most importance, constrain us to notice the special case of those great men who have been subject to hallucinations, but whose memory he wishes to keep clear from all suspicion of

The short and imperfect sketch and classi- | thor to have some distinct notice taken of fication which we have now given of the causes those views to which he obviously attaches of hallucinations, will serve to show the frequency of these strange disorders of the senses or, to speak more correctly, of that wonderful physical organ of the mind which, sometimes by an effort of the will, but much more fre- unsoundness of mind. In a chapter devoted quently without volition or consciousness of effort, converts its own operations into sensual impressions so vivid and so like reality, as to task all the powers of the sound mind to distinguish the real from the unreal, and utterly to set at naught and confound the feeble or confused powers of minds smitten with unsoundness.

to the class of hallucinations co-existing with sanity, the reader will recognize many a familiar history with which he first became acquainted in the popular works of Sir David Brewster or Sir Walter Scott, or in the more scientific treatises of Abercrombie, Bostock, Conolly, Peterson, Wigan, or Winslow; and he will be reminded of some of the most curious passages in the lives of such men as Byron Samuel Johnson, Pope, Goethe, Lord Castlereagh, Benvenuto Cellini, Bernadotte, and the first Napoleon.

Many curious and grave questions suggest themselves to one who has succeeded in realizing this extensive prevalence of hallucinations. Seeing that, without any effort of the will, the brain, which ordinarily perceives the pictures, The author tells us that he has purposely painted on the eye, can create them out of multiplied the illustrations contained in this nothing, we should, even in the absence of chapter, and that he selected many of the experience, be led to the belief that the same cases because they relate to celebrated perorgan of the mind, by a similar involuntary sons, whom no one has ever thought of chargaction, might originate ideas and opinions ing with insanity. "Some of them," he tells bearing to the usual processes of thought and us, "have correctly regarded their hallucinaratiocination the same relation that hallucina- tions as the offspring of the imagination, or tion does to sensation; in a word, that delu- as arising from an unhealthy state of the sions may spring up involuntarily in the mind, body. Others, led by their belief in the suas we know that they do in the insane. But pernatural, by their vanity, by the opinions analogy would lead us even further than this. of the period, or by superstitious feelings, If unreal sensations and unreal thoughts are have privately explained them in accordance possible as a consequence of involuntary work- with their own wishes; but their conversation ings of the organ of the mind, why not unreal and their actions have given no evidence of a words-words which are not the image of any disordered intellect; in some they may even idea deserving of the name, but involuntary have been the source of their great deeds. creations of an utterly disordered instrument Frequently, however, the hallucination of the of thought? If unreal sensations, thoughts, sound mind may be seen to glide into the and words may be born of involuntary actions hallucination of insanity, without its being of the brain, why not strange and eccentric possible always to point out the boundary acts of violence—such acts as madmen them- which separates the one condition from the selves attribute to beings other than them- other, so difficult is it at all times to establish selves. The protestations of innocence which precise limits." We recognize and fully apthese poor madmen make sound strange in-preciate this difficulty; but we are not sure deed in the ears of those who have no experience of the insane, and have no conception of, or sympathy with, that aberration of the mind which combines in one awful discord hallucinations and illusions of the senses, delusions of the mind, language of frightful violence, obscenity, or impiety, misery unutterable, and excitement uncontrollable.

But we must not be tempted to wander further into this wide field of speculation. Want of space, and the fair claim of our au

that we quite sympathize with the author in his evident desire to acquit great historical personages of the charge of unsoundness of mind, even where they have displayed not simply hallucinations of the senses, but delusions of the mind also. Pope is not to be set down as mad because he saw an arm come out of the wall; nor Dr. Johnson, because he heard his mother's voice call "Samuel" when he knew her to be far away; nor Goethe, because he one day saw the counterpart of him

self coming towards him; nor Byron, be- | doubted, and juries were quick to convict, the cause, as the effect of over excitement of the man who alleged that he saw an old lady ɔf brain, he occasionally fancied he was visited eccentric habits and uncertain temper borne by a spectre; nor Lord Castlereagh, because through the air on a broomstick, would scarcely he twice saw the vision of the “ Radiant Boy; " | have been deemed insane. nor St. Dunstan, Loyola, and Luther, because Of the instances of hallucination co-existing of their hallucinations; nor Joan of Arc, per- with sanity, cited by M. Brierre de Boismont haps, because of the visions which alternately as occurring in great men, the most persistent stimulated her patriotism, and were born of is that which affected the first Napoleon. He her enthusiasm. It is impossible, however, had a brilliant star all to himself, which, acto read the account given of Benvenuto Cel-cording to his own assertion, never abandoned lini at page 62, without entertaining very him, and which he saw, on all great occasions, grave doubts of the propriety of classing him commanding him to advance, and serving as with persons having" hallucinations co-exist- a sure augury and sign of success. The seeent with sanity." The remainder of the ex-ing of such a star, associated with such belief amples cited in this chapter do not appear to in its reality, is scarcely compatible with sanbe misplaced. The hallucinations were only ity, and the case is not improved by the adof occasional occurrence; they were depen- juncts of unscrupulous appropriation of the dent upon transitory causes; they did not ex- property of others, insatiable ambition, diaercise any permanent effect upon conduct; or bolical cruelty, and inveterate falsehood. It they grew out of the excitement of great en- would not be difficult, indeed, to discover in terprises which they did not mar or impede. this extraordinary man that union of intelIt ought also to be borne in mind that, in the lectual with moral unsoundness which makes case of the higher order of thinkers and up the history of so many acknowledged lunaactors, the hallucinations were in harmony tics. But some allowance must be made for with the universal belief of the times in which the times in which he lived, and the examples they lived. They were but representations of craft and cruelty which he had placed beon the organs of sense of ideas admitted as fore him in the earlier part of his career. So indisputably true by the society in which they that M. Brierre de Boismont may be forgiven lived and moved. When all the world be- for including the name of Napoleon Buonalieved in witchcraft, when the learned author parte in his list of great men who preserved of Vulgar Errors gave authoritative evidence their sanity in spite of hallucinations. in its favor, when Sir Matthew Hale barely

G.

LIQUID SILVER MINE.-Although not entirely new, yet not generally known, is the fact that the ocean contains an immense quantity of silver. At the last session of the Academy of Sciences, it was stated that experiments have demonstrated the waters of the Atlantic to contain about a grain troy of that metal to every fifteen thousand pounds of water-according to this computation, the waters of the ocean contain a much greater quantity of the precious metal than has ever yet been extracted from the bowels of the earth. The savans say its presence may be accounted for on two theories-it

may either proceed from the emanations of chloride of silver, issuing from the bosom of the earth, or from the slow action which salt water exercises on the argentiferous sulphurets which crop out from the earth, both on land and at the bottom of the ocean; at any rate, they are satisfied it is there, but as it costs now about ten times as much to extract it as it is worth, it is not probable that this immense placer of silver will entice away many of the oyster diggers, who have recently fallen so fortunately upon the big bed of bivalves on some portions of the water bed.

From The Athenæum.

The Life of Frederick William von Steuben,
Major-General in the Revolutionary Army.
By Friedrich Kapp. With an Introduction
by George Bancroft. New York, Mason
Brothers. London, Low and Co.

ton and of the stubborn foe whom they ultimately had the honor to defeat. Von Steuben, ignorant of the English language, found means, nevertheless, to make himself understood. As instructor-general he was a severe but a scrupulously just master; and although

his perseverance and ability carried him through triumphantly. Although not unfrequently in the field, his chief mission was to prepare the insurgent forces, by previous drill, to unite with bravery the advantages of obedience and self-reliance; and, perhaps, by his invention of the light-infantry system, he enabled the men and generals in the American army to add pages to their history, which, but for him, would not be bright with half the glory which now illumines them.

When the war was at an end, and George the Third with consummate tact gracefully acquiesced in the accomplished fact, which he had obstructed with all his energies, Von Steuben had to squabble with the new government of the States touching his remuneration; and, ultimately, he settled as a gentleman-farmer on an estate assigned to him in the far west. There he died towards the end of the century, and a grateful administration quietly consigned him to oblivion.

THE Americans are believed to have sent opposed, calumniated, and ridiculed at first, to this country that prolific weed, the Anacharis, which, at one time, threatened to choke up every river into which it found entrance. On the other hand, a perusal of the instructive preface to this book will serve to show that our circumlocution establishments have furnished the government offices in the United States with an enormous amount of red tape, which is used for tying up documents from the world, and quietly strangling truth. This biography is an apt illustration of how jealous officials may vex the soul of an author. Here is old Von Steuben, of whom few of us have heard any thing, because he lacked that sacer vates whose mantle is now assumed by Mr. Kapp. Von Steuben was a young soldier under Frederick the Great. He gained reputation in many a field, and was in years of peace leading a very easy life as a sort of head-chamberlain at a little German court, when the French government secretly engaged him to cross to America, and teach the undisciplined levies of the insurgent patriots to overthrow the rule of the English sovereign. This was done when France and England were yet at peace; and, indeed, the former was profuse in royal and ministerial assurances to the latter, that she entertained no ill-feelings, and would enter into no evil designs, nor intrigue, nor make war against the authority of George the Third. At that very moment France had despatched Von Steuben to America, under a higher military title than he had ever possessed, in order to insure him a greater degree of respect, to help to destroy the monarchical system which France affected to be eager to support. Thus, it will be seen, that, for continental kings and noblemen to write one thing when they design the exact contrary, is not an invention of our own degenerate days.

There is, however, a large German population in the States. These were determined that the memory of Von Steuben should not die. Mr. Kapp took the matter in hand. On all sides, but one, he met with ready assistance. Family papers, letters, documents from Germany, France, England-from Von Steuben's personal admirers in the States, too,

were liberally placed at his disposal. To make his story perfect, Mr. Kapp only required to consult the state archives at Washington; but there he was "ignominiously repulsed." He was furnished with the best letters of introduction; but one secretary of state was too busy to read them; another put him off with expectations not intended to be realized; a third, who “was also a general in time of peace," declared that he must have a special permission from congress. Wearied Von Steuben performed his mission well, out, he at last boldly entered the Archive and under serious disadvantages. He found Chambers, without leave or license from seca disorganized army, averse from discipline, ad-retaries or congress, and set to work at makdicted to assert its own freedom, and rapidly ing copies, which were soon taken from him, becoming more dangerous to itself than to though they were afterwards restored. Fithe enemy, and he made of it an army of nally, he was treated as a spy, and had to soldiers worthy of the handling of Washing-beat a retreat. Again, he made a respectful

application to be allowed to consult the mate- | osition, and immediately repaired to his or

rials for history contained in the Archive Chamber:

"I presume you are going to prove,' said one of these classic under-secretaries to me on that day, that the success of our Revolution is due to the Germans; that they contributed chiefly to our national independence. There was once an Irishman who wrote a life

derly, and Jonathan Steuben forthwith graced the company roll, in lieu of the disgraced name of him who had plotted treason to his country."

The following is such a picture of the period as we have not been accustomed to have placed before us. It is full of interest :

"As if the invasion of the country were a of General Montgomery, and applied to the misfortune, not sufficiently great, some classes department for admission to the archives. of the inhabitants of Richmond availed themHe afterwards proved that we should not have selves of the opportunity afforded by the succeeded without General Montgomery, and

that he was even equal to Washington. In British, to enrich themselves by robbing and short, among the generals, commodores, and plundering, and forced the officers of the state colonels of the ministry of state, I was sub- to employ their men for the protection of the mitted to a close cross-examination, and though of course denying the propriety of their inquisitiveness, I gave repeated assurances that I intended to write history and not fancy tales. They, however, did not seem to place much confidence in what I said.”

public property against the native population, The welfare of my country,' writes the brave instead of against their foreign invaders. Claiborne to Steuben, on the 8th of January, 1781, dated Richmond, the comfort of the soldiers and the orders of my superiors, I have ever exerted myself to promote and exeDespite this opposition-obstinate and stu- cute, but empty handed as I am at present, pid as any thing encountered by Von Steuben and the little assistance I get, almost render himself, who taught the Americans the use of all my efforts ineffectual. There is no comthe bayonet, for which they had previously This leaves what public stores a few of the mander here nor will anybody be commanded. entertained the contempt of ignorant menvirtuous inhabitants have collected, exposed to Mr. Kapp has accomplished his task satisfacevery passenger, and the property of the inditorily. His book is heavy-heavy with docu-viduals to the ravages of the negroes. Both ments and papers and explanations which writers of history will well know how to employ when constructing more "readable" works. Meanwhile, having signified the posi tion which the volume occupies in literature, we add a few brief extracts illustrative of the hero and his times. The first refers to the period just subsequent to the Arnold treach-emy, but the other in a secret and infamous ery :

public and private property have been discovered to a considerable quantity, that was secreted clandestinely in and about town, and I am sorry to say that there is a stigma which rests upon the conduct of some of our own and private goods, that does not upon the men with respect to the pillaging of public British troops; the one acted as an open en

manner. I shall take proper measures to find them out and have them collected.

I

had a party of the militia given me by Colonel Haskins and patrolled the streets of Richmond during the night. I am sorry that the militia differs so much from the continental soldiers!""

There was a good, at least a large, amount of indifferent patriotism afloat,-and the system of serving the cause of liberty, not by paid, but by kidnapped, substitutes, is again a novelty:

“On one occasion, after the treason, the baron was on parade at roll-call, when the detested name, Arnold, was heard in one of the infantry companies of the Connecticut line. The baron immediately called the unfortunate possessor to the front of the company. He was a perfect model for his profession; clothes, arms, and equipments in the most perfect order. The practised eye of the baron soon scanned the soldier, and call at my marquee, after you are dismissed, brother soldier,' was his only remark. After Arnold was dismissed from parade, he called at the "Men sufficient to form a regiment had, baron's quarters as directed. The baron said with much pains, been collected together at to him, You are too fine a soldier to bear Chesterfield courthouse. The corps was the name of a traitor-change it at once, paraded, and on the point of marching, when change it at once. But what name shall I a well-looking man, on horseback, and, as it take?' replied Arnold. Any that you appeared, his servant on another, rode up, and please, any that you please; take mine, if you introducing himself, informed the baron that cannot suit yourself better; mine is at your he had brought him a recuit. I thank you, service.' Arnold at once agreed to the prop- sir,' said the baron, with all my heart; you