, until we reach the snow-line upon the glacier. teresting phenomena connected with glaciers. But the of the higher Alps; that they are icy streams, or rather bona fide streams of ice, in constant flow, however slow their motion; and that the existing state of human knowledge concerning them, as put forth by the highest known authority on the subject,* amounts to this: that a glacier is an imperfect fluid or viscous body, which is urged down slopes of a certain inclination by the mutual pressure of its parts. To resume, then, our narrative. As soon as we fairly set foot on the great glacier of the Mer de Glace, we began our course in apparently interminable windings amongst crevasses, blocks of stone, glacier tables, and moraines, of which latter impediments we had to force a passage over three distinct embankments which follow the stream of the great glacier, the Mer de Glace, from the lesser and higher Glacier de L'Echaud. Glacier tables are very singular phenomena. When a large block of stone lies on the surface of the glacier, its area and thickness defends a portion of the surface of the ice from rain and the heat of the sun's rays; in a word, defends the ice immediately under it from causes of thaw, which act on the exposed ice all around; so that, whilst the general neighbouring surface of the glacier in the summer sinks down, the particular spots underneath the greater blocks remain comparatively unchanged; that is, stand up above the general surface, surmounted by the blocks of stone that were in the first instance their protection; in fact, their umbrellas. Hundreds of these tables are to be seen, standing up like enormous mushrooms, all over the glacier. That the glacier should be rent and torn in countless crevasses, is very conceivable, when we consider that it is an imperfect fluid, pressing, slowly yet forcibly, through a rocky mountain-channel of ever-varying width. The phenomena of moraines have been partially explained above. They are so far analogous to the glacier tables, that they are not what they at first sight appear to be an embankment solely consisting of immovable rocks-but are a bank or ridge of the smoothest ice, strewn with rocks, in a state of nice equilibrium; the bank of ice having originated from the protection afforded it by the mass of rocks from the ordinary causes of thaw. Single small stones, on the other hand, lying on the surface of the glacier, do not protect it from causes of thaw; and besides, becoming heated by the sun's rays, they melt their way into the ice, and disappear in deep holes, like small wells, which they have themselves originated. All we here saw or did in the course of our walk was highly interesting; for we had never before set foot in these regions of eternal ice. At half-past ten we arrived at the foot of the Couvercle, which it is necessary to ascend. The weather was so fine, and the air so clear, that out of pure indulgence we sat down here for twenty minutes to look about us, and thoroughly enjoy the scene. We had now a most sublime view of Mont Blanc, of the Great and Little Jorasses (little by comparison), of the Aiguille du Géant, of the Col du Géant, and of the countless towering Aiguilles of the entire chain of Mont Blanc. Trees we had now left far below us, but verdure not entirely. The scenery was made up of peaks and precipices, eternal ice and snow, diversified here and there with some scanty sheep, or rather, perhaps, chamois pasture. Next we commenced the ascent of the Couvercle, during which we obtained admirable and astonishing bird's-eye views of the crevasses of the Mer de Glace below us, and of the junction of the Glacier du Taléfre with the Mer de Glace, into which it falls in a style of extraordinary magnificence. The glacier is here brilliantly white; and by the extreme steepness of its descent, it is torn and disrupted into countless fantastic blocks, obelisks, and pyramids of ice, tossed about capriciously, as if by the wild supernatural agency of the spirit of the mountain. From some points of view, though this particular portion of the Glacier du Taléfre * Professor Forbes of Edinburgh. can scarcely have a fall of less than 2000 feet (a mere guess, however), one is tempted to compare it to a frozen cataract. But this comparison soon fails to hold good; and the idea that suggests itself is rather that of an enormous mass of crystals, gigantic out of all measure, yet endowed with the regularity and beauty of a specimen in a cabinet of mineralogy. This is in accordance with what I have not seldom had occasion to remark; namely, that when an object of our contemplation vastly exceeds all our ordinary notions of grandeur, there exists a tendency in our minds to compare it with something incalculably less, and even meaner; and that, strange to say, such comparisons are generally far from being inapt. I have heard the epithet chaotic applied to this and to other glaciers, but it is surely as unfitting an epithet as can be applied to a natural process in regular action. With this, then, together with other glorious objects alternately in sight and alternately hidden, after a steep ascent, we arrived at a plain of perpetual snow; and after passing, with some difficulty as to footing, over the snow that fills the theatre of precipices whence the Glacier du Taléfre issues, we arrived exactly at seven minutes after twelve at the Jardin, in three hours and fifty-two minutes from the Montanvert. The height of the lower part of the Jardin above the sea Professor Forbes gives as being 9042 English feet, and that of the highest part as 9893 English feet. The Jardin (or Courtil, as it is called in the patois of the inhabitants of Chamouny) possesses little beauty of its own. It is a mass, or rather a not inconsiderable extent of barren rocks, interspersed with scanty verdure, and adorned with a few wild Alpine flowers. It does not appear, when you first arrive at the spot, that it is indeed insulated in the midst of the icy desert of the glacier, although you may afterwards ascertain that it is so. The outlet in this vast encincture, from whence the glacier issues, has been compared to a volcanic crater with a side blown out. The view all around you is the most rugged, savage, and solitary that can be conceived; and the interior recesses of Mont Blanc, as you look over the great glacier of the Tacul (another glacier stream tributary to the Mer de Glace), are beyond description grand. With the exception of the scanty verdure growing around us, nothing was visible but rocks, ice, and snow. The weather, as I have before noticed, was exquisitely beautiful; and we remained at the Jardin an hour and a half, enjoying the brilliant calm sunshine, which at times was almost too hot, notwithstanding the fresh air from the glacier. Whilst we were eating our luncheon in this wild place, two large crows kept flying round and round, evidently watching us; and as soon as we were on the move, they flew to the spot where we had been sitting, in order to pick up the fragments of our meal. At the Jardin is a broken bottle full of cards and papers, with the names of persons who have visited the spot written thereon. At about half-past one we began our descent. Soon after we left the Jardin, I managed inadvertently to dislodge a large stone, which, as the words of my journal run, surmounted a bank of ice covered with gravel-in other words, a large stone of a moraine; and in order to avoid grave mischance, I had to make a run for it, on a soft slope of snow, on which walking was not altogether an easy matter. The result, as might have been expected, was a fall; and besides that, I rolled some way down the wet and steep descent. This was a fair specimen of the way in which the most serious accidents may occur; but I saw the danger of coming in contact with the stone, and was prepared for anything rather than encountering the full career of the Sisyphæan burden I had let loose. Coutet and the rest good-humouredly rallied me on my extraordinary activity. At length we came to the foot of the Couvercle, and once more set foot on the Mer de Glace; and made the best of our way to the little auberge on the Montanvert, which we reached at five minutes before four o'clock, having descended from the CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH JOURNAL. Jardin in two hours and twenty-five minutes, and having been absent from the Montanvert seven hours and forty minutes. We then returned, all together, to Chamouny. VULCANISED CAOUTCHOUC. SEVERAL years have elapsed since our last notice of the During this period wonderful material, caoutchouc.* our consumption and the importance of the article have expanded in an equal and surprising ratio; and we should be at a loss at this moment to mention any other substance as taking a more varied and peculiar ratio in utility to man. Its wonderful cohesive force, its property of resisting compression, its impermeability, its elasticity, and its facile accommodation to a host of the wants of mankind, render caoutchouc a substance of great interest at all times. Latterly, however, a new method of treating the material, bestowing upon it a vast increase of its valuable peculiarities, besides endowing it with some new properties, has been discovered. We therefore believe it will interest our readers to offer some account of this new process, which has received the title of Vulcanisation, or Conversion.' Caoutchouc is imported into England in the form of plates and tablets, as well as in the pyriform bottles more familiarly known. Some specimens of the liquid, from which the material is prepared, have also been In this conbrought in hermetically-sealed flasks. dition it resembles a thick yellow cream; and when applied as a varnish, covers the substance over with an impermeable coating. Since the first introduction of this material to the present hour, it has been an insoluble problem to chemists to restore solidified caoutchouc to its primitive condition: the ordinary solvents of the substance producing a liquid which has few properties in common with the natural fluid, besides that the solution exhales an offensive and pungent odour for a considerable period after its application. Immediately on exposure, the liquid product of the tree separates into two parts, and caoutchouc rises to the surface like the cream of milk. It would, therefore, appear probable that a chemical influence is exerted by the air upon the fluid, since it remains in a great degree unTo render altered if the access of air is prevented. the imported caoutchouc applicable to the purposes of commerce, it requires to undergo a certain amount of preparation. The eminent French chemist, M. Dumas, thus describes this process :-The caoutchouc is taken in the pyriform or tablet condition, and is first pressed between two cylinders, while a current of warm water is permitted to flow over it; in this manner the foreign ingredients and impurities are removed. It is then put into a hollow cylinder, and, by mechanical aid, is subjected to a violent kneading process, during which a large amount of latent heat is evolved; by this means it eventually becomes quite soft, and may be moulded into whatever form is most desirable for the purpose intended. It is then cut by machinery, with the assistance of a constant current of warm water, into sheets; or these may be cut from the masses, as imported, without the preparation described by M. Dumas; or into a delicate elastic thread; or it is cut into shreds for the formation of the solution. At an early period of its introduction into England, caoutchouc was sold to artists at a guinea the ounce; it is now procurable, retail, at from three to four shillings the pound. Caoutchouc is soluble in ether, rectified oil of turpentine, naphtha, or oil of coal-tar, and in the bisulphuret of carbon. Of these, the latter, and the offensive liquid naphtha, are the solvents most frequently employed. Messrs Beale and Enderby of London have discovered a new liquid for its solution, obtained by the destructive distillation of caoutchouc itself; an oily fluid is the product, and has the property of readily dissolving the substance from which it is procured. As a certain *See No. 453 of our former, and No. 33 of our current, series. weight of caoutchouc put into the still yields a weight The applications of unvulcanised caoutchouc have of To return, however, to the more immediate subject of our notice-vulcanised caoutchouc. Mr Brockedon, whose name is well known as connected with the subject of which we are treating, describes the process by which caoutchouc acquires its new properties to be the following, the merit of which is due to Mr Hancock :The caoutchouc is immersed in a bath of fused sulphur, heated to a proper temperature, until, by absorbing a portion of the sulphur, it assumes a carbonised appearThe same condition can, however, be produced by either ance, and eventually acquires the consistency of horn. kneading the India-rubber with sulphur, and then ex posing it to a temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit, or by dissolving it in any of the common solvents, as turpentine, holding sulphur in solution or suspension. A similar process is that of conversion,' only in this case the caoutchouc combines with sulphur under a different agency. The bisulphuret of carbon, mixed with sulphur, is in this instance made to act upon the Indiarubber, and causes it to undergo a change on the surface; but it cannot be penetrated to any great depth by such means, and the process therefore becomes inapplicable to masses of any density. The rationale of these operations appears to be, that the India-rubber forms an actual chemical compound with the sulphur; becomes, in short, a sulphuret of caoutchouc, the properties of which are thus enumerated:-The new compound remains elastic at all temperatures, while ordinary caoutchouc becomes inelastic and rigid at a few degrees above the freezing point of water; vulcanised caoutchouc is not the ordinary solvents, neither is it affected by heat within a considerable range of temperature. Finally, it acquires extraordinary powers of resisting compression, with a great increase of strength and elasticity. Some interesting experiments have been made upon this new compound. Most of our readers are familiar with the construction of the powerful spiral spring in use for the buffers' of railway carriages, to moderate the effects of concussion; their ordinary strength is such as to demand a pressure equivalent to three tons and upwards, to compress the spiral close together. Mr Fuller has invented a form of spring, in which vulcanised caoutchouc takes the place of the steel, and the surprising result is, that the India-rubber springs are more than three times the strength of the metallic; that is, they will resist, at the height of their tension, a pressure equal to from five to ten tons. more forcible evidence of the strength of this material was obtained by firing a cannon ball through a mass of vulcanised caoutchouc, and it was found literally broken to pieces, while there was scarcely a perceptible rent in the caoutchouc itself. A fail to increase the draught of the vehicle; besides, noise itself is a safe nuisance, and could not very comfortably to pedestrians be altogether dispensed with. Its most important application is in its use in railways, and, as has been mentioned, in railway carriages. It is laid between the rail and the sleeper, and thus prevents the rails from indicating any traces of pressure. The useful little articles elastic bands' are made of this substance. Besides all these applications, it is proposed to apply it as a coating to protect the wires of the submarine telegraph from the influence of the sea water: it forms impervious bottles for ether, inkstands, trouserstraps, gloves, boots, surgical bandages, and a number of other articles, for which its nature almost seems to have been expressly designed. THE ARMENIAN LEPER. TOWARDS the close of one of those long bright sultry days which succeed each other with such unvarying sameness during the summer of Asia Minor, a caravan consisting of a string of some thirty or forty camels defiled slowly through the beautiful vale of St Anne, This magnificent valley, at the entrance of which lies the city of Smyrna, in all the pride of her Oriental beauty, is of vast extent, and remarkable for its luxurious vegetation. It stretches many miles into the interior of the country, closed in on all sides by lofty mountains. The picturesque procession having wound through the last deep ravine, at the steady undeviating pace of the untiring camel, at last emerged into the open country, and came to a halt. It was here that the travellers, who had availed themselves of the protection of the caravan so long as their path was the same with its appointed course, were to separate from their companions, and choose each his track over the wide desolate plain that lay before them. These were chiefly Europeans.; and amongst the number were two young Englishmen, who, having heard that somewhere in this direction the remains of a temple had been lately found, had set out in quest of it, although with only an indefinite idea as to the locality of the ruins. Gifted with these new powers, vulcanised caoutchouc has already been called into extensive employment for the most various and opposite purposes. It forms, in hydraulic engines of all kinds, one of the most valuable The tinkling of the camel bells was scarcely lost in the materials for washers,' applying itself so accurately to distance before the adventurers began to bethink them. the surfaces between which it is placed, as to prevent selves of the admonitions they had received from their the slightest leakage, other things being equal. In this companions. The night had fallen so suddenly, that capacity, and from its power of resisting heat, it has it seemed as though the darkness had been absolutely also been proposed for the use of steam-pipe joints. hurled down upon the earth from the depths of the It forms an admirable spring, more docile and more dark blue sky. No indications of the ruins they equal in power than those of steel: it has been for this sought presented themselves; and what was more, the purpose applied to locks and window-blinds. It may Smyrniotes had not left them in ignorance that no be here mentioned parenthetically, that by proportion-human habitation existed within a distance of very ing the ingredients, the material may be rendered harder many miles. or softer at will; and that for some purposes it is used in the former, for others in the latter condition. It is manufactured also into the most elaborate ornaments,* being superior to leather in the sharp outline and bold relief of their detail. It is formed into a tubing of great strength and flexibility, well adapted, the consideration of expense excepted, for fire-hose, and for any apparatus required in conveying steam, water, or gas. We have seen this tubing wrapped together, twisted, and knotted into every conceivable shape, and instantly resume its contour as soon as it was liberated from its restraint. This tube promises to become invaluable in the construction of life-boats, superseding those made of canvas, which were slowly destroyed by the influence of sea water. A curious use to which it has been put, is as a substitute for the iron tire or hoop of the carriage-wheel: the advantages it is said to afford are a much lighter draught, and an absence of noise. In dry weather, the first postulate may be granted; but in wet, and upon the greasy streets of the metropolis, the wheels act like suckers on the pavement, and cannot * We are indebted to the report in the Athenæum of Mr Brockedon's paper for many of these particulars. For a time they wandered recklessly on, thinking they would find a couch quite soft enough among the low aromatic shrubs which clothed the desert where they were roaming; but soon the idea of quitting their saddles at all was tacitly given up, notwithstanding the fatigue of their jaded horses; for on all sides, now far off, now so near that they started involuntarily, rose the ominous howling of the beasts of prey, whose numbers render the vicinity of Ephesus so dangerous. They were now greatly at a loss how to proceed, or in what manner to pass the night till the returning day should enable them to shape their course in safety, when suddenly they perceived a faintly-twinkling light gleaming on the plain at a short distance before them. Greatly surprised at a sight so unexpected in this dreary solitude, they gladly hurried towards it, and soon distinguished in the dim starlight the dark outline of a heap of ruins, where broken arches and prostrate columns lay mingling together. They had no doubt that this was the temple they were in search of; but the light which now appeared to burn steadily in the interior was not so easily accounted for. Advancing to the spot, they dismounted; and having fastened their horses to a pillar, proceeded to explore the ruins, which were of considerable extent, on foot. Guided by the mysterious ray, which brightened as they approached, they at length reached a large rudely-constructed aperture, through which they could perceive a small lamp placed in a niche of the wall, which strongly illuminated a very singular chamber. The broken pillars, with large stones brought from some other part of the building, had been so disposed as to form a circular wall, whilst the roof had originally been a part of that of the temple itself: a window and a door facing each other had been fashioned with considerable skill; and a couch, composed of the long leaves of the Indian corn, carefully dried, showed that it was the habitation of a human being. Directly facing them, the occupant of this strange apartment himself was seated, intently engaged on some absorbing employment, whilst a large book lay open at his side. He was a man seemingly of some fifty years of age, with a mild and pleasing countenance, which was stamped with a peculiarly calm and peaceful expression. His dress was that worn by the Armenians of the lower orders; and his long beard and flowing hair rendered his appearance strikingly picturesque. The intruders gazed at him for a few minutes, and then advancing, were about to enter the apartment to crave his hospitality for the night. At the sound of their footsteps, the solitary man suddenly started from the ground, and as soon as his eye fell on the strangers, careless of the customary forms of eastern politeness, he held out his hands as though to ward them off, and exclaimed, 'Stand back! At your peril come no farther!' He spoke in Italian; and the Englishmen, half-smiling at the idea that he probably took them for robbers, answered in the same language, 'You need not fear; we will not injure you.' A smile, in which there was intense melancholy, passed over the lips of the solitary. 'You will not injure me, I well believe,' he answered in a low sad voice; but I should harm you.' 'How!' exclaimed the strangers, instinctively grasp ing their pistols. Not willingly,' continued he. There is no danger for you, if you do not touch me; and if you require food and shelter, as I imagine you do, most gladly will I now afford you both. It has been my privilege to prepare a resting-place for travellers benighted like yourselves upon the plain, and it is my greatest joy when they avail themselves of it.' The Englishmen looked at one another; for the manners and language of the solitary were by no means in accordance with the meanness of his dress and appearance. But he gave them no time for reflection: taking the lamp from the wall, he gathered his garments closely round him, and passing them at as great a distance as he could, said, Follow me; for at your peril you must not enter here!' They obeyed; and leading them to the door of a room somewhat similar to that he had quitted, he stood aside, and signed to them to enter. It was furnished with several couches of dried leaves, covered with panther skins; and in the centre stood a small table, roughly constructed of uneven wood. When the travellers had completed their survey, they found that their singular host had retired, leaving the lamp on the threshold; but in a few minutes he reappeared, carrying several vases of fresh water, and a large basket filled with grapes and other fruits, just gathered-a circumstance which seemed also somewhat unaccountable in the midst of a desert plain. These he placed at the door, and requested them to lift the provisions themselves on the table. As he stooped, the light of the lamp shone full in his face, and the strangers suddenly started with an involuntary feeling of loathing, as they became aware of the strange and deadly whiteness which characterised it. The solitary perceived and understood the movement; he crossed his arms on his breast (an attitude indicative in the East of entire submission), and said calmly, 'Even so; I am a leper.' The travellers had been long enough in the East to be aware of the virulent nature of this dreadful disease, and of the unfailing certainty of its communication by contagion, though the touch by which it is conveyed were only from the garment of the afflicted person. They now, therefore, understood and appreciated the generous precautions of their unhappy host, and complied with his request to sit down and partake of the repast he had provided, whilst he himself sat on the ground at the door, in order to supply any wants which might occur to them. Whilst availing themselves gladly of the refreshment they so much required, the travellers continued to look with deep interest on the sufferer, seemingly so patient under such a grievous trial; and but for the dread of reawakening his sorrows, they would have inquired into the details of a history that could not fail to be most striking. He was himself, however, the first to open the subject. You now understand,' he said, 'why it is that I live among these solitary ruins, an outcast and an exile, not from my country only, but from all mankind. My disease is the incurable leprosy, for which there is no hope till its power over my mortal body shall be replaced by the corruption of the grave itself. Living, I shall never more know the friendly pressure of a fellow-creature's hand; and dying, my fainting head must not even make its last resting-place on the bosom of a stranger!' 'What a fate!' exclaimed the Englishmen with the accent of pity. 'What a blessed-what a noble fate!' exclaimed the leper enthusiastically, if I thereby fulfil the purpose of my creation, as ordained by the All-Wise, whose prerogative alone it is to draw out good from evil! Inglesi, you look surprised to hear the poor forlorn leper speaking thus; but you are young, and your eyes are yet dazzled with the false glitter of this world's perishable joys. If you please, I will tell you the story of my life, and so accomplish a part of the end for which I suffer, if it teach you hereafter, when adversity shall stand upon your threshold, to open wide the door, and welcome to your hearth and home that destroyer of all selfish peace and blind security!' The strangers signified their satisfaction at the proposal; and the leper, drawing as near to them as he could consistently with their safety, began at once to relate his history. I am an Armenian by birth, as my dress sufficiently indicates; but you would not guess, from my appearance now, that I was the only child of the richest diamond merchant of Broussa, a fair Asiatic town, whose name, it may be, you have scarcely ever heard. I was sole heir to all his wealth, and from my earliest infancy I dwelt in his splendid habitation, surrounded by every luxury which a pampered fancy could desire. He died when I was quite a boy, and I remained under the care of an uncle, who, being in fact dependent on me for support, was abundantly careful to gratify my every wish. This injudicious treatment might have been my ruin, had not my own inclination fortunately led me in a course that saved me from falling into idleness and dissipation. You are aware that we are Christians; the foundations of the Armenian church having been laid in the earliest days of an organised Christianity, and continuing with the same forms and ceremonies to the present day. From the first dawn of my reasoning powers it was my ambition to become a priest; not so much, however, from any particular vocation, as from the certainty that by this means alone I could have an opportunity of gratifying my studious propensities and passionate love of reading. Those only of the young Armenian men who are destined for the church receive any kind of education; and such was my intense desire for knowledge, that when, as a candidate for the priesthood, our libraries (which are extremely ancient) were opened to me, I went far beyond the regular routine of study incumbent on me as such, and devoted my whole time to the pursuit of science and learning. Having acquired all the more important languages of the East-the Sanscrit, Hebrew, and |