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Curious Wine Cellar, Etc

sort of bridge, formed of the body of a very large tree; when, to his surprise, he was suddenly immersed in dust up to his waist, the tree having become rotten, or probably eaten out by insects, though it retained its shape, and appearance of solidity. Wild beasts lurk in this impenetrab-e recess: cattle also stray there, and often become wild: hogs are turned into it by their owners, to fatten upon the acorns that fall from the oaks.

Lake Drummond is situated near the centre of the swamp, and is formed by the drainings of this immense bog. It is crowded with fish of various kinds, which, living unmolested, attain a prodigious size.

CURIOUS WINE CELLAR. -The monastery of Arcadi, in Candia, surpasses every other part of the island, though fertile in religious houses, both in the number of monks, and the endowment of the convents. It is supposed to be built on the spot where the ancient Arcadia once stood. The house itself contains nearly one hundred inhabitants, while about two hundred more are dispersed over the lands belonging to the monastery, and are employed in agriculture. The cellar is by far the finest part of the building. It contains two hundred casks of wine, of which the choicest is marked with the name of the superior, and no one may touch it without his permission. This cellar receives a solemn annual benediction immediately after the vintage. The prayer recited by the superior on this occasion, is printed in the Greek Spiritual; it is as follows:-" Lord God! who lovest mankind, look on this wine, and on those that shall drink it; bless those vessels as thou hast blessed the wells of Jacob, the fishpool of Siloa, and the beverage of thy holy apostles. Lord, who didst condescend to be present at the marriage of Cana, where thou didst manifest thy glory to thy disciples by changing water into wine, send thy holy Spirit on this wine, and bless it in thy name."

MINT OF SEGOVIA.-At the mint of Segovia, in Spain, there is an engine moved by water, but so artificially made, that one part of it distends an ingot of gold into the breadth and thickness requisite to make coin. "It delivereth the plate that it hath wrought unto another, that printeth the figure of the coin upon it; and from thence it is turned over to another, that cutteth it according to the print in due shape and weight And lastly, the several pieces fall into a coffer in another room, where the officer, whose charge it is, finds treasure ready coined."

REMARKABLE MILLS. - At Dantzic, a city of Prussia, Mr Morrison, an ingenious traveller of this nation, saw a mill, which, without help of hands, did saw boards, having an iron wheel, which did not only drive the saw, but also did hook in, and turn the boards unto the saw. Dr. John Dee mentions the like seen by him at Prague; but whether the mill moved by wind or water, is set down by neither of them.

SILK MILL AT DERBY. - This mill, situated on the river Derwent, was erected by Sir T. Loombe, who, at a vast expense and great hazard, brought the model from Italy. It is fixed in a large house, six stories high, and consists of 26,586 wheels, with 97,746 movements, all driven by one large waterwheel, fixed on the outside of the house! It goes round three times in one minute, and each time works 78,726 yards of silk thread, so that in twenty-four hours it works 318,496,320 yards of silk thread, under the management of only one regulator! It has been of such service to the silk trade, that Sir Thomas had the benefit of it during his life; but the parliament having allowed him £14,000, as a further reward for his services, he suffered a model of it to be taken. This model now lies in the Record-office at the Tower, for the benefit of the public, any person being allowed to inspect it, so that there are at present several mills of the kind erected in different parts of the kingdom.

Its PORTLAND VASE. - This is a celebrated funeral vase, which was long in the possession of the Baberini family; but which was some years since purchased for 1000 guineas by the duke of Portland, from whom it has derived its present name. height is about ten inches; and its diameter, where broadest, six. There are a variety of figures upon it, of most exquisite workmanship, in bas relief, in white opaque, raised on a ground of deep blue glass, which appears black, except when held against the light. It appears to have been the work of many years; and there are antiquarians who date its production several centuries before the Christian era, since, as has been said, sculpture was declining in excellence in the time of Alexander the Great. Respecting the purpose of this vase, and what the figures on it were meant to represent, there have been various conjectures. We shall, therefore, give a short account of the several figures, without noticing any of the theories or conjectures that have been made about them. In one compartment, three exquisite figures are placed on a ruined column, the capital of which is fallen, and lies at their feet among other disjointed stones: they sit under a tree, on loose piles of stone. The middle figure is a female in a reclining and dying attitude, with an inverted torch in her left hand, the elbow of which supports her as she sinks, while the right