Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

Seidlitz and Seidschütz, in Bohemia. At Cheltenham, there are six different springs. A wine gallon of the water contains 480 grains of sulphate of soda, 40 grains of muriate of soda, with some muriate of lime, and muriate and carbonate of magnesia, oxide of iron, carbonic acid and nitrogen. One of the springs has an impregnation of sulphureted hydrogen. Of the Seidlitz waters, a more copious notice must be taken. The strongest of the simple saline springs is that of the village of Seidlitz, in Bohemia, nine miles from Prague. Five pints of its water contain Resinous matter,. . . . . . . 33 grains. Carbonate of magnesia,. Sulphate of magnesia,.. 1410 Sulphate of soda, Sulphate of lime, Carbonate of lime,. Carbonic acid, The Seidlitz water is generally converted into a tepid temperature before being drunk. The following is the formula for preparing artificial Seidlitz waters :—

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

66

62

66

3411

[ocr errors]

26

66

[ocr errors]

19 ..6

Pure water, ... 20 ounces.
Carbonic acid, . . 3 times this volume.
Sulphate of mag-

nesia, . . . . . . Muriate of mag

nesia, . . .

144 grains.

18 grains.

The mixtures sold in the shops under the title of Seidlitz powders have no resemblance in composition to the real salts of that name. The powders prepared by the apothecary are one set of tartaric acid, the other of the bi-carbonate of soda, which, when added together in solution in water, form a tartrate of soda, with a disengagement of carbonic acid. The patent Seidlitz powders, as they are called, consist of two different powders. The one contained in the white paper consists of two drachms of tartarized soda, and two scruples of carbonate of soda; that in the blue paper of thirty-five grains of tartaric acid. Of the saline mineral springs of the U. States, those of Saratoga are by far the most celebrated. The Congress spring is the most distinguished of the Saratoga waters. One gallon from this spring, according to doctor Steel, contains

Muriate of soda,..... 385.0 grains.
Hydriodate of soda, ... 3.5

66

66

Bi-carbonate of soda, ... 8.982 Bi-carbonate of magnesia, 95.788 " Carbonate of iron,. 5.075 แ 1.5

Silex, ....

[ocr errors]

Hydrobromate of potash, a trace.

499.845

66

[blocks in formation]

The medicinal qualities of this spring have acquired for it a reputation abroad to which no other fountain in the U. States has yet attained; and it is highly probable, from the active ingredients which enter into its composition, that it will continue to retain the ascendency. Such are its rare and peculiar qualities, that, while it operates as an active and efficient medicine, it possesses the properties of an agreeable and delightful beverage; and it is daily sought after and drunk by all classes of people simply to gratify the palate, or to allay the thirst; and although, in this way, it is frequently taken in sufficient quantities to produce its most active effects upon the bowels, it is seldom, if ever, known to be attended with any unpleasant consequences, but is always considered, by those who thus use it, as invigo rating and healthy. The Harodsburg and Grenville springs, of Kentucky, are much resorted to. The water holds in solution the sulphates of magnesia and soda, carbonates of magnesia and iron, and sulphate of iron. In taste, it resembles a weak solution of Epsom salts, with a slight chalybeate impregnation. Sea-Water exceeds all others in the extent of its for there is a difference, in this respect, in saline impregnation. On an averagematter appears to be about one twentyvarious latitudes-the quantity of saline ninth, of which, from the experiments of Bergmann and Lavoisier, there are about twenty muriate of soda, five muriate of magnesia, three sulphates of magnesia and soda, and one sulphate of lime. An analysis of doctor Murray gives, out of 10,000 parts of water obtained from the frith of Forth, 220.01 parts of common salt, 33.16 sulphate of soda, 42.08 muriate of magnesia, and 7.84 muriate of lime. Sea-water of hydriodic and hydrobromic acids. Seaalso contains potash and small quantities aperient or an alterative. The waters water is used medicinally, either as an of the Dead sea, according to doctor Marcet, contain, in 100 grains,

Sulphate of lime,..... 0.054 grains. Muriate of soda, ... ... 10.676 Muriate of lime, 3.800 44 Muriate of magnesia, ..10.100 WATER CEMENTS. (See Cements.) WATER, HOLY. (See Holy Water.) WATER-CRESS (sisymbrium nasturti um); a cruciferous plant, said to be found

in all parts of the globe. It grows on the margin of clear streams, or even partly immersed in the water. The stem is decumbent at the base, upright, and somewhat branching above, and a foot or more in length. The leaves are smooth and pinnatifid, with the lobes more or less sinuate on the margin, and the terminal ope always largest. The flowers are small and white. The plant is employed in medicine, as an antiscorbutic. Great quantities are also consumed as salad in Paris, and other cities of the north of Europe; and it is now cultivated, to a considerable extent, in many places. In the bed of a clear stream, the plants are inserted in rows in the direction of the current; and all that is necessary is to take up and replant occasionally, to keep them free from mud, or any accumulation of foreign matter, and to see that other plants do not find their way into the plantation. In the U. States, the cardamine Pennsylvanica takes the place of the water-cress, resembles it in appearance, grows in like situations. and possesses similar properties; but we are not aware that it is ever employed for the table.

WATER-LILY (nymphæa); a beautiful genus of aquatic plants, the greatest ornament of our lakes and slow-moving waters. Their roots are large and fleshy, often creeping horizontally at the bottom of the water. The leaves are rounded and heartshaped, supported on a stalk so long as to permit them to float on the surface. The flowers are large, and contain numerous petals, so as to appear double. In the morning, they raise themselves out of the water to expand, and close again, reposing upon the surface, in the afternoon. In the species which inhabits the U. States, the flowers are brilliant white, sometimes with a tinge of red, and diffuse a most delightful fragrance. The celebrated lotus (q. v.) of Egypt (N. lotus) has flowers of a pink color, and the margin of the leaves toothed. It grows in vast quantities in the plains of Lower Egypt, near Cairo, at the time they are under water. The roots are oblong, tuberous, as large as an egg, blackish externally, and yellow within, and are eaten cooked in various manners. The seeds are also used in some districts to make a sort of bread. This custom existed in the time of Herodotus and Theophrastus.-The yellow water-lilies are now separated from the genus, under the name of nuphar. They are much less ornamental than the preceding, and differ essentially in the form of the flower.

WATER-MELON. (See Melon.)

WATER-SNAKE. (See Serpent.)

WATERFORD; a city and seaport of Ireland, and chief town of the county of Waterford, on the river Suir. This city employs many vessels in the Newfoundland trade, whence they sail to the West Indies, and return with the productions of these islands. The harbor is deep and spacious, and protected by a fort. The quay, about half a mile long, is considered the most beautiful in Europe. A fine wooden bridge has been erected here, to facilitate communication with the counties of Wexford and Kilkenny. The population of Waterford, including the suburbs, is 28,677, which is some thousands less than it was estimated nearly forty years ago. Ninety-four miles south-west of Dublin. By the reform act of 1832, it is entitled to return two members to the imperial parliament, to which it previously returned but one.

WATERLANDERS. (See Anabaptists.) WATERLOO; a Belgic village, on the road from Charleroi to Brussels, about ten miles from the latter city, at the entrance of the forest of Soignies. A short distance from this village, occurred, June 18, 1815, the memorable battle to which Wellington gave the name of his headquarters, Waterloo; Blücher that of the turning point of the contest, Belle Alliance ; and the French that of the chief point of their attack, St. Jean. After the engagement at Quatre Bras (q. v.), and in consequence of the battle of Ligny, Wellington had retired to the forest of Soignies, and, June 17, occupied an advantageous position on the heights extending from the little town of Braine la Leud to Ohain. Blücher having promised to support him with all his army, he here resolved to risk a battle. The British army was divided into two lines. The right of the first line consisted of the second and fourth English divisions, the third and sixth Hanoverians, and the first corps of Belgians, under lord Hill. The centre was composed of the corps of the prince of Orange, with the Brunswickers and troops of Nassau, having the guards, under general Cocke, on the right, and the division of general Alten on the left. The left wing consisted of the divisions of Picton, Lambert and Kempt. The second line was, in most instances, formed of the troops deemed least worthy of confidence, or which had suffered too severely, in the action of the seventeenth, to be again exposed until necessary. placed behind the declivity of the heights to the rear, in order to be sheltered from

It was

the cannonade, but sustained much loss from shells, during the action. The cavalry were stationed in the rear, and distributed all along the line, but chiefly posted on the left of the centre, to the east of the Charleroi causeway. The farm-house of La Haye Sainte, in the front of the centre, was garrisoned; but there was not time to prepare it effectually for defence. The villa, gardens and farm-yard of Hougomont formed a strong advanced post towards the centre of the right. The whole British position formed a sort of curve, the centre of which was nearest to the enemy, and the extremities, particularly the right, drawn considerably backward. Napoleon had bivouacked a cannon-shot from the British camp, on the eminence of Belle Alliance. His army consisted of three corps of infantry, two of cavalry, and all the guards. It might contain about 90,000 soldiers. On the other hand, the combined English and Dutch forces (prince Frederic of the Netherlands having remained at Hall with 19,000 men) amounted to about 60,000 men. According to Gourgaud's account, Napoleon's design was to break the centre of the English, and cut off their retreat, but in all events to separate them from the Prussians. The battle began about noon, June 18, by an attack of the second French battalion on the advanced post of Hougomont. The wood, defended by the troops of Nassau, was taken by the French, but the house, garden and farm-offices were maintained by the English guards. About two o'clock, four columns of French infantry advanced from Belle Alliance, against the British centre. The cavalry supported them, but were repulsed by the British cavalry, while the infantry, who had forced their way to the centre of the British position, were attacked by a brigade brought up from the second line by general Picton, while, at the same time, a brigade of heavy English cavalry charged them in flank. The French columns were broken, with great slaughter, and more than 2000 men made prisoners. About this period, the French made themselves masters of the farm of La Haye Sainte, and retained it for some time, but were at last driven out by shells. Shortly after, a general attack of the French cavalry was made on the squares, chiefly towards the centre

• According to Gourgand, Napoleon's army amounted to not more than 67.000 men and 24 pieces of artillery Marshal Grouchy marched, on the seventeenth, upon Wavre, with 33,220 men and 110 pieces of arullery.

AL

of the British right. In spite of the continued fire of thirty pieces of artillery, they compelled the artillery-men to retire within the squares. The cuirassiers continued their onset, and rode up to the squares, in the confidence of sweeping them away before their charge; but they were driven back by the dreadful fire of the British infantry. Enraged at the small success of his exertions, Napoleon now threw his cuirassiers on the Engish line, between two chaussées. They broke through between the squares, but were attacked and defeated by the English and Dutch cavalry. During the battle, several French batteries were stioned only a few hundred paces in front of the English, and did great execution At five o'clock, the repeated attacks of superior numbers had already weakened the English, and the victory began to incline to the side of the French. this juncture, the van of the fourth Prussian battalion (which the French thought, at first, to be the corps of Grouchy ), under the command of general Bulow, showed itself in front of the forest of Frichemont, on the right flank and the rear of the ene my. The battalion had left Wavre (q. v.) the same morning, and, animated by the presence of prince Blucher, had overcome all the obstacles of the march. The sixth French corps, hitherto stationed as the reserve of the right wing, was immediately opposed to the Prussians, and a bloody fight ensued. It was six o'clock when this took place. Napoleon, meanwhile, when he perceived the attack of the Prussians, instead of diminishing his attacks o the British line, resolved to assail it with all his forces. The second French corp all the cavalry, and all the guards, there fore, put themselves in motion. Wellington quietly awaited their approach, andi, as soon as the dense columns had arrives within a short distance, he opened on them so murderous a fire that they stopped, and were compelled to fire in return. The right wing of the French had a's advanced at the same time with the centre, had driven the Nassau soldiers fromA Papelotte, and attacked the Prussians in Frichemont. This movement destrovest for a moment, the connexion of the Prussians with the English left wing, and made the situation of affairs, at this juries ture, critical. The sudden appearance of the first brigade of the first Prussiam battalion, under general Ziethen, deculed the battle. Their arrival had been de layed by a necessary change in the march and by the badness of the roads.

These brave soldiers immediately separated the sixth French corps from the rest of the army, and, by means of twenty-four cannon brought to bear on the rear of the enemy, put them to flight. At the same moment, the English cavalry had overthrown and dispersed, after a brave resistance, the infantry stationed at La Haye. These troops became mingled, at Belle Alliance, with those who were pursued by the first Prussian corps; and thus their defeat became complete. The English and Prussians followed hotly, and kept up a continued fire. The disorder of the French now exceeded all that had been hitherto witnessed. Obedience and order had ceased; infantry and cavalry, generals and servants, soldiers and officers, were mingled in wild confusion; every one consulted only his own preservation. All the artillery and baggage were abandoned. The disorder finally increased to an incredible degree, when Planchenoit was taken by the combined exertions of Hiller's brigade and a part of the second battalion. At Belle Alliance, the victorious generals met. Prince Blücher now ordered a pursuit on the part of the Prussians, with all the disposable troops, under general count Gneisenau's personal direction.

In Jemappes, which was taken by a sudden attack, the travelling carriage of Napoleon, with his jewels, his plate, and other valuables, as well as many military chests, and the rest of the baggage of the French army, fell into the hands of the conquerors. Upwards of 200 cannon, two eagles, and 6000 prisoners, were the trophies of this victory. The whole French army was dispersed and disabled. The loss in killed and wounded amounted to 35,000. The English army lost, on the eighteenth, in killed, two generals, 173 officers, and 3242 privates, and, including the wounded (among whom were five generals and 803 officers), about 10,580 men. The Dutch lost, on this day, 2000 men. The loss of the Prussian army amounted to 207 officers and 6984 men. Napoleon hastened to Paris. Grouchy, however, returned through Namur (which the allies had not occupied, and where the Prussians attacked him with a loss of 1600 men) to Laon, by the road through Rethel. General Gourgaud, in his Campagne de 1815, attributes the loss of the battle to the faults committed by marshal Ney. But the ex-prefect Gamot has justified the marshal by printing the original orders, which did not allow Ney to act otherwise. It is nevertheless true, that

Ney caused the cavalry to advance too far. Marchand has also refuted Gourgaud's account. Napoleon himself gives two reasons for the loss of the battle: 1. The non-arrival of Grouchy (but Grouchy did not receive, till seven o'clock on the evening of the eighteenth, the command, given by Napoleon in the forenoon, to join the right wing of the French); 2. the attack of the mounted grenadiers and the reserved cavalry without his command and knowledge. Napoleon, as he says himself, was in great personal danger. When the English, towards the end of the battle, became the assailants, a portion of their cavalry and sharp-shooters came near the place where Napoleon was. He placed himself at the head of a battalion, and resolved to attack and die; but Soult seized his horse's reins, and exclaimed, "They will take you prisoner, sire, and not kill you." He, with generals Drouot, Bertrand and Gourgaud, succeeded in removing the emperor from the field of battle. Napoleon, however, repeatedly exclaimed, both before and after his arrival at St. Helena, "J'aurais dù mourir à Waterloo." A graphic description of the battle has been given by sir Walter Scott, in his Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk.

WATERLOO, Anthony, a painter and engraver of the school, was born in Utrecht (according to some, in Amsterdam), in 1618. His paintings are confined almost entirely to the scenery around Utrecht. Weeninx painted the men and animals in his landscapes. He is said to have died of want in an hospital.

WATERSPOUT. (See Whirlwind.)

WATERVILLE; a flourishing post-town in Kennebec county, Maine, on the west side of the river Kennebec, eighteen miles north by east from Augusta. The principal village is finely situated at the head of boat navigation, and has considerable trade. The township is much intersected by streams affording excellent mill seats, and has a fertile soil. Population in 1830, 2216. Here is a college under the direction of the Baptist denomination. It was founded in 1820. It had, in 1831, five instructers, 45 students, a college library of 1800 volumes, and students' libraries, 600 volumes. The commencement is the last Wednesday in July.

WATLINGSTREET; one of the Roman military roads made in Britain, while in possession of the Romans, running from Dover by St. Alban's, Dunstable, Towcester, Åtterston `and Shrewsbury, and ending at Cardigan, in Wales.

WATSON, Richard; an English prelate,

born at the village of Heversham, in Westmoreland, in 1737. His father was a clergyman, and master of a free grammar school, where the son received his early education. In 1754, he became a sizar of Trinity college, Cambridge, where he was distinguished for his intense application to study, and for the singularity of his dress, which consisted of a coarse, mottled Westmoreland coat, and blue yarn stockings. He regularly took his degrees, and became a college tutor, and, in 1760, obtained a fellowship. In 1764, he was elected professor of chemistry, when he first applied himself to the study of that science, and with great success, as appears from the five volumes of Chemical Essays which he subsequently published. On the death of doctor Rutherforth, in 1771, he succeeded him as regius professor of divinity. He early distinguished himself by a display of his political opinions, in a sermon preached before the university, on the anniversary of the revolution, which was printed under the title of the Principles of the Revolution vindicated. This discourse excited a degree of, public attention only exceeded by Hoadly's celebrated sermon on the Kingdom of Christ. A short time previous to this exhibition of his politics, doctor Watson appeared as the opponent of Gibbon, to whom he addressed a series of letters, entitled an Apology for Christianity. The patronage of the duke of Rutland was exerted to obtain his promotion to the see of Llandaff, where he succeeded bishop Barrington, in 1782; and he was permitted to hold, at the same time, the archdeaconry of Ely, his professorship, and other ecclesiastical preferments. Shortly after, he addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury a letter containing a project for equalizing the value of church benefices. In 1785, he published a valuable collection of Theological Tracts, selected from various authors, with additions, in 6 vols., 8vo. The following year, he received a large addition to his income by the bequest of a valuable estate from Mr. Luther of Ongar, in Essex, who had been one of his pupils at Cambridge. During the illness of the king, in 1788, bishop Watson, in a speech in the house of lords, strongly defended the right of the prince of Wales to the regency, in opposition to the doctrine maintained by Mr. Pitt. In 1796, the bishop appeared a second time as the defender of revealed religion, in his Apology for the Bible, designed as an answer to Paine's Age of Reason.

In

1798, he published an Address to the People of Great Britain, on the danger which threatened that country, from the influence of those principles which had occasioned the revolution in France. Gilbert Wakefield, having published a reply to this address, was prosecuted for sedition, and sentenced to imprisonment; but in the proceedings against him, bishop Watson took no part whatsoever. He always continued to be the advocate for liberality, both in politics and religion; but his fears from the ascendency of French principles were strongly expressed in a publication under the title of the Substance of a Speech intended to have been spoken in the House of Lords, November 22, 1803. The latter part of his life was chiefly spent in retirement at Calgarth park, situated near the lakes of his native county, where he amused himself with making extensive plantations of timber-trees. He died at that place, July 4, 1816. Besides the works already mentioned, he published several papers in the Philosophical Transactions; Sermons, and Theological Essays; and after his death, his autobiographical memoirs were edited by his son.

WATSON, Robert, LL. D., a native of St. Andrew's, in Scotland, studied at the university there, and afterwards at Glasgow and Edinburgh, adopted the ecclesiastical profession, and became a preacher. After having delivered lectures on rhetoric and the principles of composition, at Edinburgh, he obtained the professorship of logic at St. Andrew's, to which was added, by royal patent, that of rhetoric and the belles-lettres. On the death of the principal, doctor Watson succeeded him, but died in 1780. He published the History of Philip II of Spain (2 vols., 1777), and undertook the History of Philip III, which, being left imperfect at his death, was completed and published by doctor William Thomson (1783).

WATT, James; a distinguished culti vator of natural philosophy and the kindred arts and sciences, who, especially by his improvements in the steam-engine, has gained a high degree of celebrity. He was the son of a tradesman, and was born in 1736, at Greenock, in Scotland. He was brought up to the occupation of a mathematical instrument maker, and in that capacity became attached to the university of Glasgow, in which he had apartments, where he resided till 1763; at which time, having entered into the married state, he settled in business for himself in the city. in 1764, he con

« AnteriorContinua »